Archive for 'Portraits'
Camera Breaker, Heart Stealer
Posted on 16. Jan, 2012 by maryanne.
So Grown Up
This is what I was doing when my Canon 5D broke tonight. I was clicking away and then the viewfinder went black. I took off the lens to investigate and the mirror had slipped out of place. I knew immediately it was not something I could fix myself. With my Mark 2 in the shop already, I knew our session was over. Fortunately I captured some lovely images of my Katie-girl before it came apart in my hands. I did some reading about it on a couple sites, and evidently this is a known manufacturer issue and I am hoping Canon will fix it at no charge. I could blame it on her incredible beauty but that probably isn’t covered with Canon.
I have very much enjoyed my girls being home over Christmas break. Katie and I had a girls day out today and got our make up done. I don’t remember the last time I did that. I have to say it was good for us both. Just what we needed. Then we had a sweet photo session when we got home. She is leaving to go back to Wake Forest tomorrow and I wanted to capture her one more time before she left. Isn’t she lovely? The best part is that her heart shines just as beautifully. How did I get to be so blessed?
Sophistication
We also captured her with her guitar at sunset. I am so proud of my Katie. She has become quite the songwriter, like her dad. She has an amazing song on the new Playchase Christmas album, called “Nothing I’d Rather Do”.(If you click on that link, don’t click on her name. It comes up with another artist. Just click to preview the song.) It is really beautiful. Makes me cry because she wrote it about her daddy and me
Here are a few of her at sunset with her guitar.
Lovely Katie
Sunshine and Melodies
Joy
Country Girl
Singing the Sun to Sleep
Freedom
Magic
Fly
With both camera bodies officially out of commission, it might be a little bit before I get to post again, but you can bet I will be back as soon as I get one in my hands. I miss this piece of sunshine on the internet.
Blessings everyone. Happy Monday.
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365 Project Day 205: Portrait
Posted on 25. Jul, 2011 by maryanne.
Just Annie
Canon 5D Mark ll, 100 2.8 macro, 6.3 aperture, 1/125 shutter, 100 ISO, Alien B800 in large square soft box to camera right at 1/8 power.
I love her hands. She uses them with great animation when she tells stories about her day or about anything she experienced when she was away from us. This is part of the wonder that is Annie. She loves to bring other people into her most treasured experiences, be it a story about one of the kids at the day camp where she works, or something funny that happened with one of her roommates at school. (Like the new pet tortoise they share). The best part of all of that is her hands. They are a significant part of her expression. Often, I will find her with her hands to her face as she is thinking about something important to her, or when she is just cold. Sweet, beautiful hands.
I wanted to get a portrait of her tonight for a couple of reasons. She will be leaving in a little over a month to go to Oxford University in England for a semester. England. That has still not settled in my heart just right. I know she will do just fine. I will just miss her. She is, by nature, a carrier of sunshine and light where ever she goes. The house is never the same when she is gone. When I was young, I was called Mary Sunshine by my family and others as well. I was also told that I carried light with me into a room. I can only hope she is like me somehow in this way, or rather, that I am like her. She does shine.
I also wanted to practice my portrait lighting. We tried a couple different scenarios, but I think the one large light to one side is my favorite. I love the definition it brings to the face. I also love her hands in the frame. I think hands bring so much vulnerability to a photo, especially hers. When she touches her face with her hands, her heart opens a little more. I love that.
My beautiful Annie Sunshine. I will miss you so much. Here are a few more of our time together tonight.
Contemplative
Beautiful in Black and White
High Key Smile
Up Close
Favorite Journal
Softness
Fresh from the Beach
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Just a few more painted color shots
Posted on 29. Jan, 2011 by maryanne.
Because I can’t just post one sometimes…
Have a colorful day.:)
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The Rest of the Paint Drumming Pics
Posted on 24. Jan, 2011 by maryanne.
As promised, here are a few more from our paint-drumming session. The studio will never be the same.We had so much fun. I could feel the paint spattering onto my face during the session. My kind of shoot!
Enjoy~
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Wear a Mustache, Save a Life
Posted on 13. Dec, 2010 by maryanne.
Well, not really, but it sounds good! This can be a particularly stressful season, even though we know it shouldn’t be. Somehow, it always is. This year, I bought these fabulous props from Wiskerworks for some of my Christmas sessions, and they have been such a hit. Amazing what a simple mustache can do to bring out the best in all of us!
Even the fun people of Harvard Sailing Team think so. Check out their latest video here.:)
So, loosen up and put on your best mustache. Everyone benefits!
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Everyone is in on it
Posted on 18. Nov, 2010 by maryanne.
So, we here at the Morgan house are getting ready for our Christmas family sessions coming up on the 27th. Even Cowboy and Ellie wanted to get in on the action. Here are a few from their time in the studio, trying out a few props. Cowboy even got a haircut! Indiana thought it was beneath her. If you know her, you understand. Make sure you get in on the fun!
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Christmas Mini Sessions Announced!
Posted on 17. Nov, 2010 by maryanne.
Well this is my first time doing this, but I have had so many requests this year, that I am going to try it!
So, without further delay, here is the deal:
What You Get
- 30 minute session here on the Morgan Farm with your family and or pets. ( limit 6 per family- people that is.:)) Will add more peeps for 25.00 extra each. You can bring any props you wish to make it special and unique for your family!
- 5 high resolution photos that you may print or put online with a letter of release for printing.
- 25 Christmas cards from one of the three designs I have below. They are front and back 5×7 each and include envelopes. Additional sets of 25 can be ordered for an additional 40.00
The Price – 250.00
The Day Saturday, November 27th. I thought if some of you had family in town, you could zip on out for a quick session and have some Christmas cards this year!
The Place The Morgan Farm. We will have a couple locations set up, and if it rains, we will head into the studio.:)
Sessions will be starting at 10:00 and lasting 20-30 minutes. We have 10 openings.
Please email me at maryannemorgan@mac.com or comment for an appt! You may send your payment via paypal to maryannemorgan@mac.com to hold your spot!
The designs are below.
Design A
front design A
Back Design A
Design B
Design B Front
Design B back
Design C
Design C front
Design C Back
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Garments of Praise
Posted on 19. Oct, 2010 by maryanne.
This is my Annie. We were shooting for a perfume company in California. We thought we nailed it.
So much to tell here. So much to leave out. All I can say is that I have been on a journey, and I am still gleaning treasures from the shore. The photos you see of my beautiful daughter below are among them. She is a shining star.
It seems there was a lot at stake, but I didn’t know it until the client was not happy with our shoot. My heart, my ego, and my identity were on the line. Not in reality of course, but it truly felt this way, like it could break me somehow. I did break, or at least my heart did. It was like that moment in a movie or novel when the protagonist is completely blind-sided by his nemesis. In Greek Tragedy it is almost always because of the main character’s “tragic flaw”, or character quality that eventually leads to his downfall. I suppose mine was my naivety, or worse, my confusing my work with my worth. I didn’t know I was doing this until I failed to please my client. I cried myself to sleep many nights wondering what I did wrong. I mean it hurt. I can feel my chest tightening even as I endeavor to write this blog.
It is a very long story, but one of the best lessons from it is that I cannot so closely identify myself with what I do. We as artists put our hearts into everything we do. It is who we are and how we operate. If you are one, you know it is true. And when something like this happens our biggest temptation is to become cynical and bitter. This only serves to close off the very places from which the art flows. Our spirits. Our hearts.
I love the Message Version of Psalm 37. Specifically verses 7-9. I had written this out in my journal the week before we left for the shoot in Charleston:
“Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he’ll do whatever needs to be done:
He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.”
This verse addresses so many of my performance tendencies:
- ” Open up…” I am rarely open when I am trying to prove myself. I am shut down tight like a turtle at a kids birthday party. Just trying to make it through.
- “he’ll do whatever needs to be done…” What? I thought this was about me?
- “He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.” I think my soul just melted at that one. I can rest now. Yes, He will do it. It’s about Him.
- “Quiet down before God, be prayerful before Him.” Being still and keeping my relationship with God is my lifeline. Relationship with the only One who’s opinion matters. Yes. That is it.
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It’s Okay to be Beautiful
Posted on 25. Jul, 2010 by maryanne.
I tell her she is beautiful, and ask her to feel it from within. That is where it is. Inside. The glory God has given her as a woman. I turn my head and and adjust the backdrop that will not cooperate with me. I fluff the chiffon and tape up the velvet.
When I return there is a small but valuable tear sliding down her luminous cheek. I pause and frown. “What is it honey?” I ask. But I already know. I know because I feel it too, as has many if not most women on the planet. We don’t believe it. We don’t embrace it. We’re beautiful, and we don’t know it. She stutters to try to explain, and and I hold her head in my hands and pray for her and speak words of blessing. This is easy because she is mine. She is my Katie. I tell her who she is, who God says she is, and that it is okay to be beautiful. We don’t have to be afraid of it. It is our glory as women. It is our gift. Our softness, our inner passion. Our resolve to love.
We change the music and we laugh. I see her shining now. My Katie. It is okay to be beautiful. It is how God made you.
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Lindsay
Posted on 22. Jun, 2010 by maryanne.
This is my sister Dinah’s daughter. She is beautiful! Really, all of my nieces (and my own girls) are stunners! I am fortunate to be able to work with such beauties both inside and out. This is Lindsay. I photographed her wedding a year ago in May, and now I am helping her with headshots for her new acting career that is taking off! I am so proud of her. We decided to stay in the studio with the heat hovering around 95 degrees all week. Look at what we came up with. Well, I did have beautiful material. 
