Photographs by Richard Sayer and Harmony Motter.
Some of the photos of the reigning Miss Meadville Area queens taken last weekend. To view more visit sayermotterphotography.zenfolio.com
Photographs by Richard Sayer and Harmony Motter.
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A gentleman I've known for years, he walks often up the road by the Meadville Tribune and I say hello and sometimes take his picture. He is a nice man. While I was out photographing some of the contestants for the Miss Meadville Area Outstanding Teen we stopped to take a picture as Colin was walking by. I mentioned to him that I have a pretty tough job taking pictures of pretty girls and he just snickered at me and said yes! He then popped up his cell phone and the girls obliged by posing for a picture. Photograph by Richard Sayer
Headshots. What a funny thing. What do we need headshots for...and what's the difference between a headshot and a portrait? When I agreed to do some headshots for a student of mine last May I didn't really know what I was going to do. She is an actress and needed a variety of headshots. I found out they are a varied thing now-a-days. There was a time, way back when I was in photography School that a headshot was an 8x10 black and white studio picture usually with a rim right from behind making the edges of the hair white. Oh have they come a long way now. Most headshots are not all that different from commercial studio portraits---portraits that are a portrayal of who we want to be or who we think we are or who we want to present ourselves as to history(and our friends who we give copies to). They are representations of our exterior self.
When I seek to shoot a portrait I'm trying to find that person within and have that person show through. Often, I think, its not what the client ultimately wants -we want to keep some of ourselves in a closet, hidden from the world. And who is to say what is a true portrait-the person?(they are too close to their deepest thoughts and fears to truly know or be objective), the photographer?(he or she barely knows the subject really and often puts their own feelings and self into the picture by asking for certain gestures or poses). Or is it people who know the subject who can tell? I took a picture of a man years ago and after he died his family asked me for the picture because it captured the essence of my friend. It was a snapshot really, but it conveyed this man's character better than any posed portrait could. That is what photography should be about. Though I do like to play with lights and try to capture moods too--whether it is real or not...I don't know. Photograph by Richard Sayer Portraits have many ways of presenting themselves--traditional portraiture in the studio isn't the trend now-a-days, but it never really goes out of style. Good lights that emphasize the character or beauty of the subject to its fullest is what good portraits do. Normally I'm not one to make smiling portraits, but when they work, they are great t have. Photograph by Richard Sayer
Answer: To get to the other side, to stand in Diamond Park in 42 degree weather and smile pretty. Photograph By: Harmony Motter
I don't know what most photographers would say. But, I will tell you this! During my photography session with the Miss. Meadville Outstanding Teen contestants this weekend, there was a brief moment where everything was going completely wrong. That's when one of my favorite photographs emerged. It is a moment when everyone forgets that you are there, no one is posed and they are simply being themselves. In this case, their little high heels were sticking in the mud, dresses were being stomped on and someone lost their balloon. YIKES!! These girls were so much fun! Photograph By: Harmony Motter
A little fun "photobooth" style shot that we did with the girls Sunday. Each girl got one shot in front of this backdrop (except when the photographer had a malfunction a girl got two shots). This was to try something a little different from the standard more glamour style shots of a wardrobe/portrait shoot. Photographs by SayerMotter Photography.
Today I shot a couple thousand photos of 16 girls in several different outfits and Harmony shot about 600 more pictures of the same girls----phhhhewwww! It was quite a shoot and quite a bit of hustling to get it all done. These were pre-pageant photos for the up-coming Miss Meadville Area pageant. Photograph by Richard Sayer
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