Lana Del Rey inspired Senior Session!

I love it when clients come to me with their own ideas for a shoot. Rachel is a huge Lana Del Rey fan and who better to style a shoot from than the iconic indie princess herself. Here's a sampling:

Winnie's makes her photo debut!

Fiery red hair and a personality to match - that's Winnie! My husband and I were out having pizza one night when this little charmer caught my eye. Winnie is a spunky year or so old Irish Setter that her owner Sean was kind enough to humor me by bringing her by the studio. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw her on the next bag of Purina…this dog’s got talent!

Point Dume | Malibu, CA

Last October I spent a month in LA checking out the scene and working on some new portfolio images. I got a chance to work with some amazing talent from Q Models (thanks Cynthia!) in some breathtaking locations. Here are a few shots from our shoot at Point Dume in Mailbu. 

West Coast | Palm Springs

I’ve been in LA since the beginning of October and had the unique opportunity to do some work in Palm Springs. Mike and Megan, both signed with Mavrick Artists, grew up in the high desert and were the perfect couple to shoot in this beautiful landscape. Flow Modern Design provided the the amazing vintage jewelry and Mike’s friend Patrick was kind enough to lend us his bike for a few shots. Stay tuned for more! 

Location Scouting | BTS

(see full image)

Here's a little behind the scenes shot of the next location. This will be part of a larger composited image with the skyline pasted in the background. Pretty cool, huh? 

Jessica

_________

Jessica Milligan Photography

p. 678.697.5792

e. info@jessicamilligan.com

w. www.jessicamilligan.com

Sent from my iPhone

Good Morning Charlotte! | City Skyline

I should really start getting up earlier. The light is just beautiful and with most folks still sleeping in on the weekend it's like I have the city all to myself (and a few noisy early morning birds). I'm out shooting a skyline shot for a client using the Leaf Credo 60 digital back. That's 60MP of absolute perfection! Had the thing flown in from ATL on Friday. I can't wait to get these suckers back to my office and start editing them. Should have some great shots to work with!

Times are a changing! | Social Media Overload

I realize its been over a year since my last blog entry...really needing to get a handle on this social media thing-ugh! I get so wrapped up in the moment while shooting that I rarely remember to take behind the scenes footage or post pictures after the fact. Sorry folks its just the way it is! I often wonder if the people posting constantly to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumbler, Flickr, Blogger (did I miss any?) are really busy people or just have a lot of extra time on their hands? Frankly, I'm overwhelmed. And who has time to read and follow all these social media ninjas? I surely don't. But I did set a New Years resolution to better market myself and stay current (at least once a week) on social media. I suppose its fun to see what folks are up to occasionally so I will make a point to start posting a bit more (hence downloading the Blogger App to my phone). I think it's more of an issue with convenience. If I can find a way to quickly share what I'm doing with others with minimal effort then I'm in. Otherwise, I need to be spending my downtime on email, print marketing and face to face meetings with other creatives. So many things so little time! For any of you following or just stopping by, feel free to share with me how you stay organized using social media. Cheers!

Hola Miami! | NEXT MODELS

I had a wonderful time in Miami working with the folks over at NEXT Models. Despite the sunburn and lack of sleep - I can't wait to be back shooting again this winter!  ~ Amo Miami!

Urban Lifestyle | Fashion Shoot

Check out some of the great images we got from this weekends Urban Lifestyle photo shoot! All of the necessary elements finally came together for a successful production. We had amazing talent provided by Evolution Talent Agency, clear skies (finally!) and lots of behind the scenes help - thanks crew! Stay tuned for more behind the scenes footage taken by LaStoria Productions along with photos from what can only be described as one epic cake fight, ha ha - enjoy!

Charlotte Headshot Photographer | Featured Talent

Another successful headshot session with Michael, a new actor with Evolution Talent Agency here in town. Michael has a great vintage "rockabilly" look. I could totally see him doing a greaser movie - how cool would that be! 

Urban Fashion Shoot | Sneak Peak!

In case you've been curious about what I've been up to lately, here's an image from a shoot I did earlier this week with Amanda from Evolution Talent Agency. We did a few shots from a location we scouted last week and are planning a fun urban fashion inspired shoot this Saturday. Stay tuned for more updates!

Charlotte Headshots | Featured Talent

Posting a few images from a fun shoot with Taylor from Evolution Talent Agency for her new comp card. Taylor has that perfect natural beauty and easy going smile. I'm excited to see what kind of jobs she'll be booking with her new headshots - keep us posted Taylor! 

Actors & Models | Headshots

Here's the latest from another great shoot with one of Evolution Talent Agency's newest actors, Thomas. Tom's easy going nature and sense of humor really made for an easy shoot with lots of great images to choose from. Good luck on you upcoming auditions Tom!

Cinemagraphs | Amazing Moving Imagery!

So if you've been following the blog you might remember me talking about partnering with a video production crew (La Storia). Well here's the latest from a shoot we did on Sunday. RC and Geoff were amazing and really hit this one out of the park. Not to mention our lovely model from Evolution Talent who braved one of the coldest and windiest days this year - thanks for braving it Kayla! 

These are called Cinemagraphs or moving GIFs which combine still imagery with video to create stills with subtle movement. These were first pioneered in 2009 by visual graphics artist Kevin Burg but it wasn't until he partnered with photographer Jamie Beck that the cinemagraph was born. Check out more of their amazing moving imagry at: www.cinemagraphs.com  

Below you can see some of the stills we captured in the Smelly Cat Coffeehouse earlier that day. Stay tuned for the video that follows.

Fashion Shoot | Behind the scenes video!

Is the winter weather getting you down? Go behind the scenes with me and my crew as I photograph one of my favorite models on a beautiful beach in Ocean Isle, NC. You'll have to forgive the shakiness at times, as this was our first attempt at capturing "behind the scenes" footage (thanks Michelle!). This was also my first (and hopefully last) attempt at editing video footage; not exactly one of my strengths. With that said I am happy to announce that I'll be meeting with the folks over at La Storia who I will hopefully be partnering with on some very exciting projects in the near future - yay! Do check them out, they have some great footage posted on Vimeo. See some of the still shots below and on the website.

Year of the Dragon | 2012 Goals

It's that time of year again where you start setting goals for the New Year and hoping that this time you'll stick with them. Well, last year went better than expected and I'm hoping that by posting these I will now be held accountable by the will of the universe and maybe a few loyal followers...Bueller?  And, being that the Chinese New Year was celebrated on Monday (Jan. 23rd) it has come to my attention that it is the Year of the Dragon. Curious to what that meant I did a little research only to find out that the this year only has a 60% favorable rating - bummer! But according to the report if I keep my chin up and put myself out there things could be looking pretty good. Oh, yeah and I need to make a budget...better add that to the list!

2012 GOALS

Business:

• shoot new work! 
• produce a shoot out of state
• make new promo cards
• create a year long marketing campaign/plan
• design & send email promos
• build Agency Access contact list (fashion, apparel, editorial, portraits)
• design & implement a creative mailer for select agencies (25-50)
• work on a printed book (portfolio)
• network with more industry professionals
• travel more
• enter a photo contest
• get published in a national magazine
• get business organized through QB
• plan & implement tax payment schedule (sales & use/estimated quarterly)
• meet with my CPA throughout the year to stay on track
• update QB weekly
• research ITEX barter system
• find a good wardrobe stylist
• attend 2012 PDN PHOTO EXPO
• check out an art gallery
• organize an industry wide mixer
• organize APA Portfolio Review
• meet with a photo consultant
• setup meetings with local AD Agencies

Personal:

• start exercising 2-3x week
• start going to yoga again
• work on being more positive
• keep in touch better with friends & family
• wash my car a least 2x this summer
• get two window boxes
• finish building the front & back pergolas
• finish staining the deck
• host a few house parties
• go on our honeymoon!
• MAKE A BUDGET (and follow it, of course!)

The wonders of technology | iPhone Collage

To quote the fantastic Chase Jarvis "The Best Camera is the one you have with you" - agreed. Here's a look back on the last two years collecting iPhone photos tweaked with my two favorite apps Hipstamatic and Instagram. Now you can see what's most important to me...food, fun, friends and more food?...ENJOY!

2011 Goals Revisited

Despite 2011 being quite the whirlwind of activity with a wedding to plan (albeit in our backyard), lofty marketing goals and a laundry list of outdoor activities; all in all it turned out to be a fairly productive year. And so it is that last year has come and gone and it's time to clean out the preverbal closet and find out just how much progress we've made and what still needs doing. Here's a look back on last year's goals.

2011 GOALS

Business:

• shoot new work! produce one new portfolio shoot a month (ok, so maybe a little too ambitious)
• plan at least 3 shoots out of state (still want to do this!)
• update website with new and existing work
• launch "wedding website" site & blog
• re-brand my blog
• update my blog regularly - use to post new work (getting better at this!)
• make new business cards (finally!)
• make new promo cards
• create marketing campaign (must do!)
• create email blasts
• build Agency Access contact list (working on it)
• send out at least 1,000+ email blasts/marketing campaigns
• brainstorm a creative mailer for select agencies (25-50+)
• start networking with other modeling & talent agencies
• network with more industry professionals
• travel more
• enter a photo contest (eek!)
• get published 

Personal:

• finish reading "Three Cups of Tea" & "Crush it" 
• start reading "Water for Elephants"
• start swimming & biking 2-3x week (running 1-2x week...)
• start going to yoga again
• work on being more positive (always need to work on this!)
• start writing in a journal 
• keep in touch better with friends & family
• finish landscaping the front flowerbeds
• add new mulch to existing plants & beds
• start working on the new back patio (so awesome now!)
• replace the cellar door
• finish fencing the back yard
• build a chicken coop! (ha ha, I don't know what I was thinking here!)
• wash my car a least 2x this summer (ugh?)
• paint the outside of the house
• get two window boxes
• complete patio project before summer
• get house re-appraised after completed work
• set a wedding date
• find a wedding venue, dress, photog etc…
• send out invites
• get pets up to date on shots
• take a vacation (can't believe we still haven't done this!!!)

Jennifer Parham Gilomen | Portraits

I'm always excited when I get the chance to photograph an artist in their studio. From the scraps of inspiration hung from the walls to the layers of paint coving the floors it's truly an experience. So when I got the call from Jennifer to come to her studio to do some copy work I jumped at the chance. Her work uses the repetition of shapes layered upon each other to tell a story. Several of the pieces here intertwine themes of ancient mythology and nature. I especially love the diptych of the bees that mimics an altar piece. You can see more of Jennifer's work on her website www.statikline.com and stay posted on her upcoming shows.

Fitness Model Portfolio | Commercial Work

Here are a few shots from a shoot I did for a local fitness model for Evolution Talent Agency. She wanted something shot like a Nike ad. I think we got pretty close!