Britany and Dalton are a fun couple. They reached out to me to photograph their engagement photos but they warned me they were looking for something a little different. They had me at “different.”
I’ll let Britany explain:
I’ve loved to run since I was 14. It’s a part of my life. Dalton has always hated running and would never go with me. I attempted to get him to go with me at least once a week.
In celebration of the death of Winter I’m posting some of the greatest hits from last year’s sessions. It is only a matter of time before we can head back outside and create even more magical images. I am not the same photographer that I was last season. I’ve grown skill-wise and want to stretch and use the new photographic muscles
On a personal level, I’m celebrating the impending arrival of a studio backdrop and other equipment in an effort to rebuild a small studio space at my place. I used to have one when I lived in upstate NY but it got destroyed in the move.
Having this small studio will allow me to create more fine art style images as well as fitness images, headshots, fashion and such. Recent forays into short video has shown a potential new route for me to take and this space will help with that. It also will become a default “Plan B” in case bad weather ruins a location session.
So, the future is looking bright. I hope you join me as I explore and grow.
Mark Knopp is a Virginia-Beach-based portrait photographer and teacher that covers the Hampton Roads community and beyond. Contact him today at mknopp1(at)cox.net for all your photographic needs.
Things are finally warming up out there which means a return to outdoor sessions. Personally, I’m counting the days until I can return to the beach and other wonderful locations.
I’m also building a small studio set up at my place in case the weather won’t cooperate or a client wants studio portraits done. I’m posting an image from a test run I did here recently.
That being said here’s a reminder of just what kind of portrait sessions I offer. These can be done on location or at my place:
Life is about balance. The ebb and flow. Doing the best you can with what you’ve got. Go with the flow. To this end I split my business between portraits and other endeavors. I do the portraits when the weather cooperates as they’re done outside on location. When the temps drop, I head inside to do other things.
I always keep an eye on the weather forecast, though. If I see a day or two that creep up above 65 I start lining up sessions outside so there will be some new images coming down the line, I promise.
Happy New Year, my friends. As I sit here reflecting on 2016, I realized it was actually amazing.
This was the busiest year I’ve had, photographically, in a long time. Between the portrait side, the boudoir side and the Women of Power project that I shot I have filled hard drives full of images. Last time I looked there were 50 folders of images generated in 2016.
A quick count shows that I worked with over 30 new people that I never worked with before. That’s amazing to me.… I did my first ever couples boudoir session and my first transgender boudoir session. I can’t wait to do more. I developed new styles like Luminous, Light Side, Dark Side, Form, etc. I also started to publicize private and small group photo lessons.
2017 is shaping up to be even better. I’ve put out a Couples session promo and a Valentine’s Day boudoir promo. Check those out. I’ve recently purchases new props that are already being used and working out really well. I’m also working on a small studio space here for headshots, fitness, fashion, beauty, etc., when the weather isn’t co-operating.
Finally, I’m heading back to school to finish a degree that I started way back in 2004 but had to stop due to financial reasons. This will open up a whole new world of new images as I work on school projects.
So, for those that helped me be as successful as I was in 2016 I humbly, deeply thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you. Now hold on to your hats for 2017.
Mark
Jasmyne and her team recently reached out to me in regards to getting her modeling career started. We had long discussions about what genres/areas she wanted to be involved with and what would be involved to get there. We then created a plan to build a photo portfolio showing off those aspects. Of course these things take time to create so we broke it down further to focus on just urban fashion in Town Center for our first session.
She sent me pictures of the outfits she thought would work for such a session and I gave my input. With a plan in place she then set up times with a hair stylist and make-up artist to polish off the total look we were going after. I can’t stress enough how important these things are as they are the icing on the proverbial cake. Every detail has to be in place.
