Michelle Black's Photography Blog

Charlotte & Andrew

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:19:36 PDT

See more from my wedding portfolio, where I work as a team with Jessica Price:

a l l u r a m o d e r n . c o m

OFFICIAL STUDIO OPENING!

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:19:05 PDT

The new photography studio will host its official opening next Saturday October 3, 2009!

DAYTIME HOURS 11AM - 4PM
The day will be split up into two portions... the first half of the day is a casual exhibition where I will be handing out coupons, free artwork, and exhibiting unreleased works from my portfolio!

EVENING "RED CARPET" EXHIBITION - 7PM - 11PM
Come to the evening event in your formal attire to experience the exhibit "red carpet" style! We will have available refreshments, and other fun surprises. Mingle with models and clients I have worked with, other area photographers, and art enthusiasts. *News just in, we will also have live music performances: details shortly!*

STUDIO ADDRESS

1419 1/2 MAPLE AVENUE
ZANESVILLE, OHIO 43701

Excited to see you there!

NEW FREE ADOBE PRESETS - on thehideoutforum.com

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:23:30 PDT

I am giving out 2 free samples from my up and coming Old-Fashioned Preset Collection, featuring a gorgeous, faded, slightly selectively-colored look with a modern edge. And you thought selective color was out of style! Not anymore :)

You can obtain the samples FREE by joining thehideoutforum.com and going to the "Michelle Black's Freebies" section of the forums, where I will be posting monthly freebies for our forum members ONLY! Registration is totally free, too (even better, right?!)

So what are the Presets like? Have a look:

*presets included for both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw*

Postcard Sets!

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:42:41 PDT

Exciting news! To be released locally in October are the first batch of my new Childhood Series postcard sets! The Childhood Series is an ongoing monologue I have been working on for the past 3 years and will continue doing so throughout my career. From deep imagination, to dark and indescribable hurt and tears, to playful innocence, I am on a journey to illustrate the sphere of complex growth and change that we define as "Childhood".

The studio Open House Exhibition is scheduled for October 3, 2009 (hours to be announced) and attendees can pick up the following cards FREE that night! There will also be unreleased work on display, as well as door prizes, coupons, and refreshments.

After the studio's official opening, the postcards will be distributed by me, by hand, to my favorite area hot spots where you can obtain them FREE (locally) for the remainder of the year! Details will be announced in October.

PostCard Details: 4x6", gloss-coated cover with UV, ready to place on a stamp and mail. Gorgeous Vintage Text on the back with plenty of room to write a handwritten message to friends and loved ones. Custom Design.

Zayden - faves from our session!

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:12:44 PDT

Alice Inspired

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:02:33 PDT

To this day, one of my very favorite stories in the world is the lovely tale of Alice in Wonderland, and so today I've spent a large amount of time peeking around the web. I'm drawing (and absorbing) tons of inspiration despite the fact that I've seen just about every different interpretation ever put onto film. I think its safe to say that Tim Burton's rendition is going to blow me out of the water.

1898 Version of the Book

Just ordered this version of the film earlier today, super excited!

My fave photograph inspired by this story was published in Vogue by Annie Leibovitz April 2008:

And you can't deny that these shoes are just the cutest!

Gorgeous jewelry on Etsy:

:)

Ludwyg

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:20:15 PDT

Hailing from Canton, Ohio, this experimental electronic duo is a dramatic blend of darkness and ethereal bliss. I had the pleasure of working with musicians Billy Ludwig (synth and vox) and John Branham (drums), also known as "Ludwyg". Ludwyg is known in the Cleveland and Columbus electronic scene as their reputation continues to grow.

Erin Hulme

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:40:10 PDT

SALE - Booking August/September Child Sessions, under a new mentality

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:10:12 PDT

$99 Child sessions, includes a 5x7 and an 8x10. Proof sets from this session will be available for an additional $100 (up to 20 proofs). Enlargements available at my a la carte rates.

These are local rates. Out of area sessions will be charged travel fees. Contact me for details!

I may make this promotion available permanently if it works out the way I envision it to :)

Just a reminder, I no longer do senior sessions. I specialize exclusively in childhood portraiture.

**********************************************************

I have been thinking about something that is very important to me, and in fact have put off booking formal portrait sessions most of this year trying to really listen for what I'm called to do in this field. I treasure my work and the images I create, but even more precious is what the photographs reflect, and that is time. Those reflections of time are invaluable, and are much more important to who the art was created for than to expanding my portfolio. Once we freeze a moment into something so invaluable as a way to visually recount an experience, it becomes something more than just a photograph. It becomes a direct avenue for remembering, not just the moment itself, but the befores and afters and all that was happening surrounding the image. Seeing a photograph allows us to breathe, to see how we have grown and things that have changed. It teaches us things.

Having been given a gift to understand people and to translate that into photographs is something I feel I may have, at times, taken for granted because of how much it means to express myself and the things I see. Yes, to have an exclusive career in this means it is necessary to make money in order to survive. My prices vary and when I'm hired commercially (bands, fashion portfolios, for garment shoots, editorials, etc) I do and will always price accordingly, factoring in budget, use of the images, and all of those other details such as travel, post-production time, you get the idea. When it comes to photographing children, however, I feel that every family should be able to afford an opportunity to have such artwork upon the walls of their home. To remember them as they were, innocence fleeting, changing moment to moment. Their very existence art in itself.

Continuing on, these times are trying financially.

I'm reconsidering all of my current prices. My Grandmother's recent passing has taught me a lot of things about who I am and what I want to offer in this profession. Where most businesses up their pricing every year, and I was one of them, I'm reconsidering. It sucks I've spent so much money printing out my pricing literature, haha, but.... it will be worth it to me to offer my time producing portraits of children in a way that I feel is more of a gift. I have no regrets in doing so.

I am not yet sure about how I am going to restructure my Portrait Collections, I'm just feeling it out as I go along, and the current special rate as described above will be my only solid pricing outside of my a-la-carte system which I am re-vamping. "Not a very well thought out business move to admit you are unsure about your pricing" you say? I digress..... this is exactly what I am being led to do and until I figure out exactly where I'm going with it, the current sale remains. I'm going against everything I've studied about pricing formal portraits, but it feels right.

This is so very important to me. My time is important, memories of children as they once were are MORE important.

Kat Livingston

noreply@blogger.com (MichelleBlack) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:23:26 PDT

Makeup artistry by Fierce About Face.
Dress and headpiece from CocoCouture.