Shooting with Raliq

Referrals are the best gift you can give a Freelance Artist. Most of my business comes from word-of-mouth & thanks to social media, it's what's been keeping me going. Raliq, an upcoming Independent Artist, posted on Instagram that he was looking for a photographer. One of my most loyal followers, @kaydotstheory, posted in his comments & suggested he shoot with me. From then, Raliq contacted me via DM & we took it from there.

Raliq & I met up around Broadway Junction in Brooklyn. If you're familiar with the area, you know how rugged & gritty it looks. It's perfect for some dope real Brooklyn lifestyle shots. From under the high train tracks that have awesome dark & warm green tones to the classic look of NY bodegas. Since Raliq grew up in East New York, he suggested this would be the perfect spot for me to capture him. Someone from the neighborhood even allowed us to use their dog for some shots!

Check out some of my favorite images from the shoot below & follow Raliq on Instagram to stay updated on his future projects! @raliq_nyc

S&L Maternity Shoot

Earlier this month, one of my previous co-workers, Andrew, contacted me about doing a photo shoot for his sister who is pregnant & her husband. I'm so glad I was able to do the mini maternity shoot with Stephanie & Lyves. They were such a lively couple & excited for the birth of their first child.

We started in the lobby of the Brooklyn Museum, which, by the way, has EXCELLENT natural lighting. Initially, we wanted to do most of the shoot around the area outside of the museum, but the night before it snowed & it was a very cold day. I don't mind shooting in the cold weather, but I always want to make sure my clients are comfortable so we get the shots we want. I had them do a few cute poses outside for the snowy, winter look, but ultimately we ended up back inside the museum after a few minutes.

After taking a few solo shots of the mother-to-be & hugged up couple poses, we were able to get passes to roam the rest of the museum. The lighting was a bit off by some of the exhibits, so we found a staircase with all white walls & perfect natural lighting coming in from the huge windows.

I'm so happy I was able to capture this beautiful couple as they await the arrival of their baby. These 2 are going to make awesome parents! See some of my favorite images from the photo shoot below.

Tre Isaacs Shoot

Tre Isaacs is a Hip Hop Recording Artist coming out of Brooklyn, New York. He currently resides in PG County, but had planned to visit New York last weekend & figured we'd link up to shoot.

Now this was supposed to be a daytime shoot as I LOVE natural light. In the Winter, it's usually a bit cloudy out with less sun which is PERFECT for shooting. The shoot ended up being a nighttime thing because Tre came up from PG a bit late. I was prepared though! Came through with the off-camera flash! I rarely use my flash unless I'm shooting indoors or at an event. I'm not big on artificial lighting, but I know lighting is everything so I suck it up. The good thing about the off-camera flash is that I can control the light. Only thing I wished I did was bring my stand for the light, but luckily my assistant (my boyfriend) was on it! Had him stretch them arms out that night. LOL

It also became a snow shoot! My first of the season, so I was hype. We didn't even see snow on the forecast & were frozen after, but anything for the ART!

Check out some of my favorite images from the shoot below & follow Tre Isaacs on Instagram to stay updated on his future projects! @tre_isaacs

Mr. & Ms. Fit Shoot

3 weeks ago, I had a photoshoot with 2 music artists by the names of Fitz & Ms. Fit. They are currently working on a collaboration album entitled "Mr. & Ms. Fit." The theme is inspired by the film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which happens to be one of my favorite movies so of course I thought the idea was dope! Fitz contacted me about shooting the photos for the album cover art which will look exactly like the movie's poster. To achieve this look, we shot in the cyclorama photo studio that I often use.

Along with the shots needed for the cover art, we shot 2 other looks they could use for promotional reasons. I like giving music artists a range of shots they could use for flyers, single art, posters, etc. because having professional photos is key to looking clean & ready! While we were shooting, I had them turn on their album to really feel out how i wanted the images to look. I often ask music artists to even perform their songs while we're shooting so they're fully comfortable & we can get some unique shots. Common poses are cool, but they're just that - poses. When capturing the artists performing, I get a variety of different looks & their actual personalities on camera.

Ms. Fit had Kiser of K Shark TV come through to take behind the scenes footage during the photoshoot. Kiser talked to them about their upcoming album & got me on camera while behind my camera! (I'm corny, lol) Check out the footage & more images from the shoot below!