Erin Covey Creative Blog

Brian walked in to the studio with a ton of clothes, and my excitement immediately ramped up.  He was ready to roll. With such a cool style and a phenomenal personality, it’s pretty much the perfect storm for interesting photos.  Brian is super fun, personable and happy, so I wondered if he wouldn’t mind doing some serious and striking (y’all know I love the light drama!).

He was all in.  I am indebted…

The range of emotions he showed was really impressive…he makes me look good!

Thank you so much Brian, had such an amazing time, good luck in all you do!

Let me talk to you for a minute.  Let’s get real.  I know you may not want to get your photo taken.  I know you feel fat/embarrassed/awkward/old/not made up enough/insert excuse here.

I get it.  I know what it’s like to be embarrassed.  My life is dotted with continual embarrassing moments, starting with vibrant recollections of getting sick every morning on the bus ride to elementary school.  Every. single. morning.  The other kids wouldn’t sit near me for a year straight.  Just last week I had to climb up on a platform to shoot sports, and I couldn’t hoist up my body with my arms.  I dangled there with my butt up in the air for two solid minutes — in front of a thousand people — struggling to climb this platform.  Too much information? Don’t care.  Because let me be honest…

We all feel like this at some point.  But when it comes to pictures, I beg of you – get over it.  Whether it’s headshots to promote yourself, photos of you and your significant other, family shots, even simple snapshots captured at random times in your life…they mean something.  They’re important.  They’re worth it.  Maybe not to you (right now), but they’ll mean something to your parents, your siblings, your kids…your future self.

So when I’m taking photos of your child, I want you to get in the picture.  When I take your headshot and your spouse is in the other room, I want them to get in the frame for a couple of snaps.  If you’re near me? I’m taking your damn picture!

There is no need to feel embarrassed or that you don’t look “picture ready.”  Don’t wait until you’ve lost those extra pounds.  Don’t promise me that next time you’ll be ready.  I promise you this…when your loved ones see that photo of you, the very last thing on their mind will be that you didn’t have makeup on.

Now is all we have.  No more excuses.

Today I updated my headshots, which were – *cough* – 3 years old.  I do know how difficult it is for some of you to get in front of my lens, but at least you’ll be in front of someone who knows a thing or two about embarrassment.

Trust me: The photos will be worth it.

There are times when you know things will be true, even before they actually happen.  With Lisa and Scott, before I even met them ‘in real life,’ we were friends online.  Their passion and enthusiasm for photography beamed out from my laptop whenever they posted on a mutual photography forum we were all on.  When I met them in person, they exceeded all my expectations.  They are as fun as they are kind.  They laugh easily and make you feel instantly at ease.  As photographers, their talent is breathtaking.  When they mentioned they never had “official” engagement pictures, even though they’re married, I jumped at the chance…

Did I mention they’re super cute together? Because they are adoraaaable…and it’s hard to take their photo when I’m having so much fun!

They chose Empire Plaza in Albany because…let’s face it…these photographers’ took Albany by a storm and never looked back.  If you’re a bride and groom…check them out, their stuff is gorgeous!

The day was super cloudy and gray everywhere, but they still rocked it! This photo to the bottom right…Lisa is freikin’ fierce!

Thank you Scott and Lisa for being completely amazing!

He walked in to my shoot and I did a double take.  Who was this super stylish kid? As it turns out, he was wardrobe! Aronne runs Unico Re clothing and was offering up some pieces for the shoot.  Laying out jeans, and tops, you could tell he had a real passion for what he did.  I was immediately impressed.  Aronne is extremely driven and has a ton of ideas.  I have zero doubt his line will continue to grow and succeed.  Chances are, if you show up to a shoot and you look this good, I’ll throw my lens on you! Here are some of my favorites…

Ron wanted to make sure we got the logo in…and yes, he looks this cool in real life!

My favorite is bottom right.  I use that lighting set up a lot! Y’all know I like the light drama!

Thank you to the talented Aronne for helping out with an amazing shoot and coming up with memorable looks!

Still shooting basketball almost every night.  Getting to know the kids is a real highlight, for example the one who’s making the basket (and literally just sailing through the air) is a phenomenal talent and just a great kid in general.  I’m really appreciative I get to do this for a living!

The year 2002.  It seems like a lifetime ago.  I had met Jus Mic at a job I started (in another life when I was a broadcaster) and we clicked.  At the time, my photography business was nonexistent.  I was shooting part time on an old Minolta film camera, developing the photos in a darkroom in my parents basement.

Mic, being a fellow artist himself, joked that I should take his picture.  That joke continued for 10 years.  Maybe I was afraid.  Maybe I didn’t think I was good enough to fully capture his beauty, strength, and mystery.  It just never happened.  We kept in touch, I grew my business, and in 2012… he was still asking for me to photograph him.  I still really wanted to.

Then, the stars aligned…

As you can see, Jus is drop dead stunning.  Half of me knew the photos would take themselves, but the other half wanted to make sure I recorded this man properly: displaying his passion, depth, and strength.

Shouts to Unico Re clothing who hooked us up with some style!!

A heartfelt thank you to Unico Re clothing, who supplied some phenomenal pieces for Jus to wear (more on him later).  And, to Sophistications Jazz Cafe, who were extremely gracious in allowing us to take over their space in the heart of downtown Syracuse.  It was humbling working with such amazing people!

xoxo

I’ve been knee deep in basketball championships all week! Some of the games have been aggressive and fun to shoot.  I have some portrait sessions to post, but am a little behind (shocker).  There are not enough hours in the day!

Sometimes you get to work with someone who is so amazing, you fall in love with photography all over again.  Kristy’s photo shoot brought back all the excitement of a new love.

She is Creatively Fearless.

I can not state enough how much this benefits me, the subject, or the results of the shoot.  When someone is boundless in front of the camera, willing to try anything and just go with it, the result is real, natural, beautiful emotion.  In my experience, it can only be captured when you strip away the shyness, fear or embarrassment that naturally comes when you find yourself in front of a photographer.  Some of my favorites…

We headed outside to see what we could get on a cold February day.  Despite the winter grayness that surrounded us, the sunshine really helped make things pop! About an hour later it was completely hazy and gray again! The photography Gods blessed us!

An absolute natural in front of the camera, we were able to quickly get lots of outfits in for Kristy’s headshot session.  Folks, it was NOT warm out there.  This girl handled it like a boss!

A heartfelt thank you to Kristy who made shooting a breeze! Good luck in all you do!

xoxo

A day not to be forgotten.  Article and video here.

A championship win brings out a coaches emotions.

Hope your day is just as satisfiying.

xoxo