I am excited about this post. Heather Hester is a friend of mine that recently started up a photography business. She does engagement, family, portrait, and wedding photography. When I think of how to describe her work, the word "pure" comes to mind. Her work has a natural, organic feel to it. She works with natural light, and chooses locations like large cotton fields and old buildings. Drew and I had the privilege of having our pictures done by her this week, and we both had a lot of fun. It's interesting to look at pictures she has taken, then actually be in the pictures and see how she directs her models and creates emotion in her photographs. I think it is something all photographers struggle with a little bit. Seeing an image in their head, and then trying to evoke that emotion in their models. It was definitely beneficial to me, considering how much I love to shoot people and portraits. It is good to see how someone else does it. We started out in a large cotton field where she directed us where to stand and position ourselves. Her style has a more "photo journalistic" style to it, so she likes to capture those "candid" moments. However, sometimes as a photographer you almost have to create those candid moments. Once we were in the right spot she would tell us to talk, hug, kiss, and just do whatever come naturally to us, while she got some shots. I think this approach is the best way to do it, because you get the couple naturally interacting with each other, and if they really do love each other it will show. This shoot gave me the itch to go out and take pictures of people. I don't know why I'm drawn to photographing people so much, but I am. It gets my mind working, and it gets me excited. Hopefully I will find time in my crazy schedule to get some friends together and shoot. Here are some of heather's beautiful pictures-
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