DogBlog :: Official Blog Of Austin Photographer Eric Doggett

“Baby and the Tramp” Shooting Info

Eric — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:13:21 PST

In addition to the contest I mentioned earlier, “Baby and the Tramp” is getting some love over at Crash Taylor’s The Still Image blog. There, I talk about the approach, how I lit it and shot it. Head over there and take a look, and be sure to go through all of the excellent images posted there. Lots of good stuff!

Headed to WPPI on Saturday – if you want to meet up, catch me via Twitter or send me an email at eric //a t//doggettstudios.com.

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Announcing KillTheAmbient. Because the sun is evil.

Eric — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:49:49 PST

I am excited to announce the launch of a new blog, KillTheAmbient.com.

KTA was designed to offer my thoughts on lighting, business, marketing, and any other aspect of photography that sounds interesting. While I hope the info I post there will be valuable, it will definitely also have a little bit of humor thrown in for good measure. For example, where else can you read that you should get pregnant to guarantee new camera gear, or pack heat when traveling?

Down the road, I might offer some training programs at the site if there’s enough interest. But for now, visit the site, sign up for updates, and enjoy the curiously fun photo tips and comedic stylings of yours truly.

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WPPI/Fresh Faces Finalist!

Eric — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:17:08 PST

WPPI is right around the corner (I’ll be heading out next Saturday). If you would like to meet up at some point, be sure to send me a message on Facebook or contact me via this site. We might try to organize a lunch or dinner if time permits (there are a lot of activities going on this year).

On the WPPI note, I just found out that the “Baby and the Tramp” shot I took of the boys a few years ago has been selected as one of the top 20 finalists in this year’s “Fresh Faces” competition! It’s one of my most favorite shots, and I am so happy that the boys are getting a little Vegas love.

The winner will be selected by votes and receives some gear and a spread in Rangefinder. So if you have a chance, please head over here and cast your vote for image #9. According to the website, you should “vote early and vote often”. So, please feel free to vote again. And again. And again. In fact, I am pretty sure that whoever votes the most probably loves Brandon and Trevor the most, so do it for the kids.

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Amanda and Leon Rock, Thriller-Style

Eric — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:49:02 PST

Amanda and Leon’s wedding was Saturday, and to say it rocked is a bit of an understatement! The wedding was very musically-influenced. But we’ll get to that in a bit. Let’s get started with some images.

Here are some shots of Amanda getting ready. Her makeup was handled by the always-awesome Maris Calderon. I’ve been fortunate to work with her before, and she’s great!

The wedding was held at the beautiful St. Mary’s cathedral in downtown Austin. Here’s a shot of Leon right before he heads down the aisle:

Cute couple!

The reception was at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel. Every thing was coordinated to perfection by Lorena Molina at Something To Celebrate.

Every table was named after a famous musician or band. How cool is that? I was hoping to see the Van Halen table decorated with red, black and white stripes.

Check out the groom’s cake:

Amanda’s father gave a great speech!

So in addition to being a doctor, Leon can rock. Like “this ain’t no Britney Spears lip-syncing thing” rock. He joined the band both at the wedding and at the rehearsal party the night before. He’s cranking out the solo to “Pride and Joy” here. I’m more of a Les Paul guy myself, but I’ll give him props for making that Strat wail. I think he’s definitely got a future touring if that whole doctor thing doesn’t work out.

After that came the big Thriller surprise. There ain’t no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl.

Congrats to Amanda and Leon! Rock on!

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Best of 2009 Winner Announced!

Eric — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:33:40 PST

A big thanks to all of you for helping select the best wedding portrait of 2009! The post had a record 137 comments! And here’s the portrait you chose as tops for 2009:

Kathryn and Michael will receive a mounted 11×14 of this image (or any image they choose)!

As a little something extra, all of the other couples will receive a $30 print credit. Thanks again to all of you for making this a fun and lively contest – I look forward to doing it again soon. And if you want to see more wedding images from 2009, be sure to check out the Best of 2009 Slideshow post.

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More of Boxer Ann Wolfe

Eric — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:15:07 PST

This shoot was for Austin Woman Magazine’s December issue, and it rocked. In case you don’t know about Ann Wolfe, check out this page. Then watch this video. During her boxing career she was regarded as the hardest puncher in the history of women’s boxing.

It was cool to hang out with Ann and learn a little bit about boxing and fitness. Inspiring, to say the least.

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Ann Wolfe / Austin Woman Magazine

Voting Ends Tomorrow!

Eric — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:16:52 PST

Just a reminder that if you are interested in voting for the best wedding portrait of 2009, voting wraps up tomorrow at midnight!

Check out the entries here, and be sure to leave a comment with your fav. The winning couple gets a mounted 11×14 of their image!

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Dadlabs Takes Over The Macy’s Day Parade

Eric — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:49:21 PST

Last fall, I pitched the guys from DadLabs.com on a conceptual shoot. In case you haven’t heard of it, DadLabs is a site dedicated to “taking back paternity”. The videos posted there every week are hilarious and educational, and I’ve had the opportunity to be a guest a few times.

I presented them with several ideas for shoots, and the one that stood out was a parade shot, where the guys were trying to control a giant float. Here’s the original sketch I did:

At first I wanted one of the guys to be the float, but Clay from DadLabs had the great idea of making the float a real baby, coasting somewhat-uncontrollably through the streets. And rather than observing the float, the Dadlabs crew would be walking it down the street.

I set out to shoot some backgrounds, and this one stuck out. I drew a new mockup over this background to get an idea of how we would approach lighting and shooting the Dadlabs team (and the baby). This image was important because we were able to test angles and positioning of the subjects while shooting.

It turns out that the shadows on the right side of the foreground building were too strong, so we replaced the entire side later.

Now, whenever you shoot babies (especially the union ones), it helps to have a stand-in during lighting tests so that when the ‘talent’ leaves the comfort of their trailer, everything is ready. Here’s our stand-in for the day:

In the end, the baby was made up of 3 different shots (apparently they don’t like to be told to hold a position, so you end up taking the best parts of each image and building it later).

And here’s the completed shot (there’s also a slightly larger version of it in the portfolio section):

What do you think? If you have any questions about how we approached this, feel free to leave them below in the comments and I’ll reply.

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Best of 2009 Weddings Contest!

Eric — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:48:52 PST

Let’s have some contest fun! I’ve pulled ten of my favorite stylized, wedding portrait images from 2009. These are the images I love to take, and I always work in a few at each wedding.

Which image do you think is the best one of 2009? Take a look at each image, and then leave a comment with the image number. The winning couple receives a mounted 11×14 of that image!

We’ll leave the contest open until February 3rd (two weeks for now). Only votes submitted via comments (not email) will be counted.

So, if you totally dropped the ball and didn’t send one of these fine couples a wedding gift, now is the perfect time to hook them up with an 11×14 print.

Update: My wife, Lisa, cannot decide on her favorite, so she has generously donated 1 extra point to each entry.

Let the voting begin!

1. Kathryn and Michael

2. Kathryn and Michael

3. Mary and Michael

4. Mary and Michael

5. Helen and Kevin

6. Helen and Kevin

7. Chrystal and Michael

8. Chrystal and Michael

9. Tami and Brian

10. Tami and Brian

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Help the People of Haiti

Eric — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:23:58 PST

In light of the devastating earthquake that occurred yesterday in Haiti, I came across this list of relief organzations providing help. Please choose one or more and donate!

• International Medical Corps
• Direct Relief International
• World Vision
• International Relief Teams
• Yéle Haiti
• American Red Cross
• Operation USA
• CARE
• Catholic Relief Services
• World Food Programme
• World Concern
• Save the Children
• UNICEF USA
• Mercy Corps
• Operation Blessing International
• Shelterbox
• Americares
• Operation USA
• Doctors Without Borders
• Medical Teams International
• The International Committee of the Red Cross
• The Salvation Army

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