Sadey got married earlier this year and then had this really good idea to give her new husband some pictures of herself as a Christmas gift. Very thoughtful, I’d say. Way better than some socks. And I was flattered she asked me to photograph her.
Meet Sadey.
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Fun facts: Chris is a writer. She’s bright and beautiful. Plus, her husband’s name is also Chris Ross. (They even have the same middle initial). How many people do you know that has the exact same name as their husband. I hope no one with the first name Brenda can make that claim.
Meet Chris Ross.
Chris Ross
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In other news – If you haven’t had a chance to see the 30 Strangers exhibit a the BYU library, this weekend is your last chance. The show comes down on Monday.
This week I was the guest guest judge on the popular blog I Heart Faces. It’s a resource for new photographers wanting tips and inspiration. Each week they have a theme and invite people to submit an image that goes along with that theme. You can read my interview here and see this week’s winning pictures here.
Tomorrow I’m having a photography workshop at my studio and looking forward to that. It’s the same workshop I gave at Evo Conference earlier this month (beginning SLR photography) and I plan to announce some dates this fall when I’ll repeat this same workshop. Ashley Thalman will be joining me tomorrow to make sure those participants get lots of individual attention.
Next week’s another busy week. I’m photographing a wedding on Friday and throughout the week I’ve got some engagement portraits and some family portraits lined up. Did you just get engaged and you want pictures of you and the one you love? Call me. 801.916.6993. Pricing info for portraits and weddings can be found here.
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The other day I saw an ad for a posing guide. You know, it lists different ways photographers should have your subject stand, place their hands just so, and the right angle for them to have their head. It got me thinking about how using a posing guide will ruin your portrait photography.
Now I get the idea of a posing guide–that is, that you want to flatter your subject, and there are certain ways to shape their body that is more flattering than others. I get that, and in theory, it’s smart. But there are at least two problems with those guides. First, all your pictures will start to look the exact same from person to person and what’s worse, they’ll start to look exactly like the dude that sold you the posing guide.
For me, I want to make a portrait that suggests something about the person I’m photographing. The key to making pictures like that is to pay attention to gestures and expressions. There’s some nuance with that method, so being observant and picking up on subtle details is a good skill to develop. When I’m working, I want to let my subjects sit or stand they way they normally would whether I was there or not. If that happens, then a little bit of that person is revealed in the pictures I take. And that’s the other problem with a posing guide. You start paying attention to whether or not their arm is how you remembered it from a picture that someone else said your pictures should look like, instead of paying attention to what the person’s body language is revealing to you.
Learning a handful of standard poses is the easy way. It’s the factory versus hand-crafted. Trying to make something surprising and unique to each subject is the hard way, but for my money, the road to making portraits that are memorable and meaningful. You think Irving Penn ever bought a posing guide?
Salvador Dalí portrait by Irving Penn
So that’s my approach. If you have a different opinion, feel free to share it.
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I’ve been doing headshots up the ying-yang on account of our headshot special (which ends very soon, by the way). Here are some of the people I’ve had the pleasure of photographing recently.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful events (yes, weddings) and he wants to photograph you. 801.916.6993.
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Here is the very well known California wedding photographer Anna Kuperberg, photographed at her home in San Francisco. I love her work and was so happy to be able to meet her. Anna was so gracious and kept our appointment, even though she was feeling ill. That’s because she’s all class.
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Lauren was one of our 30 Strangers this year and came back this fall to be photographed again. This time, with her husband.
Meet Lauren and Barry.
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She goes by Cat. Her name is Catalina Ayubi and she’s a wedding and portrait photographer in Miami. She’s a friend of mine that I met at WPPI last year. It was great to see her again this year and she was good enough to give me some of her time so I could photograph her. Look how adorable she is. And, unlike an actual cat, she never scratched or licked me.
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Seth Godin spoke on Friday in Salt Lake. I loved it. He is funny and inspiring and brilliant. I saw my friend Janet Meiners there, too, and judging by the length of her blog post about it she took far better notes than I did.
Big thanks to Kelly King Anderson at the Startup Princess for lining this up.
Seth Godin
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Last year when the 30 Strangers project was announced, we had far more requests to participate than we had spaces. Emails came, mostly from Utah, but from other places as well. One email was from Texas. The email said she wanted to be a part of the project. But in the end, it didn’t work out. That’s the first part of the story, but not the end.
Last week, I was on a panel at the Alt Design Summit. Let me just stop the story right here and tell you that the conference was so great. It was for folks that blog for a living, and it was specifically geared towards those that blog about design, but it was attended by all kinds of bloggers. For me, the best part was meeting the folks that write the blogs I love. I knew Kathryn Storke would be there from Snippet and Ink, because she was listed as one of the speakers. But I didn’t know Jen Campbell from Green Wedding Shoes would be there, so that was a great surprise. You can view the complete speaker list here, and as you can see, this was a real rockstar group of speakers. Heather Armstrong from Dooce, Stephanie Brubaker from Stephmodo, Sarah Wright from Sarah Jane Studios, Grace Bonney from Design Sponge and the list goes on.
So back to the story. I was speaking on a panel at the Alt Design Summit and the other person on the panel with me was Karen Walrond, a beautiful women, talented writer and photographer. And, as it turns out, she is the one that emailed me from Texas that wanted to be part of the 30 Strangers project last year. How about that! We had a great time getting to know each other the night before our panel. The next day, we photographed each other. Then we gave great advice to some people on the topic: Photography on the web. Thanks to the Alt folks for inviting me, and a huge thanks to Amber Roussel for moderating the panel and coming up with such astute questions. Amber, I wish I would have been able to photograph you, too. Next time, huh?
And now, I give you the effervescent and magnetic Karen Walrond:
Karen is sweet, sweet. When the panel discussion first began, when she was introducing herself, she said to everyone there, “…You know, I’ve been around celebrities and I never get nervous or anything, but when I found out I was going to be on the panel with Justin, I thought, Oh my God, JUSTIN HACKWORTH.” Ah, Karen. You are great. You know how to make a guy feel good about himself. At that moment, I was ten feet tall.
And here are some pictures she took of me and Amy.
I love those pictures. I’m uncomfortable getting my picture taken. Karen set me at ease, then knocked it out of the park.
One last picture from the Alt Design Summit. Here’s Grace Bonney in the lobby of the Grand America hotel just as I was leaving. I wanted to say hi, but she’s a busy girl and I didn’t get a chance.
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Justin Hackworth photographs photographers from Texas, bloggers from New York, and he wants to photograph you.
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It’s disturbing to see the news from Haiti. I think, how can another bad thing happen to Haiti. Although poverty-stricken, it’s a vibrant county with a rich and lively culture. I’ve been to Haiti twice and have loved my time spent there and fallen in love with the people I’ve met.
And now, an earthquake. It has decimated the most populated area of the island. There are a number of worthy organizations that have stepped up to help our Haitian neighbors and I’d like to mention one such group and encourage you to take some action: Partners of the Americas. From their website: Partners’ mission is to work together as citizen volunteers from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States to improve the lives of people across the hemisphere. I’ve taken a number of trips for Partners to document the good work they are doing to fulfill their mission. It’s not hyperbolic to say they change lives.
Care to do something for the people of Haiti? You can donate here (specify Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund). Those people need help.
Here are some of the photographs I took on my trip to Haiti in July, 2009
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Stephanie and Ben. They are great parents. Their kids are well behaved. They are pleasant to be around. They are happy. They ask questions and can carry on a good conversation. I know, I’m making them sound like the perfect couple, but that’s only because I think they are the perfect couple.
Oh, there’s more. Stephanie has a popular blog where she continually gives out insight and advice on how to live with style and good taste. (I know one thing. She’s got great taste in portrait photographers).
So we met in Midway. The weather was pleasant. A slight chill and clouds in the sky, but not so bad that you wished you were home with some stew and a good book. We walked, some. Got some of those stickers in our socks. And all the while, had a great time. In fact, I was sad when we were finished because I’d like to be around these folks more often.
Thanks, Stephanie and Ben.
Flashback. Want to see the photographs of their family from last year? Here they are.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy families and beautiful events. Want photographs like this for you and the people you love? We should talk.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy families, beautiful events, and he wants to photograph you. And now, this time of year, is such a great time for such things. The colors in Provo canyon are already changing. They won’t stay like that forever. We should talk.
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We’re not just making photographs. We’re making history.
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Here are some things we photographed for The Modbod last week. We drove to a fancy house in Alpine and waited until the evening light was just perfect. Wait for it…Wait for it….There it is. Quick, stand on that pile of rocks and look this way! Oh, yea. That’s hot. But in a modest way.
I nearly jumped for joy that I got to photograph Kari Hawker again. She was so fun to be around the last time and she’s easy on the eyes, as they say. (I don’t think I’ve ever said “easy on the eyes” before). We also used Megan Beckham and she was just about about as pleasant as can be. Thanks ladies, for making my job easy and fun and easy but mostly fun.
As if that didn’t make the night pleasant enough, makeup was done by the over the moon fabulous Enizio Salon. I mean seriously. I love Enizio Salon. (Quick sidenote. Enizio Salon is one of our generous sponsors for the 30 Strangers exhibit. Yep. They rock it).
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Photography Show Benefits Women’s Shelter
Provo, Utah – June 23, 2009 – How did one photographer and 30 strangers team up to help local victims of domestic violence? Find out when art and activism come together at a downtown Provo gallery on Thursday, July 2. Featuring the work of Justin Hackworth, the “30 Strangers II: Portraits of Mothers & Daughters” exhibit will raise funds for the Center for Women & Children in Crisis.
For the second edition of Hackworth’s 30 Strangers Project, the fine art photographer shot portraits of 30 sets of mothers and daughters, some spanning four generations, over 30 days. In lieu of a sitting fee, each donated $25 to the Center. Hackworth is offering the same arrangement during the show opening, which starts at 6pm at the Knight-Block Building at the corner of University Avenue and Center Street.
Shelter manager Kim Kowallis hopes the show also boosts awareness of the Center’s mission. “I want people to realize how many women and kids we serve,” Kowallis says. The center can’t afford to advertise, and relies instead on word of mouth to reach both potential donors and women in need. “Our shelter is about women who are fleeing domestic violence, who have to just grab their kids and run.”
Kowallis says the exhibit theme suits the Center’s message of hope. “At the shelter, people are in crisis, and life is not good,” she says. “I want them to see mother-daughter relationships that are in a good place. I’m definitely taking some of them to the show, to see how things can be—that things can get better.”
One portrait subject was so excited about the project, she drove to Provo from her home in Denver, Colorado to participate. “Considering the level of Justin’s photography, I would have paid him so much more for these pictures,” says Utah native Rachel Miller. Miller posed with her daughter, mother, and grandmother, who plans to attend the exhibit. “What he did, having us donate instead to the Crisis Center, making this a project to help others, I think it’s amazing.”
Hackworth, whose work has shown at Salt Lake City’s Art Access and Finch Lane galleries, Park City’s Kimball Art Center, and the Springville Art Museum, started the 30 Strangers Project in 2008. “Over 30 days, I shot portraits of 30 people I didn’t know,” Hackworth says. “That experience was fascinating, so I wanted to do it again. But this year, I wanted to focus on a theme that could give something back to the community.”
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Justin Hackworth photographs twins, individuals, people that look like twins but aren’t, people that don’t look alike at all, people that want to look like Justin, people that have no idea what Justin looks like, tall people, squatty folks, dog lovers, people that are indifferent about dogs, people that have been to Poland, people that love Polish sausages, and he wants to photograph you.
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Want senior pictures like this for you or someone you love? We should talk.
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Want pictures like this for you and the people you love? We should talk. Getting married? I know just the guy to photograph your wedding.
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Me: What is your teacher’s name?
Daughter: Miss Sage.
Me: That’s a pretty name. Is she nice or mean?
Daughter: Nice.
Me: Is she old or young?
Daughter: She’s partly old.
Me: Am I old or young?
Daughter: (giggle, giggle) You’re OLD.
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Justin Hackworth photographs beautiful events and happy people. Want pictures like this for yourself? We should talk.
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Want pictures like this for you and the people you love? We should talk. Getting married? I know just the guy to photograph your wedding.
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Here’s Alison and Riley. Their wedding is in Texas and I was lucky enough to photograph them in Provo before they take off and get married. Thanks for coming by Alison and Riley. I had a great time.
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Interested in getting engagement pictures like these that are both artistic and hot for you and the one you love? We should talk.
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Want pictures like this for you and the people you love? We should talk. Getting married? Give me a jingle. I’ll catch you on the jangle.
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There’s no sense in getting family pictures as often as you brush your teeth. Once a year will do. Been longer than a year? We should talk. Getting hitched? We do that too.
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Later, Megan’s sisters showed up and I took pictures of the whole group. Amongst themselves there was some catching up to do, of course, so the conversation included this gem.
One sister: Today my son ate two of my birth control pills. He’s fine. The lady at poison control said he could eat the whole pack and all he’d get is a stomach ache.
I love my job.
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Funny man and traveler: Chase. The list of countries this guy has visited is a mile long. And seriously, his mom looks like Caroline Kennedy.
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I just spent some time trying to think of anyone I know that is as pleasant and cheerful as Melissa and I could only think of 14 people. Just kidding. I couldn’t think of anyone. That’s how cheerful she is. And she’s a fine photographer, too.
If you know Melissa, you’ll consider yourself lucky any time she’s around.
As always, great to see you today Melissa. Come back soon.
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She gets more beautiful every day.
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Turns out, one of my favorite people is also one of my favorite photographers. I’ve known Trent Nelson for at least 20 years. But it’s not that often that I get a chance to see him. So I was pleased as punch when he came by my office today to say hello.
Trent is the Chief Photographer at the Salt Lake Tribune and has been the Utah News Photographer of the Year three times. His assignments have taken him all over the world, like Africa, Honduras, and Ogden. (I’m just guessing he’s been to Ogden. He didn’t tell me anything about going there. Imagine bragging about going to Ogden. And by the way, he didn’t brag about anything).
From the bio on his website: His 2003 composite photograph of Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton was published over six pages in Sports Illustrated, the largest photograph in the history of the magazine.
Above photo by Trent Nelson — below photo of Trent Nelson
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Thanks, Kim for bringing your boys down to the studio.
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Last year, the 30 Strangers project was a big success. Right now, we’re working out the details for our 30 Strangers project–2009. Details will follow soon that will include when we’ll be doing the project, as well as who we’ll be looking to photograph and how we’ll present the finished work. There will be some changes from how we did things last year.
As we talk further regarding our plans for the project, I just get so excited. That’s why I couldn’t resist writing a post about it. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know all about it.
30 Strangers - 2008
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What luck. Justin Lyon is in town to for the Sundance Film Festilval and had a couple photo shoots just down the block from my office. So he stopped by to say hello. Justin seems like the happiest person I know. I can’t imagine that he’s ever frowned or been sad.
Justin and his lovely wife Amelia are wedding photographers in Southern California and making a big splash in their neck of the woods. Everyone loves Amelia and Justin. Cheers, Justin. Thanks for coming by. You’re welcome here any time.
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I photographed Blair and Julie Buswell and their fabulous family today, and that was great, great. Blair is a well-known sculptor and I always love photographing other artists. I loved being in their home, seeing Blair’s work, listening to the kids play music, hearing Julie talk to them with so much respect and admiration. I drove away happy, thinking, man, what luck. This is what I do for a living.
Here’s a one-minute slideshow of more family pictures.
Quick story: I photographed some friends of mine and they told some of their friends about it. Then those people told their neighbors. Next thing you know, the neighbors (The Buswell’s) call up and say they’d like some family pictures. Turns out, he’s the boss of my wife’s book-club partner’s husband. Can you even believe it. Small world. Also, I’m so happy when people want to tell their friends about my work. It’s so meaningful to me, so thanks. Referrals make the world go around. And love. But mostly referrals.
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Are you like me? Are you doing some reflecting? Are you looking back on 2008 and thinking about the good times, the bad times and getting excited knowing 2009 is going to be even better? For example, two nights ago I drank some hot chocolate. I think that’s the first time all year I’ve done so, and it’s delicious. I think I’m going to be drinking way more of that stuff in 2009.
So in the spirit of looking back, I’m showing my favorite portraits that I made in 2008. Which image here do you like best?
Johanna, photographed in Salt Lake City
Emily, photographed in Provo for Kaleidoscope Boutique
Taken in Provo Canyon for Jessica's senior portrait
Photographed in Mill Creek Canyon - stephmodo.com
Andrew, photographed in Provo for the 30 Strangers project
Stephanie, photographed in Provo for the 30 Strangers project
Frank, photographed in Provo for the 30 Strangers project
Tracy, photographed in Provo during a family portrait session
Family and friends on Long Island
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In May, all five of these ladies will graduate from the University of Utah and become nurse practitioners. Can you guess which one is my sister? And here’s a one-minute slideshow if you care to see more pictures.
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“Put your head between your legs.” Those were the first words spoken between Marilyn and Chris. He came to work in the lab were she was in charge. Their task was to dissect rats. That, on its own, wasn’t so tricky, except Chris had rats for pets when he was a kid. Luckily, Marilyn was there to offer not only good advice, but also comfort when Chris started to feel a little faint. A real love story.
Here’s a one minute slideshow of more Valentine family pictures.
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Janet writes on internet marketing, affiliate marketing, business blogging, and social media. She came to my studio because she’s updating her blog and wanted a new portrait to go with it. Two things about Janet really impressed me. One – she knows so much about the convoluted world of SEO and business blogging. A true expert. At one point I found myself thinking it felt like I was at a seminar. She is so smart. The second thing that impressed me was how generous she was in answering all my questions. All 5,000 of them. She even gave me a tutorial on how to use Twitter. (I still don’t get it. Come back, Janet).
By the way, this isn’t my first time making pictures of her. I photographed her earlier this year when she got married.
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