Blog posts including recent work, tutorials, thoughts on photography and art and just day to day life!
Francheska in 12 looks is 12 portraits in a row. We did a portrait session in a little woods in Retzer park. It was after sunset so had fun with different strobes and lighting. This set was taken in only 30 seconds and I found it to be so powerful. Francheska sparkles in slightly different poses and shows off her many moods and sultry look. We will have more pictures of Francheska so come back soon for links! You can see more about Milwaukee model Francheska on Her Facebook Page This series of portraits features our Canon RF 135mm f/1.8…
You are Never Alone Sometimes the world is a dark and scary place. We give in to our fears and sometimes those fears dominate us. We feel that dark forces lurk down every path and are waiting for an opportunity to pull us down. But if you believe in dark forces you must see that there are light forces too! I think that we are never really alone. All around us are friends watching out for us, guiding us and fighting for our souls. Maybe they are angels. Maybe they are long lost friends and family who try their best…
What do you do when the photo shoot goes so well it is done in one quarter of the planned time? Well, a Photo Walk of course! After shooting the photos for "Someone Watches Over Me" Gigi Michelle and I did a quick walk around downtown Neenah. All of these photos were shot with natural light and I used either a 50mm or 135mm lens - wide open aperture on both. Amazing how good a few random shots can turn out! You can see more of Gigi's work on Instagram @Gigimichellemodel and check out her bio Here. Here is a…
Sometimes everything aligns and you have a moment where you can create breathtaking images! We visited an old warehouse for a modeling session with Nataly. Most of our time was spend creating wet plate collodion portraits. Part learning curve and part experimentation we had an interesting time creating images (learn more about the wet plate collodion process on Sunandsilver.photo). The building dates back to around 1865 and originally was a part of a machine shop. Massive timbers and brickwork make for a perfect backdrop for wet plate collodion. Here is a BTS (behind the scenes) from one of our wet…
One of the joys of modern mirrorless cameras is they can be adapted to use the millions of old 35mm film lenses out in the world. Some of these old lenses have can produce amazing portraits with a depth and character that most new designs lack. The Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.2 lens is a hybrid of vintage design and modern touches. It is being manufactured today and has a Canon RF mount and electronics that communicate with the camera. It is a manual focus and manual aperture control lens and fits directly on my Canon R5 camera. But is the…
Photography is all about light - the literal meaning of photography is "drawing with light". So one might think that taking portraits at night is a really bad idea. Yes, on one level low light makes photography very difficult. But the absence of light also gives us the ability to manipulate light in a way that you cannot do on a sunny day. Here are some fun examples of how to use light at night - I hope you enjoy our night portraits with fire and flow! One a beautiful late summer Saturday we worked with the artists of Cloud…
Annette - Coming soon
Wisconsin model Annette in a fun 1950's style portrait session. We met at the Drive In in Hortonville for some fun and portraits on a Sunday afternoon. Annette awesome pin up style poses and was so much fun to work with. This is a repost of a previous session and part of updating my website. You can see more of Annette's modeing on Annette's Page Back to my Modeling Page
A beautiful model, a warm November evening and a medium format camera loaded with Portra film - who could ask for a better time? Dreamera Marie and I met for my shoot-a-month project on a beautiful November evening. This is the 12th shoot in the series and I think I am going to continue into 2021. My December shoot has already been finished so why not? For November we did a film shoot - mostly medium format but a little 35mm. Capturing a model on medium format film can be a challenge! Film was all I had when I started…
A sunny and windy day in the early Spring is a great opportunity for a photo shoot. Of course, the location we picked had a wicked wicked wind howling through the set so not so warm! Cool hair effects though! Dreamera and I met for a shoot by Copper Rock in Appleton. This was a "bonus shoot" as our main shoot was a video for my Shoot-a-Month project. Before moving to another location Dreamera asked if we could do some photos too. Well, of course we can - how can you turn down a beautiful model? So this first set…
It was a cold and sunny day... February in Wisconsin. Cold, snowy and often dark. We met on a sunny and freezing Saturday afternoon for a dreamy shoot. It was 14C below zero! The wind did everything it could to freeze our fingers (and other parts) off. I wore insulated boots, quilted pants, 2 jackets and double layer cap. Double gloves with hand warmers too, of course. She wore an off the shoulder wedding dress. I was cold; she was amazing! What can you do in February? You can huddle by the fire when it is cold outside. Maybe dream…
So you are a star! Part of being a star is to be able to pull off a classic look in a modern style. Or is it to have a modern look in a classic style? In any case, a star is timeless and could belong to any age... Enjoy our modern classic modeling photography shoot! Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?Ian Wallace Trust your beauty to shine from your eyes and into the souls that deserve you.Melody Carstairs I am my own womanEva Peron A woman's heart is a…
North East Wisconsin model Dani California has been my working partner a few times in recent years. She is fun, easy to work with, and has the "sparkle" that really comes out in her work! Dani is on Instagram @danicalifornia1986 and works with Meraki Tribe and America's Most Wanted Models. Our most recent shoot was on a cold and rainy evening in Oshkosh. The plan was to shoot with the full moon rising in the background over Lake Winnebago. Wouldn't you know it but the clouds rolled in about 20 minutes before moon rise! Of course, they rolled out again…
We did a some digital portraits after a recent tintype test session. TLKonfire (also know as Tia) is a Fox Valley Wisconsin fire artist and sat for this series of impromptu portraits. We didn't really plan this set and I used a monolite strobe with a softbox to back light Tia during some fun poses. Through clever, and mostly fortuitous, manipulation of the exposure and flash level we ended up with some amazing cinematic images. Our first image, let's call it "Artist with Firefly", is an amazing silhouette of Tia with her hair and outline glowing from the light. You…
We met in Door county and spent a wonderful day together exploring their favorite spots. Part of the joy of wedding photography is to be able to have fun on an engagement shoot. This is also an important day as it is a chance to work together and build our relationship. The wedding day can be a bit hectic and stressful so it is important to build trust before hand. Our session also had a bonus day! After the Door county adventure they asked if we could do a few more pictures at Seth's Coffee. The best part was we…
Hard to believe a year has gone by since Lily and Eric's wedding. It seems like just last week we danced the night away at the Bridgewood Resort in Neenah, WI. Time just flies by but love endures forever... Here are some of the fun and quirky pictures we took on their first anniversary. Including some black and white film photos! http://jalanlee.com/wedding/lily-eric-wedding/ http://jalanlee.com/wedding/ryan-kayla http://jalanlee.com/wedding/emmy-and-weiwei/ More Wedding & Engagement pages Emmy and Weiwei Stephanie and Cody Ryan and Kayla Lacey & Arthur’s Wedding Grace & Lucas Melissa and Aaron Grace and Lucas’ Engagement Photos Sarah and Nick’s Awesome Wedding – with…
A day of laughter, love, dancing, singing and celebrating love! Best and Quench held their awesome wedding in Green Bay and I had the honor of documenting the day. So much love and faith - and a lot of chaos! But somehow we managed to make it through all the celebrations and too soon our day was done! How about your wedding, organized chaos? We can capture you day no matter what happens. Contact Me to learn more! Learn more about weddings and wedding photography https://jalanlee.com/20-questions-to-ask-your-wedding-photographer/ https://jalanlee.com/wedding/how-to-find-the-best-wedding-photographer/ https://jalanlee.com/investment/
The St. Timothy Lutheran Church Players 2019 show is the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Show times and days are March 8, at 7:00 PM, March 9, 10 at 2:00 PM, March 15, 16 at 7:00 PM and March 17 at 2:00 PM. Doors open 1 hour prior to the show and seating is first come, first served. Admission is a free will offering. I was honored to capture their dress rehearsal and what a show! I photographed last year's show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Thank You to St. Timothy and the cast of Joesph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for welcoming me to their dress rehearsal. Amazing show and an amazingly talent cast and staff! Below are pictures from the first show. These are sized for computer / social media. If you would like full sized for printing drop me an email: jeff@jalanlee.com If you would like a copy of any of the pictures you can either click the "shopping cart" and then add a digital proof. And then checkout for download links. You can also click the "star" below the picture and then…
What a wonderful day! Perfect weather, perfect couple, perfect guests and lots of great pictures. The ceremony was at Christ the King church. After pictures we went to Seth's Coffee and then pictures at High Cliff State Park. Dinner and reception were at High Cliff. We ended the day with a romantic sunset picture shoot on the shores of Lake Winnebago. Check out Grace and Lucas' Engagement Pictures! Back to Weddings You might also Like... http://jalanlee.com/wedding/carly-ryan/ https://jalanlee.com/blog/sarah-and-nicks-awesome-wedding-with-pictures/ http://jalanlee.com/wedding/lily-eric-wedding/
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I sometimes do a bit of wedding video production even though photography, still images, are my first love. I produced a wedding ceremony video for Katrina and Nick's lakeside wedding. I used three cameras for this ceremony and 4 audio recordings (the cameras and the house sound system). I placed two of the cameras on the sides of the ceremony so that each would capture a different view. These cameras were left in place for the entire ceremony. I place the third camera on my monopod and moved around to capture different views and close ups of important moments. Here…
During our engagement picture session I thought "we are going to have so much fun at the wedding!" Well, I just love it when I am right! It was a day with perfect weather filled with love and laughter and finished off with a lot of crazy dancing. The ceremony was at Fox River Baptist Church and the reception at Pullman's in Appleton. My reputation as a "wedding crier" remains intact - Sarah coming down the church aisle and the first dance were just beautiful moments! We also had a chance to slip away for a few minutes to do…
All I can say is wow! It such a wonderful day. The weather was perfect (after a rain and wind filled week). The guests were perfect and the wedding couple were awesome. I feel so blessed that I was able to share their day! Melissa and Aaron were married in Mom and Dad's backyard and it was a beautiful setting. We had a chance to slip away to the shores of Lake Winnebago for some sunset pictures - my favorite part of any wedding. Here are a selection of my favorite pictures from their engagement and wedding. So many to…
Lily and Eric were married on a Sunny March day with a hint of Spring in the air. Both the ceremony and the reception were held at the Neenah Bridgwood Hotel. I especially loved the way the light streamed into the windows during the ceremony and made the wedding party glow. Their ceremony blended elements from both the Groom and the Bride. I especially loved the Chinese Tea Ceremony during the service. The Tea Ceremony is a significant tradition, where the newlyweds show their respect to the elders in their families, and they in turn show their acceptance of the…
We met for a Victorian wet plate portrait session. There was beautiful sunshine all week but on the day of our studio session it was dark and rainy and cold - and Madeline was the last session of the afternoon. But we always endeavor to persevere so with some long exposure time and bit strobes we did make some beautiful glass and tin plates. For the last 10 minutes of our time we decided to do a few quick digital photos - and here they are. The photo above features Madeline in high key. It was so dark that I…
Is it possible to have a perfect wedding day? Probably not, but Carly & Ryan had a wedding day that comes really close! Perfect weather and a beautiful setting in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. They made their vows right on the shore of Green Bay / Lake Michigan at Sunset Beach Park. We all had a wonderful dinner with dancing and lots of laughter afterward. Held in the middle of 2020, somehow they managed to pull together a fun and safe day for everyone. Below are my favorite pictures from the day. If you are looking for a picture not in…
