Because of the definitive style I’ve set for Gracie May Photography, I don’t often get to experiment with other styles. This is a shoot where I used direct flash and restrained my retouching to keep it feeling real.

This high-flash technique is a style that has been long used in editorial photography and advertising. It features high contrast, high color saturation, and a blunt-force sense of hyperreality.

I’ve been photographing Elizabeth since she was a little kiddo. If you’ve been following me for years, you’ll remember this sunset ballet session and maybe this set of shots a few years later when Elizabeth was in middle school.

Elizabeth is now a full-grown adult and a couple of years into her university experience. She’s getting a BFA in dance. It’s her experience as a formally trained dancer that makes her such a pleasure to work with. She knows her angles and how to move her body. She’s always in motion and this makes my work with her full of that in-motion feeling.

I guess you could say she’s my muse!

My son Elijah is in this shoot. They were each other’s first friends and they’re still close to this day.

This style is a deviation from my usual work and I’d love to integrate it into weddings for couples who want this style of direct-flash photography.

I shot these with my new Profoto A10 on-camera flash and omg that thing is a dream. A very expensive dream, mind you, but I don’t regret taking the plunge into the Profoto world.