Crane Photography

The Crane Photography Blog has a new home!

2009-11-01T13:51:00.002-05:00

Thanks for following my journey here on blogger but as my business grows my blogging needs grow as well. Please join me at my new blog site: Crane Photography Blog.
You'll always be able to link back to this old blog from the new site by clicking on "Old Blog" in the menu.
Thanks as always for following The Crane Photography Blog!
~Cara

Meet Baby M

2009-09-16T16:36:00.002-04:00

It was no surprise that the beautiful "L Family" I photographed a few weeks ago produced a gorgeous baby boy. I met "Baby M" on his 2 week birthday and his Mama was already back in her skinny pants! Baby M was wide awake for most of the session and did NOT want to miss a thing so we had a bit of trouble getting the sleepy shots but once his belly was full he drifted off to peaceful sleep so we could pose him. Big Sister "E" could not have been prouder to show off her new baby brother and her beautiful Halloween costume! Welcome to the world Baby M!

Introducing Crane Photography's 2009 Senior Portrait Model!

2009-08-26T21:45:00.003-04:00

I met Miss Julia last year when I did her family's portraits by the lake. I could tell a year ago that this young lady had a star quality about her. So I asked her to be my Senior Model to kick off the 2009 Senior Portrait season and we had a ball during her shoot! Don't let that 2nd image fool you, Julia is as sweet and genuine as they come. But she sure can turn on the glam in front of the camera!

So if you're not thrilled with having the same cap and gown shots as everyone else, that took all of 15 minutes to create, why not celebrate your graduation with a truly unique photo shoot. Email me at cara@mycranephotography.com for more information or to book your senior portrait session.
Thanks for looking!

Attention all modeling agents!

2009-08-21T13:34:00.004-04:00

These two naturals are hoping to break into the modeling and acting scene and I had the pleasure of doing their portfolio shots. These two are so beautiful I want to puke, LOL. Seriously, how gorgeous are these kids!? I guess I am a bit biased since they are my cousins but still, take a mental picture of these guys because they're sure to be big stars soon!

To book your own portraits or head shots, please email me at cara@mycranephotography.com. Have a great weekend!

The Chase

2009-08-10T01:01:00.003-04:00

Little Miss "A's" Mom warned me that she didn't like taking her to chain portrait studios because she was a runner. I told Mom to bring "A" and her brother "T" along to my local park so I could chase her down for some pictures. And boy did we run! But once I caught up with this little sweetie I got to know her and her brother a little better and got some great pictures too. My favorite moment of the session was when I asked "A" who her favorite princess was and she replied "My Mommy." Here are a few previews from our session:

Thanks for looking!

Beautiful Day for a Beach Portrait!

2009-08-04T23:51:00.007-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing the sweetest family of 4 at a gorgeous beach in LBI this past weekend. Our secret spot took a while to hike to, through deep sand but the results were well worth the effort and shin splints. Here are a few sneak peeks from our session:

Email me at cara@mycranephotography.com to set up your family's beach portraits before it's too late!

The "L Family's" Maternity session

2009-08-04T23:35:00.003-04:00

After 6 wonderful weeks off for maternity leave I began working again with this picture perfect family. I chatted with L a few times before the session and we found the perfect location and went over their "vision" of pictures they hoped to have done. I think we were all very happy with the beautiful results!

I can't wait to meet their new addition when we do newborn pictures in a few weeks!

Introducing Miss Lucy!

2009-08-04T23:18:00.005-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog lately because I've gotten hooked on facebook and I've been making all of my updates there. Feel free to follow me personally by "friending" Cara Carlson or you can keep tabs on the business by becoming a fan of Crane Photography at www.facebook.com/cranephotography. But for those of you who haven't been following me on Facebook, I have a big announcement to make:

That picture was taken when she was 5 days old and I designed the announcement myself. Here are a few more pictures of Miss Lucy who is now 8 weeks old.

Thanks for looking!

What is a Canvas Gallery Wrap?

2009-03-11T14:07:00.005-04:00

The Canvas Gallery Wrap is a modern alternative to having your portraits matted and framed for display. Popular in art galleries, the canvas gallery wrap is becoming the chic new way to display your favorite portraits in your home.

Your favorite image will be printed directly onto fine art canvas and then professionally wrapped around a wooden frame. This process allows your image to continue around the edges of the frame to give a modern 3-dimensional effect to your portrait.

As you can see below, the portrait wraps right around the sides of the frame, so nothing is visible but your gorgeous portrait. The canvas wrap portrait below was coated with a semi-gloss laminate that you can see reflected in the sunlight. The laminate, also available in matte or high gloss, protects your portrait from scuffs, scratches and cracking and also provides UV protection.

You can see just how finished and impressive the wrapped edges are. The canvas gallery wrap would look perfect in a modern, minimalistic, contemporary, or simply decorated home.

In the close-up below you can see the rich texture of the fine art canvas that transforms your portrait into a work of art.

And the best part of a canvas gallery wrap is that it arrives finished and ready to hang on your wall. No more letting your precious portraits sit in boxes for weeks while you search for the perfect frame.

For more information on scheduling your next portrait session or ordering your canvas gallery wrap, please visit my website http://www.mycranephotography.com.

What a Difference a Week Makes!

2009-03-08T22:03:00.010-04:00

I can't believe last weekend it was 20 degrees and we were playing in a foot of snow, and this weekend it was 70 degrees and we were playing at the park in short sleeves. I'm not complaining. We still had lots of fun getting Jack out of the house to play again this weekend. Here are some pictures from the park. I also had fun playing with a few different editing styles.

Vibrant Color

Vanilla Black & White

This is a cool vintage blue jeans edit.

Some more vibrant color. And check out the crazy hair on my boy.

We had a spring time snowball fight. Daddy actually snapped this shot.

This one makes me LOL because Jack points to things like he's Vanna pointing to her letters on Wheel of Fortune. He's even got Daddy doing it now.

I thought blowing on the cattails was a good idea until I was picking the little seeds out of my hair, eyes and lipgloss for the next half hour.

I love how Jack's eyes match the water in this one.

This one is a vanilla black and white with a little texture.

We had to get the obligatory belly shot. 27 weeks and counting. I just got this shirt and I'm already too big for it.

And some "naturey" shots I snapped while Jack and Daddy played.

violet edit

a little texture on this one

A red-winged blackbird's nest with some texture added.

A violet edit with texture

A warm edit with texture

Thanks for visiting!

Snow Day

2009-03-04T23:24:00.005-05:00

We have waited 3 years for a decent snowfall and we finally got one this past weekend. Jack and Daddy had a great time playing in the snow with the dogs!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T17:26:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted here but you may see the reason why in my Valentines Day portrait. That's not just a pot belly, we're expecting our 2nd baby late this Spring. We're very excited about the new baby but the first 4 months of this pregnancy were VERY rough on me. It must have been a man who came up with the term "morning sickness" because I was sick 24 hours a day for 4 months long.

Now that I'm halfway through this pregnancy I'm finally getting my energy back. It's just starting to get nice outside again so now would be a great time to book your Spring portraits before I have to take another break to have the baby. I'll be taking appointments until the end of April so contact me soon at mail@mycranephotography.com because my sessions are filling up quickly.

I hope you enjoy your Valentines Day weekend!

A 10x20 custom collage

2008-10-16T17:22:00.003-04:00

Sometimes during a portrait session, I'll have a few images that are just stronger as a group than they would be as solitary images. When this happens I like to put them images together as a 10x20 Custom Collage like this one that I did at a recent session.

When I create a Custom Collage, you'll have the option to purchase the prints separately to frame them as a grouping yourself, or you can order the 10x20 image directly from Crane Photography as either a framed wall portrait or a print that you can frame yourself. You can even request a different colored background or ask to have something printed directly on the image like names or a favorite saying. We call them Custom Collages because they are custom designed by me customizable by you!

I've Been Tagged!

2008-09-26T16:01:00.003-04:00

My new favorite photography forum ProPS just started a fun game of "blog tag" and I was tagged two days ago by the illustrious photographer Kristi Eckrich! Here are the rules of blog tag:

RULES:
1) Link the person who tagged you.
2) Mention the rules on your blog.
3) Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4) Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

Okay, here you go…my 6 “unspectacular quirks!”

1) I have a degree in Anthropology...the study of people's cultures, artifacts and evolution. It was a fascinating major but it took me almost 10 years of trying out careers to figure out that I didn't want to be a banker, business woman or archaeologist...I wanted to use my anthropological background to really observe people and photograph them being themselves...not just stiffly posed smiling subjects.

2) I once ironed my face with a hot iron. Yep, I nearly burned my lips and chin off. Why, you ask did I iron my face? Well I was trying to make my brother and sister laugh and I didn't know that my mom had just used it. Ouch!

3) I am NOT a cuddler, just ask my husband. I just cannot stand to be touched if I am trying to go to sleep. We have a saying in our house (one of many) "Wanna Cuddle? Grab a Dog." We sleep in a king sized bed with two pitbulls between us. But don't feel too bad for my hubby, I'm still a pretty darn good wife. ;-)

4) The sight or even thought of someone licking a napkin makes my skin crawl and my stomach jump with queasiness. I don't know what it is about napkins or those icky cotton balls you have to pull out of the pill bottle...yuck! I have a nails on the chalkboard reaction to them.

5) I have ADD which is actually a great condition for a photographer to have. Us ADDers see the world in a different way and we love the excitement of working with new people in new places everyday.

6) If given the choice between napping and just about anything else, I will ALWAYS choose the nap. I am a World Class napper and consequently a very well rested and pleasant person.

Thanks for tagging me Kristi! Now I'm off to tag 6 more unsuspecting victims.

The Last Hot Day of Summer

2008-09-16T22:41:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing the "W" Family. It was hot and humid but this family didn't let the heat phase them one bit. I have to say the "W" family wins the award for the best color coordination. "S" couldn't have done a better job picking out her family's clothing. I wonder if she knew how great those melon colors would look against their bright green lawn? Here are a few sneak peeks for "C & S." I hope you guys like what you see so far. I'm really looking forward to showing you the full set of proofs next week. Thanks for the great color-coordination and thanks to all 6 of you for being wonderful models!

Oh and a quick shout-out to my newest "employee" and assistant at Crane Photography. My husband Rich assisted me on this session and photographed the whole time in Manual Mode. I'm very proud of his progress and I'm so happy he shares my enthusiasm for photography!

Family Portrait Time

2008-08-19T00:07:00.002-04:00

Wow, It's been a while but I'm finally back to blogging. I'm here to post some sneak peeks for the lovely "D" Family who I had the pleasure of photographing this past weekend. I've never met a cuter, happier little family. "G & G" are such a sweet couple and "A & J" are teen sibs who actually get along with each other...I was amazed but apparently pleasant teens do exist!

"A" - Good luck at college, and "J" - I hope you were serious about modeling for me because I will be calling soon! ;-)

Some sneak peeks from my Tyler Park shoot

2008-05-05T11:20:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! I had such a fun weekend meeting up with two great families at Tyler Park in Newtown, PA this past weekend! The weather could have been a little warmer, but these guys were troopers for me on the cloudy chilly day and I think we got some great portraits together. I have only started to proof all of the great pictures from Saturday but I had to post a few favorites today because I know Amy will be checking my site every 5 minutes until I do. ;-)
I hope you like them! I'll have more in about a week.
Thanks for being great models for me this weekend!

Love in the City

2008-04-13T12:52:00.004-04:00

This weekend I got to meet a beautiful couple, Lauren and Jim, who let me take their engagement pictures in Love Park, Philadelphia. I have a few sneak peaks for the couple that I wanted to post as soon as possible. But I'll be back with more pictures in a few days.
Hope you like them so far guys and Thank You for being such great models and working your butts off for 2 hours with me. I think the hard work paid off!

Winter at the Beach

2008-02-21T21:31:00.005-05:00

I recently spent a weekend at the North Wildwood Beach House and I was inspired by my Mom's Lighthouse decor to take a lighthouse photo worth framing. So I spent two hours on two different beaches photographing two different lighthouses in an attempt to get something frame worthy. Here are my results.

First I went to North Wildwood Inlet thinking I was going to photograph a traditional lighthouse. I actually had to ask for directions to this lighthouse because I was looking for the "New England" style traditional lighthouse. I was a little disappointed by what I found:
So the next day I made my parents take me to Cape May point so I could photograph a "real lighthouse." But in both North Wildwood and Cape May I got some great pictures!

Jack made my day today!

2008-02-03T22:37:00.001-05:00

Jack woke up from his nap today and said those magic words that every photographer/parent dreams of hearing: "Mommy can we take pictures?" So here is Jack's latest photoshoot.

"My 2 year old is WAY cooler than me"

"Jack's first Gap ad"

Jack with his favorite Christmas present the Diego "Rescue Pack"

"We are from the planet of the toes..."
Silly Face

I never knew a 2 year old could give a sexy look...
Jack's "Broadway headshot" (kidding)

And finally my first attempt at a photoshop custom card. Mwah! Happy Valentines Day and thanks for visiting!

A photography play date with Jaime and Aiden

2008-02-03T22:16:00.001-05:00

I recently met a cool chick who lives right in Mays Landing, has a 2 year old son and who is also hoping to go into the photography business in the near future. So we got together last weekend for a "photography playdate." We did a Valentines Day theme and let the boys play with the heart-shaped lollies Jaime picked up at Target. As the sugar kicked in, the pictures got cuter and cuter. I can't wait for Jaime and Aiden to visit again for more great fun and pictures!

Jack's lollypop broke as soon as he opened it so his pictures don't have the cute heart, just a slobbery sugary "nub."

And this last one Jaime took of the whole family. Thanks again for taking our picture! Next time we'll figure those lights out better to avoid the overexposure with your camera.

Happy Birthday Little Miss "J!"

2008-02-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun photographing this little beauty in my new studio! "J" is celebrating her 2nd birthday and had lots of fun playing dress-up and sharing birthday cake with Jack-a-roni. "J" and her mommy are welcome back anytime for pictures of just to play!

Finding the light

2008-01-12T17:11:00.000-05:00

Man I haven't posted in a long time. Sorry to all my faithful readers. Here's a quick few pics I snapped recently because I just happened to catch a ray of light streaming in through the window. When this happens, I usually stop whatever I'm doing, run for my camera and try to catch the shot before the light changes or my subject moves. Hope you like my "Ray of Light" pictures!

A fall day at the park

2007-11-24T16:43:00.000-05:00

Fall Portraits

2007-10-24T18:42:00.000-04:00

Fall is finally upon us. I only had to wait until October 24th for the temperature to drop below 80 degrees so we could finally get some fall foliage. Thanks a lot Al Gore!

But all bad global warming jokes aside, now is the perfect time to get your family together outside for some great fall portraits. The colors are popping and the sky is blue, and the temps are still well above chilly. So please contact me at mail@mycranephotography.com to schedule your fall portraits and your Christmas card pictures. I'm only available on weekends now that the days are shorter, so be sure to lock in your session appointment while I still have availability. Sessions are held either at my home studio in Medford or on location at your home or local public park.

Looking forward to creating beautiful portraits for your family in the coming weeks!

Here are a few of my favorites from a recent fall portrait session. Thanks so much for your time "F Family"! I hope you like your pictures!

The Solution

2007-10-18T21:40:00.000-04:00

See "The Problem " in my previous post if you haven't read part one of the story yet.

What are we to do? I have mountains of laundry to do for the week but we can't use the washing machine until we fix this drainage pump problem. So we're standing in the basement looking down into the deep murky waters of the sump pump bucket thingy and as I shine the flashlight down into the bucket I too see the black shiny scales. The only solution is to reach down into the 2 feet of dark water and pull this writhing, slimy creature out of the bucket by hand...without getting bit or strangled.

So who reached down into the bucket to dislodge the dark, angry serpent monster??

Yours truly of course. I searched for some sort of rubber gloves and found one blue one and a gardening glove. I strapped the gloves on and went down into the basement to solve the plumbing problem.

I reached down into the dark, dirty water and pulled out....
...
...
THIS!

Yep, I pulled a giant 4 foot black rat snake out of my plumbing system while my husband stood back and took pics. The trick is to pick the body of the snake up with an unfolded hanger while you quickly grab the neck just behind the head before getting bit. Rich was a trooper though. He did pet the snake before we set it free and he got some good shots of the excitement before I rushed off to my photo shoot.

Nothing like wrestling with a giant reptile to boost your confidence before a shoot.
So next time you're struggling with a plumbing problem...
...Call a plumber b/c I think toilets are yucky!

The Problem...

2007-10-09T22:08:00.001-04:00

So my husband calls me last weekend while I'm out scouting a location for a shoot l have planned for that evening at 5. He sounds quite anxious in telling me that he found a problem with our sump pump in the basement. He said that he grabbed a flashlight and shined it down into the dark muddy waters and saw...
...undulating scales in the thickness of a man's arm...a large man. Now keep in mind, this is the basement that has only one working lightbulb and where fellows like this live:

Check back tomorrow to find out how we solved this spooky problem...

The Watercolors Answer

2007-10-09T21:51:00.001-04:00

My very talented film photographer cousin Jessie was kind enough to post her guess as to what the purple blob in the last few Watercolor pictures was. Nice guess Jess...but wrong.

If you look at my first post ever, you'll see that silly Mr. Noodle shows up as purple when I don't properly expose or when I set my shutter speed super slow to capture the creative effect in watercolors.

Thanks so much for playing and commenting though! Don't be a stranger!

~Cara

Stranger Danger

2007-10-09T21:36:00.000-04:00

I have a new photography hobby: Street Portraiture. When I travel with my camera I try to scope out interesting looking subjects and approach them asking if I can take their picture. Every person I've approached so far has been friendly and flattered. I even collected their email addresses and sent them copies of the pictures. So thank you to the folks below who I can no longer call "strangers."

Watercolors

2007-09-16T10:03:00.001-04:00

These pictures were all taken on the same day in early September around 3pm in the afternoon. They were all shot on our dock overlooking the same 30ft x 30ft area of the creek. The different colors and effects were all achieved simply by adjusting my aperture, shutter speed and angle. The only post processing done on these photos was a quick crop and border-add. I love how different each of these pictures turned out. Can you figure out where the purple areas of the bottom photos came from? No one on the dock was wearing purple. (There is a hint in my first blog post) Add a comment to this post of you can figure out the mysterious purple areas.

I call this series Watercolors. Enjoy!

A Trip to the Alma Mater

2007-09-06T19:57:00.000-04:00

We took Jack over to Penn's campus for a walk down memory lane

The sky was so pretty this day and I loved being able to set the proper exposure to capture the blue sky, buildings and Jack all in vivid color.

Here we are with Ben Franklin. Jack was not a big fan of Ben but we got one cute picture.

This is the Furness Fine Arts library. I love the way the red bricks look with the bright blue sky.

Thanks for visiting Philly with us!

2007-08-22T12:29:00.000-04:00

As an aspiring photographer, I am so lucky to be blessed with the most photogenic family in the Philadelphia Metro area. I've got 9 gorgeous kids from the age of 6 months to 13 years old at my disposal and I always have the camera in their faces. They're turning into quite the little models for me.
Here is 'A' working the fence for me.

And crazy 'J' loves to make funny faces for me and see his picture in my LCD.

I caught 'D' in a rare quiet, pensive moment on the playground. I guess the sugar high from the party was wearing off.
I love this shot of 'D's shiny shoes with her little nails painted light pink!

Here's 'J' again showing me another one of his millions of silly faces.

Here is my little guy 'J' scoping out the candy 'D' had hidden in her party hat.

This is 'D's' older brother 'A' showing me his "over the shoulder model look."

And the crazy boys 'P' and 'D' are never shy when I ask them to "show me angry" or "give me gang signs."

It helps to know the current lingo when trying to get a good shot of pre-teens. I wonder how many pro's out there ask their subjects to "give them gang signs, LOL" If you can cut out the hands, you can usually get a pretty facial expression on the "gang shots"

Lets talk about focus

2007-08-22T12:04:00.000-04:00

What makes a great photo better than an okay photo? If you've got an interesting subject and a clean, clutterfree background, the most important thing is the focus. You can have the best picture in the world, but if it's out of focus you might as well trash it. I've been on a mission lately to improve my focus (in more ways than one, LOL) so I've been snapping pictures every chance I get.

Here are a few shots of my little guy who is completely focused on his favorite show "Diego."

I'm trying to get the focus to be at it's sharpest on his eyes. Please don't mind the sloppy face, drooling and healing bruises...he's a boy!

I love the concentration in his eyes in this picture. Give him a popsicle and put Diego on and I've got a captive subject for 30 minutes!

This one is my favorite of the set because the focus looks dead on (to me) and I love the side look out from behind the sippy cup.

I hope you've enjoyed watching my little guy watch TV! Hey, I've got to get my practice somewhere, right?

The Engagement Photo Shoot

2007-08-21T15:07:00.000-04:00

Now that my blog is up and running, I wanted to go back and post a few pictures from my first official photo shoot. These are Engagament Portraits I did for "D" and "J" in June of 07. We shot these on the 10th street Beach in North Wildwood, NJ at sunset.

I love the look J is giving in this picture. Such a model shot! I also love the little bit of "ink" showing on D's arm.
This shot is so pretty because of the reflection caught in the sand. I also love the beautiful pink lighting from the setting sun.

I color corrected this one to really bring out the blue of the ocean and give a different look to the shot.

Thanks for being such great models D&J! I can't wait for the Engagement Party photo shoot!

It's about time I made my first post...

2007-08-20T10:58:00.001-04:00

I have been stalking some amazing photoblogs in the past few weeks (like http://courtneyvickersphoto.blogspot.com/ and http://tumblebumblephotography.blogspot.com/) so I have to admit I've been a bit gun shy about launching my own, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere. So my first blog is going to be an ode to the summer sun.

Sunlight can be a photographer's best friend or worst enemy.

In this shot of a friend's sun dial, the sunlight is bright and inviting and you can actually feel the warmth emanating from the photo.

Yet, in this next one, the harsh sunlight streaming through the shady trees made this cute picture almost unsalvagable. It looks like the sun actually took a bite out of my son's left arm.

Here's one of Miss Sophie Lee lounging out in the sun as happy as can be:

And poor Mr. Noodle, who is not a fan of the sun, was turned almost purple by the harsh direct sunlight reflected off the blue house.

Thank goodness for Photoshop and my buddy Laura!

But my little man didn't mind the sunlight at all and found the perfect sunny spot in a shady yard to strike this cute "country" pose.

And one last one of the sun reaching out to say hello in my shot of a friend's Tuscan Terrace complete with chardonnay grapes.

Thanks for visiting!