I’ve had the pleasure to photograph the R. Family before, but just with five family members. This time, however, was much different.
Donna’s mom was turning 91 and she wanted all of her siblings, and the grandchildren together for a family portrait session at the house. Originally the pictures were going to be taken outside, but the weather had other ideas that day. The family came from all over for a special occasion and we had a really great time! The last setup was even on the front porch, it was raining, cold, but as you can see, well worth it.
Everything was set up in the living room, we moved furniture and items out of the way. I used a stool for some to sit on, another to stand on. Great-grandma was fine with standing for a little bit, but then needed to sit, so I grabbed a dining room chair.
My daughter was my assistant and yes, I paid her. She helped me bring everything in from the car, set up the two lights, modifiers, and then break it down, and bring it in the car, etc. We were made to feel like family and afterward were invited to have dinner. Leaving with our bellies full and faces hurt from laughing so much, we said our goodbyes as we headed back home.
Donna was so happy with these pictures, they were just what she wanted, to create gifts for the family to remember for years to come. Everything was planned ahead of time, I came to their home, set up, and while I made sure to be aware of everyone comfort, I took my time to be sure that everything was just right, and so that everyone’s personality would show through. And I think that I accomplished it.
Thanks again everyone for making this session so much fun, enjoy the photos and prints! Interested in a session? Contact me here and let’s make plans!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_9260RichardsonFamily.jpg633950Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2019-10-23 13:16:392019-10-23 13:16:39Multi-Generation Family Portrait Session
Tera and I have known each other for a long time, she worked at my daughters’ grade school and her younger sister and I were in the same grade. So when she won my session during a fundraiser I was so thrilled! And of course, I wanted to make sure that the images came out amazing because Tera’s sister is also a photographer.
The day was beautiful if not just a little bit on the breezy side, not surprising since the park overlooks Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware River. Their adorable little dog is Elijah and as sweet as can be! So, of course, having each of the girls holding him for their individual photos was the natural thing to do.
I love how they came color-coordinated, yet still being who they are, with their own personality. Sure having them ask to do goofy things at the time may have seemed strange at the time, but the end result is that the pictures came out looking like they do this sort of thing all the time, and are completely relaxed and at ease.
Thank you guys for such a great time and I hope that you love and cherish these for years to come!
Also thanks to my husband for helping me with my gear when the wind tried to blow it away!
Want to chat and find out more about Deirdre offers? Click here to contact her!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_0109RussoFamily.jpg602900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2019-10-18 20:46:292019-10-18 21:03:46The Russo Family Mini Photo Session at Hilltop Park in Bordentown, NJ
If you’ve been following me online, it’s not a secret that riding horses is a love for me that goes back to when I was a little girl. I didn’t ask for a pony, I wanted a Trakenher. It’s still one of my favorite breeds. I jumped horses in shows, and now I’m back into training since August 1991.
This weekend, my friend, Brielle, who works there, is showing two horses at the Standardbred National Horse Show here at the Horse Park Of NJ. The park is only about roughly 20 minutes from where I live. I haven’t been here since 1991, so yeah a lot has changed! LOL
She’s been there since Friday, today is the last day and I’m going to head over there soon. Photographing horses in motion like this is “fairly new” for me,I used to photograph team sports for a newspaper. They came out pretty good, I really had a lot of fun, in spite of the intense humidity and oncoming thunderstorm.
Brielle rode Kora in just one class. Her own horse, Shake Baby Shake, is showing today with Kora.
That’s Lillian taking pictures from the stands. I joined her there to take the other images.
After a practice run in the ring, they had opening ceremonies:
This class is for Standardbreds that are currently up for adoption.
After this image, I stayed on to watch some more classes, that were mainly Western, with Lillian. It was fun to relax, chat and of course be around horses 🙂
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/IMG_4003StandardbredNationsbyDeirdre-Ryan-Photography-www.deirdreryanphotography.com_.jpg601900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2018-08-12 16:05:242019-10-17 17:46:26Day 2-The Standardbred National Horse Show at The Horse Park Of NJ
Have you ever sat in your doctor’s office and seen these magazine titles?
Diabetes Health Monitor Pediatrics Health Monitor Eye Care Health Monitor Heart Care Health Monitor Arthritis Health Monitor Living with Cancer Health Monitor Dermatology Health Monitor Digestion & Diet Health Monitor
Each time I would read one, I would think, you know, I should contact someone from this publication and see if they could use a photographer like me.
Well, one day, as I was sitting at my computer working on images back in October or November, I got an email requesting an editorial photographer to go on location to photograph a woman and her family for an article for the Living With Cancer Health Monitor Magazine.
It’s funny how things happen, right?
Amanda is a cervical cancer survivor who lives in New Jersey, married and is a mother to an adorable little girl. To read her amazing story click here.
After getting the approval for the project, I contacted her to decide on the best time to do the photoshoot, where we could do it, and asked some questions so that I could get to know her before showing up. I found out that she and her family have much in common with mine, a love of books, music, movies, and comic books. Getting to know the people who I’m going to photograph helps to break the ice, create an intimacy so that they feel comfortable with me, because it’s not every day that someone shows up with camera equipment and starts taking pictures. Not once did we talk about the article or what she went through, I wanted this to be about Amanda and her family, as though cancer never entered their lives. Just a fun afternoon, hanging out, playing Uno and eating popcorn with a friend.
Originally, we were going to photograph outside and some in the kitchen, but the weather was unseasonably bitter cold and windy. So we stayed inside their home, it was really comfy and had great light coming into their living room window. Based on our conversation before, I was able to chat easily with them, also I have an 11 year old daughter who loves to read.
As usually, I packed way too much and used barely half of it. I recruited their daughter to be my photo assistant. I showed her how to unfold the light stands, how to set up the flashes in the Westcott Rapid Boxes(she helped to set up those as well). I also had a large reflector that I unfolded, she loved that one. Their adorable pug allowed me to get some doggie time, which I relish each time I go somewhere and see a dog.
I wanted to give the magazine a variety of images to possibly use. I understood that this wasn’t going to be a cover story, but from what Amanda has gone through, I wanted people to see what a loving, beautiful, fun family they are.
Instead of using the flashes, I used natural lighting, utilizing the sin coming in their from window. I defused it by closing the sheer curtains and I set up the large silver reflector their the right,(our left) just out of view to give some additional light. Whenever I moved around them, I moved the reflector to where I needed the light to hit them.
For the images of Amanda and her family eating popcorn, I had to use at least one or 2 lights, so I set them up wirelessly, one in the front off to the side and the other in the back to fill in the kitchen.
First we started off by having them read a great Harry Potter picture book(I have it on my Amazon Wishlist). Then I suggested that they play a game, so we all decided on Uno. This is also a favorite of ours in our family, and it gets quite ruthless! We could’ve stopped after playing Uno, but I wanted to give another scenario in a different room. So They made some popcorn and I took pictures of them having some fun with it.
I didn’t want any posed shots, my goal was to get everyone natural, relaxed and having a good time. Okay, I admit, the last shot with the popcorn, I suggested, because it’s fun to feed mom and dad popcorn when you’re a kid LOL!
Below is the final article from this month’s issue of Living With Cancer Health Monitor. If you go to a doctor’s office and see the magazine, check it out as January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. You can see which image they used and I think it was an excellent choice.
Thanks so much Amanda and your family for letting me come into your home. I had a great time chatting and getting to know you all. Thanks Health Monitor for contacting and working with me on this project.
Interested in working together on a project? Use the red button on the right hand side towards the bottom titled Get Started to contact me. Thanks!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/LivingWithCancerMagazineAmandaTanayandFamilyPhotobyDeirdreRyanIMG_7216-1.jpg601900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2018-01-10 18:34:282019-10-17 17:46:57Editorial Photoshoot Showing A Cervical Cancer Survivor Whose Future Is Bright
My friend Rose Mary called saying that she would love to get some updated family portraits and lucky for us, the weather was still really nice outside. On this particular December afternoon, we scheduled the session around the time when the sun was setting and the moon was just about full. They have great neighbors who let us walk through their backyard and I photographed them all, including Phil, their dog, in a field with a red barn in the background. It was chilly, but it was still stunning out there. I brought my Westcott Rapid boxes to have my Canon 600RT EX fire off wirelessly because we were loosing light pretty quickly.
I wanted the kids to have fun and do whatever they wanted within reason. So we did the standard poses, but then I asked what they wanted to do.
Okay, I told them to give each other bunny ears LOL Then it was on to poses the kids wanted to try out.
This is one of the poses their youngest brother wanted 🙂
I asked if they wanted to jump over each other…
Mom gets in for a photo 🙂
Then it’s time to get them all separately…
His karate moves….
Last shot, it’s dark, and I wanted to have something super fun, like a leaf fight or everyone throw leaves up in the air, we got in in the last shot. By then, it got colder, we all had other places to go, Rose Mary got yummy hot chocolate for us all at Wawa(I’m addicted to that now, thanks Rose!), but we all had a lot of fun, and that was what I wanted. Everyone looking great, showing off their personalities, and having a great time.
Thank you all so very much guys! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Do you want a session? Start a chat by clicking on the red button that says Get Started to contact me 🙂
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IMG_7925FamilyPortraitPhotobyDeirdreRyanPhotography.jpg601900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-12-11 19:08:002019-10-17 17:39:57Holiday Family Portrait Session With The Moon At Sunset
I know Molly and Clint from photographing their wedding back in October 2012. I may not photograph weddings anymore, but as with most of my clients, we hit it off and stayed friends.
They had been struggling to start a family and then they heard of a little baby who was to be up for adoption, they got to welcome her into their arms as a newborn. I know what that’s like, as we struggled for years, and had just signed the paperwork to start the adoption process as our Plan B, when our daughter finally became the miracle we were praying for to become pregnant with.
I do portraits for family and children on private referrals now and I am always honored to have these kinds of clients. These are the moments that you can’t get back and having a professional take the pictures far outweighs using a cell phone or a relative with that “fancy camera”.
Originally we were going to meet in a park along the Delaware River, but it got too windy and cold. So at the last minute, we decided to go to their home. I contemplated different areas, and then we decided simple was best. We had already planned on the chalkboard, so I wrote out her name and how old she was. She is the sweetest baby girl and loves to make sounds like she’s trying to blow them out of her mouth. I well remember this age and it’s a lot of fun! The weather was still chilly but not like it was before and so we got some images in the front of their home.
Just look at that face <3
First Halloween!
Her adoption has been finalized last month and just in time for their 5th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations everyone!!!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_4496LeeFamilybyDeirdreRyanPhotography.com_.jpg900601Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-11-10 16:00:002019-10-17 17:44:176 Months of Cuteness for the L. Family
Amongst my family and friends, it’s no big secret that my political views are liberal. Here my blog, I do try to stay neutral. However I am a big advocate that healthcare is a basic right for everyone. No matter what medical conditions that you have now and not, eventually as we all age, we will have Pre-Existing Conditions. This is just a fact of life.
Since Trump became the person to be in our White House, I’ve been part of groups to bring about awareness. I may not be able to be able to go to every meeting, but I do my best to spread the word, make phone calls and not just stand in the sidelines. I was part of a small press conference, UniteWomen.org allowed me to document the Women’s March in Washington D.C. on their behalf, and more.
One of the many projects in our small town is to send out postcards to representatives both local and nationally.
My idea is to take portraits of the very people that the votes affect directly, by putting them on a postcard that gets sent out to local and national government representatives. A face to the causes that they vote on, to make our voices heard visually.
Because this is a personal project that I needed volunteers for, I asked that everyone I photographed to purchase at least 25 cards and postage on their own. I decided to go with Moo because I can order batches with different images on the front. This is who I order my business cards from and I am always happy with the results. The Dorothea Dix Unitarian Universalist Community in our town is where our groups hold meetings, and they generously allowed me to photograph the portraits there.
I asked for volunteers via our Bordentown Neighbors Acting Together(BNAT) Facebook Group and I had about 10 or more respond. But because everyone has different schedules, who you see here is who I was able to photograph on that particular day.
My goal is to continue this project, get more people so that it creates more of an impact.
Some of the pre-existing conditions that I was told about the people for this project are:
This is a behind the scenes for I Am A Pre-Existing Portrait personal photo project. The oval of light coming through the muslin is the window of the front door. I shot tethered with my Canon Mark 5D III. I tried a few different setups, and decided on one light with a Phototek and a reflector. I’ve had this brown-is muslin for a long time and knew that this was the project that would lend itself nicely for it. I had everyone sit on an applebox or stand. I kept the light up on the boom, but ended up not using it. I have these images in b/w and a sepia tone to them. I wasn’t sure how I liked them that way or not. But in the end, I stayed with full colour.
Below is a behind the scenes video that is straight out of my Olympus mirrorless camera shot by my husband, David. It’s just video clips slapped together in iMovie, because I’m not an editor like he is. Eventually he’ll make something better for me when he gets some time in his busy schedule. You’ll see us having a good time, me being silly and how I like to make everyone feel good about themselves, there’s a swear word in there too.
Thanks everyone! And if you want to be a part of this project, please contact me.
UPDATE!
You can tell that I’m tired, I had just volunteered all day at my daughter’s school for the Scholastic Book Fair, I’ve been trying to get these out in the mail for the past week and I kept running into obstacles. Plus I had to copy and paste all of the names and multiple addresses of the Congressmen, Women and those in the Senate. Yes, I sent some out to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump. But you better believe that Senators Mitch McConnell, Cassidy and Graham and my continuant, Congressman Tom MacArthur got theirs among others.
There were quite a few that I couldn’t send out to, I ran out of postcards, time and something happened to the printouts of the labels. So quite a few I had to hand print the addresses. But overall I’m happy, I’ve done my part and I want to do more.
I managed to finish them and take these to my town’s post office. But I didn’t realize that they close at 4:30! So I was still able to buy stamps and adhere them to each and every one. The video above I did when I had a moment today, shot and edited on my iPhone SE using iMovie. I made a mistake with my website, but rest assured, it’s still www.deirdreryanphotography.com LOL I was just too tired to do it all over again. I’m sure you can all relate to days like that, right?
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Postcard-Project2086-1IAmAPreExistingConditionbyDeirdreRyanPhotography-e1501030806185.jpg522560Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-26 00:41:302019-10-17 17:49:03I Am A Pre-Existing Portraits-A Personal Project(Updated)
Mount Vernon is a gorgeous place to visit and the last time I was there was with my father and grandparents in the 1990’s. Since then, they’ve built a beautiful education center and museum. And I completely forgot to mention the weather, warm, breezy, but not humid! Very “un-Virginia” for early summertime, just beautiful and perfect! If you don’t know already, Mount Vernon was George and Martha Washington’s estate on the Potomac River. You are not allowed to take any photos inside the main house, but anywhere else you are.
To see the beginning of this mini vacation click here.
Different areas has archaeological digs going on, including at the Slave’s Burial site.
We met a little friend at the original family vault. Can someone identify this lizard?
Inside Washington’s Tomb is both George and his wife Martha.
After paying tribute to the Slaves Burial Ground, we walked down to the river and then to Pioneer Farm.
Here, a gentleman demonstrates to the children how to separate the wheat in order to eat it, as an example of what threshing does in the replica of the 16-sided barn designed by Washington for treading wheat.
I asked if I could take his portrait, and he was very happy to let me, his wife is an artist as well.
Inside the 16-sided barn.
An example of a cabin that the Washington’s slave had lived in. We took the wooded trail back to the mansion and to meet up with the rest of our family for lunch. I wanted to wander around a little before eating….
The buildings were getting repainted while we were there.
As I was wandering around, I spotted a deer near the estate.
On the way back to my aunt and uncle’s home, we stopped at Jefferson’s Memorial. I had never been here before and it was on my list for a long time.
My daughter checking out the view. It took a while, but after patiently waiting, there was a break in the crowd of people, and I got a shot of President Jefferson’s statue without anyone in it.
An engagement session, the light was perfect for it. Across the river you can see the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument. Can you guess whose statue is shown below? Tell me in the comments.
We had done a lot of walking that day, but I want to go back, because I felt that I missed on so many things. Taking my daughter there was great because she had been studying the Revolutionary War and seeing everything that day was important to her.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/P6280764WashingtonDCTrip.jpg525900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-19 18:10:292019-10-17 17:49:15Personal Mini Family Vacation to Washington, D.C. Parts 3 and 4
I’m very lucky to have close family who live in the Washington, D.C. area, growing up we would visit often, and I have been to just about every museum there. But each time I go, there’s always a surprise that I haven’t seen before. Earlier this summer, my mom and I, took my daughter for the first time and she had some requests on what she wanted to see and loved it.
I didn’t take my Canon gear, just my mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, and the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 II lens. Yes, one day I will get some faster glass for it 😉 I did consider renting for this trip, but at the last minute didn’t. These are just personal, travel photo snapshots, I have more to show you in other posts coming up.
When we arrived, we took a little break, then headed out to the Capital to view the monuments at sunset and in the evening lights. The last time I was here at the Vietnam Memorial was to see my father, a Vietnam Vet, in the parade back in November of 1982. He is in the front row for New Jersey(each state had a section in the parade) for helping to lead and contribute to this powerful wall. Many didn’t want this and didn’t like the design. Each item that is left at the wall is kept safe by the National Park Service. I still can’t find any full length video of the parade from the 1982 dedication. If you’re interested, C-SPAN has the dedication in their archives. If anyone who reads this does have the parade in full, I would love a link to it for my father and others, please leave a comment below.
My dad is right in the middle wearing a long beige coat and has a camera around his neck, on either side of him are two men wearing camo fatigues as he’s in the parade for the Vietnam Memorial Dedication and for all of the men and women who served in the war, they finally got the welcome home they deserved. But there was still a long way to go at the time, and to this day.
That’s me in the blue sweater holding my cousin’s hand with my Grandma Martin at the Vietnam Memorial for the first time, I think I’m around 8-9 years old.Here I am with my Grandma and Grandpa Martin, holding my cousin’s hand. I was also biting my nails, and it looks like grandma had something in her eye. The Washington Monument is behind us. And yes, I’m wearing saddle shoes, I was really into them at the time, I loved those things 🙂 I’m not sure who took these photos, my Uncle Bob and my Grandpa Martin, or my mom. We had a lot of cameras as you can see. Grandpa Martin also shot a lot of Kodachrome, so one of these days I would love to see what he captured, I have his cameras as part of my collection. The watermark is there to “hopefully” deter people, no matter who shot these pictures.
These images shot at night were all handheld.
Our daughter is really into spies and mysteries, so the International Spy Museum was at the top of her list.
They have a really cool James Bond 007 exhibit, I didn’t post everything, so that I won’t spoil it for you. But I couldn’t help but post Jaw’s teeth!
Oh and this mask, can you guess which James Bond film it’s from? Tell me in the comments below 🙂 After the spy museum, The National Portrait Gallery is right across the street, so we ate some lunch and went there. I haven’t been inside since I was a little girl, the courtyard didn’t have the roof overtop of it back then. First, the Hall of Presidents, this is a Chuck Close portrait of President Bill Clinton.
Then we wandered around, taking in as much as we could.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/P6260189.jpg666900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-19 14:57:082019-10-17 17:49:28Personal Mini Family Vacation to Washington, D.C. Parts 1 and 2
This winter has been so far very mild and hardly any snow at all. So when it does come down, we get a “little” excited around here. I took my new Olympus E-M5 MarkII out in the wind and falling snow with the Zuikio 14-150mm f4 lens, the combination makes this perfect, as it’s weather sealed and freezer proof. But it’s a slow lens…and once you’re used to faster f2.8 lenses then having a slower lens is hard to work with at times. But, I’m saving up for better glass and renting when I need them for this camera. In the meantime, it’s not like I don’t have excellent camera equipment already, I do have pro Canon full frame DSLRs and fast L glass. It’s just nice not to have all that weight every once in awhile.
The day was pretty overcast and grey, and I wanted to test the focusing with the snow. So I went across the street from my house, and down to the creek. It was bitter cold out!
It was 25 degrees and very windy outside! But that never keeps kids and adults from sledding down the hill! I ran into some friends of ours and took some shots of them. Bros in the Snow! The next day, the sun was out, but it was colder, the temp was 20 degrees but felt like 15 or less! Still, it was gorgeous, and the conditions were perfect!
Overall, the camera did really well, I was surprised! Some shots were missed, and a little soft, possibly my fault and getting used to the system. But I’m really pleased so far.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/P1070217.jpg676900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-01-18 01:04:452019-10-17 17:54:17The First Day Of Snow
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