To get ready for the shoot I always ask what kind of photograph they are hoping for. Tatyana said she wanted it to look very natural, almost as if it were just a snapshot taken at a family event. She wanted it to be outside rather than in the studio. I asked her to bring several outfits. I figure since you are taking the time to do this we may as well end up with several different looks to use for various occasions. That way you will not have to take another headshot for many more years. Above is the first outfit. In the beginning of a shoot I ask my clients view the images on a large screen television so I can get used to what they like and dislike. Most people have a “best side” and do not even know it!

Then we switched to a different outfit and went by the hydrangea bush.

And, finally, she tried on one last outfit and we headed for the shade. This whole process took less than an hour. I truly hope that people actually enjoy their photo session and that these are images that they will be proud of for a long time. Thanks for coming, Tatyana, and congratulations on ten years of marriage!!! I would love to meet Juliette and Fion next time around!

Are you in need of a great headshot? You can sign up for a KPO Photo Headshot here.

We got together for a BUSINESS STORY as he has several big events and happenings coming up and needed publicity images. He had been trying to get some good photos of himself at the store all week but after many unsuccessful tries he called me to schedule a shoot. As he put it, “I always seem to look so good in your photos!” Thanks, Travis!

One event is The Art of the Scarab in which he collected various North Carolina species of scarabs (or beetles) and created one of a kind pieces. The proceeds of sale of these pieces will go to the North Carolina Museum of Art.

He is also going to be featured in the next issue of JCK Magazine. This magazine is to a jeweler what the New England Journal of Medicine is to a doctor. It is the industry standard. Their show is held annually in Las Vegas, NV and is the largest jewelry show in the country. He spoke to them about how to shop the show. He came up with a great idea for his photo. He saw himself in front of a wide range of jewelry to create a visual metaphor that shopping the show is akin to a cleverly played game of poker. We had two versions. Then we also just took some great photos of him with his most prized possessions, his family.

Barbara liked her current head shot but it was photographed quite a few years back, so she wanted to update it. It is very important for all business owners to have a current image of themselves that they really like and that captures the best of everything about them. Since Barbara’s clients trust her with the important details of making their wedding day run smoothly I thought her image should convey not only Barbara’s beauty, but also how confident and friendly she is.

My favorite image is on the left. I think that color green looks stunning on Barbara! However, I always want my head shot clients to leave with at least 3 images that they can use for different purposes. Barbara has various public speaking engagements each year, as well as running her wedding planning business, so she has a need for different looks.

And here we are at the end of our shoot! From left to right are Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo, Pam Hung and Barbara Clark. The ladies were nice enough to hang around for a lasagna lunch. So the whole event was a wonderful day to catch up. Barbara has inspired me to get my own head shot redone soon! Thanks for everything, Barbara and Pam!

YOU CAN SEE THIS BUSINESS STORY ON-LINE AT:

http://www.kpophoto.com/kenan_investment/

The event was held at the beautiful Carolina Club.

Lee Ainslie of Maverick Capital Management. Mr. Ainslie got his start at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The conference was very well attended.

Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake. Mr. Hutchins served President Clinton in both the transition and the White House as a Special Advisor on economic and healthcare policy.

The panel from left to right are David Dupree, Joe Vet, Jon King and Jim Dunn. Notice that Jim Dunn of Wake Forest University is wearing a Tarheel tie. Apparently he lost in a bet and had to wear it!

And these are the folks that put on this very well run event, the Private Equity/ Venture Capital Club! Thank you, Elizabeth, Brad, Erin, Jayson and all the others!

Tuesday, October 26th
This is my second chapter of work for the Carolina Friends School in Durham, North Carolina. They are continually updating their Web site and promotional materials and also frequently need images for upcoming events and promotions. I spent two hours wandering around the school with the ever competent and relaxed Kathleen Davidson. This is part of what I saw that day.

Wednesday, October 27th
I photographed a fun Family Story on Wednesday for friends and repeat customers, Sarah and Jay and their darling, precocious daughter, Sasha. This adorable three-year-old led us all on a tour of the house and yard for an hour before we were all tuckered out. I even got some jalapeno peppers and Roma tomatoes from their garden along the way. What a sweet deal!

Also on Wednesday I photographed beautiful Eleanor. She is a senior in high school in Chapel Hill who is very interested in pursuing a career in acting. One of the most basic necessities for such an endeavor is a great head shot. She was confident, amenable and had great cheek bones and skin. I love the different looks we came up with in the hour we spent together.

Thursday, October 28th
Halloween is a several week process in our house. It starts with the long discussions and debates about what to wear which leads to a trip to the local Halloween store. The one we went to had zombie baby dolls. So gross. Then, right before the big day I like to do a little photo shoot to record this year’s outfits. Here they are in all their spooky glory. We have Amira as a vampire, Roman as a World War II soldier and Leo as a knight. He actually has a ninja costume for this year but prefers this look for now. There is no arguing with a three-year-old.

This weekend is the KPO Photo Fall Special. I am so glad we will have great weather and beautiful fall color. See you all there!

I thought a lot about who Inai Inai Ba!s clients are. I kept on thinking of someone who likes Dwell magazine, shops at Whole Foods and the Farmer’s Market for their food, loves to find unique pieces for their home and is well educated. I kept that person in mind as I shot so hopefully these images will appeal to them.

The two step bench product shot.

The two step bench lifestyle shot.

The crib product shot.

The crib lifestyle shot.
After the studio shots were complete we scheduled a second day to do a Family Story. One of the pieces, the baby changing station, was just too big to move so we thought we would photograph it in Mas’ home as well as make a story about what is going on with his family. I had photographed them in their home after their first child, Hana, was born. So it was so much fun to be there to see their second, Kenji.

That is one cute baby.

This family loves to read.

The baby changing station. It is just incredible!

Life in and around the Sato home.

I had photographed Hana when she was about this age. At the time they were living in a smaller home in Durham where they had bathed Hana in the kitchen sink. Shortly after that shoot they moved to a big family home close to Jordan High School. Kenji has his own bathroom and so much room to grow. You can see the shot of Hana at the same age on the wall behind them. That first Family Story can be seen by clicking HERE.

Night, night, Kenji!!!

First, would be The Heritage Foundation. They originally came across KPO Photo from a vendor list at The Carolina Club as they were planning an event there. We enjoyed working together so they hired me for another event at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club. They are working hard to spread their message and get more members by holding events throughout the country. This particular event on July 21st featured question and answer forums with guest speakers Steve Forbes, John Hood and several Heritage staff members. When an organization spends so much time and effort on conducting an event it is so important to have an accurate record of it that shows them in their best light. This is my goal with each story that I do.

Steve Forbes was a great speaker! Although he had just had back surgery last week and had to wear a neck brace, he was able to take complicated subjects, such as the economy, and distill them down to an understandable, even humorous speech. This is one of my panoramas.

Next would be the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. They have a diverse, wide range of activities and programs. This business story chronicles the Born-Global Entrepreneurship Curriculum in which they are hosting 30 of Bulgaria’s top students for two intense weeks of education about global venture creation. I really enjoy photographing the Kenan Institute as I nearly always learn something from the speakers that I can apply to my own life and business. Here is the story thus far. I will add to it when the event concludes next weekend.

And finally, it is the absolute best when one gets to mix work with friendship. One of my families’ closest friends are the Sato Family. Mas Sato has a furniture business called Inai Inai Ba! I love his work and have some pieces in my studio. His business is really picking up so he decided it was time for a professional photo shoot. When I am working with businesses I try to get a feel for how they see themselves and who their customers are. It really helps me to create images that will support and enforce their brand. Mas and I talked about this at length before we began shooting. We were going for clean images of the pieces so that customers could see every detail before purchasing. We also wanted to create lifestyle images of the furniture in action with the same clean, bright feel. Here is just a preview of what we did in the studio. We have the second shoot later this week. I love where we are going so far!

This is what Mas had to say about the photos thus far, ” Just saw a sneak peak from our shoot with KPO Photo for our new website. They look fantastic. I went into the shoot with a few requirements and a vague idea of what I wanted. Kristin came into it having researched furniture photography and having a strong sense of what the brand was about and captured it beautifully…. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such a talented friend.”

She came to the studio last week with a variety of outfits and jewelry. We decided it would be best to do a more conservative outfit as well as a more fun one. That way Rose would have different looks for different uses. As with all portaits in the studio, I do a few test shots and then we look at them on the big screen. This really helps me to get a feel for what people want. We photographed Rose against a white and a black backdrop and I persuaded her to go outside at the end to be photographed in front of some roses. That is my favorite photo!

This is what Rose had to say about her experience, “It was great meeting you! Everything was smooth & professional. I loved the opportunity for a shoot outdoors in your beautiful yard & meeting Eve as well.” (Eve is my cat.)

A week after her photo shoot Rose came into the Carrboro office for her consultation. She admitted that she was dreading coming as she was worried that she would dislike how she looked in her photos. This is a very common feeling I hear from women. Rose even said she felt like she was heading to get a root canal. Ouch! But after seeing the first two photos of this blog post she was smiling from ear to ear. She said she is so relieved that she will now always have an image that she is proud of. I was so glad to help, Rose!

I met the Neal Family at their Carrboro Mill House on Saturday morning. This home is a part of the story too as it has housed a few generations of Neal’s. Matt Neal grew up surrounded by the food business and could often be found at his mother Moreton Neal’s place, La Residence, or at Crooks Corner, where his father, chef Bill Neal, presented his famous version of southern cooking. This photo shows Matt and their son, Hank, in the same famous kitchen eating. Note the New York Times article as well.

Talk about buying local– they are able to walk or bike to the Carrboro Farmer’s Market and they use ingredients from local farmers in their deli food. Sheila is holding their five-month-old daughter, Anne and Matt’s sister Madelline Neal is pusing four-year-old, Hank, in the stroller. Matt uses the bike to buy food and to deliver catering jobs locally.

Sheila used to run the Carrboro Farmer’s Market and Matt shops there every week so they seemed to know everybody. Matt brought a large bag of biscuits to share with some of his favorite vendors.

A portrait of this busy family in front of some incredible flowers.

Back at the deli, they have many constants on the menu but change their specials and sides depending upon what is fresh and in season.

They are quickly becoming famous for their pastrami.

Matt or Sheila either know already or quickly get to know their customers. While I was there shooting the food a couple on their way from Florida up to New York made a detour just to come try their food. They said they will be back when they come back down to Florida next fall.

Busy, busy, busy!

Making the Italian Sub.

On the left is a good old, clean backdrop image for various uses. Then I got to take Father Dan around to some of the most photogenic spots in the church. This is the part that I love! For the photo of the right we had originally placed him in front of another part of the stained glass window but after shooting it we all realized that Jesus was getting beaten with clubs in the background and we can’t have that. So we moved him over to the right where Jesus looks much happier.

These two work well, I think. The one on the left was kind of tricky because we wanted to include the beautiful wooden cross but it is suspended high in the air. So I got down low which can usually be a bad angle for the human beings to be photographed. But Father Dan looks great. On the right we just had to include Mary since this is an Immaculate Conception church after all.

Finally, I shot a couple of more backdrops just so they would have plenty to choose from. You just have to love the beautiful pipe organ on the left. Cyndy really wanted to include the altar and I am glad we did. The whole shoot lasted maybe 30 minutes and now he will have photographs to use for many different things for years to come. Thanks Father Dan and Cyndy!

The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) is all about entrepreneurial spirit. It is an $11 million program funded in part by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, managed by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and led by faculty and staff across the university from an array of disciplines.

This program gives birth to new entrepreneurs all the time. It takes business students and pairs them with successful entrepreneurs, many of them Carolina alumni. They serve as advisors to the students, lending their real–world expertise. I love watching this program as I too, am an entrepreneur and know what kind of resolve and ingenuity it takes to choose the path less traveled.

I have been fortunate to work with Cyndy Falgout on a series of ads about C.E.I. that have been appearing in The Carolina Alumni Review. Below are photos of Hajo at his new company that I am sure is destined for greatness. Be sure to check out Custom Choice Cereal.

Here is what Cyndy Falgout had to say about Hajo:

Hajo Engelke is a numbers guy. That and a degree in finance landed him in mergers and acquisitions at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt.

That’s where Engelke discovered he was also an entrepreneur. Surrounded by high-powered CEOs who’d risked a lot and made it big, Engelke says, “I knew then that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the decision-maker, the one who makes it happen.”

German-born Engelke looked to the U.S. East Coast to find a leading school of entrepreneurship. He found one at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, enrolled in its MBA Program, and pursued concentrations in entrepreneurship and investment finance.

At Kenan-Flagler, Engelke found “lots of professors who are also successful entrepreneurs, who know what to do from experience not just from their research.” He found much more.

Thanks to the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI), Engelke found cross-campus venture-creation programs and a network of people engaged in helping aspiring entrepreneurs hone their ideas for new businesses and nonprofits into viable action plans to create them.

Two of them, Launching the Venture and Carolina Challenge, took Engelke step-by-step to define his niche and develop his business plan.

“This is what I want to,” says Engelke, smiling, from the Research Triangle Park office of his new venture, Custom Choice Cereal. “Without the networks I’ve built through UNC’s entrepreneurship programs, this business would not be possible.”

Here are the past ads for Caroline Entrepreneurial Initiative. They are all designed by the talented Linda Noble.