Olmsted Falls

Fashion Photography from my Art Institute of Pittsburgh days

Lynn Agee was an amazing model during my college days at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Lynn Agee at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh – posing for a class photo assignment at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1978 or 1979.

The route to my degree in Specialized Technology – majoring in Photography/Multi-Media allowed me to explore the field of fashion photography while at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP).

Two main challenges were finding models on a budget (Hey, I was a student paying for most of my education!) and finding unique locations to impress the profs.

I was fortunate to have a roommate who had an attractive girlfriend who was willing to pose for some of my class assignments.

Lynn Agee was an Interior Design student at AIP without formal modeling experience. She also had a car (which I didn't) so we were able to scout out some pretty cool locations around Pittsburgh.

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Low camera angles can add visual interest to portraits

Senior-Pictures-Cleveland-Ridgeville-Olmsted-Tori-Pishkula
Sometimes, you just gotta “take one for the team” to get an interesting portrait. Click the photo to see it bigger. (Photo of me lying on the ground by Colleen Pishkula)

Over the years, I've found some of the best portraits require climbing a ladder or laying on the floor or ground.

Olmsted Falls High School class of 2015 student, Tori Pishkula, her mom, Colleen, and I set out for a “photo safari” in The Flats near downtown Cleveland this summer to create something a little different for Tori's senior portraits.

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My ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Has Surprise Ending

 

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Yep, I knew it would happen eventually. I've been waiting to be asked to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge but I never thought it would come from our Australian foreign exchange student from 24 years ago – Rebecca Freeman Haines! I asked her to do the ice bucket honors. She came all the way from Australia to be with us!

In this video, I weathered a bucket of ice water dumped over my head and then challenged my neighbors at Cypress Station in North Ridgeville and my co-workers at University Hospital’s Eye Institute Reading Centers to also support this worthy cause. …

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Mark’s embarrassing moment with John Lanigan on Majic 105.7

 

Now that John Lanigan, the popular and sometimes controversial radio host/DJ has retired, I thought I'd share an awkward moment I had with him during an on-air visit to Cleveland radio station WMJI.

I was invited to appear on a COSE sponsored segment where member businesses try to stump the DJs with the type of business they own. After guessing that I owned a portrait studio, John Lanigan then asked if I did nude photos. To be clear – I DON’T do nude photos although I have done several glamour sessions over the years – all done in a tasteful fashion. Any way, my mind began to race as I began to sweat while I quickly formulated my response. How do you think I did? What would YOU have said? Please comment below!

Click here for the two minute interview on WMJI

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How to make a fashion book with Blurb

Blurb is a cool company that lets you make books about anything that interests you. (View a sample of my Blurb-made book – Picturesque Olmsted Falls – http://bit.ly/olmsted-book) And if you’re interested in fashion and style—and love to show it off—making a book of your personal fashion is a fantastic way to capture your sartorial genius for all time. Whether you want it just for yourself, so you can look through your greatest hits, or you’re a bit of an Internet fashionista who wants to make a book to sell, you’ll find these tips pretty helpful:

1. It’s all about lighting. To make your fashion really pop, choose natural light or studio light with a soft box (you can even make one from a lamp and last season’s white t-shirt). If you’re using a flash, you’ll probably want to bounce it or stick a diffusion filter on it.

2. Make a shot list. This is a critical step, and even more important if you are photographing models. Even if your model is just your best friend who owes you a favor, they’ll appreciate it if you know exactly what you want to shoot. Think about the poses you want to capture, the outfits you want them to wear, and the details that you want to highlight in every shot. 

3. White balance (WB). Accurate color and skin tones come from making sure the WB function on your camera is set to your lighting situation. (You can check the color looks right on the camera's screen to see if it looks right.) Not sure hoe to adjust the white balance? It will be covered in your camera's manual. You do still have it, don't you? 😉

Be sure the camera's white balance is set to the correct lighting you're shooting under to ensure the models's skin color looks natural.
Be sure the camera's white balance is set to the correct lighting you're shooting under to ensure the models's skin color looks natural.

4. Choose the right lens/zoom setting. If you’re using a wide angle, you’re going to distort your models face and body (and your model may never forgive you). If you have a camera with a zoom lens, zoom out to minimize distortion. You will then have to move farther away from the model to get their whole body in for those full length shots.

5. Keep it stylish. It’s a fashion shoot, after all. Play music, keep things moving, try new angles. Attitude, attitude, attitude. 

Try unusual angles. Shoot down from a ladder or lay on the floor and shoot up to make the subject look taller.

6. Dress it up. Make your book as fashionable as the clothing featured in it. Choose a simple design that doesn't upstage the clothing, but still looks chic. Pick a size and paper type that showcases the work brilliantly.

If you've ever paid attention to what’s on the “catwalk,” you know that fashion means different things to different people. Follow your own fashion obsessions and document them in a fashionable book. If you look good today in person, imagine looking great forever on the printed page with Blurb! Start your Blurb book now and Save 25% on print book orders of $75+ at Blurb.

If you want the best model portraits possible, that's where we can help. Check out some of our model shoots here.

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Avon Lake Public Library to host my AlumaGraph exhibit

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I've loaned 17 limited edition AlumaGraphsTM for exhibition at the Avon Lake Public library. The artwork includes a fog-shrouded Golden Gate Bridge taken from Alcatraz, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island appearing as if it were taken in a by-gone era and a unique rendering of a horseless buggy at Grand Pacific Junction in Olmsted Falls.

AlumaGraph(TM) Logo - photographs embedded on aluminum panels by Northeast Ohio photographer and North Ridgeville resident Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography. Madere does portraits in Cleveland and surrounding areas including Olmsted Falls, Westlake, Rocky River, Avon Lake and more.
AlumaGraphsTM are photographs that are embedded on aluminum panels by Northeast Ohio photographer and North Ridgeville resident Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography.

I discovered a unique way to “print” my art that sets it apart from all other medium. Instead of using traditional photographic paper, the images are rendered as AlumaGraphsTM – a proprietary process that transforms photographs into faux paintings and then melds them into aluminum. There’s nothing as captivating as a photo that shines on aluminum with a bright, clear, glossy base and brilliant color that pops.

I've always wanted to create stunning images of landscapes and unusual architecture. Unfortunately, I never did well in art class as a child. I knew what good composition was but just couldn't draw a stick figure to save my life! I then fell in love with photography and was finally able to capture amazing scenes with a camera where an artist brush failed me. Nevertheless, my images still looked like pictures. The digital process I now use has elevated my photographs to look like the paintings I wanted to create since I was a little boy.

Some of my work may be viewed at www.mark-madere.artistwebsites.com.

The library is at 32649 Electric Blvd in Avon Lake. The exhibit runs from March 1st – 31st , 2014

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Local photographers to learn how to use video to promote their studios

Explode your business with YouTube videosTonight, I'll be teaching local professional photographers how to turn their client photo sessions into simple-to-create videos that will help their studios be found easily on YouTube and Google searches.

The presentation is titled, “Explode Your Business with Simple-to-Create Videos and Your Own FREE YouTube Channel.” It will be held at the North Olmsted Library at 7 p.m. for the Society of Northern Ohio Professional Photographers (SONOPP) monthly meeting.

Through a series of short demonstration videos, attendees will discover how to “grab” new clients with simple videos that will help their studio's website outrank their competition's in Google search results – all without having to appear on camera or buying expensive video equipment.

At the end of the evening, attendees will:

• Review great and not-so-good videos of Ohio portrait photographers so they will understand the key elements of successful, client-capturing videos (Here’s a sample video they’ll see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY30tAkpwaM)

• Discover how to make videos with impact from existing photos with cheap, easy-to-use video editing software to get their first videos online immediately

• Learn the importance of having a “video intro” to brand their videos for instant recognition by their prospects and clients (They’ll also see SONOPP’s new video intro.)

• Understand what an actual photography studio YouTube channel looks like so they’ll have a guide to create their own, free channel

• Discover how to create their very own YouTube channel to host their videos and make them available for prospective clients who search Google for businesses like theirs

• Get a list of inexpensive, must-have video equipment for creating live videos for minimal cost

• Hear about an online, step-by-step training course for creating videos that includes tons or marketing tricks that will get their videos watched AND convert their viewers into paying customers

• Discover an online course on how to easily create promotional videos with a smartphone

Why should SMART business owners attend this program? Because:

• Video drives engagement. Engagement increases revenue.
• Websites with video are more likely to be featured on the first page of Google's search results.
• Video adds credibility and is available 24/7.
• Video makes a website SIX times more likely to convert a visitor into a paying customer.
• Video is easily shared with other potential customers. It can be viewed on many devices.
• Video is memorable. With video, more content will be remembered and for a longer period of time than with text alone.
• Providing a link to a video within an email will increase response and drive more traffic to a website.
• A visitor will stay on a website featuring a video at least two minutes longer and is 64% more likely to purchase than a website without video.
• Video will enhance all other marketing efforts. Using video on a landing page will increase conversions.
• A professionally produced video outperforms user generated video by at least 30%.

Local photographers to learn how to use video to promote their studios Read More »

Discover 7 Secrets to Better Vacation Photography

Changing camera angles and take an ordinary pose and transform it to an extraordinary one.
Changing camera angles and take an ordinary pose and transform it to an extraordinary one. These photos are from the presentation: “7 Secrets to Better Vacation Photography”

I'm really excited to be asked to show how to take better vacation photos at the May 20th meeting of the North Ridgeville Arts Council. I will be presenting “Discover 7 Secrets to Better Vacation Photography.” The information can be used to improve vacation photography, pictures of friends and family, sporting events and more.

Topics to be covered include: how to choose a camera, creative composition from unusual camera angles, use of natural light and electronic flash, how to help people look their best, enhancing photos after they're taken, saving and preserving picture files to guard against loss from a computer crash, different ways to display photographs for maximum enjoyment and more.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

The meeting is on Monday, May 20th at 7 p.m. at North Ridgeville Library,35700 Bainbridge Rd, North Ridgeville.

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Northeast Ohio amateur photographers could win big bucks

 

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You're a winner!”

Yes, those could be the words that a few lucky Cleveland area photographers hear after judging is completed for three amateur photo contests – one local, one national and one international. …

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Our unusual artwork accepted for exhibition at prestigious Westlake-Westshore Arts Council show

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Golden Gate Bridge viewed from Alcatraz by Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography of North Ridgeville
Golden Gate Bridge viewed from Alcatraz. See this image larger or order it online at http://bit.ly/spec-goldengatebridge-1

WOW! I just found out that three unique pieces were selected from my digital art collection for exhibit at the prestigious 13th Annual Community of Fine Arts Show presented by the Westlake-Westshore Arts Council. The juried art show runs from August 6 – 18 at the Westlake Porter Library at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake.

Red Buggy at Grand Pacific Junction in Olmsted Falls by Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography
Red Buggy at Grand Pacific Junction in Olmsted Falls. See this image larger or order it online at http://bit.ly/spec-buggy

My entries include a fog-shrouded Golden Gate Bridge taken from Alcatraz, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island appearing as if it were taken in a by-gone era and a unique rendering of a horseless buggy at Grand Pacific Junction in Olmsted Falls.

Over the past three years, I've developed a proprietary digital process to meld photographs into faux paintings. I’ve always wanted to create beautiful images of landscapes and unusual architecture. Unfortunately, I never did well in art class as a child. I had an idea of what good composition was but just couldn’t draw a stick figure to save my life! I then fell in love with photography and was finally able to capture amazing scenes with a camera where an artist brush failed me. However, my images still looked like pictures. The digital process I now use has elevated my photographs to look like the paintings that I sought since I was a little boy.

Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island by Mark Madere of SpectraLight Photography of North Ridgeville
Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island. See this image larger or order it online at http://bit.ly/spec-GrandHotel-1

I also discovered a really cool, unique way to “print” my art. Instead of standard photographic paper, I have them embedded into aluminum panels. There’s nothing as captivating as a photo that shines on aluminum with a bright, clear, glossy base with brilliant color that pops. Two of my pieces in the show will be presented on these panels.

See more of my work and order prints for your home or business or give as gifts at www.mark-madere.artistwebsites.com.

Our unusual artwork accepted for exhibition at prestigious Westlake-Westshore Arts Council show Read More »

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