harp photoshoot

I have another fun shoot to share with you all! You can head on over to my photography blog to read more about it.

the laundromat

Be sure to check out the entire series here!

This photo series was to promote a play put on by one of the students I go to school with, and it was definitely a fun experience!

Director: Cambria Herrera
Hair + MUA: Sara Jodway
Costume: Alyssa Rands
Models: Sierra Brambila & Alanna Archibald

wrath

Hello all! I'm trying out something a bit different with blogging, and have decided to move all my photography related topics to my website. But don't worry, Introvert's Introduction will continue to be a diary/lifestyle sort of place and I will always create a post linking to my website when I post something new.

So if you want to check out some behind the scenes photos and the story behind this picture, be sure to check out my photo website here!

fashion shoot // josi

A week ago I got to do a really fun photoshoot the the beautiful Josi! She is a fashion major and has a great sense of style, and I've been wanting to photograph her for a while. For my photography class, our weekly prompt was "at wit's end", which I interpreted as a quirky, grungy location since I really wanted to do a fashion shoot. At Wit's End, the people are really cool and like to match their environment, so Josi and I shot with colors in mind (specifically different hair colors), and I think they turned out quite nicely. This is certainly a bit different from what I usually do, simply because I haven't done a shoot that was exclusively fashion before (I mean, I've done senior shoots, which are pretty similar, and after doing this shoot I will definitely incorporate some things I learned into those). It was incredibly fun to hang out with Josi and make some cool images together!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

william's senior photoshoot part i // anchorage, alaska

On an especially cold Alaskan day, my brother and I trekked to one of the many parks in the city to take some quick photos. I can hardly believe he's already a senior, and that I get to be the one to take photos with him. Hopefully when I go back up for spring break we will be able to take a few more, because he and I have some really great ideas for conceptual pieces. One thing I love is getting to make more creative works with seniors, especially if they are willing to do so!

Can't believe my little brother is a senior in high school! *tear*

Hope everyone's week is going good!

family shoot // anchorage, alaska

The same day as this shoot, I was able to take photos of this adorable family. I loved the love that they shared for each other, and they were so open about it, which made my job that much easier! This little boy was especially awesome. Immediately after I met him, he was ready for his close up. Such a photogenic little kid! Being around kids is seriously one of the best things ever, and I'm so glad I got to hang out with this one and his family for a few hours.

on the fictional; // today is my birthday

On the fictional;

We change who we are for different people, and as the separative self emerges, the chasm between who we truly are and our societal self becomes a river. Every drop of water has the kinetic energy to change our lives. Or this is our desire to please everyone. It stretches the self thin and shallow, but wide enough to cover those who don't care whether they are warmed by our blankets or not. When will the edges begin to fray?

On the reality; #1

People hide emotions. You never know what demon is haunting a stranger you brush shoulders with. One escaped word is a drop of water to change a life, either to create a chasm or fill a hole.

On the reality; #2

Years pile upon one another in a disorganized mess, but it is in cleaning up that we see each little drop of water shaped us. What could have been different? How might have life been life if? No matter. We control the effects of the water. Baptize us and make us better people.



Today is my twentieth birthday. I have taken photos for my birthday for the past several years, and it's a simple way to see not just how much I've grown physically, but photographically, technically, and so on and so forth.

On turning seventeen, I was in the height of exploring myself. I cut all my hair off, listened to weird music, and took even weirder photos. I was struggling to know myself, experimenting with art, and learning about everything I could.

On turning eighteen, I didn't know what I was doing, didn't know the direction I was going to go, and was scared of the future. I was dreaming of new opportunities and new adventures.

On turning nineteen, I was on the verge of those dreams, excited and confident in who I was, feeling like I had finally found my place in the world. I was seeking and growing and stretching myself like I never had before.

And on turning twenty? I find myself in a place of contentment, but also a place at the base of a mountain, gearing up to trek to the top. Twenty is a strange concept to me. Now I am no longer a teenager, and when I was younger, this was the moment I was supposed to have my life together. But I am still just as fragmented as ever, only now I realize it's okay. I don't even have to spend my life trying to put those pieces together, because maybe instead I'm meant to give them away.


But now we are going to switch gears a little bit, because an unspoken resolution for this year was for me to show you guys more behind-the-scenes and tutorial type things for every one of my personal photos.



These two photos are straight out of the camera, aside from a little bit of RAW processing. Though it appears like I shot in a fancy studio with fancy lighting, I actually shot this simply in a dark room with my laptop as the only light source. My laptop is fairly lightweight, so it's easy to move around and hold up for a photo. Alternatively you could use a cell phone light. It's a simple solution to the never ending problem of adequate lighting.

Other than that, I blended together the faces in photoshop, added the drops using a combination of the smudge tool, the paintbrush, and lots of curve adjustments. Then it was just a matter of adding the perfect amount of contrast to make the message come through.

Mouseover to see the before and after:

family shoot // anchorage, alaska

On a crisp Saturday morning, this adorable family and I had a little adventure in one of the many parks surrounding the city. I am always so thankful for clients like these, because not only do they show me great locations, but because they are easy, stress free people, and share a beautiful love for one another, which I think is pretty obvious in these photos.






Thank you so much to the family for allowing me to photograph a small portion of your lives, and to potential clients, you can always check out my work and pricing information on my website.

november photos

"Starmaker"

Model: Jessica

First time using studio lights! This was such a fun concept to shoot. We made a makeshift backdrop in our school's drawing room, threw flour and glitter everyone, and created some awesome images! I would love to use studio lights again, as they add a totally different feel and help me achieve some things I couldn't do with natural light. It's really exciting for me to know that there's a whole side of photography (really, many sides) that I haven't even begun to explore. There's just so much to learn!




Also this month I posted one of my graphic design assignments to my facebook page, which was a super fun assignment and I really want to be able to do more creative graphic design stuff like this in the future.

Our assignment was to take a song--I chose Supercollider by Radiohead--and interpret it into a lyric poster of sorts. Of course I had to be an overachiever and make two, but it was so much fun and I learned a lot (also I should note that if you are viewing this on a MAC, it looks a bit darker than I intended--so I'll have to remember that for next time!).

january/february // march // april // may // june // july // august // september // october

film friday: "Lighthouse Keeper" speed edit

"Lighthouse Keeper" Speed Edit from Lauren Parker on Vimeo.

final image:



Here's the latest image from my art retreat weekend, plus a speed edit video for this week's film friday. I always enjoy when photographers post these types of videos. It's interesting to see the process (or when they mess up like me and can't actually edit out pieces of clothing, haha), especially if it's different from how you do it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

october photos

"beach couple"

models: two lovely strangers



"earthmaker"

model: Spencer
assistants: Ben and Harrison



"a sailing waltz"

model: Megan



"lighthouse keeper"

model: Megan

Thanks to the Art Retreat, I got to create a lot of photos for the month of October. There are still more that I want to publish on the internet, so we will see if I remember that they exist at a time when I can/want to work on them (you know how that goes). But for October, I'd say it was a pretty successful month.

january/february // march // april // may // june // july // august // september

Halloween 2013

Photobooth Fun







On Halloween I got to take photobooth photos for school. The above are some of my favorites! It was super fun getting to hang out with a lot of students on campus and see all the different costumes. This place really comes alive Halloween Night!

Our Costumes

For my own group of friends, as usual we decided about an hour before the festivities that we would dress up, so after scouring our closets, I'd say we did a pretty good job! There were a couple parties, a costume contest, and a haunted house going on during the 31st, and then a school dance the next night, which were all a ton of fun!






mini mouse, the ocean, katniss, princess merida, and a zebra

Hope you had a great Halloween! What did you all dress up as?