Sebastian’s Baby Portraits Spring 2011 from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Sebastian’s baby portrait were taken in his home in Chandler, Arizona by Jared Platt. Toward the end of the slideshow you will see that we went to the local Lowes hardware store for a children’s activity where Sebastian’s dad built a very fine pinball machine, while Sebastian banged on a stack of boards with a small hammer.

Here are a few of my favorite images from Sebastian’s baby portrait session…

I love this shot.  Sebastian doesn’t know what the measuring ruler is, but he sure looks like he’s excited to grow up big and tall, which will not take long.  The kid is growing like a weed.  He’s bigger than my daughter and only half her age.  He’s a heavy little guy too.  Made of bricks!

I love the toys that Karen and Tom have around the house.  They are all cool photogenic toys, made of wood with unique design, etc.  You can see the little wood camera in the bottom left corner, which interestingly enough, has a little block of wood on the back to mimic the digital LCD screen.

This next set of shots makes me laugh.  We took a shot of Sebastian with this big bear before on a previous shoot, so we did it again.  It will end up being the measuring stick for his growth.  But after a few shots, the bear kept falling down.  We would put it back up again and it would fall down.  At one point it fell and I told everyone to leave it alone…

Because it looked like it was dead.  It almost looked like a crime scene.  I suppose I have a dark sense of humor, but you have to admit, this shot is kind of funny.

And then I had to just take the crime scene photo of just the bear.

I love the name on the wall.  Sebastian was the happiest he had been the entire shoot when we put him in his crib.  He had a blast.

After the shoot in the home, we went to a children’s building activity at Lowes hardware store.  It was super fun.  Just a quick comparison between my daughter and Sebastian.  She is one year old.  He is 6 months.  He is a big fella.  Sebastian likes to beat on the boards with his little hammer which his dad builds his toy.

My wife and kids came as well.  It was a fun activity.  Although my oldest hit his thumb with the hammer… initiation into boyhood.

Tom did a great job on his pinball machine.  You can see he got a certificate of completion as well, but his goggles were a bit small.

And Karen brought he camera along as well.  I seem to attract clients who are very interested in photography itself.  I take that as a compliment.  I love that many of my clients either love looking at photography, or love pursuing photography as amateurs.

I would also be remise if I didn’t mention that we also had waffles together the morning.  It was a great morning.  A photo shoot, something fun for the kids to do and my favorite breakfast… waffles with fruit and glazed pecans.  Mmmm mmm mmm…

You have to have glazed pecans on your waffles.  You have to.

It was a great morning.  A great photo shoot.  And always fun to be around the Farmers.

Photography: Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Location: Chandler, Arizona

Music: Mindy Gledhill, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Heather and Jeremy’s Engagement Portraits from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Heather and Jeremy met me in downtown Mesa, Arizona for their engagement portrait session.  Of course, the location doesn’t matter all that much.  More important is the opportunity for open shade and/or great light and a fun couple.  So we were all set for this engagement photo shoot.

Open shade makes everything look better.

And if I can find open shade with a little bit of sun peaking in from the background, that’s even better.

In this next image, we had open shade on the face of the building, but not one inch of shade for the couple to stand in.  So, without adding off camera fill light, etc, the shot wouldn’t work as a “portrait”, rather, the shot became an archetectural shot with a couple kissing in the foreground.  In which case, the harsh contrast is perfectly acceptable on the couple, in fact it helps to set them apart from the low contrast building in the background.

Photography: Platt Photography

Location: Downtown, Mesa, Arizona

Music: Kevin Burdick, Courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Jessica’s Senior Portraits 2011 from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

We shot Jessica’s senior portrait session in Chandler, Arizona with a short trip out to the farmland south of the city.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Jessica’s senior portrait session.

Photography: Platt Photography
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Music: Mindy Gledhill, Courtesy of Triple Scoop Music.