Jonathan Robson photography

Reshoot

2010-03-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I spent an afternoon with Caelyn again, last week she wasn't to interested in partaking in our photo fun, however this week she gave us the honour of photographing her while she took some well deserved naps. We managed to great photo sessions in between feeds and then some family photos from the comfort of her swaddle.

Newborn Fun

2010-03-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today I had the pleasure of spending some time photographing Caelyn. Caelyn is new to the world having been born earlier this week, but nobody can say she lacks personality :-). She played with us for a good 4 hours, pretending to sleep, then waking and insisting on feeding the minute we were ready to shoot. I think she was having a great deal of fun with us all and especially mom & dad.

Still with great parents like Todd & Melissa, I'm sure she'll have many more fun times ahead of her, starting with our reshoot next weekend :-).

One on One Photography Tutoring now available!

2010-01-01T12:56:00.000-08:00

As DSLR cameras grow in popularity, the amount of people left wondering why the purchase of an expensive camera is not resulting in fantastic photos automatically also grows.

Contact me to set up some personalized one on one tutoring to get the most out of your camera. Tutoring sessions are free form and geared towards your personal needs as each person may be at a different skill level and have a different learning pace. The following is an example of subjects which can be covered in a tutoring session:

- Introduction to your camera
- Understanding Exposure
- Composition fundamentals
- Flash Photography fundamentals
- White balance
- Post Processing

This list is not exhaustive and the topics will take different amounts of time to cover for different people. Tutoring is priced at $30/hour, it is recommended to book an initial one hour consultation to help determine your needs.

Contact: info@jonathanrobsonphotography.com

Trash the Dress!

2009-10-19T03:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy fall of family and senior portraits, but I managed to keep this weekend open in order to attend the fall 'Trash the Dress' facebook organized photography event.

What is trash the dress you ask? Basically think model, wedding dress and a location you'd least likely find a model dressed in a wedding dress! This time it was a corn field in Bolingbrook and Green Valley overlook in Naperville, the dog walkers and runners wondered what was going on!

In all about a dozen photographers turned out, the weather cooperated, as did the sunset, the light was amazing, the models were fantastic and I shot 1200 photos... I have some processing to do!

Feedback

2009-09-10T17:07:00.001-07:00

From a recent client who's son is shortly heading off to Iraq, its not often I get the chance to directly help the armed forces, so this shoot was a real pleasure for me, good luck Chad in Iraq!

"While searching on the internet for a photographer, I came upon Jonathan's website. His pictures captured me immediately. I did not see faces, I saw feelings. He was exactly the photographer I was looking for. We had a very limited time to have our family portrait taken as my son would be home on leave from the Army for only a short time. Although Jonathan was completely booked, he rearranged his schedule and made time for us. Spending that evening with Jonathan created some fun memories for all of us. Then came the pictures...all I can say is that I could not be more pleased. They are my treasures. Thank you so, so much Jonathan." - Wendy.C

Taylor

2009-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Had a great time to day downtown Naperville shooting Taylor. We started at 4, lost track of time and finished at almost 8pm! We spent most of our time in the back alleys of Naperville. Taylor had expressed an interested in a particular style of photo, hopefully we caught it. Really great senior, good luck for the future Taylor!

2009-2010 pricing schedule released

2009-08-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

2009-2010 prices are now in effect. For those who have a photo session already booked, the old pricing schedule applies, unless you would like to use the new one which may work out cheaper, especially if canvases are ordered. Any questions please feel free to call. Digital Negatives are now provided free of charge for all ordered prints. jonathanrobsonphotography.com -> pricing

The Jensens

2009-07-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

Busy Busy day today. Spent most of the day at the Bristol Renaissance Faire with the family, great fun, I highly recommend it to anyone. Then on returning home, it was straight back out again for a family shoot with my good neighbors the Jensens. We went to Saint James Farm. I've been to this place a few times with the kids, but this was the first time I'd used it for a client family shoot. It really is a great place for family shoots, especially as there is very few people visiting it usually, so pretty deserted most weekends. We had some great fun in the grass, by the stables and over the bridge. Have a great week everyone!

WPC

2009-07-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

I spent last night over at Promontory Point in Chicago with the WPC (Wedding Photographers of Chicago) group having a great time and shooting a few photos along the way. The lady above is Jessica, she's an excellent locally based model who did such a great job all night, so a big hand for Jessica! I have about 800 shots to sift through now and process the best of!

The Condons

2009-07-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

I really need to start posting to this blog more frequently, so much new stuff has happened since I last posted, new clients, repeat clients, new equipment, I have lost track. But anyway on to today. What a fun shoot we had with the Condon family. Dad insists that some old lady miss took him for Pierce Brosnan today - he mentioned this shortly after changing clothes in the middle of the carpark (must be some old Hollywood trick), anyone that knows me knows you only need to give me an inch and I'll take a yard, so dad was referred to as Pierce for the rest of the shoot!

I was especially happy to do this photo shoot as their son is about to be deployed to Iraq for the first time, I'm sure everyone will join me in thanking him for his work, and wish him good luck in Iraq! I am pretty sure the Condons are very proud of their son & brother!

Winter Blues

2009-01-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Traditionally the portrait business is the busiest in the Spring and Fall, this is something I've never quite understood, there seems to be whole chunks of the year when people don't want portraits of themselves and their families.

Speaking of my own family, winter is always the time I take more photos of the kids indoors for two reasons, firstly it is obviously cold outside, but secondly you get many more of those cloudy days which when everything is covered in snow, reflects much more light into the house, so you get wonderful natural light in just about any room. This works great for those more playful portraits of the kids in their own environment, especially the crib which so many parents over look as a great place for a baby portrait, or even just in the front room. Also you have the added benefit of being able to get whichever date you prefer as as I mentioned above, traditionally we're less busy, so come on, book today!

JonathanRobsonPhotography on Flickr

2008-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have clicked the flickr link to the right of this post in the past. If you have you know I post a lot of personal work to flickr. Some of that personal work is made available as FineArt prints. So it was pleasing to see that one of my photos made it to the front page of flickr! For those interested in FineArt you'll be pleased to know the photo is available as a print at my FineArt site. Also thanks to those people who helped get the photo onto the front page with all of the kind comments and tagging the photo as a favorite! Enjoy and happy flickr'ing, click the photo to see a larger view.

Busy Busy Busy

2008-12-03T20:07:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is always a busy time for photography, people getting their Christmas card photos ready. As a result I've been processing client photos like a mad scientist to make sure they're in good shape to send out their photos with their Christmas card list. Below is a couple of shots from one of my most recent new clients, Mark & Sara. We lucked out on a fantastic day at the Arboretum, full of color, slightly overcast skies, which contrary to popular belief is actually the preferred type of weather for photography, anyway enough babbling, enjoy the photos!

FineArt Print Website is now live

2008-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

I often get asked by people if they could purchase prints of some of my work, to which I always have to answer 'sorry I don't offer prints for sale currently'. Well I have finally fixed that and put together a website to allow people to order prints. Prices start at $6 and sizes range from 4x6 all the way up to 24x36 mounted canvas prints, with a range of sizes in between to fit any blank wall.

I'll be adding new photos to the site all the time, so please stop by, hopefully something will catch your eye enough to put on your wall and brighten your day from then on!

FineArt Prints

Enjoy!
Jonathan

Fun at the Park

2008-10-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of partaking an a family portrait of the Girup's. The cold is bearing down on us now, so I was a little concerned at the temperatures when I was checking the location the day before the portrait session, but as luck would have it, Sunday turned out to be great weather for this time of year and had a really nice Fall feel to it. We had plenty of fun and I learn what great props Pumpkins can be for the children, so from now on, I'll be the photographer with the camera bag and a couple of pumpkins hanging off of it!

Made the front cover

2008-10-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe not the front cover, but its always nice to wake up to see some of my work featured on a popular photography blog, for the second time I have some photos included in the DIY Photography blog's latest post 'Pool Portraits - A Splash Of People', enjoy!

Perfect Afternoon

2008-10-12T13:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday afternoon was a perfect day in Naperville for a senior photo shoot and luckily thats what Karen, Sarah and myself were up to, the weather was just perfect, the light was excellent also, throw in a couple of nice walls to add some character and off you go. We also provided entertainment on the covered bridge for 10-15 people wondering what the heck we needed umbrellas for when the weather was so perfect, where are my business cards when I need them!

Big Personalities at BigRock

2008-10-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

It was a fair drive out to BigRock IL, but well worth it. A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of photographing Evan & Eric at their family farm. We had great fun in a wonderful location, made photographing the little fellas so easy, that and their great personalities!

Family Portraits at Knock Knolls park

2008-09-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I updated my blog, I figured I should start posting a little bit about some of the recent photo sessions. Yesterday I think I spent half of the day at Knock Knolls park, first taking photos of my own boys as can be seen on my flickr stream, and then later with the Corbett family.

We had some great fun and got a few good photos while we at it, as well as me getting two bee stings, note to self dont stand on a beehive to get the shot!

Civil War Days

2008-05-18T19:35:00.001-07:00

Today was 'Civil War Days' at the Naper settlement, I have a lot of shots to process from this over the next few days, this is one of my favourites though.

Many of the people photographed asked where they could find the photos I took. I directed them to my professional site - jonathanrobsonphotography.com and told them to go to my blog (here) where I'd post a link to the photos, here is link... http://www.flickr.com/photos/robsonj/tags/civilwardays/, if you are featured in one of the photos and would like a complimentary 8x10 print, drop me an email or leave a comment on this post to receive the print.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

2008-05-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that jonathanrobsonphotography.com is now affiliated with the wonderful non-profit organization - NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep), a little bit about NILMDTS for those who are not familiar:

"Pregnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.

But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.

This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives.

The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of nearly 3,000 volunteer professional photographers in the United States and eight International countries. At a family's request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby.

Our entire network of affiliated professional photographers graciously donate their time and talents to our families and we are proud to be able to offer our services at no cost.Your Donations are greatly needed and greatly appreciated."

For more information please click on the image below, feel free to donate what you can to this organization:

Baby face

2008-04-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

A few from todays photo session...

The sun is out

2008-04-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

I think we spent the whole day playing outside today, then by 7pm when it was time to get ready for Cole's bedtime, the tears flowed, I kinda felt sorry for Cole, having being cooped up all winter, he didn't want the first day of sunshine and warm temperatures to end, he didn't understand that tomorrow is supposed to be nice also, and there is spare sand for the sandpit, the slide and trikes will remain right were he left them.

Icicles

2008-02-03T20:09:00.001-08:00

More icicles!
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

It was a cold morning, and I had to stand in the stream to get this shot. Hope you enjoy these icicles, they're probably long gone now as the weather is warming up.

The Rookery

2008-01-30T20:57:00.001-08:00

The Rookery #1
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

With the seasonal portrait rush now over, I've been able to spend some more time on more personal work and fine art material. If you are native to or live in Chicago, you'll no doubt be aware of the Rookery building, it was once the tallest building in the world - 11 stories tall, it is steeped in history and shady Chicago dealings.

You can find this shot in the fine art gallery at jonathanrobsonphotography.com, please enquire via the contact for for available sizes, finishes an pricing.

Destination Hollywood?

2008-01-12T21:12:00.001-08:00

Destination Hollywood
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

Now the winter has set in in Illinois, I've been doing a lot more indoor work and making use of the basement studio more. Today I had the pleasure of working with a potential TV star - amazing what I find in the basement! We had a lot of fun shooting a few shots for some upcoming auditions. If you're reading this, you can say you saw her here first!

I don't like to reveal names of clients in my blog for privacy reasons, but good luck with the auditions Miss... !

Amazed

2008-01-06T20:21:00.001-08:00

Amazed
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

Trying a few experiments in photoshop to get some new looks. My son is often the unwitting guinea pig for my photoshop adventures. But if you see any effects that you would like applying to photos from your session, let me know.

Chillin'

2008-01-05T20:13:00.001-08:00

Chillin'
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

During an informal shoot for the neighbor, Cole decided he'd demonstrate his posing skills. Funny thing is, whenever I want him to sit on the old school chair for photos - he won't! Typical hey.

Smokin' !

2008-01-02T20:22:00.001-08:00

Smokin' !
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

Off to a good start this year, I gave zooming while exposing a go yesterday, today we move onto all things smoke. I've never tried this before, so it was trial and error. I setup some incense sticks on a chair in the basement, propped a black cloth behind, and placed a 580exII below and at either side of the stick pointing up at it, and behind it. I then took 200 shots of the incense stick, occasionally utilizing a small reflector to waft the smoke a little.

I think you can only try something like this once you're older than 21 years old, any younger and you'd be taken away in a van with square wheels! I got some strange looks from my wife on this one.

I stopped when I could stand the smell no more. This is the first one I've processed. While waiting on the images to import into Lightroom, I came across a great blog on this subject, it looks like I did everything as described in the blog... without even reading it (remember the square wheels!). Some great tips on there though for post processing smoke, here is the link:

lightingmods.blogspot.com/2007/07/diy-smoke-made-easy.html

Rapid Flow #1

2007-12-16T19:25:00.001-08:00

Rapid Flow #1
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

One of a series from Waterfall Glen this afternoon. It was pretty chilly, especially standing in the water as I did for some of these shots (with Goretex lined boots on!), but worth it I felt in the end. About half taken with my Sigma Macro 150mm, and the other half with my Sigma 24-70 + CP filter.

They were taken mid afternoon with the added challenge of half a dozen people stood on the bank watching me in the middle of the river with my camera, can't imagine what they were thinking!

All processed in Lightroom, no Photoshop, a lot utilizing the Direct Positive preset and some additional toning to give a blue hue - which I liked. Some are also selectively desaturated.

The Little Store

2007-12-13T19:58:00.001-08:00

The Little Store
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

A shot from our visit to Covington, Georgia at thanksgiving. Its funny, the shots of this store at the time I took it I felt would be the best ones I got while down there, in the end my shot of the bank I liked much more, so I never got around to doing anything with this shot till now, and I actually kinda like this.

The shot looks like a HDR, it is not, it was made to look that way in Adobe Lightroom by the very scientific method of bumping the recovery, fill light and blacks to 100% then backing off the saturation to -60ish. I used that as a base for some photoshop filters - channel mixer, selective saturation, curves & gradients.

I got chatting to the store owner while taking these shots, he was a friendly chap, I promised him I'd send him the finished result, not sure if it will be to his tastes, but a print is on its way to him!

Standoff

2007-12-11T21:25:00.001-08:00

Standoff
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Robson

From following the little guy around with the camera & flash, i don't think he notices the camera at all anymore. This was a simple bounce of the flash off of the ceiling using ETTL-II with +1 FEC.

For the post processing I was experimenting with the aged photo look and threw some extra toning in for good measure.