What ARE those lights I keep putting in my photos…

Chicago Portrait Photographer Vintage Lights and Painted Backdrop

One of the most popular questions I am asked is: what are those lights in the background of my portraits? Aside from the one time that I used a Profoto Monolight unsuccessfully, every other occurrence I can recall featured a vintage light designed by Mole-Richardson.

Making a custom Cucoloris to create dramatic portraits

Cucoloris portrait with a fresnel by Chicago Photorgapher John Gress

After being inspired by Sophie Palmer’s portrait depicting boredom with a Catholic priest inside the confession booth, below, I decided to try my hand at projecting divine patterns on model Alex Mitchell’s face by making a custom Cucoloris.

Powering a Canon C200 with Gold Mount Brick Batteries

Canon C200 with a gold mount battery

After picking myself up off the floor following my discovery of the sticker price for Canon’s C200 batteries, I decided to look at other options. I have seen people using V-Mount and Anton Bauer Gold Mount batteries for while, but they remained a mystery to me until push came to shove once my new camera was on its way.

Annual Report Photography for Above & Beyond

Annual Report Photography for Charity

Thanks to a referral from graphic designer Dan Paterno, to account executive John Healy, the Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center hired me to photograph their clients for their annual report.