The not for profit is a unique and loving outpatient treatment center that embraces those with substance use disorders and they will turn no willing client away. And I was grateful for the opportunity to help the Center and Executive Director Dan Hostetler raise money for the cause, since drug and alcohol abuse has touched everyone’s family, including my own.

The overall theme of the shoot was to photograph real people in their real clothes and then mix in props from around the center and some rustic ones from my own collection. Then we posed them in front of a blue green Gravity Backdrop.

For most of the shots I used Profoto D1 Air 500 Monolights, a Elinchrom 39″ Rotalux Deep OctaBox as my main light and then boomed a Photek Softlighter II 46-Inch Umbrella overhead and filled the whole shot with a Westcott 7-Feet White with Black Cover Parabolic Umbrella.

The vision of Above and Beyond is to build an individualized treatment experience that is available to anyone in need regardless of their economic status. Their clients and clinicians create therapeutic alliances that design and execute personalized programs of recovery that co-exist side-by-side with personal development and growth goals. They believe that recovery is a process that requires meeting individuals where they are at, as well as addressing their environmental life circumstances such as: education, employment readiness, interpersonal relationships, and social reintegrative abilities and activities.

You can donate to Above and Beyond here!

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For the third year in a row the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Team To End AIDS (T2) hired me to photograph their major sports competitions. The resulting sports lifestyle photography has been used in their advertising and fund raising ad campaigns.

T2 has trained more than 6,000 athletes and raised in excess of $10 million benefiting AFC and HIV/AIDS-related community charities.

Unlike most advertising photoshoots where you can direct your subjects. I had do choose my composition and then wait for the athletes to arrive. Usually this would requite me to scan the horizon for the teams distinctive uniforms. Which at times felt like finding a needle in a hay stack, especially during the Chicago Marathon where there were fewer than 100 T2 athletes and over 40,000 competitors. One of my favorite thing to do during these early morning shoots is look for locations where the sun is reflecting off of two buildings as sen in the image above.

Founded in 1985 by community activists and physicians, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago is a local and national leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. We collaborate with community organizations to develop and improve HIV/AIDS services; fund and coordinate prevention, care, and advocacy projects; and champion effective, compassionate HIV/AIDS policy.

The post Chicago sports lifestyle photography for the Team To End AIDS appeared first on Chicago Photographer & Director of Photography.

The website, which was designed by Substance, is very modern and elegant and celebrates the foundation’s 30th anniversary.

The portrait below also appears in their 2014 annual report.

In addition to the portraits, I also captured this moment during their AIDS Run & Walk event which is a grassroots fundraising event where people from all walks of life help change the story of HIV in our lifetime. As beneficiaries of the event, AFC and their CommunityDirect partners are greatly impacted.

The post AIDS Foundation of Chicago Commercial Portrait Photos for Their New Website & Annual Report appeared first on Chicago Photographer & Director of Photography.

Long before I shot this Chicago nightlife advertising photography lifestyle ad campaign, I first stepped into Chicago’s Union Station when I was 18 years-old and traveling through on my way to check out colleges with my mother. What possessed me to take a train clear across the country in 1996 is beyond me, but I did really enjoyed the experience of seeing so much of our country for the first time.

Chicago was an amazing place to me. The world just seemed so big and I just felt so small. I remember thinking the buildings that line Michigan Avenue were like a wall of 40-story edifices that dwarfed the skyline of my native Portland, Oregon. In retrospect those buildings aren’t that big compared to home, but I am sure when ever my family comes to visit they feel the same way.

Fast forward 18-years and I am back in Union Stations cavernous great hall, creating a nightlife lifestyle ad campaign for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s World of Chocolate. A charity event that raises money for people living with HIV and AIDS. You can make a donation and buy tickets to this amazing event, which takes place on December 4th, on their website.

Lighting the giant building was a challenge, but one I loved concurring. I had to light the room to look like nighttime,even though it was dusk. So I shaped the light on my models to strike them from different angles, while placing additional lights throughout the hall to light the background. To give the scenes a nightlife glow I put an full color temperature orange (CTO) gel on all of my lights. None of this wouldn’t be possible without the help of my assistant Christopher Free.

I love the chandeliers and lamps in the space. When I shot this nightlife lifestyle ad campaign, I made sure to introduce just enough light into the scene to create shadows and highlights without overpowering the light coming from these ornate fixtures.

The Chicago nightlife advertising photography lifestyle ad campaign was published in Chicago magazines and online.

Chicago Nightlife Advertising Photography Credits:

Producers: Rhett Lindsay, Dan Paterno
Models: Sriram Parthasarathy, Rosey Marie Holcomb, and Jefferson West
Makeup: Mel Wilson
Hair: Dan Paterno
Photo Assisting: Christopher Free
Fashions: CRAM Fashion
LuLu’s on the Avenue
Richard’s Fabulous Finds

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Chicago Marathon: This weekend I photographed the Chicago Marathon for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Team to End AIDS (T2). It was a fun experience finding just over 130 runners in a sea of 45,000. At first I thought it was going to be a difficult task, but thanks to the unique design of their jersey, it wasn’t that hard after all.

This images will be used in advertising campaigns so the organization can solicit even more donations.

The mission of T2 is to improve the lives of those who are affected by HIV/AIDS by raising funds to support the programs of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Click here to make a donation.

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Along with capturing great light and the athletes I wanted the images to have some Chicago landmarks as well.

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I love this area below which I found on Franklin Street, where sunlight was reflecting off of two buildings and hitting the runners from opposite angles. You can guarantee I’ll be there again next year!
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