I have been looking forward to posting this for the last month or so, but just have not had the chance until today. I shoot many family portrait sessions in a given year, but I rarely shoot one as unique as the one I am featuring today. Most shoots I do are in parks, fields, wooded areas, barns/stables, natural places, etc. Outdoor shoots are always in daylight, usually in the evenings. I often do traditional family sessions with backdrops, studio style lighting, etc. Well, not this time! The Burkett family wanted something different and they were not interested in the having a traditional setting. Instead, they asked if I would shoot them under the city lights of downtown Charlotte at dusk and at night! Heck yes I will! What a cool idea, to do family shots as well as shots of the individual family members in a non-traditional setting.
So here is what I did. The Burkett family met me around dusk so we could get a few shots with some light. We then proceeded to walk around in a predetermined loop of downtown and stop at places I thought might be interesting for shots. For most of the shots I used a small video light. I also used off-camera flash and a softbox, although that proved difficult since it was unusually windy on that particular day. Anyway, see for yourself, this was a really cool shoot. A special thanks to the Burkett family for their suggestion and their willingness to do something different. So here are some of my favorites:
