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LIndsay, Modeling Portfolio Imagery

12/15/2015

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In studio with Lindsay Lundeen

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Lindsay is just starting out her modeling career and needed some images worth of agency meetings. I had a great time working with you Lindsay! 

Each session includes a Smart Phone APP of your final session edits that you can use as a digital portfolio. It can be downloaded, and shared to as many devices as you'd like. The APP ensures FAST viewing of your edits and images can be shared directly to social media sites! 

​Book a session today! 
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How to be More Photogenic

7/14/2015

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Look Great in Pictures! 10 quick tips

Take full length photos from a lower angle. This will make you appear to be longer and leaner. Who doesn't want to look tall and skinny? 
photography tips to look better in photos
Put your tongue BEHIND your teeth when you smile. This will keep you from having a cheshire cat wide smile. Also "smieyes" or smile with your eyes! 
photography tips to look better in photos, minneapolis, minnesota, saint paul, twin cities
Tilt your face so that you're not square on with the camera lens. This will slim the face and give your cheekbones more dimension, making your features more flattering and pronounced. Focus on showing the left side of your face. For some reason it seems to be your "best side". Try not to look "square" onto the camera.
how to look better in photographs
Tilt your head up a bit at the chin to elongate the neck. Try to make sure you're tilting your head toward the light to soften any lines and to fill in the face. 
photography tips and tricks
Ask whomever is taking a seated photo of you to do so from above and tilt your head towards the lens. This will make you appear leaner and have light fill in your face. 
how to look better in photos, tips and tricks for photography, portrait photographer, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Saint Paul
This will reduce red eye by shrinking your pupils! Less photo editing is always a good thing. 
Looking your best in photos
Say "MONEY" instead of "CHEESE". The hard "E" sound in the word money causes the corners of your mouth to go up and your eyes will crinkle just a little giving the impression of a natural smile. And money is a little more fun to shout. 
look great in photos, be more photogenic, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Twin Cities, Saint Paul
Crop your images so that your body fills the entire frame. This again gives you length and elongates the body. 
Photography, Portrait Photographer, Headshots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Saint Paul
When taking photos with one or several other people try to make sure you're all the same depth from the camera or step a bit back. The closer to the camera you are the larger you will appear. 
Looking great in group photos, photography tips
Practice really does make perfect. Practice your smile in the mirror and when in doubt take a deep breath, close your eyes and then open them and smile before a photo is taken. Relax, and think of something that makes you happy, this will help you project that feeling to the camera and have a great natural smile! 
making a natural looking smile, photography tips and tricks
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Positioning and Emotion

11/25/2014

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modeling, posing, composition, photography, photographer, emotion, beauty
composition, positioning, modeling, pose, posing, photography, photographer, beauty

Master non-verbal communication

90% of human communication is non-verbal. For someone who captures images of people that's really good news. I can effectively convey to my audience a feeling or emotion with poses and positioning. 

In the above examples you can see that by changing my positioning I've completely changed the mood of both images. I've also changed the lighting to emphasize the pose, and implied emotion. 

For the more sensual pose shot in landscape, I've created hard shadows with my light. For the more aggressive pose shot in portrait I've lightened the image by reducing my shadows and pulling the light more in front of my subject. I feel by doing this I've made my primary subject Margaret appear to be in control in both images regardless of the positioning. 

It helps when setting up your shot to know what feeling your attempting to translate with your image and to effectively communicate that to your subject. I always show a couple of frames to my model so that she or he can see what it is that they're doing and how it's translating to the end result. I know a lot of photographers tend to shy away from this practice but I want to build confidence in both my subjects performance and my ability to make them shine in the final image. I want everyone to feel confident in what we're doing because when everyone feels good about what's going on we all preform better. 

I also tend to build mood boards with images that convey my intended emotional content. This helps me visualize what I'd like to create, and assists in showing my subject what it is that we're going to attempt to photograph emotionally. 

Have fun finding things you like and combining light and poses to create different emotions in your compositions. Don't be afraid to try a couple of different things to see what works best for what you'd like to accomplish, and experiment! I wouldn't recommend replicating images, but finding your own voice and creating unique original content! 

Pictured is Margaret Sinarath
with Wehmann Models MPLS
and RB's arm.... 
MUA Angela Morris
Shot with my 85mm 1.8 and Nikon D610
ISO 100, f/16, 1/100s
Light modifier 16" beauty dish with sock on boom lit by AlienBees B800 at 1/2 power



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Tips for Better Posing

8/13/2014

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tips for better posing, model posing, modeling, photography, photographer, tips, helpful hints, life hacks, photography hacks
1) Try to invoke a natural smile. Know the difference between your subject painting on a smile for the camera and an actual smile. Learn a couple of jokes to tell your model, and be ready to capture a real moment! Make yourself laugh! 

2) Cross your legs. You'll look leaner, and more polished. Don't squat. Especially if you're a woman. It's not flattering. If you cannot cross your legs at the knees, do so at the ankle. 

3) Posture! Pretend you're squeezing an orange between your shoulder blades to give you perfect posture in an instant! 

4) Avoid a double chin by moving it forward and slightly down. It may feel uncomfortable, but it will look great. Practice this in the mirror to ensure the right technique. "Feel" how you want it to look so you can quickly and easily recreate that pose in front of the camera without the assistance of a mirror. 

5) Keep things natural. If you normally don't sit outside with your arms above your head then don't do that for the camera. Overly dramatic poses look more glamour or pin-up than portrait or fashion. 

6) Confidence! If you don't have much or you're just starting out... Fake it until you feel it! Modeling and posing is acting. Create a character for yourself to become in front of the camera to help you build confidence until you naturally command the lens. 

As always if you've got any tips or tricks of your own please share them! Happy shooting! 
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Modeling Photography

7/14/2014

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Comp Card Creation

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I recently worked with Max again to capture some new images to create his comp card for IMTA. I do offer this service for both new models and those who have been working in the industry. Comp cards are a great way to network, and gain new business. 

What is a comp card? It's a business card for models. It contains a small selection of images from the model's portfolio and lists vital statistics such as height and sizing information. Comp cards typically also contain any agency information for booking purposes. If the model is unsigned or non-exclusive the agency information can be left off of the comp card. 

There are a couple of things your comp card should contain. The first is a focused selection of images showing range and flexibility. The images ideally can be from previous tears or printed work. If you don't have printed work the images should have a minimum of 4 different looks. The main image on your comp card is your head shot. The back of your comp card should have no less then 3 images and no more than 4 images. The back of your comp card is where you should include at least one full body image and some 3/4 shot images. I do not recommend completing a comp card primarily of head shots. 

Your comp card should also contain accurate, and up to date contact information. The comp card has two main purposes, conveying size and measurements and phone and email information. You want to ensure that a casting director is able to contact you easily. Do not hide or mask this information with fun graphics or design. Your comp card should be neat, clean and easy to read. 
Do include:
  • height
  • chest/bust
  • waist
  • hips
  • weight
  • hair color 
  • eye color
  • shoe size

Comp cards are typically 8.5"x5.5" and printed on high quality card stock. Do not print comp cards on photo paper, which is thin and appears to be cheap. Ensure you're using a good quality paper with substantial weight. You're making and leaving a first impression, make sure it's a good one! 

If you have any questions in regard to comp cards or this service please feel free to comment or email me. Thank you! 
Elle 
modeling photography, fashion photography, fashion, model, freelance photographer, saint paul, minneapolis, minnesota
freelance photographer, modeling photography, comp card creation, saint paul, photography, photographer

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What our customers have to say

I worked with Elle Halls of Nouvelle Design Studio for my business profile picture (used for LinkedIn, email, website, business cards, etc.) and she was amazing! She really listened to what I wanted, and made me a part of the process, stopping many times throughout the shoot to show me how the photos were looking. What I thought was going to be a "business errand/chore" ended up being a lot of fun! I highly recommend using Elle for your photography project.

Thumbtack client Kristin J.
Excellent experience. Elle was able to coach out the "model" in me and provided many shots I can pick from. She went well above and beyond me expectations and the final product is excellent.

Thumbtack client Scott J.

Working with Elle was wonderful! I was doing a fashion shoot and it was so fun! She's very nice, funny, and professional, the shoot went like that! She has a very keen eye and did wonderful work! Very happy with my photos. Thanks, Elle!

 Thumbtack client Elena C.


I love the photos of myself and my daughter. We were given excellent direction so we could get the best shots. I couldn't be happier with the results! I highly recommend booking a session for any type of photography you are looking for!

Shelly S.
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