Okay, after a few days of blogging fun about our studio, I thought I should put something together that shows some of the real work we do. We benchmark what other photographers do, and we think it's kind of cool when they put up "teasers" after a shoot, but we usually end up giving clients a little time before we start posting images on Facebook, blogs or any other social medium. The last serious shoots we did were for a series of graduation photos. Below are some we did for Mackenzie and Riley:

Mackenzie Desaturated...then desaturated it a bit to soften the look. Mackenzie by the WaterGraduation pictures for Mackenzie, taken on her uncle's farm near Zwingle, South of Dubuque.

When we were asked about shooting in the corn bin, we lowered the ISOs and used a speedlite to illuminate the inside of the structure:

Mackenzie in the Corn BinGraduation pictures for Mackenzie, taken on her uncle's farm near Zwingle, South of Dubuque. Mackenzie Robey 149Graduation pictures for Mackenzie, taken on her uncle's farm near Zwingle, South of Dubuque.

The photos in Mackenzie in uniform were really cool. Of course we equally love Rams, Mustangs and Golden Eagles:

Mackenzie Robey 106Graduation pictures for Mackenzie, taken on her uncle's farm near Zwingle, South of Dubuque. Mackenzie Robey 305Graduation pictures for Mackenzie, taken on her uncle's farm near Zwingle, South of Dubuque.

So we did another photo shoot for Riley, who wore entirely different school colors. Of course, every outdoor photo shoot has it's challenges, and it is usually related to the lighting. Too much sun leads to blown out photos, scattered shade through trees are probably the toughest, and even when you can put your subject in the shade, indirect light will change the way a camera meters. This day was incredibly sunny, but we were very happy about some of the photographs we got:

Riley Hefel 012Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields, Miller Park and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque. Riley Hefel 070Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque.

So after starting at McAleece and Miller park in Dubuque, we made our way down to the riverfront development near the Star Brewery:

Riley Hefel 111Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields, Miller Park and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque. Riley Hefel 198Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields, Miller Park and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque.

Riley Hefel 123Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields, Miller Park and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque. Riley Hefel 203Graduation pictures for Riley, taken at McAleece ball fields, Miller Park and near Stone Cliff Winery in Dubuque.

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We are hoping to do a few more shoots for members of the Dubuque's graduating class of 2014. And who knows, perhaps we will do a couple in the comfort of our home under ideal lighting conditions!