Adam Arnold fashion show portland oregon

Fresh from last night– photos from the Adam Arnold 2007 spring fashion show, Portland, Oregon. Arnold (center of this photo) used models with shaved heads for this show. He’s easily one of the best independent designers in town and always has some interesting or innovative idea up his well crafted sleeve!

See my complete set of the Adam Arnold spring 2007 show photos under “fashion shows” on my website:

Pete Springer fashion photography, Portland, Oregon

spring fashion portland oregon

Spring fashion is here– Portland models, boutique owners, designers– I can help you get great photos for ads, portfolios, the web– or whatever!

You wouldn’t trust your wedding photos to your buddy with the point & shoot digital cam– so why take a chance with your fashion images? Do it right– do it well– hire a professional.

Pete Springer Fashion Photography Portland, Oregon

photo in The Oregonian today

Opened up The Oregonian newspaper today and thumbing through the A&E section, came across this pic!

What’s strange is I shot this two years ago– for a local dance company called Do Jump! I had NO idea it was going to be published– and the sad thing is there’s not even a photo credit But it’s definitely one of my photos!

Pete Springer Photograhy, Portland Oregon

fashion photographers Portland Oregon

Hey Models!

Yes, I can help you with developing your portfolio! But how much does that cost, you may ask?

Well, we need to sit down over a cup of coffee to figure that out. I promise– my rates are very, very reasonable. It all depends on what you want or need. I’ve worked with most of the big Portland modelling agencies and they all have different requirements in terms of photos for portfolios.

Rates range from $100 on up for a shoot to get you some of the best photos in your book. See more photos and get contact info here:

Pete Springer Fashion Photography, Portland, Oregon– and SW Washington

Portland Boutiques

Did a boutique catalog style shoot over the weekend where I go to the location, set everything up, light it, and shoot a bunch of clothes on a model for use on-line. Here’s a self-timer shot I did to show the tight space– there is literally a wall right behind me so shooting with a 24-70 is the only way to go. I used four lights– umbrella as key, stripdome as rim, and two softboxes on the backdrop. Note the shadows from the ceiling fan.

It’s quite challenging to shoot this kind of thing in such a tight space. I prefer shooting full body shots with a 70-200.

Anyway– if any boutique owners in Portland are interested in booking me to shoot something like this for your websites, contact me through my website. My rates are reasonable, my turnaround is fast, I work very fast, and you’ll have your online images up and selling your clothes to a global audience in no time. I provide everything– lighting, background, all you need to provide is the space and clothes. You can even use a friend for a model and I’m willing to do all the post-production and sizing work for you. In other words, you’ll get a CD of the images ready to post on your website! All without leaving your store!

Can’t beat that!

Pete Springer Photography Portland Oregon

vegas desert

Click the pic or HERE to see a new gallery posted– shots from a desert area near Las Vegas. Check back over the next couple of days for more pics from Vegas. I’m finally getting around to making these photos public!

Portland Oregon Fashion and Portrait Photos by Pete Springer Photography

movin’ forward

Welcome to the new look of this here blog– heavy on promotion, light on content!

Check out new bridal style pics on my website by clicking here or click on the photos.

Did this shoot a while ago, but it’s one of the newer galleries I’ve posted on the website.  Many, many thanks to superstar MUA Terri Lodge, amazing hair stylist Julie Ruckman, the very creative wardrobe stylist Aria Chittenden, and of course, the stunning model Martina Thornhill. I say this often, but my fashion photos would be nothing without the amazing creative team behind the scenes.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon

too popular

So this blog was originally started soley to promote my website, but lately I’ve been getting dozens of hits here everyday. I don’t promote this blog publically, so that’s testimony to the power of the internet and search engines.

But the popularity has also created a couple of other issues– I’m now seeing my pics from this blog on myspace and other websites ALL the time. No one asks for permission, they just grab the photos and use them.

The other issue is that when this blog first started, it was fun. I could be completely candid, catty, bitchy– whatever– about my experiences as a photographer. It was a great way to vent or share what a photoshoot was REALLY like for me. But that’s a double-edged sword– it made for fun (and honest) reading, but all too easily came back to haunt me. Over time, I’ve found myself avoiding topics I really wanted to write about, and avoiding posts that reflected the reality of being a photographer.

In my opinion, that dumbs down my posts and makes it a lot less fun for me (and probably a lot less fun to read). So here’s what I’m going to do– I’m starting a blog where I can be completely open and honest– one that won’t “out me” to the search engines. I’ll continue to maintain this blog for promotional purposes (search engines love blogs), but that’s it.

Changes you can expect to see here are fewer posts and fewer photos. The new, anonymous blog is where the juicy stuff will be. I’d personally LOVE to read a blog about photography that didn’t worry about offending anyone and was about the reality of photography– both the ups and downs. And believe me, there are plenty of downs.

I’m pleased this blog has gained in popularity, but I think the content has suffered because of that. It’s a shame, but that’s just the way it is. Just wanted to explain the changes you’re likely to see ’cause it’s about to get really bland and boring around here.

Pete Springer Photography, Portland, Oregon, SW Washington too!

couple more

Alright– can’t resist posting a few more photos from the weekend. This shot uses a strip dome as hair light, spot as background light. I did some without the spot too… but I love the way the hair and straw are similar in color. And if there’s a better hair light modifier than a strip dome, I’d love to hear about it!

Anyway, I just have to say this is one of the coolest hair styles I’ve seen Julie Ruckman put together. I shave my head but I bet Julie could still give me a fancy do– she’s that good! And… it helps that I’ve totally been into the sort of faux-(and real) mohawk look lately.

And this shot– I love too. I’m still struggling a bit with lighting pairs– the model on top is a bit darker even with a curves adjustment layer tweak. I used an umbrella for both, probably should have popped a spot on the top model too just to even out the light. There’s probably a stop of difference between the two– though this could also be tweaked in RAW– it’s always best to get it right in camera.

It’s strange because I’m liking the photos from this shoot more as the week drags on– I swear right after a shoot there is no one more self-critical of the photos than the photographer. I notice every single mistake and every single thing I should have done differently– it can be brutal!

The truth is, though, on a shoot like this there’s a ton of work when you don’t have an assistant and you’re hauling and unpacking and packing all your gear yourself and time is just flying by. I literally run on the set to keep things moving along at a steady pace, but a lot of things can still slip through the cracks. Saw a quote on a website yesterday, “Good, fast, cheap… pick any two.” That definitely is the truth when it comes to a photoshoot! I think on this shoot, ‘fast and cheap’ were the two choices.

Pete Springer Photography Portland Oregon and SW Washington

glam barn part II

This was my third shot of the day and I wouldn’t change a thing. Four strobes– softbox as key, umbrella as fill, strip dome as rim/kicker, and open strobe for the hay in the background. I love the overall look of this image– nice job Brandi! We kept working this shot/angle/pose a bit more, but this one is still the best of the batch.

Alright, this pose is inspired by a Bananarama album cover, believe it or not. Two of the Bananarama gals are sitting on the edge of a stage in a very similar manner. I included the left feet in the actual image, but thought it worked better cropped. I do wish I had popped a couple strip dome kickers on each model, but too late for that now. I wonder when PS will add a ‘kicker’ filter?

I love this shot too for all the wrong reasons. There’s lens flare, the faces are slighty washed out, and the color is odd. I shot a perfectly exposed image too with no flare– and like this one more. Incidentally, noticed last night that the cover of a Jessica Simpson album uses this same lens flare sun right behind/above her head! That wasn’t my inspiration, but just goes to show anything new in photography has already been tried before. I’ll bet a ringflash would be great for shots like this– I used my tried and true softbox key and umbrella fill then cloned out the second catchlight.

I was totally second-guessing myself last night, wondering why I hadn’t shot more outdoor shots on the farm. Second-guessing yourself is part of the process of creating images, I think. It’s so easy after a shoot to say, “Oh, I should have done that!” But the reality was the models were FREEZING (they’re not exactly dressed in warm clothes) and there was a breeze too and we were pressed for time, so I’m actually lucky to have nailed a couple of outdoor/farm shots. Used a reflector here but sure wish I had had time to drag out a light– see, there’s that second-guessing…

Alright, same deal here. I’m a terrible natural light shooter and wish I had dragged a light out here too– but it was sort of a spur of the moment shot. As it was, I had to clone out two cars in the background to give it a more open/farm feel. Brandi and Tracy– thank you so much for dealing with the cold and what probably seemed like an eternity waiting for me to get everything dialed in on some of these images. Told you it was hard work!

Pete Springer Photography, Oregon and SW Washington