Marian's & Kenneal's Love Story

There is so much that I want to tell you about Marian and Kenneal, but limited time and blog space prohibits me. Suffice it to say that I've dubbed Marian as my "Ultimate Bride". She's also a princess! In a few days Dana and I will travel to St. Croix to cover her destination wedding and we can wait. Already we've had a few portrait sessions with Marian (which included her final fitting of her wedding dress), and she's a pure joy to work with.

Anyway, we squeezed in the "Love Story" session that you see below although it was captured during the cold weather we've recently experienced here in South Florida. So, we all bundled up in warm clothing and give it shot. I know when we get to St. Croix that we've planned on capturing more pictures to add to this collection. Stay tuned. I know you're going to love seeing more pictures of this "hot couple" and the island of St. Croix.

A borrowed motorcycle in the parking lot was
a perfect prop for Kenneal's "bad boy" look.

Marian's and Kenneal's favorite image.

Although it was a chilly day,

warm laughter makes for romance.

As I found out, Marian can add humor to any situation.

I love shooting into the night just

because of the type image you see above.

I've always wanted to shoot a street light scene,
so I gave it a try and the results were nice.

Enjoy!
Willie

To see more of Marian's Love Story Session,
click the play button below:

Top Ten Photographers Awards

Dana and Willie with their "Top Ten Photographers" trophies

As members of the Professional Photographers Guild of Florida (PPGF), each year Dana and I compete against some of the best professional photographers in South Florida. At the end of each year, ten photographers receive awards for their accomplishments. Members must excel in the quality of their photographic work which is judged during three print competitions. In addition, members must also accumulate service points in order to reach the "Top Ten Photographers" level.

I'm proud to announced that during the PPGF Annual Awards Banquet, Dana came in 2nd Place, Top Ten Photographer (Richard "Pappy" Hinman Award) and I came in 3rd Place, Top Ten Photographer (Marcel & Silvia Moino Award). We are honored to have achieved this level of competence among our peers and believe the awards confirm the quality of our studio work as offered to our clients.

As recipients of these awards we want to thank all of our clients who allowed us to use their images during print competition. We could not have accomplished these levels of excellence without you.

Finally, this year Dana and I have moved our membership to the Professional Photographers Guild of Palm Beach. We look forward to making new professional friends while competing against some of the best photographers in Florida. We'll keep you posted on successes throughout the year.

Enjoy!
Willie & Dana

Mimes on My Mind

Several weeks ago while photographing a Christmas Party for Airbus at the Mayfair Hotel in Miami, I ran into an amazing dancer in the person of Kamila Cardenas. She and members from her production company were working another party at the hotel. I was intrigued by her amazing outfit and her performers' costumes, so I asked Kamila if she would let me take a few quick shots of her. She agreed and after viewing the images online a few days later she wholeheartedly agreed to us working together on future projects.

Just this week I had my first chance to photograph Kamila in action as she teamed up a mentor of hers, Bianka Gonzales (also a professional dancer). With Bianka's permission I was allowed to videotape a recent performance Bianka was contracted to produce. Although 99% of the imagery is in video format, I did created the shots below by using my handycam in portrait orientation and by using the photo feature build into the camcorder. I hope you like the ingenious costumes and makeup like I do.

Kamila is simply in
character ALL the time.

Carlos is striking in his outfit.

My favorite shot of Kamila

and Carlos. Great mimes!
Juan Carlos...the perfect mime.

Bianka in rare form. She's the
consummate professional dancer.

Yeah, that's Bianka being stretched
to the max! No broke bones, either.

One of my favorite shot.
Thanks Bianka and Juan Carlos.

If you have an event and want to impress the attendees, either Bianka's or Kamila's production companies will dazzle and leave your guest speechless.

Enjoy!
Willie

Bianka Gonzales: (954) 433-1969 or (305) 934-7134 cell
Kamila Cardenas: (305) 538-1689/www.kamileonproductions.com

Camera: Sony HDR-FX7

Kara's Winter Break Session

Several months ago I had my first portrait session with Kara and it was a huge success. She had never modeled before nor ever been photographed by a professional photographer. Kara is a 2nd year student at Florida State University and that means a lot of down time when it comes to modeling for fun. Nevertheless, she promised me after her last shoot that whenever she's in town we can work together.

Currently, I am working on a presentation for the photography students at McFatter Technical Center in Davie, and her return home for the Christmas break was perfect for both of us to work together again. She wanted to do a session on the beach, but it was too windy for that, so we settled for a swimming pool location at a friend's home. Although, I didn't get a lot of time with Kara, she was busy working during the holidays, I did appreciate this brief opportunity of creating a new set of images with her.

Kara is already back at school, but she should be home during Spring Break. I promised her that we'd finish this shoot at the beach the next time she's home. So, stay tuned; she gets better with each session. The following images are from her warm-up session because we ran out of time for the swimsuit portion.

Enjoy!

Willie

I just love Kara's face and
those big beautiful eyes.

Kara certainly has the look that could win the

2010 Miss Florida Pageant and I'm going to
encourage her to give it a try. Go Kara!

I played around with this image in post-production and
love the final results. A little Avatar look here....

I learned that Kara is a volleyball player which

explains the exceptional muscle tone in her legs.

Camera Equipment: Canon 30D w/70-200 mm IS lens, Canon 550 EX flash in a Doug Box softbox, Sekonic L-758DR, & Pocket Wizards Plus II

2010's Business Motto

At the beginning of each year I have always written out a business motto as a reminder of what I should focus on for the next 12 months. After going through one of the most trying times as a business owner and seeing miraculous instances where God delivered the right clients at the right time, I've come to this conclusion as a 2010 motto:

"The only business is God's business"

That is to say that Portrait Corner Studio, LLC will be used by God to touch the lives of people as He sees fit. It will not be about money, Dana or Willie. I believe 2010 is going to be the most awesome 25th year they we've been in business. So, I wish everyone a blessed and prosperous year! We look forward to being a genuine part of every client's life when they join the "Portrait Corner Family".

Willie & Dana
Photographers/Videoartists

Bishop Paul S. Morton - Let it Rain

Grandfather, Take My Picture

When my granddaughter (Jazmine) asked me to take her picture, she was home from college this Thanksgiving, I realized that this might be one of those rare moments in a relationship between two love ones. Although, my wife and I have three daughters, between them we only have two grandchildren.

So, I wanted to do something really special for the two of us. I didn't want the traditional motif of portraiture. I wanted a set of images that would reflect how I viewed her as a young woman and how she reflected herself to others as a strong Christian woman who loves to dance for Jesus. That was my idea for her session although I didn't let her in on my intent. Being the professional that she is I knew she would met the challenge and she did.

I hope you'll enjoy these personal images of my granddaughter, "Jazzy". I think she's awesome!

Enjoy!
Willie

"Say, what?"Jazzy's dancing form is so beautiful
to see in person as well as on stage.

I wanted to capture Jazzy's strong
spiritual side in the following shots.
This is one of my favorite images of Jaz.

It's something to see a little girl

grow up into a beautiful young woman.

Our New Family Portrait

In the photography business Fall marks the time for having family portraits created for holiday gifts. Thanks to my wife's demands on me as her personal photographer, that tradition holds true for the Hill family, too. Although I didn't see how I could top the last self-portrait session we created a year ago, I have to admit that it's fast becoming a successful challenge that I'm enjoying.

The scenario goes like this. My wife tells everyone what colors to wear and informs us that we're having the session the day after Thanksgiving. The grand kids fly in from their respective colleges, we stuff ourselves with turkey, then lie awake that night thinking about how fat we're going to look for the photo session the day after.

My job is easy. I get to pick the location for the session and maintain crowd control as I corral everyone into an acceptable posing position. First, I try "shhhhing 'em up. Of course, that's to polite. Then, with a loud voice I yell out, "Okay, let's all shut up". That worked. Now, I've gotten their attention off each other or their hairdos (as you can see I've got a lota women in my family).

Now the real fun starts for me as I turn myself into a 10 second marathon track star. With everyone finally quiet, I push the self-timer on the camera, sprint over to my vacant spot in the group, and smile gleefully at the invisible photographer. Beep, beep, beep, beep, CLICK! Of course, you know some one's mouth is yakking or they've blinked at the wrong time, so I repeat this self-inflicted technique about 8-10 times to make sure that I've captured the perfect shot. I check the back of the digital camera. Yeah, we did it!!! Look at all the beautiful people (I'm just about certain that everyone is ONLY looking at their expression and could care the least about the other turkeys in the family. No pun intended).

Happy Holidays from the Hills!

My Mother Taught Me #3

My mother taught me TIME TRAVEL.

She said: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My Mother Taught Me #2

My mother taught me RELIGION.

She said: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet".