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".

Rachel's & Adam's Love Story

Meeting Rachel Marcus at a bridal show earlier this year has been one incredible relationship that has grown deeper with the passing of each month. If there is such a thing as "bride and photographer falling in love with each other at first sight", well, we're it! Rachel is the most bubbly, exciting, and enthusiastic bride I've ever encountered. She's overjoyed about EVERYTHING!!!

To know Rachel is to know the most awesome young woman who is a nurse that doesn't let anything destroy her happiness for the day. To know Adam is to know a young man who is supportive, compassionate, and desirous of marrying Rachel. Adam is equally ambitious as he balances work while completing his Master's Degree. (I like this guy a lot).

So much of my photography is based on a similar enthusiasm whereas I balance my artistic talents in unison with the personalities of my clients. Nothing could be more from the truth when it came time to photographing Rachel and Adam. I have virtually been dying to create images of this couple. Both live in Jacksonville and finally I've gotten the chance to create my first set of images for them. It was a blast of a session, and both Dana and I created the romantic images you see below. If I had to vote on an upcoming "Couple of The Year", Rachel and Adam, you're IT!

Enjoy!
Willie

Dana's idea of using a sheer

fabric on the beach was a big hit.

I love the gentle romance between
Rachel & Adam in this shot.

"Romance by moonlight"

To view the entire session, click on
the Play icon below:

Makeup: Krystal Cordo, 954-822-9508 Cell
Location: Ft. Lauderdale Airport & Hollywood Beach