I’ve been a terrible host lately.

I’ve had a few balls in the air these last few weeks. Three weeks ago, my niece was born. Two weeks ago, I presented the last 6 months of toil (a custom-designed iPad app, demo center renovation, intranet site redesign… the list goes on) for Talaris’ annual national business meeting. Last week, I officially completed my commitment to the United States Marine Corps. It’s only now, with an overflowingly glad heart, that I am able to come up for air.

Emma Grace Hyde!

Cpl Reitz is retired!

So how am I spending my extra weekend every month? Well, the next two weekends I’m assisting Lilly Photography in a couple of weddings, on June 2nd I’m second shooting another wedding with Elite Photo, and on June 30th I’m shooting another small wedding by myself. This is on top of couple smaller shoots that have been a long time coming (one 2 years in the making!)… I like that I’m going to be busy, but I love that the things I’m busy with generally necessitate that there is a camera in close proximity to my eye.

Oh, and two more announcements. I finally received my new camera (Nikon D4… it sounds like a machine gun, and really opens up a lot of possibilities outside the world of flash), and am crazy-excited to shoot people with it. Last of all, with my commitment to the Marines fulfilled, I’m finally attempting what I’ve feared my genes would always prevent: growing a glorious beard.

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

You might remember me mentioning a developing series on motherhood a few weeks ago. Today I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot a maternity session in my basement studio. It was my second significant time out with the new Elinchrom Ranger Quadras, and I have to say that they are more than holding their own in terms of quality. I’m very pleased with the results.

The baby in question is due next month, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up a little early judging from these photos. I’ll have the exciting opportunity to capture the beginning of the whole motherhood experience in a few weeks. I can’t wait!

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

I don’t want anyone to think I’m out of commission or anything. I’ve actually been busy with other projects that are in the early stages of development (i.e., too early to post up, but time consuming in the short run!). So I while I toil in the background on some truly mind-blowing on-location portraiture & some major event planning (interested yet?), enjoy a couple of these soap macros I did a couple weeks ago.

The concept is simple: just make a soapy mixture with dish soap, a dash of sugar and a Rachel-Ray-Style helping of EVOO. Use a cup or something to suspend the soap similar to a bubble wand, and voila! Kaleidoscope of colors!

The execution is actually a bit more tricky than that, of course. I’m going to give this a revisit when my new D800 arrives next month. To find the right angle, you need lots of continuous light, so this is one of the rare instances I don’t use flash at all. The high ISO capability of newer cameras is really going to expand my creative possibilities, not to mention the higher megapixel count will lend itself well to my growing art print business!

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

Large format printing is something I generally stay away from. The only reason I do is because of how much it costs. Occasionally though, I take a panoramic or some kind of image that just BEGS to be enlarged on someone’s wall.  This is the case with my latest panoramic view of Chicago.

Click to enlarge! Visit the Art Gallery to buy a limited edition print!

If you’re interested in buying a large format print, hop on over to the Art Gallery page. I’m only offering this at 20” x60” to truly take advantage of the panoramic format and make an impact. As always, you’ll have the choice between a standard high-quality print or the super-high quality metallic print. I’m only selling 3 of these, so don’t hesitate if you’re interested!

I shot this last October while I was downtown for a tradeshow. Ordinarily, I don’t do much post-processing to my photos. I always try to convince people it’s because of my ardent belief in capturing the photo correctly in-camera and that a shooter of my skill only requires minimal editing… The other half (three quarters?) of that view is that I just plain don’t like Photoshop. Certainly, there are necessary tools and tradecraft associated with the program that I just couldn’t live without (unsharp mask, anyone?), but I’m a huge fan of visualizing something in reality and capturing it… Artistic endeavors like the above are truly a rare foray into unexplored waters, and are usually the product of insomnia & boredom.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the above view of our wonderful city. I’ve got a couple special projects going on this week, and I’m happy to report that I’ll be test-driving a new camera for a few days (Nikon D3X)!

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

I just enjoyed a leisurely run outside. In case anyone has forgotten, it’s still January and we are keeping it anything but real here at the 41.77th parallel (that’s the Western Chicago suburbs, for you out-of-towners). I mean, there was a freakin’ snow storm 2 weeks ago. So while the groundhog is contemplating what’s good for him, I took advantage of this unseasonably warm weather to take a few on-location shots in a would-be snowy yard near you.

As I might’ve mentioned elsewhere (;)) I love shooting on-location. The studio has been a nice change of pace recently, but there’s nothing quite like “being up to your *** in alligators,” as the saying goes. I love being given a challenge and having to deliver against it. What can I say… It’s one of those odd reaffirmations of my Marine identity!

My biggest pet peeve when working outside is harsh shadows. FAR too often I see people (many who call themselves “professional”) take their camera outside into the bright midday sun and think they don’t need any kind of flash or reflector. Usually that story ends with the photog selling their clients photos with hard shadows completely eclipsing the eyes (which, IMO, is the most important part of any portrait) or worse, squinty. Either way, that person probably isn’t getting repeat business. I guess that shouldn’t bother me…

The easiest way to avoid having these ghastly looking photos is to use fill flash- just enough of a light burst on the subjects face to fill in those parts of the face that are naturally shaded by strong, high brows and deep set eyes while still balancing in the ambient scene. Short of using a little fill flash though, using a reflector on the opposite side of someone’s face can be a cheap & easy lifesaver. Some light hits the subject, the rest that passes by hits the reflector, and then bounces back onto the subject from the opposite side.

Enter: the snow.

I was just in the backyard taking some snapshots of my adorable 20 month-old nephew, so I wasn’t really big into setting up lights and chasing a toddler around (that wouldn’t be practical under any condition). The inch or so of quickly evaporating snow played double duty as an omnipresent daylight reflector. That’s why in the photo above, Cam still has a decent amount of light exposing his face, even though he was facing away from the sun. The only thing left for me to do in this equation is frame him up well and know how to balance the snow into the exposure.

Mission Successful.

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

It feels so good being able to say I have a studio set up and working… and even better to take shots like these at a moment’s notice:

Connecting with the subject is a very important skill set for photographers, and if we’re all honest, we’d say we often struggle with it to some degree. Our humanity makes us subject to various emotional states, some of which are within our control. Most, however, aren’t. The subject (re: that’s you) might be having a bad day or a cluttered schedule; or more often than not, they just need time to open up in front of the camera and get over their shyness.

I’m a selectively shy person. In some situations, I’m timid to a fault. In most, though, I’m just on the skinny side of obnoxious. So I say that to say “I get it.” Here’s a little secret, though, for those of you who get nervous about getting their picture taken:

Behind the lens, I’m scared as hell.

That’s not to say I don’t know what I’m doing; I do (Why is my wife scoffing..? ). However, on occasions where you’re not in the studio (Read: 99% of my photographic experience), sometimes conditions just don’t cooperate. There’s bad light, weather, scheduling conflicts, etc… And contrary to popular belief, amidst the storm of common circumstance, there is no easy button. I still want to create photos that can only be described as “visual incarceration,” but I often I have my hands full just in creating a solid, plain-jane exposure.

Thankfully, I now have experience on my side (yes, that means I’ve screwed up before. And often. Don’t worry, it’s to your benefit ). But for the shy and the nervous, while I put up a good facade, I just want you to know one thing: Behind the lens, the feeling is mutual

Have a great week, everybody. Here’s a couple more on the house:

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

Exciting day in the house of Reitz: I got a couple new studio strobes. Paul C. Buff Einstein e650′s, to be precise. Needless to say, our electricity use saw a marked spike this evening…

Much to my dismay, I didn’t happen to have an attractive supermodel hanging out in my basement studio. I did, however, realize that I was in some dire need of some self-portraits. That, and I was dying to try out my new white seamless backdrop.

Most of my portrait work up to this point has been on-location. I like location-work for three reasons. First, it’s really easy & convenient to use ambient light for a main light and dial in a strobe for shape & tone (better “localized” quality than just “what’s available”). Second, up until my wife and I moved into our new house, I just didn’t have the space to set up a portrait studio. Finally, and most of all, I find location-based photos to be more visually interesting. Some of my favorite photos of all time were shot against twilit kaleidoscope-horizons or well known landmarks. The accent that these sort of scenes provide is something that is, to me, a cut above in-studio portraits. Not to say I don’t like doing these though; I just think a little more finesse is required on location (and I like a challenge )

Now, however, between the added space in my basement and garage (along with the new gear), I’m ready to start offering more traditional portrait sessions on a seamless background.

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

Click to view the Art Gallery

Photologic Images (Read: me) is proud to announce our new online storefront. Now you can select from a gallery of limited edition images available for print at a litany of sizes and materials. (I am particularly excited about the metallic prints!)

For now, the only gallery with an e-commerce option is located here. I’m only going to accept a few orders for each photo in the art gallery to ensure that they remain true “limited editions.” Obviously I can set up a print ordering gallery like this for any shoot (especially useful for weddings so family can order their own prints), but so far in my experience with clients there has been a strong bias towards receiving all files on a DVD.

Prints are generally something that I overlook. As part of the revenue stream, they’re honestly not that profitable for most photographers (the exception being people that print independently, although quality is suspect there). Everyone has developed film at a Walmart or drug store, and most people are perfectly happy with the results. There are a couple key differences with prints you’d order from me, though.

For one, I took all these images. There’s a lot of time, trial & error that have gone into honing my artistic & photographic vision and frankly, that level of experience is worth something. I don’t mean that to sound like an arrogant statement, but that’s the unfortunate business-side of reality; I’ve always said I would do this for free if Nikon would just start giving me free equipment!

Second, and more importantly for you, the actual quality of these prints is going to be much, much higher than anything you’ve seen from the nearest convenience photo lab. Not only is the print quality & materials just better, but I can give you way more sizing options. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m also extremely excited about new materials… like metallic prints. They’re printed on aluminum for maximum durability and sheer awesomenicity (technical term). Seriously though, color rendition on these aluminum sheets has  to be seen to be believed. Then there’s a whole host of other print possibilities, from canvas gallery wraps to coffee mugs, wall-clings, posters… basically anything you can imagine.

Whatever you want to make out of your photos, I can make it happen. You need only ask.

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

I hate winter. There’s snow, cold and the highly pronounced problem of my thin Southern blood, not to mention all the traffic inconveniences. The fact that I’d voluntarily go outside in sub-zero temperatures to capture a photo stands as a testament to my unassailable love for photography.

Generally, people are my favorite thing to shoot. I love making portraits and giving clients photos that really arrest their eyes & emotions- plus, I get a certain satisfaction in knowing that I captured something beautiful. However, in all things I view myself as a dabbler; there’s not much I don’t like to involve myself in. Macro photography is one of those areas, for me. I generally don’t work on the microcosmic scale, but the occasional foray into that world is always an adventure worth having (IMO).

As much as I hate snow, you can’t deny the simple beauty of the thing (so long as you’re willing to get down on your hands & knees with a macro lens). I can hear my dad already, lecturing about why the snowflakes take on their geometric, polyhedral-something-or-other appearance… My perspective is the much simpler “I think they look purdy.”

As we get more snow this winter, I’m going to continue this series and make a limited run of enlargements available for purchase. I’m thinking 16 x 20 gallery wraps, but I can make other sizes available if interested. Contact me for pricing!

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz

I know, I know… Mother’s Day is like 4 months away. I think I’m just at the age where there are a lot of new mother’s in my life. Co-workers, friends, old classmates… My facebook feed is literally crawling with newborn shots. If I had a penny for every pixel I’ve captured of my 1.5 year-old nephew, I’d be a heinously rich man. I mean, look at the kid:

Let’s take the focus off the sweet little bundle of screaming, pooping life for a sec, though. Let’s talk about Moms.

Until I’ve seen some of my peers in action, I’ve never truly been able to appreciate everything it is that the fairer sex does for their kids. I literally looked at a kid with a diaper blow-out yesterday with paralyzing fear while his mom, nonplussed, proceeded to use her body as an impromptu “quicker-picker-upper.” I don’t care who you are, that’s love.

So in honor of Moms everywhere, I’m offering a special portrait package through February 28th (inquire for more details). What I’d like to do is develop a series of portraits (studio & candid) of mom’s plying the trade of love and post it here for everyone to enjoy. So, please, if you know a Mom, new or old, send her my way.

To start things off, here is the first photo of the series: Mother & Child.

Photologic Images | Portrait, Event & Commercial Photography, joe reitz