I don’t do headshots and portraits very often, but I do enjoy shooting them occasionally. Even though I specialize in food & product photography, it is nice to have a change of subjects. And a change (and a challenge) is a great way to grow as a photographer.

Here are a couple shots from the Ladies Who Launch Headshot & Bio event.

As much as I love the shooting part of photography, I love the editing process even more. It’s pretty amazing what a little bit of tweaking can do to improve a photo:

Yesterday, I spent a few hours in a corporate office, quite the rare occasion for me. Yes, I was in a corporate office building, in sweats and my Vibram five finger shoes.

Oh, how I love my job.

No, I didn’t take a new job (oh, the irony after my most recent post), I was there shooting headshots for Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate brokerage firm.

As a side note: this isn’t something that I do often (or ever), but one of my dear friends asked if I would and of course I said yes.

Aside from transporting and lugging the lighting equipment to location, corporate headshots may have been the easiest type of shoot I have ever done. We even finished 2-3 hours ahead of schedule. How’s that for a great Monday workday?

This was the lighting set up for the headshots:

Nothing too fancy, but you hardly ever need “super fancy” to get the job done.

Unless you’re doing a fashion shoot, of course.

If you are a budding woman entrepreneur, a networking group that you need to hear about is Ladies Who Launch. They are a fantastic business support organization that helps female business owners and owners-to-be, launch their dreams into reality.

Ladies Who Launch (LWL) played a large and inspiring role in my own business life. I joined LWL at the beginning stages of my design agency almost 4 years ago, and they once again played an integral role when I launched my food & travel blog two years ago.

Now, I am excited to announce a workshop that I am partnering with Ladies Who Launch to bring to you.

It is their most popular event of the year: the Bio and Headshot Workshop. It’s a great opportunity to update your headshot and bio, both of which are important parts of both personal and business branding.

Here are the details:

Bio and Headshot Workshop
Date: Saturday, February 4, 2012
Time: 10am to 1pm
Location: The Work Spot, 3150 Main Street, Suite 103. Duluth, GA 30096

Headshot Packages:
- Headshot or Full Body Shot: $75
1 high resolution picture professionally edited

Optional Add-ons:
– 2nd picture with same outfit: $40
OR
- 2nd picture with a quick change: $50
for example, hair or jacket change  (1-2 mins max changing time)

Headshot Details:
1. What to wear: Solid color clothing is recommended, with no distracting prints. We want to make sure that the focus of the photo is you. Feel free to bring a couple different outfits to choose from.
2. I will spend about 15 minutes with each participant for their mini headshot photoshoot.
3. Plan to be at the workshop for at least 30 minutes.
4. Photos will be taken outdoors.
5. High resolution professionally edited digital photo files will be delivered 1 to 2 weeks after the shoot.

Biography Info:
Biographies will be written by Joyce Brewer and Dawn Richerson.
Up to 2 revisions: $75

To Register:
Go to this link and register.
Once registered, MaryBeth Reeves will set you up with a time slot for your photoshoot.

Payment:
Credit cards and checks will be accepted at the workshop.

I am looking forward to seeing you there. Come ready for an inspiring morning/afternoon of working on your business and networking with like-minded women!

Sprig Restaurant is a farm-to-table kitchen in Decatur, GA that we’ve been working with on menu design, marketing collateral and web design.

Recently we completed a shoot for photos that will be going on their new website. These were some really beautifully plated dishes, I barely had to do any styling on my end.

The worst part about doing these restaurant food shoots? Smelling the delicious food while also focusing on getting the shots.

These few shots have been a long time coming.

I’ve had the idea in the back of my mind for a while now, to photograph the buildings in my hometown of Radford, Virginia, but I always seemed to forget or the cold weather would keep the Southern belle in me snuggled up inside next to the fireplace.

Luckily this year, the weather in Radford was perfect for walking around and taking some photos.

As small as this little city is there are some charming buildings along Main Street, so that’s where Paul and I headed with camera in hand. It’s amazing looking at my hometown from a different perspective now that we live in Atlanta and only manage to visit Virginia once a year at Christmas time.

The little brick building below used to be a piano/music school, where I took my first piano classes.

Incredibly cool clock in downtown Radford, in front of one of a few building murals. I just absolutely love the murals of old advertisements on the sides of the buildings. Just adds that extra something to a small town.

Photos of Radford would not be complete without a few shots at an old train depot.

The city of Radford got its start as a railroad town back in the 1850s, when the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad came through, and it became a railroad town – due to the large number of trade and business that came to the area because of the train depot.

The passenger train stopped running through the city back in 1971, but there are still many freight trains that make their way through.

There’s your quick glimpse at my childhood hometown of Radford, VA. Maybe next time I come visit I will try and make my way to some places where I spent most of my time: the high school, a few restaurants and the tennis courts.

I sat down with Yesenia Leonard, founder & owner of Doggy Baby, and filmed a quick video to introduce her and her company. Yesenia’s two sweet pups make a few cameo appearances too!

After my recent five month long ordeal with plantar fasciitis, I have finally started to run again. Right now, we’re in the midst of some wonderful fall weather here in Atlanta and I couldn’t ask for better running temperatures… or views!

I usually do run with my cellphone secured in my running belt for safety purposes, but today I decided to slow down a bit to enjoy the beautiful autumn leaves and snap a few camera phone photos during my run. Alpharetta’s Greenway is just lovely this time of year and instead of focusing on how far and fast I could run today, I looked up and enjoyed the multicolored foliage.

This is why I pry myself out of bed every morning: For these views.

Now, what am I going to do once winter gets here? Oh well, I guess I will worry about that in a few weeks.

Photos taken on an Android phone and edited in Photoshop.

Favorite part of my job: working with some pretty awesome people.

Doggy Baby, a pet travel accessories company, is expanding their product line and adding even more completely adorable items to their catalog. It was a beautiful fall day and we headed outside and had a really great time shooting some fun photos.

After a few months of soul searching, I am happy to announce the re-launch of Melissa Crane photography.

Photography is something that I have loved immensely for the past six years (and maybe even longer). Ever since I picked up my first SLR camera in my Photography 101 class in college, I was hooked.

In fact, after that one photography class, I decided to spend 3 weeks in New York City taking a few photography classes at NYU. It was the time of my life. And it should have been the beginning of a photographer career.

Instead I came back to Atlanta, finished up my last year of college and then settled down into a stable job of designing websites.

Long story short, it is time to stop doing what other people think is right for me and to start doing something that makes me feel alive and happy. I hope you join me on my new adventures!