Virtual Family Photos, Cleveland, Ohio
Before I moved back to Cleveland, I had a chance to connect with Melissa Mandula and her family over video chat for a virtual photo shoot.
We did a few shots of the whole family on the sofa, and it didn’t take us long to realize they’d be a lot happier on the trampoline. So off we went! Luckily, Melissa had her trusty tripod, so she set her phone on that, and I snapped my screen using my DSLR.
I found the additional scrim of the trampoline netting to be an interesting addition to the already pixelated look of photographing a screen. The things I’m enjoying most about shooting images on a screen is exploring the “flaws” of the medium.
I like the emphasized blur, and the rows of digital lines that appear at different angles. I especially love it when I catch a glitch in the stream – it reminds me of a cross-fade from editing films. (Filmmaking was a passion of mine and that’s what my university degree is in.) It makes me want to experiment with double-exposures and other digital ways of abstracting the art form.
I shot this “long distance,” from California while they were at home in Cleveland. But I’m now fully set up for local photo shoots here in my Midwest home!
I won’t be traveling as much as usual in 2020, so if you’re interested in a virtual photo shoot, please email me. If you’re in Cleveland, you can view available times for an in-person photo shoot here.
