Senior Model Call for Class of 2017!

I have a special project I'm working on you won't want to miss, and needing guy and girl models.  Must be a current junior of the graduating class of 2017!  Email me with the contact form on my website or brandon@brandoncarterphotography.com if interested.  Must be friendly, love photo shoots and available between March 21-26 for a small shoot.  Looking for models in areas around Batesville, Cave City, Melbourne, and Highland.  Deadline to apply is March 18.

Now Published in Shutter Magazine this Month!

I am so excited to have one of my photos featured this month in Shutter Magazine's Senior Edition!  Shutter Magazine is distributed nationally and has become one of the leading industry magazines for professional working photographers.  Featuring model Gracen Ratliff and styled by her mother Wyndi (who both happen to be my cousins) we shot this on an extremely frigid last New Year's Eve day as part of her last round of senior pictures for the year.  I looked to fashion magazines like Vogue for inspiration, which ironically then landed getting published in a magazine itself!  I plan to start submitting to more publications for the future.  The sky is the limit!  It is sold by subscription, in Barnes & Noble, and at behindtheshutter.com/shutter-magazine.

Video Christmas Card

To all our customers, thank you for a great year!  Looking forward to 2016!

Black Friday Sale

50% off 2016 session fees!  Good through Saturday, November 28 only.  Get a head start on next year by planning your portrait session.  Good for any senior, family or child session.  

Fall Family Portait Sessions

Fall has arrived and that means it is once again time for Family Portrait Sessions! 

When was the last time you had family photos taken?  I don’t mean the ones you took in the yard at Thanksgiving while everyone was together, and perhaps shot on your phone.  I mean actual family photographs taken by a professional?  

Family portraits make great home decor and are a keepsake to remember that moment in time for years to come.  And the photo session itself is a great time to bond as a family, even if some feel awkward about the experience!  I was one of those of types myself, but I can still remember the photo shoots we had as a family to this day.  

Fall is the perfect season for a family portrait session with cooler weather and colorful foliage,  so don’t miss out on the opportunity.  Book now!

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Back to School Limited Edition Session - August 22, 2015

What's missing in the picture below?  You're child!  Brandon Carter Photography is excited to announce a Back to School Limited Edition Session on Saturday, August 22 at the Cave City Park.  This 15-minute mini session with discounted print and product prices will only be offered once this year, so space is limited!  This is a great way to remember this moment in your kid's life and is most appropriate for ones between the ages of 4 and 8-years-old.  They will be photographed in a few different ways and poses and then the images will be uploaded to an online gallery for your choosing.  Session fee is $25 along with a $75 minimum order deposit required at booking that you will receive as a credit to use when choosing your prints and products.  If there is inclement weather, the session will be rescheduled for Saturday, August 29.  Don't miss out on this special opportunity!  Email brandon@brandoncarterphotography or call 870-307-5805 between 9 am-5 pm.  Book now before space runs out!

Schedule (Choose an Open Time Slot)

Morning:

8:00 - Open

8:20 - Open

8:40 - Open

9:00 - Open

9:20 - Open

9:40 - Open

10:00 - Open

10:20 - Open

10:40 - Open

11:00 - Open

11:20 - Open

11:40 - Open

Afternoon:

1:00 - Open

1:20 - Open

1:40 - Open

2:00 - Open

2:20 - Open

2:40 - Open

3:00 - Open

3:20 - Open

3:40 - Open

4:00 - Open

4:20 - Open

4:40 - Open

5:00 - Open

5:20 - Open

5:40 - Open

6:00 - End of Session

Senior Photography Promo Video

How to Choose a Location for Your Portrait Session

I’ve been around the world and back and seen some absolutely amazing places for photography.  Coming from a small town, it always made me wonder why I couldn’t live around such photogenic areas.  Yes, my state has some beautiful scenery, but many of you live in towns just like I am talking about and think the same thing.  I know what you mean, there is just NOTHING where I live in this little rural town!  Nothing that makes a good backdrop for shooting some portraits or even taking a good photo.  I have to drive an hour or more just to find a neat place!  

If you’re in this kind of rut trying to choose a place to have your pictures taken at, start thinking outside the box and recognize what you do have.  It’s kind of like a relationship you are in that has grown stale; only when you start truly looking at the positives do you realize what you have.  

Look around or think about the places you could shoot.  Junkyards, lumberyards, old buildings, parks, farms, barns, fields of tall grass, flowers, bodies of water, carnivals, woods, and ball fields are all such locations that would make for interesting portraits.  You would be surprised just how a pile of old rusted junk actually makes for a very unique photo set.  So make use of everything!  Just be sure to always get permission before shooting at a location, even if you think its totally fine to do so.  Trespassing is illegal and never under any circumstances shoot in a place that is dangerous.  Railroad tracks, for example, are highly illegal and dangerous to photograph on, so stay away!   

Out in the country, you typically see an old car or truck in a field, and plenty of tractors.  Just talk to the owner and see if you can use it as a backdrop.  All they can say is no.  And from my own experience, that rarely happens.     

In large cities or even small towns with an old main street, get out and walk around.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to be on foot, because only then do you truly find hidden gems that maybe you’ve drove past a million times and never noticed.  Old buildings, theaters, wall graffiti, fountains, sculptures, street lamps, signs, store fronts, garage doors, alleys, and brick walls are just some of things you will find.  

Once you have decided on some good locations, talk to your photographer about shooting there.  They may even have suggestions or access to places they know of that maybe you don’t.  Communication is always key in order to get the right type of photos you desire.  Don’t fret over the technical details of everything, that’s why you hired a photographer!  They will often visit the location and figure out best time of day to shoot there and if anything additional is required, like lights.  If there is a problem with a place, discuss it and figure out what to do or choose a different area.  Don’t get hung up on something just because it doesn’t work out.  Just move forward with what does.

1960s-Inspired Shoot

I've always liked retro fashion and imagery so I decided to shoot some '60s-inspired photographs.  Do something different every now and then I say.  I wanted it to be urban so I picked downtown Jonesboro as the location.  The talented Abby Pratt served as my model and her friend assisted with the lighting.  I had planned out my shots a couple of months ahead of time, so I knew exactly what I wanted to get, and we definitely got them.  It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do more stylized shoots like this in the future.

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Senior Photography: More than Just Pictures

We just had high school graduation last night, and as I looked out upon the sea of graduates in their red and blue caps and gowns, I couldn’t help but to wonder how many of them had senior photos taken.  I actually know for a fact many of them didn’t, and that’s sad.  

Being a high school senior is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events that not only is cause for celebration, but more importantly, marks a milestone in that person’s life.  It is the time they are transitioning from a kid to an adult about to go off into the real world.  What better way then to capture that moment of who they are at that time in their life than through a portrait session?  

Take Armas here for instance.  I’ve known this guy for the past 3 years, and for a year now he kept saying he wanted me to do his senior portraits.  I kept telling him that we needed to get a time scheduled, but as time went along, for one reason or another, it didn't happen and I forgot.  Eventually, his mom got hold of me a month before graduation because she realized time was running out to get his graduation announcements sent.  Sure, she could taken a snapshot of him on her cell phone.  Would that have worked to send in his invitations?  Absolutely.  Would it have showed what he looked like at this time in his life?  Absolutely.  But by creating a portrait of Armas, only then could his character and likeness be truly represented in an engaging way.  So I turned to paintings of old for inspiration to create a classic look that he and his mom could be proud to own.  And they couldn’t have been more thankful in the end!

So if you are a senior, about to be one, or the parent of one, don’t let this special time in life slide by without capturing it through a proper portrait session.  You will be glad you did!

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A Blog...Really?!

I never thought for one second I would have a blog one day.  

Well…never say never!  

There have actually been many things in life I said I would never do that I ended up doing later, such as having a photography business.  For years it was only a hobby and my main focus was on film and video production (and history, which is another story!).  But in the past few years, I became more and more interested in photography and it became such a passion that I began making money at it.  So here I am now in business and very excited about the future!  I love creating images and hope you will follow me on this journey.  

Subscribe to my blog, emails, and social media to stay up to date on everything going on.  I will be sharing information, tips, stories, images, news, and for those on my email list, special offers!