[NIKON D4, 85.0 mm f/1.4, Mode = Manual, ISO 200, 1/200, ƒ/8, (35mm = 85)]

These are the same young lady and shot in a couple of hours. Again, we changed the outfits, makeup, and lighting.

Notice how much of a different personality comes through by changing backgrounds and lighting.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 200, ƒ/8, 1/160

Bangs vs. No Bangs changes her face.

I think the bangs make her face look narrower than with the bangs. Also, changing the colors she wears helps change the mood.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 200, ƒ/1.4, 1/80

All I did here to change the setup was not use the strobes inside the softbox but the modeling lights. I custom white balanced using the ExpoDisc. I also opened up the ƒ-stop to ƒ/1.4 to give that shallow depth-of-field, creating a silky smooth transition from front to back in the photo.

She became yet another personality when she put her hair in a ponytail.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 400, ƒ/1.4, 1/125

Shooting slightly down at her and then shooting more eye level also changes the mood she creates for the viewer.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 400, ƒ/1.4, 1/125

Backing up with the Nikon 85mm and showing her shoulders and more of her hair let a little more body language into the portrait.

Taking her sultry look further, she played it up with outfit and lighting.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 200, ƒ/8, 1/200

Using a grid light on her face rather than the softbox created a harsher look, and adding red to the background helped me accentuate the red lipstick. I also brought the aperture back up to make her razor-sharp from front to back.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 800, ƒ/1.4, 1/125

Same outfit, lipstick, and by changing the background and using the softboxes without flash, I could soften up the same person and outfit.

Nikon D4, AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D, ISO 800, ƒ/1.4, 1/125

The lesson from all these photos is that you can do a lot if you have different outfits and mix up your lighting and lens choice.

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 8000, ƒ/4.5, 1/100

My wife and daughter planned a fabulous 16th birthday party. My daughter invited her group of friends. Unfortunately, some couldn’t make it, so capturing moments to feel like they were there was key.

I shared a gallery of images for her to share with her friends and her proud parents with our friends.

I chose to shoot as many of the images with my AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 lens because to fill the frame; you must get close. I think this helps pull the audience into moments much more than a longer telephoto lens.

Occasionally I cranked the aperture up to ƒ/9 to be sure everyone was in focus. I wanted to be sure I captured my wife, Dorie, in this photo of my daughter Chelle on the telephone. Dorie had arranged for some of my daughter’s favorite bands to call and wish her happy birthday. So here is Farewell My Love calling Chelle.

I wanted to capture how much fun all of Chelle’s friends were having as well. It was fantastic that they were all in on the surprise phone calls. What I was enjoying as much as Chelle’s reaction was her friends being excited for Chelle.

Knowing my daughter is loved by more than her family and has great friends makes you proud.

Chelle also had a phone call from Late Nite Reading early in the evening. However, we had set it up in our living room on the computer with Skype. So Late Nite Reading Skyped in and played three songs for Chelle and her friends. What is astonishing is even the band was excited for Chelle.

Here you can see everyone in the living room watching Late Nite Reading. In the years to come, we will cherish the memories through the photographs.

I put a lamp just behind the computer to be sure there was enough light on Chelle so that Late Nite Reading could see her and her friends. The lamp is just a tip if you decide to do this yourself.

I encourage anyone who wants to do storytelling to learn how to capture your family events and capture them so that those who were not there will know the story and capture the event’s emotions.

We also set up a video camera to capture the Skype call. The video camera was for her friends, who couldn’t be there but wanted to know what had happened. So here is that video in case you want to hear my daughter scream and the excitement of everyone.