Matt Hartman Photography

Spooky Acres Haunted House

2011-11-10T13:45:00.006-05:00

Spooky Acres is a Haunted House that my wife and I have volunteered at for many years. It used to be in an actual haunted house in the Chuckatuck sections of Suffolk, VA. Once the house wasn't structurally sound enough for us to use it we moved to Chesapeake Square Mall. This was the 17th year for Spooky Acres. Paige and Darren run the house and put a lot of time and effort into getting it setup and running it every year.

This is a labor of love for them, all of the proceeds from the house are donated to charity, "it give the kids that are to old to trick or treat something to do and keep them out of trouble" says Paige.

Here are some images to give you an idea of what's in store as you walk through the haunted house.

I also setup in one of the rooms to get customer's reactions.

Shannah & David's Wedding (Portsmouth, VA)

2011-11-10T13:44:00.003-05:00

David and Shannah had a beautiful wedding at the West Side Chapel with a great reception at the Women's Club of Portsmouth. Brenda, Shannah's mother, worked extra hard on this wedding, making the dress, cake and many other details of the wedding. It was a small intimate wedding where everyone seemed to have a great time.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

Iannacito Wedding (Suffolk, VA)

2011-10-20T05:00:00.001-04:00

I had the honor of shooting Amber and Tony's wedding at the First Lady in downtown Suffolk. It was my first time there and it was the perfect place for their intimate wedding.

It was a beautiful wedding, thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Halloween Child Pictures

2011-10-19T17:20:00.007-04:00

Want to treasure your child in their Halloween costume? This year I am running a special deal for Halloween pictures. I will have my studio setup to take pictures of your children from October 20-30th in their Halloween costumes. I will be available all day for on the next two Sunday's (10/23 & 10/30), and other times by appointment.

Here are the details. For $40 you will get five fully edited images, with a print release, and low res versions to share online. If you have multiple children it is only an extra $20 per child and that also adds 3 more fully edited images.

Here are some shots from last year.

Please contact me to schedule your child's Halloween session, matt@matthartman.com, 757.971.0237

Relationships: Amber (Behind the Scenes)

2011-10-18T16:25:00.002-04:00

I met Amber through my wife's cousin, Susan (I photographed Susan & her Scion for my relationships project). She is a fun petite girl with a cute little car.

We started a little late than planned on the banks of the Elizabeth River in Port Norfolk. It turned out to be quite the production, Susan was there, coaching Amber and making sure one of my lights didn't blow over with the wind, and so was Shea (I recently did a glamor shoot with Shea stay tuned) who held my other light down. It was pretty windy and I am thankful they were both there.

Next we went to a parking garage in Old Town Portsmouth. We used Susan's car as the stereo and had fun.

To see the final image check out the project post.

Here is a Behind the Scenes shot while they were getting the top off.

I was using my Canon 550 EX in the back shooting into an umbrella, and bare in some shots, and my Phoenix Flash (soon to be replaced) in the Beauty Dish. I had a lot of fun with the 2 light setup.

Tyler (Senior, Virginia Beach, VA)

2011-09-26T17:37:00.001-04:00

I met Tyler at the oceanfront for his senior portraits, he is a skater that has recently started surfing. This was the perfect location. It didn't take long for me to figure out how to get a good smile out of him.

For custom senior portraits contact me: matt@matthartman.com, 757.971.0237

Ashley's Bridal Session (Chesapeake, VA)

2011-09-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

I met Ashley at her parents house for her Bridal Session. I setup my gear while she put her dress on and once I was dialed in we started going. She is such a beautiful bride. I shot her wedding this past weekend and it was a beautiful wedding. Those pictures will be up soon so check back often.

Thanks for taking the time to look. You can also stay up to date with my work on Facebook.

Marsha, Alan & Family (Lancaster, PA)

2011-08-30T10:01:00.001-04:00

While in Pennsylvania on a mini vacation I did a session with this great family. They are a sweet couple with great kids. We started in Downtown at the Lancaster Central Market, the country's oldest farmers' market. The market was closed but we had fun outside and at the fountain around the corner.

Then we headed out of town to a park that Marsh and Alan spent a lot of time at when they first stared dating. We were able to get some good shots before the rain started dumping on us. That's when we decided it was a good tome to get ice cream and sit on the covered porch.

Thanks for looking, if you are interested in setting up a session for your family please don't hesitate to email me.

Susan & her Scion

2011-08-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

Susan was very excited about getting her picture taken with her Scion, it just rolled over 100K miles. She was a little nervous being in front of the camera, I have worked with her on many projects, she is my go to person for Hair & Makeup. She came over with her boyfriend Justin (he was a big help when I did pictures of Annabelle) and he helped keep my light from blowing over on the top level of the garage. The garage is in Old Town Portsmouth near the Elizabeth River and started on the top level. The Sun was almost down which gave us this moody sky. I setup a couple speedlights and we got going. Here is the post with the interview

After I felt good about the images from the top level we came down into the garage to shoot. This was a new environment for me, the first time to light a car in that dark of a space. I took my time and played with many different lighting setups. Here are my two favorite.

I decided to use this image for my Relationships project.

I am still looking for volunteers for this project. Please shoot me an email if you are interested, matt@matthartman.com

Derek Jr, 15 months

2011-08-22T13:50:00.006-04:00

Jen brought Derek Jr. over for a quick session in my new home studio! More to come about the studio. He did really good, we were even able to get him to sit in the bucket I bought for his newborn pictures all it took were my keys to keep him happy.

Mini-Vacation Photos (8/11)

2011-08-15T11:22:00.000-04:00

We took a little vacation to PA & Nova, it was a much needed getaway! We left late Friday to head to Lancaster, PA. Normally we skirt around DC, but this time we decided to cut through. It was around 12:30am Saturday when we hit DC. We went up Independence and then made out way back to the expressway. Jess was driving so I was able to take pictures, I just had fun with it.

Here, we stopped as we cut across the National Mall, it was really beautiful with the Capitol on my side and the Washington Monument on the other side of the car.

As we continued through the district we passed the Chinese gate, my first time seeing it. The bars & clubs were busy and there were a lot of people bar hopping. Here are some more pictures from the drive.

On our way form PA to Nova, we decided to take some side roads and crossed the Susquehanna River at the Conowingo Dam, my first time seeing a hydro electric dam that I can remember. There were a lot of people at the base fishing, you can see one of them who waded out into the river in this picture.

While staying in Reston, we took an afternoon and went to Great Falls National Park. The falls are beautiful. We checked out the main overlooks and then hit the trail. The trails at Great Falls are very well maintained and I recommend the river trail, there are a lot of places to stop and look out at the river. This picture is from the first overlook.

It went by to quick, but we were able to spend some time with friends and family that we don't see to often.

Patton Twins

2011-08-02T18:00:00.002-04:00

Molly and Julie just came home from the hospital 8 and 4 days before their pictures were taken. They are very cute girls and are keeping their parents busy. I setup a little studio in the dining room and once the girls were ready I went to work, of course that sounds a lot easier than it really is. This was my first time working with twins and it takes patience to get the good shots, ans we weren't in a hurry. Here are some of my favorite shots from the session.

I wanted to do more pictures of the girls so I invited Robbie & Rachel to bring them over the following Sunday for more pictures in my Studio. My wife has decided to let me use the upstairs bedroom for my studio, and we hadn't even cleaned up there since we moved in. I woke up early Saturday morning excited and ready to get to work. I cleaned and setup my backdrop. Then made a little stage to get the girls up off of the ground. I took some time to dial in the lighting as well using my kickball.

Sunday they all came out and we had a really good time, no pressure, no rush, plenty of room to spread out and the results were great!

I can't wait to take more pictures of these girls as they grow up.

Thanks for looking.

Pipsico Scout Reservation

2011-07-25T12:57:00.005-04:00

I went out to the Pipsico Scout Reservation to get some stock photographs for the council to use in promoting their summer camps. I ended up picking one of the hottest days of the year to go out there but it was well worth it.

This is the Pipsico Tree, as you can see it is amazingly large, the legend is that Chief Powhatan is buried there.

Here a Camper is practicing how to throw a life ring while working on his Lifesaving Merit Badge.

These campers are excavating at the site of an old Plantation House on the Reservation. This is part of the Archeology Merit Badge.

This Staff member is helping some Campers with their Leather Working Merit Badge projects.

The camp is located on the southern shore of the James River, this Camper is Canoeing in the river.

Kim & her Mustang

2011-07-17T10:13:00.000-04:00

Here are the top shots from my shoot with Kim and her Mustang. This is the latest in my Relationships series, to see the full story and the image I chose click here.

If you are interested in participating in this series please shoot me an email, matt@matthartman.com with "Relationships" in the subject line. I am looking for everything from Bikers to Soccer Moms, diversity is a big part of this series.

Portrait: Jesse Scaccia

2011-07-06T12:42:00.006-04:00

I shot a portrait of Jesse Scaccia, editor of AltDaily, he was kind enough to take some time to be my subject for a photo assignment/contest. We went up to the top of a parking garage to use Downtown Norfolk as the background.

Jesse is a great guy who really cares about improving the quality of life for everyone in Hampton Roads. He has a lot of great ideas and is open to more, always looking at what the city can become.

The final portrait showing him looking out on the city, thinking about his next project.

Here are a few more from the session.

Tidewater Council Scout Night

2011-06-23T10:22:00.007-04:00

This year I decided to become active in the Boy Scouts to give back. As many of you know I am an Eagle Scout, and Scouting is very near and dear to me. Getting back into scouting is something I have wanted to do for some time, but just not sure how to have the most impact. I am on the Marketing committe for the Council as well as getting involved in other ways.

Every year the Tides (local AAA Baseball team) do a Scout Night for Tidewater Council. This year I came out with my Camera to start on a Stock Photo Library for the council.

Any scout that came in uniform was allowed to stand on the field for the National Anthem, sung by a Boy Scout.

Click on the images for larger

After the game the scouts setup camp, some brought tents, others only brought a pad and sleeping bag to sleep under the stars. The staff at Harbor Park had The Sandlot playing on the large video board for the kids before lights out. The wake-up call was 6:00am, way to early for me. Once the kids were setup and the movie starting I packed up and headed home to sleep in.

For more information on joining Scouting visit the national website. For more information on Tidewater Council click here.

Relationships

2011-06-04T15:18:00.008-04:00

People and their Rides

The bond that people have with their vehicle has always interested me. Why did they choose this car/truck? I am launching a new project to document this relationship. This summer I will be lining up as many shoots as I can for this project. For more information head over to the new blog that I setup just for this project.

Contact me if you are interested in participating. I am looking for a wide variety of people and vehicles, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. my email is matt@matthartman.com, please include your name, phone number, vehicle, a little about yourself and why you are interested in participating.

I look forward to exploring this project and sharing the results.

Patton Maternity

2011-06-01T12:28:00.005-04:00

My friends Robbie & Rachel are expecting twins next month and are such a cute couple. I am very excited for them. We met at their house and had a quick session. Rachel is on modified bed rest so we didn't want to do to much. It was a hot day and she was a trooper.

Here are some of the images.

Thanks for looking, if you would like to contact me about setting up a session you can call (757.971.0237) or email me.

Boys and Their Toys

2011-05-18T11:01:00.006-04:00

Last weekend was my Brother-in-law's bachelor party. The main event was going 4 wheeling. That gave me a great idea of doing portraits of each person with their jeep/truck on the trail.

Derek the bachelor with his Jeep

Mark with his Jeep

Brandon with Mark's Jeep (they took turns driving)

Unfortunately as Jeeps go one broke down. I still wanted to get pictures of everyone with their vehicle so here are the rest.

Adler and his jeep, as you can tell he had been working on it all day and wasn't happy about it.

Justin and his Explorer, He stayed to help with Adler's Jeep, this was Sunday morning before we left to come home.

Lastly me and the Suburban/people hauler. (thanks Chris for taking the picture)

There are some more pictures of us on the trail at my flickr account.

I have been thinking about starting a series like this to show the connections that we have with our vehicles. If you would like to have your portrait taken with your vehicle shoot me a quick email.

Thanks for looking!

Derek Jr. is 1 year old!

2011-05-01T09:56:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my nephew! He is one year old, is a speed demon on his hands & knees, and a smile that will turn your day around. This was a lot of fun to shoot, Jennifer picked out the cutest little cake for it and once we let him at it he found his sweet tooth. After a quick bather I took some more shots of the little man.

Here are some of my favorite from the session:

Thanks for looking and comments are welcome.

To book your session email or call me 757.971.0237

Booking 2012 Seniors

2011-04-29T09:39:00.003-04:00

I am booking sessions for 2012 High School Seniors. This is a very important stage in your life and there's no better way to mark it than by custom photography and prints to share with you family and friends.

Senior Portrait Package: $200.00
40 - Wallets
4 - 5x7
2 - 8x10
(print split between your two favorite poses, $66 value)
Low resolution, watermarked images to share on social Media Sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc)
2 general locations
1.5hr Ssession

I am also looking for Senior Reps for each high school in Hampton Roads. Being a rep has its perks, like a $100 session fee, and cash for each referral, limited to two people per school so book early to reap the benefits.

Being a Rep you will also get:
50 personalized Rep Cards
$10 for each referral*

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or to book your session: matt@matthartman.com or 757-971-0237

*Reimbursement given only after each session that is booked due to your referral.

Ashley & Bryan Engagement

2011-04-25T09:46:00.003-04:00

I had the great opportunity to photograph Ashley & Brian for their engagement at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake. They are a great couple and I now have a band that I need to check out and an accountant for next year.

Here are some of my favorites from their shoot.

Thanks for looking. Comments are always welcome.

Portraits of Justin

2011-04-13T13:02:00.003-04:00

While out at Justin's hunting property with some friends I pulled Justin aside to take a couple portraits. Here are my favorite images.

Which one is your favorite? Vote in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to look.
Matt

Spring in West Ghent 2011

2011-03-30T16:08:00.007-04:00

Last year I walked around Ghent with my camera one spring afternoon (post here). Those shots came out great!

As spring has approached this year I wanted to do it again, but didn't want to do the exact same thing. I have been playing with lighting more and grabbed my flash and wireless setup to go experiment. Off I went walking around with my camera in one hand and my flash in the other, stopping to take pictures whenever something caught my eye.

I really played with how I was lighting various leaves and flowers to see the effect it would give. There were a couple instances where I wished my arm was longer, but I made it work. Although the images make it seem like it was the middle of the night I was out taking them a 6pm with plenty of day light.

Here are my favorite from my walk:

I love the spring, it reawakens my soul.

Thanks for reading. –Matt

Family Pictures

2011-03-28T11:13:00.006-04:00

Derek and Jen wanted some updated family pictures, so we met at Bennetts Creek Park in Suffolk. It was a bright afternoon and I knew of some great places . Here we go.

This was a fun quick shoot, it helps knowing your subjects.

Thanks
Matt

Baby Bentley

2011-03-08T11:36:00.004-05:00

Introducing Bentley, he was three days old in these pictures. I love newborn photography, they are so small and pliable, for the most part. When I first arrived he was wide awake, I took some shots before we got him fed & back to sleep. He is such an adorable baby.

For lighting I positioned him on their dining room table with the black seamless backdrop. There are two windows on the right and I setup a continuous light softened with an umbrella to the left to balance the light. This worked out very well.

Martie Maternity

2011-02-17T18:12:00.007-05:00

My friends John and Mia are expecting their second child in a couple weeks. We started planning this shoot about 7 months ago, when she found out she was pregnant. I setup in their living room which has this nice big wall that was a perfect backdrop for our shoot.

Here is a BTS shot of the "studio" I setup in their living room.

Annabelle Lyttle

2011-02-08T18:57:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity to shoot this amazing model in January. She is a friend of Susan (MUA I love working with and my wife's cousin) that had just moved back from LA. It was a bitter cold day with intermittent blizzard like snow coming down. Most of the shoot was in Susan's apartment in Downtown Lancaster, PA. This was my first time working with a pro and it was absolutely incredible. I learned a lot from watching her, I feel I can give less experienced models more direction. Susan did an amazing job with the makeup.

We started with Annabelle barefaced in the clothes she arrived in and built from there.

These are from her third outfit. Susan had this old suitcase that we jsut had to have some fun with.

These shots from the graveyard were the first ones I edited. She was a trooper out there, and it shows in the images. We had a nice warm car close for when she needed to warm up.

Here are some from our last set where Susan went wild with some awesome makeup.

There are a lot more that I still have to go through so keep checking back to see what has been added or follow my page on Facebook for all of my updates.

A Special thanks to everyone who helped out.
Annabelle Lyttle - Model
Susan Bourassa - MUA
Jessica Hartman - 1st Assistant
Justin Ray 2nd Assistant

Here are some behind the scenes shots from the shoot.

Studio (12/30/2010)

2011-01-14T13:06:00.003-05:00

I invited some friends and family over to my in-laws garage where I setup a studio. This was to do some portraits, play with lighting, and have fun. Here are the best shots from that day.

Thanks for looking, if you would be interested in coming out the next time I do one of these fun shoots follow me on Facebook.

Northwest River Park

2010-12-30T11:32:00.001-05:00

I officially a published author, this my second story about hiking local parks was picked up by AltDaily. I have been approaching these as both an article and a photo essay, where each can stand alone without the other but together they make a great article. Here is the link to the story on AltDaily with some of the pictures I took that day. All of the images are below:

Let me know what park I should visit next in the comments.

#2 on the way

2010-12-28T14:15:00.004-05:00

I can finally share these photos! Sharon asked me to hold off on sharing them until their Christmas Cards went out.
Sharon contacted me about doing some Christmas & Maternity pictures of their second pregnancy. Their first daughter has grown a lot since I last saw her. Jessica was with me to help keep Lila's attention while I took pictures. They all did great, and here are some of the results.

It was so great to have them ask me to come back to take pictures of their wonderful family. I am truly lucky to have the opportunity to make new friends and clients and document their lives.

Martie Family

2010-12-22T14:07:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I had a large-ish family Christmas session in Old Town Portsmouth. The Martie's wanted to have Christmas photos but their youngest son couldn't make it up from North Carolina for them until the 18th of December. I thought the giant Christmas tree at the High St Landing would be the perfect spot for the session. We took a bunch of photos there and walked down to the Raddison Hotel to take some more. It was a chilly afternoon but they were troopers and we made a good time out of it.

Here are some of the results:

Thanks to the Martie's and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Studio Shoot

2010-12-15T11:12:00.003-05:00

I am going to setup a studio to take some Fun & Crazy pictures on Dec 30 and I need Volunteers to Model & Do Hair & Makeup. I plan on getting there and setting up early to take advantage of the whole day. I am looking to do 6-7 sets. Ideally I am looking to do 3 sets that are Glam/Fashion shots, and 3 head shots. I am looking for models (male, female) for these sets, with 1-3 people per set. I am also in need of a makeup artist and hairdresser to help in those areas.

I am looking to shoot something different to build out my portfolio. Do you have any really great Halloween costumes in your closet? I am open to what you can contribute.

Here are some of my ideas:

Cupcake Cutie

- Bright Colors, Cupcakes, Fun. This could be as simple as a Pink top, white/pink apron, and the rest will be props, hair & makeup.

Pin-up

- Classic to Modern, I am looking for willing models for this

Ethnic

- Do you have any traditional outfits? Examples include: Japanese/Geisha, Indian, Native American, etc…

Alt Bridal

- Any recent Brides out there that want to see what they could have looked like if they went completely wild with their hair & makeup?

Vaudeville

- Can you spin Plates? How about breathe Fire? Want to pretend that you can? Lets see what we can come up with.

Country Western

- For this I am thinking more Old West than Toby Keith, but I am completely open to ideas.

Boudoir/ Goth / Suicide Girl

- If you are comfortable showing some skin and/or have tattoos I would love to do something sexy and fun.

Here are some samples of this type of work that I have done in the past.

I also want to do some crazy head shots that don’t require an outfit. These would be shorter and quicker sessions than the more elaborate ideas but will let more people participate and will diversify the day.

If you are interested in modeling or showing off you hair & makeup talents send me an email and lets start developing some ideas. Please also indicate your availability for Dec. 30. If you can only be there for half of the day let me know so I can plan accordingly.

This is a portfolio building opportunity, anyone who participates will get a rights released CD for prints. If you can come out & help with hair & makeup I will also provide lunch.

The Washington Ditch

2010-12-06T11:27:00.002-05:00

I have wanted to do a weekend on the Appalachian Trail (AT), where I hiked extensively during my time in the Boy Scouts, but finding the time has been difficult. Last week I wanted to get out to decompress, and finally looked for a closer trail to hike. I decided to hike the Washington Ditch of the Great Dismal Swamp, used by George Washington as a headquarters in 1763. Washington had the ditch dug by hand, hence the name.

I arrived around eleven with my camera bag, lunch, and plenty of water. Once my bag was together and the trail info read I started off. Always remember to bring enough water and take a minute to read the trail information. This can make a huge difference in your experience. After stopping twice in the first quarter mile to get my camera out to take some pictures, I realized that I should just keep it out. The trail has a good dusting of leaves, but even so, the walk was quiet. The leaves were soft under my feet from the recent rain. There were some small birds fluttering around both in the brush and in the tree tops. Every so often I could hear the water flowing through dams created by man, beavers, or downed trees. As I approached one of the dams a beaver slammed his tail in the water, creating a loud boom and startling me. He must have been just below the water. I stopped and sat for a while, waiting to see if he would come out, but after I realized he wasn’t going to show I kept on moving. It can become a habit to keep your eyes on the trail in front of you, but remember to also look around. There was a small tree with it’s bark scraped off in one section next to the trail, an indication the deer are out.

The trail is perfectly straight for most of the 4.5 miles, which is just as imposing as it is spectacular. It is mostly well kept, although there were some downed trees just over the two-mile mark that impede vehicles from going any further. They still had most of their leaves so they couldn’t have been down long. The trail is flat and straight which makes for a relatively easy hike.

After walking an hour and a half the sky started getting dark, and I was really hoping it would not rain. As I made my way deeper into the swamp and closer to the lake I started seeing signs of bears, but no such luck seeing an actual bear this trip.

As I approached the first of two bends in the trail I saw five turkeys: two adults and three juveniles. I slowed my pace and quieted my steps. They let me get as close as 50 yards away before they went into the woods. When I made it to where they were I could still hear them in the woods.

As I came around the final corner and could see the lake I started to get excited, especially seeing the cloudy sky, which made for some amazing pictures. There is a nice bench on the dock equipped with industrial binoculars to look out at the lake. A passerby had mentioned she saw some otters in the lake, and so I kept my eyes out for them as I ate my lunch and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The otters must have moved on in the lake, no dice again.

This time the camera was put away and it was like I was back on the Appalachian Trail, kind of. I took my time getting to Lake Drummond, but now I was starting to get tired and a little sore. It was time to get back to the car. Head down and lost in thought, the walk in took about two hours and fifteen minutes, focused and aware, the walk out took about an hour and a half. I was pushing myself on the way out, completely different from the casual stroll with my camera on the way in. Once back to my car I enjoyed sitting down, and the reward that was waiting for me: Gatorade.

I highly recommend hiking Washington Ditch. There is also a boardwalk trail that is only a mile if you aren’t feeling as adventurous. I am glad that I chose this nice flat hike instead of the Appalachian Mountains to break me in. These are just two of many trails in the Great Dismal Swamp although the other trails are closed for hunting season right now. I counted twenty-four other people on the trail, from individuals to families. The trail is also bike friendly if you are not up for the hike. You can get more information on the swamp at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp.

All of my pictures from the hike

There are also many other trails around Hampton Roads if you want to get out and do a little hiking, like the Noland Trail in Newport News or the trails at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake. We may not have any mountains, but there are plenty of great parks to get out and enjoy.

What is your favorite trail around Hampton Roads? Let me know and I will add it to my list of places to hike, photograph & review. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Violinist

2010-12-03T10:00:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I did a shoot that was a year and a half in the making. Sarah and I had discussed taking some photos of her playing her violin in the fall. This conversation happened during the summer of 2009. As fall approached this year we started talking about it again. I did some research on when the leaves normally change and fall in Southeast VA. I also scouted the property we used for the shoot at various times of day to determine when the light would be best. It was decided that it would be best to get together in the morning.

I arrived an hour before Sarah was scheduled to be there to get setup for the shoot. I had the sun behind her to her right, and cross-lit her with a Speedlight attached to a beauty dish. The fill light was from another Speedlight attached to my camera. Here are some shots that have minimal processing to show the lighting.

I narrowed my selection down to 4 shots and picked one for the final shot. Here are the four shots that I chose from.

Here is the final image.

I am looking forward to more of these highly planned photo shoots. This was a while in the making and I am very happy with the results. Do you have an idea for a fun and different photo shoot? I would love to hear your ideas and help you pull off your shoot.

Sraver Family

2010-11-15T11:28:00.000-05:00

I recently photographed the Sraver family around downtown Suffolk. We started were their family began, at the spot where Brant proposed to Karla, just outside of downtown. Then we went to the Suffolk Center and the Train Museum for some shots. We finished the shoot at the Kids Zone Playground, where even the parents found something to play on.

It was a lot of fun and their kits were great!

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

Thank you Sraver Family!
Any friends or Family can see all of the pictures and purchase prints here.

Alicia - Class of 2011

2010-10-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

I met Alicia at Alan & Kelly's wedding. She really liked their engagement pictures taken at Lone Star Lakes park. Alicia spends a lot of her free time there and wanted to have her senior portraits there. Having shot there last month I had some ideas & locations, so did she. Her boyfriend came along and was a big help holding the reflector & making her smile.

Below are some of my favorite shots from the shoot.

If you need to have your senior portraits taken contact me by email or phone 757.971.0237

Derek Jr - Halloween

2010-10-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

This is going to be Derek Jr.'s first Halloween, and Derek & Jen wanted to get some cute pictures. We setup a little studio with some great props and took pictures as long as he was cooperating, then we would break for a bit and try again. He was really good for about 15minutes at a time. Here are some of the best.

Have an idea for a photo shoot? I would love to hear it, email me or give me a call at 757.971.0237

Hatfield Wedding

2010-10-28T16:14:00.000-04:00

Alan and Kelly had a great wedding at the fire station he volunteers at. I had a lot of fun sharing and documenting it. Kelly and her girls were ready extra early to get some great pictures of just them. Then I walked down the street to meet the guys and take pictures of them getting ready.

It was a wonderful day, they fully utilized the fire station & engine for their ceremony even getting a ride home in it. They did a great job with the fire fighter theme right down to using a hatchet to cut the cake.

Kelly wanted to make sure that they had plenty of time for some fun shots which was great for me. I am so happy for both of them, they are a wonderful couple.

Below are some of my favorite from their day.

The complete set can be seen here.

If you are getting married or looking for portraits feel free to contact me by email or phone 757.971.0237

Thanks for looking.

Thompson Wedding

2010-10-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege of photographing Ashley & Jason's wedding on Oct. 2, 2010. It was a beautiful ceremony at a cute little church in Gibsonville, NC. They are a great couple, they were in Chesapeake back in July and I did their engagement pictures at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The reception was a great party, Jason's grandmother was tearing up the dance floor.

You can see some of my favorites below, the complete gallery can be seen here. (You may want to get a drink and a snack first.)

To schedule your session with me give me a call or send an email and we can discuss your session.

Having Fun

2010-10-04T16:04:00.004-04:00

I borrowed a second flash from my co worker and set up a little studio to have some fun and learn using two flashes. There were two big windows to the left of the image providing most of the fill light, I kept the second flash to the right of the image most of the time. The first flash was mounted on the camera and wasn't always on. I am looking at some options for doing more off camera flash work, including an upcoming project once the leaves start falling.

This a great learning experience, I was hoping some of my friends would stop by to model for me, but it didn't happen. If you want to know the next time I am looking to experiment & get some free shots, follow me on Twitter.

I learned a lot playing with these, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to using what I learned.

For more information, or to schedule a session send me an email of call me at 757-97-0237

MacCord Wedding

2010-09-24T13:23:00.005-04:00

My good friends Matt & Holly tied the knot on 9/18/10 and I was there both as the photographer and a groomsmen. It made for one crazy day, I had to be nimble and quick to adapt to the locations. I couldn't have done it without some help from Steven Cambell who handled getting shots of the Guys getting ready & the formal shots. Susan Bourassa was also a great help taking my camera and shooting while I was doing groomsmen duties.

Pulling double duty was a crazy experience and knowing my camera and lenses made me very efficient, knowing what lens & settings to use when and without notice.

Below are some of my favorite images from the day, to see all of them & order prints click here.

(There are still more to come)

To schedule your session or to inquire about availability don't hesitate to give me a call (757.971.0237) or send me and email.

ALan & Kelly Engagement

2010-09-13T13:28:00.006-04:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to photograph my good friend Alan and his fiance Kelly. They are such a great couple and are a lot of fun to be around. We met at their house in Chuckatuck and went to Lone Star Lakes Park nearby. We had a great time stopping at four different spots in the park getting some awesome shots. After the park closed we went to the Fire Station where Alan volunteers and took some photos with the trucks. I am saving some of my ideas for their wedding next month that will be at the same fire station, I can't wait!

All of the images are available for purchase here.

For information on scheduling a session with Matt Hartman call 757.971.0237 or email matt@matthartman.com

Mornings in HR - Norfolk

2010-08-27T17:42:00.006-04:00

This is the first in what I hope to be a weekly posting. Over the next couple weeks I plan on getting up early and photographing some landmarks of our 7 cities. Living in Norfolk, I have started here. Below are some of the shots, I still have more to edit so check back soon for more.

Today I focused in and around Downtown.

I will have Fine Art prints of these available soon. Send me an email if you would like to know once they are available.

ODU School of Nursing Commencement

2010-08-24T11:16:00.005-04:00

I had the honor of Photographing the Commencement Ceremony for ODU's School of Nursing on August 12th. This was my first event of this kind and I learned a lot doing it. I arrived early and found a good position for the pinning ceremony, dialed my camera and flash in and was ready to go.
As an outsider I could tell this was a tight knit group who worked together and supported each other through their studies.

All of the images can be seen here and are available for purchase.

Thank you for having me there and Congratulations to all of the 2010 Graduates!

Ashley & Jason Engagement

2010-07-08T21:33:00.008-04:00

Independence weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Ashley & Jason. They are a great couple and they did great with the heat and all of the people. We went down to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront by the Neptune sculpture.

Because of all of the people at the beach for the 4th, I had my work cut out for me. Below are some before & after shots from the shoot.

The pictures turned out great! Here are some more from the session.

Thank you Ashley & Jason, I had a great time. Click here to see more images from this session.

To get information and schedule a session contact Matt Hartman

Sail the Bay 2010

2010-05-26T17:27:00.006-04:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go out and shoot Hobie Fleet 32's Sail the Bay Regatta. We had great weather and a good breeze. I arrived early Saturday morning to meet the sailors and get some pictures of them setting up. The regatta was off of First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.

There were 4 classes of catamarans; Hobie 16 single handed, Hobie 16 double handed, A-cat, and Open. All together there were 20 boats, the A-cats being the majority. It was not just locals that came out, there were people from the upper Bay, North Carolina and even from Tennessee. The Captain from Tennessee admitted he doesn't get to sail as much as he would like but gets out on the lake from time to time.

There were also 3 motorboats, one was the Committee Boat (race officials boat) and two chase boats. I started on the Committee Boat getting some start and finish shots, then jumped on one of the chase boats to get some shots as the catamarans were coming around the windward buoy.

The second day we started early and only had two motorboats (one had mechanical problems and had to leave early on day one). I stayed on the Comittee Boat and to get some images of the boats coming across the start/finish line. On day two the racing was much closer and the boats stayed in tighter packs.

After it was all over we looked back on a couple good days of sailing. We got back to shore and the committee ran the numbers to determine the top 3 of each class. The winner of the A-cat class won all eight races, of course everyone said it was due to his boat. I am looking forward to hearing feedback from the competitors.

Thank you to Hobie Fleet 32 for having me come out and get these great shots. The images from the event are available for purchase here.

There is a great story about the regatta by Tony Arends here.

At Hobie Fleet 32's website you can find information about their upcoming events, and membership.

Derek Jr. Newborn

2010-05-11T20:14:00.006-04:00

My nephew DJ was born on May 1st at 2:56am. He is 8 days old in these pictures, and was great. We took all afternoon and when he was sleepy and cooperative we took photo's.

There are more photo's here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_hartman/4599506567/in/set-72157624043158970/

Please let me know what you think, and to schedule a session give me a call (757.971.0237) or email (matt@matthartman.com)

Quick Maternity Shoot

2010-04-29T22:07:00.005-04:00

Derek came home from Iraq this past Sunday so we got together yesterday to do some maternity shots with him on the beach. They met me after work and we were off to the oceanfront. Jennifer was a trooper walking down the boardwalk, to and from the water. Here are some of the images from this quick session.

I had a great time with Derek and Jennifer, and am looking forward to meeting little Derek.

To schedule a session with me give me a call (757.971.0237) or shoot me and email (matt@matthartman.com)

Jennifer's Maternity Session

2010-04-16T11:52:00.007-04:00

Last weekend I had a lot of fun taking maternity pics of my soon to be sister-in-law. We spent about 4 hours and seven outfits taking pics. We set up a studio in my in-laws' garage so we could control the light. I had the full team helping again (from the PA photo shoot), my wife Jessica helping out, her cousin Susan doing makeup and Susan's friend Becky helping with posing, and props, and .... the list goes on. I cannot thank them enough for all of their help.

We started off with some traditional posing and outfits. then moved on to draped fabric. Jennifer did great, once we had her posed she could hold it all day.

My Brother-in-law is in Iraq right now and we wanted to take some pictures that show their connection to the military. He has scheduled his R&R around her due date so he will be here for the birth of his son. Then he will be home for good in August.

Here are some more images from that day.

Thank you Jennifer for letting me document this special time and I know there will be plenty more sessions in in our future!

Thanks for looking, as always if you are interested in setting up a session feel free to give me a call at 757.971.0237 or email at matt@matthartman.com

More photo's from this session can bee seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_hartman/sets/72157623866859028/

MUA Susan Bourassa - starskeepmarching@hotmail.com
Becky Kreider - www.rebeccakreiderphotography.com

Signs of Spring

2010-04-01T20:28:00.002-04:00

Spring has always been a great time of year to me. Growing up it was time to get back outside, sports started, the woods were ripe for adventure and the mosquitoes were no where to be found, yet. This year has been special, I find myself truly enjoying THIS spring. I have found it hard to stay inside, especially on the weekends.

This past Sunday was no exception. It was a great day, a little cool but the sun was shining and my wife and I wanted to get out. Earlier in the week while walking to my car I noticed how interesting the trees were just beginning to grow leaves, the flowers were just starting to bloom and I became inspired. I wanted to document this great time of year with some up close and personal images.

The above images are of a couple of the trees that caught my attention and gave me inspiration for this project. That evening and grabbed my camera and took these images. It was raining and so I had to be quick, hiding my camera in my rain jacket when not in use.

Sunday rolled around I had not had the chance to get out and explore more of what this spring had to offer. My wife wanted to get out of the apartment so we took a nice long walk around Ghent stopping two or three times per block to take pictures. We had a great time just wandering around Colley Ave, strolling down Stockley Gardens eventually making our way to the Hague. Here are some more images from our walk.

As we were walking we came across a very interesting tree (image below). The man that owned the house it is in front of came walking around as we were looking at it, seemingly to make sure we weren't destroying his plants. He informed us it was a wisteria tree. Truly it started off as a vine that he has pruned over many years until it looked like a small weeping willow of some kind. I have never noticed a wisteria bloom this early on and will be back by periodically to watch it bloom.

This is truly a magical time if the year. Get out and let THIS spring make its mark on you.

There are more images on my flickr account, here is the link to the set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_hartman/sets/72157623737991720/

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Thanks for looking.
Matt

PA Photo Shoot

2010-03-30T06:38:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago we went up to Lancaster, PA to do a couple photo shoots with my wife's cousin Susan is a hair stylist/MUA. We are both building our portfolio's and gaining experience, and had a great time doing it. It was a whirlwind trip, we left Norfolk Thursday around 7:30pm after work and made it in to Susan's at about 1:00am. Friday afternoon Susan did Jessica's hair and makeup, the weather was nasty so we went to the Lancaster Arts Hotel and shot in their lobby. It is a great place and worked out well for us. Here are the pictures of Jessica from Friday.

Afterward we went to Susan's regular bar and had a couple drinks. It seemed like a long day but it was nothing compared to what was in store for us Saturday.

Susan lined up Kelsey for us Saturday morning. We had her come over around 9:00am and we had her until 2:00pm. She is a drama student and brought over some great outfits. Susan did her hair and makeup then we were off. It was another rainy day so we went to The Brickyard, a converted old brick building that is now shops and apartments in Lancaster. We used the entrance to the apartments which provided varying backgrounds for us to utilize. Here are the pictures from Saturday.

I still have some images to edit from when we came back to Susan's place and used her basement and some of their friends swords.

Susan had lined up a couple more girls for Saturday afternoon, but neither showed up which was fine with us, we were all beat. It was a great time and having Susan to do hair and makeup as well as her friend Becky as our "prop assistant" who helped with the setups leaving me to mostly worry about the framing was great, thank you so much. The models we had were great, my lovely wife Jessica and Susan's friend Kelsey were both troopers doing whatever we asked, thank you.

If you want to see more images from this shoot you can check out my flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_hartman/sets/72157623599098867/

Thank you for looking, if you have any questions or projects don't hesitate to get in touch.
Matt Hartman
757.971.0237
matt@matthartman.com

You can contact the MUA, Susan Bourassa at starskeepmarching@hotmail.com

Baby Lila

2010-02-17T21:36:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago I was invited back to take infant pictures for Sharon and Casey. When I got there Sharon had a list of poses she was thinking about along with a basket of props and outfits for the day. We talked them over and got to shooting. Lila was great, not giving us much trouble and posing away for us. Hearing Sharon and Casey behind me being complete goofballs made it challenging to keep my attention on Lila. What is it about babies that can turn adults into complete fools?

I am looking forward to going back once Lila is a little older to document her growth.

Catching up (my work to date)

2010-02-12T19:12:00.001-05:00

Here is a selection of my work up to this point.

Lets start with couples that I have had the please of photographing. Note: This is not in chronological order.

This is Ernie and Andrea. We got together and walked around Downtown Norfolk taking pictures as we went. We had a great time and got some really good pictures, they are a great couple and it shows in the pictures.

Last fall I went out to the Oceanview beach with my Sister-in-Law and her husband. We walked around on the beach and a little in the dunes by the entrance. We had a great time cutting up and enjoying the sunset on the beach.

John and Mia are some close friends that wanted some updated family pictures. We went to Sleepy Hole park in Suffolk to get the pictures and found this one area with a short section of fence and found it to be a great place to take photo's.

My good friend and brother-in-law recently proposed to a great girl right before he left for Iraq. They went down to Kitty Hawk NC for a night together. That evening he proposed and of course she said "yes." I drove down the following morning and took their engagement pictures. We had a great time and found some cool places to take pictures.

Ok enough couples. What else have I done you may be asking yourself? Well lets move on to the cute, cuddly children and babies. Kids are a lot of fun but not always cooperative, sometimes they can be a handful but I enjoy all of it and figure it will only help me when I have kids of my own.

My first experience working with children was my co-worker at the time and his family. We went to these old set of steps in Downtown Suffolk for the shoot. Also for his daughter I brought a sucker to get her to open up and for if/when she started to get over taking pictures.

A couple months later they had her brother and his family in town and wanted more pictures with them. This time we met in Yorktown at her parents house and went to the neighborhood park. We had a good time, the three children and two infants were kind of a lot for me to handle not being accustomed so many kids, but their parents made everything go smoothly.

While my cousin was in town from Ohio, she wanted some pictures of her daughter. We didn't get the chance to take any until dusk. So we walked around and got some shots before it got to dark.

My first maternity shoot was with Sharon and Casey. I met them at their house in Suffolk with some ideas. They had some thoughts of what they had seen and we went from there. We had a blast, they are a great couple and that made the shoot even more enjoyable. One of my ideas was to have Casey make faces at her belly. One of them was him filling his cheeks with air and it is my favorite from the shoot.

Here are some of the other great shots that we got while I was there. I was just there getting some infant images and that will be my next post.

Now moving on. Here are some individual portraits and other photos that I have taken.

While on a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with my friends, I tried to get portraits of everyone. Here are just some of them. While we were there we went up to the Corolla beaches where you can drive on the beach.

I love how this is a more intimate portrait of this couple. Instead of having them look at me I liked how they were interacting, sharing pictures on their camera. The blown out white background gives a serene and peaceful feeling to the image.

Jen is always up for a good time, and really enjoyed being out on the beach. The sun was extremely bright that day but I was still able to get some good shots.

While spending time at the cottage I caught my wife standing on the deck just looking out. I knew I could get a great image. I got her attention and told her not to smile to get this portrait.

My brother-in-law brought his decked out Jeep CJ7 to go through some of the mud trails there.

Derek Pushed his jeep a little to hard and we had a little problem. It was nothing he couldn't take care of. Derek has been working on cars since her was 15. The ride back to pavement was intense to say the least. The jeep would run good above about 35 mph but remember we were on the beach just trying to make it back to where a tow truck could get it. The speedometer is broken in the jeep so all I can do is estimate our speed which was probably close to 50-55 mph. That was a ride I will never forget.

I have also had the opportunity to be the official Photographer at my good friends Purple Heart ceremony. That was a great honor to be able to do this for him. He was injured in Iraq when his APC was hit by a roadside bomb. We drove up to Williamsbug, getting there at 7am. It was the first order of business at a training conference. After the ceremony he was excused and we spent time there taking more pictures and enjoying coffee.

At my last job we started a concept for a television show called the Surfing Chef. The star, Steve generally gets up early and drives from Suffolk to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to surf. We met at 5am and headed out to the beach on a couple of occaisions to get photos and video to use for the demo video and website that was being developed at the time. Here are some of the portraits that I took on the beach.

Well that pretty much bring you up to date with my portrait photography over the last couple years. I have done quite a variety of shoots and always looking for more subjects and clients.

Please don't hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions or ideas. matt@matthartman.com

Wedding Photography

2010-02-12T14:35:00.005-05:00

Last summer I shot with the photographer that did my wedding. Here are some of my best shots. I had a great time, thanks to Rebecca for letting me come and shoot with you.

Getting Started

2010-02-11T18:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Matt Hartman Photography. I am starting this as a quick and easily to update website.

I am just beginning to professionally take portraits, I have been doing it for friends and fun for a while gaining my bearings and learning from every photo shoot. I now feel confident to present my work to the world and will give each client 110%.

I have experience in many aspects of photography, from portraiture to action, and modeling.

Have an idea or a question, shoot me an email, or give me a call at 757.971.0237

Thanks,
Matt Hartman