Welcome to my blog! I'm fairly new to blog writing (I've never done it before) but I will do my very best to keep you up to date with what's going on with Mark Sauer Photography & Fine Art!
I truly do appreciate all of you who have either allowed me the great honor of recording the special moments of your lives through my photography or have appreciated my work enough to visit my page and check up on me!
If you have any questions about my work, me or life in general just ask, I can't promise my answers will be insightful but if I'm lucky they will at least be entertaining!
Thanks for visiting!
Mark
Being able to shoot athletics are some of the great joys of being a photographer! The action on the field, the emotion, the challenge of stopping that decisive moment lasting less than a fraction of a second. But the people, the athletes, the coaches, the fans, They are what makes the games so special.
Creating portraits of athletes, putting them in their element, on the field, in the gym or weight room then adding the light to bring out their grit, determination, skill and power is what sets a sportrait apart from your average studio portrait.
Athletes spend their lives in the locker room, on the field, in the pool or on the track. So much so that these places become part of who they are, where they feel most comfortable, most alive.
Being comfortable is the number one most basic element for a great portrait, No one can look their best if they are placed in an unfamiliar situation where they don't know what to do, how to act or what to think which is why when working with an athlete (or any other profession for that matter) I always try to go to them, their place of work. I've always found that my best results come from me getting out of the studio and meet them where they are at ease.
Working on location brings a set of challenges you won't find in a studio, wind, sun, rain for example but by being prepared for most any situation that could come up, by knowing your equipment and bringing lights and modifiers to wrestle a difficult situation into a beautiful scene you can capture not just the athlete but also what makes them great.
If you're an athlete looking for senior photo contact me at Mark Sauer Photography
A lot has been said about shooting in the "golden hour" at sunset or sunrise when the light is soft and and in a lot of ways that's true. Picking the time of day really can make a difference on the quality of your images. Once in a while golden hour turns into "Magic Light" when all the elements come together. Time of day, angle of the sun, how clear the sky is and the landscape around you. Light changes from a way to illuminate your images to almost a painterly quality. Light wraps around your subject and creates a special glow all its own. I was recently treated to such conditions while photographing Tori and it's a rare and wonderful gift to work with!
Just last week I had the honor of photographing and engagement session for a wonderful couple and I have to admit I was a little nervous about telling a romantic story at 15 below windchill but as anyone raised on Minnesota winters knows, you just make the best of it! and that is exactly what Jason and Sheila did. Standing on a frozen lake while the couple rode side by side across the ice on their snowmobiles I couldn't wait to get started, They didn't hesitate for a second themselves as they ignored frozen fingers, faces and feet and had a great time!
With an August wedding planned I know conditions will likely be more than 100 degrees warmer than last week but I have no doubt that Jason and Sheila will both have the time of their lives! I can't wait!
Mark