surprise the designer

One of my favorite parts of my current job is taking photographs, and at the brewery there are no shortage of subjects. For every new beer that comes to market, we take context photos (aka 'beer on bar') and studio photos for our website and advertising needs. If you've come to a Harpoon festival ( Harpoon Fest is right around the corner), there's a good chance I've asked to take your photo. We organize photo shoots for promotional campaigns, create content to support programming like Harpoon Helps, and, sometimes, are asked to take headshots for events and/or news articles. Photographing people can be a challenge, but it's also hugely rewarding. A well-done headshot of a colleague helps show them—and the company—in the best light possible. I like to position people very close to a large window so they are lit by natural light and the background can more or less fade away. At the brewery, a pint and the taps imply the company connection. Keeping the su...

Can I tell you a secret?  Photography is one of my primary responsibilities at work, and I never took a photo class in college.  We had a brief introduction to the photo studio, but that was mostly so we could document our work using cheap point-and-shoot cameras. When I bought my DSLR (almost a year after graduation), I figured out how to use it through trial-and-error. But I've been shooting photos for my entire life, spotting potential compositions and interesting details everywhere I go (yes, I'm utterly smitten with Instagram .) That being said, it seemed like it was time to get a little more technical when I added 'professional photographer' to my resume. So I signed up for Digital Camera I at the New England School of Photography . The night class met for two hours once a week, covering the basics (aperture, shutter speed, etc. etc.) and critiquing weekly assignments. The final assignment was a series of photos. The subject could be anything, bu...

Have you heard of Brimfield? It's a town in Massachusetts . But, more notably, it's the location of three annual humongous antique fairs . This past (sunny, perfect) Saturday we spent the afternoon winding in and out of just a fraction of the Brimfield tents. It was the perfect opportunity to play with my new-to-me DSLR camera. (The recent purchase of that camera also kept my antique fair spending reigned in... I went home with just three vintage plates.) Do you do that thing where you decide you want to buy something and then spend days/ weeks/months/years mulling over the decision to actually buy it because of the cost? I definitely do. I've been thinking about upgrading my point-and-shoot camera for a couple of years now, but have always balked at the $500+ price tag on entry level DSLR's. A few weeks ago, I spotted a slightly older model (the Canon Rebel Xs)—in nearly mint condition and at a great price—on craigslist. It still wasn't cheap, but I pounced, a...

Just a quick post to say Happy Easter to all! No matter if you celebrate by going to church, having brunch with family, or just eating chick-shaped marshmallows and bunny-shaped chocolates, I hope it's a day full of smiles and early spring sunshine and friends and family. To me, that's the best thing about holidays...it's a time to be together. Realizing I operate really well on just one social platform at a time. The platform of the moment? Instagram. I love seeing little visual glimpses into people's days and chronicling little visual glimpses of mine (like these sunflowers I'm growing in a pickle jar on my kitchen table.) You can see more at toaststudio  (that's me!)