the process
- February 22, 2010 -
As I was editing my last shoot, I figured it might be fun to give you all a little behind-the-scenes glimpse into how I prep my files. Since I retouch my images, there’s a lot more time involved than just shooting the day-of. This is a very quick overview of mainly just some edits (as there’s obviously back-ups, uploading images, presentation, etc. that isn’t in the clip).
I think the bigger reason for me to do this was because I love jumping back to my video roots to give me another creative push. It’s been almost 5 years since I’ve done any real video work, so I like jumping back in when I get a chance as a separate outlet for creativity. Hope you guys enjoy this! Let me know what you think in the comments below, and if you’d like to see more like this or any other types of video. Take care!
NMP – Portrait Process from Nate Mathai on Vimeo.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | 
filed under: Personal, The Blender chicago, chicago wedding photographers, illinois, lightroom, logitech g13, mount prospect, newborn, photoshop, portraits, tutorial, video, wacom, words with friends show comments | add a comment
chicago, illinois {modern portraits} : Baby Alexander
- February 19, 2010 -
Last week I had the privilege of working with baby Alexander, one of the easiest 6-month-olds I’ve EVER dealt with! He must have been extremely excited to have his picture taken because from the moment I got to Pontus and Ulrika’s place, he was ready to go. I don’t think he even had thoughts of a cry or a whine while I was there…maybe I’m just that good with kids? :)
Ulrika, Pontus, and Baby Alexander, I had a great time working with your family- a beautiful family makes my job very easy :)
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Children and Newborn Sessions, Modern Portraits baby, baby alexander, chicago, chicago wedding photographers, family portraits, illinois, modern portraits, newborn portraits No Comments | add a comment
Baby Alexander : modern portraits {teaser}
- February 13, 2010 -
If this doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy going into Valentine’s day, I don’t know what will.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Children and Newborn Sessions, Modern Portraits baby, chicago, chicago wedding photographers, illinois, modern, newborn portraits No Comments | add a comment
2010 Superbowl Recap (Top 10 Ads)
- February 8, 2010 -
First, big ups to the Who Dat Nation and the New Orleans Saints for grabbing the ring and playing an awesome game this weekend! Drew Brees is a very classy guy, and well deserving of his first ring. Though Peyton is an amazing player, I think the loss tarnishes his stand in greatness as one of the top QBs of all time. The win would have secured it, but now he only has 1 super bowl win, and that was against Rex Grossman. I still think he’s a QB stud, but he needs another ring to really set him apart. The Saints made some gutsy calls (going on 4th-and-goal and failing, getting the onside kick), but it proved successful.
Now on to the Superbowl Commercials…I must say as a collectie body of work, I was very unimpressed with the ads this year. I don’t know what it was, but most of them didn’t have the punch as in years past. Even still, there were a few that rose to the top for varying reasons. Here are my top 10.
10. E*Trade: Girlfriend
The babies are always funny.
9. Bud Light: T-Pain
Everything sounds better in auto-tune.
8. Boost Mobile: Shuffle
Will I switch to boost mobile? No. But I must give props throwing it back to the Chicago Bears 1985 Superbowl Shuffle.
7. Snickers: You’re Not You
Another great celebrity appearance of Betty White.
6. KGB: Sumo
They finally brought a marketing spin that works- answers, not links. Does it mean I’ll use KGB? Nope. But at least they differentiated themselves.
5. McDonald’s: Horse
The kicker was Dwight Howard saying “Who’s That?” The shots itself looked so fake, but the ending clinched it. (Would have been nice to see MJ there with Bird, but then the joke probably wouldn’t have worked as well)
4. Google: Search
The more I watch this ad, the smarter it becomes. Google proved just how powerful it can be, with the emotional linkage of a relationship to a wedding to a child. It also showcased many features that people don’t realize it can provide- not just links, but definitions, flight statuses, etc. Whether others caught that, though, is another question.
3. VW: PunchDub
Stevie Wonder…another genius kicker!
2. Career Builder: Casual Friday
CB continues to put out humorously creative ads during the SB. This was another one.
1. Doritos: House Rules
Hilarious! Awesome delivery by the little man. Doritos dominated the commercial realm this year.
So there’s my top 10. Agree/Disagree? Which commercials did you like this year? What’d you think of the quality of commercials as a whole? Would love to hear your thoughts!
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal betty white, boost mobile, bud light, career builder, chicago, doritos, dwight howard, e trade, google, KGB, larry bird, lebron james, mcdonalds, snickers, stevie wonder, superbowl, superbowl commercials, t-pain, volkswagon No Comments | add a comment
Elisabeth + Andy : modern wedding {hammond, in}
- February 5, 2010 -
I got to kick off the wedding season pretty early this time around, with Elisabeth and Andy’s modern wedding the day after New Years! It was such a great way to start the year off for me- a simple and blessing ceremony uniting two people, along with their close friends and families.
Everyone had a hand in helping Elisabeth get ready, including the flower girl-
Elisabeth and Andy chose to see each other before the ceremony, which is always fun. It also allows the bride to “straighten out” her groom :)
We were able to steal a few moments for portraits of just the two of them…it’s great when couples are so in love!
The ceremony was held at the Suburban Bible Church in Hammond, Indiana.
Both Elisabeth and Andy’s fathers are pastors, and so each of them shared time in giving the message during the wedding- how personal is that!
Elisabeth and Andy, thank you so much for allowing me to take part in your wedding day. I wish you guys all the best as you prepare for all the married life has to offer you two!
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Modern Weddings andy and elisabeth, chicago, chicago wedding photographers, elisabeth and andy, hammond, highland, illinois, indiana, Modern Weddings, suburban bible church No Comments | add a comment
stretching creatively
- February 2, 2010 -
One thing I never want to do is grow stagnant. In any area of my life, I want to be constantly growing, improving, moving. Many times, the repetitive nature of our lives cause us to fall into a monotonous lifestyle, where everything looks the same, feels the same, sounds the same. And in that we begin to lose our passion, begin to digress.
It has been almost a month since I last picked up my camera- it was actually refreshing to do so. I’ve been catching up on album designs and edits, and meeting with wonderful clients for 2010 that I haven’t really had a “need” to shoot. And THAT is the best time to grow. During this time, I was able to stretch myself creatively…doing things I won’t normally do for client shoots. But in doing so, I expand my vision, see what’s possible, and learn.
First thing I did was play with light…I’ve always been enamored with light and photography, though I’m not a big studio set person. As I tell everyone, though, in order to be a good photographer, you need to understand light. Learn how it works, its effects on your camera, and what you can do to it.
After that, I did another photowalk in downtown Chicago. I did this about a year and a half ago on another cold winter day, which made this a bit more exciting for me. I had to walk the same area I did before, but take a different perspective on everything. Don’t just take the standard images others take…don’t even just take the standard images I take when I’m there. But find that next angle. My original thoughts were to do 60 frames in 60 minutes. Then it was to do 50 frames with just my 50 1.4 lens. Then 35 frames with only the 35 2.0. Then I decided to just forget labeling what I am doing and just shoot…anything and everything. That was probably the most freeing decision I made for the day. I decided to give these images a different processing that’s from my norm- but hey, it’s a personal project and I can do whatever I want! :)
There is a problem when you aren’t passionate for the things you once were. Recognize the change…realize what’s missing. Push yourself to be constantly growing.
be sure to visit the contact page if you’re looking for a chicago wedding photographer, available nationwide.
natemathai | filed under: Personal art institute of chicago, chicago loop, chicago wedding photographers, cloud gate, downtown chicago, millenium park, the bean No Comments | add a comment
