Contemporary Photographer ~ Tracie Taylor

Tracie Taylor is an American photographer who operates mainly through her website tracietaylorphotography@yahoo.com. She also has a flickr site where I have her as a contact. Based in California and working as a professional photographer for 10 years, she specialises in wedding and lifestyle photography with an edgy modern style, which I very much admire and would like to emulate in my portfolio.

She doesn't always take the usual full face shot, although the conventional and high key does form part of her work, but takes pictures which show the character and emotions of her sitters.  She sometimes uses colour or black & white and adds textures or grain for character, turning photographs into fine art.

Here is some of her work;

This is such as expressive shot, with blue tones matching the sitters eyes and red lipstick, the face is fully lit with the left side falling slightly out of focus and without that over processing which makes the skin look plastic.

An inspired crop on this one cutting out the models eyes concentrating on the texture and form of the lips.  An overlay texture has been added to give it a gritty modern feel and as a foil to the soft gossamer fabric

filling part of the frame.  Again focus is on the lips with hair slightly out of focus making up the frame to her face.

Here the hands have been used to form a frame to her face and a glossy magazine style of editing used, it could be an image taken in the 50s and very flattering to the sitter.

Tracie is not afraid of the unconventional and here the model is photographed under-water, with a tight crop unnecessary detail is kept to a minimum and the piercing gaze draws you in.

This is a moody and beautiful shot, very demure with the model looking down hiding her eyes, very modern and gritty yet reminding me very much of the work of Dorothea Lange.

This is such a fun shot with a cheeky expression and showing peeling painted fingernails, again focus falls away from the main features.

An expressive pose with his fist filling a good part of the frame it immediately gives the impression of an active sporty boy with a fun character.

Again a different pose for this young man, concentrating on his eyes and leaving skin natural, he looks an intelligent, sypathetic young person.  The partial lighting is very expressive and moody.