Contra Fates' Photography

[Contra Fates]

Oh hey Kendra! Long time no see since PEF. :3

Man, I'd almost forgotten how awesome your stuff is. To say that you know your way around a camera would be an understatement. I can't even go on saying which picture I like best. Dang. Gritty Glitter does strike my fancy though.

>.> In fact, I think I'll go ahead and get inspired by these for drawing pretty girls, if you don't mind...

Oh, wow, long time no see! Man, it sounds like ancient history to me, haha, so many changes since then.

Thanks so much for the kind words, I'm really glad you like my new work. =) I know it's a lot different from the stuff I posted back during those days. I see you're a fellow deviant, so I've gone ahead and watched you - and I'll be inviting you to the group I run on there, too. =)

Also, good luck with the pretty girl drawings! I envy people like you with drawing talent more than people like me who can use a camera. xD

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Lolita on Fire: Drawn
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The very talented aRTussell on deviantart has done a gorgeous graphite drawing of the above photograph, and I just had to share it! Apologies for the large images, but the detail of his drawing is just remarkable.

Pocket Full of Sunshine

Model: Shelby Todd
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This was an image I did for a 'Sunshine & Happiness' competition on deviantart, and I've been pleased with the response to it so far.

As always, comments and feedback are greatly appreciated!

 

[Tipsynaruto]

OMFG! You, my lady, have just made my birthday even better. That graphite drawing by that guy is absolutely lovely and breathtaking.

The hat's brim near the white ribbon does look a bit odd and it seems slightly crunched to one side, but who bloody cares. Her eyes, hair, lip, nose (well, pretty much her entire face) is just absoluetly, positively brilliant! I swear that i had almost thought the picture was some form of Photoshop filter you had that made it look like graphite, but nope. Its a genuine drawing.

Kudos and rep to you and the artist, which seems hardly enough XD

 

[Howl]

These are really beautiful. I hope people pay you to take their pictures. XD
I thought the 2nd picture looked like a black & white photo too. <3

 

[Contra Fates]

OMFG! You, my lady, have just made my birthday even better. That graphite drawing by that guy is absolutely lovely and breathtaking.

The hat's brim near the white ribbon does look a bit odd and it seems slightly crunched to one side, but who bloody cares. Her eyes, hair, lip, nose (well, pretty much her entire face) is just absoluetly, positively brilliant! I swear that i had almost thought the picture was some form of Photoshop filter you had that made it look like graphite, but nope. Its a genuine drawing.

Kudos and rep to you and the artist, which seems hardly enough XD

Wow, thanks so much! I'm glad that the artwork helped to make your birthday even better. Happy belated birthday, on that note!

I gave the artist tons of rep - and I'm actually in a contest to possibly win the original drawing from him! I hope I get it! =)

These are really beautiful. I hope people pay you to take their pictures. XD
I thought the 2nd picture looked like a black & white photo too. <3

Thank you! Most of these shoots are from trade shoots - which means I'm not paid anything, I just get the models time and she/he get the photos. I have done some paid shoots, though - they're just not as much fun.

I'm really amazed at the quality of that drawing - it's just brilliant.

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I entered my 'Pocket Full of Sunshine' photograph into a contest on deviantart. It was a photography contest with the theme 'Sunshine and Happiness.' I actually won first place!

The prize for winning the contest was an interview, as well as a feature. If you're interested in reading, check it out here:
#Portrait-Love Blog on deviantART: Interview with Digitallica

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On The Way To A Smile

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Model: Miki Sarroca
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I've been going through some of my previous shoots, and this one caught my eye. Comments and feedback are always welcome!

 

[Shu]

Sheesh Contra, you definitely are not an amateur by any stretch, I'm very curious to know your actual profession. You definitely do good work, and as these people know I don't blow smoke up arses. I criticize and compliment where I see fit. This is just admitting to profoundness though.

 

[Contra Fates]

Sheesh Contra, you definitely are not an amateur by any stretch, I'm very curious to know your actual profession. You definitely do good work, and as these people know I don't blow smoke up arses. I criticize and compliment where I see fit. This is just admitting to profoundness though.

Wow, that's very flattering - thank you. I am an amateur, though - I just play up my strengths and avoid my weaknesses, it's a generally successful tactic in just about any endeavor. I'm a sales supervisor - so my day job revolves around customer interactions - part of which I've used when interacting with models. I'm entirely self-taught when it comes to photography, which can be frustrating at times - since my weakness is a knowledge of artificial light sources...which forces me to rely on natural lighting for 90% of my photography.

Thanks again for the comment - you're more than welcome to offer any feedback in the future!

 

[Raiiyokuu]

I'ma just dance through here.

Well, anyway, your photography skeelz are one to behold.

I reckon you're a lot better than my cousin, and he's a great fotographer himself, but his work no where comes close to the beauty and quality of yours.

 

[Shu]

Wow, that's very flattering - thank you. I am an amateur, though - I just play up my strengths and avoid my weaknesses, it's a generally successful tactic in just about any endeavor. I'm a sales supervisor - so my day job revolves around customer interactions - part of which I've used when interacting with models. I'm entirely self-taught when it comes to photography, which can be frustrating at times - since my weakness is a knowledge of artificial light sources...which forces me to rely on natural lighting for 90% of my photography.

Thanks again for the comment - you're more than welcome to offer any feedback in the future!

Sales supervisor? Seems far from what I would assume your dreams to be.. Though it assume pays well, so not going to say much. I'm curious to know what your weaknesses are and if you are ballsy enough to try on these here forums. Or just a self critique as in to exploit at least what you say these weaknesses to be. I can't imagine them for now, unless you mean landscape or candid shots.

 

[Contra Fates]

I'ma just dance through here.

Well, anyway, your photography skeelz are one to behold.

I reckon you're a lot better than my cousin, and he's a great fotographer himself, but his work no where comes close to the beauty and quality of yours.

Haha, you're welcome to dance through here as much as you like.

I'd love to see your cousin's work if you have a link to an online portfolio! I'm really flattered to hear you say that - though, I admit that capturing the more aesthetic part of people is my main focus in photography.

Sales supervisor? Seems far from what I would assume your dreams to be.. Though it assume pays well, so not going to say much. I'm curious to know what your weaknesses are and if you are ballsy enough to try on these here forums. Or just a self critique as in to exploit at least what you say these weaknesses to be. I can't imagine them for now, unless you mean landscape or candid shots.

Oh, goodness no - it's just a well-paying college job. I admit my career dreams are to follow in a similar vein; make plenty of money in a tolerable profession in order to fund my creative ventures.

I don't mind going into detail about my weaknesses - in my own opinion. Self-inflicted beat down commencing!

My main problem is technical skill - this really only comes along with a lot of instruction - either from a textbook or from a mentor. As I have neither, most of what I know has come from the few helpful internet sources I've found - and sheer dumb luck. Because of my lack of technical skill - I have very little knowledge of artificial lighting such as flashes and strobes. I've read much about them, but because I don't have access to use any just yet - it makes it hard to apply the knowledge or know what strobes to invest in.

Other hurdles are composition, and the ability to bring about expressions from my models. Candid shots I'd say are a great strength of mine - and most of my captures are spontaneous shots I've taken of my model caught off guard, but when it comes to expressing ideas - I find myself forcing models too much into a 'pretend' stage, and it comes off forced in pictures.

I plan on networking with some local photographers and getting use out of their studios - so I believe that may help take my work to the next level and give me more technical skill when it comes to lighting.

I've got a lot more to talk about, but I suppose these will do for now.

 

[Contra Fates]

Going through my backlog, I've finally completed a piece that was nagging at me for over six months now.

Enjoy Your Tea, Darling.

Models: Kristen Lynn B & Brian Mers
Make-Up & Hair: Danelle Wood of The Key to Glam
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This photo was from a shoot that was endlessly frustrating for me - both for my own limited knowledge of lighting, and because I'd never worked with two models at the same time like that. Regardless, this photo perfectly showed what I wanted - which was the sensual Madame Villefort enticing her rich husband to drink that poisoned tea.

Comments and feedback are always appreciated!

 

[Sexy Beast]

I really like this. You captured the picture really well. I think there could've been a little more darkness around the guys suit(lower part, near lower-left), but aside that, it's pretty swell.

 

[Contra Fates]

I really like this. You captured the picture really well. I think there could've been a little more darkness around the guys suit(lower part, near lower-left), but aside that, it's pretty swell.

Thanks for the comment, and kudos on the K-Pop and Persona love. I'm a little unsure of what you mean by 'more darkness,' as to me, that whole area is pitch black. I think I should have lit his suit a little better so he didn't fade back into the background so much, but the final piece was more cropped down than the original composition, so that may have explained it. I definitely wish I could redo this shoot with the knowledge I have now, I should have scheduled that as my last shoot of my creative week - not my second. xD

Thanks again for the feedback, it's always appreciated!

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F o r e s t M a i d e n

Model: Shelby Todd

As always, feedback is very much appreciated and will earn you instant brownie points from me!
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[Abstract Debauchery]

I love the new one.

The coloring in particular really stands out to me. I like how the leaves in the back, her hair, and even her eyes are all more or less the same color, but different shades so one can tell that they're different and not all blending in. However, her dress almost does blend in, but that only adds on more to the effect in my opinion. All in all, a very good picture.

 

[Contra Fates]

I love the new one.

The coloring in particular really stands out to me. I like how the leaves in the back, her hair, and even her eyes are all more or less the same color, but different shades so one can tell that they're different and not all blending in. However, her dress almost does blend in, but that only adds on more to the effect in my opinion. All in all, a very good picture.

Thank you so much! Major apologies for being so late in replying! I'm glad you like the image so much, and I'm glad the intended effects I was going for were well-received! I wanted her to look as if she were a part of the forest, but not annoyingly so.

LolitaV- M e r l o t

Model: Miki Sarroca
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I can't say I'm too satisfied with this one, but it's an update. My second Creative Vacation is coming up at the end of the month, and I'll be turning my computer room into a studio.

As always, comments and feedback are very much appreciated. =)

 

[Contra Fates]

Finally got my computer to behave long enough to let me complete another photograph. This one was from a photoshoot back in Winter, but I couldn't post it up until now due to the agreement with the client.

I'm E n g a g e d !

Model: Sylvia Widrig
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As always, feedback and comments are welcome, appreciated, and encouraged!

 

[Contra Fates]

I haven't heard much feedback from you guys lately, so hopefully I'm not boring you with these updates. Today is my boyfriend's birthday, and I finally put together my in-home studio, so I thought I'd give him a birthday portrait.

In The Studio: Rusty

Model: Chris Chetwood [Fair_Game]
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This is the first time I've ever used studio strobes or softboxes, so it's definitely going to take some time to learn the ins and outs of the whole process, but I'm pleased with this image for being my first time. Hopefully with more practice, I'll get better.

For those that don't know, my boyfriend and I actually met on this forum, and we've been living together for over 3 years now and still going strong. So, thanks again, FFF! <3

Feedback and comments are always super loved!

 

[Contra Fates]

Today I went to a museum called Butterfly World, which has a small area of invertebrates on display in enclosures, and then they have huge aviaries and gardens with thousands of butterflies and small birds flying around. I'll have quite a few updates for a little while.

Dead Leaf Mantis

Deroplatys desiccata [Praying Mantis]
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This one was the only insect that I shot while it was in an enclosure. All the shots following will be live creatures that I had to gun down with my camera in order to shoot.

Comments, feedback, and subscribers always appreciated!

 

[Contra Fates]

Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't updated this since the day before my birthday. So, here's some newer photographs to get us caught up. I hope you like them!

The W h i t e Morpho

Model: Morpho polyphemus

Backlog: Boho Chic V

Model: Shelby Todd

B a c k l o g : L o l i t a V I

Model: Miki Sarroca
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As always, I greatly appreciate any comments and feedback on my work. =)