anneraft photography

published.

2011-11-28T10:49:00.001-05:00

Here is my work on a new accessories website, www.chictweak.com. They bring you scarves, lots of them and amazing ways to wear and TWEAK your look to fit your personal style. Check it out!

NEW wedding promo cards!

2011-08-11T14:19:00.004-04:00

Here are some brand new promo cards to start the new wedding season off right.

Time to start booking weddings for 2012!

Wish me luck!

blonde.

2011-08-10T23:47:00.004-04:00

Here are some moments from a recent shoot in Massachusetts with Natalia, a very good friend, client and model all at once! Please check out my tumblr for more info and more frequent updates, anneraft.tumblr.com! I have another big shoot coming up this Saturday with a lovely model named Stephanie, can't wait to share them afterwards...hopefully.

natasha and julia.

2011-08-01T16:40:00.006-04:00

Here are three images revisited from a little over a year ago. They are part of my ongoing personal project on sisters. Know any sisters? I need some, they are harder to find together in the same place than you would think.

So, this was a calling all sisters blog post to encourage more shooting, more personal projects and recording the history of these strange and magical relationships.

summer babies.

2011-07-13T11:51:00.003-04:00

Here are some shots of Sebastian and Joanna, a wild brother-sister team from New Hampshire and how they discovered the hose.

married.

2011-06-28T23:12:00.007-04:00

A big, fat Russian wedding in Western Massachusetts. Here are some of the images taken during the ceremony. To see more visit my tumblr at http://anneraft.tumblr.com or on my website at www.anneraft.com

engaged.

2011-06-20T15:33:00.008-04:00

Here are a few selects from Natalia and Edie's engagement shoot in Shelburne Falls, MA last month. Their wedding is this Saturday and I definitely cannot wait to photograph this incredible bride and her equally distinguished groom.

Bindya Lulla.

2011-06-17T13:22:00.003-04:00

Here is some of the work I did for designer, Bindya Lulla, www.bindyany.com, who specializes in women's scarves and tunics. Her designs have been featured in Cosmo, Lucky, Time Out and even Vogue (remember the one with Tina Fey on the cover)!

It was a crazy assembly line of ninety five scarves, which we will be doing all over again this July with the new line. This time Bindya will have her line of tunics as well and we will be adding an editorial piece to the mix for the new website.

Please check my tumblr for more details, www.annraft.tumblr.com.

dagmar jewelry new york, continued.

2011-03-08T19:30:00.005-05:00

Experimenting with selective color for the Dagmar Jewelry New York look book.

Photography: anneraft photography

Models: Natsja and Alek

Styling: Shyena Tolani

Make up: Karuna Chani

Hair: Chelsea Cannon

dagmar jewelry highlights.

2011-02-27T17:07:00.008-05:00

Here are some highlights from my ongoing relationship with Shyena Tolani of Dagmar Jewelry New York. This blog includes images from two trunk shows, a brunch and cocktail party and a fashion week open house at the Algers Secret Mansion in the West Village.

To learn more about Dagmar and these events please visit my tumblr at http://anneraft.tumblr.com. Please enjoy the images!

catching up on lost time.

2011-02-25T23:03:00.008-05:00

This blog has been neglected due to my newer model, www.anneraft.tumblr.com, but I vow to change all that by giving this a healthy boost, with less of the story time rants. Here is an edited review of an exciting relationship that began since the last post, my new muse, Alek! The following shots are an edited collection of four shoots we have done since our fortuitous meeting.

anneraft photography has had an exciting debut from assisting to fashion tests to weddings to commercial client work there will be much more to come and I will keep this blog full of images as well! Thank you for reading!

jenne.

2010-07-18T00:01:00.003-04:00

This is a fashion portrait shoot with Jenne, an actress in New York City. We shot at Brooklyn Bridge Park Friday evening and the light was perfectly golden.

My week has been full of actors! I went to watch a Meisner technique class that my friend Nina Murano teaches downtown. Her website is www.ninamurano.com and she also writes music and sings. There are clips of her songs on her website. Basically, she wanted me to meet some of her students, network and possibly shoot their beginning head shots. The appeal for them was that I wouldn't be charging $700.

It was my idea of a nightmare, the class, not the people, but it was fun to watch. It was all about repetition and trying through the emotion of your voice to lead the story somewhere that felt real. Totally beyond my realm of thinking right now, but it is incredible how people are drawn to different professions. Like having an audience...I guess once you are confident about what you do having an audience is thrilling, even for a photographer.

anneraft photography marketing up a storm.

2010-07-12T19:54:00.003-04:00

I just received my promotional cards in the mail today! I am so excited because they look beautiful. They are 4x6, double-sided and made of recycled paper, so I'm staying green as well! I am still a little bit unsure of how best to distribute them. Should it be mailboxes, blatant harassment outside of coffee shops, paper cuts? Anyone have any suggestions?

I really don't know where to begin, but I am so excited that they are here and perfect. Thanks 4x6.com! I would recommend their service to anyone, seriously.

a new beginning.

2010-07-07T16:06:00.003-04:00

My first post of a new beginning! I graduated from the Hallmark Institute of Photography two weeks ago and have been looking for gigs in New York City ever since.

During graduation I was awarded the Portfolio Panelist's Award for Best Portfolio Imagery of the Class of 2010, which was judged by a panelist of outside judges, including Brian Lanker, Grant Peterson, Ken Whitmire and Gregory Heisler. It was really exciting and I can't believe that all my hard work paid off in such a wonderful way!

I have two jobs coming up this week, one is as a retoucher and photo editor with Steve Krongard and Jodi Buren. Jodi is the author of Superwomen, a collection of interviews and photographs of 100 professional female athletes in 100 different sports. The second is a family portrait session that I can't wait to have underway!

It is so exciting and nerve wracking to begin, but I'm hoping once the ball starts rolling it will be impossible to stop! The photograph above was taken at my mom's farm in Shelburne Falls, MA. The sunflowers were from the local farmer's market.

visit to chicago.

2010-06-16T17:37:00.004-04:00

I went to Chicago for the weekend and met the striking Maren Baker, a freelance interior designer. She needed a portrait for her website, so we met at the Lincoln Park Conservatory to shoot and hide from the thunderstorms.

the boys' club; part one.

2010-06-01T22:34:00.009-04:00

I am supposed to use this blog to share happy little details about my photography and the people I meet, but since I only have five followers, I thought I would be daring and write about things that I find important, such as the boys' club. How can I write about something I've never been invited to, you ask? Well, just as Jane Goodall wrote insightful studies on the chimpanzee, so can I write observations about the boys' club.

Definition: The boys' club is, simply put, the exclusive love fest that occurs between white men over the age of forty in photography (you may be able to join if your ethnic in a European, Pan-Asian sense, but otherwise you have to be white, over the age of forty and quite proud of yourself), for those of you who didn't know and were interested, that's the criteria.

Rule One: Feed into your subconscious terror of the female sex and changing gender roles by projecting it on to your audience in a subtle, barely recognizable way.

Example: There is a photograph of a business owner, oh and for arguments sake let's just say she ran a restaurant. Would you refer to that woman as... a) the hero (mostly a film term, but hey you could be feeling high browed) b) a woman c) a lady d) the owner e) the subject OR f) the mother?

If you answered f) the mother then you are closer than you could imagine to being in the boys' club. Good for you. But why is this unusual or even, call me crazy, deplorable in any setting? Because there is no indication given that the woman is a mother, there are no children at her feet, no rattles and no vomit stains on her clothes. She is a professional, a small business owner in her establishment with none of her personal life mentioned or conveyed. This wasn't an editorial piece on the challenges of balancing work and motherhood, it was a picture of a proud human being in HER store.

Still not convinced that this is pretty much a low blow? Reverse the question for a moment and see if you think this sounds ridiculous enough.

Example: There is a photograph of a business owner, oh and for arguments sake let's just say he ran a restaurant. Would you refer to that man as... a) the hero (mostly a film term, but hey you could be feeling high browed) b) a man c) a gentlemen d) the owner e) the subject OR f) the father?

Enough said.

a photographic love connection.

2010-05-21T00:28:00.002-04:00

This is an image from my shoot with Masha B. a young, aspiring photographer from Massachusetts. We found each other via flickr and craigslist and decided to collaborate. Of course, I am not a model, so I have no idea whether the shoot was as fruitful for her as it was for me, but I love the outcome.

It was a cold, rainy day and we hiked into the woods to find this green spot, right out of Twilight, and yes, I am a huge fan, and no, I am absolutely not embarrassed by it. I used a strobe with a half CTO gel and a reflector from below.

We spent a lot of time messing with large straw hats that would not behave, frankly I'm not sure those floppy sun hats are actually meant to be worn. You would be blinded and side swiped by a cab on Lexington Avenue! Regardless, I have wanted to do a shot with an oversized hat since November when I saw this lovely New York fashionista, wearing an oversized tee shirt tucked into a high waisted skirt and a giant navy sun hat. She looked stunning! Unfortunately for me, the hat always ends up looking like a lampshade, but you can see my relative success visit my flickr at www.flickr.com/anne_raft.

It was great to talk shop with someone outside of Hallmark, mainly because it didn't involve heart palpitating anxiety over final portfolio. So much still to do! This weekend I will be back home in New York again shooting a few more fashion portraits, a family shot with my friend Becca, a photographer from San Francisco and an architectural interior.

senior portraiture.

2010-05-19T10:59:00.004-04:00

This is a photograph of Bianca, a beautiful high school senior, who was absolutely charming to work with! This moment is also when I realized that I love photographing seniors, especially girls, but boys are a challenge and fun to work with as well.

I am really hoping to market myself for senior portraiture, as well as, engagements and children. I am going to have a booth at the Pound Ridge Arts Festival on October 6th and 7th this year to help get the word out in my area.

I was especially inspired by these two photographers who recently launched senior portrait businesses. One is the brilliant Lavenda Memory, who published a site called Lavenda Seniors, www.lavendaseniors.com, which has beautiful, clever images full of personality and style. The second is Amy Wenzel of www.amywenzel.com, who only photographs senior girls, but does so with a lot of pizzaz!

Check these young photographers out and let me know if you have any eager seniors who want to be photographed!

mom.

2010-05-17T13:32:00.008-04:00

This is a photograph of my mother, my best friend since the day I was born... actually. I guess this is a belated mother's day ode to the best mom ever.

Being a mother seems impossible to me. I can't imagine how hard it is. You care for and love this little creature, who starts out resembling an alien pod and then grows and grows into a fully functional human being, but is still always your baby. Well, that is until one reverts back into infancy through old age and the roles are finally reversed. Strange.

Regardless, last weekend my mother came to visit me and before she left she refilled my empty shampoo bottles with her fancy shampoo (needless to say it is not available where I live) without me even realizing I was running low. So, the next day when I was in the shower, just before I was about to curse myself for being soaked and shampoo-less, there they were, full bottles of shampoo and conditioner. It was like magic, or having a team of nocturnal elves taking care of me. But thankfully, it was my ever thoughtful mother because honestly, I'm afraid enough of the dark as it is without having to worry about a clan of small humanoids in the basement.

In conclusion, I suppose it seems like nothing, but it saved me from being cold, wet and pathetic by making me feel completely loved.

randi, dance instructor.

2010-05-12T09:31:00.002-04:00

This is a portrait of Randi, the dance instructor at the Dalton School in New York. She was gracious enough to open her schedule, so I could shoot my occupational portrait of her in their dance studios.

She was one of the easiest people I have ever worked with. She knew her body so well that she just ran through different poses while I shot. There was nearly no direction needed at all. It was pretty much like watching Tyra work on America's Next Top Model.

We even did a couple of shots in her street clothes, a stylish bohemian navy dress and cowboy boots, with her glasses and coffee, a Starbucks soy cappuccino. She looked like the quintessential New Yorker! Of course, while I like weird possessions in my photographs, it's not for everyone, especially the faculty at Hallmark, so here is my clean, final choice.

brittany.

2010-05-07T11:31:00.004-04:00

This is the beautiful Brittany in New York's Carl Shurz park. She was really great to work with; full of life and energy, which was especially wonderful because it was 9 am on a Sunday morning and a humid 80 degrees!

This has a little bit of the island feel, if only we were on location in the Caribbean and had the option of a salt water dip rather than a dive into the East River, Kramer style. Well, maybe one day anneraft photography will be shooting in exotic locales. For now, I'm looking for beautiful, interesting people in New York and Westchester and there is no shortage.

The camera has been a wonderful way for me to meet people I would never have found. It's such a different experience greeting people for the first time and trying to figure out who they are and how best to let them express themselves within a camera's frame. Some people are bold and confident while others are timid and subtle, but they all lead to captured moments of a life you wouldn't have otherwise shared and I think that is incredible.

pasha.

2010-05-03T10:58:00.005-04:00

I turned 25 yesterday. This would be fine of course, until I remembered that Carson McCullers wrote her first novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter when she was only 23! It brings your life into a bit more perspective. She wrote a heart wrenching novel about social isolation that brought a voice to subjects previously undiscussed and I'm fumbling around New York trying to remember not to drop the ball on my next shoot by, oh I don't know, forgetting an extension cord or not charging my battery.

All that aside, this is an image of a friend and fellow photographer, Paul Birman. He was kind enough to put up with my bumbling nerves for an hour this Saturday. We shot in my dad's apartment and outside on the street, but this was by far my favorite shot.

Please check out Paul's work at www.kolored.com. He has some really incredible street photography and portraits.

a strange place.

2010-04-29T09:01:00.005-04:00

Since I am going to Hallmark, I have to live near school, which means I have to live near Turner's Falls, MA. This is not a good thing, or maybe it's an adventure, I can't tell and I've been here for eight months.

I live in my mom's fixer upper farm house, 40 minutes from school and a million years from civilization. The DirectTV guy came to fix the satellite this morning and said, "O man, I hope you never have to scream for help, there's nobody out here." Creepy, a little, and thanks DirectTV guy, thanks a lot. I already have enough trouble sleeping and now I have to think of the way my pathetic voice will sound as I'm shouting for help in vain while the killer approaches the front door, which he can take his time doing because no one is coming.

Of course, the DirectTV guy was originally from the Bronx and looked as unhappy as I was that life had dealt a card that ended us both in Western Mass. Of course, for me it's almost over, he's been here for 20 years.

Photographer, David Eustace.

2010-04-27T08:39:00.006-04:00

David Eustace's photographs of his travels with his daughter across country are beautiful. I wish my life looked so serene and epic, who knows maybe it does, photography can certainly create and shape realities.

I can't wait for a road trip west.

That is all. Check him out. He is represented by Bernstein and Andriulli in NY.

in the studio.

2010-04-26T12:37:00.004-04:00

This is a photograph of my sister, Jane, wearing nothing, but our granny's old costume jewelry (and underwear, well hidden). The background is a giant piece of insulation you can get at home depot that we use as a reflector in the studio.

During the shoot, one of my instructor's stumbled into the studio, falling over his feet while shielding his eyes and singing, "I'm not looking." To which I replied, "Don't worry she's not even nude," and his comeback was, "Well, I am!" and with that he stormed off.

This shot was a complete accident, I was shooting her from above, came down the ladder and realized the front was where the shot was. I want to use this as my ad for jewelry for final portfolio, but an instructor told me I would have to be closer in on the jewelry, perfume then? What do people do while naked? Bathe, try to make themselves smell nice, I'm trying to figure out anyway to use it.

Let me know what you think.

91st and 2nd Avenue

2010-04-22T12:59:00.001-04:00

Here is another from the diner. I know she looks a little angry, but I prefer that. People spend most of their day with a less than sunny expression on their face, so it seems natural.

Maybe she's just hungry, nothing can make a person grouchy like a delay on breakfast!

Let me know what you think.

The Three Decker Restaurant.

2010-04-21T13:31:00.001-04:00

I photographed the beautiful, Mary, at the Three Decker Restaurant, my family's diner on Manhattan's Upper East Side. I wanted to capture the feeling of being young, curious and overwhelmed in the city.

I love New York, but there is the feeling of being surrounded and yet completely alone. For me diners are the quintessential setting to represent that phenomenon. The most important diner feature are the regulars, I'm not talking about the people who come for breakfast sometimes or grab a coffee in the morning. These are the people who eat alone everyday because their wives hate them, their husbands are dead or simply because they are intolerable to be around and their family has forsaken them long ago. So they come and eat next to each other and shout about the stock ticker or Obama with other lone diners and somehow all of a sudden they are a part of something. They don't plan to meet up like friends would, but they see each other everyday and expect to.

A little bit corny? Absolutely, but true or maybe it's because I grew up in a diner, but I feel like it's some twisted, messed up second family I've known since birth. Jack, the Portuguese guy, yells at me every morning and tells me how wonderful my father is because he got rich selling hot water to people, I think most of us call that tea. Jerry, a retired school teacher, tells me about his overseas adventures in his youth and talks about the art market, while Jessica flashes everyone in the summer and terrifies people year round with her unusual makeup. What a group, you should come and meet them!

For this shoot I used a strobe shot through the window with a half CTO gel to create the warmth of early evening.

Beginning to Blog.

2010-04-19T22:06:00.001-04:00

Hello. I am going to try this out, blogging, that is and hopefully I'll write only fascinating, tantalizing stories you won't be able to stay away from, unlikely, but worth a try.

I went home to New York this weekend to work on the looming final portfolio, and had three shoots, all on location and all equally nerve wracking and far apart. This shoot was at Columbia University with a ballerina named Erin.

I love this shot because of the gesture in her hand. I love hands, but never quite know what to do with them. This works for the hand, everything else, not so interesting. The light was shifting from threatening gray rain clouds to bright sun and it was hard to keep up, so I think it's lacking. This was lit with a reflector, held by my wonderful friend and fellow photographer, Josh Treadaway.

Every shoot seems to be an exercise in spotting where I'll fall short. Eventually, I hope everything will come together for once.