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This year I am photographing the Carolina Performing Arts as they celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Rite of Spring, which took place on May 29th, 1913 in Paris. They are many important parts to this photo story- the artists, the work itself, the hours of rehearsal, the venerable Memorial Hall, and the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But none of this art would be seen without the hardworking staff at Carolina Performing Arts.

The image above shows the artist team outside the green room in the wee hours of the night after the Yo-Yo Ma concert in September of 2012. I remember how tired I was at that point. I can only imagine how they felt! Recently I had the pleasure of photographing this fabulous artist team at Memorial Hall. From left to right below, Tiffany Gay, Marnie Karmelita, Sarah Mixter and Erin Hanehan handle and care for the artists that present work for Carolina Performing Arts. These ladies endure long hours in high heels and always seem to have a smile on their faces and a joke at the ready. These images were shot for an upcoming article that will focus on a week in which they all worked more hours than they thought humanly possible. Thanks, ladies, for always smiling and being so great to work with!

You may see the WHOLE STORY here.

By Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Some gardeners know how to gently coax life out of even the most delicate plant. They study the soil, the available light, a plant’s specific needs and even give plant food and sprays to keep their plants healthy. My kind of gardening would be opposite of that. It could be called survival of the fittest gardening! I love my plants but once they are in and established they either need to thrive or they will be replaced. I will weed and mulch the beds but I don’t water and I rarely fertilize. So my favorite plants are made for our climate and are hardy as well as beautiful. I want to talk about my two favorite April plants today. Kerria

Kerria Japonica is not very common. I see a ton of forsythia, which is also yellow and blooms at the same time, but this plant, called The Japanese Yellow Rose, is overlooked. The branches have a weeping willow feel to them and the yellow blooms last for weeks. I have both the “Plenaflora” and the “Honshu” variety, but prefer the former. When mature this deciduous shrub is 3 to 5 feet in height. I have heard that some Kerria plants rebloom off and on all summer long but I have not seen this. Perhaps it is because I don’t baby them enough. They like well-drained soil and perform best in partial shade. Below are three photos of this magnificent plant.

Azalea Azaleas are very popular here. When I bought my home 11 years ago there were 20 azaleas bushes in the yard. They have all thrived with little care. Every April they bloom, turning my yard into a wonderland. Azaleas are in the genus Rhododendron. They are generally healthy, long-lived plants when their basic requirements are met. They like well-drained soil and partial shade to full sun. To see if you have well drained soil, dig the hole and fill it with water. If the water has not drained out of the hole within one hour, the soil is poorly drained. It is best to trim your azaleas right after they bloom. Here are three photos of some of azaleas in my yard.

Thanks for reading! I am always looking for great photo stories to tell in the Chapelboro area. Just write to me with any questions.

One of the best things about being in business for a long time is getting to photograph clients multiple times. It always feels like seeing an old friend. I love catching up! I had last photographed Tatyana Stewart Feeney when I shot her wedding back in 2001 at La Rez in Chapel Hill. After the wedding she moved to Ireland with her husband, Niall. They have two children and almost always make their way back to Chapel Hill to visit with friends and family each summer. Tatyana is an illustrator and has been getting quite busy in her work. So she needed a great head shot. She is a self-described shy person and was not really looking forward to being photographed. Almost everyone confesses to me that they are dreading their photo shoot and that they don’t take good photos. I always reply, “Well, you just haven’t met the right photographer.” It is my job to see your best angles, find the best light and to make you feel comfortable so your personality shines through. Not to mention I truly believe everyone has many beautiful things about them. It is my mission to find those qualities and bring them out in images. For Tatyana, she has such a wonderful smile and gorgeous hazel eyes.

To get ready for the shoot I always ask what kind of photograph they are hoping for. Tatyana said she wanted it to look very natural, almost as if it were just a snapshot taken at a family event. She wanted it to be outside rather than in the studio. I asked her to bring several outfits. I figure since you are taking the time to do this we may as well end up with several different looks to use for various occasions. That way you will not have to take another headshot for many more years. Above is the first outfit. In the beginning of a shoot I ask my clients view the images on a large screen television so I can get used to what they like and dislike. Most people have a “best side” and do not even know it! Then we switched to a different outfit and went by the hydrangea bush. And, finally, she tried on one last outfit and we headed for the shade. This whole process took less than an hour. I truly hope that people actually enjoy their photo session and that these are images that they will be proud of for a long time. Thanks for coming, Tatyana, and congratulations on ten years of marriage!!! I would love to meet Juliette and Fion next time around! Are you in need of a great headshot? You can sign up for a KPO Photo Headshot here .

Recently a good friend and wedding industry colleague asked me to photograph her. Barbara Clark is the owner of An Elegant Affair . I was very honored as Barbara knows so many talented area photographers, but she chose me. We asked make-up artist, Pam Hung , to work with us, too.

Barbara liked her current head shot but it was photographed quite a few years back, so she wanted to update it. It is very important for all business owners to have a current image of themselves that they really like and that captures the best of everything about them. Since Barbara’s clients trust her with the important details of making their wedding day run smoothly I thought her image should convey not only Barbara’s beauty, but also how confident and friendly she is. My favorite image is on the left. I think that color green looks stunning on Barbara! However, I always want my head shot clients to leave with at least 3 images that they can use for different purposes. Barbara has various public speaking engagements each year, as well as running her wedding planning business, so she has a need for different looks. And here we are at the end of our shoot! From left to right are Kristin Prelipp Oguntoyinbo, Pam Hung and Barbara Clark. The ladies were nice enough to hang around for a lasagna lunch. So the whole event was a wonderful day to catch up. Barbara has inspired me to get my own head shot redone soon! Thanks for everything, Barbara and Pam!

Photography is a seasonal business. By far, my busiest times are the spring and the fall. I thought it would be fun to write a blog post about one week as seen through the lens of my camera. Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23rd Very rarely do we have double wedding weekends, about once a year. What a fun, joyous weekend it was! First Sophia Harcourt and I photographed the wedding of Iva and Peter at The Umstead in Cary as seen below on the left. Then on Saturday Jessica Lobdell and I photographed the wedding of Lara and Mitchell at The Carolina Inn as seen below on the right. Sunday, October 24th My sister was kind enough to entertain my kids for the weekend while I had a wedding marathon. Sounds perfect, right? But I left out the small detail that she lives in Charlotte. So on Sunday morning I drove to Charlotte to have lunch with the family and to pack up the Oguntoyinbo kids. They love spending time with their cousins and were sad to leave. My sister-in-law and brother brought Ecuadorian ceviche for lunch that was really one of the best meals I have ever had. You eat it with fried plantains and a really hot, spicy, onion salsa.

Tuesday, October 26th This is my second chapter of work for the Carolina Friends School in Durham, North Carolina. They are continually updating their Web site and promotional materials and also frequently need images for upcoming events and promotions. I spent two hours wandering around the school with the ever competent and relaxed Kathleen Davidson. This is part of what I saw that day.

Wednesday, October 27th I photographed a fun Family Story on Wednesday for friends and repeat customers, Sarah and Jay and their darling, precocious daughter, Sasha. This adorable three-year-old led us all on a tour of the house and yard for an hour before we were all tuckered out. I even got some jalapeno peppers and Roma tomatoes from their garden along the way. What a sweet deal!

Also on Wednesday I photographed beautiful Eleanor. She is a senior in high school in Chapel Hill who is very interested in pursuing a career in acting. One of the most basic necessities for such an endeavor is a great head shot. She was confident, amenable and had great cheek bones and skin. I love the different looks we came up with in the hour we spent together.

Thursday, October 28th Halloween is a several week process in our house. It starts with the long discussions and debates about what to wear which leads to a trip to the local Halloween store. The one we went to had zombie baby dolls. So gross. Then, right before the big day I like to do a little photo shoot to record this year’s outfits. Here they are in all their spooky glory. We have Amira as a vampire, Roman as a World War II soldier and Leo as a knight. He actually has a ninja costume for this year but prefers this look for now. There is no arguing with a three-year-old.

This weekend is the KPO Photo Fall Special. I am so glad we will have great weather and beautiful fall color. See you all there!

My favorite camera store, Southeastern Camera , is located right across the street from my office. So convenient! Dennis and Chris and the other wonderful folks who work there get many phone calls from people looking for a photographer. That is how I met Rose Etheridge. She is a researcher living in Chapel Hill who has been meaning to get a head shot for quite some time now. Everyone needs one! She is going to be in a journal soon and that finally motivated her to get it done.

She came to the studio last week with a variety of outfits and jewelry. We decided it would be best to do a more conservative outfit as well as a more fun one. That way Rose would have different looks for different uses. As with all portaits in the studio, I do a few test shots and then we look at them on the big screen. This really helps me to get a feel for what people want. We photographed Rose against a white and a black backdrop and I persuaded her to go outside at the end to be photographed in front of some roses. That is my favorite photo!

This is what Rose had to say about her experience, “It was great meeting you! Everything was smooth & professional. I loved the opportunity for a shoot outdoors in your beautiful yard & meeting Eve as well.” (Eve is my cat.)

A week after her photo shoot Rose came into the Carrboro office for her consultation. She admitted that she was dreading coming as she was worried that she would dislike how she looked in her photos. This is a very common feeling I hear from women. Rose even said she felt like she was heading to get a root canal. Ouch! But after seeing the first two photos of this blog post she was smiling from ear to ear. She said she is so relieved that she will now always have an image that she is proud of. I was so glad to help, Rose!

Last Friday despite the non-existent snow event, I ventured out of the house to photograph Fr. Dan McLellan at Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, NC. Cyndy Falgout is one of Father Dan’s parishioners and she happened to go onto the church’s Web site recently and saw a photo of him there. Unlike his actual warm, friendly demeanor, his head shot looks cold and imposing. She hired me to change that. A good portrait is something almost everyone could use.

On the left is a good old, clean backdrop image for various uses. Then I got to take Father Dan around to some of the most photogenic spots in the church. This is the part that I love! For the photo of the right we had originally placed him in front of another part of the stained glass window but after shooting it we all realized that Jesus was getting beaten with clubs in the background and we can’t have that. So we moved him over to the right where Jesus looks much happier. These two work well, I think. The one on the left was kind of tricky because we wanted to include the beautiful wooden cross but it is suspended high in the air. So I got down low which can usually be a bad angle for the human beings to be photographed. But Father Dan looks great. On the right we just had to include Mary since this is an Immaculate Conception church after all. Finally, I shot a couple of more backdrops just so they would have plenty to choose from. You just have to love the beautiful pipe organ on the left. Cyndy really wanted to include the altar and I am glad we did. The whole shoot lasted maybe 30 minutes and now he will have photographs to use for many different things for years to come. Thanks Father Dan and Cyndy!