Big Head, Little Body

May 14th, 2011 § comments 5

This week my brother-in-law and I went and photographed my son’s fourth grade class outside the classroom. We directed them to make “larger than life” expressions and poses to create some unique class portraits. 28 students, 1 teacher and 700+ frames later, we were ready for some coffee.

Next I spent some quality time with the images. Chose the most dynamic poses and expressions, then went about removing the background. My intention was to spend about 1/2 hour per person, as I like to get these projects done as quickly as possible. It turns out girls with long hair posed an unexpected problem: no hair showing where their neck was, and long hair hung down way too far for the tiny bodies.

So, now we have a couple of real world word math for your fourth graders to solve:

  1. Nels had 29 photos to retouch. There were 16 boys and 13 girls. Boys and girls with short hair took 1/2 hour each to retouch, and girls with long hair past their shoulders took 1-1/2 hours each. If there were 10 girls with long hair, how many hours did it take Nels to complete his project, if he also spent 2 hours creating a slideshow presentation?
  2. If it takes 7 minutes per page to print 29 archival posters for students, how many hours does it take to print all of the posters?

Use the comments to submit your answers.

The students really enjoyed the Keynote presentation that used the photography project to help explain what I do for a living, and how I went about creating the artwork. There was raucous laughter as each image came on the screen, and that made it all worth while. Each child was presented with an archival poster print.

Click on the image above to view a slideshow of all 29 portraits.

What do you think? (leave a comment)

Download wallpaper, portraits, high-res and groups.

Spring Fling 2011

April 8th, 2011 § comments 18

Last weekend I completed “Spring Fling 2011″, a photo collage art project featuring all 27 of my son’s first grade classmates. Just before Thanksgiving my brother-in-law and I photographed the children in the classroom. I explained my job as an art director for advertising, and told them that they were all “Talent” or “Models” for my project.

This morning I went back to unveil the final product via a big screen projection complete with music. I described the “client presentation” process, and told them they were the clients. They were very good clients, since they liked everything. I gave them each “leave behinds” of an 13 x 19 archival giclee (archival poster print suitable for framing) and a personalized 5×7 image with a link to this post. It is really fun how excited the kids are when they see themselves on the screen for the first time. They were very well behaved, though, as Mr. Grass, the principal, sat in on the presentation.

This is the final installment of a 4-part series. Last year I created a fall scene named “Fall Fun 2010″. Two years ago I did a summer scene called “Summer Break 2009″ and three years ago a winter scene titled “Snow Day 2007″. Each artwork featured a castle to represent the school name, Castle Heights.

Files for download –

Right click link FULL RESOLUTION PHOTO and choose “Save link as…” or “Open link in new window” to download a copy of the full resolution version.

Right click link EMAIL FRIENDLY SIZE PHOTO and choose “Save link as…” or “Open link in new window” to download a copy of the email friendly version to send to grandma.

If you are having problems getting the video to play, DOWNLOAD A 110 MB ZIP OF THE VIDEO.

What do you think? (make a comment below)

Fall Fun 2010

February 4th, 2010 § comments 29

fall-fun-2010-1

Monday night I completed “Fall Fun 2010″, a Gap-like art project featuring all 23 of my son’s kindergarden classmates. Just before Thanksgiving I photographed the children in the schoolyard. I explained my job as an art director for advertising, and told them that they were all “Talent” or “Models” for my project.

It was challenging to fit so many people into such a small space. Blame that on the state budget. Number two son, Miles, is featured jumping into a pile of leaves.

Today I went back to unveil the final product via a big screen projection complete with music. I described the “client presentation” process, and told them they were the clients. They were very good clients, since they liked everything. I gave them each “leave behinds” of an 13 x 19 archival giclee (poster print suitable for framing) and a personalized 5×7 image with a link to this post. It is really fun how excited the kids are when they see themselves on the screen for the first time. They literally vibrate with energy!

This is part III of a 4-part series. Last year I did a summer scene called “Summer Break 2009″ and two years ago a winter scene titled “Snow Day 2007″. Only one season left!

Right click the image above and choose “Save link as…” or “Open link in new window” to download a copy of the large version.

What do you think? (make a comment below)

Summer Break 2009

June 15th, 2009 § comments 31

summer-break-2009

Sunday afternoon I completed one of the most rewarding projects this year. A Gap Ad-like art project featuring all of my son’s second grade classmates. A couple of weeks ago, my brother-in-law and I photographed the children in the classroom. I explained my job as an art director for advertising, and told them that they were all “Talent” or “Models” for my project.

Today I went back to unveil the final product via a big screen projection complete with music. I described the “client presentation” process, and told them they were the clients. They were very good clients, since they liked everything. I gave them each “leave behinds” of an 13 x 19 archival giclee (poster print suitable for framing) and a DVD rom with images and the presentation movie. They were soooo happy, it left me with a stupid grin on my face all day.

This is part II of a 4-part series. Last school year I did a winter scene titled “Snow Day 2007″. Only two seasons left!

Right click the image above and choose “Save link as…” or “Open link in new window” to download a copy of the large version.

What do you think? (make a comment below)

Snow Day 2007

December 11th, 2007 § comments 11

Today I completed one of the most rewarding projects this year. A Gap Ad-like art project featuring all of my son’s first grade classmates. Exactly one week ago, my brother-in-law and I took photos of all of the kids wearing their winter gear. I explained my job as an art director for advertising, and told them that they were all “Talent” or “Models” for my project.

Today I went back to unveil the final product via a bigscreen projection complete with music. I described the “client presentation” process, and told them they were the clients. They were very good clients, since they liked everything. I gave them all “leave behinds” of a poster print and a DVD rom with images and the presentation movie. And also one giant poster mounted on foamcore for the classroom. They were really psyched.

Here are some larger files, and a little Quicktime movie with commentary.

To save the image above, right-click and choose “save link as…” or “open in new window”.

What do you think? (make a comment below)

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