Last Sunday morning here in the NYC area it was bitter cold and snowing, with trecherous roads and perhaps more trecherous drivers. . .but it didn't keep us from arriving for an 8:30 a.m. setup at the offices of Doctors Ferrari, Aldieri, and Kahn for a shoot that enlisted the smiling aid of about 14 of their patients and two helpful makeup artists/stylists.

The shoot was for their advertising collateral, to allow them a catalog of images to use to promote their marvelous dental work. I was very impressed by their approach of using their own clients as it clearly transmits that they're proud of their work, and keeps it "all in the family."

We enjoyed music, catering, and laughs as we posed everyone on a white, seamless backdrop which allows for a photograph that keeps the subject as the only object of interest in the shot. Too, it lets you "cut out" the person, and use them on literature, posters, and websites with minimal fuss, as white offers no color fringing when you use an editing program to put them into a poster with text on it, etc.

Those are our talented and amicable dentists there on the bottom, and they were a great trio to work with. Their offices are gorgeous, comfortable, clean, and impeccably decorated. Their equipment is state-of-the art, and overall my impression is that it's the finest dental office I've ever been in. Their clients are from all over Long Island and the NYC boroughs, so if you're in the market by all means head in for a consultation...Check out their website (which is about to have a lot more photos on it!) by clicking HERE.

At left is Mike, with whom I enjoyed working for years. Many months back I was surprised to hear him tell me he'd be leaving the job, joining the Army, and shipping out in a few weeks. We all loved working with Mike, but were excited for him as we knew his future held something great. As pictured, he's right out of the Army's Airborne training school and home on holiday leave. I haven't seen Mike since a few days before he shipped to Basic Training so the changes in his physical appearance alone warranted I grab the camera for a quick shot in the parking lot.

A pal asked me how I made this shot in three minutes, improntu, and I told him there wasn't much to it. The catch is that you have to shoot your camera on the Manual setting that lets you control the shutter and f-stop, and too you must have the ability to control an off-camera flash strobe. Most Nikon digital SLRs have this flash-control capability built-in, so I was good to go. I metered the cloudy sky, and set the aperture to under-expose it by about a stop and a half, which would make it dark gray (those are clouds, though featureless ones). Then I had an assistant hold the flash about three paces to my right, high enough to be just over Mike's head. From there I just adjusted the flash strength until I had a nice exposure.

Mike, it was great to see you, friend. Happy holidays, KATN, and stay safe - we're all proud of you.