portrait photography

Magazine Cover of Personal Branding Session with Pfizer Payroll Director

Back in February, I was excited to be selected by the American Payroll Association for an editorial photoshoot to photograph the April issue's cover image of the PAYTECH Magazine, their official publication distributed monthly to 20,000 members in Payroll, Finance, and related fields.

The issue focused on an interview with Rita Ademu-John, the Payroll Director of Pfizer. Fortune 500 listed Pfizer is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies with nearly 80,000 employees. When I first spoke with Rita I was immediately impressed by her warmth and welcoming attitude. Originally from Sierra Leone, Africa, she started at Pfizer USA over 40 years ago as a secretary to the Payroll Manager. Today she leads that very same Payroll department as Director. She worked her way up and today continues her compassionate involvement with her colleagues, inspiring the younger employees to take on new responsibilities and to never give up. During our session we had a deep conversation about how a positive attitude and the willingness to continuously learn and grow will keep you on your path to happiness. Rita came to my studio in Branchburg, central New Jersey, for her Personal Branding photography session and we captured a great variety of images which showcased her personality plus a few images with her husband Shika who had accompanied her during the shoot. Her positive energy and self-confidence was clearly captured in the portraits and headshots we created together. It was so wonderful and fun to work with Rita; our time together that day was mutually rewarding.

Here is the link to the magazine article: April-21-Pfizer.pdf (americanpayroll.org)

Headshot Special is on now!

Get 30% off regular price! Headshot Special will run from September 26 to September 30, 2020, in our studio in Branchburg NJ. You’ll get an in-studio professional photo session, professional retouching of your images, images delivered via high-res. digital file, choose from different background options (choose between black, gray or white), instant viewing and selection, discount off additional images and a quick turnaround. Two different packages available. To book your session please follow this link: https://www.simoneschmetz.com/headshot-special

Ilan's First Birthday Snow Session

If we have no snow outside, we’ll bring it inside! Ilan’s first birthday was coming up and we created this winter set specifically for his birthday photos. He was so much fun to photograph. Ilan knows how to look at the camera; he is already a model! He modeled for kids clothes and acted in the TV show God Friended Me right after our session. Happy Birthday sweet boy! 

Source: https://www.instagram.com/ilanm221/

Glamour Portraits in Leipzig, Germany

Anja had recently separated from her partner. She scheduled a glamour portrait session with me to celebrate a new chapter in her life. When we get older and after having kids we struggle sometimes to see our own beauty. I’m glad I was able to show Anja hers. The photo shoot was full of fun and laughter, as we fussed over different setups, outfits and accessories. We created a beautiful new set of portraits for her, photos I’m sure her children will come to treasure later in life.

Workshop Day in NYC

In search of my style, I intend to try different things to which I’m drawn. I love classic portraits where the image appears almost like a painting. For that reason, I attended a workshop with the internationally acclaimed photographer Paulina Duczman in NYC to learn more about Fine Art Portraiture. Since I’m back in my studio I’m working on perfecting my style and applying everything I have learned.

Portrait Masters Image Awards March 2019

I'm over the moon to tell you, I received my first SILVER award for the 2019 Portrait Master Images Awards along with five Bronze awards. The images were judged by some of the world's most highly acclaimed portrait photographers and creative artists. All the images I submitted over the last two years accumulated 27 points and I'm finally accredited a Portrait Master Associate.

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The Portrait Masters Competition 2017: Award and Accreditation

I'm very proud to announce that one of the most highly respected industry panels and international accreditation programs awarded five of my six images a Bronze medal, namely The Portrait Masters Competition 2017. 

I received these five awards in the Children's Portrait category. Relative to the Portrait Masters Competition's grading scale, the bronze award stands for "High Professional Standard". The professional judging was based on styling, composition, focus, lighting, connection (i.e. between photographer and model), posing, post production and overall technique and presentation.

The judges are an incredible panel of highly respected international professionals, who collectively hold over 100 years of experience in both winning similar contests and judging comparable competitions, as well as running successful photography businesses. 

The judges were:

Richard Wood (New Zealand)

Pippin Schembri (Sydney, Australia)

Kelly Brown (Brisbane, Australia)

Susan Stripling (New York, United States)

Ray Schembri (Sydney, Australia)

Alycia Savage Alvarez (Texas, United States)

Michele Celentano (Arizona, United States)

Sue Bryce (New Zealand & USA)

My original goal for 2017 was to become a professional portrait photographer and I’m more than proud that I accomplished that! My goal for 2018 is to get my new studio up and running and to become an accredited portrait master!

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/11/prwe...

Glamour Photo Shoot: Stefanie

These are “Before” and “After” photos of my recent session with Stefanie. We had a great time experimenting with various outfits as well as with hair and makeup styling for the shoot. Interestingly, Steffi’s last name means “Beauty” in German, from where she hails. And she truly showed all her beauty during the session.

By the way these are the first photos shots at my new studio, which will be finished soon.

Are you still looking for a Christmas gift? Why not have some beautiful portraits done for your loved ones or partner, or even give them the special gift of a private shoot. Contact me today to reserve your spot or get a gift card! 

Palm Springs: The Portrait Masters Conference 2017

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Ohhh, what an incredible experience I had!  In early September of this year, I was extremely lucky to attend The Portrait Masters Conference 2017 in Palm Springs, CA. Together with 400 other students and professional photographers from around the world, we spent three amazing days learning, practicing and absorbing valuable tips and in-depth knowledge from seven speakers, all world renowned photographers and top notch educators including Peter Hurley, Lindsay Adler, Susan Stripling, Kelly Brown, Michele Celentano and Joel Grimes. Each speaker covered his or her own genre from portraits and headshots, to newborns and family photography, and more. We listened to powerful presentations which were combined with live shooting demos. Beyond the presentations, we could practice in several indoor and outdoor shooting bays, which I loved, because I had to push myself out of my own comfort zone. The conference also included a trade show with great vendors. I loved seeing, touching and finally choosing the very products I'm planning to offer my clients. And along the way I made new photographer friends and was able to see and talk to my mentor, the incredible and inspiring Sue Bryce.   

Click here to see Behind the scenes

These are some of my images I took at the shooting bays