You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, or whatever merry family festival event you attend. It’s been awhile since we made a holiday music video, the last one was in 2017. It was also the first one.

Both of them were fun to make and surprisingly, both were done at the last minute. I tend to think about these things for awhile and then suddenly realize, “We have to do this now!” So, on Thanksgiving weekend, I made some props, decorated the room next to the foyer (last year we used the basement, but someone is using that space at the moment) and got everyone to film the video on Saturday evening.

Suzannah was very tired from all of the tasks she has to do on daily basis and it might show a little, but she did her best and that’s all I wanted. Hope you all enjoy. I hope to more in the furure.

In case you didn’t see it, below is our video from 2017.

Is it just me, or are the people (and the dog) in the video below different from the video above?

Halloween Portrait 2022

14 years. Hard to believe it's been that long. It's getting harder to find the time. I have the ideas, but to get everyone together in one weekend is getting tougher. Last year it was last minute, and this year was the same. I still have not done the one I wanted to for the 13th Anniversary, not sure when I’ll be able to get that done. We almost didn’t do this year, because it just seems like the list of things to do gets longer and longer. I can thank Suzannah again for encouraging me to do the things I enjoy doing, not just the things that need to be done. Always find balance. Might learn that eventually.

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Tyler as a Goblin - Suzannah as a Banshee - Eric as a Gargoyle

This year’s theme?….Well, since I decided last minute..it was, ‘What can I do with what I have left from previous years.’ Sounds exciting, huh?

I went through the boxes of stuff we have stored away.. the old costumes, the makeup and the props. I looked up Halloween myths and monsters and picked three we haven’t done yet. I chose a Goblin, a Banshee and a Gargoyle. The only group photo is the one above. These three really didn’t go together, but it’s nice to mix things up every now and then.

Up first, The Goblin.

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Tyler as a Goblin.

If you have followed over the years, you might find Tyler’s outfit familiar. It was from the Skeleton Theme photo in 2014. It was really big back then and now fits him perfectly (glad I got the large size). The makeup was from the zombie set of airbrush paint for the zombie shoot. His hair was left over crepe hair from when we were werewolves. I had to buy the ears and nose. I was going to try and make them, but, I ran out of time.

2014 Tyler as a Skeleton warrior

Up next, Suzannah’s portrayal of a banshee. An Irish folklore of a female spirit who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, and shrieking. It was perfect for her - Let’s see if she reads this. ; )

I had to get a new wig, but the makeup was from the skeleton shoot, and the sheets were leftover from The Mummy shoot, ripped in the same style as Tyler’s mummy was. The shirt she is wearing is the one I wore as Fred from the Scooby Doo shoot.

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Suzannah as a banshee

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Tyler used a leaf blower to blow the ripped sheets and Sue’s hair. The leaf blower was a little strong and took some practice getting the right distance and strength. It did make for some funny outtakes. I had to composite many of the best parts of each photo for the final look.

Leaf blower was a little much.

Finally Eric as the gargoyle. mainly makeup from the zombie shoot. I bought the horns and balding cap (never used one before, I think next time I can get it a little neater). Also really hard to do your own makeup and get it everywhere it should be.

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Eric as a gargoyle

Before Photoshop.

The video below is a short time-lapse of the makeup process.

Hope you enjoy! We’ll be back next year.

Maybe.

Halloween Family Portrait 2019

Happy Halloween! The Washburn family continues their tradition of Halloween portraits this year with a family portrait theme from the movie, The Mummy. Starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Wiesz , The Mummy is a 90’s summer action blockbuster that doesn’t take itself too seriously. With the right mix of corny jokes, action scenes and some surprisingly great on-scene chemistry between Brendan and Rachel, The Mummy is a fun filled ride that always seems to entertain me whenever I watch it.

This year’s photo shoot went so much better then last years. The humidity was high, but Tyler was the only one that needed to have a ton of makeup on. If any problems came up, I was able to concentrate on him and just him. I wanted to take aspects of the 1999 movie, but I also wanted to add my own style and the style of the original mummy movie. The inspiration for Tyler’s outfit and makeup are modeled after Boris Karloff’s mummy from the classic 1932 movie. I stuck with characters from the newer movie for Sue and myself, because it’s more recognizable and made the most sense for the two of us. We don’t usually copy characters. Our Scooby Doo shoot was the only other one where we dressed as the characters everyone knows and loves. We usually pick a theme and try to come up with new and different style of characters or monsters to be original. It’s much harder, but it’s a challenge and it’s fun. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

So here we are, the final portrait piece for 2019. The Washburns present…The Mummy!

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The Mummy Halloween Family Portrait

I know what some of you are thinking. Tyler is not that tall. Well, Tyler is now 6” 1” and I’m standing behind him, so yeah, he is that tall. Though I’m also probably shrinking at this point.

Poor Tyler.

I have to give this kid credit. He has been doing this since he was 9 years old and he as never complained. I have put him through a lot over the years, but this year, oh boy. His outfit and makeup from start to finish lasted 3 hours. We had a tv set up in the garage and we watched The Mummy because he had never seen it before and that helped. The bandages were a cheap set of sheets and pillow cases that were torn into strips and dyed grey. As I mentioned earlier, it was very humid and the bandages were getting moist and sliding off. I had to tie a lot of them in knots and many of them were really tight. The ones around his head, arms and legs had to be tight to stay on and it was getting uncomfortable. To make matters worse, I had to apply liquid latex and tissue paper to his face and hands, and then paint them to create the mummy look. He was covered head to toe in an outfit he really couldn’t move that well in. He made it through the ordeal and he is definitely the star of this shoot.

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Eric, Tyler and Sue in The Mummy Family Halloween Portrait

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Tyler as the Mummy

Boris Karloff’s mummy was the inspiration for Tyler’s costume and the poses in the photos.

Boris and Tyler - Mummy vs. Mummy

Here is a quick time lapse of getting the garage and Tyler ready for the shoot.

A mom and her mummy. Even thousands of years in the tomb can not separate these two.

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Sue and The Mummy

For those wondering, I made the book of the dead that Sue is holding. It is made from cardboard, foam, clay, pvc, paint and hot glue. It took a week. Yes, it’s only in like three pictures. I also custom made and painted the mouth prosthetic that Tyler is wearing.

But what about Pepper you say? Well, we didn’t quite leave him out. He gets afraid of the flashes (he thinks it’s lightning) so I don’t take photos of him anymore with a flash, but I did include him, sort of. Can you find him in the main photo?

Sue was nice enough to take pictures of how I take over the house when I plan these photos. As of this blog post, the mess is still there.

This is dedicated to my wife and son, without whom I would never have been able to create such fun and joyful photos. I look forward to creating many more with them both in the future.

Black Light Girls

I had a lot of supplies left from our Halloween shoot years ago and I was dying to use some of them. Lucky for me, Hannah and Skyler were excited at the chance to help me with that dilemma.

Skyler and Hannah in UV makeup

As beautiful and awe inspiring that black light photos appear, to make them happen is a messy operation. We used paint, glitter, brushes, tooth brushes, sponges, water and towels. You can be the neatest person possible, but these supplies get everywhere, especially the glitter.

Hannah in UV makeup

I created a black light ring light for the Halloween photos years ago and took it out of storage for this shoot. It’s a little heavy and bulky, but it gets the job done. For more photos from the Halloween shoot and a look at the black light ring display go here. (a new window will open up)

Skyler in UV makeup

All of the photos are taken with a 50mm lens with a wide open aperture. The iso is 200 and I’m using a tripod. There are not a lot of adjustments needed in Photoshop. It is up to you what you want to enhance. The HSL sliders are fun to play around with in Lightroom and of course some clarity, vibrance and sharpening. I really just tweaked these photos slightly because they look really good straight out of camera. Some needed a bit of exposure or high lights correction, but over all, it was minimal. My black light ring light was a huge help to keep the photos lit well.

Supernova Hannah

This was such a great shoot. The girls were fantastic and I can easily see them modeling if they wanted. They seemed to enjoy it a lot and posted them on social media. I really want to come up with some more ideas (or they can) and we can do another one soon.

Andrew & Jasmine Part Two - The Prom

Well, it seems only fitting that I finished last year with Andrew and Jasmine for their senior photos, and started this year with their prom photos.

I met Andrew and Jasmine at City Club Marietta well before the limo showed up to take them away to downtown Atlanta for the Hillgrove High School Prom. 

Jasmine Staircase Marietta

It has been great working with both of them. They are very photogenic. We had about an hour and a half to walk around and take photos. Although I never grabbed a shot of the crowd, it was the happening place for prom photos, because soon there was close to 100 people at the hotel taking photos.

Andrew and Jasmine City Club Marietta

To make matters worse, there was a wedding going on right next to us in the back of the hotel. That left us limited space to grab photos (considering they kicked us out when we tried to take photos inside) The ones of Jasmine on the staircase above were taken when we entered a back door with the caters and ran to the staircase to get the photo. Anything to get the shot!

I had walked the hotel early and find some spots for photos. We were able to grab some in the front, before the whole herd come over and filled this field. Always come with a plan.

Thanks to Andrew, Jasmine, and their parents for a wonderful afternoon!

Sleigh Ride

Our Holiday music video for friends and family. 

The Washburns would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We look forward to new ideas, projects and many more gatherings with family and friends in 2018. Enjoy our holiday music video.

Halloween Portrait Teaser 2017

This year for the Halloween shoot, we decided not to keep it a surprise for our theme. We are going with a Brothers Grimm theme, Little Red Riding Hood to be precise. I created a little trailer to hype it up a bit. All of it was created in Photoshop and animated in After Effects. Hope you enjoy, and come back in a few weeks to see the final results of the photo shoot.

Sidney - Class of 2018

I would like to thank Sidney for a wonderful time during the photo shoot. She was a true professional. We needed to head out early due to the high heat and humidity and she was a trooper the whole time (no matter what I put her through).

We headed out to Lost Mountain Park for the first part of the shoot. Wet ground, humidity and quite a walk out to the main spot was not a challenge for Sidney. She was willing to venture whereever was nesscary to got the shots.

Thanks to Sidney's Father, Jay, we have some behind the scenes photos of me taking these photos. Just so you know, the grass

Different pose, but the same angle.

Our next stop was Marietta Square, the "go to" place for Senior photos (at least in Cobb County).

This is the real Sidney.

Another behind the scenes photo. Similar shot, pose is different. 

Yea, I added the graduation year on the wall with Photoshop. We actually brought a chalkboard we us to write the year on, but, we all forgot to bring it out and write on it. That's the story and I'm sticking to it.

Never mess with a girl and her instrument. I'm convinced that will be a album cover in a few years.

A few more of me from the shoot.

I loved hanging out with Sidney and her Dad on a Sunday morning. We hit a bunch of locations and she killed all of them. Thank you Sidney for a great photo shoot!