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For the second year, I had the privilege of photographing Bryan Station High School’s baccalaureate service, featuring music, dance, and encouragement for the graduates by speakers from a variety of faith communities.

Defenders and their friends and families, click here for the full gallery. The password is at the bottom of the event program.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for an event or photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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After The Pirates’ game against the Bluejays on Saturday, Coach Kelly apologized for the event taking a little longer than planned, to which I thought, “Are you kidding me?” Hanging out on the sidelines catching photos of the kids at play was a blast. There are better ways to spend a spring Saturday afternoon?

Anyway, the Bucs hung a one-run win on the Jays, and here are some pictures of the action.

Pirate parent or friend looking for the full gallery? Click here. Contact Coach Kelly or me for the password.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for an event or photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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There was a time somewhere in junior high or high school when I thought lawyer might be a cool career path. Shooting the reunion of clerks for retired Federal Judge Pierce Lively had me wishing I’d followed that path and clerked for this dearly beloved man.

But then I wouldn’t have had the privilege of shooting this event.

It was an interesting use of the word reunion because only two clerks at a time worked for Judge Lively over his several decades on the bench. So most of the attendees had not worked together, but they shared the common bond of having worked for a man of great principle, intelligence and discipline in the small-town setting of Danville. That was clear from the numerous tributes to Judge Lively over the evening, as well as the fact that they all just love the man.

Dinner attendees: Click here for the complete gallery.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for an event or photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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Thus far this year, my most exciting project has been collaborating with designer Camilla Roberson Turner to produce photographs for The Running River, her custom children’s clothing design business. The idea is basically that she has designs but creates each item of clothing to the custom needs of her customers. So, if you like the cut of a certain dress but would like a different color or pattern, well, that’s what she’s all about.

How custom does she get? One thing she recently created was a set of shirts for a little boy with his arm in cast. With a sort of button front and T-shirt look, they were easy for him to get on and off, and they look snazzy. I would link you to her website, but part of the reason for shooting is to give Camilla photos for her forthcoming website.

Camilla and her model and I got together for our first session Easter weekend – which turned out being a touch chillier than we thought, given our balmy late winter and early spring – for a set of shots trying to incorporate nature. After all, it’s called The Running River.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of these shots with you as Camilla and I keep working.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for a photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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Click here for the full gallery from School House Rock Live at Bryan Station.

My favorite thing about returning to photography several years ago was getting to shoot stage productions all over Central Kentucky in my role as a cultural journalist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. It was a perfect marriage of my passions for the arts and photography.

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A side benefit has been that I have artsy kids, so on the job, I have developed skills that help me document their performances for them and their fellow young artists.

Last week, I got to bring that to full fruition shooting Bryan Station’s production of School House Rock Live, which my daughter was in. It was a historic production in that Station has not presented a musical in years.

I approached shooting it in largely the same way I shoot a show for the paper, coming to final dress rehearsals to get shots as close to what the show looked like as possible. I did go for somewhat broader coverage than usual trying to make sure every kid in the show had some strong images of themselves and ultimately delivering a lot more photos to the director than we do for the paper, where we are going for a handful of images for print and a couple dozen or so images for online galleries.

That’s the technical logistical stuff.

What was really important was creating images that the kids could use to show people what was going on and get them out to the show. What was really important was producing mementos of an experience that these student performers will carry with them the rest of their lives.

An unexpected outcome was – and I claim no credit whatsoever for this idea – the show’s director, Dr. Kristine Lyon, had a picture of each of the principal actors in the production blown up on corkboard with a wide white border around the image. After the final performance, the kids were signing each other’s pictures like yearbooks.

Watching the kids strike the set and share final hugs brought back memories of shows I was in at their age, building that kind of family it takes to tell a story to an audience in a couple hours. Like most anything else we photograph, shows don’t last forever, but the memories can.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for a photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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This was a senior shoot born to a certain extent on Facebook. Kevin and I were struggling a bit to figure out where to shoot his session. Then I looked at the pictures on his Facebook page and noticed most of them were taken at Camp Burnamwood, a beloved Presbyterian retreat down in Irvine, Ky.

I had a suggestion.

So, we took advantage of a spring break afternoon and went down to Burnamwood for a shoot that incorporated Kevin’s love of art, music and our national champion University of Kentucky Wildcats – yes, it was Tuesday afternoon and Kev already had his UK basketball championship swag – all in a setting he loves.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for your senior shoot or something else? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

Brad Paisley at Rupp Arena. All photos in this post © the Lexington Herald-Leader.

This is not my usual modus operandi working for the Herald-Leader, but I just spent two consecutive Saturday nights shooting concerts in Rupp Arena.

March 3, Brad Paisley was coming to the big house with The Band Perry in tow. I’m a bit of a Band Perry fan, and I like Paisley too, so I volunteered to shoot the show. For those of you that think this was a way to see a free concert, I heard three songs of each, and then I was out of there. But I had pictures!

Jen Ledger of Skillet at Winter Jam.

Volunteering for that, I forgot I had a regular gig, the annual Winter Jam Christian rock tour the very next Saturday. This is always fun because the rules are much looser than they are for most arena rock shows. They only want you in front of the stage for the first two songs, but then you can wander until your heart’s content. Since Winter Jam has used a thrust stage setting the past few years, with a strip of the stage going into the middle of the audience, some of the best shots are had by wandering.

Rock concert photography has its pros and cons.

Pros: It’s just fun to go to the big show with a photo pass and come out with up close, energetic shots. It’s also an environment where your presence really shouldn’t bug anyone. The music is much louder than your shutter and people are usually standing and looking up at a raised stage, so you shouldn’t be blocking anyone’s view. While you are allowed to shoot, you should be able to shoot away.

Cons: It can be a logistical challenge, from getting the credentials to getting into the arena. You need to leave yourself some prep time. And it is more restrictive. While you may be able to shoot as much as you want at a club show, there is usually a time limit, and you can get a bit antsy if the last song you’re allowed to shoot is winding down and you haven’t gotten the shot. The lighting can also be much more challenging than other performance environments. For instance, there were moments in the set by Winter Jam headliner Skillet where the lighting can change every second or faster. This is when having good instincts for how your camera reacts and and the ability to make exposure adjustments without taking the camera away from your eye can really pay off.

Overall though, if you like music, like rock ‘n’ roll, concert photography can be a blast, and it’s been a fun couple Saturday nights.

Manwell Reyes performed with Group 1 Crew at Winter Jam.

Peter Furler and Phil Joel at Winter Jam.

Kimberly Perry with The Band Perry, opening for Brad Paisley.

Korey Cooper performs with Skillet at Winter Jam.

Scotty McCreery opening for Brad Paisley.

Superchick guitarist Dave Ghazarian joined Peter Furler's band for Winter Jam.

Brad Paisley at Rupp Arena.

Skillet guitarist Seth Morrison at Winter Jam.

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As the official University of Kentucky mascot, Wildcat seems to like to make an entrance.

Sunday morning, I was in line to take communion with my fellow Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church members when he burst through the front doors of the church, arms rais … and quickly realized he and the University of Kentucky cheerleaders were maybe a few minutes early, and we were concentrating on another religion for a few minutes. Wildcat folded his hands and stood respectfully by, paws folded, and waited for us to finish our service before it was time for the Cats.

As has been our recent tradition at Maxwell, on the last Sunday of the regular season, when the Cats play at noon on CBS, we gather in our fellowship hall for a chili lunch to watch the game and cheer on the Cats with people from the community. This year, since it was an away game, a few few members thought it would cool to invite the UK mascot and some cheerleaders to help pump up our Wildcat fever. Of course, this was full of photo opportunities, particularly when it came to UK’s instinctive mascot.

I always knew Wildcat was fun to watch on the sidelines, but Sunday, I became impressed with what an entertainer he is. Prior to tip-off, he led a pep rally and then worked the room engaging with folks, trying to demonstrate his supposed ability to balance a spoon on his nose to one kid. When the game started, he plopped down right in front of the TV screen and motioned to the kids to come join them. Soon, he was was silently cheering on the team with the skill of Jean Dujardin, slapping hight fives with the kids for all points scored by Big Blue. When the feed for our TV signal briefly failed, he was ready to put on a show, doing shadow figures in front of the screen and mimicking childish sorrow. Most important, it seemed anyone who wanted a moment with Wildcat got one.

Ultimately, he did the most important thing the representative of an iconic institution can do: He made our fans feel even more connected to the Cats. When Rev. Woody introduced him to the congregation at the end of Sunday’s service, he called Wildcat, “A friend.” By the end of the service, we felt he was one.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for a photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

Marylynne wanted a shot against the brick wall on the back of the Lexington Opera House. It worked for her.

What do we do next? That’s always the next question after someone hires me.

With Zach, we used a few frames to represent his Ultimate Frisbee prowess.

So with the spring round of senior picture season in the offing — yes, it’s supposed to snow tonight, but warm weather is in sight — I wanted to give you a quick rundown of what will happen once you decide to book me.

1. We will meet. This is to settle up picky details like what price level you want. But the bigger questions will be what you want to do, what your hopes are for these photos. I am an on-location, environmental portrait photographer who likes a style Digital Photography School called portrait photojournalism. So we want to talk about what locations and what objects are most important to you to have in a shot. For seniors, for instance …

• Do you have favorite activities of your high school years you’d like to represent?
• Has your car been particularly special to you?
• Is there a place that is particularly special to you?
• Do you even have a best friend you may want in a few shots, that these images would not be complete without.

These are the kinds of things we’ll talk about.

I will try to give you an idea of what we can do and how long it should take so we make a plan to get you the pictures you want at a price that is comfortable for you.

2. We’ll set a time and location or locations for the shoot. What you want to show will have a lot to do with this. If, for instance, you have outdoor locales you want to shoot at, we’re probably going to aim for around late afternoon and sunset when the light is best. If you want a couple locations, we may strategize how to get from one to another in time or plan a split shoot if we need to. With me, you have the luxury of flexibility.

Keenland had a special meaning to Nate's mom, so we went there.

3. We shoot! If the person I am shooting is 18 or under, I do request a parent or guardian come along. In general, I have found it is good to have someone else along to keep the subject’s mood light. Smiling for the camera ain’t as easy as it looks.

We will have fun!

Remember, this is your photo shoot, your time to be a star. There aren’t a lot of times in life you can be self-indulgent and get away with it, but this is one of them.

4. You’ll get your pictures! Whether you asked for a disc or digital delivery, I will have your images ready for you within two weeks. I aim for sooner, but two weeks in my guarantee. I do request payment within two weeks of getting your photos, though never before you receive them.

5. Please tell your friends. If you are happy with how it went, I hope you will tell your friends to look me up the next time they need a photographer. (This post could be a good intro.)

Will was going for an urban cool look, like this.

Want to book Rich Copley Photo for a photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.

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Recently, on my 366 Project I posted an image from a Sunday morning church service with a caption that said shooting in church, “The challenge is to capture the moment without intruding on it.”

Reading it again reminded me of how I try as often as possible to be a church mouse when shooting in a house of worship, be it for a service, a music performance or a wedding.

Now, the image that comment appeared with actually was not my mousiest moment. Trying to capture the moment where ordained members of the church lay hands on newly ordained members of the congregation, I ended up diving in front of the partition between the front of the church and the first pew to capture the emotional moment. That sort of goes against some of the rules I have developed for shooting in churches.

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Stick to back and the sides of the sanctuary. One of my criteria for putting my name out as a photographer for hire was to purchase a 70-200mm, f2.8 lens. Why? Because that glass is essential to being able to shoot from the back and sides of most church sanctuaries, thus I am far less tempted to go running up the center aisle when you’re saying, “I do.” (It’s also essential for stage photography.) Yes, there are times where you may need to go into the action to capture the best images, like as the wedding party processes down the aisle. But usually, it is best to stay out of the way.

Easy on the shutter button. This was one I have really had to learn. Shooting music and theater, I tend to ride the continuous mode because there can be a fraction of a second between a really compelling look and a goofy one on the face of a singer or actor. The same is true for speakers and musicians in church, but the clic-clic-clic-clic-click really is not a welcome sound in most parts of church services. So I tend to frame, focus, and wait for a moment. In a way, it almost feels like nature photography.

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Use quiet mode if possible. I shot a wedding last summer with a Nikon D700. Loved the image quality, loved the low light response, loved most everything about it except its clapboard of a shutter. With the announcement of the D4, I was happy to see it has quiet mode like the D300s and D7000, seeming to indicate the mode where the shutter sound is dampened is becoming standard. This is really essential in shooting things like churches and classical music.

Now here, I am talking about traditional churches and formats as well as weddings. There are, of course, contemporary worship styles that allow for more aggressive styles of photography. But, like classical music, churches are environments where you need to learn to get your shot without getting in the way.

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Want to book Rich Copley Photo for a photo session? Check out our rates and booking info, and Email me.