After our recent announcement that we’re now offering corporate portraits and headshots, we received a call from Gibsons Steakhouse asking us to come by to photograph a few of their staff from Gibsons and their sister restaurants. Our goal was to create environmental portraits of Gibsons cooking staff, LuxBar mixologist Matthew “Choo” Lipsky, and Quartino Chef John Coletta.
For these portraits, we used both natural and studio light. Laurie and I scouted locations within the restaurants by looking for clean backgrounds, which still gave a sense of the atmosphere. LuxBar had beautiful natural light in the upstairs bar coming through the East facing windows. However, it was a little strong, so in the below image we filtered it by using the transparent side of our reflector.
At Gibsons Steakhouse and Quartino, we wanted to give the portraits a sense of the warm, inviting environment. These two Chicago staples are famous for making customers feel like their dining in their family’s home.To achieve this, we brought in studio lighting. We balanced the ambient light with our main key light, in this case, the AlienBee B800 with an umbrella attached. We used a neutral density filter to lower the strength of the flash plus a warming gel to match the existing tungsten color temperature. Throw in a dash of Revealed Studio charm, and voila, success.
Chicago portrait photography with GlowOut Chicago (previously Golden Girl)
We are ultra excited to celebrate another female owned business, Golden Girl Chicago, started by the lovely Jenn Dies in 2007. This salon brings a natural golden tan to the ladies of Chicago, without the harmful damage of the sun’s rays. We’re not only in love with their services, which include much more than sunless tanning, but also their shared commitment to treat every client like a million bucks! It’s a vendor match made in heaven!
We’re happy to announce Golden Girl Chicago is a preferred partner of Revealed Studios. Mention us when calling to book your appointment for a sweet treat for your first visit! For those out there looking for a natural, sun-kissed skin before their shoot, skip the tanning beds and call these gals. You’ll leave looking and feeling fabulous!
These girls are not only gorgeous, they’re also super talented! They all have a skill they specialize in at the Salon–custom spray tanning, hair, makeup, and a variety of other services.
It never gets easier for me, Laurie, to be in front of the camera, especially next to the lovely Maggie. However, our good friend, Liz Dwenger, made the portrait experience so much fun. Thanks, Liz!
We’ve all seen them. Super stiff and stuff headshots. That doesn’t have to be you. We’re now offering portraits and headshot photography starting at $299.00. Our entry level package includes a 30-minute session with one look and five retouched color and b&w high resolution digital files.
Wanna see more? Check out our sister site, Revealed Portraits for even more examples.
Questions or like to book? Contact us at 773-273-9063 or e-mail at [email protected]
Fun Lifestyle photography Shoot at Montrose Harbor
Before the sun was above the horizon, we were up and out the door on our way to the studio. The day started with hair and makeup by Anjelica Bannos, giving Kelly, our model for the day, a luminous, fresh glow. Everyone handled the wee morning hours like champs. It helped knowing we have an empty beach at sunrise for a lifestyle photography shoot. It was well worth sacrificing a few more hours of sleep.
Just as we parked our cars, the sun rays stretched across the sky. When Kelly reached the top of the hill, her red hair glowed like a burning fire. The location was perfect for her free spirited nature and beautiful smile. We had the best time that day, snapping away in multiple outfits and twirling along with Kelly.
Accompanying us was jewelry design Zurina Ketola, who leant us her lovely designs for the occasion. They were the perfect accent for this beachside portrait shoot. We’re so excited to now be carrying a selection of Zurina’s pieces for our client’s to wear during their sessions! What a great additional to our studio.
Earlier this week we featured boudoir photos of Jaycee Gossett from her modeling portfolio session. During that same shoot, we set up the studio lights and let Jaycee’s million dollar smile shine!
For Jaycee, her past modeling, dance, and teaching experience help her feel confident on camera. But even she asked for a little Beyonce to help loosen her up.
If you’re feeling nervous, music helps to relax and even bring you out of your shell. We love when clients tell us their favorite artist — our musical inspirations can instantly change our energy. And even if you need a little extra boost, just make like Beyonce and adopt an alter ego. We all have a little Sasha Fierce in us.
Blue’s guitarist, Kate Moss, brought rock star quality to this musician portrait session. Check out videos and more pics of her jamming here! Thanks for being such an inspiring subject Kate!
If you’re interested in a creative portrait for your business or online profile, contact us at [email protected] or call at 773-273-9063.
One of our go-to makeup artists is not only talented making our client’s camera ready, but she also can work it behind the camera! We love Jen’s red hair (not a surprise, she’s Laurie’s doppelganger!) and stunning blue eyes. She’s a retro throwback, channeling vintage chic in this glamour shoot. She even brought pieces from her travels to Paris and her grandmother’s white, leather gloves! These accessories paired with her loose curls and lipstick choices made our hearts go pitter patter.
Thank you Jen for all your amazing work both on and off camera! http://www.jenniferleejohnson.com/
Soft lighting, location, hair/make-up and expression all work their magic to create a gentle moment as seen in our client’s image below.
Another important ingredient to create soft and flattering portraits is how Maggie and I (Laurie) take our time to build a rapport with our clients. When clients trust us, then they lower their guard and the real magic begins.
It’s our mission to make you feel beautiful through our photography
On a sunny day before the recent hot wave, Maggie and I sat at an outdoor cafe and dreamed about Revealed Studios’ future. While sipping iced tea, we brainstormed how to continue to grow our business and what we want Revealed Studios to represent.
We also finally wrote down our mission statement.
We bandied around words like transformation, self-acceptance and celebration, but we kept returning to this simple sentence:
Make every woman we photograph feel beautiful.
The whole beauty and fashion world sells to a similar mantra. If you buy these shoes, inject that botox, yes, indeed, you will be beautiful.
Going deeper – why this is our mission
But how many of us ever feel beautiful, especially the kind of feeling that makes you walk taller, smile wider and confidently meet the gaze of those around you?
Every woman, at every age is beautiful, yet too often our inner confidence is battered down, especially during and after life’s changes.
We at Revealed Studios want to help you reconnect with the beautiful you. Yes, she still exists; you two have just lost touch lately.
It’s time to give her a call and say you want her back.
You CAN wear those dresses again…Sister bridal photo shoot by Revealed Studios
We had so much fun photographing these two lovely sisters who were married within a year of each other. They were looking for an excuse to pop back into their wedding gowns and lucky for us, they decided to do a bridal photo shoot together. Stay tuned for more photos.
Want to learn more about booking a Revealed Session? Click here.
Glamour Photography session with the darling Augustina
We just have to share this beautiful Revealed session of our friend, Agustina, with you. Her generous spirit just emanates from these photos. Afterward, we asked her to share her thoughts on the session. Here’s what she wrote:
Before and After
On the experience:
-I would like to thank Maggie Rife and Laurie Peacock for helping me feel relaxed during my portrait session. They helped me let go of my critical and foolish thoughts that I and many women have about their image. It was very inspiring to be photographed by them, especially having them there to help me see the positive things about myself. Nobody is perfect, and most of the time we as women fantasize about being DIVAS or magazine models, but with the girls I understood that it’s ok if I’m not perfect and it’s all about body movement and being yourself.
The Preparation:
-When I arrived to the studio, the first thing I said was: mmm, they are going to have to help me with the makeup cause I don’t know how to do it. A minute passed by and I was sitting on a chair, with a glass of wine while I talked about my life, the day-to-day thing, and my feelings. In the mean time they were fixing my hair. Ahhhhh, what a beautiful feeling for every woman to have her makeup and hair done. To look like a movie star! I have always worried about makeup, beacause I rarely wear it, but the girls understood the concept of natural and simple; when I saw myself in the mirror I felt the most sexy and natural women in the world!
The Shoot:
-During the session, the girls made me feel like “ a movie star,” so much so, that I myself dove into the role by changing clothes over and over again. It was like living the hidden dream of becoming a model or very famous person for a day! I understood that every woman has their own beauty and sensual side, no matter what shape and form they come in. What I really loved about Maggie and Laurie is they taught me to highlight my best features.
Afterwards:
-I still remember finishing my session, getting in my car, and thinking, “Penelope Cruz just arrived in the city,” I got home and my husband looked at me with THIS FACE and said, “GUAUUUU!! Did you do something to your hair? Or your face? You’re gorgeous! Where do you want me to take you for dinner? And then without blinking I said, “to the best place in the city! I would like to go to a beautiful restaurant! “ and every time I got out of the car and I walked over the streets, I felt like the most beautiful woman of Chicago, a super DIVA that just got out of a photo session from a famous magazine!
Additional Thoughts:
-Today I can tell all the WOMEN in this world! Either you are a mom, grandma, aunt, sister, friend, etc DON’T think about the money or whether is worth it or not. I did it and I advise you that there is no better thing to feel like a DIVA! There is no better feeling than spoiling yourself once a while and to know that every penny was worth it. You won’t regret it, and if tomorrow someone comes and ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas present? I am going to choose a PHOTO session but this time I will include my MOM.
Big thanks to Agustina for sharing her light-up-the-room smile and sincere thoughts!
