Pinup photos! With food.

Organic Headshots is the official photography studio for FOODGASM- an online cooking show with a vintage pinup theme. Michelle takes all the fun promo photos for the show, and even films it with them as one of the camera operators or the director of photography for some episodes. Congrats, Foodgasm, for all your recent success. Here's to many more yummy episodes!

Print!

As if being a full-time photographer didn't keep me busy enough, I'm also heavily involved in the world of handmade goods and markets with my side project, Cussing Cozies. (If you haven't checked it out yet, you should... they're reusable handmade coffee cup sleeves with swears on them. Yes, you read that right.)

When Cussing Cozies has a booth at handmade markets, I usually share that booth with talented letterpress printer, Shayna Norwood, and her business Steel Petal Press.

Today I visited Shayna in her studio and took some headshots and action photos for her to use in the massive amounts of press she's been getting lately. You might be seeing these photos in a publication or two sometime soon on local letterpress awesomeness!

Wedding outtakes

It's summer, which is "wedding season," as we photographers call it. So I figured I would share some of my favorite photos that usually never end up in the wedding albums... Prepare yourself for some minor ridiculousness...

151 headshots in 8 hours!

Last week, Organic Headshots set up shop at McCormick place to take photos of 151 members of PepsiCo who were in town for a couple days of meetings, banquets, and other general annual convention duties. Hair and makeup artists touched everyone up, and Organic Headshots set up 3 studio settings, taking photos of multiple people at once. Since it was mostly walk-in based, we were rushed with occasional crowds of smiling, photo-ready attendees, but no one had to wait for longer than 90 seconds for their turn. This is thanks to the Organic Headshots team of Michelle and her fellow shooters Vanessa and Alex- who all did a great job keeping everyone moving quickly and making sure everyone got some great photos they could be proud of!

Summer Headshots Outside! 20% Off!

Today is the first official day of Summer, and to celebrate it the only way I know how, I'm offering a discount on headshots! Since we only get a few months of really great weather in Chicago, let's make the most of them by taking headshots outside. Then when you're looking at your headshot in the winter and you see yourself surrounded by green grass, flowers, and natural sunlight, your photo can warm the cockles of your heart.

From today until July 31st, 2011, any headshot session you book that we shoot entirely outdoors is 20% off the session price! Want to update your headshot with one taken outside? Now's the time.

And speaking of deals, Organic Headshots is working with GROUPON to perhaps someday offer a Groupon Deal. But we need your help! We need 25 followers on our profile page to be eligible, so please go to our profile page HERE and simply click "follow" at the top of the page. Thanks!

And remember to follow our new page on Facebook!

Contact Michelle Kaffko for more information or to book a session OUTSIDE in the summer sun today. And since I'll use any excuse to go to the beach, so anyone requesting a session at the beach gets a whopping 25% off!

Impromptu band photos

The great thing about having a studio in an artist collaborative building is that it's filled with artists. And sometimes a great Latin sounds band will be hanging around after a practice, ready for an impromptu photo shoot.

The photographer finally gets shot.

What kind of decent headshot photographer would I be if I didn't have an updated headshot of myself? Last week I teamed up with fellow Chicago photographer Johnny Knight to take some self-inflicted headshots of each other. Johnny is a great photographer and a great friend- possibly the only person I would trust to take my photo. Yes, you inferred correctly from that statement: Michelle Kaffko the portrait photographer hates having her portrait taken.

Last week's photo shoot reminded me of how difficult it can be to have your photo taken. Every bad photo I've ever seen of myself flashed in front of my eyes like a near-death experience, and you can see it in the first 15-20 photos that were taken: I'm rigid, uncomfortable, and forcing a smile. It wasn't until I remembered the things I tell my clients when I'm taking their photos and they clam up in camera fear that I was able to relax and look more comfortable in the photos.

Johnny and I both designed our own shots and set everything up so the other just had to snap the shutter- I guess you can call them "assisted self portraits" in that way. Johnny's represents his work in theatrical photography, standing on the seats of an empty theatre. Mine reflects my work in filmmaking- using that same theatre as a movie theatre and a light behind me almost like a film projector for one of them.