University of Cincinnati Carl Lindner College of Business Graduation Pictures | Ahmad

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Cincinnati, Ohio

 
 
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Congratulations to Ahmad on completing his degree in Finance and graduating from University of Cincinnati Carl Lindner College of Business!

I was so thrilled when Ahmad’s uncle, Sam (the guy in the peach shirt in the photos), reached out to me to do his nephew’s graduation pictures. I met Sam when we were seniors at Carl Lindner College of Business six years ago (OMG time flies). We quickly hit it off and have loosely kept in touch over the years since graduation. I remember him always telling me that he had two nephews that were UC bond and he couldn’t wait until they started college here as well. Well, six years later and here we are doing graduation pictures from Ahmad. His twin brother Mohammad will be graduating from UC next year with a degree in IT (smart brothers).

Leading up to the day we were unsure if we were going to be able to pull off these photos because the day before it rained practically all day and there was a slight chance of rain in the forecast for the day of the session. This is usually not a big deal for me but we only had about a hour window, at 8:30 in the morning, to get these pictures done because Ahmad’s little sister had to get on a flight back to Dallas for school at noon and he really wanted her to be part of the photos. However, Mother Nature was on our side and provided us with the perfect overcast morning (a little cold but not freezing, thank God). Due to the VERY cloudy morning I took full advantage of the empty campus and we shot in every location we could get to in the hour we had together.

Towards the end of the session I low key turned Ahmad into a model. He is so handsome and I couldn’t help but to get a few, somewhat, editorial shots of him in his suit. Between you and I, I asked his sister to borrow her watch so we could get my favorite male model poses. Scroll to the end of the gallery and you’ll see what I mean. Ahmad absolutely didn’t mind these shots. He knows he’s a good looking guy and was more than happy to oblige my slight obsession with shooting male models.

Thank you so much Ahmad for allowing me to be part of this experience with you and running around my Alma Mater in the chilly fall/winter air. Wishing you the best of luck in this next chapter of your life.

Northern Kentucky University Graduation | Master Degree | Fred

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Cincinnati, Ohio

 
 
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Fred is graduating from Northern Kentucky University with a Masters Degree of Executive Leadership and Organizational Change. He is also the founder and President of Etah (Empathy Through American History) LLC. Etah provides education of the history of America to give participates of its workshops an enhanced understanding of how American history has impacted the biases in our communities today.

The session with Fred started at a gizbo that is in his neighborhood. Since 2020 is the year from hell graduating seniors will not be permitted to have an in person ceremony. So, we decided that we would just reenact the moment of Fred walking across stage to receive his degree. This worked out perfectly since the Amazon truck driver stopped to congratulate him as he was walking across the street. Since Fred also wanted some images he could use for his website and LinkedIn profile we decided to head over to Northside to my favorite little ally to get some urban photos of him as well. I feel like this paired great with his message on diversity and organizational change as well as the fact that he is a 21 year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department. I absolutely love the way these photos came out.

The final stop was my tiny basement studio. Full Disclosure here, I had never actually used my studio for a professional session until Fred asked me if I could take some studio headshots for him. I have to admit I was a bit nervous, especially since when we went to start the session one of my speedlites decided it no longer wanted to be part of our session. But nonetheless, we were able to use my continuous studio lighting to finish up our session together. Both Fred and I loved the way the images in this session turned out.

Congratulations to Fred on the completion of his Master Degree Program!

21c Museum Hotel Graduation Pictures | Patina

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Cincinnati, Ohio

“OMG!!! My pictures are absolutely amazing. Kenyatta did a wonderful job. Its like she knew exactly what I was looking for and more! And she is a bomb hype man. I will be using her again”.

~ Patina N.

 
 
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Patina is graduating with her Master’s Degree in Psychology and wanted to document her achievements with a photoshoot. We had originally planned to do her pictures at George Rogers Clark park in Covington, Kentucky overlooking the Ohio River and Roebling Suspension Bridge. However, during the week leading up to Patina’s session the weather continued to threaten our outdoor plans. Then on the day of her session the rain came off and on but the biggest issue was the hurricane like winds Cincinnati was experiencing, which is very rare since we are landlocked. At the last minute we decided to do her pictures inside the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Cincinnati.

21c Museum Hotel is a multi-venue contemporary art museum and 156-room boutique hotel located in downtown Cincinnati across the street from the Aronoff Center of Arts. This beautiful museum hotel houses not only beautiful rooms and art but it also provides for a unique photography experience. Just walking through the gallery gave us multiple opportunities to get photos with different backgrounds. We used the plain white walls, the art pieces, stairs, etc as backdrops for Patina’s session. My favorite parts of the hotel are their burgundy velvet couches in the main entrance of the hotel and the alley to the left of the hotel.

To conclude our session, we braved the windy outdoors to get a few statement photos of Patina in the alley in her custom cap and sash, that represents her sorority, ZETA PHI BETA.

Congratulations to Patina on her accomplishments and completing her Master’s Program.