The Photog
Biography
I’m a Lancaster, PA based wedding and portrait photographer serving all of Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and surrounding states who’s love of photography started as a child. I received my first camera at the age of five, and was always interested in the arts, whether it was with a camera or a brush in my hand. With a set of artistic genes from creative parents, I was gifted with the talent of composition but I didn’t realize it until high school after being inspired by a great teacher and then continuing with my advanced education.
Since that time I’ve been honing my skills of composition through various media, but I’ve realized that photography is who I am and in which I excel. My ability to connect with people to bring out emotions in them while creating a composition that is pleasing and provocative.
Recently I’ve been creating fundraisers. Raising money and collecting food for different charities has been very exhilarating for me. It allows me to reach out to our community while putting my skills to good use. Teaching other photographers is very enjoyable to me. I’ve developed a new set of photo workshops focused on the advanced amateur, Gobo Photo Workshops, in conjunction with my friend Olé. This will bring education of photography to the community.
I enjoy spending time with my four year old daughter Alexa and my beautiful girlfriend Victoria. They are the joy in my life that keeps me invigorated and inspired to do my best and push myself forward. I am also an avid runner when time permits and enjoy hitting the gym.
Philosophy
My philosophy is summed up by the following concept: create fun photos from a combination of life & light. I treat every event as a unique and inspiring one and devote myself to expressing that photographically. Whether I’m photographing a wedding, family, couple, corporate portrait or an individual, I pay attention to the details of the person and strive to bring out the fun of life in them. I like to combine photojournalistic unobtrusiveness with a playful sense of leadership. The result is an eclectic blend of lifestyle images that are remarkably stunning as well as natural looking in their simplicity. The images, like the subjects, appear vibrant, full of personality, joy and fun.
With so many technical aspects to photography, I keep it simple without losing detail. I love to shoot wide open apertures with a shallow depth of field to focus attention on the expressions and character of my subject. I have always tried to photograph with natural light which is very flattering and consistent. It allows me to shoot quickly and keep things fun, light-hearted and less technical. However, I’m in constant study of the medium of photography and love to embrace new and innovative techniques with light and the shaping of light, so as to create the most flattering, fun, creative and stunning photos of my subject.
My lens of choice is my 24-70mm. It allows me to bring in more background, to add context to the environment or to incorporate a person’s identity. It also allows me to stay close to my subject and keeps the photoshoot intimate. The right background will tell a story without words.
My ultimate goal is to create a stimulating tangible record of a feeling or emotion had by my subjects.
-Michael Miville
Photographer
I’ve also started a new project involving iPhones. So be sure to check out my iPhone Faces Project.