Linda Lancione: San Francisco Bay Area Author Portrait

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I had the great opportunity of working with author and poet, Linda Lancione, earlier this month as the release date of her latest work, The Taste of Blood (Finishing Line Press), quickly approaches.

The experience was both a privilege and an engaging endeavor, as we worked together to cultivate the candor that her work so aptly portrays. I loved the process of getting to an honest image, where the true self came through.

Linda’s work takes on challenging issues, and it was important for her portrait to be just as honest, engaging, and real. Beyond capturing a simple or welcoming smile, we needed to convey a more complex message, one that her work ultimately does; that life is complicated, messy, and that she maintains her ability to be present with all of it and reconcile the extremes.

Linda kindly lent a few words of appreciation about our process working together:

“Having my author photo taken by Nancy Rothstein was a transformative experience for me. I was nervous about looking old in the photos–and, was I wearing the right earrings, the right top?—but she put me at ease and got me talking about my book. Later, when I saw the photos, I saw a woman I liked: animated, thoughtful, complex—the age and beauty questions didn’t matter anymore. The photos seemed to reveal me from the inside—that was enough. That was a gift!”

A big congratulations to Linda Lancione on her upcoming title. Thank you, Linda, for giving me the chance to take on the feat of distilling your inspiring, captivating, complexity!

– Nancy

 

The Taste of Blood is scheduled to be released on March 11, 2016 (available for pre-order through Finishing Line Press after November 16). Can’t wait? You can get a taste of her work on SoftBlow.org.

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877-881-7221 | nancyrothstein.comnancy@nancyrothstein.com

Professional Portrait Shoot with Marianne Cooper, Ph.D. Sociologist and Author of Cut Adrift: Families in Insecure Times

I’m so honored to have the opportunity to photograph powerful, inspiring women who are doing important work in the world! This week I’d like to introduce you to Marianne Cooper, Ph.D.. Marianne was referred to me by Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Executive Director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, who I had the pleasure of working with last year, where Marianne is a sociologist. Marianne is a super busy lady. She was the lead researcher for Facebook COO & Leanin.org Founder Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, is an affiliate at The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality; and an author of the recently published book Cut Adrift: Families in Insecure Times.  

After starting our photo shoot in the studio, we headed out for a photo adventure and had a lot of fun finding a spot for the location portion of Marianne’s professional portrait shoot. We ended up on Grand Avenue in the flourishing Uptown district of Oakland, where Marianne was surrounded by people on the bustling street, some of whom were gathered for one of the last World Cup games. A perfect location to capture her in the field, although in this case the sociologist was probably being observed as much as she was observing! We even enlisted the help of some pedestrians for some of our shots.  I love my studio, but It’s always fun to be out on the street for a project.
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Sheryl Sandberg has already read Marianne’s book; here’s what she had to say about it: “In this powerful book, Marianne Cooper weaves together carefully researched data about growing economic insecurity and gripping stories of families coping with these trends. Cooper has written an intimate look into what families are up against and the strategies they use to navigate the challenges they face. Cut Adrift provides a compelling examination of the pressing economic issues of our time.” 

Maria Shriver also spoke with Marianne about the book. Their interview is featured on NBC News. In it, Marianne explains her inspiration for the work: “What I had seen in reading a lot about growing inequality and growing economic insecurity, was a lot of data and a lot of statistics. All of that is really important to understand how and why inequality is growing, which groups of Americans are more effected than others, and how we’re pulling apart. But I felt like the human face on this story was really missing, and somebody needed to go out and actually interview and talk with people, from rich to poor, to really understand what this means in people’s everyday lives and how they’re coping with such powerful forces.”

On September 9th, both Marianne Cooper and Sheryl Sandberg will be the featured speakers at The Commonwealth Club in a talk titled The Anxieties of Modern Families. The event will take place at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre. Get your tickets now; this one will definitely sell out!

-Nancy

877-881-7221 | nancyrothstein.comnancy@nancyrothstein.com

Professional Portraits with Juliana Park, Author of The Abundance Loop, and Founder of Conscious Wealth

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“Discovering your true self, how much you have and how much you are, will empower you to effectively grow your personal and financial wealth. By carefully going through this process, you will experience abundance, peace, and freedom.” – Juliana Park

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Juliana Park found me through a mutual friend I met while studying yoga and meditation at Yoga Mandala (now Yoga Tree) in Berkeley, and I’m so glad she did. Talk about a breath of fresh air! Juliana’s presence truly lights up the room, and her positivity is inspiring. I was excited to hear that she wanted me to create the images for her new book, The Abundance Loop, and her website, www.julianapark.com.  We had a fantastic photo shoot in May, with styling by the amazingly talented Michelle Moquin, my go to wardrobe stylist, and hair & makeup by Elena Malevanay of Wowpretty, who works her magic with a smile.
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Juliana’s story seems like one best heard over a bottomless cup of tea at a sunny kitchen table. Here’s a snippet in her own words: “In 2010, I struggled through a divorce and realized there was more to life than living up to others’ expectations of me. Fear of not being enough entrapped me and I desperately sought the freedom to live an authentic life. I wanted to be…ME. But who was I? What did I really want?

Accumulating material wealth, success, titles, and stuff wasn’t cutting it. But neither was denying all that. With support from friends, teachers, healers, and loads of self-help books, I finally found the key to unlock my own prison. I learned to balance my inner wealth with my outer wealth. I learned to be present while progressing towards my goal. I learned to let go of my fear-based ego and embody my divine self.

My awakening experience gave me a fresh perspective on how to live abundantly and transformed all my relationships –to money, to myself, to others, and to the world.”

Juliana has synthesized her life lessons in her book, The Abundance Loop, which can be pre-ordered now and is due to be released in May of 2015.  She is the founder of Conscious Wealth, which “…brings together different voices on the topic of building wealth and abundance.”  A certified financial planner and Assistant Vice President at a major investment firm, Juliana is uniquely qualified to offer her insights.

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If you are as captivated and motivated by Juliana’s story as I am, take the chance to meet her and hear more! She will be at Abundance Oakland! on July 31st, 2014.

In additional to meeting Juliana, Abundance Oakland! is also an opportunity to hear from Editor and Chief of Wear Your Voice, Ravneet Vohra. She and Juliana will share “a powerful message on how to break free from the scarcity mindset and create abundance in your life.” The event will be held at Urban Stitch in Oakland, a fashion boutique (featuring a collection of contemporary designers, specialty lifestyle brands and home accessories.) Come mix and mingle with local fashionistas and listen to these powerful women; hope to see you there!

-Nancy

877-881-7221 | nancyrothstein.comnancy@nancyrothstein.com

Kirk Russell: San Francisco Bay Area Author Portraits

One of my favorite challenges in working with clients is to create images that truly evoke the mood they are trying to convey to their audience.  Each client is completely different, with a unique brand, singular personality, and specific goals.

I enjoyed working with author Kirk Russell, who specializes in crime novels.   Our pre-session consultation, along with my in depth review of his current website and list of published titles, gave me a clear understanding of the atmosphere we were setting out to create.

With a variety of images we captured an edgy crime story vibe that perfectly reflected the nature of his work.  In the same session we also captured images with a more approachable feel for his other professional uses.

You can see all of his work on Amazon here.

877-881-7221 | nancyrothstein.com | nancy@nancyrothstein.com