Grad Portraits

Martial Artist - Portrait Art

ULV Grads - Follow this link to reserve an appointment!

Thanks to everyone attending the premier of 'Phantom Kick' & 'Martial Artistry', portraits about the art of karate, and 'Glissant dans l'air - Gliding on Air' at Art Walk in Huntington Beach last January 18. Keep an eye on this web site or sign up for email notifications for future shows.

The pictures and story of your life are filled with faces, places, emotions and moments in time that can never be duplicated. From birth to high school senior to college and graduation, your moments are far too precious to leave to memory alone. This is the reason William Hodge Portrait Gallery, along with GradPortraits, exists.

The portraits that you acquire through the years are chapters in your life; your prized possessions. These milestone moments are what you'll look back on to remember each day; each face; each emotion and each vignette that is the story of your life.

Six Frames - Six Glamour Styles

'Some hearts see not the beauty which lies within their soul. It's our job to illuminate, capture and reveal wherein that beauty lies.'

What are your family's Milestone Moments; graduating from high school or college, achieving The Eagle Scout Award, achieving a leadership promotion at work or the moment before your children spread their wings and fly off to college or start their own families. These are just a few of the moments you need to remember with a portrait.

Creating exceptional portraits for you of these important Milestone Moments is what we do better than anyone else!

'The memory of loved ones never leaves this world until all of their pictures disintegrate into dust. This is why portraits are important.'

Your 'story' is unlike anyone else's. Your portraits should be unlike any else's also. From our state of the art studio, your portraits will be created in the place that tells your story the best.

Take a tour of our galleries and call us to talk about your Milestone Moments. We look forward to creating beautiful chapters in the story about you and your family!

A University of La Verne graduate visited the portrait studio, because, "My friend told me you worked miracles on her portrait." I saw her later on campus, and asked, "Did I live up to my reputation?"

She said, "Yes, you did! Everybody loves them, all my family loves them. The Marquis portrait is a beautiful print." Francine V.

William Hodge, owner of GradPortraits, recognized as a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP.)

Every profession has a certification process identifing the pros from amateurs. There are Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO), etc.

The written test is 100 questions, based on a database of 6,000 questions. No individual taking the test knows which of the 6,000 questions will be on the exam.

Professional photography also has similar professional designation, Certified Professional Photographer (CPP).

It's a tough certification and the numbers tell the story. There are only 27 CPP designated photographers in Southern California . There are only 84 CPP designated photographers in California.

The most recent Certified Professional Photographer to receive this designation operates his studio creating portraits of "America's Future Leaders." He creates portraits of Eagle Scouts from Orange County and the California Inland Empire Council, Girl Scout Gold Awardees from Orange County, along with college and university graduates, and is well Jurist Doctorate graduates in Southern California. He also creates portraits of the families that nurture those individuals at his studio in West Garden Grove (where the 22 & 405 freeways collide!)

The Certified Professional Photographer must complete a written examination, complete an image evaluation and adhere to stringent code of conduct.

The portfolio review includes 15 images created in the last year, and are compulsory images, meaning that they must exhibit a specific technique. The techniques a CPP candidate must show are: short lighting with an open or closed loop, 3 to 1 ratio, broad lighting with an open or closed loop, 3 to 1 ratio, selective focus, color harmony, rule of thirds, high key, low-key, balance (symmetrical or asymmetrical), assertive, leading lines, angular or masculine lines, etc.

Bio
Hodge, as a past board member, past president and life member of National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), founded the online Job Information Bank (JIB) in 1984 (pre-World Wide Web) and was also the cofounder of the Electronic Photojournalism Workshop and Digital Times in 1986 (The first digitally produced newspaper in the world - the original files and page negatives along with the newspaper reside in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.) He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for a story about Vietnam Veterans. He currently volunteers his time for the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County Council while operating his studio.

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