Snapshots

Here’s a comment we hear quite often:

What a beautiful photo!  You must have a GREAT camera…

I always chuckle a bit after that.  It’s like telling a fabulous chef, “That was a wonderful meal!  You must have a great set of pots and pans.”

I think part of the reason for statements like the one above are due to the fact that digital cameras are everywhere and are very easy to use.  Sometimes there’s a tendency to lose site of the fact that there is skill and artistry that goes into composing a shot long before the camera’s shutter button is pushed.

Currently Paul and I work with 7 pro-grade digital cameras.  They are as different as a group of children, with their own strengths and characteristics.  Knowing which camera to use in what situation is part of the skill we’ve acquired…  Knowing how to use those skills in ever changing environments is another factor.

While we’ve been to Heinz Chapel dozens of times, we’ll probably be in the bride’s home only once…  Part of the challenge of being a wedding photographer is walking into an unknown location (such as the bride’s parent’s home), taking stock of the weaknesses and strenghts of the location with a quick scan of the room, and then turning out artistic work based on those decisions. 

Knowledge of light is one of the things that makes a professional photographer a pro.  Composition and timing are other skills that further enhance a look.

Trust me, using a great digital camera certainly makes my job easier, but it won’t compose the shot or pose the subject for me.  And it definitely doesn’t joke with the groom, shed a tear with the mother of the bride, or fix a bride’s false eyelash the way that I do. 

And you thought we just took photos… 

Share on Facebook

Congrats to Kathy & Rich Dudley at The Bloomery in Butler for the great press they received in the March ’07 issue of Floral Management!  Paul & I have always enjoyed working with The Bloomery and it was an honor to be chosen by SAF to photograph the Dudleys for the cover story.

To check out their fantastic arrangements, visit www.BloomeryWeddings.com. 

Share on Facebook

Thanks to the pros at the Digital Wedding Forum for putting together a great FAQ site for brides shopping for photography.  Check out Honest Answers About Wedding Photography.

As always, if you find something helpful, let us know!  We’re definitely interested in sharing information and tips with future brides & grooms. 

Share on Facebook

For those of us who remember the ’80s (yes, there are a few of us who survived the massive aerosol poisoning of Final Net hair styles), how surprising is it to see a return to the metallic eye shadows of those punk years?  I just about died after watching a commercial from a well-known makeup company showing a lovely shade of metallic purple not found in nature.

Oh, the horror….

Many of our brides may not be of an age where they look back at old photos of themselves and cringe, “what was I thinking???”  Please learn from my (many, many, many) mistakes.  Stay neutral with your makeup.  Avoid metallics, which by their shimmery nature act like mirrors above the eyes and appear as white slashes in photos (especially formal shots where flash equipment is used). 

By staying true to your natural beauty, you will avoid what I affectionately call “The Baby Blue Tux Syndrome” — my affectionate term for a photo where a fad came and, mercifully, went but not before leaving heaps of photo scars in its wake….

Now I’m off to burn a pair of Paul’s pants from the ’70′s which he thinks are so cool….

Share on Facebook

As we sit here anxiously awaiting the latest trade magazine issue for the Society of American Florists, what should happen?  Our contact at SAF called to say that they want us to do another photo session for their next issue!  This month’s assignment is for a piece on Parkway Florists.

Congrats to Parkway Florists for being chosen for the SAF magazine.  And kudos to Southwestern PA florists for being so talented that two of our locals were chosen for back to back issues of a national magazine!

Share on Facebook

Have you ever wondered what happens to your wedding photos after the wedding day and before you see them? 

Paul and I each spend about 30 hours of post production work on a typical wedding getting the photos ready for public viewing.  This includes color correction on every image, cropping, adjusting exposures, editing, preliminary retouching, and resizing.  Whew, that’s a far cry from the old days of film when you dropped off the medium-format rolls at the pro lab.

Maybe that’s why I look so pasty white in the summer….

Share on Facebook

Everyone is concerned about looking good in photographs. We can all remember images of ourselves that made us cringe when we saw them. Whether it was Mom, Uncle Bob, or our best friend in school who took the snapshot, we didn’t like what they showed us. Consequently, some of us even run and hide from cameras now. (So thanks Mom, see how I turned out!)

 

We get many requests from people to “make me look good”… and after their images are posted online they tell us how great we made them look.  How do we do it?  The answer is Posture

 

So let’s tackle this topic by going straight to our book recommendation.

 

We highly recommend “The Bride’s Guide to Wedding Photography” by Steve Sint.  We got our copy at Amazon but we have seen it at Barnes and Noble as well.  It covers a lot of topics but the one I would like to point out to you is the chapter entitled “Be the Best You Can Be.”  It covers all kinds of tips on how to stand, hold your head, hold your arms, and even a tip about relaxing your forehead.  It even has tips about double chins and eyeglasses.

 

All the tips can be practiced at home.  Once you have read the chapter, you can get in front of a mirror and pose yourself by improving your posture and how you stand in relation to the viewer (who in this case happens to be you)!

 

Admittedly we all do this, we see ourselves in a mirror or window, and make “adjustments”.   This is also why dance studios, gymnastics studios, and weight rooms and have large mirrors on their walls, so that people can practice their posture and form.

 

I am going to add one additional tip to remember that is not in any book.  After you practice a stance or a form, try to remember how it feels.   This is called Muscle Memory.  It is used by musicians, dancers, and athletes to remember how to get into a correct position.  You don’t have to remember all the posture tips and adjust each body part, instead you memorize how your body feels while it is in that position!

 

Here is one added benefit:  when you start to understand how you can project your best image to your photographer, something magical starts to happen.   You project yourself in this way to the whole world.  You feel more confident, which makes you feel more relaxed, which makes you more attractive naturally. 

Share on Facebook

I met with a woman who I’ll refer to as Jay (not her real name….I’ve always wanted to say that!) and she asked me why I decided to start in Boudoir Photography.

My reason surprised me because it wasn’t the typical, “I love any kind of photography” type of answer. 

As I look forward to my 42nd birthday and my son hovers close to becoming a teenager, I think now about the fact that I’m termed “middle-aged”.  I don’t see myself as such, and I guess the old saying about you’re only as old as you feel is true.  In some ways, I’m still that teenaged girl who used to hang with the guys and be a buddy to them rather than a “girl“.  Now I just have a few extra pounds and wrinkles to show that I took the fun road through life!

All through my teens and twenties, I never realized how pretty or skinny I was.  I never did boudoir photos myself and now I wish I did.  As more gray hairs arrive each week (Thanks, Paul!) what a pick-me-up it would be to whip out these photos and say to myself, “Man, was I HOT!”

So my mini-quest is to take photos of beautiful women of all shapes and sizes who may not see themselves as incredibly gorgeous right now.  But maybe someday they will look back and realize how smooth their skin was, how twinkly their eyes were as they did this for their hubby, and how fun it was to be young and in love….

I’m such a sap!

Share on Facebook