Nitty Gritty Workflow Workshop

We've been doing seminars and workshops, teaching and sharing our techniques for many years.  This is the first year we've opened our workshops up to everyone, though.  We are pleased to be working directly with Photo One Software and with TimeExposure's ProSelect in our first workshop of the year.  Both companies have been very supportive and eager to help move our educational products into the lime light.

Photo One's Doug MacFaddin posted this on their blog:

Nitty Gritty Workflow Workshop

Both companies are offering generous discounts on their software products for workshop attendees.  You can visit our workshop site here.  Each workshop has its own website and registration link, too.

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Holidays are for everyone

So often we find ourselves inexorably linked to the belief that without children, Christmas wouldn't be worth celebrating.  After all, it is the son of Joseph and Mary that kind of started this whole thing.  Often times we find ourselves getting into the holiday spirit based almost entirely on the excitement in our children's eyes.

This year, we have photographed more children's holiday pictures than in any years past.  That tells me two things... one is that kid pictures make for really cute holiday gifts.  The other is that photography should be an important part of the reason we celebrate the way we do.

Little Morgan here is very strong-willed and had a lot of her own ideas.  But when we sat her in the middle of these boxes, her first instinct was not wonder and amazement... instead it was to determine how fast she could open all of them.  To her dismay, most of them were empty.

I guess that was kind of a cruel joke for a kid that's only three. :)

Three kids under five

I thought once you agreed to photograph three children under the age of five, all at the same time, you also took your sanity into your own two hands.  That appeared to the case with these three.  The older boy was more or less the anchor of the three kids, but it was clear that the challenge was afoot when we noted that one of the three was a little bit fussy and wanted a snack.

What ensued was bedlam for the most part.  The resulting image is actually a combination of images, giving you only only a glimpse of the classic children's holiday portrait, but that it came from a necessity of blending.

Thanks, Diana, for saving yet another client's images by working a little of that magic of yours.

Two lights in my eyes

At least once a year, my daughter (she's really my stepdaughter, but I feel like we are closer than that) and grandson, Cameron, come in for photos.  He's six now and having new pictures of him was already a necessity.

Cameron has gotten to the point where he somewhat rules the session... he knows how things work, and even picks some of his own props and backgrounds.  I enjoy the time he's here, and we always have fun trying to figure things out.

But when he's done... he's done. :)

Ella

As of last Friday, December 4...

Just eight days ago, Ella was still in the womb.

A little history, if you'll indulge me.  About four years ago, we started doing some magazine work for a new publication.  We got along quite well with the publisher, and even did her daughter's senior portraits.  So we had a great relationship with the magazine, we did a lot of work on several covers and tons of articles over the years.

So when Margo called us to photograph her first grandchild, we were more than honored - and we accepted immediately.

Meet Ella Nicole...

So, Julia (and Marla)

We first met Julia during the 2009 Most Beautiful Baby Contest (by the way, the 2010 Most Beautiful Baby Contest starts on January 15!), and she won second place.  'Vibrant personality' comes to mind when I think about Julia.  She's just so full of life, has a very definitive personality, and a smile that just cannot be ignored... or, as Diana put it "would melt a snowman."

So, she was back last week, with her mom (Marla) and we once again were graced by her fun-loving nature.  Early on, Marla asked us to create a couple of images from Julia's new-found love of dance.  Since Marla was also a dancer in her teen years, we did a few fun things and some very meaningful ones (to both).  But I had an idea in mind that really kind of took me by storm.  It was to create a kind of contrast in the size and difference in "ability" from someone who has many years experience, and someone who's just starting out.  This is what we came up with.

Yes, those are Marla's legs. :)

Of course, they (Marla and her mother, Tabatha) also wanted some Christmas photos.  Julia had other plans... she wanted to do what she wanted to do (as most 3-year olds do).  But we managed to get a few happy images of her... this was one of their favorites.

 

This is a really great family.  I enjoy seeing them, even if just out and about.

Merry Christmas, Miss Julia (you too, Marla and Tabatha)!

Upon That Final Curtain

This evening I had a rare opportunity, and one that I welcomed.

I have known PJ Yurish since 1996, first meeting him following a football game for his nephew.  We had common bond in that he adored his family, and I enjoyed photographing his family playing sports.  His son, Joey, was often a target of mine.  In youth football and high school, I probably took hundreds of photos of him.  Similarly, I photographed his daughter Jessica in dance for many years.  But that's just the tip of the iceberg.  And I won't bore you with the details.

Instead, about three weeks prior to today, I was honored to be called to photograph PJ's mother and much of the rest of his family.  He told me up front that she was dying from cancer, and didn't have long to live, months at the most.  He wanted some photos with his mother, with his wife, with his children and grandchild.  This one last time, as he so eloquently put it.

We spent at least an hour photographing a lot of combinations of photos, but as always the baby, Aidric (Joey's son with his wife Kristin) ended up stealing the show.  You can see pictures of him on my Facebook page, and on our website (Galleries, Children).  I put the images online for their convenience, mostly because PJ's mother, Billie, was not terribly mobile.

Before we could take some additional photos with other family members, Billie passed away.  Sad yes, but she had suffered enough.

Fast forward to tonight again.

PJ came in to select photos that they would like to have for display and for family members.  Even before we started looking at the images (he had a mental and written list, even texting and talking with family members while he was here), PJ began recounting his mother's last days, to the hour, then to the minute.

I will admit to you now that I did not know Billie well.  But I knew of her generosity, kindness, and spirituality.  And she was never one to speak softly when she believed strongly about something.  That showed as well in her children and grandchildren.

PJ spent an hour, at least, going through the details of his mothers generosity, her strength at the doctor's final verdict on her health, and finally of the details surrounding her death and subsequent viewing and funeral.  He recounted it all, down to his mother's final words: "PJ, PJ, I'm okay."

And I listened... to every word.  At one point I offered a glass of water.  The roller coaster of emotions during his tales had plenty of stops and starts.  But I waited.  This man has done a lot for me, for my career and for my business.  I owed him whatever time he wanted to take... and was honored to hear his story.

When he left, once again wanting to help throw some more business my way, he shook my hand.  And I felt like I had been his sounding board, and that I'd made a difference tonight.

If for no other reason than I watch and wait, listen and learn, hear and console... THIS is why I do what I do.  This is the reason why I'm here... and my fondest wish is that everyone who has a loved one that is sick, or who has not had portraits done in awhile, and needs something now - to please call.  I'll go to you if you can't come to me.

It means that much.

Rest in peace, Billie Yurish.  You've earned it many times over.

It's all in the eyes

For quite awhile, I have been fascinated by eyes, pictures of eyes, eyes in movies (especially those in film noir)... well, all eyes.  I sort of first found a fascination with taking these pictures with a senior whose photos I did a couple of years ago.  Since then I have done more "watching and learning," a technique that has given me more insight into how much of my photography is just for clients, and how much is just for me.

This photo is the first one I did for a client, who requested it.

Later in the year, I was shooting at a wedding and was looking for some "new" eyes.  The bride had eyes that were filled with a little mischief, a little happiness, and a little nerves...

 

It wasn't long after this wedding that we were photographing some models for an upcoming product line we are working on.  I've known the one model for many years, and have always found her eyes and her expressions to be deep and expressive.  This image is extracted from a much larger picture, so rather than try to fix the grain, I enhanced it a little to give it a kind of mystery.

Later in the senior season, we photographed the daughter of our hair stylist.  She has really amazing eyes.  I'd never seen someone who had what amounts to highly reflective irises.  The color in them seems to have gone brighter under the right light.  While the rest of the image has been desaturated to really draw attention to the eyes, they stand on their own.

It didn't take me long, being the emotional person that I am, to want to photograph Diana's eyes.  At the last Day of Beauty we did, Diana participated and it really was the perfect opportunity.  Up to this point, eyes were a fascination for me.  Now, they were personal, since I can see my entire world in these eyes... and a whole bunch of love.

I'm going to continue photographing eyes... as a personal project.  How about yours?

Sometimes, it's bizarre

So, around this time of year we get lots of families for portraits.  And each one is different.  Some have kids, others have their pets.  And still others have just themselves.

I wanted to take a few minutes and highlight one family that came in for portraits, though.  Not because they were difficult or unusual... although they were quite unique.  And we did, in fact get quite a few good portraits for them.  During the course of the session, however, we had some serious fun.

The youngest, Elaina, was a real pistol.  She had a "look," which kind of reminded me of a pro wrestler's posturing move.

The kids were great... sometimes kids get carried away.  But these kids were great and had no problem with me capturing their mock fights on camera. :)

And it seems like everything was funny...

And when I asked them for something specific, they obliged.  Here, I asked the eldest child Emily to act uninterested while the other two kids, Evan and Elaina were "totally into it."

But, like I said, we did get a few good ones, including the one below.

Hope your holidays are bright... and at least this much fun

Why Maternity Portraits?

In the last several years, we have seen a rather dramatic rise in the number of maternity portraits. Now whether this has been because we are a more visible studio, our marketing or samples, or if there are just plenty of people who want this level of intimate portrait for their home... it matters not. But it is interesting to learn some of the top reasons why people are getting maternity portraits done.

"I want my baby to see how much we loved him/her before they were born." I think this is probably the most popular response to the question at hand. Many people want the baby's father involved, too, so that the child gets a distinct sense that both parents really cared about the progress of their child and how beautiful the whole maternity process is. Many even went on to have video or still photography during delivery.

"The art of maternity is astounding." True enough from many perspectives. From the parent's angle, this may either be their only child or one of only two or three they are planning. You can get a family portrait every year, but how often is a woman going to be pregnant in her lifetime with one of her little bundles of joy? The art surrounding maternity images is, for us, about so many elements... the lighting, the color, the belly, and for some, the interaction between mother, child, father, family, and much more.

In the last few years, we have taken portraits of families with the pregnant mom, pets, older children, dads and even siblings of the mom-to-be. From full states of dress, with even the belly covered by a shirt or sweater to complete nudity for the sake of the art and intimacy of the portrait, we have seen so many people who genuinely care about making sure that the deep love and commitment to their child is captured forever after.

One thing is certain with maternity portraits. They are an amazing way of displaying a kind of love for the unborn child that ordinarily is reserved for the moments following birth. In a recent maternity session, mom and dad held alphabet blocks with the baby's name in front of her belly. Dad was very into the whole thing and became something of a contortionist in order to do whatever was necessary to create the 'good shot.' It's moments like those that render the emotion we feel as part of why we enjoy doing what we do.

So... why maternity portraits? It's for the love.

Generally, maternity portraits are best in the 7th or 8th month of pregnancy. We always encourage people to bring any props they wish, their family, pets, and anyone else who you feel is important in your baby's life. Often times, people bring samples of what they would like, and we will even present a few of our own ideas.

But one thing remains constant... we always do maternity portraits with grace, elegance and class. From fully clothed family portraits to totally nude works of art, the important thing to us is that you feel comfortable and at ease.

Back to the blog...

I've been bad.

No... really bad.

I have neglected my blogging since July. Although my main excuse is that I've been very busy (you'll read below why), that doesn't mean I shouldn't be connecting with my fans more often... and better.

First, let me just tell you all that the holidays are going great. I had a nice Thanksgiving, and am looking forward to more holiday time with family and friends. My family is doing fine, and everyone is in relatively good health. The dogs are all fine, too. :)

We started working on a boudoir/modeling project about three months ago. We even hired a couple of models to do some work for us. The results are fantastic, but we need more samples of course. We'll be working more on that in the coming months.

The second thing we've been working on is a new division called TLC Pro Executive Imaging. This will be a separate division in our company that just handles commercial photography. The objective is two-fold. First, while I love doing commercial photography, I'm so busy with portraits and weddings that I really cannot commit to the kind of schedule that is often needed in commercial work. As this is the case, we hired a new photographer who specializes in commercial photography. Her name is Kristi and she's done some amazing work. You'll see more from her in the next few weeks.

The third thing is our seminar and workshop series. Diana and I have created a series of workshops for intermediate to advanced photographers who need more information about getting into portraiture, seniors, babies and other areas of studio management. The entire series starts in January, and we'll start taking registrations soon. Stay tuned for that, too. We are already so enthused about this, because I love teaching and Diana has so much to share.

Now, none of this takes away from our seniors, babies, families, or weddings. In fact, it will only draw more of MY time toward those things because I won't have to do as much with commercial work (because that's Kristi's thing now), and I can focus deeply on my portrait work because I have to explain details to budding photographers and that makes my work only that much better.

I've included a few images of what we're doing lately, just to give you something to look at.

I'll be back again in a couple of days. :)

Engagement Session - Maria & Chris

What can I say? I'll begin at the beginning.

Chris and Maria arrive and Chris goes immediately for a cup of coffee. Maria explains that he talks about the coffee here all the time. We do have good coffee... stop in for a cup and a chat. :)

So we go on to start taking photos in the camera room upstairs. It was too nice a day to take a bunch of indoor shots, so we quickly moved outdoors. And Chris could not stop picking on Maria. I would have felt sorry for her, but since she wouldn't stop laughing at him, I couldn't help myself.

Chris can talk... but it's not just random chatter... he really asks intelligent questions and talks about stuff that has real meaning to people. Maria scoffs, playfully, but you can tell she cares. There's an incredible connection between these two, and one I'm going to really enjoy capturing at their wedding in October.

Um... Chris... I won't be bringing coffee with me in October. Sorry. ;-)

Shaina

We did Shaina's sister's senior portraits a few years ago... Shaina was ready, too. She knew exactly what she wanted to do... and we treated her like a queen for a day. :)

Amanda

How can you not smile when you see her smile? Wow... we commented on that throughout her session. She had a good time, and brought her own hairdresser... nice!

Just Don't Panic

I recently spent several days visiting my brother, who is vacationing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He rents a house there each year for two weeks of rest and recharge.

On our first day there, I discovered boogie boarding. Now look... I'm 50. And I decided on my 50th birthday that I was not going to act the way I thought a 50-year old should act when I was 20... you know... old. So, taking turns with Diana, we taught ourselves how to ride the waves, waiting for the proper wave to break and somehow knowing that it was right. It didn't take long to get the hang of it... and after a couple of hours, we quit and went back to the house to relax.

On our second day, we discovered that there were THREE more boogie boards in the house, so all four of us (me, Diana, my brother Jon, and his girlfriend Patty) had the opportunity to "play" at the same time. Jon got into the mood last, but he nevertheless enjoyed the adventure. Doing anything new often means that you want to keep doing it more... and bigger... and so on.

So as I was going a "little" further out, some by choice and some by being pushed out by the undertow, I quickly realized I was at about four feet of standing water and about seven feet of wave water. Another little push and I was at five feet of standing water and eight feet of wave water. I'm six foot two when I stand up straight, so I was in (pardon the expression) deep water. What struck me first was that I knew I was still being pushed (pulled?) further out.

So, I grabbed the board, which was about three feet long and 18 inches wide, tethered by a vinyl cord to my wrist via a velcro strap. I attempted to pull myself up on the board so I could paddle in... the board flipped (how annoying). When I fell back, I went completely submerged. And I felt that gentle tug of the undertow again. Seems every time my legs or feet fell closer to the ocean floor, I got tugged further out. This repeated twice more, but without becoming submerged.

Diana called to me, but all I heard was "too far." I could have extrapolated a lot from that. But what I also realized at this point was that my position and my inability to get onto the board was going to be a bit of a challenge - one I'd never faced.

Only an hour before, I'd read a magnet hanging on the refrigerator in Jon's rental home. One thing it said was "call for help by waving your hand." The other was "don't panic." So, I called loudly for Diana, and then called loudly for help. I waved my hand in the direction of the lifeguard (who immediately bolted from the chair). I turned my head and saw Diana headed my way. I tried the board again, fell off, and went submerged.

This time, though, I pulled my legs up. I didn't feel the undertow.

Hmm...

I pulled the board toward me, hearing Diana briefly over the waves and surf: "board is behind you." I turned and so it was. I pushed myself up with my arms, somehow pretending I was a fish (I CAN swim, but swimming ABOVE the surface is often a challenge for me. :(...). Since I knew I wasn't going any further out, then I reckoned that I was either going further in, or that the lifeguard or Diana would reach me before I got into real trouble.

Again I pulled the board toward me and somehow it flipped right directly in front if me, back of the board into my waist, and I pulled myself up so my belly was on the board. I felt myself move a good ten feet toward the shore. I wasn't TRYING to ride, but I was riding the board.

I realized I was going to be okay. I waved off the lifeguard, and motioned to Diana I was going to be okay. I got an indication from someone on shore (my brother?) that the lifeguard needed an okay signal. I stood up in four feet of water and gave her the okay. She echoed that signal and moved back toward the really tall chair that they sit in.

Diana kept moving toward me, and the face I love was both worried and relieved at the same time. I smiled at her, and she seemed to relax a bit. We walked up to the tent that we had previously set up on the beach (umbrellas are for very small people), and Diana lay her head on my chest... it was beating rapidly. The whole experience was over, but it could have ended differently.

The entire thing took less than a minute, from the moment I realized I was out too far until the lifeguard turned around to go back to her chair. In that minute, I knew two things... that I need to learn more about how to use flotation devices on open water, and that I wasn't going to be a statistic because I did something stupid.

I just kept telling myself "just don't panic." And I didn't.

I told you that, to tell you this. The economy over the last couple of years has given us all cause to reflect on our expenses and our savings. Everyone has made some kind of adjustment to the way they plan their budgets. We have tried hard to work toward helping keep photography as part of your budget. And just briefly I want to remind you of some of those things:

1) Third Friday Free Portraits... 15-20 minute sessions for kids. Each month is a new theme... July is "Day at the beach" (appropriate!) where we'll take pictures on the beach at our studio (yes, we have a real beach in our backyard).
2) NO price increases on weddings, dance, portrait sessions.
3) New LOWER pricing for senior portraits
4) We have maintained 2005 pricing for our special promotions... those prices will remain in effect throughout the remainder of 2009.
5) Senior portrait session discounts (50%) have been extended through July 31, AND the yearbook/cap & gown sessions are FREE.

What's important to remember... just don't panic.

See you soon.