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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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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂
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…
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)!
This is, for all intents and purposes, a method by which I can introduce myself in this forum.
Ever work for corporate? Yeah. Answering to “the man” and thinking that you can probably do a better job of running the company than this idiot? Yeah. Me, too.
Well, now I am “the man,” (and Diana’s is “the woman,” lest we leave that out of my little missive) but I’m not keen on running the company without help. The level of decision-making in any company has everything to do with how well the rest of the company both agrees with your decisions and follows policies you set. But I digress (I do this a lot, but bear with me).
What I have learned in my years of running a business, the business of photography, cannot be summed up in a nutshell or a few terse paragraphs. It would take a book… at least. But I’m not in a writing mood. Instead, I’m kind of a blogger at heart. I love explaining things, mostly in a classroom environment.
But here’s something you cannot get from a book, classroom or even buy owning a business for a couple of years. It’s the importance of treating people fairly, openly and honestly. Don’t pretend you care… you must actually care. Don’t pretend to want the best possible product and service… you must commit yourself to that goal for each and every client. And that takes years of work… a true commitment to your own values, even if you have to change those values to match the goal.
The bottom line here is that I am truly committed to my craft, my clients, and my outlook on education. I’m way beyond the schlock of corporate politics… it doesn’t exist here. I have the last nine years of this being my only job to thank for that.
More of what I have to say will continue my thoughts on how this blog will evolve.
But know this one thing… you will not be uninformed.
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.
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