But verify!
I recently spent some time with a woman who has photographed weddings in the past. She recounted a story where she was shooting a wedding, with her daughter. She was using her favorite camera to shoot during the ceremony, mostly overall proceedings, while her daughter photographed wide shots.
She went on to explain that during the ceremony, she changed a setting on the camera, unintentionally, and the images began to show up on her rear monitor as very overexposed. For the next several minutes, she tried a variety of things to overcome the problem and get back to shooting the ceremony. This included changing camera settings, using a different lens, and more.
After she was done recalling this worst day of her wedding career, I asked "why didn’t you just grab your backup camera?" Her response was "my daughter had it."
I was somewhat shocked. Not from the standpoint that her daughter had a camera, but that her daughter had the ONLY OTHER CAMERA, and that the primary photographer had no backup. Please understand I’m not picking on her, because for all intents and purposes everyone has to start somewhere. But this woman is a professional photographer, and accepts money for her work. To be this unprepared means that the level of professionalism suffers considerably.
Well… it comes down to this…
After 25 years as a wedding professional, it has become a personal mission to make sure I am always prepared at a wedding. This means having backup equipment with me wherever I am at the wedding. During the ceremony, at least one backup camera is nearby or around my neck or shoulder. That’s important to me in case something goes wrong with my main camera. I also carry spare batteries, cards and lenses. And I won’t waste any time trying to figure out what went wrong with the camera in my hand… I’ll immediately switch to the other camera. It’s THAT important not to miss anything.
After all, it only happens once.
Ask your photographer if they have backup equipment. In fact, ask them if they have backup everything. They may think you’re just checking off a block, but reinforce to them that your wedding images are very important to you and that you only want to make sure that there’s little chance anything will happen to your photos. It’s important.
Trust your photographer… but verify that they are ready for a camera failure. It WILL happen to at least one of you.
A client scheduled an appointment a couple of weeks ago for a family session. They were primarily interested in getting photos of the families with the paternal grandfather, as he was quite ill and his prognosis not good.
We set up a sitting for them, and were anxious to work with this large family supporting their grandpa. I always enjoy family sessions, because the interaction reminds me of my own family gatherings where everyone is teasing, playing and having a good time.
Two days prior to the session, a family member contacted us to let us know that they would not be at the sitting, and that the family patriarch had taken a turn for the worse, and could not travel. We understood completely, of course.
This leads me back to remembering that our elderly loved ones will leave lasting memories in our hearts. But to best preserve those memories, photos are one of the most inspiring way to not only remember your loved ones, but to pass those memories along to generations that follow. It may seem a minor point when everyone is happy and healthy, but it becomes so much more important when people become sick and can no longer function without assistance.
The point here is to get your family photos done now. Don’t wait! And by doing them now, down the line when times are tough and relatives pass on, you’ll have that peace of mind, knowing you have some wonderful portraits of them.
My own father passed away in May of 2008. I miss him every day, and have a portrait up of him in our studio as my inspiration. I have a photo of he and my mother on my desk at the studio, as well. These will always be cherished memories of a man that meant so much to my life.
I welcome you to share your story of loved ones and family members, and your memories of their inspiration to you.
A week or so ago, a friend of Diana’s and mine contacted me about teaching a workshop while on an exotic excursion in and around a town in the Italian Alps. I will admit to being hesitant at first. I have almost forever been the "home is where I’m safe" guy. That means my day starts at home, I go to my studio, I get done, and go home. I love being home. And the thought of venturing out, not just beyond my home, but outside my country and into a very small area in a country I’ve never visited was, well… daunting.
So Daniela (the friend/vacation arranger person) asks me to give it some thought and let her know what I could come up with as far as an educational workshop that would fit with an existing program which includes tours of some of the area’s most incredible scenery, food, wine and entertainment.
After a few days, I had some ideas in mind, but I wasn’t really sure how they would play out within the existing scheme of the vacation agenda. So, Daniela visited the studio on Wednesday to give us an idea of not only what to expect, but more about the gist of the adventure. And after the first hour, I was going into a daze. Diana soon recognized this and quickly rushed me a large mug of hot coffee.
By the time we were done talking, I realized that the location (San Martino di Castrozza in the foothills of the Italian Alps) was quite nearly The Perfect Place for a sweeping approach to a lot of different photographic possibilities. But I had to rein myself in a bit, because a) everything I’d want to cover could last for months, b) there’s so much more to see and do that there’s no way I could keep your attention for more than a few hours at a time, and c) *I* want to see more of the sites.
So, after all that, what are we looking at? This is more or less preliminary, but the general concept is the same:
1) The trip is from August 29-September 7. The time we spend in San Martino di Castrozza would be the majority of the time there, but each day we would venture out to surrounding areas.
2) Each day of the trip, something new is going on. A photographer who lives there is something of a nature/landscape expert in the area, and conveniently quite an amazing photographer. Alessandro Simon is a full-time photography instructor for The Alpine Adventure Agency, which is owned by Daniela and her husband, Ken. Alessandro would be showing you the best places and settings for your equipment to get great images of the scenery around you (and above you, and below you, etc.)
3) In the afternoon for six of the days of the trip, I will have an opportunity to work with you to find the best places and angles to take advantage of the sweeping and intimate imagery available for portraiture and wedding photography. The town itself has so many wonderful places, that it will be hard to contain yourself. We have already lined up a beautiful model (a local) who is happy to pose for us during these portions of our workshop.
4) In addition to the photo workshop and opportunities, you will also have the opportunity to hike, take an amazing cable car ride, dine in some of the most incredible restaurants, learn from expert chefs in a cooking demonstration, visit a glacier lake, a fabric maker, an amazing wood sculptor, enjoy local entertainment, and so much more than I can possibly explain here.
Things are still unfolding, but my plan is to create a workshop that will truly prepare you for the adventures in photography, both at home and in exotic locations. Optional evening sessions will be available (and we’re still working out the details on that) to explore new horizons in lighting, composition and posing your subjects.
Please contact the folks at Alpine Adventure Agency to get started. Information on pricing, availability and the agenda will be available soon.
This workshop is available to all levels, as much of what will be covered can be a refresher for professionals who haven’t done studio work in awhile.
The Lighting Essentials Workshop home page has most of the information, but since I got a call today about it, I also wanted to add that we are going to cover on-location action lighting (such as for basketball). The objective is to cover as much information, demonstration and situational lighting as possible on the first day. On the second day we’ll begin practical, hands-on of many of the different kinds of lights and individual requirements.
If you want to bring your own lights, please feel free. But it’s best to tag them so that they don’t get picked up by someone who has a similar bag. Also, you MUST bring your own camera, lenses, batteries and cards. You can also bring a laptop and your favorite processing workflow software if you like.
Refreshments are provided, and our facility is a working studio, not a hotel ballroom or warehouse. Our class sizes are strictly limited to 10-15 students so that we can give you individual attention as needed.
A discount is available if you register before 1/31/2010, and additional participants from the same studio can register at an additional discount.
See you there!
This morning, after Diana and I went ice-skating in the car coming down River Road, we met a client at the studio to review her pictures.
I’ve worked with this client before. She’s very pleasant, and brought her daughter along to help select photos from a family session we did just before Christmas (literally, like two days before Christmas). When she got there, and hopped out of the truck (which I could have used earlier in the day when I was nearly spinning on the ice that had not been treated going down a 20 degree incline – Thanks Jefferson County!), she was smiling.
We quickly brushed off the steps of the massive one inch of accumulated snow (and for this they delayed schools two whole hours), and opened up the studio. This is where I just love the programmable thermostats we have, because the heat cuts on just enough before we get in to make sure it’s at the perfect temp when we arrive. So we go from 19 degrees outside to a comfy 70 degrees inside. She was happy about that, even commenting that it was ‘nice and warm’ inside.
They made themselves comfortable in our spacious reception area/waiting room while Diana and I busied ourselves getting things ready to go for the day. Once I was ready, I showed them into the projection room and we went through their photos. Everything went fine.
And then she, the client, says “can you fix my chin?” as she gets up to point out an area that is a little brighter on her chin than the rest of her face. I said ‘of course,’ as I marked it down on her order. She smiled again… now exclaiming “you’ve just made my day.”
It’s easy to make people happy… just give them what they want. Well, most of the time anyway. 🙂
I wish I could say that this is a new client who needed headshots for their L.A. portfolio. But, in fact this is a client who has been in front of my camera for over ten years. Having first met her at about age seven, it was pretty easy to tell right up fron that she was a force to be reckoned with.
It was great seeing Sara again, and chatting with her mom. We took a lot of images… I’ve included a few of my favorites here.
The seventh annual Most Beautiful Baby Contest starts in just a few days. I was thinking that maybe you need to know more about what goes on behind the scenes to put this together.
In November, we began contacting prize sponsors for the contest. We first contacted prize sponsors from last year. Most of them donated something again this year, but a couple decided to pass. Then we began contacting new area businesses who might want to be a part of the contest advertising.
See, we are offering to feature their company’s logo on all our advertising, which includes posters, mailers, online ads, and much more. This is normally quite a value just to have their logo in front of so many readers. But when it is also associated with a fundraising effort, it gives them just that much more of an emotional boost.
So, starting January 15, we start taking portrait sessions of children from six months to 30 months (2-1/2 years). The objective of a minimum and maximum age is that we want the baby to be able to sit up, and most kids can by or before six months. And the maximum age keeps this from being about all the cutesy things that older children can do. The age range kind of keeps it all fair among children who still have baby cheeks and surprise in their faces.
So, throughout the next 45 days, we take pictures of kids. Usually lots of them. And over that time period, that’s all we focus on. We continue to promote the contest, too.
One important element is our contribution to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Of the session fees, about 40% goes to St. Jude. This is an ongoing donation made with each new session. This year, we’re going to try to make those donations in the name of the parent and/or child, in addition to our name.
When the parents preview the images, they also select ONE image to submit for the contest. We do not select the picture; the parents do. And we save an unretouched (we might clean up minor skin issues) copy of that image for submission to our judges.
At the end of the contest, we put all of the entries online for our judges in a private directory on our website. Each of the judges (usually 3-4 judges, all are hand-selected by Diana and I, and are completely unrelated to the contest, the parents or children involved) assigns a first, second or third preferred selection to the images they see. The accumulated value of the judge’s selections are tallied up and the image with the highest total is the winner. The next highest four are assigned second and third place, and two honorable mentions.
Then we start assigning prizes to the winners. And finally, we start calling the winners.
So, now you know. The contest always results in a lot of fun, great images, and some really happy contestants.
Do you know someone who has a beautiful baby? Of course you do. Tell them to call now, 304-263-3100. The entry fee/session fee is $35 for a 30-minute session. If they want a full session, it’s only $15 more (which includes more time for more outfits).
See you soon!
So, I’m driving to the studio this morning… the usual route.
Let me back up a second.
Diana and I usually ride in to the studio together. Since we live in Shepherdstown, the ride to Pikeside in Martinsburg is about 30 minutes in length. I usually drive, and Diana usually rides shotgun.
Along the way it is not unusual for us to see deer, squirrels and various other wildlife. We’ve seen raccoons, opossums, hawks, and a heron once in awhile (especially down by the river, but once crossing the road), and even a couple of foxes. We tend to point them out to each other, and often in an effort not to make them part of the roadkill statistics. :\
This morning, however, we’re on one of the back roads (to avoid all the traffic lights that have sprung up around here) and after rounding a turn, I see a turkey… not one of those skinny, ugly birds you see in groups of ten or more. This was a fluffy turkey that was on a pathway to suicide. If I’d delayed a half second in responding, our little friend would have met his demise. If the brakes had locked up, again we’d be having a turkey feast this weekend. Instead, the bird missed my front bumper by mere inches.
The part of the story that’s missing here is that Diana often contemplates her day on the ride into work. Which often means she isn’t watching the road by this point, since we are typically out of the danger of wildlife crossing the road. So, as I hit the brakes, she lurched forward into her seatbelt. Now fully aware of the surroundings, and a healthy dose of adrenalin, she said a silent curse for the turkey, and went back to contemplating.
I wonder what kind of turkey that was?
There comes a time when you just need a little change. I guess I’ve reached that time. I’ve been using one blog system for a number of years, and it has served me well. But for a number of reasons, I have decided to change the way my blog works.
1) We are now hosting our own blog on our website. The blog address is http://tlcphotography.com/blog. This gives us an opportunity to control how much we can do and from whence our images go and are stored.
2) Improved automation. A lot more things are available for the new blog system that I find more advantageous for the type of blogging I do.
3) Remote handling. I can do just about anything without having to “log in” to do it. I’m all about making it easier to do.
I like simple and smart.