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Baby photos!

I’m a big fan of babies… and while there have been a lot of new posing techniques revealed and extolled by many photographers, I remain a fan of the classics, too.  Simplicity makes it all about the baby…

baby pictures charles town beautiful babies in harpers ferry

Senior: Jasmine

Another of the home-schooled students we’ve had the pleasure of photographing this year, Jasmine was the one (of her two other siblings) who wanted pictures the most.  She was fun, enjoyed posing, and wanted plenty of variety.  We have that!

home-schooled senior pictures

Retro Senior

You know, we get a lot of really great people in our studio.  Some have outrageous ideas, and others have no ideas at all.  We work with ’em both, of course.

This young lady wanted something a little more retro than most, so we accommodated her.  She graduates as a home schooled senior this year, and we wish her all the best.

martinsburg senior picture

Do You Really Want The CD?

So, when your photographer advertises that big special offer, which might include a CD of images from the session, you’re ready to jump on it because you love getting the CD, right?  What’s not relevant here is how many images you get, or the circumstances.  What’s important is that if you only got a CD, you’re not only cheating yourself, but you’re getting cheated.  Read on.

Notwithstanding that a CD might cost less than a buck, and that your photographer with a certain style might spend less than a hour on your images, what are you really getting?  Yes, you get the experience and professional photography.  You get good customer service, a fun time with a genuinely nice person, and even some good pictures.  But are you getting something that will last forever?

Do you remember the 8-track tape?  Cassette tape?  Most people don’t use CDs anymore (they only hold about 700MB), and most use DVDs (which hold over 4GB).  But with the advent of Blu-Ray, how long will it be before that DVD is out of date?  Or that file format?  What will you do in ten years when DVDs are no longer supported by computers (most computers today no longer support floppy drives)?

Here’s something else to consider… where will you store your disk?  What will you do with the images on it?  Post them on Facebook?  How long will they stay there?  They may remain on your photo gallery for a long time, but they will get pushed to the bottom like all the others have over time.  And forgotten.  The disk may get lost or damaged (do you know how to take care of a DVD properly?)

It’s time for you to take control.  If your photographer offers only a disk, ask for more.  Demand prints.  Tell them you want your images to be on the wall, in full view, for all to see.  Be proud of your portraits, your wedding, your children and your family!  Don’t hide them away on a disk anymore.  Put them out for the world to see!

Here’s more to consider.  Did you know that children who see pictures of themselves on the walls have a greater sense of well-being and self-confidence as they grow up?  They can’t see those pictures of they’re on a disk.  And couples who put their wedding pictures on the walls and in an album are more likely to stay together than those who don’t. We have clients who regularly share their pictures on the walls with us – and they have fabulous relationships, wonderful families and beautiful children!

Listen… this is not hard to understand.  And yes, we DO sell the image files for most of our sessions and weddings.  But we always offer you prints at the same time.  And we always will, because they mean you will always see the pictures that you have tucked safely away in a dark storage place (after you made a backup, right?)

So, what are you going to do next time your photographer offers a disk-only portrait session?  That’s right, demand prints!

 

Senior Portrait: Eddie

Eddie seemed quiet at first, but quickly became a good conversationalist.  We talked about track & field, his desire to work in law enforcement, and graduation.

musselman senior portraits

A wedding photographer’s preparation

A photographer prepares for a wedding just as they would for any other shoot, ensuring that the equipment is ready, the personnel are ready, and that there’s a working plan.  The difference with a wedding is that these events have a special kind of emotional attachment, as well as a sense of urgency… you can’t do it over, in other words.

My preparation is fairly simple.  But here it is…

  • I review the schedule to make sure what time I’m suppose to be there and when, making sure I have plenty of gas in the car to get there. I review some names of the accompanying party so I can make people a bit more at ease by using their name and not just a general reference.
  • All of the equipment gets cleaned, even if it isn’t dirty.
  • All of the batteries get charged; camera, flash, remote, extension, and portable hard drive.
  • I review the camera settings to make certain that everything is where I want it, and if it isn’t I set it that way.
  • I familiarize myself with the assistant/second shooter for the day and write reminders for myself on things I need to tell them about procedures that we should follow for this wedding.
  • I pack all my equipment the morning of or the night before.  Everything should be ready to go when I get to the wedding.

The actual pre-coverage preparation is a bit more complex, but this gives you an idea of what goes into the before the wedding agenda.

Any questions?

You can view our wedding coverage, including photos at tlcphotography.com/weddings.

What is a Concept Shoot?

In the past several months, we’ve been using the term “concept shoot” on Facebook from time to time.  So, you might be curious as to what a concept shoot means or entails.

Frequently, us creative types get visions of imagery that we want to create.  While many of the best concept shoots require lots of advance planning, some do not.  One type of concept shoot is that which involves a specific scenario, location or setup.  Another type is usually more grandiose, including several people, increased lighting and setup, and plenty of time to create a one-of-a-kind image.

The reason we do concept shoots is to test certain ideas.  For example, we recently did a concept shoot involving people with tattoos.  The objective was to photograph tattooed skin with as much dramatic light as possible, enhancing the overall appearance of the tattoo.  To do that, we recruited models who had tattoos.  The concept was to create this dramatic lighting in the studio.

This is just one example.  Some are considerably more elaborate.  We are working on two now (in the planning stages) that involve a much bigger canvas and some cooperation from the weather and other circumstances.

If you want to be part of any of our future concept shoots, please let us know.  We welcome onlookers and those who want to learn… but don’t be surprised if we ask you to haul equipment or handle the lighting or something.

An Unconventional Omelet

photography of an omelet

This is the last couple of bites of one of the tastiest omelets I’ve had.  And I made it.  I kind of “came to me” when I saw the ingredients in my fridge (seriously need to get to the grocery store) and was hungry for a late breakfast (noonish).

It’s unconventional because it contains no meat and no cheese.  Now many of you are going to look at that very fact and say “then it’s not an omelet.”  But look at the ingredients below and try it… at least once… before you give up and say that it isn’t going to be worth it.

Here’s what you’ll need (per omelet, I made two):

  • Butter blend, margarine or a pan spray you can tolerate
  • 2-3 eggs
  • 1 tsp water
  • salt and pepper
  • 2-3 tbsp spring onions (they have a much crisper flavor that white or yellow onions), chopped
  • 1/3 cup white mushrooms (you can surely substitute here, but this is what I had), sliced (and diced if they are really big slices)
  • About 2 tbsp of your favorite hummus (I used Roasted Red Pepper, which works well with this recipe)
  • 1/2 avocado, sliced

All your protein comes from the eggs.  You get some from the avocado and hummus, but not a lot.  What you DON’T get is a bunch of saturated, LDL-laden cholesterol (such as that you’d get in meat or cheese).

Heat an omelet-size pan at medium, and when it’s hot, turn it down to low-medium.  This helps prevent the eggs from burning before you get a good omelet shell.

Blend your eggs with the water, salt and pepper (to taste).  The water will help make your omelet a lot more fluffy.  Set this aside.

Add your butter, margarine or cooking spray, then right away toss the onions and mushrooms into your hot pan.  Let them sizzle a moment, tossing or stirring until they get a little soft and absorb some of the flavors.

Add the egg you just blended.  Make sure it’s even across the pan.  Wait a minute or two, then pull back the edges of the omelet (with a spatula) to let some of the liquid eggs meet the pan in about three areas.  Keep doing this until the liquid egg won’t move.  Wait another 30 seconds or so, then flip the eggs.  If you have a really wide spatula, this will be done more easily.  Of course, some of you are masters of flipping an omelet (or pancakes) right in the pan – more power to you.

After a few seconds, spread two tablespoons of the hummus in a thin layer across one half of the omelet.  You can feel free to toss anything else in here you want (I considered a few spinach leaves, honestly), but close over the other half and wait a few seconds for the hummus to blend into the crevices.

Slide onto a plate and add 4-5 slices of avocado on top.  I thought about sprinkling the avocado with lemon juice, but I didn’t want that kind of spiciness with the spring onions already giving me a crisp taste, and the hummus was also pretty tasty, too.

Serve.  I served with a slice of cantaloupe.  And coffee, of course.

Give this a try.  It had a lot of delicate flavors, and some not so subtle, but the avocado really rounded things out for me.

I don’t have nutrition numbers precisely, but you’ll have about 28g protein, whatever fat is in the eggs (good cholesterol from it and the avocado), and a really good feeling that you didn’t bog yourself down with a ton of cheese and meat in the morning.

By the way, there’s no reason why all of this cannot be prepared the night before and just thrown together in about five minutes in the morning.

Enjoy!

Awesome architecture

image

I’m always fascinated by really cool and unusual building features. In this case, we were at Dan’s Tap House in Boonsboro, and Diana noticed the ceiling.

It was definitely picture worthy.

When rain falls

image

Today was our third installment of street portraits. We got about a half hour in before the rain started. And while Mother Nature decided against me today, it’s okay to realize the higher power that is the weather.

We’re excited about continuing this series and want your feedback. What do you think we should do? Another city? A different time of day? Or perhaps move indoors?

Stay dry. Enjoy your Sunday. We’re headed off for more adventure!