Genius of Photography

Ovation TV is one of my new favorite channels. We discovered it over the last holiday season when they had a full day of Nutcracker performances from all different dance companies--I was in heaven! Being a former dancer and having been in several different Nutcracker performances, I couldn't get enough. The last few days they have been doing a photography series which is just outstanding. I just watched a Photographer's at Work show tonight and was really inspired. One of the photographers featured was Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. He shoots mainly portraits and has photographed nearly every news-worthy person of our time. He talked about the importance of connecting with your subjects and finding a bit of yourself in the photos (a theme all of the photographers talked about, interestingly enough!). I started thinking about what that meant to my work. I think it comes down to documenting and preserving people's memories and life milestones the way I would preserve my own. Albert Maysles also talked about making sure that you don't get so caught up in the technical aspect of photography that you lose the human element--that connection. That really resonated with me as well--I feel like you really have to be in touch with the emotion of what is going on--whether it is a newborn baby, or a wedding--to really have your photograph say something.
Anyway...enough of my rambling for now. I need to head off to bed!

Free Bridal Show Tickets!

I love the bridal shows because they give me a chance to talk to brides, grooms, and often their families, on a large scale. I really feel like you should have a strong rapport with your photographer, and these shows are a perfect way to see if it is a love connection! I will be in the April 27th show at the Patriot Center in Booth 308. I have a limited number of free tickets--contact me if you would like a set. When those are gone, I have 2 for 1 admission coupons. Look forward to seeing you there!

Carson

My cousin Courtney recently had her first baby, Carson. I got to take this sweet picture, along with a bunch of others, when I visited Michigan in February. Even though he is only a few months younger than my baby Quinn, I couldn't believe the difference between them--they truly grow up SO FAST! Oh, this is another example of portraits in the mobile studio.

In Home Studio Pics

When I went to Michigan back in February, I met, for the very first time, two of my best friends' kids! It was way too long since I had been back to MI--it seemed like one thing after another kept us from completing our planned trips there. So, I finally got to meet Max, Maddy and Sam and I experimented setting up a mobile studio at my friend Amy's house. I am actually pretty pleased with the results--and could these kids be any cuter?

Dog!

A few weeks ago, I had a portrait sitting that included Sadie, the adorable dog you see here.


Sadie was so cute and so well behaved! It made me want a dog again!
Having a dog in the studio made me think more about the direction I want to go in with the portraits. I am seriously thinking of getting away from the studio more and doing more "lifestyle" portraits. I feel like this suits my style more, and it will also allow me to include more wonderful animals, like the fabulous Sadie! I'm still working this out, so as soon as I have everything set, I will post it here.

New Wedding FAQ's

Lately, I have had a lot of people ask me the same few questions. I've added these to my website, but I thought I would also post here to answer them....
1) Do you charge extra for hand coloring or other techniques like black and white conversions, selective color, etc.?
Answer: No, I edit every photo from every wedding and add in selected techniques to enhance your photos as part of the package. I feel like this is part of what you are hiring me for!

2) Are the digital negatives edited or just a straight copy from the memory card?
Answer: The digital negatives are all edited. I look at every photo taken to ensure that it looks the best it can look and then upload the final images to Pictage. Your CD or DVD will contain all the edited files you see on the site.

Casino Night Winners!

One of the things I wanted to do more of this year was supporting charities, communities, and causes that I believe in. Every year my neighborhood holds a Casino Night, and this year, attendees were able to bid on items donated by local area businesses with their gambling winnings. I love the fact that our 'hood does so much to foster the sense of community here, so I donated a gift certificate and Ken and Courtney were the winners! Aren't they so cute?
They are getting married later this year out of state, so I won't be doing their wedding, but it was great to have the opportunity to do their engagement sitting. Ken told me that there was actually a bidding war on my gift certificate, can you believe it?! According to the organizers of the event, only 2 other items went for more money! Wow!