I have been a bit remiss at publishing the weddings we photograph here so I’ll try to get that going… We had the pleasure of photographing Laura and Phillip’s wedding a couple of weeks ago and we had a blast! The little church was absolutely beautiful and it just got better from there…
I think they look elegant and very moody. A good friend of mine tells me that I need to lighten up a bit with the kid shots and mix in some lighter, more upbeat backgrounds. I really like the black background style we’ve developed and was hesitant to fool around with a good thing. But I am always open for new suggestions so I gave it a shot. She was right – great mix…
Of course, having a super cute and willing subject helps… 
For those of you that have been following our granddaughter’s progress, yes, this is Emma. She is now nearly 16 pounds, is sitting up for long periods of time unsupported and overall is doing just great!
We prefer coming into client’s homes to do child portraiture as it is the most comfortable environment for the children. Our studio is completely mobile and sets up and tears down rather quickly. We also specialize in photographing children with special needs.
We’ve been busy lately with infant and baby photo sessions. All spotlight the child of course, but most also include mom. We tend to do these sessions in the mornings while the babies are active but quite often, dad is not around. And when he is, we tend to take more traditional family portraits, etc. This is changing – in large part due to some contemporary influence as of late… (Which will be a topic for another day…) We are transitioning to a more sophisticated style of parent/child photography that I find rather exciting; some with studio lighting and some with natural lighting. And we’re getting dad more involved… 
All too often we think of dad as being all manly and tend to overlook the fact that they (we…) all have a soft side…
Well, we’re not going to overlook that anymore… 
Well, it seems that way anyway… We happen to know several families that had babies recently and are in the process of photographing them. Children and baby sessions are an experience to say the least. On any given day you may have a baby that is just plain ready to be photographed – or not… Mostly we have to do what the baby feels like doing and that often means “Plan B”! But it’s all good and we generally come home with at least a few keepers. This, of course is Emma.
We are doing more and more with creative lighting and mom and child poses. This type of style just screams out for black and white conversions… Emma’s above is window lighting and this image below is studio lighting. Both have their merits and both work well. 
The bond between mother and child is, of course, quite strong. I think black and white conversions visually enhance the mood of that bond. 
Of course, there is always room for color, especially when young eyes are fixated on the lens. Look at those eyes…
We generally do infant and child portraits in your home. The child is more comfortable at home and in the case of infants, there is an endless supply of diapers which can sometimes be a good thing! Plus, the wardrobe is right there… We do not need an excessive amount of space to setup in and can generally make the session work in a fairly compact space. 
Creative and loving keepsake portraits. Priceless…
Engagement and other pre-bridal sessions are an excellent means for you to get to know your photographer, and for the photographer to get to know you. The relationship you develop with your photographer is extremely important; you need to ensure your phonographer is familiar enough with you and your fiancé that he/she can anticipate when and where those special photos are going to be on your wedding day. Also, it is a great opportunity to ensure you can work well together. If you and your photographer cannot mesh well for a pre-bridal session, chances are the wedding will be more of the same and that’s the last thing both you and your photographer need. You want great photos and your photographer wants to deliver great photos. If your photographer is not a good fit you need to find out early enough to make a change.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of the time you will find that you do mesh well with your photographer and the pre-bridal sessions just build on that good relationship. This helps you to work together like a team to make wonderful wedding photographs on your wedding day. Once you develop the trust that your photographer is not going to steer you wrong, you will find that the wedding photos will flow all that much easier. During pre-bridal sessions we take the opportunity to further explain to the couple how things are going to go on their wedding day. I think this goes a long way in building confidence between us and the couple.
Some photographers offer engagement and other pre-bridal session as package options, some include them in some packages. Whatever the arrangement, consider scheduling a pre-bridal session so that you can get to know your photographer better. It is time very well spent…
Outdoor weddings pose different challenges both for photographers and all other vendors, the B&G, the guests, etc. The weather affects us all… But when it all comes together, outdoor weddings can be beautiful. If I had a preference, I’d like to see a late afternoon ceremony so the sun is not too high. Not only does a low sun make for better photographs, but it is not as hot as the midday sun so your guests and wedding party are more comfortable. If there is water nearby where the formals will be taken, a lower sun will help with nice reflections as well. 
A lower sun also acts more like portrait lighting where it comes from the side and not the top, which makes for more natural photographs. Although a lower sun may still be bright, it it softer then midday sun and helps the photographer hold highlights and details. 
And of course, shade always helps. 
What do we do we neither shade or the direction of the sun is an option for us? We do the best we can. In this photo, we only had a narrow area of beach that was free of people, and of course, the ocean is where it is, as was the sun. Although the bride is squinting a little in this photograph, I think it is still a fine photo of the B&G on the beach with the ocean as their background. 
We bring iced water, crackers and towels with us when we photograph all weddings. The water and towels are especially helpful when it is hot out. The crackers help fend off hunger while waiting to finish the formals and get to the reception. Ceremonies should be planned so that they are not during the hottest part of the day. All of the wedding party and especially the children in the wedding party could become uncomfortable and restless, neither of which is good for the overall feel of the event and the photos. If you must plan your wedding for high noon, consider the potential temperature when choosing attire for the wedding party. And although we do bring water, we only bring enough for the wedding party. You should plan on having water available for the guests as well if you are expecting the day to be hot and the ceremony to last more then a half hour or so. If the ceremony location is flexible, try setting it up in the shade or under cover. If not, visit the ceremony location in advance at the same hour as you are planning on having your ceremony so you can see how the sun will be so you can better plan your attire, etc.
A good photographer will expect the worst and hope for the best. If the ceremony is during the harshest hours of the sun, we’ll deal with it. But if timing is an option, plan for the best…
And speaking of planning, always have a rain plan figured out in advance. Nothing wards off rain better then carrying an umbrella, and a lack of a rain plan for your ceremony is an opportunity for disaster. No one wants inclement weather, but it happens. Plan for it…
I got to play with some new toys recently. Not my new toys, but someone else’s new toys… It is so nice to be able to try things without having to incurring any expenses. We tried some gels in the hair light and a beauty dish light modifier. The gels were fun and the beauty dish added some interesting catch lights. I have seen beauty dishes used at outdoor events where cars were being photographed but had never had the opportunity to try one. It seemed to work well. We currently use umbrellas at our weddings and frankly, because of their portability I cannot see making any changes there. But for outdoor portraits where time is not an issue, beauty dishes may just be one more item to consider. Anyway, we tried out these things in the studio and they certainly looked like they could be fun. This is a shot using both the beauty dish and a pink gel for the hair light:
The catch-lights are perfectly round and the gel worked surprisingly well on her dark hair. I can see where a gel may make for some interesting wedding formals…
We also got to put our new lens to the wedding test recently and it worked out quite well. We used it at an outdoor wedding on the beach and it rendered colors perfectly while being sharp and crisp. Here we are out in the direct sun:
We were on a crowded beach and wanted the water behind us. This was the best angle, although the sun was pretty harsh. All in all I think the lens worked well. (As did the dynamic range of the Fuji camera…)
I guess what I said previously about gear (gear matters) may be pretty much right on track! 
For those of you following Emma’s progress, she is 9 pounds and perfect (and obviously trying to focus on something…) . We are truly blessed…
I thought that things would settle back in while Emma was in the hospital but the opposite happened. As it turned out, Emma was not discharged from the hospital until this past Friday, just in time for Mother’s Day. Our family was doing most of the cares for Emma and I took two shifts, thus limiting my time to do other things. But it was worth every second and there is no way I would not have done that… Anyway, she is home, and we’re ready to get back up to speed with our photography obligations!
First day in hospital:
Last day in hospital:
We just finished some interesting portrait sessions where we tried out some new toys, which will be the topic of my next message.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there!
With the economy being what it is, we are now offering weddings with one photographer instead of two as a means of saving the couple some money. I still use a non-photographer assistant so it isn’t the same as being all by myself. For the most part, all of the equipment we use for weddings, and everything else for that matter, is mine. What my assistant brings is a versatile wide to normal telephoto lens with a 18mm to 70mm range. This covers a lot of ground for a wedding lens and he rarely has to change lenses to get his shot. So, if there is a shot I need that fits his setup better then mine, I ask him to get the shot and that works out well. But now that I’m shooting some on my own, I need to fill in a gap that I have. I have 12mm to 24mm covered, then jump to 35mm to 70mm. After that, I can cover everything from 80mm to 500mm and then some. But that 25mm to 34mm gap is critical. The solution seems easy enough; Nikon makes a pristine, and very expensive, 17mm – 55mm f/2.8 lens. This lens is specifically designed for camera bodies with the smaller, original size DX image sensors. It will not work on the newer full frame FX sensors. Well, it will work, but at a cost of severe cropping. Logically, my next body upgrades will be to full frame sensors so now I’m in a quandary as to whether or not I should spend a ton of money on a lens that will only be a temporary solution or not. I’d prefer not… Also, I’m quite happy with the camera bodies I am currently using so they will probably serve me well for a few years to come. This means I do not want to skimp on a lens either because it will have to work well for me with my current bodies. This translates into me not wanting a 16mm to 85mm Nikon VR lens because it just isn’t fast enough. I prefer f/2.8 glass as those lenses tend to focus better in low light and most weddings fit into the “low light” group.
So, I do some research on the Internet and seem to find that both Sigma and Tamron make a good lens in that range. Tokina does as well but the reviews are not as good as the other two. This surprises me as I have a Tokina 12mm to 24mm f/4 lens that is sharp as a tack and performs well in any light. Anyway, it seems to be a toss-up between the Sigma and Tamron and I am able to borrow a Tamron 17mm to 50mm f/2.8 lens for a few weeks. It is a pristine lens and is about a third of the cost of the Nikon. It is very sharp, the color rendition is excellent and it performs well wide open. Between the lens I borrowed, and the lens I ultimately purchased, it hasn’t been off the camera since day one.
I guess the moral of this story is that there are excellent third party solutions at times for specific requirements. The first Tamron lens I purchased would not always focus so I had to send it back for another, which works fine. Evidently, the biggest difference between the Nikon’s and Canon’s of the world and their third party counterparts is quality control. But if you get a good copy of a third party lens, you’re good to go!
I attended an event recently where I overheard someone talking about the things brides and grooms are doing to save money on their weddings. I was surprised to hear that not using a wedding photographer was one of those things. (And not using a florist was another surprise to me…) I supposed that since everyone and his brother seems to have a decent digital camera nowadays, that could make sense. But does it really? What happens if Uncle Bob’s camera fails, or if Aunt Sue’s camera runs out of batteries? Will they know where to position themselves during the ceremony? Will they have enough memory cards with them to last until the last dance? Do they even know they need to be there until the last dance? Will they color correct your images and assign them the correct printer profile for your lab? Or will you just leave the color corrections up to the folks down at the one-hour photo booth? Listen – it makes sense to have friends and relatives take photos at your wedding. Even two pros cannot be everywhere at every minute. But think about it; what’s left after your wedding day? Of course there is your spouse… But the bride’s wedding gown gets cleaned and stored, the groom’s tux goes back to the rental shop, the flowers wilt and die (or possibly get preserved and put away), the food and cake – well – you know where they go…, the toaster ovens go on the kitchen counter, etc. What’s left are the memories; precious memories. 25 years from now when you are celebrating your silver anniversary, you want to take out your wedding album and relive your wedding all over again. You do not want to be trying to figure out “who that is” because the photos are dark and fuzzy. You want to smile and cry with joy.
For what it’s worth, here’s what I think:
Choose ALL of your vendors wisely; stay within your budget for all of them. If you want to have your reception at the best place in town but it’s not in your budget, consider having your wedding on a Friday or Sunday when rates are discounted. You may even want to forgo the extra crab cake, etc. in order to keep your dream reception venue within your budget. Same with flowers; stay within your budget. Do all the bridesmaids really need a $100.00 bouquet? We recently did a wedding where the bridesmaids each held a single dark red rose. It was elegant… And when choosing a photographer, stay within your budget. If you want the best studio in town to photograph your wedding but their top of the line package is not in your budget, then choose one of their lower prices packages. The quality of the photos does not diminish with lower priced packages, just the coverage time and number of photos, prints, albums, etc. You may also be able to negotiate with your photographer to include some things while forgoing others. We happen to do that and it works out well for all parties.
Bottom line – don’t skimp on memories…
In other news, we’ve been rather consumed by our granddaughter’s situation and I have not been updating my blog as I should. But she is definitely our priority right now. After enduring some rather difficult days, she seems to be heading in the right direction and is gaining weight, etc. We are looking forward to the day when she can come home with her parents and leave those NICU memories behind her…
