8 Tips to Capturing Your Holiday Memories

Do you ever look at someone else’s photo albums and think they are so creative, why can’t mine look like that? Photo albums all start with the photos taken.

1) Take a few quality photos not a massive amount of so what. The amount you take will very on the occasion and opportunities.

2) Keep in mind what you want to use your photographs for and how you want to display them. If you would not display the photograph in your home or in your album don’t waste your time taking it.

This is a good example of creating a story in a photograph. This would be a great end photo at the end of a photo album Taken by: Callie Ewell

3) Create a story within a photo. Pictures are worth a thousand words make each word count and limit the verbal vomit.

4) Don’t worry about posing subjects; take what is readily available. This will help assist in developing a story with in the photograph, though stories and scenarios can be set-up.

Kids are the easiest to catch being natural, they are intrigued by the world. Taken by: Callie Ewell

5) Take images of the décor, like the dinner table full of food or your plate before you start eating. These are great accents with in the memory book, and help create atmosphere of the memories.

Beautiful decorations and
was used for the background
in the wedding album.
By: Mandy S. Chenoweth

Great way to remember an occasion.
By: Mandy S. Chenoweth

6) Editing duplicates right away will save time and stress when choosing pictures for your memory book.

7) Change your camera settings for each room’s lighting situation, when you enter so your camera is ready for the perfect candid.

Great example of opening presents and being ready for it. Taken by: Mandy S. Chenoweth

8) Developing your photo album on line and having it printed for you is a fun way to save time and organizational issues. It also is an easy way to share your pictures with friends and family.
Shutterfly is an easy to use place to get photo products printed and to share photos with friends and family.
Lulu.com is a great self-publishing tool for photo books and albums.
Blurb is another self-publishing tool for photo books and albums. It is easy and fun to use.
Walgreens is easy enough to use and local almost everywhere, though I would prefer the other places sometimes this is just easier to get your one hour photos here.

Have fun this holiday season and enjoy your memories....
Written By: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA www.focalpointimaging.org 

Seven Steps to Finding the Perfect Wedding Photographer

Craig and Lori McMeeken

Over the years I am finding brides are overwhelmed when it comes to preserving the special moments of their wedding. So I thought I would give out some advice to all of you who maybe looking for the perfect wedding photographer that will fit your wedding budget.

Step One: Deiced what you want for your wedding photography. For example a deal breaker is getting all the images on a disk, or that the pictures are fully edited and they do wedding albums. Answer the following questions to help decide what it is you want when it comes to wedding photography.

Do you want the rehearsal photographed?

Do you want the pre-wedding getting dressed photographed?

Do you want the whole wedding reception photographed?

Do you want formals?

Do you want engagement pictures?

Dose the bride want personal picture for the groom of getting ready?

How many hours of photography are you looking to have covered from start to finish?

Do you want detail of the decorations and the wedding rings?

What kind of finished products do you want?

Do you want a wedding album or do you want to make your own?

What do you plan on do with your wedding photos?

How many can/will you display and in what sizes?

Who’s all getting the wedding pictures?

Do you want to use any of the wedding pictures in your “thank you”?

Step Two: Decide your photography budget. What can you afford? What are you willing to invest in memories you will have forever? Who is paying for the photographer? Who all is getting prints/ Albums/ CD’s and are they paying for their own copy?  On the low end getting the minimum is about $800 to $1000 for a decent photographer,  $500 for an amateur, but there is a larger unknown out come. For most wedding packages you are looking between $2500 and $5000 depending on what you want.

Morgan and Eric Gould

Step Three: Ask everyone you know who’s been married who their photographer was and what they thought of their photographer. Look at their wedding albums and if you like what you see get the photographer’s name and number. Call and make an appointment with the photographer. This appointment is to look at their portfolio, find out what they can do and how much they will charge for what you want. Do not make an appointment or sign any contracts at this point! Make sure you take good notes and right what you feel and your over all reaction to the photographer and their work.

Step Four: Go to the Internet and research wedding photographers. Look at all their websites and make a list and set-up meetings with the ones you like look at their portfolio, find out what they can do and how much they will charge for what you want. Do not make an appointment or sign any contracts at this point! Make sure you take good notes and right what you feel and your over all reaction to the photographer and their work.

Morgan & Eric Gould

Step Five: Here is the creative part. After you have looked at all your known wedding photographers and are very educated on what you want, like, and what is offered and at what cost, go to your local colleges and ask if they have a photo club and classes. If they do go to the professors and see if there would be any students interested in photographing a wedding. You will be amazed at how many talented and experienced photographers are students. Talk to them and look at their work. If you like what they are doing and if a couple of them can photograph, edit and produce your wedding pictures for less than the wedding photographers. Also check out other types of photographers, sport photographers are grate at taking reception photos.

Callie & Bob Wallenga

Step Six: Decision making time. Take all your notes and your budget and find the photographer you have the most chemistry with. The photographer walks through every step of your wedding day with you and captures the heart of your moment. You need to be comfortable and confident in your photographer.

Step Seven: Call and schedule your photographer for the wedding. They will have you sign a photo contract. It will say you will owe them money even if you end up canceling, and this is normal for all photographers. Make sure the contract holds the photographer responsible for photographing the wedding even if they cannot photograph it for whatever reason. 

Do not get discouraged you will find a photographer who will match your needs and budget, you just got to keep looking. Good luck and congratulations on the wedding and engagement.

T&J Alphabet Photography Pushes Success with Facebook

Think back to high school, what do you recall thinking about your classmates? “There’s the jock, wonder if he actually did his homework or did the teachers just pass him so he could play in Friday night’s game.” Or “There is miss know it all, wonder if any one will tell her she’s got toilet paper stuck to her shoe.” My ten-year reunion is in July and with all the social networking theses days I connected with some of my old classmates and find that their life path has taken them on quite a journey to places I never expected them to go.  One such classmate is Jessica Downing, who is now Jessica Allers. I have always admired Jessica, she’s very smart and one of the sweetest people. She has a joyous sprit that lights up the room with her laugh and smile.

            As of November 2010 Jessica and her best friend developed T&J Alphabet Photography. They developed the business as a way to be able to stay home with their kids and still make some money. They both love photography and crafts, and eventually developed signs they make from beautiful photographs that represent letters with in the English alphabet. They developed away to make theses beautiful works of art affordable and one way is to keep overhead cost low, which includes marketing.

             T&J Alphabet Photography utilizes social networking to get the word out about their business along side art and craft shows. They now have a couple local stores selling their art. Since December 2010 T&J Alphabet Photography has gained 138 likes on Facebook and many orders for their beautiful pieces. Their facebook site keeps their fans in the loop of what craft/art show they may be at and the latest letters they photographed, giving potential clients the ability to give their opinion on the pictures.

            The Facebook sight has definitely spiked an interest in me and I am now trying to decide which occasion to get what sign for whom. Like my mom’s wedding gift or for my dad’s father’s day gift, at $5 a letter I cannot go wrong.

            T&J Alphabet Photography has only been around for seven months I will be excited to see what they can do in five years.

Written by: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA owner of Focal Point Imaging www.focalpointimaging.org , and member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) www.ppa.com

FPI-blog Quality Survey

What impact has digital marketing made on the Photography industry?

Digital marketing has its’ positives and negatives for the photography filed. The digital world is ideal for the freedom of speech but is also almost impossible to police, so media is easily stolen.

focalpointimaging.org

Portable Portfolio

It is a nascence to carry a bulky portfolio wherever an artist or photographer goes. It is also quite expensive to continually up date a printed portfolio. Using a website to and networking sites help photographers and other artist get their portfolios seen easily and allows them to keep up-to-date on their current works. Using the networking sties allows photographers to reach people that would other wise never seen their work, and in turn create opportunities they would never have considered before the digital age.

On The flip side however, many people see material on the Internet as free game and tended to take it for their own uses. Sure, the work is copyrighted and if the artist can actually track down who is taking their work they can sue for damages, but not every country has the same copyright laws and it’s expensive to go through all the legal procedures.

Easy access

The websites allow photographers to share the photographs with clients and have them pick-out their desired photos with little a nascence. Digital marketing also allows photographers to get current and up-to-date information on the latest products and techniques.

Photographers now have convent access to professional printers across the country and locally. This allows photographers and other artist to get the best possible products for their clients and photography needs.

Cheaper advertising

The World Wide Web has a multitude of access to thousands of possible cliental. The net working sites make it cheep and easy to come in contact and influence potential cliental. Unfortunately, it is also easy to be too casual with the networking and the lines between social and business become blurred.

More competition

With easy access and cheaper advertising there is also a much more competitive market. A photographer’s market is no longer the town they set-up shop in, but across the country. People are continuously pushing the envelope and if a photographer dose not stay-up with it and up to date, they become obsolete and lose business. Additionally photographers are also competing with the do it your-self types who use all the user-friendly sites like shutter fly.

Needless to say as great as digital marketing is, it has it’s own challenges photographers need to over come.

Who’s got the rights?

Photography is a fun hobby for most people and for some like me it is a way of life. Whether you are a random enthusiast playing with vacation pictures or a professional photographer, you need to be aware of who has the rights to your pictures and even if you have the rights to take it or use it once it’s been taken.

Doses one even have the right to take a picture? Anyone can take a picture on public property such as a street or sidewalk, but since September 11, 2001 places have been restricting camera use (Masoner, 2011). Places like the Milwaukee Art Museum require one to summit a request and review on a case-by-case basis, though their stated requirements are more geared toward larger and invasive productions. The building it’s self is copyrighted to the architect Santiago Calatrava, and much are the art work in the museum has copyrights owned by the artist so the use of the photographs once taken is still limited.

Buildings and structures that are copyrighted need a model release, especially if they are the subjects of the photograph. Like wise, a photographer and/or publisher need a model release for and person as a subject in a photograph. There are some loopholes and certain conditions where they are not necessary, but it is always best to be safe and get permission before any photograph is published or sold.

With all that hassle to make sure a photographer is not taking someone else’s work no wonder they flip when clients and internet users rip off their work. The photos taken can get the photographer in a lot of trouble. It can also cause blemishes to the photographer’s reputation and brake privacy laws between client and photographer. Though the photo copied may seem like the client saves a few buck, but it can cost the photographer thousands, as well as the thief who stole the photograph .Bet the $30 8X10 no longer seems too expensive compared to the $1000 fine a copy could cost. Bottom line be safe and get permission.

By: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA Owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org/ and Member of the Professional Photographers of America http://www.ppa.com/

Works sited

Biehl, Kathy. (2006, Febuary 7). Bloggers Beware: Debunking Nine Copyright Myths of the Online World. LLRX.com. Retrieved from http://www.llrx.com/features/bloggersbeware.htm

DSLRBlog Editors. (2009, April 6). Do you need a model release?. DSLRBlog. Retrieved http://dslrblog.com/do-you-need-a-model-release/

Masoner, Liz. (2011, April 15). Photographers Faced with Confusing Regulations. About.com. Retrieved from http://photography.about.com/b/2011/04/15/photographers-faced-with-confusing-regulations.htm.

Milwaukee Art Museum. Retrieved on 2011, May 7 from http://www.mam.org/info/policies/photo-film-permission.php

Why Archival?

There is a picture of my Great, Great Grandpa and Grandma in my father’s foyer. It is sepia and a little creepy cause it’s from the early 1900’s to late 1800’s, When no body smiled due to long exposure times.  Minus the photo’s creepiness I enjoy looking at the picture because I can see where my dad gets so many of his features from and in turn even where get some of mine. The picture was arrived and kept safe from the natural brake down process.

Often when looking at art supplies artist see archival and note the more expensive price. If archival is more expensive then why get it? For photographer’s it’s so the photograph stay’s it’s truest form and resist fading.  Using archival products deters unwanted degrading of the product. When a client purchases a piece of art for $100+ they do not want it to fade and degrade in value.

The most common archival concern is in paper, and adhesives. They contain acid, which erodes and yellows photographs. Have you ever looked though your old family albums and wondered why the pictures are turning yellow and fading; it is do to the adhesive, paper, and even the plastic covering. In a hundred years most of those picture albums will be indiscernible and lost to feature generations.

As Artist, we have to choose our materials for our art. Some times the subject dictates our materials, other times it is our own preferences, but if we want our work to last and out last ourselves we choose archive materials.

 

Some great archive art supplies :

I have used theses supplies my self and find then easy to work with.

You can get theses supplies at your local art store or here at ArtSupply.com http://www.artsupply.com/headerpages/archival.htm

 

I get my paper from B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com or Calumet http://www.calumetphoto.com

Written by: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org and member of the Professional Photographers of America http://www.ppa.com/

In house vs Out sourcing

In college, I spent hours, days, and weeks, in the dark room and print lab working my photo projects. I loved the feeling of working the medium and producing the perfect print. The longer it took me the more enduring the final print became. I enjoyed working the chemicals and experimenting with alternative printing process both in the dark room and in the print lab. Theses process and experimentation can only happen in an in studio print lab. My hands produced art, my heart felt, even when I switched entirely over to digital Photography and did much of my work on the computer, but controlled and worked the print.

Now, I out source all my print work to a print lab. The reason for the switch is an economical one. Unfortunately, I cannot afford my own state-of-the-art print lab, nor is it plausible to spend hours perfecting each print. A print lab has everything already configured and many more supplies than I have access too. Just for a basic print lab with just an Epson Stylus pro 9880 printer initial cost would be about $5,461 and to keep using it would coast $1,132 in paper and ink. At the moment, my studio is not large enough to hold the equipment and my cliental have not grown enough to support the financial investment.

Out sourcing has allowed me to print on many different mediums I would otherwise not have tried, such as metallic prints that have and in-depth chemical process and metal prints with is printed directly on aluminum. I also have the ability to have prints printed on stretched canvas and are ready to hang on the wall. With out sourcing I have the freedom to use my energy to prefect my images and let those who have already perfected the art of printing print my work saving energy, time, and money. To produce my 1^st 60 out sourced 8X10’s it coasted me about $186 to produce giving me $1,614 in profit. The 1^st 60 in house would still leave me approximately $3,661 in dept.

Economically speaking out sourcing to print labs is definitely more profitable, but for the love of art, I still want my print lab.

Prices were taken from B& H Photo-Video-Pro Audio http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Reputable Print Labs

Apollo Imagizing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin http://www.apollo-imagizing.com

BayPhoto.com in Santa Cruz, California http://www.bayphoto.com

Iprintfromhome.com in Buffalo, New York http://iprintfromhome.com/

Written by: Mandy Chenoweth, BFA

owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org and member of the Professional Photographers of America http://www.ppa.com

“Capturing the moment” what dose that really mean any way?

             Many photographers talk about capturing the moment, but what do they really mean? Moreover, what moment are they talking about? For the most part it really is artist speak tor the perfect picture. The perfect picture tells a story and expresses emotion. The favorite “moment” for child photography is the expression of true curiosity. Other popular “moments” are of adoration, love, growth, and surprise.  If a photographer can successfully capture these emotions and stories with a beautiful composition then they have captured the moment and not just a stander pose or smile.

            For weddings, photographers really are trying to capture moments to tell the couple’s love story and preserve the memories of the day. The most popular moments are the enviable cake fight, father’s goodbye, the first kiss, and the beautiful love between the couple.

            For seniors, photographers try to capture moments that revile the senior’s personality. The point of senior pictures is to celebrate the senior and their hard work.

            For families, photographers try to capture moments that are unique to the way the family members interact with each other. These pictures then are timeless as well as precious to the family.

            “Capturing the moment” is what sets experienced photographers apart from the armature photographer. Armature and hobbyist photographers get a lot of happy accidents and can often spot a decent photograph, but the experienced photographer can set the moment-up to happen.

By: Mandy Chenoweth, BFA Owner of Focal point imaging http://focalpointimaging.org and member of the PPA http://www.ppa.com

On Location vs Studio Photograph

On Location vs Studio Photography

As photography student putting my self through art school, I worked for JC Penny Portrait studio. Their photography is shot in the studio, with preset lighting that could move up or down based on height, and turn on and off a hair light, and a directional light. The lighting had options but was quite limited and all pre set calculations; of course limiting the lighting options, kept the length of the photo sections shorter. Unfortunately, that is the assembly line side of photography and is what most Americans go to for quick and cheep photos, and sadly they are also cookie cuter and impersonal. The studio’s do try for the “precious moments” unfortunately, they fall short of the personal and unique moments. 

Other studios like Monica Cubberly-Early Custom and Design Portraiture take a bit more effort to make their clients at home and comfortable. They focus the studio on the clients making sure there are refreshments and little comforts like, plush quilts, soft music, and clean fresh smells (Cubberly-Early, 2005) . These nuances’ go a long way in capturing real smiles and true moments.

Unfortunately, for some like myself and Duenkel Portrait Art make the studio comfortable just is not enough. Duenkel Portrait Art prefer to shoot on location capture the real laugher, and places that mean something to the clients (Duenkel, 2005).  Sure sometimes being at someone’s home can be a bit of a challenge, but it pushes one creative limits and helps set pace with the ever changing trends. This dose mean one has to carry supplies to locations such as a couple lights and reflectors and a few props like tooling or claps and perhaps as sheet or two, but still less than in studio. One would also have to be pretty good with Photoshop to help polish off the finish products, but over all everyone will be much happier.

By: Mandy Chenoweth, BFA owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org and

Member of Professional Photographers of America since 2009 http://www.ppa.com

Monica Cubberly-Early Custom and Design Portraiture, http://www.monicacubberly-early.com

Cubberly-Early, Monica. The heart of the matter: How to capture the essence of your subjects.June 2005. Found March 26, 2011 at http://www.ppmag.com/articles/29/The-heart-of-the-matter-How-to-capture-the-essence-of-your-subjects.php

Duenkel Portrait Art web site http://www.duenkel.com/families/index.html

Duenkel, Fuzzy. Look homeward: The benefits of photographing anywhere but your studio. May 2005. Found March 26, 2011 at http://www.ppmag.com/articles/14/Look-homeward-The-benefits-of-photographing-anywhere-but-your-studio.php

Why Pay for a Photographer

As a photographer, the greatest competitor is the digital camera. People continuously ask “why would they need a photographer if they have a digital camera,” Followed by “Why should we pay so much for a photography session and not get to keep all the photos, when I get to keep all the ones on my camera?”.

To answer my clients, the sitting fee covers the time, talent, and equipment used to create beautiful artistic photographs. Most photographers theses days use digital cameras which allows them to take more photos with less product cost, but it takes more editing time, which is the most limited resource anyone has. For every hour in a sitting, there is an additional one to two hours of editing before photos are presented to the client. The viewings can take-up to another hour and depending on the studio’s ordering process clients can take another hour picking out and ordering photos. In other cases, clients are left to order when ever they desire, which can lead to no order placed or a larger period of time with questions and bartering of price. Still many clients ask for additional editing to finalize images which depending on request can take a couple of hours.

Sitting Fee Covers
Scheduling	30 minuets of work
Sitting	2 hours of work
Editing	4 hours of work
Viewing of edited photos	1 hour of work
Reworking final photos	2 hours of work
Ordering	1 hour of work
Delivery of deliverables	1 hour of work
Total hours of work	11 hours and 30minuets of work

Less tangible but more noticeable in the final product is talent and the time spent on experience and education. Photographers know, love, live, and breathe their work. They have earned the knowledge of posing and camera angles, struggled and perfected the lighting, and like all artist developed a style, a langue within their work. Because of a photographer’s experience and knowledge they can visualize the desired content of an image, foresee the issues and solve most of them before the editing process. Photographers also have experience working with people and know how to get the desired expression for each image. It will take less time, less shots, and less head aches then it would for an armature with a digital camera to accidently take the same picture.

The most accessible to clients is the equipment a photographer uses. Obvious a high megapixel professional camera that they keep up to date and in great condition and usually range from the low end of $1200 up to $25,000. Then there are at least three lenses ranging in price from $500 up to $10,000. Another necessity is the latest computers and editing software starting at $3,000. Additionally there is lighting, backgrounds, props, storage, and transportation. Unfortunately, none that fancy equipment matters if the photographer does not know how to use it. As a result, photographs are constantly going to seminars and conferences to stay up to date on the how-tos. One pays for a Photographer to get the best possible piece of art to capture and represent ones precious memories.

Written by: Mandy S. Chenoweth, BFA

Owner of Focal Point Imaging http://focalpointimaging.org

Member of Professional Photographers of America since 2009 ID# 5137696 http://www.ppa.com

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Photography/ci/989/N/4294538916