Down at Gooseberry this week, I was working the crowd. Three kids 2, 4, and 5. We were playing games and working hard. Finally the kids were just about out of gas, I clicked off the last few shots. I love the natural look of this one, even if it’s a pile on. If it’s a hit or a miss with the client only time will tell, but you can’t hit the homer unless you swing away…
Children’s session last week. What we do to our kids when they’re babies in photo shoots- crazy hats, funny glasses. At first I thought, “Truman Capote” but then and more aptly, Carrie Donovan of Old Navy fame….
YOUR WALLET. It’s can be a symbol of wealth, success, even identity. It’s a place where important papers are kept. What is the most irreplaceable item in your wallet? cash? credit cards, driver’s license? For me. it’s those small photos. The one of my son as a newborn, the kids first picture together as toddlers, of family, transferred from wallet to wallet, over time. Should I lose my wallet, these precious items would be lost forever.
So who is the richer man? The one with lots of cash in his wallet, or the man with many photos of loved ones and family? Should you meet someone in your travels today, ask them what they have in their wallet- and send the poor ones to me…
Beach season actually started a few weeks back for me with Melissa and Ian’s engagement pix, but I surely felt like summer had arrived for my family shoot this past weekend. The last sunny day before the rain arrived, and although still a bit chill a little tweaking brought about that look like a warm summer breeze brushing past your cheek. Can you feel it? Summer’s coming!
I can’t tell you how many times a client comes in to order and says, “I still have to take my portrait to the frame shop, I’ve been putting it off.” Time is precious, and at Armor & Martel we’re always looking for new ways to make enjoying pictures easier.
Brand new this year, I have some new ways to get pictures up on the wall quick, easy and with the focus on quality and style. Now, instead of an extra trip to the frame shop, we’ve got a complete solution- You can order a portrait, complete with mat, quality wood frame and acrylic glazing (better than glass), backed and wired, for one great price. The quality wood frame is available four different frame colors, and the shatterproof acrylic won’t damage your print should it suffer an accident. You’ll be hard pressed to get a better deal at the local frame shop, and it will save the hassle of one more out of the way trip. View one at your next studio session!
I had the pleasure of meeting Marylin Wieman this week. Following the photo shoot, she gave me one of Aflac’s trademark ducks- the little duck is perfect for coaxing smiles in a childrens’ session. Marylin then told me the story behind this small gift. “We (all Aflac agents) purchase the little ducks to give away as we approach new businesses every day. The duck is our spokesman but so much more. All of the money that we spend on the little ducks goes to a Children’s Cancer Hospital in Georgia. In Rhode Island and Southern Mass. we have given over $500,000 to that Children’s Cancer center. That Children’s cancer center has in turn been able to develop innovative treatments and therapies for Childhood cancers. The cure rate for childhood cancers is now up to 90% due in part to our little ducks!- Pretty powerful. And Aflac has promised to keep going to 100% curable. I would say that is one very powerful duck!!”
I would agree! I’m happy to be associated with Marylin. You can connect with her on Linkedin, or just call me and I’ll introduce you.
I had to do a little work in Photoshop today. I rarely use this application, maybe once a month. When I mention this people seem surprised. “If you’re a photographer you shouldn’t you be using it everyday?”
Um, nope. A few years back, I needed it a bit more, but newer cameras have very good color, and I can do all my post shooting processing in software better suited to creating the look I want – dramatic, but natural, not computerized. Besides, if you shoot a clean, well lit set of pix, and manage your lighting, you don’t need to “fix” it in photoshop. There are thousands of memorable timeless images that have been created over the last century without the aid of today’s overused filters. Yes, I still cook some work in pshop, but I’m leery of my images (or yours) of being remembered as the overly enhanced pix of the 2K era. If it works for ya, fine. Just remember running the drybrush on it doesn’t necessarily make it a better picture…
Every year in February, we offload and begin the purge of digital files from sessions the previous year that were never ordered upon. We love creating pictures but ultimately, if they are not chosen for purchase we must face the hard decision that they be banished to the ether, for storing them indefinitely in the hopes they’ll be wanted later is not a financially viable solution. This past month we just completed a major server upgrade, expanding our multi terabyte raid server, essentially doubling the space. We replaced all the hard drives, (shown in the box above) some of which had been continually spinning 24/7 for the last five years. Personally, I don’t believe that pictures belong on hard drives as their final use. We use them as a brief pitstop, on their way to an album or portrait, book or in your wallet. That is where pictures belong, and incidentally will last their longest, immune to the changes in hardware and technology. What do you think?
I headed into providence the day after the snowstorm for an engagement shoot “downcity”. Providence has a very different feel than NYC or Boston. A lot less busy, but some great spots for pix, even in February. I thought my couple might bail on having the session the day after the storm, but they were lot of fun, even when I dragged them into my caffeine mecca for some shots in the Starbucks inside the Biltmore. Thanks a “latte” for bearing with me- here’s the clip…
Last week as I was photographing a nice little wedding, hundreds of young basketball players were smiling for their trading cards, magnets, 5×7’s and 8×10’s. (Shay and Mark were photographing teams and individuals in my absence, and did a great job) You might think that such an event, and the photographs from it are of lesser importance because of the inexpensive cost of packages and the novelty items involved. “How many pictures in sports uniforms do you need” was remarked to me once upon a time Well, wait a year, or two. Then revisit that funny little trader card, or the team photo, with that gangly kid, or the serious looking, six year old with his game face on and you’ll be hard pressed to throw it out. It becomes part of a story of the passing years of childhood, a very small piece of a big picture that is still unfinished. In fact, you may see that same image in a wedding slideshow one day during the reception, as the story is recounted of who they were before another very important picture day. So are those hoops pix valuable? I’d say it’s a slamdunk….
