Happy Holidays! Don't forget to preserve those moments

Christmas morning. When there are children in the house, there are few moments more special than watching the chaos ensue from the mad rush to find out what Santa brought, and what other presents there are to be had.

Congratulations to those of you celebrating your first Christmas with your first child. You have, at most, two more calm Christmas mornings left before you have your own house of chaos. The frenzy starts to kick in with the 4-5 year olds. At that age, they know about Santa Claus, they know what's supposed to be in store for them, and they have very high expectations. Even if you manage to get them to sleep at a reasonable time, they will arise at a totally unreasonable time, full of energy, and expect you to be energetic too.

A couple of hours into the fracas, it will dawn on you that you should be taking pictures of the kids enjoying these moments. These are prime family photo opportunities. Take full advantage of them. Make sure your camera is at hand when they start opening presents. Forget your cell phone camera. We're talking real cameras for these photos. I don't care how many megapixels your cell phone is capable of, or how convenient it is. Your phone is no match for your camera when it comes to image quality.

Read more!

Wrap-up from WPPI

It's all over. The vendors have packed up their booths. The Master Classes and Platform Classes are over. A week of learning, exploring, discovering and revitalizing for the practitioners of the the personal side of the photograpy industry. This conference is focused on wedding and portrait photographers. We are the ones that capture your personal moments. We are in some form or another your personal historians. 

Over the course of the week masters of the craft shared some of their secrets, motivation, techniques, and style. The challenge for the attendees is now to go home, review what they have learned and use that to create their own personal style. It is that last piece that distinguishes those of us from the rest.

One theme emerged as a constant thread. Digital cameras have given everyone the ability to take pictures. The average person does not hire a photographer to take pictures. Unfortunately, a great many "photographers" simply do just that; take pictures. A true photographer is supposed to create art. The creation of art is what we must return to. In order to do that, we must return to the fundamentals. We must turn off some of the automation that has made us lazy and go back to creating images that do not require massive amounts of tinkering in Photoshop.

We also must present  these works of art to our clients is something with lot more longevity than a plastic disc. We must create images, wall art, and books that can be passed along to generations of families to share in the memorable moments of our lives.

In short, we have to return to being the professionals clients turn to when they want something special. Something more than a picture taken by Uncle Harry who has a big camera that can be printed at Walgreens or posted on Facebook.

Read more!

Where have all the pohtographers gone

Catching up with your local photographer may be a little difficult over the next few days. Most of us have descended on Las Vegas and it's not for a wild getaway either. The Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) is holding it's annual conference.

This is a chance for us to network, share ideas, learn new techniques, find out about the latest gear and services, and basically OD on information on all things photographic. Yes, we all come back with new products and services. Yes, we will start introducing them to you. Yes, when you see them the grass will be greener, and the sky will be bluer.

In reality, we will have more ideas and products to artistically preserve and archive images that represent the most precious moments in your life. Without revealing too many insider secrets, I hope to bring you a glimpse of some of those things. Stay tuned.

Read more!

For the really important photos

Some, alright most, of our significant family photo moments these days involve our grandson, Jaiden. This past weekend was one of those moments; his first haircut. Where this isn't normally an issue for baby girls, the boys are usually introduced to a barber somewhere between a year to 2 years old. Trust me, they don't particularly like it.

Jaiden held up to this stranger, messing with his hair for what had to feel to him like forever, pretty well. Yes, he cried as he sat on his mother's lap, but calmed down when I came in. Yes, I have a way with him, he said, no the least bit proudly..... Actually, it was the fascination with the camera and the pictures being taken. I can tell he is determined to get his hands on one of our Nikons one of these days. My oldest son did that at around 19 months, but that is another story, for another time.

For this occasion in particular, there must be two of people present. One to hold the child, the other to grab the photos. My daughter thought she was going to be able to do it all herself. She also thought Jaiden was going to sit politely in the chair while all this strange activity went on. Now I have a flip video camera that takes high resolution stills, but, these are not just casual images that may just go up on the web or in emails. For us, these images deserve the same quality we deliver to clients.

Read more!