Friday, April 29, 2011
Senior Portraits - Ariel
Not to often that you get to take senior portraits in the winter but Ariel discovered that she would be able to graduate early so it was time to take some pictures. Headed over the Grand Traverse Commons and you'll see some of the images we captured below. Thanks Ariel.
Go to our website to find out more about our Senior Portrait sessions. The time is coming right around the corner. www.carlsonphotographytc.com
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Baby and Family
Had a nice photo shoot at the Gerling family's home a couple weeks ago. With plenty of snow on the ground we did the shoot right in their home which was nice. It is always interesting photographing babies because you just never know how they'll respond and if they'll be OK not being held but all went extremely well. Here are a few samples:
Go to our website at http://www.carlsonphotographytc.com/ to see more examples of family portraits.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Why Hire a Professional Photographer?
At a recent Bridal Show I heard more than once from a bride walking by something like this, "I've got this friend who has a nice camera and he is going to take pictures for free." I understand the difficulty of budgets and the need to try to save money but I'm hoping to convince you that photography isn't the area to do it in. So why hire a professional photographer?
1. The Gear!
Your friend may have a great camera but that isn't the only thing to consider. In fact you can run into any Best Buy and purchase a camera that is capable of taking great pictures. What happens though if something goes wrong? They drop their camera? Their flash stops working? I heard a story of a wedding reception where the photographer's flash stopped working and every time they wanted to take a picture they turned all the lights on. Talk about a party pooper! A good professional not only has good gear but back up gear. Two camera bodies, two flashes and multiple lens. But there is also more to good photography than good gear...
2. The Skillz!
If you needed surgery and someone gave me the very best, the sharpest of scalpels, would you trust me to operate on you? An obviously extreme example but the principle is the same. The person behind the camera is more important than the camera itself. A professional photographer is an artist, event planner, networker, counselor and more. How about social skills? A professional knows how deal with all sorts of people. Large groups and small groups. What about the guest that drinks a little too much? How about the person in your bridal party that is scared to be seen or the one that wants everyone to see them all the time? In the end skill is even more important than the gear!
You also need to realize that photographing a wedding is different than taking a picture of the family outing to the beach. A professional is always on his toes. Ready to adjust and be ready to capture all those important moments. He'll start with shooting everyone getting ready then right into the ceremony making sure to catch all the important moments without being a distraction while also being creative and artistic. Then you have all the details like rings and shoes and decorations. Then you are dealing with all the family, grouping everyone together quickly so you'll have time to get some great pics of the special couple. Then you are off to the reception where you'll encounter an array of lighting situations that "auto" mode on your camera just isn't capable of handling. In the end, your photographer, the one behind the lens, makes all the difference.
3. The Light!
The literal understanding of the word photography is "drawing with light." If you don't understand how to use natural light or artificial light (flashes) you can't take good photographs. How do you diffuse light, use shadows, deal with a dark reception hall or mid-day sun? If your photographer just puts on his flash and points it right at you, you'll end up with a photo that looks like everybody else's even though they are using a point and shoot. The only difference is that it has more mega pixels so you can blow it up really big...but I wouldn't.
4. The Time!
A professional photographer spends their time constantly learning and being inspired to be the artist you need them to be. They are aware of new equipment and new techniques. They know the venues and will scope them out if they haven't been there before. What about after the wedding? In a 6 - 8 hour wedding, a good photographer will have well over a 1000 images. A professional with meticulously comb through them getting rid of the duds and editing and tweaking the rest to make sure that they are all the best images they can be. A professional won't go home, unload the images from their camera, burn them to a disc and send them your way. They have the time that your friends simply doesn't have to create memories for you that will last a life time.
Conclusion:
Many of us deal with a reality where we have to find ways to save money. But of all the things that you'll spend money on, most of it will be used and eaten and thrown away. The tux will be returned and the dress put in storage. The images that tell the story of your day will last a lifetime!
I also realize that every professional photographer had to start somewhere. If you have a friend who is interested in photography, ask your photographer if they can take pictures as well. Tell your friend to watch and learn and if there is time, to ask questions. I think most professional photographers would be fine with that.
For more information on the services that we can offer you please visit our website.
1. The Gear!
Your friend may have a great camera but that isn't the only thing to consider. In fact you can run into any Best Buy and purchase a camera that is capable of taking great pictures. What happens though if something goes wrong? They drop their camera? Their flash stops working? I heard a story of a wedding reception where the photographer's flash stopped working and every time they wanted to take a picture they turned all the lights on. Talk about a party pooper! A good professional not only has good gear but back up gear. Two camera bodies, two flashes and multiple lens. But there is also more to good photography than good gear...
2. The Skillz!
If you needed surgery and someone gave me the very best, the sharpest of scalpels, would you trust me to operate on you? An obviously extreme example but the principle is the same. The person behind the camera is more important than the camera itself. A professional photographer is an artist, event planner, networker, counselor and more. How about social skills? A professional knows how deal with all sorts of people. Large groups and small groups. What about the guest that drinks a little too much? How about the person in your bridal party that is scared to be seen or the one that wants everyone to see them all the time? In the end skill is even more important than the gear!
You also need to realize that photographing a wedding is different than taking a picture of the family outing to the beach. A professional is always on his toes. Ready to adjust and be ready to capture all those important moments. He'll start with shooting everyone getting ready then right into the ceremony making sure to catch all the important moments without being a distraction while also being creative and artistic. Then you have all the details like rings and shoes and decorations. Then you are dealing with all the family, grouping everyone together quickly so you'll have time to get some great pics of the special couple. Then you are off to the reception where you'll encounter an array of lighting situations that "auto" mode on your camera just isn't capable of handling. In the end, your photographer, the one behind the lens, makes all the difference.
3. The Light!
The literal understanding of the word photography is "drawing with light." If you don't understand how to use natural light or artificial light (flashes) you can't take good photographs. How do you diffuse light, use shadows, deal with a dark reception hall or mid-day sun? If your photographer just puts on his flash and points it right at you, you'll end up with a photo that looks like everybody else's even though they are using a point and shoot. The only difference is that it has more mega pixels so you can blow it up really big...but I wouldn't.
4. The Time!
A professional photographer spends their time constantly learning and being inspired to be the artist you need them to be. They are aware of new equipment and new techniques. They know the venues and will scope them out if they haven't been there before. What about after the wedding? In a 6 - 8 hour wedding, a good photographer will have well over a 1000 images. A professional with meticulously comb through them getting rid of the duds and editing and tweaking the rest to make sure that they are all the best images they can be. A professional won't go home, unload the images from their camera, burn them to a disc and send them your way. They have the time that your friends simply doesn't have to create memories for you that will last a life time.
Conclusion:
Many of us deal with a reality where we have to find ways to save money. But of all the things that you'll spend money on, most of it will be used and eaten and thrown away. The tux will be returned and the dress put in storage. The images that tell the story of your day will last a lifetime!
I also realize that every professional photographer had to start somewhere. If you have a friend who is interested in photography, ask your photographer if they can take pictures as well. Tell your friend to watch and learn and if there is time, to ask questions. I think most professional photographers would be fine with that.
For more information on the services that we can offer you please visit our website.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Album Design
I'd like to share a little about the design process for our new KISS Wedding Books. There are several basic options that you will have to decide on such as size, cover style and color. Pricing for KISS Wedding Books start with a standard 10 spreads (20 pages). We call them spreads because the two pages work together to create one full layout. Of course you can have more spreads, actually up to 40 spreads (80 pages).
After your receive your finalized images you can then select the images you want displayed in your book. For a 10 spread you will want to select 40-60 images. I would encourage you to select images that best tell the story of your day. If it were me I would pick a few getting ready shots, some of the dress, shoes, flowers, at least 5 of you two together, (after all, that is what the marriage is all about!!) 2 of the bridesmaids, 2 of the groomsmen, a few family formals and the rest of the wedding ceremony/details of the reception/partying the night away… We'll then do our best to include all of your selected images in the book design.
The only other thing you will need to decide is an overall style for your book. Below you'll find two examples that I've designed. One is simple and clean. The other example adds more color, graphics and embellishments to the pages. The overall style is your choice and could be based on who your are as a couple or on the pictures and what you think will look best. Each album is then custom designed. No two books will be exactly the same. After the book is designed you will have an opportunity to proof the book and make any suggestions as to changes. Once you have given final approval, the book will be printed, bound and mailed to you within 3-4 weeks. You will then have a book that will show off the day you began your new relationship and you can share with friends and family for years to come.
After your receive your finalized images you can then select the images you want displayed in your book. For a 10 spread you will want to select 40-60 images. I would encourage you to select images that best tell the story of your day. If it were me I would pick a few getting ready shots, some of the dress, shoes, flowers, at least 5 of you two together, (after all, that is what the marriage is all about!!) 2 of the bridesmaids, 2 of the groomsmen, a few family formals and the rest of the wedding ceremony/details of the reception/partying the night away… We'll then do our best to include all of your selected images in the book design.
The only other thing you will need to decide is an overall style for your book. Below you'll find two examples that I've designed. One is simple and clean. The other example adds more color, graphics and embellishments to the pages. The overall style is your choice and could be based on who your are as a couple or on the pictures and what you think will look best. Each album is then custom designed. No two books will be exactly the same. After the book is designed you will have an opportunity to proof the book and make any suggestions as to changes. Once you have given final approval, the book will be printed, bound and mailed to you within 3-4 weeks. You will then have a book that will show off the day you began your new relationship and you can share with friends and family for years to come.
Friday, February 11, 2011
KISS Wedding Books!
I'm excited to offer a new product this year - Custom Designed Wedding Albums! I've been wanting to offer wedding albums for some time but it was an issue of deciding on the right one to offer. I've decided to go with KISS Wedding Books. They have a philosophy of keeping it simple yet at the same time offering only the highest quality books. Each book will be custom designed by me and you will then be able to make any adjustments that you'd like. I'll share more on design in another post.
But why wedding books? The digital age has made it so easy to pass on information from one person to another. For photography this means most photographers offer their clients the actual digital images on a disc. However, you can't see pictures on a disk. You have to print them off. So you usually pick a few favorites to put in a frame. But that doesn't really tell the story of your wedding of family. Wedding Books offer a way for family and friends to look at your images. And not just one or two favorites. You can share the whole story. Take a look at the slideshow below to see more on the wedding books that I will be offering. For pricing on my wedding books please visit my online store or click on "order prints" from my website. There you will find a product guide with all of my pricing.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Our First Bridal Show!
We took part in our first Bridal Show on Sunday and I am so pleased with how everything turned out. It was a lot of work being the first one. I needed to put together my materials like signs, drawing forms, brochures and business cards. I also created two wedding album samples which I'll post on soon. Then there was ordering my enlargements and creating the slideshow that I had going on the TV. Last but not least was creating the actual booth set up. I wanted sometime that was inviting, creative and that stood out in the crowd. I think we achieved all three. My lovely wife and Dad helped me set up everything Saturday night and then Mary joined me again on Sunday to help run the booth. Mary did awesome and spent the whole day on her feet talking to brides. I booked three wedding at the show and hope more will follow. Below are some pictures of the booth.
(For more information on our services please visit http://www.carlsonphotographytc.com/)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
New Online Store!
I have finally finished transitioning my online store to a new provider. I'm so happy with the results. The immediate thing you'll notice is that I am able to design it to really fit with the main website. There are also many benefits for the shopping experience. All of the product are now organized in a more understandable and efficient way. You can also share images right to Facebook from your online gallery. Another option is that you can create a shopping cart and email that cart before purchasing it. Then others can take a look at what your are purchasing, I can lend assistance or someone else can even pay for it. The new site also now accepts Paypal as another form of payment. I have also added new options like mounting and spay coatings for prints. Please take a look around the site and tell me what you think. Go to http://www.carlsonphotographytc.zenfolio.com/ or you can click on "order prints" from my main website, http://www.carlsonphotographytc.com/.
Monday, January 31, 2011
New Blog
I'm starting up a new blog hoping to continue to add ways to communicate and get the word out about Carlson Photography and what we offer. Here I'll be able to share recent work, new products, specials and other news. More to come soon....
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