This has been a wonderful Week of The Young Child this year.  Horatio and I just came back from a balloon release at Waverly’s Courthouse lawn.  There wasn’t a huge turnout, but there were a lot more people who needed to be there than in years past (meaning parts of our local government as well as people from TEIS).  Horatio had a big time, and laughed so much just watching the balloons go up. 

Each balloon has a piece of paper inside of it with the Preschools name and phone number with a request to call them if it’s found.  This is to help raise awareness about the need for exceptional early education for children.  I know that I am thrilled to have had my children attend Small Steps Preschool.  The teachers are awesome, the classes are kept small, and they do so much “out side the box” thinking and teaching that it has defiantly helped both my children excel in so many ways.  (Anastasia went into kindergarten knowing how to count to 100, and that’s the goal for children leaving kindergarten. Now she’s way beyond 200 and still going.)

I salute all those teachers, preschool, and kindergarten.  You ladies (and guys) do so much in to help our children grow and learn, and you don’t make nearly enough money doing it.

      As a mother of a child with special needs, I share this with you all.  It is a movement to stop having people referred to as a “retard”.  Even from my youth I can remember the hurt this word carried with all children.  Its demeaning, hurtful, and just plain rude. 

     Having a mental delay is not the end of the world.  It is not a sentance to have a life filled with dread or disappointment.  And it doesn’t mean stupidity.  But far too often people who are ignorant use the word too loosely and end up hurting people without ever knowing what they’ve said was unacceptable.  This comes from upbringing and the general population in a certain area.  Those are reasons, but they are not excuses.  Be wise to the new “R” word in the world…”RESPECT”.

I’m sorry that it has taken me a little bit to get back here, but I’ve been doing a lot of studying about marketing and such for work.  And of course, there’s always work.  The website is still growing by leaps and bounds!  I’m about done adding all the information.  But then come May 1st there will probably prices to change. it will be posted by April 15th if that will be happening.

Do you like Boutique Cards & Announcements?  In our line, we’ve got cards for most every taste.  Here are a few of our favorites!  Just introduced, the Boutique Cards & Announcements are aimed to bring unique and creative options to clients for Weddings, Seniors, Baby Announcements, Graduations, Bridal Showers…any reason or season you have to need a card.  These are sold in sets of 25, with an awesome price break after 101!  Come check them out on the Investment Page of Warren-Photography.com

Next installment – Some common misconceptions about the photography business.

The government has introduced a bill that will make photographers, artists, and musicians of all sorts to “register” their art with a business in order for it not to be considered “orphan work”.  This means artists have to pay someone to say that their work is theirs, and the company can use the art for their own means while at the same time offering it for “royalty free” use.  If the works are not registered with one of these companies then the art is considered “orphan work” and anyone can use it for anything they want, no matter who creates it.  Please, go to this site and read the first 2 posts on how you can contact the representatives in your area to keep this bill from passing and why you would want to.  Because if it does pass, you can be sure that many of the local artists that make this country so unique and amazing will quickly disappear, and those in business will go out of business.

http://jamesschotgallerystudio.com/blog/

Exert:  “You could see photos you take of your family and kids, or of a family vacation, used in a magazine or newspaper without your permission or payment to you. You would have to pay to register your photos, all of them, in every new registry in order to protect them. Say the average person takes 300 photos per year (I take a lot more than that). If a registry only charges $5 per image, that is a whopping $1,500 to protect your photos that are protected automatically under the current laws. If there are three registries, protecting your images could cost an amazing $4,500. Not to mention the time it would take to register every photo you take. Plus, you will also have to place your copyright sign on every photo…..It gets even better. Anyone can submit images, including your images. They would then be excused from any liability for infringement (also known as THEFT) unless the legitimate rights owner (you) responds within a certain period of time to grant or deny permission to use your work.“

Our New Look

As most of you know, the Warren Photography & Photographic Art website has been going through some major renovations lately.  We are happy to announce that the website will be going live on Friday, March 13th.  We are looking bad luck in the face and laughing!  We are going to show that no matter what bad luck may try to throw at us, we will succeed!  So look for the New Look on our site this Friday!  It will be filled with galleries, and samples of the Art in Photographic Art!  And even a place for your comments, which are always welcomed!  We look forward to see you there! 

Warren Photography & Photographic Art Website Goes Live This Friday!

As we continue on into the year, I want to announce our new Maternity Wrap Sessions coming soon!  We are ordering maternity wraps for the portrait sessions this week.  Below is an image of what the wrap looks like (this is not my photo, but a photo from the catalog).   These wraps allow clients to keep their undergarments on, for those of us who aren’t comfortable with completely undressing for maternity portraits (as I know I never was).  Maternity wrap sessions are booked the same as conventional maternity sessions.  The difference is the wrap.  This allows a variation on the button up shirt/jeans open look.  And if you want both looks, we can book that session too! 

Black Maternity Wrap Portrait

The wrap allows for a more intimate portrait, with low key lighting.  These portraits lend themselves wonderfully to be paired with after birth portraits in the same lighting as well as the top or just the bottom wrapped as a sleeveless dress.  Together the before and after birth portraits make a memorable portraits.  We believe using our black and our mottled brown backgrounds will make wonderful images using these wraps.  They are wonderful low light backgrounds.  But we Love doing these portraits in the clinets’ nursery.  Nursery portraits make the most intimate and most endearing images for parents to be.  They also set the basis for a series of images of the child’s first year.  So when booking a maternity session, please consider this idea first! 

Thank you for reading.  Please feel free to contact us regarding booking a session, or if you have any questions.  We will even answer your general photography questions as well.

So now you’ve thought about your local photographer and you want to make sure you’re getting quality photography.  What do you do?  Let’s look at this as what to look for in a photographer.

• 1.  The photographer’s style.  When it comes down to it, all photographers have a style, wheather it’s noticed easily or not.  Like in my example of Parker Pfister, some will use a set of photoshop actions to achieve a desired effect.  Others will only give you what comes strait out of the camera.  Still others will work only in Black & White.  The idea is to find a photographer who’s picutres make you “feel” the right thing about the subject.  Check out a photographers portfoilio, either online or in person.  Look for family portraits that show families that are happy, genuinely happy.  Not the fake smile, but one caught in a moment of near laughter.  Look for wedding images that make your heart feel the couple’s love.  Then look at their style.  Do you like it? Or does it seem too…old, bright, dark…?  If you don’t think you like the portfoilio, the you won’t like your photos taken by that person.  The portfolio is there to show you (in a nutshell) what your photos will look like if you let that photographer take your images.
• 2.  Inquire about the areas they excell.  All photographers can photograph most anything, but that doesn’t mean we should or that we are good at it all.  Ask your photographer what they specialize in.  If you’re looking commercial or event photography, then you should look for one who’s trained in those areas.  I am trained in children (infant – toddler), weddings, and families.  These are the areas I excell.   I also sell stock photos, but usuall within those areas.  You wouldn’t want to hire me to photograph food or bikes.  I can do these things, but I do not excell at them.
• 3.  Look at their price list.  You may think this is obvious, or maybe you don’t worry about price but price is an important factor.  Make sure that the person you’re looking to hire isn’t the cheapest person out there.  Some people think that cheap is good, but when it comes to photography, cheap is cheap.  Ususally a photographer knows their work is a priceless investment and treats it as such.  The photographer who doesn’t appreciate your memories enough to invest in the hightest quality labs and frames isn’t worried if something happens later on either.  You will usually find that photographers have prices to fit many teirs of budgets.  Also, prices of phtographers usually include a archiving cost.  This means they will keep your negatives or digital images, usually for at least 2 years.  That means if your house is flooded or burned, then you can get your photos made again.  Our family suffered a house fire many years ago, and it was the photographs that helped to heal the pain of that event. 
• 4.  Get to know them.  After you have decided on a couple of photographers, ask to have a consutation with them.  Some photographers will do this for free, while others charge for their time.  It will be up to you to decide if you think you can work with the photographer in question. 
• 5.  Don’t settle.  When it comes down to your choice of a photographer, don’t settle on something you think “will do”.  Find who you want and hire them.  If you live in an area with few photographic choices, don’t be afraid to call photographers outside of your immediate area.  You will find some photographers who will be willing to travel to you with little or no additional cost to you.  And there are some photographers, such as myself, who specialize in location photography.  We expect to travel and those costs are incorporated into the quoted fees.
• 6.  Make sure the work is guarenteed.  Most every photographer will give a guarentee of their work.  This can be in the way of a re-shoot (the most common), or refund.  Either way, make sure to pick a photographer who will make sure you are happy with what you are getting from them.  Make sure that the guarentee is in writing.  I could be in the written contract, on the model release form, or on a different page altogether.  Make sure to get a copy of it along with all signed paperwork.

I do hope this helps with your photographer choices.  It may sound a bit overwhelming, but it is easier than it looks.  The investment you make in time will help to pay off with the investment you make in the portraits you receive from your photographer.

I just wanted to let everyone have a chance to chime in on the topics of “shutterbug” photograpers.  I want to know if you have any of these photographers in your area and if shutterbugs have made a difference in the marketplace.  Please, don’t be shy.  The polls do not take your name or any information except your opinion.  I look forward to posting the results in the coming weeks.  Thanks!

The is the last items of my series of the “shutterbug” photographers.  After reading all these if you are not certain whether or not your photographer is a “shutterbug” type, just drop me a line.  I’d be more than happy to help.  I know that just because someone starts as a “shutterbug” photographer doesn’t mean they can’t chose to grow into a better photographer with real skills.  I just don’t want people to pay the professional prices when the talent and knowledge to make great images isn’t there.

• 6.  They use A LOT of photoshopped images.   I’m not talking about the use of collages or even a signature look.  These things are essential to photographers everywhere.  What I’m talking about are the over use, of frames, fake vignetting, sloppy borders, sparkles, and selective colorization.  A professional photographer will try their best to make sure that the image in the camera is as close to the end product as they can achieve.  That includes cropping, and vignetting.  Some professional photographers will use a collection of actions such as grain, color shift, and tweaking for a signature look they have built their business on.  A case in point is Parker J. Pfister.  His images are usually perfectly exposed, but then he uses photoshop and other software to achieve his signature look.  Now a “shutterbug” photographer will use any means to get the photos he or she took to appear more valuable, and that includes the frames and things mentioned before.  I have seen one photographer who used square frames, oval frames, sloppy boarders, sparkles, added grain, vignetting, selective colorization, black & white conversion, sepia conversion, collages, erasing the background for it to appear white, swirls, soft focus, smear, blur, text…the list keeps growing.  Its as if this shutterbug doesn’t even know their own style.  And the customer is the one who pays for their experiments.  Photoshop is a tool, but its more about quality than quantity.
• 7.  Limited knowledge about photography and its history.  I have never known a photographer who didn’t have his or her favorite photographer in history.  And in college, we studied a bit about photographers in the past.  My favorite happens to be Annie Leibovitz.  Her photography amazes me.  And though I don’t strive to have my photography look like hers, it is through her photography that I find inspiration.  Beyond that, the shutterbug may or may not have a favorite photographer.  But the probably cannot tell you the difference in 2200 K light and 4500 K light.  Though not all photographers use the Kelvin light temp, a professional will know about it.  And they can show you the differences between the two.  I know you’re not likely to ask a photographer about this, but what if you ask your photographer, “what’s the best way for me to hold my baby?” or “what color should I wear?” and they reply with, “Oh, however you want” or “It doesn’t matter” or something else that makes photography look too easy for them.  This is knowledge they need.  They need to know how to tell you to hold your baby they can get the shot they are going for. They need to be able to tell you what color would look best on you or your kids in a certain scene.   They need to know how to properly move hands and feet and heads so elbows don’t look fat, and tummys don’t get a bump they don’t have, or hide one they do.  And that leads me to…
• 8.  They don’t know how to pose a person.   I talked about a lack of direction in #3, but now let me discuss the application of bad posing direction.  Posing is an art, in my opinion.  It takes years of doing it to have it become second nature.  But it doesn’t take too much time to see an image and recognize when poor posing has ruined it.  Remember the example I gave in #3 about the senior with bad pictures?  This is why I’m back talking about posing again.  It is the photographers job and responsibility to photograph the best a person is.  Isn’t that what you want hanging on your wall above your fireplace?  I know you’re not okay with a huge 20 x 24 inch image of your family just to have someone looking a little too frumpy or lumpy.  I know I don’t want my photos showing my tummy or other bumps.  And I surely don’t want to be posed in a way that body parts look fat that aren’t fat, like elbows, thighs, and bottoms.  I don’t want my double chin showing either.  And with proper posing, it won’t.  That’s how important posing is.  And when it comes to groups, there are rules of shapes to follow.  If your group photo is all one line, with everyone’s head about the same height, or everyone looks like they blend right in with the background, then its possible that your photographer might be a shutterbug.

Again, I will state that everyone has an opinion, and everyone has their own tastes.  But please, don’t buy cheap photography just because it’s cheap.  Because you don’t want to invest in photographs that you’re embarrassed to hang on a wall.  If professional photographers in your area are too expensive, consider saving up for the investment, because it is an investment.  And if you have your image taken by a “shutterbug” photographer and are not satisfied with the results, demand a re-shoot.  You wouldn’t settle when it comes to your family at any other time, don’t do it now.  If they tell you they don’t do re-shoot without a fee, walk away.  Any photographer who won’t guarentee your happiness with the photos they take doesn’t need the clients.

Yes, I’m back with example numbers 3 thru 5 of “signs that the shutterbug photographer you just hired to take your photos is better at marketing than photography”.  How does that tie in with the first 2 signs of a shutterbug?  Simply that if they weren’t better at marketing, you wouldn’t have hired someone who shoots mediocre pictures, would you?  Of course not!  You’re too smart for that!  So lets read on and see what that shutterbug is up to now…

•        3.  During a session, they fail to give much direction for posing.  Now, let me state that unless the photographer is hired to do journalistic photography, there will always be some sort of posing happening.  Even if it’s just “can you tilt you head left” or “can you lean more on your right leg”.  This posing is at times critical in images.  Recently I found an online photographer that posted a photo of a senior, and as soon I saw it I was mortified for the girl in the image.  I wanted to cry for her.  She was set in a way that made parts of her look larger than they obviously are.  What’s more, the look could have been changed with a simple movement or two, and the basic image would have looked the same without the bulge.  So PLEASE, scan those portfolios and galleries for people who have parts and pieces you think you wouldn’t want showing.  The reason is, photographers ask clients what they are worried about and we take care of it – we don’t just shoot how people are standing and hope for the best. 
•     4.  Lots of dark areas in the photo.  The dark I am talking about here is the exposure of the image.  Photos should be exposed in a balanced way.  That’s why you’ll see photographers use flashes in the sun; it balances out the shadow made by direct sunlight.  When there are underexposed areas, like the ones in image 1 below, you don’t get the best photo.  The sky is a pretty blue, but the boy’s face is too dark.  And there are no catch-lights in his eyes.  I can tell you now that if his mom sees that photo on this blog it will be the first time she’s seen it.  Like I have said before, when these bad images happen, these “mediocre” pictures occur, you should never see them in a proof book, a portfolio, or a gallery.  Now compare it to the one on the right .  It’s almost the exact same image, but it’s properly exposed.  This example happens in studios too.  What you need to look for is an overall darker image.  In image number 3 you can clearly see the photo is too dark, but number 4 is too dark too.  You can’t see where the boy’s shirt ends and the backdrop begins.  Another example of an under exposed image would be if the whole images looks too dark even with a flash.
• 
• 5.  Their prices are extremely low, or they change their prices more than once a year.   The low price comes from the inexperience and perhaps insecurity.  The idea (and I’ve read the articles that have been SOLD to these people telling them how to do this, so I’m not just making this up) is that once you get your base of images then you start charging.  You get your base by holding “free image give-a-ways”.  After you become “popular” enough, you can increase your prices.  You continue to increase your prices to the local market norm or whatever you want, just so long as they remember that the higher they go, the less work they will get.  But they need to remember that setting the “low price” standard is already in the minds of their original purchasers. 

I will continue the last of this “shutterbug” installment tomorrow, and I will also begin to tell you what you need to look for in a professional photographer in your area.  So then you’ll know what to look for as well as what to stay away from.  I hope this has been informational to those 16 people out there who’ve read it so far.  Just remember, mediocre is an opinion, and if you’re not truly in love with that image of your kids, or how your engagement photos came out, perhaps they were shot by a “shutterbug”.