Happy Birthday Clarke

Eighteen years later, I still remember getting the phone call. I had never really been excited about a child being born before. After all, kids never really meant anything to me before. But I was overjoyed to get that phone call.

I instantly began to plan a mini road trip to meet you. You were coming home on Friday. I didn't care that traffic going toward Richmond would be horrible. I didn't care that I would have to leave straight from work. I didn't even care about plans that I already made for the weekend. I had someone special to meet. You!

I could go on and on about how much I miss you. How much I know that your parents miss you, but I want to focus on some other things. I want to talk about how happy I am that you were in my life at all. You helped me understand that children can be a joy. I learned that I could change a diaper. I could hold a baby without harming it. I could be around a child without counting the minutes for it to be gone.

You don't know how much joy and happiness you brought into my life. Other people know about most of the achievements that you had. They don't realize that you, by being you, changed me forever and for the better. You started me on a path to being able to be a parent. You walked for me on the day that I became a husband. And you showed everyone how to be the life of a party.

I thank God for you being in my life. Happy birthday Clarke! I love you and I miss you.

Going Green

Ok, this has NOTHING to do with photography. I just wanted to take a moment to talk about going green. Specifically, going green with automobiles.

Now I know that many people think that hybrid cars are wonderful for the environment. But are they really?

Most hybrids use Nickel batteries. Nickel mining is a really filthy process which generates a lot of greenhouse gases. Plus, the nickel is mined one place, trucked, shipped and trucked to a processing plant. Then trucked, shipped and trucked to car factories. So, by the time that Toyota Prius is built, it has already made the evironmental impact of a mid-sized SUV.

Save the planet, buy a clean diesel!

What About the Details?

I was talking to a potential, out-of-town, client last week and she asked a really interesting question. "What about the details? Do you take pictures of the details?" Now, this question surprised me a bit. Not because the details aren't important, but because I thought that I did a decent job of showing details on my website. What is missing? After all, details are subjective since everyone has a different point of view when it comes to what little things are important to them.

So, as our conversation continued, she listed some of the details she was concerned about. Specifically, her maid of honor, the flower girls, her brother, etc. Now, I do understand the importance of those people and other details in every wedding. However, I also know that most people look at websites to overall photography and how the bride and groom are shown. But how do you show things like that on a website. Unless you were there, how do you identify anyone other than the bride and groom? (Okay, the flower girl and ring bearer are fairly easy to identify).

Now I have a quandary. What should I do to my website to better demonstrate what we do? Do I add a bunch of new pictures that show some of the smaller details from ceremonies, receptions and preparation? And, if I do add new pictures, what do people want to see? Well??? What is the answer?

The average person glances at a photographer's website to see something appealing to them. Once the see something of interest, the take more time to look around. If I show too many detail shots, some people may wonder if I spend all of my time looking for little things instead of catching the important moments of the bride and groom. We already know what some folk may think if I leave it as is.

The problem is that details are subjective as there are many things that should be captured at every wedding. The basics are the flowers, the brides dress, the rings, the ceremony location, the reception venue and more.

I have included a few details in this post and will add some more to my website as well. They range from the beautiful (flowers and engagement ring) to the funny (the ring-bearer who needs a restroom). Remember that EVERYTHING about a wedding is important. We try to capture as much as is humanly possible. From the design aspects of the ceremony decorations to the emotions of the ceremony itself. This continues through the rest of the day

Of course, there is no substitute for communication. Make sure that all of your important details are known before your day begins and you should see all of them when you get your pictures back.

Kristen & Edwin

My trip down memory lane is in no particular order.   In fact some of the weddings that I plan to post about are from before 2008 (after all, I just started writing this blog).

Anyway, enter Kristen and Edwin.

Kristen was the definition of the relaxed bride.  While many brides sweat every detail about their wedding day,  Kristen focused on the major components and seemed to let everything else fall in line as time progressed.

They had a small intimate wedding in Alexandria, Virginia in mid October.  It was unseasonably warm on their day and other than a bit too much sun, it was absolutely beautiful (yes I know I say that a lot, but these are my favorite weddings, so what else would you expect?).  

But, lets set the way-back machine back to one week before the wedding.  I met up with the happy couple outside of the White House for an engagement session.  Yes, I said the White House.  The groom decided to propose to his bride there and she couldn't think of a better place to take engagement pictures.  We started there (in the middle of all of the tourists taking pictures and looking around), then we strolled down to the monuments to continue with the session.  

Note to all couples who like this idea. Sunday is definitely the best day to take pictures in DC.  There are several terrific locations to use around the monuments, so the question is how far do you feel like walking and how do you handle crowds.  Most people are polite and give you a little space to take what you desire as long as you don't take very long to do it.  The results were pretty outstanding.

Now, back to the wedding day.  So, we have some engagement photos.  What do we do with them?  Kristen told me what her favorite shots were and one of them was enlarged, matted and mounted in a frame.  The guests for the wedding signed or wrote a note to the couple as they picked up their candle, placed their seeds and went to their seats.  

Yes, I said candles and seeds.  They were integral elements of the wedding ceremony.  The guest placed seeds in a pot.  This symbolized the sowing of seeds that leads to the fruitful growth of marriage.  The candles were ultimately used to light the unity candle.  The Best Man carried a lit votive to the guests seated last row. They, in turn, lit the candles of the guests in front of them.  This continued until the flames reached the mothers of the bride and groom. Once their candles were lit, they lit the candles that represented the two families.

I love it when I get to see something new/unique and the seeds and candles was a very unique element in this wedding. 

The rest of the evening was filled with family, friends, food, music, dancing and celebration.  We ended the evening with a portrait of the newlyweds under the moon.  Truly lovely indeed.

There will be more weddings from 2008 soon.

New Year Babies

I know that I was strolling down memory lane, talking about some of the great weddings from 2008. But how can you start out the new year without talking about babies? After all, isn't the unofficial symbol of the new year a baby? They always report on the first baby of the year, but never the last. Interesting, but I digress.

One of the more interesting aspects of photography is taking pictures of pregnant women and young children. I'm sure that you've seen the standard hands on the belly or the hands forming a heart on the belly of a pregnant woman. These are often very beautiful images. However, there are many other artistic options as well.

Photographers are observers as well as authors of a sort. A photojournalist communicates what he or she sees through the images that he/she captures (okay, I guess I should have said that this is what I do, but lets hope that its universal).

There are so many different ways to view a pregnant woman or happy couple that I still find new inspirations. I believe that it is important for everyone to have a pregnancy portrait. There are a number of memories in our lives. And the pending birth of a child is one of them. Most women don't really appreciate how beautiful they are when pregnant. And, unfortunately, most of us men fail to tell them how beautiful and special they are when they need to hear it the most. That's where the pictures come in. They are a permanent memory.

So, for all of the pregnant women out there, the soon to be pregnant, happily pregnant couples, etc. Get out there and have some pictures taken, or take your own. Find something to make your pictures unique to you and have fun taking them.

Anjie & Wayne

I had a lot of great weddings in 2008. As I sit back and reflect on last year, a few of my great customers/friends come to mind.

Anjie & Wayne are a great couple. They got married in August of 2008 in Harrisburg, PA.

I can't say enough about their day. Everything seemed to cooperate with them. When something seemed to go wrong, the solution ended up improving their plans. The weather threatened and it actually rained heavily during the ceremony (which was planned to be indoors). However, when the ceremony ended and everyone went outside to watch the dove release, there was no sign of rain. In fact, you couldn't even tell that it had poured earlier.

After the ceremony, dove release and formal portraits, we all went to Italian Lake Park for some additional portraits with the entire bridal party. There is nothing better than having a cooperative group of people who care about the bride and groom. They did everything that I asked without complaint and we ended up taking some great photos. I was truly impressed when I asked them all to take a Jump for Joy. I was certain that the picture would be phenomenal, if I could time it just right.

That was our last shot with the full bridal party. Everyone except the bride and groom went to the reception. Anjie, Wayne and I went to the state capital to take more pictures. At times like this, I just let the couple set the pace and Anjie and Wayne didn't disappoint. We had the capital plaza to ourselves and I placed the couple in front of the fountain and let them do their own thing. They enjoyed themselves, I had fun and the limo driver relaxed and watched things unfold.

The rest of the evening was wonderful. We arrived at the reception ready to party. The guests were seated, the bridal party entered and Anjie & Wayne had their first dance together as a married couple. There were several heart-warming toasts along with the groom sharing the story of how he and Anjilla arrived at this day. Guests ate, danced and enjoyed cake. Anjie & Wayne laughed, cried tears of joy and partied until the very end. Fun was had by all (even me).

Senior Portraits

Once upon a time, a senior portrait was a plain image of a student in a cap and gown in front of a bland background (usually blue). Things progressed a little when students were allowed to wear anything they wished for the photo, but it was still in front of a plain background.

Well, things don't have to be like that anymore. Of course, you can still go with the school's approach and stick with the normal school portrait. Or, you can connect with a photographer like me and get something that is a lot more.

Portraits like these give a better view into the student's personality and are a lot more fun to take and share. Naturally, mom and/or dad come along to see the session as it progresses, but the freedom of being able to be in a favorite location or to wear more than one outfit makes having a picture taken that much more fun.

I do senior portraits in a number of local parks as well as around the grounds of the student's school. The sessions also include electronic copies of all of the images for use on personal web pages and the school's official yearbook. Parents also have the option of buying a keepsake book of the pictures or a signature book that can be used to gather memories and messages from the student's friends. And friends and family can look at the pictures online.

So, when you are thinking about student or senior photos, keep this new option in mind. I'm sure that you will love the results.