First Wedding

The wedding I assisted with on Saturday night was fantastic. I learned so much that I had to write it down the next morning so I wouldn't forget. I really want to thank Jim Landers, from Landers Photography, for letting me tag along. He has been in business for 10 years and really knows what he's doing. Best of all, he is willing to teach me.

Some of the skills I am picking up from him:
-Where to position myself during the wedding for the important shots.
-When to use the tripod and when it isn't necessary.
-How to set my camera settings for different situations.

There are just a few more equipment items I need before I shoot my first wedding on my own, but I'm a lot more confident that I can do a good job than I was before. And it is even more fun than I ever imagined.

Cramming

I've been working hard lately, trying to learn as much as I can about Photoshop and photography, teaching myself for the most part using the internet, books and instructional videos. Its been slow but steady, and I've really come a long way since two years ago, when I didn't know what the difference was between a point and shoot camera and an SLR.

Today however, things are starting to jump into gear! First, I finally found a photographers workshop that is not too far away and within my budget. It seems that each time I come across one that I think I would really benefit from, it is across the country, or the fee is $3000 plus travel expenses. That might be a reasonable expenditure 5 years from now, but not now.

So this fantastic workshop is right up my alley, it teaches wedding specific techniques for capturing those magic moments, photoshop shortcuts to get the images color corrected without spending all day on one image, and business marketing advice. I can't wait!

And now the best part, I'll be assisting one of SA's top photographers at a wedding tonight. On the job training, at no cost to me. What a deal! I'll have the opportunity to take photos with my camera and help Jim if he needs me and mostly just absorb every single move he makes. I'm a bit nervous, but mostly very excited.

I have at least one wedding planned for early next year, and I am already preparing for it. The bride's name is Casey Urbanowski, and she is the sister of my friend Donna. I'm so flattered that she hired me, especially knowing that it will be my first wedding. It will be here before I know it, and I don't want to let them down.

Well, those are some of the things I'm working on lately for Ever After. Hopefully the effort is visible in the quality of my images, as I learn and grow. I want to say thank you to my friends and clients for taking the journey with me, and for all the encouragement and referrals I've been getting. You're the best!

We are halfway through birthday season at our house. We have one birthday every month from July until December, and then we finish it all off with Christmas and New Years. Tj was the last of the boys; he turned 4 on Friday. The girls are next, beginning with Morgan in October. Whew!

We had a swimming party at my moms house, and it a lot of fun for everyone. I wish I could hire a photographer, though. It is so hard to get good photos when you are busy trying to be the hostess, too.

I've had a few people inquire about my services for birthday parties lately, and I really encourage anyone who is considering it to go ahead and give me call. Besides freeing up your time during the party, I will be able to focus on one thing, creating images of the important moments. As an added bonus, you get to actually be included in the photos! It's always the mom who puts the party together, and then gets left out of the photographs because she is behind the camera.


Here is the the birthday boy:


It's really hard to take a bad photo of Laney.

"Happy Birthday, Dear Trevor..."
This is my dad, chillin on the porch.

The kids were worn out by the end of the party.











My parents hosted the party at their house, and they really put in a lot of work to make everything nice. Thanks Mom and Dad. You're the best!

New at Ever After

I'm very excited to announce my new Package Pricing for Ever After Photography! The prices are already in effect, and the very first client that I offered it to purchased one. I believe the packages will make it easier to narrow the image selection process when ordering prints.

I've put together fairly standard packages, and worked in a really nice discount. Unfortunately, the packages are not available if ordering online. In that case, my regular a-la-carte prices apply. You can get around this by sending me an email with your order after viewing them online.


The Ariana Package

Two 16x20 Custom Wall Portraits (retail $110)
Three 11x14 Custom Wall Portraits (retail $105)
Two 10x20 Custom Storyboards (retail $130)
Eight 8x10 Gift Portraits (retail $120)
Twelve 5x7 Gift Portraits (retail $120)
Forty-eight Wallets (retail $72)

Plus three custom made DVD Slideshows and a 20% discount off additional prints.

Total Retail Value $807
Price $607
Save $200


The Brittany Package

One 16x20 Custom Wall Portraits (retail $55)
Two 11x14 Custom Wall Portraits (retail $70)
One 10x20 Custom Storyboards (retail $65)
Six 8x10 Gift Portraits (retail $90)
Ten 5x7 Gift Portraits (retail $100)
Twenty-eight Wallets (retail $42)

Plus two custom made DVD Slideshows and a 10% discount off additional prints.

Retail $522
Price $372
Save $150


The Courtney Package

Two 11x14 Custom Wall Portraits (retail $70)
One 10x20 Custom Storyboard (retail $65)
Five 8x10 Gift Portraits (retail $75)
Eight 5x7 Gift Portraits (retail $80)
Twenty Wallets (retail $30)

Plus one custom made DVD Slideshow and a 10% discount off additional prints.

Retail $370
Price $270
Save $100


The Darcy Package

One 11x14 Custom Wall Portrait (retail $35)
Three 8x10 Gift Portraits (retail $45)
Six 5x7 Gift Portraits (retail $60)
Sixteen Wallets (retail $24)
Ten 4x6 Prints (retail $40)

Retail $204
Price $154
Save $50


A la Carte

16x20 $55
11x14 $35
8x10 $15
5x7 $10
4x6 $4
DVD Slideshow $50

My son Garrett had his first soccer game on Saturday. It was a muddy mess in the parking lot and on the sides of the field, but the kids had a blast. They really did a great job of attacking the ball and using their skills, even though they have only had one practice together!

You wouldn't believe who had the most fun. It was Coach Alan! He's the best coach I've ever seen; I think he was born to be a coach. He and Chip are both coaches for our team, even though neither of them know a thing about soccer. Even so, they believe the most important thing is for the kids to have fun, and that is what makes it so great. The thing about Alan is that he's so affectionate and positive and never holds back on the compliments. He hugs the kids and really connects with them. He is amazing.

I don't think its that he consciously tries to be so positive, it is that he truly only sees the good in things, and he always lets you know how good something makes him feel. I love having him over for dinner because he acts like its the best food he's ever had. Hey Alan, I'm cooking enchiladas tonight. Wanna come over?

More photos...

OK, here are the remaining photos from the previous post. I swear I'm going to switch to another blog service soon-blogger is too hard to work with sometimes.



These are photos of Wesley, Laney and Benjamin at the coast...









The big highlight of our weekend was when someone right in front of us caught a stingray with his fishing pole. The tail had been cut off (or bit off), so he was harmless. We looked at him for a while, and then he was thrown back into the ocean by the man who caught him (I think it was a he, how can you tell on a stingray?) Really weird coincidence that Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray the same day.


Look at how well it blends in with the wet sand. Scary!

Beach Blanket Bingo

Chip and I took the kids to the coast for Labor Day weekend, and this time I remembered my camera! Yea me! I was hoping to be at the beach at sunset to capture some beautiful shots, but after a long day in the sun, we couldn't last a couple of hours longer. It dosen't matter, I still managed to get some keepers, and I did a better job than usual at getting my exposures right on the money, inspite of the bright sunlight and glare from the sand.























We got to hang out with our friends...







...and watch the kids play with their friends. Well, darn. I've been trying for 3 days to post some more photos, but blogger won't let me, so I'll do it in another post.

Better than a Blackberry

This is the organizing system I'm using right now. After several missed appointments lately and repeated over-scheduling, I'm going back to using plain old paper for my calander.

I found this online, and it works for me. Its called PocketMod, you choose the templates you want for each page, print it onto one single sheet of paper, fold it up, and there you go. Beautiful!

It must be love....

We just returned from our weekend trip to the coast and I have a million photos to edit and post, but this one from a couple of weeks ago can't wait. We were at a birthday party, and apparently Nicolas has a girlfriend, my daughter Morgan! This isn't the first photo of the two of them acting very cozy with each other.

Action shots

Yesterday was my son Garrett's first soccer practice. It was too cute. I got a few good shots, but the best ones were of my friend April's kids.





Our first game is in a week, so I'll have more soon.

Happy Birthday, Danielle!

Last night I had dinner out with my girlfriends, as we celebrated Danielle's birthday. I laughed so hard at one point that I had tears in my eyes. The food was fabulous, and we even had two bottles of wine sent to our table. It was a great night.

Carrie, Gina and Danielle are coaching me on how to develop a taste for red wine, and I got plenty of practice. Too much, in fact. Now I'm going to go lay down and wait for my Advil to kick in.