Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Very Sweet Maternity Session

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to do a family session.  Imagine my suprise (my inner photographer jumping up and down) when it turned into a super sweet maternity session!  I love the mom-to-be's perfect ball of a belly.  I'm glad we got to capture these images for them, since the new bundle of joy arrived a few days later.  I even get to photograph the little newborn in the studio today.  I am so excited and can't wait to see what she looks like on the other side of that belly.  Congratulations!








Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Business Side of Things

Photography is one of the most difficult businesses to be successful in.  It is very similar to being a musician, in that one's chances of becoming rich and/or famous, or even just successful enough to earn a living are teeny-tiny.  Also similar, is the amount of hours spent studying, learning, practicing, and editing.  It's no wonder that both of these professions are my passion!  The problem with both of them is time.  Anyone who wants to make it in this business needs to be prepared for a lot of self-sacrifice, and have a lot of time available.  My problem is that time is the one area where I come up short.

As a busy mother of two, running my own business, and earning a Master's degree, I rarely have time to sleep - much less concern myself with learning photo editing programs and website design.  There are aspects of my business that need improvement, and I love the fact that I am getting motivation and learning valuable information from other photographers in the field.  I hope in the upcoming months that I will be able to take the time to improve in each of the necessary aspects in order to really push myself up on another level. 

For myself and anyone else learning who is wanting to join the business, the most important advice I can give is to learn, learn, learn everything possible.  And then practice it.  Over and over. 

The internet is a vast array of information.  There are tons of tutorials and demonstrations and even schools out there that are free.  All of these are worth checking out.  I have been taking my own advice as of late, and here are some of the websites and blogs I have been checking out:

http://www.smugmug.com/ - This is the website that I use for my photo galleries and professional printing.  I <3 Smugmug!  They are awesome!  It is entirely possible to create a complete webpage through this company, but again - I am lacking in that department.  My website is one of those things that I really want to sort out and improve upon. 

Speaking of websites - another great way to create a professional website is through a Blogsite - just like this one. http://www.blogspot.com/ is where I am at now.  It requires purchasing a domain name through another site such as godaddy.com, but then it is possible to create your own website through them.  (Again - I haven't sorted out the actual how yet.  As soon as I do, I promise to share.)

Another great site I've found for photographers that is affordable it http://www.bludomain.com/ They have templates available for purchase that are specifically made for photographers.  They look great and easy to use.  Where were they a couple of years ago when I was banging my head against the wall trying to build a website???

It sucks that I just renewed my website for another two years.  I did it out of necessity since I didn't have the time to sort out all these options.  Although - how did I find out about all of these options, you ask?  There's a great weath of photographer blogs and awesomeness on the web where people are really willing to help each other.  One place I just joined is http://www.iheartfaces.com/ It is a community of photographers who help other photographers through tutorials, community, forums, contests, and more.  I have just started to tap into the wealth of information on there.

My favorites for camera gear: http://www.adorama.com/ and http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

And finally, some awesome blogs with some fabulous photography:
www.rootweddings.com/blog
http://www.studio222photography.com/blog/
http://thearthurclan.com/
http://www.amywenzel.com/

There's tons more blogs and info to share, but I have several hours of editing and uploading ahead of me!  I will try to incorporate more information as I learn it, since it has been other photographers who have been so helpful to me. 

Of course I can't post a blog without pictures, so here's a peek of what's to come:


Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Secret Wedding


How perfect is this wedding for Valentine's Day? I loved everything about this wedding - from the bride's flowing beachy dress to the simplicity of it all.  It was beautiful, intimate, and full of meaning.  After all, the whole point of a wedding is the fact that two become husband and wife at the end of the day.  In order to keep it simple, they hid the wedding from their family and friends.  It was a great surprise to everyone, and I am grateful that I got to capture their secret for them to share with the world.  
Congratulation to Jennifer and Marcos!  It was about time you finally tied the knot!

Find us on the web at www.timelessmemoriesarcadia.com and check out our photo galleries.

You can also find me on facebook HERE

Sunset

I love sunsets, and so does my husband.  We are always trying to capture their beauty on camera.  (Which is easier said than done.)  I make it a point to get one about once a week.  Lucky for us, we live in flat Florida, so the sky goes on for miles and miles.  For some reason this time of year we get some great orange-y ones.  I think it has something to do with the cooler weather and the position the earth is in.  All science aside though, my best pics come from February and March. Tonight (technically last night now) was no exception.  I was out photographing a beach wedding and couldn't bring myself to leave until it was dark.  Check out these pics and you'll understand why. 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Warning: Lots of Pictures Ahead!

I have been a super busy girl, and I have been fortunate enough to photograph everywhere from Tampa, to Disney World, to Plant City, to Punta Gorda, and here in small 'ole Arcadia.  It has been fun and fabulous, and I have loads of pictures to share (and even more to edit and process at home).  The worst part in all of this is that I have been without internet for about a week.  Yuck!  I felt completely cut off from the world.  I couldn't drool over other photographers' pictures, I couldn't look up how to do certain edits in photoshop, I couldn't do my homework, and I couldn't play on facebook. Oh, the horrors of it all!  I have decided that internet is one of those things that I can never live without.  ;)

Now that the internet, and all order, has been restored in my life...I bring you these beautiful wedding pictures from Ashley and Will Free.  I love that they just let me do my thing, and I pretty much had free reign over their pictures.  They also did a first look before the wedding, and we were able to get some great bridal portraits before it got crazy.  It was a delight to work with them through the whole process! 

I think that I was able to get a good mix of formal portraits, fun candid shots, emotions, and details.  In a wedding, it's ALL about the details.  I love, love, love some of the facial expressions, shoe shots, and the funky camera angle while the couple was doing their first dance.  It caught a bubble that looked like a heart with no photoshop help at all.    The tired flowergirl is just precious, and I love the colors captured in that picture.  It was a wonderful wedding, and I wish Ashley and Will a lifetime of wedded bliss.