Brandywine Creek State Park, Wilmington, Delaware
Monday, August 25 2008 - 0 comments
My hubby and I drove out to Brandywine Creek State Park on Saturday so I could take some test shots to prepare for an upcoming Wedding next Saturday. I couldn't get over how beautiful the views were or how amazing the light was streaming through the trees. I can just picture the wedding there next weekend and am so excited to shoot it. I'm so lucky that Peter was willing to sit still long enough for me to get some practice in. Posing for pictures is not on the top of his list of favorite things to do. Two of my favorite images (the first is my background wallpaper right now):3 days til my Canon 5D...
Sunday, August 24 2008 - 0 comments
arrives! I've known for quite some time that I've needed to get a backup camera. I've actually been having nightmares about it. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I'd actually wake up in the morning thinking I had somehow ruined a wedding or portrait session because my camera had failed. Died. Kicked the bucket. These dreams made absolutely no sense because my current camera, a Canon 400d (Rebel XTI) has had absolutely NO PROBLEMS what so ever. But despite the reality of no problems, my head and my heart were starting to panic. I'd been thinking of upgrading for a while. Ok, I'll be honest. I've been thinking of upgrading practically since the day I got my XTI last fall. I guess that's the geek in me - when you get your new toy - oops, gadget - you start thinking of the next cool toy - oops again, piece of equipment - that you can get/afford next. The first camera I was drawn to was the Canon EOS 5D . I was not, however, drawn to the price. So I looked at other cameras. As I am just starting out professionally, I decided it would make sense for me to look at the competitors, Nikon, Olympus, etc... I shot with a Nikon when I was a second shooter with the Englers back in July at the DuPont Country Club. It was pretty easy to use and I did like it. However, it wasn't a Canon. And I love my Canon. I loved my previous film Canon cameras. So, despite the fact that I became an "official business" only a few months ago, I've shot for years with Canon. I knew I really wanted a Canon. The camera below the Canon 5D spec-wise and price-wise is the 40D or the 30D depending on sales and who you ask in the business. I did my research and read countless reviews, etc... and both had decent comments from users all over the world. But neither one is a full-frame camera - which means no cropping! - and I really wanted my next camera to be a full-frame camera. So I put the thought of upgrading to the back of my head for now. Realistically, it just wasn't in the cards financially at the moment. The most important thing to me, personally, as I build my business, is that I am financially smart about it. That means that I don't go out and buy the latest and greatest just because it's the latest and greatest, and it also means that I hold myself to a strict, and I mean strict, cash only budget. But earlier last week, my Mom called and wanted to know what my plans were in regards to having a backup camera for my upcoming wedding. I so wanted to tell her, "Don't worry Mom, I have it covered" because I was embarrassed to admit that I didn't have a real backup yet. Don't get me wrong, my little Sony point and shoot ROCKS, but I was trying to avoid thinking about the possibility of yanking it out during a reception (although in those dreams I mentioned about I did and it was a TERRIBLE experience). So I fessed up. I admitted I didn't have one yet. My Mom was so supportive. She always is, as is my Dad. I frequently feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have parents like mine. They never judge, they just give advice (sometimes too much, but they wouldn't be parents if they didn't have a lot of advice, right?) and sometimes offer their life experiences as compared to my circumstances. They both really wanted me to have a backup camera. And after a lot of convincing on her part, and a few questions on mine, we came to agree on common ground: my backup dream needed to become a reality. My 5D arrives Wednesday. I am so blessed.Meeting Clients at White Marsh, lunch at the Blue Crab Grill
Friday, August 22 2008 - 0 comments
Driving on I-95 South this morning around 9AM I was singing at the top of my lungs. I absolutely love to sing and have probably one of the most terrible voices on the planet. As a result, I don't typically sing in public. In fact, I avoid it. However, for some reason, my self-consciousness about my terrible singing voice fades away in the presence of my hubby Peter or my parents. I guess I figure they have to appreciate my voice (or suffer through the agony as I've been told) because they love me. I sing a lot in the car. But I take my singing to a whole new level during the Christmas season - i.e. the day after Turkey Day until the first of the New Year. Then I'm belting out carols like you would not believe. Sigh, makes me wish for the holidays just thinking about it. So when Coldplay's Viva La Vida came on, I sang at the top of my lungs - to all the words I knew that is. It totally doesn't stop me from singing if I don't know all of the words - I just keep on signing and hum along when I don't know the words. This makes Peter laugh for some reason. Not sure why. This happens to be my current favorite photo processing song. I crank it up and play it while working in Photoshop and Lightroom, but I digress. So the reason for me driving on I-95 South this morning was because I was driving to White Marsh, Maryland to meet Alison and Jon at the Panera Bread for coffee. I'm shooting their wedding in Westminster, Maryland in October and I'm so excited about it! It's really important for me to meet clients in person, so I try really hard to make it happen if possible. I think it's extremely important for couples (together is a plus!) to meet with their photographer prior to their wedding day because it will help them make a better connection before the actual day when so much will be going on. I don't want to be a new face on a couple's wedding day, it's important to me that they know who I am and that they have an idea of my style (from checking out images posted here on my blog and on my photography site ) because I think this will put them more at ease for pictures. I'll save the awesome details about Alison and Jon's day for after the wedding, but suffice it to say that I learned what an Emu is and I'm going to get to shoot some on their wedding day! How cool is that? After meeting at Panera Bread, I made a quick run over to IKEA to pick up some new lamps for my classroom. I think I've mentioned somewhere on here that I'm a high school teacher? I teach Web Design to 10th and 11th grade students and we started back to work this past week with professional development sessions (i.e. "teacher school"). Students start back this coming Monday. I'm in a new room this year and I prefer to use as little overhead lighting as possible (way too harsh!), so I was thrilled to find a really cool (and cheap!) lamp at IKEA. It's actually two lamps in one that come apart. I can't find a picture online so I'll have to post one once I set them up in my room this coming week. From IKEA, it was back to I-95, this time North, to meet with my friends Arline and Eva at the Blue Crab Grill off of Elkton Road in Delaware. It was so great so see both of them. I've gotten together with Eva somewhat recently, but haven't seen Arline, so it was a treat to get together with both of them. I hadn't been to the Blue Crab before and found it to be really tasty! I had a Crab Cake sandwich and three of us split an incredibly rich Key Lime Pie for dessert. There went the diet. Again. Oh well, Peter and I will be hitting the gym again this Sunday. I had an amazing, crazy wonderful thing, happen this afternoon. I'll tell you about it tomorrow!Fast Track Photographer Networking, Weekend Plans
Friday, August 15 2008 - 0 comments
I joined a group of amazing individuals known as Fast Track Photographers in late May, early June. It has been awesome to network with people who are in a similar business situation as me - i.e. just starting out. Others are revamping their businesses or rediscovering their purpose. Today we had our first Skype conference call. While chatting in the forums has been invaluable, it was extra cool to put a voice with a face/name. While my Skype crashed on me half way through, I felt like I participated in something important and am looking forward to doing it again soon. I'm so excited about the next month. I'm shooting three weddings! It's hard to believe I just typed that (and you should see me when I gleefully say (ok, shout!) it out loud to Peter). I've "officially" been in business only a few months and I feel like I've learned so much in just these short months. I'm so fortunate to have met (some in person, some just online so far) amazing couples who are putting their trust in me to shoot their weddings. This weekend we are headed down to Dover on Saturday to have lunch with my parents. Not too much else is planned, we're just enjoying a weekend of fun and family. I've recruited Peter to take my picture for me - I'm working on another site that I'll be unveiling soon and it needs just the right image. I'm starting up my self-paced (i.e. by myself with a workbook) language courses again. I've studied Czech off and on for almost 8 years and it makes me sad that I didn't learn enough to truly converse with Aunt Zdena before she passed this past month. I'm thinking that I'll put aside set time(s) and day(s) of the week for me to practice, just like going to real school, to keep myself motivated.trying before I buy AKA testing out new glass
Thursday, August 07 2008 - 0 comments
I've always been a fan of trying before I buy, especially when it comes to expensive equipment, whether it be a new computer, mobile phone, or any other gadget-y type item. However, my trying before I buy was usually because I was either testing it (I've beta tested various gadgets like phones in the past), or because a friend let me borrow it. I was never keen on the idea of renting because to me renting seemed like throwing money into a bucket with a hole at the bottom. Recently, though, I was referred to a camera gear rental site called Borrow Lenses and just placed an order this morning. I've been thinking about picking up a decent wide angle lens, and decided to try this one out: It's a Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5. It had the widest angle of all the lens I was looking at on the site and had great reviews on a few of the other sites I checked out. The only potential negative is that it is a EF-S lens which means that it will work with my camera (a 400D/xti), but will not work on other full frame cameras. That doesn't matter to me right now, but I am strongly considering upgrading to a 5D soon so at that point this lens wouldn't work on it. I'm excited to check it out though and since renting it costs about $90 as compared to purchasing it on Amazon for $700 I think I will rent it for now!a girls lunch and meeting a soon-to-be bride!
Friday, July 18 2008 - 0 comments
I met with two of my closest friends, Arline and Eva, today for lunch at Iron Hill. I love getting together with these girls. We met while teaching last year and we are the most unlikely bunch of friends you'd ever meet - our backgrounds are way different. Arline is ex-military, Eva's background is healthcare and law, and mine is a bit of everything education and technology-related. So what do you get when you put three funny friends in a booth together after not having been together for like a month? You get this, a crazy picture that resulted from turning a water glass upside down and using a point and shoot with a timer - crazy awful in its awkward angle and weird light, but awesome at the same time. Afterwards I met with my newest client, Alison. I am shooting her wedding on the 30th of August at Brandywine Creek State Park. I am so excited about this wedding - she's such a cool girl and has an amazing vision for her wedding - a 1950s, vintage-style theme, with cool details, the whole nine yards. It's clear she is so excited but truthfully I think I am as excited as her because I absolutely love the theme - I know I'm going to spend the next month researching images from the 1950s, and I already have a ton of ideas. I get the feeling this wedding is going to be all about the detail shots and I can't wait!ordered my business cards from WHCC today
Thursday, July 10 2008 - 0 comments
aren't they cute? I went with a really simple layout but decided to create them in this portrait style as opposed to horizontal because I think it will make my card stand out a bit from all the other cards people carry - at least that's the hope!getting ready to print with WHCC and giving Craig's List a go
Wednesday, July 09 2008 - 1 comments
I just uploaded my test prints to White House Custom Colour today. Before you can order anything from them, they have a process where you upload some test prints to make sure the color settings on your monitor are meshing well with their color settings - I think that's a good policy. I'd hate to order a ton of prints and get them back all funky looking. I've been doing some thinking lately about how I want my business to grow. I'm definitely a big fan of the slow and steady as opposed to boom out of the gate sprinting (because those who know me know that I DO NOT RUN! haha). I'm trying to think not only of what I'd like to shoot right now (couples and families lifestyle sessions, engagements, that sort of thing) and what I'd like to shoot later - weddings. I know that I want to shoot weddings because I had a great time this past Sunday, but I know that I'm not ready to handle a wedding by myself. I hope to do some more second shooting throughout the year at weddings to get more practice. After thinking about the whole growing aspect, I did some research into advertising. The first place I thought of was "The Knot" because I know that like a zillion Brides are on there - but - and this is a pretty big "but" - it's definitely not inexpensive (at least in my opinion), i.e. it's not free to advertise. I'm not prepared to pay a monthly advertising fee until I actually shoot some real i.e. "paying" sessions. So I decided to give "Craig's List" a try. Peter could not stop laughing when I told him this - he considers Craig's List to not be on the up-and-up, or as my students would call it "shady". Now I know there are plenty of scams and schemes out on the internet these days, but that's true with any website, so since it meets my budget requirements - i.e. free - I decided to give it a go. Here's the link to my Craig's List ad - I think it's pretty cute! I wish there was someway to find out if people are actually reading it!meeting Mike Kehr in Chadds Ford, chatting with Two Paper Dolls in Wayne
Thursday, July 03 2008 - 0 comments
Speeding back down Route 1 South yesterday, I explained to Peter over my mobile "I NEED a GPS!". We've talked about getting one for my car now for a while, and have looked at this one in particular, the Dash . I always tell him that getting a GPS is a waste of money, in particular if the GPS has a monthly fee, because I never felt like I went enough places to justify paying the monthly fee. However, as my business gets up and running I've been networking, scouting new locations, and going to new places, I can see a GPS in my future very soon. So yesterday was filled with more networking and a quick trip to a new town to investigate printing options. First, I drove to Chadds Ford, where I met with Mike Kehr, of Mike Kehr Photography . Mike's been in the photography industry for many years (25+ according to his site), and when I was researching area photogs, I knew I wanted to meet him because he had a cool website, an active blog, and beautiful pictures. These are the things I look at when researching photographers and that's why I have a blog and website as well - I know how important it is for a photographer to have an active online presence. I can't tell you how much it drives me bananas when I see a photographer's site and they have awesome work but a stale blog - i.e. no posts in like forever! This is coming from the geeky side of me, but I truly think it's better to have no blog, than have a blog you don't update at all. Mike spent over two hours with me, chatting about his experiences in the industry, and sharing with me a little about how they run business at Mike Kehr Photography. I was immediately struck with how real he was - he obviously has had a lot of experiences and has a lot of knowledge to go with those experiences - but he just came accross as being a really cool guy - I never felt like any of my questions were silly or beneath him to discuss. After chatting with Mike, I left Chadds Ford and headed towards Wayne, PA to find the Two Paper Dolls studio. I'm thinking about having my print work done with them (business cards, cd mailers, cards, etc...), so I wanted to meet with them and discuss my options. It really shouldn't have been that complicated to get to Wayne from Chadds Ford. The directions were fairly straight forward. The only problem was that I don't know the area AT ALL, so I was constantly second guessing myself and stopping at little gas stations and such to make sure I was going the right way. And then when I finally arrived in Wayne, I went the wrong way off of the exit and that resulted in like a 20 minute detour because of all the crazy traffic congestion around Villanova University. I finally made it to their studio (with the help of several of the helpful girls talking me through it over the phone) and met with Nicole briefly before having to zoom back down to Delaware as I was teaching a night college course at 5:30. When I had planned my day of meetings, I totally thought I had enough time to get everything done and manage to get back and even eat dinner before class began. I made it in time to pick up dinner, but the actual eating didn't really end up happening (except for a bite or two of my wrap on the break). One important lesson I have learned: no more major travel on the days when I teach night courses!Local Networking: Part 1 - Don and Sue Engler, New Castle, Delaware
Monday, June 30 2008 - 0 comments
This morning I met with a local photographer, Don Engler . Actually I met with him and his wife, Sue Engler, who are both photographers. His wife focuses primarily on the business and marketing end of the business and they run their studio out of their home. They graciously gave up two hours of their time to meet with me and allowed me to pepper them with questions. They filled me in regarding some history of photography organizations in Delaware over the years and how things have changed with the move from film to digital. This couple does both studio and on location work, and seems to focus strongly on print fulfillment, album design, and large format wall hangings - art prints and canvases, etc... Their images were beautiful. While there, I also learned more about a photography organization I had read about, the Professional Photographers of Delaware and of an upcoming meeting in Dover. It's on a Tuesday night, and since I no longer have graduate classes then, it should work out for me to attend. Just before 5 PM this evening, I had a phone call. Don called and invited me to shoot a wedding with them this Sunday - my first wedding! He also offered to let me shoot with one of his Nikon cameras. I've always been a Canon girl but I love to play with new gadgets so I happily accepted. Tomorrow, I'm headed back to their studio to play with the Nikon and get in some practice shooting before the wedding on Sunday. Yea for networking!