Old Photos, New Edits

Today I was sorting through my personal photos and, like I so often do, I began getting distracted by photos that caught my eye. Often I return to photos that are years old and look at them in a completely different light. One of the downfalls of your career also being a hobby is that your personal work often gets pushed a side. I think it's incredibly important for me to keep shooting for fun so I don't lose sight of why I started photography to begin with. I stumbled upon several folders that I had barely even looked through, and some that I had spent hours on but didn't think much of certain photos. All of these photos were taken on personal photoshoots except for the one of the fifties couple; that was taken for a school assignment called "Fashion". All of these photos have never been used for anything, and have never been shown to anyone else.

I love taking photos just for myself without worrying about impressing anyone. The business aspect of photography can get to be incredibly stressful and hard on self esteem at time. Taking time once in awhile to just shoot random photos helps keep me interested in photography and reminds me of why I love it...as a hobby, and a paycheck.

Wedding Questions for Photographers-From a Photographer

When you are planning a wedding, everyone has tons of advice for you. And then of course, there is the internet to advise you what others don't or can't. All over the internet there are lists. What to ask your florist, what to ask your caterer, what to ask your cake baker, and of course "What to ask your photographer". I must admit, I always chuckle a tad when I see these lists. Some of them have very good points, and some of them are completely obvious and won't get you anywhere. Over the coarse of many meetings with brides and grooms as well as email interaction, I've come up with a list of questions I feel are very important to ask photographers. These are all questions that I have not personally seen on any list, but ones that I feel need to be asked. In fact, as a photographer, I would LOVE if people asked me these things up front. I would SO much rather have people book me because they like my style as opposed to hiring me because I'm their cheapest option. Here are some things you can ask your photographer to make sure your choice is a good fit. Hint: Ask these questions BEFORE asking what their price is :) In my opinion, there are more important factors in choosing a photographer than what their cost is.

1) Can I view a full wedding that you have shot?

No one has ever asked me this. Can you believe that? The reason to ask: Anyone (I repeat, ANYONE, even Uncle Bob with his point-and-shoot) can pick 20-40 decent shots out of thousands to show people. Do you want just a few good photos and hundreds of bad ones? Maybe the particular photographer takes outdoor photos that you love, but takes horrible alter formals. If they don't shoot strong alter formals, do you think they are going to put them on their online portfolio? Probably not. You may not realize how important the "boring alter formals" are, but those are the timeless ones. Those are the ones your kids will care most about. Those are the ones your grandparents care most about now. Most photographers don't advertise with alter formals (myself included) because they are fairly standard. However, while still being standard, there are a lot of ways they can screw them up. If you found a $200 photographer somewhere and you've seen a few shots they took on their Facebook page and think they look good, make sure to view a whole wedding. There is a good chance they are subpar. Remember, people charge what they can afford to charge; if a photographer is cheap, they likely have cheap equipment and less experience.

**Side note about the $200 photographer thing. I picked that number because that was once me. And I was inexperienced. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I'm not bashing on that one bit. I am incredibly grateful for the customers who trusted me at that point in my career with such an important day. If you have someone that you trust who's just starting out, give them a chance if you are confident in them. But don't be too hard on them if things aren't perfect; you are getting what you paid for and know what you are getting into when you book them!

2) How many cameras do you bring?

The reason: If a photographer only brings one camera, what happens if it fails? Digital cameras are a product of technology; with technology comes issues from time to time. Don't be fooled by the "Well, I've never had any problems before" line. That just means they are due...I speak from experience. I had never had a digital camera fail until I was shooting family photos for a cousin of mine in town from Minnesota. Something with the extreme humidity in the air did not agree w/ my camera and it gave me an error code and she was done for. Fortunately, I had my back up on me. Don't let something like this happen on your wedding day. Any legit photographer will bring more than one camera; unfortunately, there are a lot of phonies out there relaying on one. I bring 3-4 cameras to a wedding out of paranoia.

3) What is your system for backing up images?

The reason: This one is pretty obvious; if they don't have a back up plan, they aren't worth your time, even if they are your cheapest option. I have heard horror stories of photos getting lost between the wedding and post production. I don't have a right or wrong method for you here; everyone has their own method. Just watch for a blank stare and a lot of stuttering when you ask this question. That will be your answer.

4) Walk me through your philosophy when shooting a wedding.

The reason: Make sure your photographer isn't going to annoy the heck out of you. When I hired a photographer, I wanted someone that I could stand to spend 10 hours of my most important day with. I wanted someone that would know when to back off and when to get up close.

Ask how they approach shooting a ceremony. Do they get all up in everyone's business or do they back off? Then, decide what is most important to you. When I shoot a wedding, I do so as discretely as possible. It is my belief that I should be the focal point of no one at YOUR wedding. Some people would rather have someone that's up and down and all over the place getting their shots. All personal preference, but make sure you know what you're getting in to. Reception is also important for this. I don't like setting my flash off right up in everyone's face, so I back off a bit. You get a different kind of photo; decide what you prefer.

5) Please explain in detail the items included in your packages.

The reason: I can't tell you how many people feel like their photographer duped them. Misunderstandings can be a huge problem with wedding photography and can be incredibly frustrating for everyone involved. Make sure you know full well what you are getting with what you paid for.

6) What is the typical amount of photos you take for the time frame given?

The reason: Well...because you want to know what you are getting! Some photographers believe in only taking 100 great photos, some like to take 3,000. Decide what is most important to you. This one is again personal preference, but goes back to viewing a whole wedding before you book. I truly can't express how important I think that is.

7) What is your policy on retouching?

The reason: Some photographers will get you on retouching costs. Say you woke up with one of those dreaded pimples by your lip on your wedding day. Do you want someone who is going to charge you $5.00 a picture to take it off? This is one area people don't think to ask about until it's too late. Double check ahead of time.

8) What is your digital copyright policy?

The reason: Some people get tricked by this one. They think they are getting a disk of images to print off of, and when they receive it their photos are low resolution and unable to be printed from. Be cautious and know what you are getting in to.

I truly hope that this helps you make the right decision, no matter who it is you are booking. When people find out that I am a photographer, I tend to hear a lot of stories about awful experiences people have had, when I believe a little research could have avoided the problem. You just have to know what to ask. Don't completely ignore all those other lists out there, but think about asking these things as well :) I want my couples to feel as informed as possible and do not get offended if they ask me 100 questions...I prefer it that way, and I'm sure most photographers are the same way. Every photographer has their own way of doing things; there is no right or wrong, just a matter of preference.

Behind the Scenes of the "famous" Candy Photo

By far the most commented on photo that I have ever taken is the photo of my friend, Sammie, with her face covered in candy. Most people assume this photo is photoshopped. This blog post is to give the background story on the photo, and show some "behind the scenes" shots. You will probably think I have some pretty great friends; you'd be correct. At a later time, I will show you "Sammie's Revenge".

The year was 2008. I was in Advanced Photo Journalism and finishing up my photography degree at Hawkeye Community College. It was Sunday afternoon and I had an assignment due on Monday. I had already shot a photo for the assignment, but I went back through and re-read the instructions. The second time around, I realized I had misinterpreted what I was supposed to complete, and understood the assignment to mean I needed two different photos. The assignment was to "Illustrate" something.

I panicked when I realized I had to come up with a photo in a short amount of time for the due date the next day. Fortunately, I often have my best ideas when I'm pressed for time--it's the real reason I procrastinate...or so I say. I developed an idea and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be possible; I would illustrate a "junk food addiction". I went to the store and bought about $30 of junk food. I knew I had loads of popcorn at home (I'm rarely caught without plenty of popcorn on hand) and I began to formulate a plan of action. Sammie agreed to be my dummy. I'm not sure how I got lucky enough to have the friends I did in college, but not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for them all!

Here is the set up. You'll see we had a large green blanket. This was a cheap blanket that we didn't care about if we threw away. You can sort of see the light stands off to the left. I used 2 strobe lights. We started off by taping a plastic bag to Sammie's hair. I then plastered her entire head with frosting so that the junk food would stick to her. I figured that would also help if there was any post production Photoshop work required later.

It's kind of like a facial....but different...

Gummy worms, skittles, marshmellows...what kinds of junk food can you pick out??

We realized we were never going to be able to completely cover her head unless we created a bit of a "dish". We did that buy placing two shoe boxes on each side to hold the junk food in place. That helped out greatly!!

"Wait one second....

There's one in my nose!"

The shoot is over, time to get up!

 See, she's still smiling!! And really looking forward to a shower!!

And the final product!! PS. I got an A ;)

Ok, it's late and I really need to go to bed--so I'm not proofing this for now...forgive me!!

A special thanks to Sammie Crotteau and Joyce Specht (who helped a ton behind the scenes, and snapped the progress shots)

A Decade (sort-of) of Travels Part ii

Part two of my decade of travels!

2007: My family took a cruise to the Virgin Islands. I didn't really remember any photos that I liked a lot, but when I went back through each island, I found quite a few I like. I do this a lot. I go back through photos and discover ones I didn't like before, but like now. Some of these are new finds, and some are older. I'm pretty sure I liked most of these this time around because I am currently FREEZING and want to go on a tropical vacation :)

Barbados 2007 

St. Lucia 2007

St. Lucia 2007

Antigua 2007

Antigua 2007

Antigua 2007

Puerto Rico 2007

2008: Wyoming

When we went to Maine in 2007, we had a goal in mind: We wanted to see some moose! Why you may ask? Because along with amphibians and reptiles, I love moose (mooses? meece?) Ok, really I just love all animals! But for some reason moose kind of fascinate me. They also terrify me. Anyways, we planned a trip for Wyoming and we got to see a TON of moose. Very exciting ;).

My family often hates me during vacations. A vacation is not complete for me until I drag myself up at least once before the sun rises in order to get great lighting. As it turns out, we saw a lot of wild life in the mornings and didn't have to fight with any crowds. If you want photos that don't look like everyone else's, get up early and get out during good light! Sunset is a great time as well, but don't always focus on just the sunset; take a look around at what the setting sun does to all the scenery. 

Grand Tetons 2008--taken right as the sun came up

This one was taken closer to sunset.

When in doubt, moose always get the right of way.

Baby Trice

Yesterday I had the privilege of photographing the newest addition to my extended family, Trice Reddick Elliott. Trice is my cousin Megan and her husband J.J.'s son. Megan and JJ are huge Cyclone fans, so obviously ISU photo's were a must!

This session took right around three hours. We found that the space heater was magic for little Trice! He wasn't too sure at the start of the session, but with a little patience we got some great shots.

One shot in particular that I've been wanting to do is a shot with scales. I've had this idea for a fairly long time, but wanted to use a baby of my cousins. Megan was the first cousin to have a baby that I could photograph as a newborn since getting the studio. My grandpa collected tons of scales throughout his life. When he passed away last year, all the cousins took a scale in memory of him. There were over 200 scales, but only 11 of us, so there are still plenty left over :).

The photo with the scale was a bit challenging. I wanted the baby in a hanging scale, but obviously didn't want to put the baby in harms way. So, I took a series of photographs and only had Trice in one. The photo Trice was actually in didn't have any other scales in it, and the scale he was laying on was setting on a box being held by his dad. Here is a behind the scenes look on the making of the scale photo.

1) The first shot I took was one of JJ holding the scale to Trice's actual weight. 

2 and 3) I took shots of of the set up with JJ on each side. That way, I could combine the two photos and the full set appear in the final.

4) The photo of Trice was taken with no scales. I replaced the scales with a wooden box set up to about the height of where I wanted him to end up. You'll see JJ is holding the scale so the chains would be up and is also super close to keep Trice safe. The baby was never really hanging. 

After taking all the photos, I combined them all in Photoshop. The red boxed area is what I used from each photo. Here is the final product:

Now, this was my first composite image, so I know it's not perfect. I'm not usually big on extreme Photoshop manipulation, but this was a shot I wanted to get in honor of our grandpa. 

Here are a few more photos from the shoot:

My favorite so far! 

A Decade (Sort-Of) Of Travels

I LOVE to travel. I think most photographers probably do. Fortunately for me, my family also loves to travel and thus has blessed me with many opportunities to see a large portion of the United States and beyond. This time of year always puts me in "slump mode", because it is a photographers dead time. And, it's been a pretty uninspiring winter so far! I've been missing taking photos for myself, so I decided to look through all my vacation photos from over the past decade (and by decade, I mean since 2005 when I got my first digital camera ;). I thought it may be fun to post some of my favorite photos from my favorite places. I started this task a few hours ago, and realized this is probably going to have to be a multi-part blog. Where to start? May as well go chronological!! 


Disclaimer: These are MY favorite photos; personal taste. When I take vacation photos, I take them for no one other than myself. I don't try to sell (though I don't turn down a sale either ;), therefore I have no one to please but myself. Maybe you'll like them, maybe you won't. Hopefully either way, you'll enjoy viewing/reading about some of my travels.

2004: Hawaii
My first photo is actually one from 2004, making my quest a LITTLE closer to a decade. 8 years counts, right? This photo is my favorite from our trip to Hawaii for my senior year of high school. I loved Hawaii. I want very much to go back. I was not pleased with my photos from this trip; it turns out, I didn't know nearly as much about photography as I thought I did! Who knew that putting your camera on "automatic" wasn't the best way to get results? Hmph. If only I knew then what I know now...oh well, life goes on! This was shot with a FILM rebel...that's right I said film! My first SLR was film, and I loved it. I still have it, because I get way too attached to things and have never gotten rid of any of my cameras, no matter how outdated...I figure eventually they'll be one of those neat old antique cameras I so desperately seek now. Off topic a bit? I think so. Ok, here is the photo:

There's something almost always pleasing about a sunset photo. Even though they are probably one of the easiest, less creative photos you can take, they are also always beautiful and pleasing to the eye. In fact, I'm working on a post made up entirely of sunset/sunrise photos.

2005: Florida/Bahamas
Shortly after our Hawaii trip, my good friend Sarah invited me on a Bahama cruise for Spring Break. Woot woot! Do I ever pass up a free trip? That would be a NO. (This trip was in exchange for me taking Sarah to Texas the previous year--it was cold, windy, and there were jelly fish everywhere in Texas preventing us from swimming...I got the WAY better end of this deal!!) While in Hawaii, I attempted to take photos of a gecko, but unfortunately they turned out absolutely terrible.

Before our cruise and again after, we spent some time around the great state of Florida. We got to tour the Everglades which was very firmly on my bucket list and therefore a dream come true for me! I was a little nervous walking amongst the alligators, but there were plenty of elderly people and children around-- I figured if nothing else, I could at least out run them ;). JK!

Anyways, while on one of the trails I found another gecko! You may wonder why I wanted so badly to get a photo of a gecko--it just so happens I was a big reptile/amphibian fan. I still think they are super cute. And, I was convinced that the gecko pictures I took in Hawaii were going to be amazing, and they were terrible (thank you digital!).

I spent as much time with that little gecko as I could making sure I got SOMETHING decent. After locking out the world around me to capture him, I was shocked when I stood up to find I was surrounded about about 5 other photographers patiently waiting to photograph the gecko as well. I had never felt so small, rocking out my digital rebel and cheap lens. They all had giant L series lenses and mono pods, and the cool "photographers hats". Oh well, I liked my photo despite having cheap equipment!!

Shot in 2005

2006: Florida

In 2006, my family was hosting a foreign exchange student from Moldova. They decided to bring her to Florida and invited me and my college roommate at that time. I decided not to be too tied down by cameras this trip since we were just going to Disney World. However, I did take my favorite ever POINT AND SHOOT photo! Haha! This is the only photo I've ever taken with a point and shoot that I have bothered to edit and actually am kind of proud of. My photography professors would be so ashamed! I don't care how it was taken, I like the feel of it, and I think it's kind of fun. Believe it or not, taken at Disney World. Gotta say, this one is ALL in the editing; you wouldn't recognize the original. I really wish the last palm tree wasn't cut off, but I'm not sure I even realized I had taken this photo to be honest. Sometimes, you just get lucky, other times you have to work at it.

Shot in 2006

Bored yet?? I'll keep going :)

2007: Maine

I had pretty high expectations of Maine. We were in for a bit of a let down. Not because Maine isn't beautiful, because it is. But it rained. And rained. And when it wasn't raining, it was hot and humid and full of mosquitos. Maine was the vacation where I learned how to change my perspective. Maine was where I learned that it doesn't have to be bright and sunny to get beautiful photos. In fact, sometimes you can get your best photos. While in Maine, I shot 2 (count them TWO) shots that I was proud of. It turns out, other people were as well. I entered this one of the ship in the Heart of Iowa Photographers Conference and it received a Merit. It also won me first place amongst first and second year photography students for first semester print competition. This second one didn't win any awards, but did sell well at an art auction fund raiser! This is also the trip where I learned just how easy fire work photos are. 

 Shot in 2007

Well, my husband just informed me that the Super Bowl is on now. I guess it's time to go be American and watch! I will continue on this travel adventure another time! I have many big trips still left to post and some will probably have to be their own entry.

Photo Candles

A little preview: I love crafts--however, when I craft I am messy, inconsistent, and random. For this reason, I can never make two of the same project. I am also horrible at things most people find easy (such as wrapping presents). I am the exact opposite of a perfectionist. I go through stages of crafting: card making, candle making, scrapbooking, etc, etc.

I am going to talk a bit about a photo candle project that I made for our unity candle. This is the YouTube video that inspired my technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1257_Td2Ag

I used this exact technique and tweaked it a bit to include my personal photos.

You will need to adhere an 8.5x11 piece of white tissue paper to cardstock. I used a scrapbook tape runner and went along the entire outside edge of the cardstock to make sure no part would get jammed in the printer.

I used Photoshop to create a collage of photos to cover the whole candle. You do NOT have to do this; you can print each photo individually and adhere all separately. I didn't want to do this, because I wanted a nice smooth finish and the more pieces you adhere the more likely to get bumps you are. I also wanted to add in our names and wedding date. I made all of my photos in black and white to avoid color issues when printing on tissue paper. Make sure you do not print too close to the edge, as that part will tear when you remove it from the card stock.

Before you print make sure your paper is facing the correct direction to print on the tissue paper; this is something I OFTEN forget!! :)

After your image is printed, carefully remove it from the card stock. I used an exacto knife to make sure I didn't tear part of the image.

Wrap your image around your candle the way you want it to appear. Use a small bit of adhesive to help hold your design in place.

Once you have your image in place and all the creases smoothed out, take a piece of wax paper and wrap around the top. I like to have a large piece that I can really grab onto; you want to be able to pull it TIGHT. This is what is going to keep your candle smooth.

Once you have it pulled super tight and smooth, begin heat setting it using a heat tool. Take your time with this. Also, watch those fingers, the heat gun gets HOT. You will have to shift the wax paper several times, but once some has melted this becomes easier. It will be easy to tell when it is finished because it will look glossy over the wax paper. You will want to make sure everything is melted. If you miss a piece, it is easy to go back in later and melt it.

When you are finished you should have an image that is set in the wax just under the surface. It should appear as though your image is printed directly on the candle. Cool! These make great and inexpensive gifts. (The top photo was taken by Rae of Light Photography)

CREDIT CARDS!

Woot woot! After 2 years of living in the dark ages and having customers write checks or pay cash (which I rarely had change for) I am FINALLY equipped to accept credit cards! Thanks to the age of smart phones, I am able to do this without hooking the studio up for internet or phone service (NOTE: Lower overhead=keeping prices low;) ). I drug my feet about getting set up, because in all honesty, I was terrified! After doing a lot of research to find the best rates, I have set my Droid phone up to accept credit cards at the studio, and my website up for accepting online.