Event

Down and Under

It was DOWN AND UNDER in Bryan, Ohio. Today was authentic Australian Food. I was in Australia once and will always remember my experience with friendly people and my first Meat Pie. This was happening at Kora's today, and, by the way, a great lunch. I wanted to do a self-project. The project was to tell a story. Just like a book. It would be best to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Now off the next city.

Mom's day

Happy Mother’s day to all of the moms out there.

Happy Mother's Day to all you great moms out there.

I was honored to take this family picture celebrating their 60's anniversary. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned with it raining outside, so we did plan B. Shoot indoors during the celebration. Never forget to keep looking for the moments.

As you can see, this was not the best; this was just the family picture. But, no fear, I already knew I would take this in Photoshop and make it into a studio picture.

I don't know about you, but I feel it's something that I would print and hang on my wall. The celebration continues, and just like a wedding, I am always looking for the moments. I could not help myself when I saw this one Grandma and her Grandson. Tell me this will not be a special picture someday.

The customer loved them, and that is how I know I did my job. While a lot of Photoshop was done, I wanted to give them what they hired me to do. Sometimes you need to take that extra time.

Commercial Work

What is commercial work when it comes to photography? For me, it means anytime the work is used for advertising something. This may be a magazine, billboard, or maybe a web page. Since my start in photography, this is an area I have enjoyed. My style is more of a photojournalist like I do for weddings. I guess I like things that appear natural.

I was recently hired to take pictures for a company website. We sit down, and they tell me what they are interested in or have in mind. This could be done verbally, using Instagram pictures they have in mind. After I hear or see, I do what I think they are looking for. Let’s face it, competition is everywhere, and trying to get someone to buy from you may come from on professional picture. Your company is only as good as it looks, and I am sorry, the selfie will most likely not do it. Look at the picture below; what are they trying to sell?

Yes, if you said she was trying to sell her podcast, you would be correct, and I did my job by taking the vision of the podcast. She is not a professional actor, but by having her do what she was comfortable with (podcasting), I waited for moments and then took the pictures.

The reward (other than getting paid) is seeing your work in a magazine or on their web page. Maybe when you are driving and seeing your image on a billboard. That's the reward for me. I did my job, and hopefully, they are making money with the pictures they used. Over the years, I have done a lot of commercial work. I have done Medical, teaching, many products, Political campaigns, and companies. What's next? I don't know, but I look forward to whatever it will be. A boating campaign would be one that I would like to do sometime on my bucket list. I love water and boats or possibly do a vacation spot.

The Tall Sails

Wow, it's been some time since I have done a blog. I have been one busy photographer. Wedding, Commercial work, and having my kids from Wisconsin have kept me a little busy. I know, no excuse.

Last week, I was in Cleveland, Ohio, to see these great Sailboats for the first time. I have always seen them on TV but never live. We were advised to arrive early because parking for this event is very hard. I showed up 2 hours before the ships were to show up and barely found a spot.

The weather was great, and you could finally see these great ships in the distance. I was going to use a tripod, but because it was a very sunny day, I could hand hold my 400mm with a 2.0 extender and keep the speed at 1500. ISO was 200. The challenge I had was not holding the lens, but all boats were blocking our view. Most of these boats felt they needed to be right on their side and follow them for 10 min. But with some patients and help with Photoshop, I could eliminate them. I waited for an opening and then took the pictures. It is defiantly a challenge and very disappointing.

It was great seeing these ships and the work they have to do to improve our look of the past. Here are a few pictures that I came up with that day. I enjoyed looking at the past. Now off to Bermuda this weekend for a week.

First Look for Wedding's (How I did it)

First, looks are always exciting, and you never know what you will see when your photographer. For me, I don’t want to be the attention. It’s the bride and groom and their private moment. In this case, we set it up. I had the groom sit on a bench. I told him to think about his bride and this day. With that, when his bride gets into position, I would ask him to get up and go around the corner of the tree to see her for the very first time.

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When I told him to move, I went way out with my 100-400 lens so that they would not hear me or see me. It’s their special time. My job now was to document it.

Next, I told dad to wait for 15 minutes and then come down to see his daughter for the first time.

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There is always a special moment between a dad and his daughter.

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First looks as I said before are special. It’s our job to document and stay out of it. Yes, a few tears came out of my eyes. It’s a special time even for the professional.