To print, and where to print
I get asked often where clients should print their photos. It actually scares me when I don't have clients ask this question. Printing is more important than most people realize. So, I'd like to take a minute to explain why it's so important for us (photographers) where our clients get their pictures printed.
I started noticing over the last several months, many local photographers are no longer offering cds as part of their session packages. At first, I didn't agree with it. I think it's part of the benefit to a client, offering their pictures on a cd so they can print however many prints they want, where they want. But there lies the problem. It's where clients decide to do their prints.
It's mostly a convenience thing, I'll admit, I'm guilty of it too. You need prints to hand out to family members or you just want to get some up on the wall before your friends come over for dinner. So you go to your local Walgreens and get them printed. But when you get them back, you realize they don't look as good as the ones you saw the photographer post as a sneak peek or the ones you previewed on your cd before taking them in?!
This is what gets me about this scenario. Why would you spend hundreds of dollars on a session, to then turn around and spend pennies on your prints? Now, if and when photographers give you a cd with your session, it is your decision to print the photos wherever you'd like. That's really the benefit of getting a cd. But, I still ask, why spend so much money on getting the pictures done if you don't want to at least get them printed at a quality printing company as well?!
This is exactly why so many photographers are not offering cds anymore or why you have to print directly through the photographer. There's nothing more frustrating as a photographer, to spend so much time and effort into a session for a client, to then hear or see they printed at some local store. Pro print labs color match and check for the quality of the print, that's their job. Local stores, your neighborhood Walgreens, they don't do that.
I haven't completely jumped on the bandwagon yet, and decided to get rid of cds, but I can definitely understood others reasoning for doing so. Do yourself, and your photographer a favor. Ask them where they'd recommend printing or do some research on your own. There's tons of labs out there that do a great job printing and you'll get back the beautiful photos you spend good money on.
Matt & Julie- October 3rd, 2015
He got the girl. Or, at least Matt said as much. And he seemed to want to do whatever would make Julie happy. It's an endearing devotion to witness. But, Julie could make him laugh and smile, even when he seemed to not want to. Whenever we meet couples for weddings, it's easy to see how much in love they are. It's not always evident what they do for each other or how they make each other happy, that usually comes after working with them. But it was easy to see the ways Julie and Matt compliment each other.
Matt and Julie were married October 3rd at Fontaine Estates Winery in Naches. The weather really couldn't have been more perfect, not too hot and not too cold. The wedding colors were coral, navy blue and silver. The theme of the wedding felt very vintage with some little corky twists. The guys wore gray suits, Matt wore navy, with Converse sneakers. The girls wore different designs of long navy blue dress and necklaces that Julie made herself. Julie's dress was so stunning. She wore flat ballet slippers, pearl earrings and a single pearl necklace.
The ceremony took place just as the sun was starting to set. Matt and Julie also exchanged vows they wrote. It was sealed with a kiss and a fist pump in the air by Matt, who then gestured to his gorgeous bride like he was saying 'look at MY gorgeous bride'.
The ceremony then transitioned into the reception where there were many speeches, cake-cutting, the shoe-game and a lot of dancing. The wedding party, family and guests were happy and ready to celebrate the newlyweds. And they did just that.
Matt and Julie, I just want to say what a pleasure it was working with you and we wish you two the very best for the future!
Boudoir Session- Introductory Price
I really feel like everyone should get to experience a boudoir session, and I want everyone to do one as well! That's how confident I am that you will walk out from the session reliving how much fun you had and how beautiful you felt.
From now until December 31st, I'll be running an introductory price on our 'Lovely little package'. The date of your session does not have to take place before December 31st, it only needs to be booked before December 31st. As much as I think this is a wonderful gift for yourself, it's also an amazing gift for that special someone! Lock in that introductory price while it's here, contact me to book! Here's the session details:
Lovely little package
1.5 hours of hair & make-up
1.5 hours of shooting
3 outfit changes
Private viewing consultation
10 edited images on cd-rom with print release
$350
Boudoir Photography
I am so very excited to announce that I'm now offering Boudoir Photography sessions! This has been several months in the making. I have an amazing team that I work with for these sessions that I have the utmost respect for and have no doubt that they will make every woman not only look, but feel absolutely beautiful. Let me tell you how this all came to be.
About a year ago, my best friend and I were talking about my work. I was telling her how much fun I thought Boudoir Photography would be to shoot. My friend was newly engaged and getting ready to be married in a few months. She asked if I would shoot a boudoir session for her as a gift for her fiancee. I was hesitant at first because I'd never shot a boudoir session, but I thought 'why not'. I discovered two things that day, I had more fun than I thought possible shooting her but also that I was very good at it. That's a big statement for me. I am and always will be that person and photographer that wants to do better than the last time I shot a session and strives to find the things I can get better at. But I walked out from shooting her boudoir session feeling like I could not have done anything better and that I nailed it. Editing her pictures only confirmed that feeling.
So that got my wheels turning, could this be a session I offered? I started researching Boudoir Photography and it's a growing field for photographers. It was a very popular form of photography years ago, but dwindled after time and is now coming back with a vengeance. The hardest part about selling this type of photography is that it's a very intimate and private session that many woman aren't comfortable doing because of insecurities with themselves. But also, there's this aura about boudoir that it's a dirty or tasteless type of photography. I'd like to touch on both of these.
While there are some photographers that take boudoir to a tasteless level, it's not somewhere I'd take my work. There's so much work out there that is just simply breathtaking and beautiful. The boudoir sessions I'm speaking of look like art and not just a pretty picture. That's what I want my work to be considered as, art. The kind of photos you can show anyone, that you'll want to show everyone.
Now I needed to figure out how I was going to convince woman to want to do these sessions. How do you help a woman look past her insecurities? Here's the thing, every woman I've ever met is insecure about something on her body. Which is the very reason why you should do a boudoir session. Our imperfections are what make us unique and perfect in our own way. Celebrating who you are right now, that's what these sessions are about. I want every woman to walk away from my sessions and feel empowered by her own beauty. To feel as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.
So now I had this idea, but that's all it was, an idea. Boudoir Photography isn't a service you can find in Yakima, at least not the way I wanted to shoot boudoir. You can go to Seattle or Tri-Cities and find it there, but it's pretty unheard of here. So how do you sell something that's not widely known, or possibly unaccepted, in your town. Well, first you find a great team.
I started with my make-up artist, Erika Boutillier. I had seen and heard about her work as an esthetician. She was my first and most obvious choice. I can't tell you how nervous I was trying to sell an idea to someone I only barely knew at the time, and persuade her into putting faith and time into me and my idea. I can tell you with complete honesty, that even after she said yes, it was just as nerve racking when I met with my two hair-stylists Mandy Thornton and Daisy Carrillo. These ladies are amazing at what they do and have an ability to make woman feel comfortable and beautiful. I have no doubt in my mind that I picked the right women to work with me on these sessions.
Next was shooting test sessions. Boudoir photography is a very private, intimate session. Most people do these sessions with the comfort of knowing that only the photographer, significant other and themselves will be the only people to see their photos. Finding people that were comfortable with me using their photos for advertising would be tricky. I've been very fortunate to find people that let me do just that.
There's the history on this idea I had a year ago. There are no words for me to explain how very excited I am to see this idea come to life. I have always loved photography for as long as I can remember and have been shooting portrait photography for years now. Being able to offer a session that will be so empowering and personally beautiful to the woman that choose to do it, that is something I am very passionate about.
With this being a very new session I offer, I'm still working on getting the information up on my website. I promise to have information up very soon, but in the meantime I welcome and ask you to send me any inquiries you have about these sessions.