I have Moved my blog...

Hello Friends and Followers....If you are still tuned to this blog, I would like to say Thank You!! BUT~please come on over to my New Blog!!

www.everafter-erieweddings.com

I have some great stuff I am going to be blogging about!

See you Soon!

The Before and After...basic edit

Sometimes we hope for the perfect sunset or the perfect location....and sometimes we need to work with what we get.

When I began shooting I was a film shooter and so photoshop was really something only few photographers used and was accually popular for restoring old photographs.
Now I think many photographers have many images running through photoshop in their edit process. And why not??? Just check out the basic tweak of a simple image taken on a overcast gray day.



The first image is straight from the memory card. Shot at about 400iso and apature priority f13 and 1/100sec.

My first step to edit this image is to adjust the contrast.
Second....my writing in the sand is not quite showing up as dark as I'd hope to accually know it is there so I am going to use a brush and I am going to adjust the opacity a little and I am going to highlight their names in the sand.
Lastly, I added the sky. It's not something I generally do~but I really wanted something that looked good and my sky moved south and it was so blah i wanted to bump up the image a little but not over the top...but just enough to get a second glance.



I like the final image. It has good contrast with darks and lights and good use of space.
I would like to hear your thoughts. Too Much~too little...just right?

Invitation....

Here it is...Please come see my blog at www.everafter-erieweddings.com At this blog you will see current weddings, stories and photography specials. Also THIS blog you are following is going to be a "how'd you do that" kinda spot. It will highlight locations of photography sessions. Vendors that contributed to the event, as well as a few posings and tricks and tips to get the expession from families and couples that work for me.

Stay tuned...updating shortly....in the meantime be sure to visit,


www.everafter-erieweddings.com

p.s. I have a fantastic couples special I plan to announce very soon!!

The New Trend...

The new Trend...

Below you will see a few pictures from Last weeks wedding. The party was a huge success. I think at every wedding the bride and groom really want to be sure their guest have a memorable time. After the traditional pictures on the dance floor with the new bride and groom the DJ started playing some great tunes (DJ Greg Anderson) and we opened up our photo booth.

Together this was a huge hit. The bag of props I brought really helped the shy guests enter the photo booth. After their picture was taken they were instructed to go get another couple and bring them to the photobooth~

The continued documentation on the dance floor was not missed either. Having two shooters helped to be sure to cover the entire party.

An added bonus to the photobooth at a wedding is that depending on the bride and grooms needs...we can turn these pictures around on the same evening and the guests will leave with a great memory of the wedding in a 4X6 photo frame. I think my first photobooth was done about 4 years ago. Now I think this fun trend is catching on.

I offer this service with some wedding packages. It is a great perk to the regular dance floor shots. All I need is a little corner and I set up my stuff and start rounding up some fun!

As you can see from the pictures~ Young and Old, everyone is having a good time! (I could not leave untill I dragged DJ Greg Anderson into the Photobooth. LOL-he was a great sport.

Rain Rain Go Away....Raining on A Wedding Day!

Well, It's a Saturday in May, and it's raining!
Today I am photographing Erin and Tom's wedding and by the looks of it outside~It may not clear up. I think every photographer and Bride and Groom want to have that perfect sunny wedding day with perfect conditions. But that does not always happen so we roll with it!

It's one of those days that I am sure Erie Wedding Photographers will cross paths at the Erie Art Gallery on State Street. It's the most popular spot on a rainy day. It has beautiful white columns and a quick few steps from car to cover.

I have some plans of my own on this rainy day. Stay tuned for my next blog to see pictures. Also my car is loaded with about 10 oversized umbrellas ready to hand out for cover!

A few pictures attached are from Kelsey and Mikes wedding on Conneaut Lake. The day was raining, but after the reception, it stopped for just a few minutes to catch a couple more pictures. We are going to roll with today, We have memories to make and we won't let a little rain get in the way!

Kids in the Wedding...

From the Wedding of Cindy and Steve this little man was the highlight of kids I have photographed at weddings. He was just darling.

Sometimes having kids in a wedding can be more stressful than it needs to be. From experience I would recommend that small children have an official "kid manager" LOL~ This is the person who makes the day as flawless as possible. This person is relaxed and without any other wedding tasks. For some children on the wedding day they know there has been a power shift...they have LOTS of power. I have seen my share of pleading and begging from grown ups. I have also seen my share of children that realize that they have the upper hand!!

My check list is simple:

Be sure to have a regular potty stop.

Water is the perfect beverage of choice.

snacks/food/lunch, on a busy day be sure the children are fed regularly. This may seem like a no brainer but on a hectic wedding day food is often overlooked.

Pretzels, goldfish, fruit snacks depending on the age a lollipop can go a long way! Be sure to put snacks into a ziplock bag before the ceremony. Nothing like listening to a pretzel bag opening during the ceremony!!

Also it is great to see coloring books and crayons at the reception. At one wedding they had a lego play table brought in. There were 5 boys and everytime you looked over to the area they were all accounted for.

No matter how challenging it could be to have children in a wedding....I LOVE THEM!!

Children can make for the cutiest of pictures! The More the Merrier!

Wedding of Lauren and Jeff

Well if you were able to view the above video I would like your feedback!! This past weekend I really enjoyed photographing a great couple, Lauren and Jeff.

Their wedding took place in North East and the day was perfect!

Edinboro Art and Music Festival

It was a great weekend for enjoying the Arts... The Downtown Edinboro Arts and Music Festival

was a huge success this year. I think the weather made people a little worried, but it couldn't have been better.

http://www.edinboroartandmusic.com/
Check out the website link and a couple photos I have attached. My Sawyer is 7 playing fiddle and he joined the Guys on street playing some tunes.

It's a great opportunity to come out enjoy music art and a whole lot of culture in our little town.
If you take a peek at the photos I encluded you will see that the subjects are completely back-lite. It was 9:30 in the morning. The sun was just above the buildings. When you have a situation like this you do not want to have your subjects completely in shadows becasue of the background being so bright. What I would recommend in this situation is to either use an external flash to give the faces some light. Or even an on camera pop up flash would do.
My difficulty in this situation is that I had all my camera gear packed for a wedding that was happening also this same day. So my photography tip would be to have a high shutter speed such as 250. (if I had a flash I would put my exposure at f11 and go all manual on my settings) since I did not have a flash, I set my camera up on S- for shutter priority and I used spot metering to meter the exposure on the musicians that were shaded from their own bodies.

This is a good way to keep great detail in the background as well.

I then put my little artist twist on the pictures and I hope you like...

Just Shooting for the fun of shooting...

Do you ever find yourself out wishing you had your camera? Are you the person that always has a camera on them. Or are you the person who documents everything with your iphone?

This past weekend I was very lucky to be able to teach/mentor my photography skills as well as learn from one of my mentors.

The best part about being a photographer is that generally I always have a camera. If not my professional camera, I have my point and shoot camera.

Sometimes I feel as the professional photographer...if I have my professional camera, I feel my regular everyday shooting is a little like work!
This past weekend I had a fantastic weekend just shooting whatever I wanted. ( with a little work stuff in between)

I have added random picture that either made me laugh or I liked because they had meaning to me.

I plan to add many many more to my facebook album. So if you are not a fan or friend please become one so you can see a few favorite pics from around Whistler and Vancouver.

Where are our Pictures?

So tonight I am blogging from My old stomping ground in Whistler British Columbia. I came here to enjoy the amazing setting, shoot pictures with my friends and work on some much needed workflow tweaking.

I am always the photographer that is organized, not just in business but in family as well. When shooting 1500 pictures in a wedding it's easy to organize, catalog and back up. On the everyday ~ Grab my camera and photograph the kids or the dog or the sun setting. It could be many days before I get the images loaded into the computer~

From there the file system is a very carefully thought out process that every picture has a place and every event has a title. I am always eager to be sure that the events that I document in eveyday are not lost in computer limbo and just forgotten about.

I wonder how other people document and keep track of the history in pictures they have taken.

Do regular people take digital pictures and still put them in the photo albums for the next generation to turn the pages of.

Where are our pictures? Are they lost?

What I do for my family pictures and family stuff is a simple on line album. Every month is documented and recorded under that month, at the end of each year I pick my favorite from each month and produce a photobook from "my Publisher".

http://www.mypublisher.com/

The books are perfect for family trips as well if you have a big event. They are great prices and cost about the same as if you were to print out the years favorites and put them into an album. The great thing is....you can work on your photobook all year round, at the end of the year, it's good to go.

I think so many people are losing the best part of document with pictures....we want these memories and if we don't take care of our pictures then we can't pass on the memories to the next generation. I love looking at old family pictures.

Haley and Patrick Wedding

Haley and Patrick Wedding

Senior Portraits...(not senior citizens)

Senior portraits...When did they begin?

For all my followers that are Canadian I am going to explain about the Senior Portraits. In Canada, (where I am from) my friends often thought I was shooting senior citizens when I would mention I have a senior shoot.

When I first moved to the US, I also had no idea what a senior shoot was...LOL

I really thought old people ~ sure I can shoot em!

In Canada we do not reference "Senior", "Freshman"etc. We just show up and get the picture with our gown and cap to prove we really did graduate high school.

Rarely I will do a senior photoshoot. My passion and love is to make beautiful wedding memories.

I will share a senior shoot I did last fall. Nicole is my daughters piano teacher and also a senior this year. When she asked me to shoot her senior pictures it was something I would do in a heartbeat. She is young and popular and like all the seniors I have photographed in the past this Senior photoshoot is the biggest deal ever!!

I am not knocking the importance of the senior portraits for students....but coming from Canada and never understanding the all out importance of the photoshoot, clothes change, and props and instruments and letter jackets....and I even had a senior bring her horse to my home/studio. Those were fantastic pictures BTW!! With Senior photos it is important to stay current. Seniors want great photos to print into wallet size for all their friends to have when everyone goes off to collage.

I am persuaded to do the odd senior photoshoot depending on my wedding scheduale. It really is a big deal to have fantastic pictures at this time in someones journey.

I have always wondered about the garter toss....I have seen many weddings where the toss is a great laugh. I think now at weddings it is a great way to poke fun at the history of what the garter toss was and to just enjoy the laughter and moments that are created.



I am going to write about a story from my friends wedding. I am laughing while writing because the garter toss went all wrong...



Groom is all ready to take off the garter when someone suggests that he be blindfolded. Should still be a no brainer...but then it was suggested that they replace the bride with Grandma!! Why I have no idea!! Lets just say it went all wrong!!



I remember the groom stroking her leg as his hands were looking for the garter. Then the groom thought it would be cute to glide his hands over her hips and give her breasts a squeeze~did I say this went all wrong!!



This is a true story and I think that the blindfold should be done with caution and caution be taking if your wearing a blindfold!!



The history of the garter toss and the garter toss today is little different. Throwing the garter is derived from an old English custom called "flinging the stocking." Guests would invade the bridal chamber and steal the bride's stockings, then take turns flinging them. Whoever threw the one that landed on the groom's nose, would be the next to marry.



In France, throwing the garter became popular in the 14th century because it was considered lucky to get a piece of the brides attire. The stories go that the bride literally would get charged in hopes of a piece of her clothing for good luck. Brides then began to throw their garter and whoever caught it could expect good luck.



These days, the groom removes the garter -- generally worn at the mid-thigh level -- from her leg and tosses it to his bachelor pals. American tradition is to also place the garter on the leg of the single lady who caught the bouquet

Also the theory goes...both will be next to get hitched~not necessarily to each other.

Music and Photography...

This is part of the job that really isn't a job. I love to take pictures I love to listen to music. My friend and musician Lori Burke is going to be releasing her very own CD. She currently plays venues around Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania. She also plays with a great band Tiger Maple String Band.

You can visit some of her music on Reverb Nation...link is attached below

http://www.reverbnation.com/#/main/global_search?q=Lori%20Burke&commit=GO

Please enjoy some of the pictures that we will be featuring on her CD cover. We were looking to have a country, earthy and natural look to the cover. We would love your feedback on the images you like best.

Again, visit Lori @ Reverb Nation and check out her up coming show scheduale.