Tattoos & Honey Bees
After discussing it for eons, the time had finally come. Going on forever, my wife had been talking about a tattoo. We bounced around ideas and she never seemed to settle solidly on anything. Then came the honey bee idea just a few months ago. She knew immediately that is was the right concept. Now, just to find a good artist in Cleveland.
Jamie & Ethan – Cleveland wedding
Have you ever had a day where everything seems to go your way? I had one not too long ago. A couple was recommended to me by a fellow photographer. So that’s good. Then the couple hired me to photograph their wedding in Cleveland. OK, getting better. Then they gave me complete creative freedom! I nearly had a creative orgasm on the spot. Read on to learn about their wedding and what I did to make it special.
Gear Review – Think Tank Retrospective 20
Before I discuss all the great things the Think Tank Retrospective 20 does well, you have to understand what this bag is not supposed to be. If you confuse the purpose of this camera bag, then you will be disappointed. However, if you understand the niche this bag fills, then you will be elated. Hit the jump to learn why the Retrospective 20 is the perfect bag for wedding photographers…
Bailee & Aaron – wedding
Out of the blue I received a call from Bailee. She was searching for a wedding photographer and their wedding was just around the corner. By some luck of Oden, I was free for their big wedding day. The luck was not hers, but mine. You see, they were getting married at my favorite venue of all time. Hit the jump to see the great location and some of my favorite photos.
BBQ Y’all
We’re having a BBQ Y’all!
I may be from the north, but I am born to a southern family. With that comes certain traditions, including summer BBQ. This isn’t “grillin’ out”. This is an honest-to-goodness BBQ featuring pulled pork, corn pudding, mac ‘n cheese, beans and greens, and beer, beer, beer. Know me personally? Follow me on Facebook or Twitter? Are you a past client? Then y’all are invited. Complete details after the jump.
Announcing your wedding with style
I have said it before and I will say it again – my clients freakin’ rock. They are some of the nicest and most creative people. You have to check out what Ethan and Jamie created for their wedding announcement. They both work for a major technology company and have a serious creative streak. Make the jump to see their wedding announcement video!
Hey, that’s me in Pro Photographer Magazine!
The package waiting for me at home could have been a surprise, but PhotoShelter kept me informed throughout the process. In the end, I was expecting the two glossy copies of Professional Photographer Magazine nestled inside the padded package. Nonetheless, I am thrilled to be published in this month’s issue. Make the jump to learn more about the article and how I market my Cleveland wedding photography business.
Molly & Justin – wedding
I don’t know what I was thinking. I shot this wedding at the beginning of last year and never really posted any of the images. I have used a couple of the wedding photos in my portfolio, but never offered any details on the wedding day. Well, I magically found an hour or two, so I thought I would create a new wedding post.
Pet Photography – Wilson
I was worried at first. Not just a little, but quite a lot. Wilson had been wandering around the studio for the entire shoot. Out of the five of us, we could not get him to hold still. Wilson was happy of course. He had his favorite bone, ball and a belly full of treats. I was still concerned because I wasn’t sure I got the shot.
Arnold Classic Fencing competition photos and portraits
I can see from the huge volume of emails and searches on my site that a lot of people are looking for the Arnold Classic Fencing photos and portraits. I thought I would quickly post more information so everyone can find the photos and order prints.
Around here it’s all about service
The rock-solid principle upon which I build my business is service (and good photographs). Providing my Cleveland wedding clients with the very best service is how I fulfill their needs, keep clients coming back, and ultimately ensure the success of my business. Part of my formula is providing my clients with great online services, and I have my service provider to thank. Hit the jump to see how we provide wedding clients with the latest tools to help them capture and share their wedding memories.
Troy & Sherita – portraits at the Lakewood studio
Troy and Sherita stopped by the studio earlier today to drop off their wedding photography contract. They are getting married in October just south of Cleveland. Little did they know I had little surprise planned. The photo studio was all setup to grab a couple quick portraits of each of them. I didn’t know how they would be dressed or what kind of mood they would be in after a day of wedding planning. Needless to say, the portraits could not have gone better. They were in a fantastic mood and I was ready to roll. Here are the results.
Simplify your wedding planning – with Google Docs
I am a huge, huge fan of Google. Did I mention I love Google? Seriously, I would marry Google (don’t tell Brooke). For such a huge company, you would think weddings would be too small of a subject for them. Nope, Google has wedding tools!
Together with Style Me Pretty, Google has launched wedding planning tools based on their popular Google Docs platform. You can do all sorts of cool things with their tools.
Will your wedding album outlast changing fashion?
For couples, there is a lot to consider when designing a wedding photo album. The easy stuff is whether the album quality made and printed on acid-free, archival paper. Just about any wedding photographer can provide a high-quality album. But what about a great design that outlasts changing fashion?
Have you ever seen a dated wedding album? Maybe your parents or a friends wedding album? Just a few bad choices can quickly can quickly ruin a wedding album. Photos stylized with too many actions or page layouts that are more about fashion than thoughtful design can “age” quickly. This is a problem that I see a lot. The following tips may help when working with your photographer to design your album.
Blogs for Brides – some recent finds
If you are planning a wedding, you definitely should take some time to lurk these blogs. The blogs have some really good ideas that would work for any wedding. The list includes an assortment: a blog about the entire wedding, one about details, and some more targeted blogs too.
While I might be a guy, I still love weddings. A couple’s personality really shows in a well planned wedding, and it need not be expensive. Hopefully, this list of blogs helps you to find great inspiration for your wedding. Just try not to get carried away.
Sports photography – Royal Arts Fencing Academy
Update – for those looking photos and prints from the Arnold Fencing Classic, please see the site http://photos.royalarts.org. From the photo site you can browse images, order print products and share images on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Not too long ago, I was contacted by Tim Mills at the Royal Arts Fencing Academy in Columbus, Ohio. They are planning the world’s largest fencing event and wanted to know if I would like to be a part of the action. My little brother is a fencer, so I jumped at the opportunity. I just finished editing some photographs and have a little to share.
Intermittent Blog Round-up
Back again with another blog round-up. It is clear that these are not going to be weekly, but frequently enough to cover interesting topics.
Speaking of interesting topics, my goal is to cover articles that are good for the novice, amateur and pro photographer alike. I get a fair amount of traffic from novices that are interested in learning more, so I certainly plan to share information for all experience levels.
What makes a good photograph?
This is not going to be a post that will give you a photography formula. Photography is not and never will be a science. Sure, a camera is a scientific instrument designed to measure and map light, but creativity is king. To start, you must have vision.
Your vision does not need to be ground breaking, but it should be unique to you. The subject matter does not need to be something fresh either. Heck, I am a portrait and wedding photographer. There is nothing new about that. Surprise, I photograph people! However, I try hard each day to approach my work with my vision. To create worthwhile photographs, for you, start with your vision.
Pet portraits – Moxie
Being a location photographer in Cleveland means that the winters are down times. Often it is too cold outside to take photos. So, I retreat to the studio and work indoors.
These photos were intended to be a Christmas gift for my wife (and sometimes photo assistant), Brooke. I knew she would love to have high-quality [...]
Weekly Blog Round-Up
Not much this week regarding wedding photography, or Cleveland for that matter. I am also trying to decide how often to do a blog round-up. At most, it would be weekly. More than likely, it will be every couple weeks. If you have a preference, let me know. Also, leave a comment if you have a story, video, or inspiring images that deserve more air time.
Summer Sizzlin’
As I shoot more weddings and portraits, I am carrying my camera with me more often. And my friends are getting used to me with a camera. They have learned to just accept it and largely ignore me when I have the camera in my hand.
New Client Gallery Feature – Social Network Sharing
We have just implemented a new feature that will allow wedding clients, portrait client and friends share galleries on many different social networks. The feature is integrated directly with each client photo gallery. To share any gallery, simply locate the share links at the top of the screen.
Black Friday blog round-up
While everyone else is crashing malls and crashing websites today, I am staying home. I am going nowhere near a public place. Instead, I am working on wedding photos all day for my last wedding of the year and catching up on some blogging reading. I was tempted to go to a mall and photograph humanity at its worst, but I don’t want some middle-aged woman to beat me to death with my own camera. So, I am staying in. Here is some interesting reading from around the inter-webs:
Happy Thanksgiving
I am not much of a food photographer, but I give it a try from time to time. There were only three of us for Thanksgiving this year, so there weren’t many portraits to capture. Plus, when your wife threatens your life with a butchers knife, you learn to just focus on the food. Above are some of the shots from the day. Nothing great, but I am happy.