I went to a Graduation part for Alyssa this weekend.  Alex, my nephew, went with me.  Tony & Sandra have a pool and also rented a slip & slide and everyone was having a blast.  I think Alex enjoyed it the most.....

How many weddings has your "professional" shot?  How many years have they been in the business?  Only a year or two?  Do they use professional level cameras AND lenses?  Many amateurs do not know the value of a pro lens.  Sharpness, color, saturation, focus accuracy, speed; the list is endless.

I was speaking with the wedding and event coordinator at a local hotel lately.  She remarked how bad some of the photographers were as of late and noted that they had a very bad impact on the rest of the evening from the time bride and groom were introduced.  Hotels and caterers in general know exactly what time they will need to serve the food, so they plan on that.  If a photographer pushes that back by 15 minutes that can rune everyone's fillet very easily.  She also noted that a few seemed to fumble and did not know where to take photos in a gorgeous hotel. 

As a Professional we have years of experience and know what makes a great photo.  Ansel Adams calls it Visualization, I call it Previsualization.  Being able to see the photograph before we take it is one of the toughest, if not impossible, skills to master.  I had a bride start to describe a photograph to me that she had seen in a magazine or other publication.  The instant the first few words were spoken I could see the image.  She had no idea how it was created or what it would take to create it, but I was able to tell her exactly what she wanted to here: Sure, I can do that!  Much of what wedding photography is about comes from a bride's preconceived notion which comes from the media and the other weddings she has gone to recently, not to mention her girlfriend's wedding albums.  Here is a short clip on which Ansel Adams, the greatest nature photographer of all time, explains what Visualization is and why it is so important.  Believe me, anyone without experience cannot do what a Professional can do.


The Key to a Photograph from Ansel Adams.

I photographed the Elverson Little League teams this week.  It was a ton of fun and they were very appreciative of the work.  I hope the A and B teams do well in their playoffs and I look forward to next year!

Order photos here.

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My Nephew Alex had his first Little League game today.  He did really well with 3 at bats, 3 base hits and 3 runs scored.  You can see a slideshow of all images here.

I have just updated the website to a fresher design.  I really like it because it still has the same feel, but allows for a larger photographs and better layout.  Enjoy!

In the next few months I will be adding to my blog and FAQ sections many articles on why you should choose a Professional and what to look for when choosing a professional. 

The number one issue is that most "professionals" are only "professionals" because they have been paid once or twice to shoot a wedding.  When I was a kid I worked all summer with a friend of my families to make enough money to buy my first car.  I was helping John put a new porch on his house, does that make me a professional?  I got paid for it, that means I know what I am doing!

WRONG!  If I want to have a deck put on my house I am going to hire someone that really knows how to get the job done and done right.  There is one thing about a deck, it can always be redone.  There are no do-overs in the world of weddings!  We get one shot at it, thats it. 

I've heard way too many stories of someone that is getting all this for $1,200:

1. A photographer for 8 hours.  We do not limit you on time!
2. 10x10 album.   Does the album layout look like it was done in iPhoto by your 10 year old nephew?
3. 2 Parent albums.  Didn't you see that book at WalMart or Target last week?  Or maybe you remember it from Shutterfly or Snapfish?
4. Unlimited images with plenty of guarantees.  Do you really want every photo?  We deliver the great photos, not the junk.

One more thing for today.  We setup our cameras to capture photos in RAW format.  RAW files capture ALL the data in the scene, giving you the best possible images in the end. 

Here is a little known fact:  Photo manipulation is a destructive process of selectively deleting data from the original file.  When you choose to shoot a jpeg file you delete 2-3 times more data than you keep, as soon as you snap the picture.  When I shoot one photo it is 25 megabytes +.  I've seen other photographers images that are only 1-2 megabytes each!  You can't print 16x20 or even a decent 8x10 from those files. 

Does the photographer offer the digital files to you for free?  RUN AWAY!  Would you go to your boss and tell him you want to work one day a week for free?  I don't think so.  It takes at least 6-8 hours of editing to edit photos properly.  A Professional Photographer is paid for their ability, not just someone that can push a button.  We are taking the best day of your life and attempting to create the best possible memory to reflect on for the rest of your life.  Do you really want to take a chance on someone that might not even be able to focus the camera correctly or know how to properly expose the photo? 

Please don't take what I have said (or will say in the months to come) the wrong way.  I want to create amazing memories for you to cherish for the rest of your life, as well as your children, grandchildren, and their children.  You get what you pay for, period.