Senior Portraits: Victoria - Odyssey | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portrait Photographer

What a gorgeous night for a photo shoot!! I met this family a few years ago when I did senior portraits for Victoria's sister Alex. Last fall I saw them again for family photos in Highland Park. And now it was Victoria's turn for senior portraits. I love working with familiar faces year after year!!

Seriously I couldn't take a bad photo of this girl if I tried... I LOVE her hair cut, and her eyes are amazing!!

A few studio shots:



After about an hour we headed to our outdoor location and the light was perfect! Shooting in the graffiti park is always fun because it changes constantly. They put up new fences to keep people out... but we found a way in anyways, lol.


Tim (and Ben) came along with us for the outdoor portion. Before Hannah assisted at sessions, I used to bring Tim along a lot. He got really good at making suggestions on different poses or areas of a location to work with... this shot was all his idea. Love it!


We had to use this awesome ramp & "Chaos" spot. This might be my favorite shot of the day!


Your images are looking GREAT Victoria! It's going to be tough to narrow them down for your gallery! I hope you enjoy them so far!!

Becky & Matt: Wedding | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

I went along with Chelse from Glow Photography for a wedding at the beautiful Belhurst Castle yesterday! It was raining so hard on my way there that I almost had to pull over. 5 minutes later it was blazing sunshine!

While Chelse worked with the Bride & her girls, I hung out with the Groom & his guys before the ceremony...




During the beautiful lakeside ceremony, the sunshine turned to angry storm clouds! They made it through without any major rain though- fewh!


This was neat, I've never seen this done... they each had a different color sand, and they poured them into one vase during the ceremony, symbolizing their unity. A cool keepsake they can display in their home! (Plus making sand art is fun, lol)


This was a fun bridal party & they were up for anything. Ok, 1-2-3-JUMP!!


When I found out we were at Belhurst, there was one shot I really wanted to capture... and this is it!


We survived another rainy Rochester day and captured some gorgeous images along the way!

Have a great week everyone!! No new posts from me until the end of the week!

20 Months Old, Today | Rochester, NY Modern Child Portrait Photographer

So this little guy's mom made an appointment to get his 18 month portraits done a few months ago. She emailed a few days or weeks later (really I have no sense of time since becoming a mommy!) to reschedule because he had a haircut - and it went badly, lol.

Not that he could possibly look anything but adorable, but mom said it was military short and his "signature style" is his curls! We rescheduled and today happened to be the day he turned 20 months.

Do you know what almost 2 year olds LOVE to do?? Sit in a chair and wait patiently to be photographed. HAHA, I mean they love to do anything BUT that :-) By the end of the hour, mom was a little worried that we didn't get any good shots... take a look & feel free to leave a comment with your verdict on how it went!




The determination in his face here is priceless. I WILL climb on top of this big old trunk, and I WILL keep holding the apple while I do it, haha.



After a backdrop & wardrobe change, we were back at it. I haven't used my green backdrop in a while- I forgot how much I love it!

This one cracks me up- leave me alone, I'm playing with my Ipod!!


Don't little kids have the most beautiful eye lashes??? I had to capture that wonderful detail.


Mom & Dad, Grampa & Nana - I hope you enjoy your sneak peak!! I can't wait to work with you again this fall!

Watch for the Fine Print

I saw an ad for Clix portrait studios in the July edition of Genesee Valley Parent, a free publication you can pick up at places like Wegmans.

Big Headline "$1.99 sheets" - WOW that sounds like a good deal! Who wouldn't take advantage of it!

Then you read the fine print... there are exctly NINE RESTRICTIONS listed in the ad!

• At time of initial session
• Offer valid thru 7/31/09
• Coupon must be presented at time of session
• Offer not valid on reorders, high school seniors, or unaccompanied minors
• Sitting fee applies
• See studio for details
• Prior sales excluded
• Cannot be combined with any other offer
• With any digital file purchased

Hmm, so I wondered, how much does a digital file cost? I called to find out! ONE SINGLE IMAGE on CD is... $55!

Add in sitting fees, and cost of the sheets, which by the way you have to decide right then & there how many you're purchasing - and suddenly it's getting pretty expensive! (Not to mention that a clause like "see studio for details" could mean even more restrictions that aren't listed!)

So watch out for that fine print with other studios. D'Marie Photography doesn't use fine print, and gives you all of your pricing up front. With no hidden fees and no silly games of "you have to purchase this in order to get that".

Need more incentive to give me a try? Repeat clients always get fun bonus gifts- look for the official Customer Loyalty Program to be announced here in the upcoming weeks!

6 month portraits | Rochester, NY Modern Infant, Baby, Child Photographer

For those of you who are new blog readers, this is my son, Ben. He turned 6 months old yesterday- I can't believe it!!

I've been working on his portraits in a few short (very short) sessions over the past few days. It's difficult to be mommy & photographer at the same time, especially with a wiggly baby, so for safety reasons I only work for a few minutes with him.

Something kind of traditional. He can't sit up yet so there is a Bumbo chair under the fabric.


He's getting to a fun age where we can do some of the non-traditional, modern portraits too, yay! My favorite! This one is already hanging on our wall :-)


I have my "mommy goggles" on for this one. Meaning: the photo has some technical flaws (the fabric in the teacup is popping out, it shouldn't be visible) but since it's my child I still love the shot anyways! It's the expression... it's so BEN!!


I fixed the fabric but he was getting all done with sitting in the giant teacup & this is the closest thing to a smile we got. Still love it, especially in Chocolate tone!!


Is your baby growing up too fast too??? Contact me to book your session for 3, 6, or 9 month portraits!

A lesson in Post Processing aka Editing

If you're a client of mine, you've probably heard me refer to the "editing" of your photos. Ever wonder what that really means? Let me show you!

First of all, the rule "garbage in, garbage out" very much applies in photography. If you take a bad photo, chances are no amount of editing will really fix it. So photographers don't get to be lazy in choosing their camera settings and lighting, lol.

But what editing CAN do is enhance a photo. Give it that WOW factor. Images just don't come out of the camera knocking your socks off. They need a little help with Post Processing, or Editing.

I found a great example while working on Brittany's Senior Portriats.

Here is the original photo- nice, right?


And here is the edited version. See how the colors pop and the background is a little more subtle so Brittany stands out more?


The difference is slight, but takes the image up a notch! Depending on how many images are in a Client Gallery, you may see fully edited images, or you may see them "straight out of the camera". If your gallery contains straight camera images, I'll always tell you when you receive your gallery password. Regardless, any image you select for a print order will be fully edited at that time!

Have a great week everyone and look for new posts this weekend!

50% off portrait session- next week

I have a (2) openings in my schedule for portrait sessions next week and I'm offering 50% off the session package!!! (Studio Session Level 1 only)

Tues 7/21 and Fri 7/24 - one session available on each day. Contact me right away if you'd like to book!

You can see the full package details on my website- Portrait Packages page!

Senior Portraits: Brittany - Olympia | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portrait Photographer

What a FABULOUS night for senior portraits!! We were able to hold Brittany's session after a rain-reschedule a few weeks ago, and what an awesome session it was! I met Brittany the night of the Olympia Junior Prom when I did portraits for all the kids in Alex & Hannah's limo. It's great when I get to work with a familiar face again!

I have one major problem though... it was such a ridiculously good session that I'm going to have a very hard time narrowing down the images for the proof gallery!!

So here we go with a few of my favorites so far...

We rocked a fan for this one!


Brittany brought the most unique props for her session!


We pulled out the orange chair, affectionately referred to as the "ugly chair", to give this shot a pop of color. The chair, her expression, the unusual prop- this is one of my all time favorite senior shots!!!


Her choice for the outdoor portion was the Beach. Since I shoot there often, I always try to find new places and new poses to keep things fresh. With the gorgeous evening light, we had no problem!



Brittany- I hope you enjoy them so far!! You totally ROCKED your session... I think it's that new red hair of yours :-)

Business Head Shots | Rochester, NY Photographer

This is a very good friend of my mom's, for more than 30 years. Well, they go back that far, but for a decade or so their lives were in different directions and they lost touch. Recently they found each other again and picked up right where they left off. It's been a real joy getting to know her after seeing photos of her in our family albums from when I was little.

She needed some headshots done for work so we spent a leisurely afternoon together visiting then got to the task at hand. She wanted something more casual than corporate and I think these are just beautiful!

Know someone that needs headshots? Send them my way!

Article of Interest - Portrait Experience

There is an article in the July issue of Genesee Valley parent magazine (a free publication you can get at Wegmans) called "Make Your Portrait Experience Memorable - in a Good Way".

It's a great article that addresses some of the terrible experiences parents continue to have at some studios. It shocks me that sneaky "used car salesman" tactics are still used by many big chain studios. If you'd like to read the full article, you can see it on-line by visiting www.gvparent.com (in the center of the page is a link to "View the Full July Issue On Line" - I had a link posted here but it wasn't working for some reason so I removed it.)

There was an inset that mentioned to "Ask friends and family where they've had good portrait experiences; then use the phone or internet to get answers to the following questions:"

I'm going to list the questions, and give my answers!!

1) Is a minimum number of poses required?
D'Marie: Absolutely not! (And really it's the most ridiculous selling ploy I've ever heard of - read the article to see what I mean.)

2) Are photographers patient, quick on the trigger, and adept at making children smile?
D'Marie: I'm the only photographer and I pride myself on being very patient (clients comment on this a lot) and quick to get the shot. I do my best to get children to smile, but I always appreciate the help of mom, dad, siblings or whoever if it's just not happening! Afterall, you know what little song, dance, or toy really cracks them up!

3) Does the studio have a play area for use before and after the shoot?
D'Marie: Yes! The sitting/meeting room is a great place to hang out. I am in the process of turning it into a really kid-friendly area and expect to have that finished in the next few weeks.

4) Are fun props available?
D'Marie: Yes! I have lots of fun props and I'm always getting new ones to keep things fresh & new. We don't go prop crazy (because that can look a little cheesy & dated!) but they do have their place.

5) Are backdrops quickly interchangeable and of high quality?
D'Marie: Yes! I have 1 or 2 neutral colored backdrops ready to shoot before you arrive. If your session includes more, the change takes just a few minutes. I use hand painted canvas backdrops from Silverlake, as well as seamless paper from Calumet - 2 of the top names in backdrops.

6) What special effect options are available?
D'Marie: All sessions include the option for images to be converted to black & white, sepia, selective coloring, and other unique effects.

7) How much will this cost?
D'Marie: This is where I differ the most from the big chain studios. [Look for another blog post this week with more on this subject!] With D'Marie you know ALL of the costs up front!! There are absolutely NO HIDDEN FEES. Session details & costs are shown on my website, and any additional prints or products you would like to order can be done 'ala carte' with just a $50 minimum order. Poses are mix & match too, so you're not stuck buying tons of prints that you don't need, just to qualify to get an image you want!

8) When will the portraits be ready for pick up?
D'Marie: Proof images are ready to view on-line in 1-2 weeks after your session, and the gallery is open for 3 weeks for you to make your selections. Once I receive your order form, your prints will be ready in 1-2 weeks, depending on the sizes!

I hope you've found this information to be helpful - and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with me!

Natasha & Mike: Wedding part 1 | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

Today it rained. Haha, what else is new! Besides the fact that it has rained almost every day for weeks, for the last dozen or so weddings I've had, it always seems to rain! Bride & Grooms- I'm so sorry, it just seems to follow me!

Natasha & Mike planned ahead though and booked the County Clerk office for photos, and they had their reception at the Doubletree Hotel which has awesome areas for photos also. I'm so excited about the beautiful images we captured today.

Unfortunately for you guys, you won't get to see any of that... yet! The Bride & Groom specifically requested that their images not be displayed until they have their albums. Soooo 6-8 weeks from you, I'll be posting all of the cool images. But I can't help but give you a sneak peak at a few of the details, so you get to see the flowers :-) Gorgeous!!!!!





Keep an eye out for part 2 later this summer!!

Multiple Families | Rochester, NY Modern Family Portrait Photographer

The studio was a very busy place this afternoon! Gramma & Grampa, their adult kids and their families all came along for a session. We worked in multiple groupings to cover all the bases... and I think we got through it in record time, only about an hour!

Gramma & Grampa:


All 8 grandkids, ranging from 5 months to 12 years!


Various other groupings:





A view of what happens between the posed shots, lol. I love this one!


And right before we wrapped up, we snuck in a few shots of this little beauty! She's just a few days older than my Ben!!

Poor girl, she was my guinea pig in the teacup :-) The look on her face says it all, haha. Ben is so getting stuck in there next time we go in the studio!


So cute!!


I hope you guys enjoy them so far!! I'm worn out after a busy couple of days so off to bed for me!!

Senior Portraits: Melissa - Odyssey | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portraits

It's been a week (or more??) of crazy weather, and today was no exception. It poured all night long and into the morning. I woke up thinking we'd have to reschedule Melissa's session for sure. And again I was wrong, lol.

Having been involved with dance since she was 3, we did a series with a variety of her dance shoes. This is a shot with the point shoes. Just looking at them makes my feet hurt!



When I saw her purple shirt I knew the hazelnut backdrop would be a great choice- love the deep rich colors, and love my giant old trunk!



Melissa specifically asked if her package allowed for any black & white or sepia images... YES, all senior packages include that option at no charge. Here's one in b&w. I love her expression!



After the studio portion we headed down to the beach. And it was actually really gorgeous weather! Bonus- since it had been raining all morning, we were the only ones there! I love this background, it's inside the courtyard. I've never been shooting at the beach when the gate is unlocked and no one was playing basketball so I was really excited. It was begging for an urban twist so here it is in an acid effect.



Melissa- it was fun, you were a total natural in front of the camera!! I hope you enjoy them so far!!