Saturday, September 26, 2009

Senior Portraits: BJ - Olympia (part 1) | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portrait Photographer

This is officially my last senior of the season (ok, unless there are any REAL last minuters out there- call me immediately if you're still looking to get yours done!) and boy did we go out with a BANG!

BJ was sooooo much fun to work with and arrived completely prepared to make his shoot the best it could be with cool outfits, unique props, and great ideas of things he wanted to try. I had a ridiculously hard time picking what to blog!!

We had multiple outdoor locations lined up (several brand new ones, woo hoo) but we only made it to the first spot before the rain came. So this is Part 1 of his session.

Train tracks, great choice! (Don't worry, you could see for miles and Hannah was there to watch for any trains headed our way.)


Oh, I just can't say enough about how COOL this outfit & hat are....


BJ is a talented kid. He's been a big part of Olympia's musical program (um, he played Gaston in Beauty & the Beast last year & rocked it!), and also part of JukeVox- an old school style all acapella group that is competely amazing. He brought along one of their microphones... love it! Move over Frank Sinatra, there's a new blue eyed crooner in town :-)


I had to include this one, haha. A fun 80's outfit, complete with neon shoes, and a fun pose to go with it.


Yes, we took some regular (and still amazing) shots too, but this is the only one I'm posting because I'm having too much fun with the other shots!


And a few more fun props. This first one is like a MacBook ad. (He was posting on FaceBook while I was taking these shots, hee hee)



Ooh, I can't believe I almost forgot this one.... I collect ideas for new poses I want to try, and keep them in a binder. (Yes I'm a nerd like that, lol) Well I found a picture of Samuel L. Jackson a few years ago in USA Today that I just loved. And I FINALLY got to use the pose with BJ - I mean he even had the right kind of hat!


And the back story on this is.... I was showing BJ how I wanted him to sit & the chair tipped over, haha. So we had to put Hannah behind it to hold it up while we grabbed a few quick shots. It still started tipping over at one point, and this was the result. I love candid laughing shots!


Look for Part 2 of the session later this week if the weather cooperates!

BJ- AMAZING session, and it was super fun. Can't wait to do the rest. Enjoy!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Special for November & December Sessions

November & December are the months each year when I make a "CD only" session available! Since so many people want to make their own holiday cards or other fun gifts from their photos, this is a very affordable way to get those digital files!

This year's special:

$135
Includes:
*Session up to 1 hour
*Sitting fees for (2) people
*Use of (2) backdrops
*(1) outfit change if desired
*Private on-line gallery of (10) images
*CD of (3) high resolution images with rights to print... you select your favorite 3 from the gallery

Sitting fees for additional people, just $5/each.

Regular sessions are also still available, so you can choose what best fits your needs!

Weekend appointments are going very quickly, so contact me asap if you're interested in booking a session!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

New logo, new colors!

I was going to wait until January to unveil my new logo & colors, but I can't, I'm too excited!!

My super talented photographer friend Chelse from EIEIO/Glow Photography created this for me and I'm in LOVE with it!

(You have to look past the "blog logo" watermark thru it- that's just so no one "borrows" my fabulous logo :-)



When I first started out I used purple as my business colors. Then a few years ago I moved to teal & brown. But boy was I ready to leave it behind & get something new. I am loving the brown & gold, and the little leaf detail!! You'll slowly see all paperwork and marketing materials switching to the new logo, but there might be some of both out there for a while as I use up inventory.

Feel free to leave a comment if you love the new look too!! :-)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

I *heart* happy feedback!

My Senior had to reschedule his session to next weekend because he got some wicked sunburn yesterday at a football game :-)

So I thought I'd just take a minute to share some nice comments I've received from clients in the past month or two. Generally no news is good news, but sometimes clients take a minute to declare their love for me (HAHA well maybe not ME personally, but at least for their photos :-), and I always appreciate the happy feedback!!

From Amanda's Senior Session:
We're in (the gallery) and love the photos. Too hard to decide!

From Shannon's Senior Session:
There were so many we liked it was hard to choose haha :)

From Nick S's Senior Session:
Oh my God was it ever hard to choose. You do great work.

From Brittany's Senior Session:
We can get in (the gallery) ...and they are all beautiful! We will be looking at them over and over to decide! We’ll be in touch! Thanks again for doing such a great job!

From Nicole's Senior Session:
We love the pictures!

From Nick M's Senior Session:
(comments from 2 different family members)
love nicks pics / Nick's pics look great

From Victoria's Senior Session:
(I sent her a reminder that we need to get her yearbook photo in)
Denyse, if you didn't take such awesome pictures it wouldn't be this hard! :)

From Natasha & Mike's Wedding:
Thanks again, the pictures are really wonderful.

If you feel inspired after YOUR session, feel free to drop me a note. I always appreciate it!

Christine & Tim: Wedding | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

It's been a busy month of weddings along side Chelse from Glow Photography! Yesterday was a bit cool, but still a beautiful day, and some elegant locations!!

Christine arriving just minutes before the ceremony:


There were a lot of restrictions on where we could be during the ceremony, so I stayed out of the way and had a great view from the balcony!


Some of the details during formal time...




I love this one of the bride & groom sharing a real moment in between poses:



Their cake was very modern & cool, love this shot with the bride in the background during cocktail hour:


Have a great rest of your weekend everyone - look for another post tomorrow from what I expect to be my last Senior for the season!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Senior Portraits: Marlena (part 2) - Olympia | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portrait Photographer

Let me preface this by saying that Marlena said I could tell this story :-)

Marlena was one of my seniors a few weeks ago. She called upset this week because she & her mom were at odds over selecting images out of her very extensive gallery... Apparently her mom didn't like an entire outfit (which was ironic because it was one of my FAVORITE outfits all year!) so mom said that ALL images in that outfit were off limits!

That left her with less variety in the studio, so we scheduled a mini session for tonight to capture a few "mom approved" images. I hope we pulled it off!

Here are a few of my favorites at first glance. And the debut of my new image watermark... stay tuned for more on that in the upcoming weeks/months!



Ooh, she must've worked on her serious face since our last session. Love it!!!




Another wedding and Senior this weekend- look for more posts soon!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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

With yearbook deadlines only about 3 weeks away, I thought I was done with Senior Portraits. WRONG, lol! A few more are coming up!

Nick has to be my tallest senior this year at 6'2", a full foot taller than me! I had to use my ladder for the entire session :-)

I'm on my way out to a play date so no more rambling from me... here are a few of my favorites so far!!






Hope you enjoy them!! I'll get your full gallery ready as soon as possible!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Wendy & John: Wedding | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

Today was another wedding with Chelse from Glow Photography. (You'll notice that I'm not shooting many weddings that are "mine" right now... it's a business & personal decision for at least 2009 and 2010. With Ben's arrival this year, and contemplating baby #2, I'm leaving the big pressure & long days to my collegues. BUT if you're having a very small wedding (under 50 people) or very casual wedding (backyard bbq) I am accepting those for 2010!)

Anyways, this was a fun wedding. Great group of people, beautiful attention to detail, and gorgeous locations all came together for some amazing photos.

I've never seen a dip this low! It was sooo cool!


Gerber daisy's are my favorite flowers! Add in the polka dot ribbon and this just rocks!


I love the contrast of the bride's elegant bouquet against the rustic barn!


I can't decide which ring shot I love more!!



And a nice, casual shot of the bride & groom. So sweet.


Did you notice the new font in the copyright?? Stay tuned... exciting new things are coming for 2010!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Ben: 7-1/2 month portraits

Ok so most families plan for the "milestone" portrait sessions... you know, newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year. Well as a photographer, you just sort of do portraits whenever the mood strikes you. And you end up with randomness like Ben's 7-1/2 month portraits, haha.

I wasn't sure if these outfits would fit him by time 9 months came around, so I wanted to get some shots now while I was thinking of it.

He's sitting up now - much easier for portraits!! But he's also starting to crawl, so I have to work fast :-)







Another wedding this weekend - look for the post on Sunday!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

New Collage Options - the full line

I gave you a sneak peek a few days ago of the new line of collage options... I'm now pleased to announce the full line!

If you've been wanting a custom collage, but it's a little out of your budget, these are a great option! They are sized for 10x20 - don't worry, this IS a standard frame size. It's actually one of my favorite layouts for collages, and what I use for my personal images.

Interested? Email me for pricing and details!!
























Monday, September 7, 2009

Senior Portraits: Josh - Penfield | Rochester, NY Modern Senior Portraits

Now that school is starting today, we're nearing the end of Senior Portrait season so just a couple more (unless there are a lot of last-minuters out there!) for you to check out.

Josh is a friend of Sam, whose portraits I shot a week or two back. A quiet guy who was a big fan of the color black. You don't get much better than this black background with his black shirt & vest!!



Josh plays soccer, but didn't want to do the whole PROP thing for his portraits. We settled on a soccer warm up outfit instead.



With his soccer team, Josh spent some time in London and picked up this hoodie on the trip. I love the feel of this shot in acid effect!



And despite all the serious looks, we did manage to get a FEW smiles!



Enjoy your sneak peek! I'll let you know when the full gallery is ready!!

Amanda & Dave: Wedding | Rochester, NY Wedding Photographer

What a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding! I went along with Chelse from Glow Photography for Amanda & Dave's wedding at Burgandy Basin.

A couple of the beautiful details:




The flower girls were SO cute!



I love the innocence of childhood... all the chaos going on in the background, and she's just happily walking by blowing bubbles.



The ceiling over the dance floor at Burgandy Basin is tricky. It's recessed panels of mirrors. How it takes the camera flash was pretty unpredictable, but when it came together as planned, it was awesome. I love how the bride & groom are highlighted on the dancefloor, and also in the mirrors above!



Amanda & Dave didn't do the traditional ring exchange so there are no ring shots. But if they had, here's the shot they would've been in :-)



Have a great rest of your Labor Day everyone!!