It’s almost over for many 2010 seniors.  While it may be the end of high school it’s just the beginning of the rest of your life! Before you move on you’ve got to capture a snapshot of this moment in time. Over the weekend we photographed Cylenthia.  Cylenthia wasn’t happy with her photos that she got from the school photographers so she contacted us for something a little more unique.  After talking back in forth for a while we decided on shooting at the beach.  You couldn’t have asked for a better senior model because she brought her A-game.  We started shooting in some wooded areas of our picked location to blend her dress color with the environment.  Then we worked our way back to the beach areas. It was very windy out but that only added to the dramatic effect.  Cylenthia was a trooper and because of that she took some absolutely awesome, breathtaking photos!  Good luck next year at college Cylenthia and when you’re ready we’ll still be here for the next moment in your life!

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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Thomas Nelson’s 2010 Nursing School graduates during their pinning ceremony. What an accomplishment for these 55 individuals. Just hearing some of the things that these classmates have gone through over the past 2 years would make any grown man cry. In fact a few of them actually did. Their hard work has not gone unnoticed by the family, friends, teachers and peers. While it may be the end of one journey, now begins a new one. Mark Warren wishes the graduating class of 2010 the best of luck for all your future endeavors and I’m thankful I was able to take part in your celebration. Read more

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In my last post I talked about a case in which the photographers hired were in no way equipped to handle a job they were paid to do.  The case did not end in the photographers favor. So what exactly should you know about photography when it comes to choosing a photographer?  You don’t have to have a degree or have been shooting for years to figure if your photographer is equipped to handle a job.  It’s actually rather simple.  The basic things you should asking them about is cameras, lenses and lighting.

Cameras

Most pro photographers are going to choose to use a Digital SLR.  SLR stands for single lens reflex.  Basically many of these are based on 35mm film camera design and have detachable and exchangeable lens.   Here’s what you need to know about cameras:

Camera bodies come in three flavors; entry level, mid-level and pro camera bodies. Cost can range from a few hundred dollars to over $5000.00. Entry level cameras can take great images with the right glass.  When photographers refer to glass but they’re referring to lenses.  More on that later.  Where many entry level cameras fail is shooting many frames per second and handling noise at higher ISO’s.  ISO is a rating for film speed and the higher the number the more grain and noise you’ll see in your images.  Mid level and pro-body cameras do a better job with high ISO noise.  Mid level and pro bodies will also produce a better image quality if used with good glass.  I’m not going to go into too much detail because I could end up writing a book on camera body differences.  Just know when photographer shopping keep this in mind when you question them about their camera model.

Lenses

Having good glass is probably more important than the camera body itself.  Many people who jump into photography usually use kit lenses, which are the lenses that come with your camera.  These lenses usually aren’t able to perform as well in low lighting situations.  Lenses have number designations that tell you how they perform.  They have the focal number or focal range and then the f-stop.  The focal number tells you how close the lens can zoom.  Some standard lens focal lengths are 50mm, 35mm and 28mm.  Focal lengths is important but the f-stop is the key number we want to talk about.  The lower the f-stop number the more light that lens can collect.  In dark churches or other low lighting situations having a low f-stop will make it easier to shoot without flash or external lighting.  F-stops range from 1.0 up to 32.  Typically the lower the f-stop number the higher the lens is going to cost.  It’s recommended to at least have an f/1.8 or f/2.8 lens when shooting in low light environments.  An f/1.4 or f/1.2 would be even better.  You probably won’t ever come across anyone with a f/1.0 lens because they don’t really make them any more and the few that are still out there are more of a rare collectible.

Some lenses have a range for their f-stops.  They may be displayed for example on a zoom lens that is an 18mm-55mm  as f/3.5 – f/5.6.   This means at 18mm the f-stop would be f/3.5.  At the 55mm the f-stop would be f/5.6.  So basically the more you zoom the less light the lens can take in.  As you see in a dim lighting this can severely hinder the ability to shoot images that aren’t dark or blurred.   Other zoom lens may show as 70-200 f/2.8.  This means the f-stop value is constant throughout the zoom range.  You’ll get the same amount of light at 70mm as you would at 200mm.  These type of lenses are much better to have for low light shooting.

Some lenses may have stabilization which is also a plus.  Stabilization lenses will allow a person to have study shots without camera shake.  The more you zoom a lens the harder it gets to hold the lens steady. These lenses will cost more but will definitely help with low light and obtaining sharp images.  There so much more that can be said about lenses as well but armed with this basic knowledge will be able to determine if your photographer has the right set of tools.

Lighting

I’ve learned in my years of photography that lighting will make or break a photograph.  Lighting is what makes photography possible and we all have to use it to capture memories.  The problem is many photographers don’t know how to use it.  Some photographers only rely on natural lighting.  However when in dark environments natural light won’t work too well.  A photographer should know how to use some type of external light source like flash or continuous light sources.

Some cameras have a built in flashes.  These flashes are great in a pinch but they cause harsh flash lighting.  Many people will end up having a deer in the headlights look.  They may also end up having red eye unless their camera has red eye reduction.  Some photographers use accessory flashes which slide onto the top of camera or mount to side of a camera on a bracket.  Again you end up with direct light which cause harsh flat lighting.  If your photographer knows how to bounce flash this will help tremendously versus using direct flash.

A better use of flash or other light sources is to use them off camera.  Flashes can be trigger remotely by a radio or a light sensors.  When you get your light source away from the camera you’re able to create a direction light and this is what will give images depth and dimensional qualities.  A picture may just a picture to some but you will be able to see a tremendous difference in quality from a pro that understands lighting versus someone just getting started.

You’ve now been educated in the basics of photography equipments and my hope is that with this knowledge will allow you formulate questions to ask a photographer before you hire them to capture your memories.  I’m going to post one more part to this segment and that will tell what we shoot with at Mark Warren Photography.  Stay tuned!

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Recently their has been a viral video going around amongst the wedding and portrait photographers featuring a case from a tv court show.  I’m not going to tell you what show it was on or re-post the you tube video here because I’m sure you can find it via google search.  Both parties had their issues which I’ll further explain.

Here’s the scenario: a client hired two photographers to shoot her wedding.  The wedding photographers did a horrible job and the client wanted part of her money back.  She was still willing to let the photographers keep a small percentage for their time but wanted the majority of her money back.  The photographers were not equipped to handle the job they were presented.  They had to shoot in a church with dark lighting and flash was not allowed.  Many of the pictures were grainy and they appeared to use photoshop to fix bad photography with vignettes, selective coloring and amateur looking composites.  The tv judge immediately jumped on the photographers cases about their inferior equipment.  He asked them what kind of lenses they were using. One was a basic lens that comes with many camera kits.  The other was a 70-300 add on lens.  Neither of the lenses were usable for low light situations and the camera that was used would not have been able to handle increased ISO (film speed) very well.  The judge did know a bit about cameras and asked what f/stops the lenses used and the photographers said they didn’t know.  He also asked why didn’t they have professional equipment versus stuff you can get from Walmart.  Speaking of Walmart, the clients actually had their images printed there!  Needless to say the photographers lost their case but that’s not the point here.

Ok enough of the back story.  Here are some of my thoughts of the case.  Starting with the photographers, they clearly had a lack of understanding of photography.  Many people get into charging for services because friends tell them that they take good pictures.  Then they plan a trip to Best Buy and pick up the cheapest DSLR that they can find and now they a’re professional photographers.  Hate be the bearer of bad news but it’s just not that simple.  It has taken me many years to get to where I am today and I’m still constantly teaching myself new things.

The judge alluded that good photography couldn’t be done with the type of camera that the photographers where using.  That’s not necessarily true.  A Canon Rebel Xti is capable of producing amazing images that can be blown up to large sizes.  Lenses will make the difference on the quality of image that you can produce.  There are limitations with an XTi camera but you would have to know your gear inside and out to know if it will be the right tool for the job.

The client did not do a good job of researching this photographer before hand.  If she had she would have clearly seen that the photographers work was inadequate for her needs.  All the blame cannot be placed on the photographers! Just because you’re getting good deal doesn’t mean you’ll get good photography!  Many people don’t want to pay the higher prices of other professionals because they figure it’s just pushing a button and a picture is a picture.  Believe me it’s much much more than that!  You should be seeing a difference in quality vs quantity of images.  Pros should put a lot of time, money and hard work in their craft to deliver exceptional images.

After your wedding is over you won’t have the food, the dj, or the glitz and glamour of the day. The only memories you will have is your wedding dress and your pictures.  Wedding photography should probably be on the top of your list when it comes to spending money on services for your day.  You should also invest much more in your wedding photographer than your DJ!

In my next post, Part 2, I’m going to explain what you should be looking for in your photographer, and educate you on know if they have the right tools for the job.

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We had a great 2009 and to say our final goodbyes we created a slideshow of some of our best images of the year.  Thanks to our clients for a wonderful year. Enjoy!!

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It’s 2010 and we’re ready for another year to serve our clients.  We have some great things in the works that will be coming really soon!  This year we’ll be offering more product and print options than ever before.  New to our line up are metal prints! Don’t confuse this with metallic prints on Kodak paper.  These prints are actually printed on metal!  More on this later.  Our web developers are working hard so we’ll be able to offer picture packages as a purchase option.  We’ll keep you posted on the progress but expect some changes really soon.  Speaking of changes our website will be going through a bit of an overhaul.  Don’t be surprised if you visit one day and see it completely changed.  We wish you a safe and Happy New Year and we’ll look forward to capturing your memories for 2010.

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Over the summer we shot these twins and they were such a blast.  Jakey and Madison’s mother took advantage of our holiday cards offer and wanted to get some new pictures of the twins.  We decided to shoot at the City Center in Newport News.  It was a great place to shoot and take advantage of the holiday decorations.  While these two can be quite a handful at times we got some great shots of them being themselves.

Time is running out for holiday card orders.  Don’t wait too long and book your session today!

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Guess what!! We now offer Holiday Cards from any photo session you have shot with us this year!  We currently offer 23 Card Designs and we will have more added soon. Take a look at our sample gallery at http://photos.markwphoto.com/Cards/Holidaycardsamples/10431288_rSJPW.

You can pick any image or images from your session(s) we shot this year!

To order your cards just follow these simple steps:

1. Browse our Card Design Gallery at the link above.
2. Find a design you like and notate the Design number.
3. Find an image or images that you would like to use from your previous photosession.
4. Email us at markw@markwphoto.com with your card design number, image or images that you want to use, and a short message that you want to add to your card.  We will send you an email with the link to a gallery when the card is ready. This should take less the 24 hours. Once your card has been added to the gallery you can purchase your cards at the following prices:

4×8 Card Pricing (includes envelopes)

20 Cards   – $30.00
50 Cards   – $65.00
100 Cards – $110.00

FAQ’s

What if you don’t remember how to get to my session gallery?
Just shoot us an email or give us a call and we’ll be glad to resend you a link to your gallery!

What if we want to take a new picture for our holiday cards?
We still have a limited number of sessions available up until December 15th, 2009.  We will give you a special session fee of $75.00. Many of our clients have requested to have pictures taken at local city centers and parks to capture the holiday spirit and decorations.

How long will it take to get the cards?
Once you place your order you will be given several shipping options but typically it takes about 2-3 days for most orders.

Can we change the fonts or design?
In order to process your cards as fast as possible, at this time we are not able to change the design templates and fonts of cards.

If you have any other questions feel free to let us know!

Thanks to all our clients and we hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year this holiday season!

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This month’s topic at my photography club (Hampton Roads Digital Photography Club) is on the subject of studio lighting and portraits.  The first week we discussed studio lighting equipment, options and a little bit about portraits.  Last week we had a hands on class for the members of the club.  A few of the other organizers and myself each bought in our lighting setups to share with the class.  I bought in a simple setup of just one light and an umbrella diffuser.

We also had the pleasure of having a few models volunteer to pose for us.  Sherita came over to my setup towards the end of the night.  I only got two or three shots of her because I wanted to give others a chance to play with the lighting but that was all I needed.  Thanks for volunteering Sherita and you take a beautiful image!

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Last week Marcy and I had to travel to Blacksburg for a couple of days. While we were there I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours to go see a waterfall. This was the first time I ever had a chance to see a waterfall in person. To get to the falls I had to hike two miles up a mountain. While the hike itself wasn’t too bad, carrying about 40 pounds of camera equipment on my back made it seem like an eternity to get to the top. Read more

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