Rome, Ga. Fall Portraits Photographer: Professional Advice: Hiring a true professional photographer

Fall time is here... and the mad rush to get your family's portraits taken is upon you!!  But in the rush... don't get duped by a "not so professional" photographer.

According to Wikopedia, a professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialized set of tasks and orchestrate them with uncommon skill.  In other words... a person who gets paid for their skilz!  But not all who claim to be a professional photographer by the definition are very professional, nor are their skills.  Here's just a few tips to keep in mind when shopping around for a photographer that will hopefully keep you from disappointment later.


What to look for when browsing through their portfolio.

I hope no one ever hires a photographer just by word of mouth!!  Always take a few moments before you give them a call to look at their work.  There are a few "tell, tell" signs that will immediately tell you if your photographer is worth your hard earned money or not.

Tell, tell signs...

1.  Pay attention to the faces in your potential photographers pictures.  Are they crazy shaded and dark?  Do their clients tend to have "raccoon eyes"?  (Unnaturally DARK shading around the eyes.)
         
If they even display one of these types of pictures this photographer doesn't fully understand lighting... which is the number ONE most important key to photography.  If they haven't mastered the first rule what else might they not understand?  The face is the whole purpose of taking a portrait.  If you can't see it... then what's the point?

2.  Do their pictures have a  red or orange tint that is completely unnatural?  Now I'm not talking about the golden glow of sunset. No, I'm talking about when the client's skin look like it has a perpetual sunburn?  Again... lighting hasn't been mastered, plus they haven't learned concept of white balance.  Both, very basic principals. 

3.  Is there a lot of "fuzzy goodness" going on?

     Nine times out of ten... that blur is used as a disguise.  It's a "wow" factor for the untrained eye, but to the professional eye, it's a way of masking terrible lighting and trying to make their snapshots appear to look professional when they really aren't

Always keep in mind, that there are a million techniques that a "not so professional" photographer can use for a "wow" factor, but if they can't take a picture without having to doctor it within an inch of it's life... think TWICE! 

NOTE:  If these techniques are applied correctly you will have a beautiful portrait to be proud of for years to come... but when not.... aye, aye, aye.... you've got a mess!

4.  How do their clients look in their portraits?

If the clients are posed in ridiculous poses that don't in any way compliment their build or physique, then this photographer doesn't have their clients best in mind.  A true professional photographer builds their business around what works best for their clients.  They ALWAYS put them first... and what's going to make them ROCK! ; )

Research the Photographer.

1. Facebook is one of the best ways of "meeting" the photographer before... well, meeting the photographer.  : ) It always amazes me how rude some true professional photographers are to their clients... or when referring to their clients on Facebook.  Right there in public for all to see. If they seem snooty on Facebook... chances are they are snooty and probably hard to work with... despite how good they are.  If they don't show the utmost respect to their clients... pass them by.  There are plenty of nice ones to choose from. : )

2. Also, Facebook poses the opportunity for you to see what others are saying about this photographer. Like mine, a lot of PP's have their FB page set up to show what they are posting only.  (For no other reason, but to show a new comer ourselves and our work first and not have to wade through other conversation, delightful as it may be. : )

If you click on the Everyone (Recent Posts) just above the Share options you'll get to see what other people are saying about, and to the PP. 

And lastly...

3. Personality!!  With so many truly professional photographers to choose from, be sure to choose one that speaks your language!   PP's (professional photographers) usually have a website.  (Honestly, I'd be leery of any who didn't.)  Be sure to check out their "About Me" page.  If you and that person seem to be like minded.. and all the other tips line up... I say GO FOR IT!

With just a few minutes of research and keeping these tips in mind... you'll know what you're looking at and what you'll get in return. 

Hope these tips were helpful!!  Remember... there are tons of high quality photographers around these parts to choose from. Don't be duped by a "Not So Professional" Photographer.

Ciao Bella!!
Christy C

Rome, Ga. Photographer: Battle at F-stop Ridge

Had a friend tag me in this video!!  It is just crazy awesome!!!

Enjoy!!!

 PS...  Just found out that my sweet, sweet photog friend, "Bella" from Canada actually knows one of the guys in the video!  He works at her camera shop.  How cool is that!

Cups and Mugs

I can think of nothing more fun, nothing that makes me happier, than hanging out with my kiddos!  They make my life whole!  Sure, they fight... scream... mess... talk back....  ....  .... (sigh)...  BUT I still love 'em to pieces! = )  So today I decide to celebrate the last day of their impromptu winter break... due to a winter storm that covered our great state of Georgia with snow and ice, with an afternoon outing.

A new coffee shop has opened on Broad Street, so I decided that we ought to check it out.  Coffee for kids, you may be screaming at me right now.  Well, yes... and no.  One hot chocolate, one soda, and one frepe (you can't really classify that as a coffee... more like a milkshake.) OH... and one vanilla latte... for me.  Yummmm.

I immediately fell in love with place the second we walked in. There was a big family all sitting around a tiny, little (was that an oxymoron?) child's table, playing a board game.  They were shouting and raising their hands in victory.  I thought to myself... "Yep, this is the place for us."  Others were on their laptops, many students had their books opened to VERY smarty looking pages, and then some sat on sofas and under lamps, quietly chatting.

After ordering we sat down at a little square table and I had my youngest go to the bookshelves full of games and pick one out for us.  He chose Sorry and we played, laughed.... argued (they... not me) well past the last sips of our yummy drinks.

There were mugs of every shape and size.  Superman, Tinker Bell... and owls. O>O

(Yep... I'm bumming today!)

Oh... and by the way... I totally slaughtered them! = )

BAM!

 Te he he... we had a fun afternoon out.  And JUST SO YOU KNOW... these were taken on my cell phone... which is neither smart, nor clear. = )  But it recorded some wonderful moments and I just felt like sharing.  

Happy Monday!

Ciao Bellas,

Christy C

Silly Elves or Alpha Commandos!!

Things change so quickly!  I can remember when my guys were still just babies in diapers, that older folks would always say things like, "They didn't have anything like that when mine were young!" after seeing some new child paraphernalia I had for the kids. I'd wonder how much would change from then to now... now being when mine are all much older!  Well, not a whole lot's changed, BUT I do miss the fact that the silly elves came about after mine were too old to appreciate them!  I love looking at other's pictures of their impish elves getting into everything!  LOVE IT!

No, we never had the silly elves, but this year we've had something just as silly!  I keep walking into rooms in the house and stumbling upon a team of toy Commandos full of mischief, left behind by my youngest, Levi.  Te he.... I just get cracked up at his wonderful use of my Christmas decorations... and more!

Here's just a few scenes I've come upon in the last week!

Nothing like getting the team out for a one "horse" open sleigh ride!

Anyone for some acrobatics off the Christmas tree?

And lastly, Ahhhh, a nice relaxing evening at home after a day full of fun and mischief.

I hope you all have an absolutely FABULOUS Christmas and a God touched New Years!  Don't 

forget to look for the silly things in life, and to laugh out loud... loudly at them!!

So until next year... CIAO BELLAS!!

With much love,

Christy C

 

Stockings of Love's Christmas Portraits

 I just had to share  my VERY favorite picture from yesterday's Christmas Bazaar ... Little Miss Chloe!  Isn't she just precious!

Hidden Treasure

Just dug around in some of my "old" camera equipment and found... a 50MM 1.8 lens!  Ahhhhhh!! You don't understand... this is the exact lens my hero, Jasmin Star prefers to shoot with... and after using it just a few minutes... I now know why!  (Actually, she uses the 50mm 1.2.  What's the difference you may ask... oh, about $1,000! Gaspers... I know! (That's a Bekah Boo word.))  Oh My GOODNESS!!  Move over zoom lenses... there's a new dog in town!  Now... I can NOT wait to get to use it!! = )  

Here's a few examples.  I'm taking the pictures with the 50mm.  I love how you can really zoom in on what you want the attention drawn to and everything else is left in a blurry tizzy! = )  (AKA. I'm able to really shrink the aperture so that the depth of field is VERY shallow!!  Awesome! )
  

Be sure to click on the images for better detailing! 

I took some that I couldn't even publish because the details were TOO good...  you could see how much dust was on the objects and what a terrible housewife I am! = )

For further reading about the 50mm, here's a short but sweet article talking about it!

http://www.photographybay.com/2009/08/04/4-reasons-why-everyone-should-have-a-50mm-lens/