Category Archives: Photography

Capture Your Big Day With Professional Photography

Posted on by

Your wedding is destined to be one of the most memorable days of your life. It is important that you capture and preserve the memories of this day, for both your own use in the future and as a record for your family. While some amateur photographers can be quite skilled, they rarely have the equipment and expertise to produce photos at the same level as a true professional. As such, you should endeavour use a professional photography service for your wedding. The modest cost of a quality service will give you quality pictures to use for years to come.

Below is a brief outline of some of the services you can expect from quality wedding photographers. This is designed to help you choose the very best company for your upcoming wedding.

Photography Services

Wedding photography is much more complex than just snapping pictures. Professional photographers offer a wide range of photographic services which ensure that they have an option that will suit almost anyone’s needs. When being charged for wedding photography, there are two main components, being the time the photographers will spend at your wedding and the prints, albums and other items that will be produced for you.

The amount of time the photographer will spend at your wedding is the first major consideration. This can range from just a single photographer for few hours during the main service, to multiple photographers for the entire day! You will need to look at what you have planned for your big day and decide which parts you want documented. It is always advised to include more time than you think you need, just in case your plans run a little bit over time.

The second factor to consider with wedding photography, is what kind of prints you want to be delivered after the event. Services in this field include deluxe display boxes, enlarged photos, custom photo albums, -e-albums’ and many other presentation methods. In addition to this, you can expect all your photos to be slightly retouched and edited, in order to ensure you and your wedding party are looking their very best in these photographs for years to come.

Video Services

The only thing better than still photographs of you wedding is a professionally shot and edited video. Videos taken by professional companies are a shot and complied by professional cinematographers – this will result in far greater quality than your hand held video camera!

Just like wedding photographers, you can choose a package that suits your needs. As you pay more, you can get additional cameras and cinematographers and added features and additions to your video footage.

Choosing The Right Package

Wedding photography and video services are generally sold as a package. Each package will include a combination of a photographer’s time and the resulting photographs and prints. Obviously, the more you are willing to pay, the more you will receive. It is important to carefully choose which package best suits your wedding and budget so you can avoid disappointment.

Still Life Photography – How to Shoot Good Pictures

Posted on by

Still life photography has many uses. Perhaps you want to take a picture of a beautiful shell or perhaps take a picture of a product that you’re selling on eBay. Other reasons for learning still life photography may include selling still life photograph downloads at microstock sites or to food magazines. No matter what your reason, still life photography is a great skill to learn.

Unless you are photographing specific products or pictures for a magazine assignment, the subjects for your still life photography are endless. Despite common belief, still life photography isn’t limited to just pictures of apples and grapes. Even super simple items like a few artfully arranged spools of thread can be interesting and attract attention. There are a couple of microstock sites like Shutterstock and iStock that have a high demand for all sorts of still life pictures from simple to complex.

People often times think of still life photography as a lot easier than other types of photography like sports or landscape photography. With still life pictures, you can arrange the objects exactly how you want them and have full control over the photo’s composition.

In other ways, good still life pictures are more challenging to capture. Because still lifes are taken up close, it’s easy to see imperfections on your subject that you would normally never see.

Despite its challenge, by using some basic photography skills and applying these tips, you can create stunning still life pictures with just a little practice.

Still Life Photography Lighting

Professional photographers usually use a soft box or a light box to shoot their still lifes. However this isn’t absolutely necessary as you will see in a moment, but it can be a big help. However, if you do want one, you can find a soft box online or you can easily make one using instructions you find online. The purpose of these lighting tools is to provide even light on the subject.

Another way to get this good quality light is to set up your shoot outside. A high overcast or bright sky can create a natural soft box effect without having any of the harsh shadows.

Composing Still Life Pictures

Arrange your objects in a pleasing composition. Use a classical composition technique such as “Rule of Thirds” or “Leading Lines” or “Frame within a Frame” to create a good composition. Artfully arrange the objects, and use your imagination. For example, if it’s a picture of a piece of cake, instead of including the entire table setting, place a gleaming, silver dessert fork upside down on the plate and remove a tiny bite from the cake.

Fill the Frame with Your Still Life Subject

Remember, the only thing that should be in your viewfinder or on your preview LCD screen is your composition. You need to remove any distractions or clutter from the background so you can have a clean and up close image. If you have a backdrop or background you don’t like don’t worry about it because it can be easily solved. The light box or soft box will solve this problem, but if you’re taking pictures outside and have a distracting background simply place a piece of white foam board behind your subject and you’ll be all set. If you want a sharp image, make sure to use macro mode or you can end up with a fuzzy image.

Look for a Good Angle and Start Shooting!

Rather than taking a picture from your head level, try holding the camera so that it’s at the same height as your subject. You should also try shooting from a variety of different angles.

Jobs For Friends That Are Not In The Wedding Party-photography

Posted on by

Your wedding day will only happen once. The memories will last forever but, great pictures and videos will allow you to keep and share the memories in a special way. If you are planning to hire a professional photographer, it might be a good idea to have friends and family taking pictures as well. Every moment of your wedding day is only going to happen once and everyone will see it differently. Photographing your wedding is a fun way for friends that are not in the wedding party to feel they made a valuable contribution.
There might be guarantees from a professional photographer but, what good will those do after the ceremony? Those moments can never be captured again and if something goes wrong you will have no recourse but perhaps a financial refund. Ask others to take photographs and video also, you should have no problem enlisting back up photographers.

There are certain shots that you will need to make sure do not get overlooked. Provide a list of people and shots that are to be taken and have more than one person take each one.

1. If you hire a professional photographer you probably want to save money where you can. Ask them to show up only when needed and be specific about which shots you want and where they should be taken. There is probably no need for them to take pictures of the wedding party getting ready but this might be a lot of fun for one of your friends. Have a friend or family member with the groom and his groomsmen and one with the bride and her attendants taking pictures.

2. It would be a lot more fun for the bride to have a friend riding with her to the church taking pictures stead of a strange photographer.

3. Make sure that whoever will be taking pictures gets good photos of the venue before your guests arrive. Of course there should be plenty of pictures as guests arrive as well.

4. Besides pictures of the actual ceremony there should be pictures of the seated guests and wedding party. These should include the entire wedding party and the parents of both the bride and groom.

5. You will need to let your photographers know what pictures you want right after the ceremony and who is to be in them. These pictures should include pictures of the bride and groom together with their parents. One picture of the new couple with his parents and one with hers is a photo that often gets overlooked. If parents are remarried, you should get a picture of the biological parents alone with the couple if you can. Don’t feel too uncomfortable asking for this particular photo, you will be so happy you did.

6. Put disposable cameras on the wedding reception tables and encourage all guests to take pictures of each other and anything they think will be important to you. Instruct them to leave the cameras on the tables for you to develop and you will make sure whoever wants pictures will get them.

If you hire a photographer you can save a little money by asking to buy your pictures unedited or on a cd, you will want to ask about the reprinting rights. Limiting the amount of time they spend at the event and the number of pictures they take is also helpful. But, friends and family will be happy to take pictures all day long for free. Everyone can’t be a member of the wedding party but this is one of those great job for friends that are not in the wedding party, and it will save you a ton of money.

NYC The Photography Lover’s Dream

Posted on by

New York City is a culture enthusiast’s dream, boasting everything from world-class museums and galleries, to a famed theatre and performance arts scene. It’s therefore no wonder that the city draws countless visitors each year, to experience an eclectic mix of cultural treasures alone. One such treasure is undoubtedly found in NYC’s photography galleries, displaying some of the most gripping photographic works in the country.

There are virtually countless venues you can visit to experience New York’s City’s superb photography scene. However, one of the most prominent of the bunch is the International Center of Photography. While small in size – usually displaying three exhibits at any given time – the Center is renowned not only for its photographic pieces, but also for its community programs and lecture series. It’s also popular because, due to its size, visitors are usually able to appreciate every exhibit without feeling rushed.

The Aperture Gallery is another famed spot to enjoy photography displays, boasting Ansel Adams as one of the six founding members of the Aperture Foundation. The gallery also publishes a magazine and a range of books, in addition to holding a number of lectures and panel discussions. Soho Photo and the Photographic Gallery are two others that shouldn’t be missed on an NYC photography tour. Soho Photo was created in the early 1970s as a cooperative for amateur and professional photographers, while the Photographic Gallery focuses on photos pertaining to New York, political issues important to New Yorkers, and the port and marine traditions that shaped the city.

Finally, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art carries a number of forms of artwork, it is home to three well-known photo galleries: a permanent exhibit, the Howard Gilman Gallery, and another with rotating exhibits.

Of course, there’s even more reason for photography lovers to head to NYC. Aside from offering a string of acclaimed photo galleries, the city’s iconic urban landscape beckons photographers to bare their lenses. With everything from a host of towering skyscrapers to the city’s most famous landmark – the Statue of Liberty – there’s always something intriguing for photographers to capture on camera. Another popular spot in the city for photographic opportunities is none other than Central Park – boasting over a square mile of stunning greenery and wildlife.

So, why not plan a trip to NYC to experience the city’s many photographic offerings – and much more? Just remember that if you’re planning to travel to the city during peak seasons – such as summer – you’ll want to make reservations for your New York hotels early, since they can fill up quickly – particularly in the city’s most famed districts.

How to make an everyday birthday cake evolve into a cool birthday cake!

Posted on by

Are you bored with the same birthday cakes year after year, do you envy your colleagues who come up with unique birthday cakes delivered to their loved ones every year. Well birthdays do come only once a year, and there is no harm in celebrating each birthday with a special touch. With various varieties available in the market you can never run out of ideas. But of course the best would be a homemade cake made with love, this also gives you the opportunity to go crazy with some wild ideas you can getter from various cake stores and online.

For example if you want to make your special someone have a royal celebration you can try out a cookie crown cake. With frosting and candy to add the rich look, you can be sure that the birthday celebrant is going to feel like a prince or princess on the special day.

Is the birthday boy or girl crazy over any specific animal or cartoon figure? Then why not turn the cake to resemble the same. Once you get the cake shape template, the rest is simple. After baking the cake to that template, you can use any colour frosting and different candies and cookies to get the desired look for the cake. This can even be done to resemble a large ice cream cone, or a favourite flower. This can even be done to resemble the trade they work in whether its a doctor still a student (maybe a book) or a writer (a large pen) you can create the cake in any shape you can set your mind on.

Photo cakes is the latest trend. With a simple square or circle baked cake, once a photo is pictured on top of the cake, nothing will make the cake more unique than that. Many bakeries simply scan the image and change it into an edible image on top of the cake. While you are at it why stick to one photograph? You can get many photographs merged together through photoshop or any image editing tool before you run off to the bakers. Through this method, you can show a history of details or a bunch of different friends all on the same cake top.

Let your mind run crazy set no limits as now anything you desire can be achieved in a cake to celebrate that special someones special day.