Annapolis Wedding Photographer and Portrait Photographer

I love it, and it's not what you think! Tomorrow night the Maryland PPA will be hosting their first 2010 print competition at the Sheraton in Columbia, MD at 6:30. If you're a photographer who has never competed, or even seen a competition, you should find a way to be there. In it's simplest form it is a lot of the active Professional Photographers in Maryland competing for points and prizes by showing their best work to a panel of judges who will score and critique it. More than that though, it is the best way I have found to improve the level of my photography, make new friends, and get mentored by some of the best in the business. You don't have to compete, or even be a member to get something out of it! Just observe and you will learn. If you do decide to come, make sure you look for me and I'll introduce you around.

 

Hope to see you there!

What a great day in Historic Annapolis for an engagement session; sunshine, much warmer weather, and a fun couple to spend a couple of hours with! Brooke and Michael had only one day that they could do their Annapolis engagement session, because he is in the service and currently stationed in Florida, luckily that day turned out to be the nicest in 2010 so far. Michael, originally from Colorado, caught Brookes eye when he was at the Naval Academy, and she decided to take "borrow" his hat when they were all out one night at a local pub. That little display of affection got them to where they are now.

We started off at their favorite hangout, Toro Bravo on West Street and then then just hit the sidewalks and allies around town for some fun photos. See more of them here.

Had a great time with you both and look forward to your big day!

Fellow photographers, are you ready to take your game up a notch? If so, it's time to register for one or two of the great classes that will be held in your area on or around May 17th as part of the PPA's comittment to educating professional photographers. Locally, many of the members of the MDPPA will holding classes in everything from Creative Marketing to Outdoor Portraiture to Modern Boudoir. I will be holding two classes with two great photographers and MDPPA members; one a hands on outdoor portraiture class with Ed Buxton on the 17th and a Boudoir class with Kim Lynch on the 24th.

If you want to learn as wells as share your knowledge in a hands on class setting, Super Monday is the way to go! Class sizes are limited so register now here!

He finally did it! We, and especially Wendy have been waiting for this to happen and my brother-in-law Carey Hargrove finally popped the question at Christmas. Lucky for all of us, especially him,  she said yes. They had their engagement party here on my wife's family farm in Lothian this past weekend, and are planning their wedding, also here on the farm for June of this year. This wedding will be amazing! How could it be anything less when everyone in your family is in the special event business. I put a few images from the other night into the gallery below, but check out the slideshow here.

Carey and Wendy, congrats, and I look forward to working with you both on your big day.

 

 

Robin and Lee, very different people, but both gave me the opportunity to work with them to create what I hoped would be some interesting images. In the case of Robin, it was at her Wedding at Oxon Hill Manor, and in the case of Lee, an 87 year old farmer in south county, it was a couple of stolen moments while he was working in a nearby barn.

At the Maryland PPA awards banquet last night at Ruth's Chris in Baltimore, I was shocked to find out that both images won awards this year that i wouldn't have even dreamed of winning a couple of years ago. Lee's image "Hardscrabble" won portrait of the year honors, and Robin's image "Anticipation" won something I honestly never thought I would win, a prestigous Kodak Gallery Award. Sometimes inspiration can come from areas as diverse as the wise and weatherworn face of a farmer to the simple beauty of a bride on her wedding day. Beauty is in everyone, and I am so lucky to be able to work with it every day.

 

 

Valentines day has come and gone and left in it's wake tens of thousands of newly engaged couples who will start planning weddings in the next couple of weeks. If you are one of them, congratulations! Now, I am sure you are starting to think about the dress, dates, vendors, locations, and everything else wedding related. It can be a confusing time to say the least, so I wanted to give some perspective on timelines that can be used when planning your big day.

Nowadays, demand outstrips supply of everything desirable in the wedding market, so it is prudent to make your big decisions as soon as possible. You don't have to get too stressed, but don't wait until 6 months before your desired date and find out everyone is booked. It is best to start looking for the big items at least 9 months in advance. Those would include the ceremony and reception venues, the photographer, your music or entertainment, and the dress. These items book first because of their singular nature. Many reception venues host one wedding only 1 wedding per day, many of the more popular photographers will only shoot 1 wedding per weekend at most, DJ's who are not part of a large group will typically only work 1 wedding per day, and gowns, due their custom nature can take months to receive. Some of my favorite venues are already booked for all of 2010 and are now booking well into 2011 and I still have a some dates open in 2010, but am booking a lot of weddings for 2011 now.

 

I would suggest that you start with the venue first and do this right away, then move onto the photographer, DJ/band,  and gown. Get those first few items under contract then take a breather. You'll be glad you did!

 

Photo Tip: If you want to shoot in the snowstorm today, freeze your camera first! Put it in a plastic bag in the freezer or outside and let it cool to below freezing. When you take it outside the snow will bounce right off. However-take a plastic bag with you and wrap it up before you take it back inside then let it warm back up to room temp before opening bag to avoid condensation. Have fun!

If you're a professional photographer who would like to learn about competing in PPA or WPPI print competitions, you should be at the Sheraton Columbia, MD, this morning. Our print competition is getting underway, and watching is a great way of learning what is expected in competition, and it's a great way to get inspired by the awesome images that you'll see.

Previously I mentioned how important light quality is when working with your photographer in an outdoor location. Well it’s even more important inside!

 

Imagine you’ve chosen your dream venue, a big classic ballroom, lots of crystal chandeliers, high ceilings, and quite possibly, no natural light to work with by the time your ceremony or reception gets under way. In this scenario, your photographer comes in ready to go to work and has his/her camera and flash ready, he or she begins to take great pictures of your perfect day with the camera and flash pointed right at you, making you feel like the “movie star” you are for the this, the most important day in your life! Life is beautiful, everything goes great and you can’t wait to see your photos.

 

A couple of weeks later, you meet your photographer to pick up your digital proofs and rush home to check them out. You pop the disk into your computer and the images start flowing in and your heart drops. Why, because the images are flat and lifeless. There are shadows of you on the walls behind you in every shot, the room looks dark, but you’re lit very brightly. This isn’t what you remembered, where’s the life, the fun, the beauty of the day. Many of your guests images are as good or better than the images created by your photographer. How did this happen?

 

The reason is simple, it’s all about light and simply pointing a camera and flash at a subject is not the way it’s done. Sadly this is happening more and more today as evidenced by posts on so many wedding forums today. Your photographer needs to know how to control light in the venue so that you look like the “Star” you are on your wedding day. Being a wedding photographer at many of the classic venues in Annapolis , DC,  and Baltimore, requires you know how to get it done. Rarely do I walk into a large classic venue without several supplemental lighting setups. Mounting a flash on your camera is fine if you use it properly by bouncing it off walls ceilings etc….but it’s effect is even greater when combined with other lights. The effect should be dramatic…..lot’s of depth to the images, room details visible….in short, the day as you remembered it. Make sure your photographer is competent with off camera lighting, has supplemental strobes available, and has experience using them. It’s not rocket science, but it does require extra effort on the part of your photographer, and it’s what you deserve on your big day. Make the right decision and when you see your images your heart won’t drop, but you will cry. Let’s just be sure they are tears of happiness!

 

Psyched to announce that the episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition that @kimlynch and I provided photography for will air on February 14th! What a great cause to have been a part of and can't wait to see it.

When choosing your venue, for a wedding or even a portrait session, think about the images you would love to remember your day with. Photography literally means "To Write with Light" and without great light your images will be less than dramatic. If looking at an outdoor location, remember that the best time for photographs is when the sun is low. So, that means within an hour or two of sunrise or before sunset is optimal for great out door images. I've never shot a sunrise wedding, not ruling it out, but sunset is probably going to be your best choice. I would suggest taking a walk around the venue with your photographer at approximately the same time of day as  your event. This will help you both come up with ideas for great photos and help you avoid some common mistakes that could leave you squinting while saying your vows! Choose your location with light in mind when at all possible, and you will be guaranteed better photos.

 

Next up-Lighting the Dark Spaces!

 

 

I just wanted to give a big thank you to my clients and friends who helped me create a lot of happy brides last year. When I heard a couple of days ago that I had won the Brides Choice Award for Wedding Photography by Martha Stewart's Wedding Wire, I was totally surprised. I didn't even know I was competing! Apparently they solicit feedback from Brides married in the last year and I got some very high scores. Top 5% in the country, yay. Thank you,  Thank you, Thank you!

 

Loving your job is a great thing. It sure doesn't hurt being a wedding photographer in beautiful cities like Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington DC either. Being able to call on some of the best talent around around to back you up sure doesnt hurt either; Thanks Kim, Sara, and Rachel. Lets do it again next year.