I’m not about posing people in my images.  It’s actually just not my forte.  I also believe that if I just let you “be” as a couple the images will say SO very much more than some standard pose.  If you look at the images in this post.  Not one is posed.  Not one and bring your pets!  But anyway, I may have directed things a little bit and yes, I instigate!  But I want you to feel comfortable to be who you are.  I look for those moments that say something.  That make me feel something about you.   I think this is the way that when you look back at that day and like your wedding day you will be able to say I remember it all like it was yesterday.  Success!

It was about two women who were both recently married and contemplating changing their names to their spouse’s last name.  They totally surprised their husbands and brought back the officiant that married them to have a “ceremony” celebrating the name change.  They included wedding photographs and many of their guests that had been there that day.  By incorporating all of these things they brought together all the best moments of the celebration of their weddings and kept the fun going in their marriages and with friends!

They women (remember the husbands were surprised!) went all out on the theme of “Maiden Voyage”. You do get that right?  Emphasis on MAIDEN!   The colors were yellow, blue and white and the theme nautical of course.  Their professional photographer did a great job of capturing the event, the people and definitely the details.

While they went all out on this idea you could do it with your own special spin in the backyard of your home and just keeping it intimate with your closest friends and family and a Do It Yourself or hire professionals to help you out with resourcing vendors and supplies.  DIY does bring on other issues like finding vendors, supplies and all the time it can consume.  I have come across many unique ideas when I’ve done DIY weddings but the common comment I hear is just how time consuming it is!  Remember this of all things though to be sure to research your vendors thouroghly before hiring them.  This is on you in DIY as a planner will be able to make great recommendations based on experience with them personally.

This is an amazing idea.  So many of my couples get married not deciding on the whole thing about doing the name change.  This is a great idea and one I’m going to be sure to pass on!

Here is my original post on my blog for the red, white, blue theme.

Since the dawn of digital I get asked a lot “I just want the raw files on CD”.   Well, if only it was so simple.  I once thought of this situation when I saw an advertisement for doing self-surgery and I think it was removal of a kidney!  My thinking is to leave it to the professionals and this is why…too much can go wrong.  I’m a photographer specializing in people so things like wedding photography, event photography and corporate and head shot portraits.  I wouldn’t imagine going in to an industrial commercial situation and say I know what I’m doing.  I definitely do not!

I recently got an email from someone who wanted engagement photos taken and wanted the raw files.  He mentioned he was a photographer but I saw he actually had another full time career.  So the dilemma for me is, as an artist, the image I take doesn’t end at just the push of a button and do I want someone else to not let me finish my process.  It’s a whole lot more.  I often run into amateur photographers who ask why I don’t do this or have that or tell me their Nikon is better than my Canon etc.  The best thing about photography is that there are a million ways to do it and all of them your way if you choose it to be that way.  But there are things that can wrong.

The process of being a photographer isn’t just about owning a camera. It is a whole lot more and I won’t even begin to discuss the business aspect of it in this post.   Experience, vision, education, tools, passion and creativity are all a part of it.  It starts with “seeing” the image. You have to see something, maybe manipulate it to make it better, make some technical choices and then perhaps change your mind again because it wasn’t right.  Oddly enough the biggest part of taking an image for me is getting my subject to connect to me and forgetting the camera.  Yes, you read that right.  I want us BOTH to forget the camera.  When the subject is in front of me whether for a wedding portrait during their wedding or acting head shots or a family portrait the camera is just a tool and believe it or not I mostly shoot in P.  Yes, you read that right too.  Once I have my basic settings and choices in equipment I use P or A and nothing else (this is in Canon I’m not sure about Nikon settings).  If I fiddle with the camera and try to think about technical things then my client can get restless, lose mood or feel uncomfortable.  If this happens the shot is lost and I have nothing anyway.  This is why you see emotion, expression and feeling in my images and not a perfectly posed, placed portrait.  Cameras today are built with a zillion different algorithms so why not trust them?

Once that part is done there is the post production which with digital is more complicated than film.  Developing choices in film can be made and then labs will still look at all your negatives and work with the color or adjust chemicals for a different grain or you can push or pull your negatives.  All of these processes lead to the final “image” that was in my mind’s eye when I pushed that button.  If you get the chance Google Ansel Adams and look at the extensive notes he did when printing his images.  They were never straight out of the camera and there was never just one print.  When I develop prints there are other choices that need to be made and all of this my artistic expression.  In regards to post production on digital images the process is all on your computer but those choices of intensity, brightness, color, filters are all the same thing leading again to my choice as my final image.  Here is a sample of images that about post production choices that made the images stand out and feel “finished”  Intimate Weddings, Documentary Weddings, Head Shots

So when you are choosing a photographer for your wedding or family portraits or even just head shots remember it isn’t just about owning a camera and while your friend is “into” photography it’s always best to hire a professional and trust them and let them do what they do best.  It is NOT about the camera and definitely not a good idea when it is your wedding and no chance for a do-over.  What about head shots?  You only get the one chance for that first impression.  Do you want to risk that to an image that isn’t finished?  Let’s be honest, will you ever make that album or retouch those photos yourself within the next couple of years even?  Most likely not!

While digital photography has brought cameras to the masses and some amazing pictures taken there is a big difference with a professional photographer.  Find the right one for you and you won’t be sorry.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!

Ellie and Legs

This time of year I get inundated with tons of inquiries for weddings by brides.  So many couples get engaged on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and most are on the internet quick!  I love to hear their excitement and enthusiasm for this new endeavor in their lives.  But it doesn’t take long either to hear brides say how overwhelming, time consuming and daunting the process is.  I absolutely understand!

The search for a wedding photographer usually begins with images the couple likes from websites, is narrowed down to who is in the budget and hopefully based on who the couple really like as a person and their work.  When you meet with someone and feel that click with a photographer that is huge!

Here are the steps I recommend in researching your possible wedding photographer:

1.     Start with reputable websites and blogs.  Some to check out would be www.weddingwire.com, www.yelp.com, www.theknot.com,www.stylemepretty.com, www.theflirtyguide.com.  If you are Facebook you can find lots of connections in this regard.  I try to keep my business page, Misti Layne, updated with new photos and news of what I’m doing.

2.    Look at photography associations like www.wpja.com, www.ppa.com, www.wipa.com, www.ispwp.com.  A good association will require a membership process and this means a photographer has been through a screening process.

3.    It may be tempting but stay away from craigslist and the like.  I’m a business person with insurance, rent, over-head and costs just like a normal business.  I’m constantly updating equipment and software and keeping myself educated.  You take risks with people who shoot on weekends or are just starting out.  Having a camera does not a wedding photographer make!

4.    Ask a wedding planner!  I really do recommend wedding planners.  They have the resources and the knowledge and will save you time and are so worth it!   Even having a planner for “day-of” wedding planning is going to be a huge relief and allow you to truly enjoy your day.

5.    Ask friends who love their photos and you like as well!  This is a great resource but as I said make sure they LOVED their photographer.

6.    Narrow down your favorite photographers based on their images.  The internet is a great resource but try to stay under five.  Having 16 favorite photographers is still overwhelming.  If the images make you react emotionally in some way like a tear or a laugh—keep them!

7.    Contact them by email or phone and ask about availability and pricing.  Does the email or conversation with the photographer feel right to you?  Keep them on the list.  A lot of personality can come through this way and if you don’t feel a connection or wary, take them off the list.

8.    Narrow the list down to your most favorite three; more than this wastes time.  If in that three you don’t feel the connection go back to some of the others but at this point you should have a good feel about them.

Next post will be the questions that are important to ask once you narrow down that list!  So stay tuned!

Wedding Photography, Arista Winery, Misti Layne Photographer

So like most people I shoot like crazy on my trips!  I actually shoot both film and digital and yes; I carry a lot of gear.  I do however think smart about what will be the minimum I can take for the maximum effect.   This means zoom lenses for sure.  Most of the cameras on the market today can shoot at higher ISO’s (this means less light needed for images in dark settings) and the point and shoots have pretty good telephoto lenses that make it all easy.  Knowing your equipment and its limitations are the first step.  I’m really happy to help if you have questions about equipment and what you are thinking about buying.

Here are some things to remember when you travel.  First, respect the culture.  Some people are not keen on having their photographs taken.  Others just love it!  one example is the mosque I visited in Cairo.  It must have been a school outing trip for a few schools.  There were boys and girls of all ages.  I wandered away from my friend and suddenly I found myself surrounded by about 25 kids all just either staring if they didn’t speak English or some saying the little bit they knew but they loved having their photo taken and some would just coyly come up to me, stand next to me and their friend would take a phone photo.  I hate  having my photograph taken but was not going to say no to these kids!

Of course when you return you have hundreds of photos and some are not worth keeping at all.  Delete them and do it right away!  Don’t let them take up hard drive space and waste your time scrolling through them either.  Someone is blinking?  Delete it.  Five shots of the hotel pool?  One is likely enough.  If they make you laugh, feel or remember then you know you have a keeper.

So here is my 10 point bullet list for travel photography:

• Don’t take all of your camera equipment but be well prepared with options if you have an SLR. Two zoom lenses that cover you from wide to close up and you are good to go.
• A point and shoot camera should be able to have a good zoom lens and be sure you can get good photos in low light with a high ISO setting.  Look for 3200 if you can, be aware though that any higher and you will likely need software for corrections if not a good camera.
• Take lots of film, flash cards and batteries!
• Be courteous when photographing people.  If you’re not sure, just ask them first.  If you don’t speak their language, just smile.  It works wonders!
• Photograph everything you see.  It may have little importance at the time but when you get home you may think I’m so glad I got that!
• Don’t just snap away.  Think about your images first and “see” them then take the photos with thought and purpose.  You’ll appreciate them much more rather than one that has a thumb in it or someone walking through unexpectedly.
• If shooting digital, have a laptop with you to back up your images and keep your cards in a safe place.  There is no such thing as too many cards.  They don’t take any space at all but hold a lot!
• Once you are home put them on your computer or get your film developed right away.  Procrastination can lead to problems like misplacing cards and film, deleting cards, forgetting what images are from where etc.  It’s a good excuse to quickly relive your trip!
• Edit them!  I can’t stress this enough.  Don’t waste your hard drive space and keep the best!
• Share them!  Now that you have had these great experiences share them with your friends.  Places like SmugMug, Facebook, Flikr, Twitter, MySpace are wonderful.

Here is my post on my recent trip!

The people were so kind and fun.  At a mosque I was inundated by about 20 kids on a school outing who were asking me a bunch of questions and just as intrigued by me as I was of them.   I rode a camel that decided it didn’t want to go up the mountain but back home to dinner at a gallop but fortunately I was saved by my Bedouin who ran down to get him back.  That was fun!  But here are just  slight few of my favorites from an amazing holiday abroad to the Middle East.