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From bludomain to SmugMug Pro – the Davis Studio

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:10:27 +0000

The Davis Studio from Virginia Beach specializes in portrait, wedding, dog photography.

Melissa from the The Davis Studio writes to us…

“Photography is so much more than just putting pictures on paper or creating digital images. We take photographs because we want to celebrate stories. We want to remember moments in vivid detail. Through photography we can continue to revisit moments of great joy, or to remember just how small our children were, or the love for a wonderfully loyal family dog. Photography creates a legacy of our lives. I love looking through photographs of my parents and grandparents when they were young — to see a world so utterly different than my own, and to hear the stories associated with those photographs.”

Melissa’s favorite type of photography – “It is so hard to narrow this down. I am a life style photographer, because I love photographing people’s lives — everything from weddings, to newborns, the annual family portraits, or a photography session “just because.” I know a lot of photographers specialize in one specific area of photography and there is a lot of wisdom in that. Personally, I have found that enjoying a variety of photographic opportunities keeps me fresh and growing in my photographic skills.”

For photography tips and tricks, Melissa recommends “If you are photographing children or your dog, get down low. So often we take photographs of children and dogs from above, looking down on them. While you can get good images this way, they often some out feeling very normal — because its an angle adults always use. Try getting down on their level and looking into their eyes from their level (or below). I spend a lot of my time photographing dogs and children kneeling or, often, laying flat on the ground. Usually, the best photographs are ones taken from a different level (or angle) than how we always see things.”

Melissa comments about her SmugMug site – “I absolutely LOVE it. Before switching with SmugMug my site was hosted by bludomain with one of their templates. It looked fine, but the online shopping experience was frustrating at best for my clients. I also couldn’t upload high resolution images to the site for display. So after much research I switched to SmugMug pro. I chose to use Jerry and the folks at jR Customization because I appreciated the sleek, clean professional look of many of the custom SmugMug websites they had created. They were very easy to work with, provided great feedback, and I couldn’t be happier with the final product! My clients love it too. It provides a far more enjoyable experience than my previous site afforded them.”

Visit The Davis Studio at The Davis Studio to view Melissa’s wonderful art…

Emilys love for photography…

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:14:51 +0000

Emily Catherine Custom Photography from West Virginia specializes in portrait, wedding, commercial and fine art photography.

“I got my first point and shoot camera when I was 8 years old because my mom got tired of me always taking hers. I shot tons of pictures with that thing. One day my mom was showing my pictures to one of her friends and they really liked them and wanted to know if they could purchase them! I started selling landscape shots because at that point I knew I loved taking pictures and wanted to save up for a better camera. I saved all my money from the prints I sold and bought myself my first DSLR. After that, at age 12, I was asked to shoot my very first wedding!”

“Not too long afterwards, my mom enrolled in some photography classes at a nearby college so that I could go with her (I was too young to enroll). We both learned a lot about photography and shooting manually from our instructor, who shot for many years for National Geographic magazine. From then on my mom was also interested in photography. We’ve been working together for several years and have made a small business out of it. We love using SmugMug/Bay Photo for our printing needs as they do very high quality work. We are also thrilled with what jR Customization has done with our website. They took it from “amateur” to “professional” looking!”

Visit Emily Catherine Custom Photography at Emily Catherine Custom Photography to view Emily’s wonderful art…

Learning About Lacey

adrienne — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:27:23 +0000

Lacey of Photography by Laceymarie specializes in portrait, wedding and engagement photography.

Lacey shares her photography favorites with us!

* Why you love photography?

“There are so many different reasons why I love photography, to me photography is poetry without words. It allows me to creatively express my love for life, people, art, and emotion simultaneously. My lens has taught me to see so many different things in so many different ways. I can freeze time and moments allowing people to look back and feel the emotion, the beauty, and the reality of that fleeting moment over and over again. I am blessed to be able to tell the stories that make us all unique and make us all connected. It is a tremendous responsibility and an art that keeps evolving depending upon who or what is in front of my camera.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“My favorite type of photography is hands down Lifestyle. I love capturing the relationships and the personalities of people as I see it. Observing people and capturing their unique essence. Lifestyle photography has so many different expressions and it allows me the creativity to show people how amazing the smallest of moments can be. I feel honored and humbled everytime I am asked to get to spend time observing and documenting a part of someone else’s life.”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“Since I love quotes, I would say Dorthea Lange, one of the greats, said it best: ‘One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you would be stricken blind.’ ”

* Comments about your web site design?

“SmugMug and JR customization have helped me with all the things that have nothing to do with my camera; all the things I need a lot of help with! JR customization was personable and worked with my budget and my vision to develop a logo and a cohesive website/blog/FB fan page. SmugMug makes my life so much easier and is wonderful for my clients. Thank you both, I will be forever grateful!”

~ Lacey

Visit Photography by Laceymarie at Photography by Laceymarie to take a look at Lacey’s photos!

All About Angela

adrienne — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:20:19 +0000

Angela of Photography by Angela Nivens Rose Portrait Studio specializes in portrait, wedding, engagement and event photography.

Angela shares her love of photography and jR Customization!

* Why you love photography?

“The rush of capturing the image that takes away the mother’s breath, or makes a daddy cry is indescribable! Having the honor of creating portraits absolutely thrills my heart! There is just nothing like KNOWing you got THE SHOT, and it is an heirloom that will be cherished for generations. Photography is timeless, and having the opportunity to give that gift to whomever is in front of my lens is one of my greatest pleasures in this lifetime!”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“People, People,People….I LOVE SHOOTING PEOPLE…..(with my camera, of ‘course ”

A funny or interesting photography story?

“One of the most hilarious stories was early on in my career, when I decided to gain some experience and called the world renowned Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Looking to be an assistant photographer…I first talked with the social photographer (’cause I love people , he did not need any help. I then called the horse photographer ( ’cause after all I did have a horse when I was 8 years old…how hard could it be?), he did not need any help either. My last option was the livestock photographer, he was desperate for help! But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be in an arena with a 2000 pound animal trying to get their ears to point in the right direction!!!! All I can say is, I did learn the difference between a heifer, bull & steer and how to aim, focus and shoot faster than you can dance the Texas two-step!”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“Always be prepared with a bribe when photographing children!”

* Comments about your web site design?

“What a fabulous combination SmugMug and JR Customization are together! They complement each other to create the ideal team for a photographer. They allow photographers to focus on what they do best, and they help us to stay on top of our game in this ever changing profession of which we are privileged to be apart. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have them both in my corner to allow my work to be showcased in the best light!”

~ Angela

Visit Photography by Angela Nivens Rose Portrait Studio at Photography by Angela Nivens Rose Portrait Studio to take a look at Angela’s photos!

Kelly of Double Vision Photography

adrienne — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:14:37 +0000

Kelly of Double Vision Photography specializes in landscape and nature photography.

Kelly shares her love of photography and a funny story, too!

* Why you love photography?

“I love photography because it is the only way we can stop time. It captures and saves the essence of the moment, light, line, shadow and form, for that split second, is mine.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“My favorite type of photography is Black & White, the subject matter can be anything as long as the image has the full scale of tones as well as a true white and black. I probably lean a little bit towards landscape due to the fact that to me it is the biggest challenge to get a full spectrum high quality B&W print from.”

A funny or interesting photography story?

“I attended Brooks Institute of Photography in 1975 my professor for one class was Herb Boggie. Herb gave us our weekly shooting assignment and when it came time for review & critique he stared and stared at my photo; a photo of an old windmill taken about 50 miles from the campus just outside of Solvang, California. He marked the grade on the photo and then looked up from it, looked at me and asked if this was my photo, (anonymity of the student during the critique and grade session insured no bias from the professor) I said yes, fearing the dreaded words “reshoot and reprint”… he then held it up for all to see and said, ” 15 years ago one of my students shot this same windmill, same angle, same time of day, same composition… that student was your Father.” Oh and the grade? B+.”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“When shooting landscapes, look for the “natural path” that the scene provides and find the angle or attitude to enhance that. The natural path being (without conscious thought) the way your eye travels from object to object in the scene.”

* Comments about your web site design?

“SmugMug provides an excellent platform with all the tools to showcase our work. jR and crew are unique, they have a great attitude, they listen to you, they are not upset when you make suggestions or reject an idea, they stay focused on the task at hand which is getting your website up and running while maintaining the individual integrity of your ideas for the site. Price is very fair.”

~ Kelly

Visit Double Vision Photography at Double Vision Photography to take a look at Kelly’s photos!

Sarah of Sarah Heppell Photography

adrienne — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:07:55 +0000

Sarah of Sarah Heppell Photography specializes in portrait, wedding and engagement photography.

Sarah shares her photography favorites!

* Why you love photography?

“It’s a way to capture the world around me without trying to use my poor drawing skills.
I love seeing my clients reactions and emotions when I show them their images for the first time!
I feel so lucky being my own boss, owning my own business, and doing what I love.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“My personal favorite is abstract colors and textures, but as a business, I LOVE weddings! ”

A funny or interesting photography story?

“My 2nd shooter and I shot a wedding on an island which for obvious reasons left our cars behind on the mainland and traveled by boat. By the end of the night we weren’t sure who was taking us back due to the amount of alcohol everyone had partaken in! Let’s just say we made it back in 1 piece! ”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“I’d say if you are just starting out or dabbling, shoot everything, shoot with different settings, and push yourself to learn your camera in and out! That is the only way you will truly learn!”

* Comments about your web site design?

“I’m so happy with the customization of SmugMug and how JR Customization was able to create my own SmugMug page which matched my existing blogsite! Now there will be seamless interaction between my blog and my SmugMug page! Yay for personal branding!”

~ Sarah

Visit Sarah Heppell Photography at Sarah Heppell Photography to take a look at Sarah’s photos!

Hanging Out with Heather

adrienne — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:00:21 +0000

Heather of Making Memories Photography specializes in portrait, wedding and engagement photography.

Heather shares her love of photography and jR Customization!

* Your favorite type of photography?

“I love photographing seniors and children both on location and studio. You never know what kind of expressions you’re going to get with the little ones and for the Seniors I love to see the smile on their face when they see the finished product.”

A funny or interesting photography story?

“I was photographing to sisters at Christmas and I said to the littler of the two little girls, “Come over here sissy and stand by the tree!” Next thing I know she kicked me and said “I am not a sissy!” I tried to explain my way out of that one but it’s hard to explain to a 4 year old that you didn’t really call her a sissy. Her parents and I laughed so hard, but she didn’t speak to me the rest of the session. ”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“I did learn with children it’s better to call them by their name and not by something else!”

* Comments about your web site design?

“I chose JR customization after I looked around several different designers but JR Customization had the style that I was looking for. Jerry and Amanda were easy to work with and I love my new website design. I chose Smugmug because of its ease of use for both myself and the client! The online ordering is a simple way for clients to order and use a credit card.”

~ Heather

Visit Making Memories Photography at Making Memories Photography to take a look at Heather’s photos!

Socializing with Sarah

adrienne — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:00:16 +0000

Sarah of Sarah Ciccone Photography specializes in portrait, wedding and engagement photography.

Sarah shares her love of photography and jR Customization!

* Why you love photography?

“Photography allows me to capture cherished moments in people’s lives and I love that! I love being able to show others what I see through my lens.”

* Your favorite type of photography?

“Any kind of portrait photography. I love capturing and showcasing people’s personalities and who they are as an individual.”

A funny or interesting photography story?

“You never know what you are going to get when working with or trying to with animals. One time during a senior session, we were in a beautiful area with horses nearby. We were hoping that the horses would walk up to the fence to have a closer shot. The best looking horse eventually wandered over to the fence right where we were. We got so excited and hustled to set up the shot (we knew we had seconds). Right when we were ready to take the shot, the horse turned around… lifted his tail….and well, showed us what he thought of us and walked away The scene soon turned stinky, and needless to say, we didn’t get that really close up shot that we wanted, but we did have a good laugh ”

* Photography tips or tricks?

“Always make sure you are having fun! Living in Minnesota, I am always keeping a watchful eye on the ever changing weather. If bad weather does decide to show up during your session, take advantage of it and see how it can work for you before calling it quits for the day. It can create an awesome and different image that you may not expect! Make a blizzard work for you, not against you ”

* Comments about your web site design?

“I love the constant support! Adrienne at jR Customization did such an awesome job making my website what I wanted it to be! I love how you can ask any kind of question (even when it confuses myself) and they will do their best to help.”

~ Sarah

Visit Sarah Ciccone Photography at Sarah Ciccone Photography to take a look at Sarah’s photos!