1. Preparation

I can’t say this one enough. Preparation is key. Have a questionnaire for your couple. In the questionnaire,you should ask the basics : start time, venue location etc. Also ask, about relations and the names of family and wedding party. It’s hard to remember everyone’s name in the wedding party, but learning the names of the parents, grandparents and siblings will take you far.  Also, ask if there are any family situations to be made aware of, such as divorces or deaths. It’s important to set expectations with your couple ahead of time instead of having a surprise or a gwaff  on the day of the wedding.  Remember there is no such thing as too much information when it comes to wedding photography. As far as preparing equipment, check and charge everything the night before if not earlier.

2. Scout your Location

I have always scouted my locations a week before the event. The reason being, I needed to know where the sun set in the sky during the time I would be taking wedding pictures. I may have been at this venue before, but generally the time of day and seasons may have been different.  Also, I check to see if there are any races or street fairs I should know about on the wedding date as this might affect traffic to and from the ceremony or the reception. You also want a back up plan. If it rains on the wedding day, you should be prepared with a  plan “b”.  A plan to execute in case it rains, you don’t want to be left high and dry without a back up plan.

3. The Power of Light

Know your light. Everything from natural to flash to strobe. When working with natural light, do you want a sihloutte or do you want to work with the sun? This will make a difference in your settings.  For flash, there are a number of ways to diffuse your flash to make it softer on your subjects. If you don’t know how to use your flash manually, try using a diffuser . You can also bounce it off walls, ceilings, even off reflectors. If you are using strobe, make sure you have tested your triggers or you have plenty of extension chord if it’s a plug in.  The key is to have the most flattering light possible on your subjects.

4. Details

Your couple has spent a lot of time picking out the right shoes, the right tie, the right rings, the right dress , the right suit. Spend some time getting images of these various articles as well as all the little details at the reception. You would be amazed how these detail shots help in setting up a wedding album. They often make the perfect filler or background.

5. Social Media Savvy

I can’t think of a better event to be social savvy at  than a wedding. Your opportunities to market are endless. From your questionnaire on step 1, ask for the bride and groom’s soial media handles on facebook ,twitter, instagram and such. Go over your plans with the couple on how you will present their images on your website, facebook and other channels. Some people are still very private, so it’s important to know this ahead of time.  Make it fun and get everyone involved. Sometimes coming up with a fun hashtag on Instagram can get the wedding party and guests involved. For example, #MikeandSallyTieTheKnot. Or when loading photos to Facebook, have your couple invite their friends to “tag” themselves in the photo.  At the reception, print out little cards with the website and password to the images for the wedding. Marketing is a different world now days with the internet and it’s important to not only discuss this with your couple but to also stay one step ahead of the technology curve.

There are so many more tips and tricks to wedding photography, but these are definite starting points. I have been a wedding photographer for 13 years and I can honestly say, it is one of the most difficult and demanding photography specialties. I admire those who have been in the business for years and I admire those just starting out and pushing the boundaries. Documenting a couple on one of their most cherished days is an honor and more importantly, giving them beautiful images documenting their wedding day is the best marketing you can do for yourself as they show them to their friends and family.

1. Know Your Client

Each client is unique. What defines them at this age is their interests. The more you can connect with them on this level the more they will feel comfortable with you and in front of the lens. I know a lot of photographers that will send out a “Get to Know You” questionnaire to their clients. It’s a short survey that asks clients about their hobbies, music tastes, sports, etc. As you prepare for the photo shoot, you may want to have your client bring their ipod or mp3 player loaded with their favorite songs as background music for the shoot. You can also suggest they bring any sports items they have or  instruments they played. Anything to make their experience unique and specialized.

2. Dress for Success

Nothing dates an image more than the style of clothes a person wears. When my Senior images were taken, acid wash was the rage. Let the Senior bring their favorite clothes and what makes them feel comfortable. You may also want to suggest to throw in a few more timeless and simple outfits ie, solid colors, no big logos, etc. This way you are covering all bases and will ensure the images will not be outdated as the fads change. Also, if your client wears glasses you might want to suggest they get a pair of frames without the glass. Most glasses give a glare from studio lights or reflections from outside. You don’t want them to look differently without their tradmark specs, but you also don’t want to spend a lot of time retouching glare.

3. Posture and Hand Placement 

Posture and hand placement  are so important in senior photography. For most Seniors, this is their first time being the solo subject for a professional photographer. So they will not automatically know what to do with their hands and limbs. Typically, girls should have soft hands and boys should have more confident hand placement.  Instead of telling your subjects what they should be doing or going in and mechanically moving their limbs for them, show them how to pose. This way, they don’t feel as awkward or embarrassed that they are doing it wrong. This should be a positive experience and the more you can alleviate any stress for them the better.

4. Bring Along Support

You might also suggest they are welcomed to bring a long a friend, parent or sibling. Sometimes having a familiar face in an unfamiliar place makes all the difference in the world. I think it’s often important too to snag a few candids of the Senior with this person. It’s a simple thing to do and it makes for a lasting memory from a great session. Some photographers will even include their support person in the portrait session. Whatever your view is, this person is special to your Senior, so take the time to capture it.

5. Be Social Savvy

It seems like a majority of Seniors are very social savvy with accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.  It’s imperative to be just as savvy. In your questionairre from step 1, make sure to ask your Seniors for their various handles on social media channels. I always ask if it’s ok to tag them on Facebook and give sneak peeks on other social media channels. I’ve also Instagrammed between set ups where the client is relaxing a bit and laughing. It’s important to find out what they are comfortable with in regards to social media and then target your marketing accordingly.

The most important item to keep in mind is to make your client feel at ease. You are documenting a really important time in their life. Keeping it fun, positive and smooth on your end will go a long way in making a great memory.

When I was talking with member Natascha Lee of  Natascha Lee Studios out of Colorado, we talked about not only photographer moms not getting in the pictures, but our clients as well were just wanting the kids in the photos.  These are such wasted opportunities.  Natascha Lee wrote a sweet article on encouraging moms to get into the picture.

Those who have spoken with me know that I am pretty passionate about photographing moms and dads with their children; not just the children alone but children with their parents as well! How else can you truly capture the love and special connection of a family?

When I get a push back on this (“Oh no, I don’t want to be in the photos — just the kids”), I ask:

What is *your* most cherished childhood photo?

Is it the one of you smiling big on your first day of school? The one where you are holding up your Christmas gift? The one where you are sleeping on the beach? Or is it the one, that includes your parents, playing with you, holding you, just being themselves?

For most of us, our most cherished images include our parents, and show the love we felt for each other. They might not be technically perfect but they are real and they are precious.

I worry that mothers are taking hundreds (thousands?) of images of their kids,  and not including themselves in hardly any of them! I want to encourage all those moms who take tons of snapshots of their kids, to make sure that they themselves are in at least some of them.

It’s not hard I promise!  Have your spouse or partner take a turn with the camera/phone, ask another parent to snap a few or hold the camera or phone out the way you  do when you take pix with your bestie.

That photo where your hair wasn’t perfect but you were having a snow fight with your kids? Or the ones where your smile is a little lopsided and you are still in your pjs cuddling with your kids on the couch? That’ll probably be their favorite.

Thank you Natascha Lee, an important reminder to parents. By the way, I did find a picture of myself and my son together. This is how he sees me and I love it.

Happy Muvrs Day!

1. The Time is Right

It’s hard to say when the exact right time to photograph a pregnant woman would be, but in most cases 7 months is the ideal month. This is usually when the baby has dropped a bit in the tummy and when moms are still relatively comfortable in moving their bodies. If you wait until after the 7 months, sometimes it can be uncomfortable  for the mothers, plus they have a lot on their plate the closer they get to their due date.  As a photographer, you’ll also want enough time to edit and print these images before the baby arrives. This should be plenty of time for your client to order images and share them before the wee one enters the world.

2. Preparation is Key

Maternity photography should be treated just like modeling or head shot photography. Have your client come prepared. Moms should make sure their nails are groomed and you might even suggest having the moms have their hair and makeup professionally done.  It’s a little bit of pampering but it goes a long way in making the clients feel great about themselves. Have a candid discussion with your client regarding what to bring and make sure they bring water, snacks and a robe (for in between shoots) so they can feel as comfortable as possible. Also, remind them  not  to wear anything too confining around the belly before the session (like elastic pants). This can often leave marks on the tummy in which you’ll have to photoshop out later. So save yourself some time with this little tip.

3. Try New Angles

Ok, so you’ve done the traditional photo of mom standing up with her hands on her belly, now what? With maternity photography, it’s important to get the best angles and lighting as possible for the expecting moms. Try shooting from above. This is a great angle as it is almost always flattering . At this position, you can focus on her bright eyes or her hands on her belly. She can be looking straight at you or down at her bump. Any of these combinations will work as this angle is flattering and slimming to the face.

4. Get Creative

Think outside the box and get creative. What I love most about today’s maternity photography is the abstracts. I love the focus on the belly and flowers. Or maybe the feet are in focus and the tummy is out of focus. Or you can be clever in announcing the sex of the child by including elements to give clues. Try a pair of boy’s baby shoes in the photo or maybe fill the room with pink balloons. It’s fun to get creative and your client will have fun as well.

5. Get Loved Ones Involved

It’s not just mom who is excited about the arrival of the baby, it’s the dad, the partner, the pets, the siblings, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, you name it, everyone is anxiously waiting. So now is the time to capture their excitement too and include them in the maternity photo shoot.  Dads and partners can come in and wrap their arms around the mom. Siblings can come in get up and close to mom’s belly. Finally, let Fido in on the action too, he’s a part of the family too and his life is about to get a whole lot better with more table scraps coming his way in a few years.

The important key to remember with any of this is to always make sure your client is comfortable. Keep relaxed but take this seriously. Your clients will love the extra attention and details you give them. Photographers are family historians and this is one of the most important jobs in the world.

#1 – Customizing Colors with PixPublisher

PixPublisher’s color fill feature is incredibly powerful and versatile. It allows you to change the color of any decoration or frame to any color you choose. This can come in handy for virtually any photo book in which you want to match a specific color palette.

When you select any decoration or frame by clicking on it, you’ll see an option called color fill appear on the toolbar above the workspace. Just click the color fill option and pick a new color from the color selection panel that appears. The panel gives you three options for choosing a color. You can:

1.       Choose your color from the palette provided

2.       Enter a color code manually

3.       Use the dropper tool to choose any color on the screen.

Whatever color you choose will be applied immediately to the selected decoration or frame. If you’re looking for ideas for a color scheme for your photo book, check out the kuler website by cilcking HERE. 

The trees are blossoming.

Spring has finally arrived and with it, glorious photo opportunities.

Capture the beauty of spring with the following flower photography tips, whether you shoot with a fancy DSLR, point-and-shoot camera or your trusty camera phone.

5 Flower Photography Tips

These easy-to-follow tips are perfect for the everyday photographer. Grab your camera and get ready to click!

1. Frame your subject, creatively and thoughtfully. Beautifully composed photos have the power to wow! Eliminate distracting elements in the background and fight the urge to constantly position your subject in the center of your photo. Shake things up and add a bit of interest by placing your subject off center.

2. Get up close and personal. Pull in closer. Don’t be shy. Create more powerful images by getting up close and personal with your subject.

3. Shoot from different perspectives. Break out of that boring photography rut and think outside of the box. Experiment with a variety of angles and perspectives – shoot from up high, down low, straight on, etc.

4. Capture the often overlooked details. There’s beauty in the details. Don’t forget to photograph details like stems, buds and pollen.

5. Find ideal light. Sunny, cloudless days can make for tricky lighting conditions – creating harsh shadows, loss of detail and highlights. Try shooting on a bright, but overcast day when light is soft and diffused.

Or add major drama to your photos by shooting during the Golden Hours – the hour or so following sunrise and prior to sunset.

Capturing the beauty of spring can be so much fun. What are some of your favorite things to photograph each spring?

AdoramaPix Contributor: Kristi Bonney is a writer, photographer and speaker with a deep-seated love for all things social media. Her blog, Live and Love Out Loud, is a beautiful and inspiring hub for photographers of all skill levels – featuring photography tips and tutorials, freebies and inspiring photo challenges. Kristi’s passion for photography is matched by her love of parenting and empowering women.

As with any type of photography, you need to know your camera.  In this case, it’s  your iphone.

1. Learn Composition

According the Wikipedia, the rule of thirds was first jotted down in 1797 by John Thomas Smith. The rule of thirds is the basic guideline to use when composing your shot. On your iphone, when you click on your camera icon hit the “options” button at the top in the middle. This will give you two options, Grid and HDR. Turn the grid on.  You will now see a grid appear when you are composing your shots. Do not worry, this will not show up in your pictures, it’s merely there to help you compose and straighten your images.

2. Focus

Instead of just tapping on the camera icon and letting your iphone do the thinking, try using the focus button and show it exactly where you want the focus located on your image. If you tap on the screen lightly, a small blue box will appear. This is your focus button, you can move this anywhere you like on your image and your phone will focus on that area. You should also note, this will adjust your exposure. The point where the iphone is focused, is also where the phone will read for its exposure.

3. Stand Still

This goes with regular cameras as well. I was intrigued by a young man who was rollerblading in a park. The amazing flips and heights he reached were unbelievable. I wanted to catch it on my iphone and it took me about 5 tries, but I finally got it. First, I set the focus point to the ramp where I knew he would jump. Then each time he reached that area, I would hold my breath, steady the phone, rest my elbows on my chest and take the picture. I finally caught the image I wanted but it took a few practices.

4. Find the Light

I found one of my favorite trees, a magnolia tree was in bloom. Be still my  heart! I started snapping away and yes, I admit I did not look for the light. On the left, you see my first attempts, very dark and murky. The image on the right, I moved my camera up and towards the light, even straight out of iphone it looks heaps better than the first image. This is true with regular cameras as well, always find the light and work with it.

5. Know your Flash

Your flash is attached to your camera, so it will not be the most flattering since it’s not diffused in any way. Since it’s attached, you should know that the flash has a range on it. The results are varied but most reports tend to agree that anything more than 15 feet away will have poor results. So using your iphone and flash at concerts will not give you the desired effect you desire. Also, turn the flash off when you are photographing reflective subjects such as mirrors and windows. The flash can also be harsh when photographing people at night. So you’ll just need to practice in various set ups and situations to see what works best for you.

These are 5 very basic tips to help you get started on iphoneography. Over the course of time, we will continue to review  apps and hardware that help you on your way.

1: We have now added Genuine Leather to our line up of beautiful lay-flat photo books. Our premium line of photo books offers rugged durability with a striking presentation. It comes in square, portrait and landscape shapes and four different colors, onyx black, quarry gray, ruby red and saddle brown.

2 :  Custom title functionality for Leather Lux & Genuine Leather photo books.  Members can now select  from default titles or enter your own title for the book. There will be 2 lines, each one contains not more than 18 characters.

3:  We’ve added no foil embossing for Leather Lux and Genuine Leather cover photo books. So members  will be able to choose stamping with gold, silver foil, or without foil (debossed).

4:Fixed import. Now our import will  work faster and be more stable for large number of photos from our different import sources.

5.Fixed fit/fill functionality for rotated images. After applying fit/fill rotated by 90 degrees, the photo element will keep its rotation.

6.   Fixed inner move in pan mode for rotated images.

We hope these updates and fixes will help you on your way to making beautiful photo books.

One of the promises that I made after I had my daughter (among the many) was that I would no longer let my personal photos collect proverbial dust in the vortex that is my archiving system. Vacation photos, holiday photos, family photos…if they weren’t for clients or as part of a photography project, once I started shooting digital I would rarely make prints. Everything changes when you have kids and for me that included not just how I make memories but what I do with them once I’ve recorded them. To this day my family goes through old albums and I love when my dad posts old photos on Facebook…especially when I’ve never seen them before. Making prints of memories is important!

So I solved the problem of my personal photos taken with my dslr because I started to make books and prints for gallery walls but what about my iPhone? I have over 11,000 pictures on it! (#issues #hoarder) I’ve made prints of those before too but I wanted to make a special photo book just for Lucia.

While most kids play games and watch shows on the iPad my girl likes to go through the camera roll and scroll through old photos – “remember this day, mommy?” is one of her many catch phrases. So I teamed up with my friends at Adorama to make an 8×8 photo book of some of our favorite family memories as recorded by my iPhone and processed on Instagram.

The book

The hardest part for me was selecting the pictures (no surprise).  The book itself was so simple to make because the program online is very straightforward and you have full control over the style and design.  There are many different templates to choose from for every size book available and in fact for someone like me who is terribly indecisive there are almost too many templates.  I narrowed it down to five and then just went with my favorite.  After selecting your images and loading them up to the website (a process that is very fast depending on your internet connectivity) you just drag and drop them into the space in your blank book and save as you go.  Ta-da!  I even cheated a bit and was able to drag a few photos into blank spaces that weren’t meant for images and I was able to play with the size a bit to make photos larger than the space allowed them to be.  You can select photos from a number of different sources including Picasa, Flickr, your Adoramapix account and your computer.

I’ve been working with Adorama for personal and professional projects for years so it was no surprise to me that the quality of the book is top notch.  The pages are printed on real photographic silver-halide paper with a lustre finish so the colors are bright and saturated with great flesh tones.  For photography junkies like me this is a huge deal.  They use real archival quality photo paper so it’s fade-resistant and you even have several paper choices.  I also really like how thick and sturdy the pages are.  Another really important feature for me when I made this book was that the HD glossy paper is fingerprint resistant!  Hello?  Amazing!  I usually prefer matte paper for my prints but I was making this book specifically for my toddler to thumb through, carry with her, and put her hands all over it so this feature was a major draw for me. 

Here’s what I did: so simple…

1.  Visited Adoramapix.com and chose the perfect book size

Once I decided that I wanted to use my Instagram photos (since she loves them so much) I realized that the 8×8 format was perfect for the square-cropped pictures.   Since I’m terrible at editing to make a concise collection I went with a 26-page book.  Not too many, not too few.  I felt like it was the perfect number of images to keep my toddler’s attention and just enough to capture the feeling of the general “theme” I decided to go with.

2.  Chose my images

With so many pictures to choose from I had a very difficult task ahead of me so I just went with favorite images of the last year or so that were strictly of our family. A NYC-themed book of Instagrams is up next but I wanted to make this one for her first.

The front cover gave me the option of choosing four photos.  I opted to leave the title off the front and put it only on the spine.  You can choose from several different fonts and sizes.

The back cover.  I loved that I was able to have one large photo on the back to balance out the four photos I chose for the front.

Thank you to Monica Shulman who inspires photographers and artists through her blog  called Ciao, Chessa! .  It is a photography and lifestyle blog dedicated to people who appreciate the little details that make life amazing. Since its birth in 2008, her blog  has evolved into a place where she talks about art, photography, travel, motherhood,  living in New York, and the people and things that inspire her.

Imagenomic / Portraiture Pro Plug In Suite  : Kimmer Cecci Saini
Gallereee 1 yr membership: Nancy Van Drunen
Lovebugs Photography Gift Certificate toward website  : Nichole Schmiedeskamp
Paint the Moon Actions Luminosity Collection : Sandy K. Cook
Clickn Moms 1 yr Membership + Magazine : Christy White
Clickn Moms 1 yr Membership + Magazine : Jennifer L Umbach
jinky art Delightful Actions : Jennifer Moskal
jinky art Sweet Set  : David Hagar
Triple Scoop 1 Song Certificate:  Kelly Beecher
Triple Scoop 1 Song Certificate :  Jose Luis Acevedo
Triple Scoop 1 Song Certificate:  Jennifer Moskal
Artifact Uprising Pine Beetle Box : Bill Tuggle
Kubota $50  :  Murat Arslan
Kubota $50  : Mike Lancaster
Lavalu $100 Credit:  Cia de Lawrence
Lavalu $100 Credit : Jose Luis Acevedo
Photo Vision 1 Year Membership :  Danny Lai
Photo Vision 1 Year Membership :  Timea Kovacs
Photobacks Premium Package :  Kurt Petrich
Photobacks  Premium Package :  Angie Kaurich Neubauer
Red Boot Rounded White Album Template :  Bob Oswald
Adorama Pix 10 x 10 – 26 page Photo Book  : Mildred Martinez

Again, thank you to everyone who participated.