Photography Idol

So... I entered my FIRST ever photography contest. I'm a wreck. I don't take rejection well, so fingers crossed!!! Here is the image I submitted!

And check out the Chic Critique Forum where I entered!

Baby Mania! Things you should know when choosing your NEWBORN photographer.

Well. Here I am again...after promising...again...that I was going to keep up with this blog. Lets face it. I wont do that. But I will drop in every once in a while to talk about something that's going on, or to vent. HA. So. We welcomed out second (and last) little one in August. A perfect little boy. Grehsen Chase. (GREY-SEN NOT GRESH-on) Conner is thrilled to be a big brother, although he's still confused and a little jealous. The adjustment has been...interesting. But wonderful. So anyway. Back onto the photography track. Apparently the entirety of people of my FB friends list are expecting a baby. Yay! Super exciting. And, although I am- for some reason- becoming a wedding photographer- my heart lies with newborn photography. And while I would LOVEEEE for everyone I know to bring their babies to me for their newborn pictures- the reality is, most of them don't. So I hope that at least they can take some information from me so that when I have to look at their newborn pictures, I am not cringing because they didn't get the best quality that they could have. Now. (If you are a photog. you know who I'm talking about) I'm no Rachel V, or Mary M. But I do know the basic rules of newborn photography, and I know my Do's and I DEF. know my Dont's. So when choosing your Newborn photographer here are some things you should look for and ASK. *First and most importantly- SAFETY. Babies DO NOT pose on their own. Their tiny little bodies are handled, and molded into those dreamy breath taking poses by the photographer. It would be SWELL if they had some training and experience before they are putting their hands on your babies. While we all know babies are much more durable than we all think, they are still extremely fragile. If your photographer gets excited because baby is propped up on his/her hands by themselves, without being spotted, and held, you probably are going to want to pack your stuff up and search for someone else. Those types of shots are not real, they are photo shopped composites. *Second and my hugest pet peeve. FLASH. GAAAHHHHH!!! Your baby was just in a warm comfy DARK sanctuary for 9 months. WHY on EARTH your photographer would feel the need to scare the crap out of him/her with the brightest of white light into their face is BEYOND me. Aside from the fact that they don't like it, and it will startle them out of sleep- their skin is so precious and pure, and that hideous light never does anyone any good. And it certainly doesn't make for a very calm or beautiful, and def. not a natural photo. (NOTE: if the lighting situation is dark (I mean with no windows or t night), then off camera lighting MAY be necessary, but it should NEVER be pointed directly at baby) *Third- Newborns should be photographed before 2 weeks, so they are still nice and sleepy and flexible for the adorable posed shots. Sure, they can be photographed any time you want, but if you are paying someone to do it, you should do something that you aren't capable of doing yourself. Between 4 weeks and 5 months, there isn't much we can do with a baby, aside from laying them flat on their backs. *And lastly. Take a look at their post processing work. (Their final images, on their website or FB pages) You do not want a photographer that is processing their images with things like: Vignetting (this is where they turn the edges and corners either really dark or really light. Or color selection (where they make the image black and white and just leave a certain thing in color. or Blurs or any kind. These are all signs of an amateur photographer, first of all- and if the photographer isn't an amateur, it is still distasteful, and takes away from the point of the image. I hope that helps!!!

Liar Liar.

I am such a liar- I keep promising myself that I am going to keep up with this blog- and then I come back like once every other month to complain about one thing or another. Ooops! Some new things happening over here though, so I wanted to pop in! First of all, we are expecting our second baby- a very unplanned surprise ;) I have recently stepped off the ledge onto the huge water slide that is "SPRING/SUMMER/WEDDING SEASON", where I will endure a rapid and downward PLUNGE into insanity for the next 3 months or so- until I get a "break" (by BREAK I mean, I get to take care of a newborn for a couple of months and not work) And then I go straight into Holiday- which, is my busiest time, and as everyone knows, means "Heather is Crazy, let's stay at least 10 feet away". So it will take a while for me to return emails, inquires, phone calls, etc. Another new thing, that you might notice, especially if you are a returning client, is that there are some business changes happening, contracts have changed a little bit, and I am starting to cut out discs for small sessions (regular 30-60 min sessions)So your galleries are going digital, which means, you receive them via email or drop box. Boring boring... on a much FUNNER (yes funner) note I am working with one of my FAV vendors, and now very good friend, who has partnered up with her amazingly talented mother, and started their new venture into the world of children's clothing and accessories. I can't mention names yet, but if you follow me on Facebook , then you have seen her page, and product featured all over the place. So anyway- next week I am holding a "Fashion Shoot" of sorts, where I have like a million kids (prob more like 24...but whatever) coming at various times through out a few hour time span- and they will be modeling the ADORABLE vintage/country/modern (if you can imagine how adorable that looks) apparel. When everything has been photographed, they will make their E-Launch- which I can hardly wait for, even though I get my hands on this stuff like...any day now! So be on the lookout for that in like 2/3 weeks- you won't want to miss it! Anddd... I think that's it for now! xoxox

A "Real" Job.

Well- we all know this blog has just turned into an occasional place for me to go on one rant or another. So today I'll tell you about how I don't have a "real job". Yep. You heard it. How many times do I hear "It must be nice to not have a real job". Or simply, "Well, Heather doesn't have a real job". Or whatever the case may be where someone is implying that I (or maybe just all photographers in general, don't actually work. (I guess that's what a real job would entail, right?.... working?) Soooo... here I am. I just want to let you all know, that apparently, I am delusional... call me crazy- but this is how I have imagined my (working) life: Let's say its Jan/Feb and I am recovering from holiday while slowly getting into Boudoir- so my sched is pretty clear. I try to fill in the gaps with some mentoring, maybe updating my website a bit- educating myself- attending some online, or if there is some in the area, workshops. Some Valentines sessions maybe- Oh, it's Jan...tax season. (which I guess I'm sending to some imaginary place, since I don't have a "real" job- someone better knock some sense into me) So yes, I have some downtime. So I get to hang out with my son, which is fine by me. And this Feb. I will be traveling to Texas for some newborn sessions. Ok- so March- still kind of slow, if the crazy New England weather perks up, I might just host some Spring Mini Sessions (maybe)- and then it picks up with Easter portraits for the little ones. April. Still a little slow, but people are coming out of hiding because of the warmer weather. And...wedding.season.begins. So there will be engagements sessions, a couple weddings in April. (And Happy 3rd Birthday to my little guy- Oh...and I will be away at a wedding most of the day on his Birthday (at my imaginary job) Oh MAY. Weddings galore. Even doubled up one day for a morning wedding and evening.(Yes, I'm good.) On top of regular sessions. June. Scattered with family sessions- and I seem to get a lot of June Birthdays. A couple weddings- one which I will be traveling to New Orleans for- which takes 3 whole days away from my family. (thrilled to do it of course, but silly, since it's not a "real" job though huh??) July. Independance Day Mini's all month, to which a potrion of the session fee goes to Semper Finest, a great little organization where you can dontate or put together a care package to send to our troops. Aug slows down for a minute- before jumping into Sept. for fall sessions, and Oct. for Fall/Halloween- which are sold out by Sept. Nov/Dec- you're lucky if you even set eyes on me if you are my friends and family, because I am drowning in Holiday sessions, which are already being booked. And then- EVERYDAY. Hours of editing. Emails, networking, advertising- etc. I forget to send things to people- respond to emails- confirm something or other. Not because I am busy though I guess- probably because I am imagining something or other- I mean, who really knows? Right? So The question that I have, that is worrying me me now- is- that if none of that is "REAL" - what DO I DO with my time??? xoxox