Wednesday, July 30, 2008
On the MOVE!!
Heads up - this weekend you will not be able to reach me unless there is something urgent pending for you. Evoke (and me) are moving to it's new home off Durant & Falls of the Neuse from Friday-next Friday. This weekend I will be almost totally & completely out of the loop. SO, if you email me, unless it's an immediate need which I can respond to through my phone, I won't have access to my computer until Monday or Tuesday of next week. You can still try & reach me on my cell phone, but any one who has moved realizes it is very difficult to stick by your phone. Please don't think I'm ignoring your email or phone calls, but I will return them all as soon as I am able to!!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Courtney & Nick
A Sunday or so ago I photographed Courtney & Nick's engagement session, and it was also my first time meeting them. They met in middle school, fell in love in high school & have stuck it out since!! WOAH!! There is nothing I love more than witnessing the dynamics between a couple, and I had a hoot all afternoon watching them. Courtney went to college at UNCG & Nick went to college at Wake Forest University (close enough for Courtney to make WFU her home!), and Nick actually is the long snapper for Wake Forest's football team. So, Wake Forest is a big big deal to them
Lately profile shadow shots have been intriguing me.. Inspiration: kindergarten. Did your teachers ever sit you in front of a piece of paper, shine a light on you & pencil out your profile??
Courtney told me she couldn't do "serious". Right!! What the heck is this!? Yum.
Just a little shutter speed fun.. The rain came so it was time to frolic.
Please check out all the bling. Her ring was GIGANTIC until Nick put on a couple of his championship rings.
OK.. So I told them to play together, and Nick was really amused that he could outplay Courtney. Am I the only one that thinks he may have an unfair advantage?? She handled it though.
He may be the pro, but Courtney can still take him.
Her eyes are outstanding
Courtney's middle name is Grace - not appropriate.
Just a sweet squeeze to end the shoot.
Since it rained & we missed a part of our planned session, you'll be seeing the continuation of this shoot in September. One word: vineyard.
Lately profile shadow shots have been intriguing me.. Inspiration: kindergarten. Did your teachers ever sit you in front of a piece of paper, shine a light on you & pencil out your profile??
Courtney told me she couldn't do "serious". Right!! What the heck is this!? Yum.
Just a little shutter speed fun.. The rain came so it was time to frolic.
Please check out all the bling. Her ring was GIGANTIC until Nick put on a couple of his championship rings.
OK.. So I told them to play together, and Nick was really amused that he could outplay Courtney. Am I the only one that thinks he may have an unfair advantage?? She handled it though.
He may be the pro, but Courtney can still take him.
Her eyes are outstanding
Courtney's middle name is Grace - not appropriate.
Just a sweet squeeze to end the shoot.
Since it rained & we missed a part of our planned session, you'll be seeing the continuation of this shoot in September. One word: vineyard.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Story Photographers
So, tonight I had the honor of photographing my really good friends Ashley & David who are also in the midst of renovating their company: www.nasimage.com They are a husband & wife team & wanted some cool photos. Another photographer friend of mine, Rebecca, did some moody stuff with them... So, in my true form, I brought the silliness. And while I goofed around, I also was able to practice some new lighting
There are many things to look for as you shoot around town.. signs
pockets of light
Actually, this is my favorite shot of the day. I just love it!
Getting them cleaned up...
Incorporating strangers is always fun..
And funny
Camera tricks.. a little motion
I don't think I need to explain really..
Awww.. now that's just sweet
What is up?!
Using all angles of my new video light.. I love the silhouette one the most
The end to a FABULOUS shoot!! Thanks you guys for letting me be a part of your new image. I love ya'll!!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Evokin' It Up
Yes, you all know that there is change in the air. First, I move into my new abode on August 1st off of Durant Road & Falls of the Neuse, where I will have the place designed for an in-home meeting area for my clients & an office for me and my production manager.
Then, the new website will come alive hopefully by the end of August.. buckle your seat belts for that. Culture Pilot has been an awesome company to work with so far, and super patient with me!! ... and with the new website comes change in all branding, marketing materials, new ads, new new new and more new things. You just don't even know.
And of course there are new things in my camera bag... did I mention new?! Evoke as you know it now will be no longer!! Evoke will be bigger, better, and wedding photography may just be the side job to taking over the world..
Just out of curiosity, how do these colors make you feel?? :)
Then, the new website will come alive hopefully by the end of August.. buckle your seat belts for that. Culture Pilot has been an awesome company to work with so far, and super patient with me!! ... and with the new website comes change in all branding, marketing materials, new ads, new new new and more new things. You just don't even know.
And of course there are new things in my camera bag... did I mention new?! Evoke as you know it now will be no longer!! Evoke will be bigger, better, and wedding photography may just be the side job to taking over the world..
Just out of curiosity, how do these colors make you feel?? :)
Monday, July 7, 2008
Mr & Mrs Armstrong
Saturday June 28th (YES! I'm Behind on the Blog!) I photographed Monique & Donald's big day. First of all, these two have really amazing, super touching qualities that just make you embrace them. Monique can be so vulnerable & open and Donald is so incredibly protective of her - awwww man it makes you love to watch them! It was such a privilege to be able to witness their wedding, and I was really sad when it was over especially because it was over at 6:00!! I am used to being at weddings until midnight!
Monique's sister is a mother of triplets, and I had to keep dodging the twin sisters to get a dress shot
So, rather than dodge them, they became my subjects... more than once. I even used them for different lighting techniques:
And Monique was just.. Well, you can read it on her perfume. I'm not scared to be cheesy.
Monique can also be a little hard on herself, which at times made it a challenge for her makeup artist
And for those of you who don't recognize her, Monique's sister was a Dream Girl. Well, at least for the day
Amanda with 310 Photography Studio in Smithfield helped me out for the day, and she was with Donald while I was with Monique... witnessing the man stuff. And this is definitely man stuff
Donald & Monique got married at a place in Morrisville where there was no place for Monique to wait before the ceremony once she arrived. SO, she waited in a car... ALONE!! The wedding party had to be inside to line up, etc. I can't imagine how wrecked her nerves were just waiting there!
Amanda also got this cool shot from the back of the ceremony. I'm pretty sure she was lying down.
We had about 5 minutes to do some quick couple stuff, and the location posed a gigantic photography challenge. There was ONLY full sun outside - No shade and there was no place indoors to go. So, we rocked out that parking lot outside!!
This shot kind of happened by accident. I asked them to do one thing, they did another & I liked it even better!! Look at Monique!! SMOKIN'!! Cheek bones like that should be in front of the camera more.
There was a live jazz band there too - H-O-T!! Just delicious. The sax guy would walk around & play at the tables, and yes - this little old lady acted out what everyone else was thinking.
Da' Rings.
Although short, their wedding was super sweet. I sincerely had a great time with them and all their family and friends. And I, the girl that doesn't cry, got a little choked up during their ceremony... Congrats you two :)
Monique's sister is a mother of triplets, and I had to keep dodging the twin sisters to get a dress shot
So, rather than dodge them, they became my subjects... more than once. I even used them for different lighting techniques:
And Monique was just.. Well, you can read it on her perfume. I'm not scared to be cheesy.
Monique can also be a little hard on herself, which at times made it a challenge for her makeup artist
And for those of you who don't recognize her, Monique's sister was a Dream Girl. Well, at least for the day
Amanda with 310 Photography Studio in Smithfield helped me out for the day, and she was with Donald while I was with Monique... witnessing the man stuff. And this is definitely man stuff
Donald & Monique got married at a place in Morrisville where there was no place for Monique to wait before the ceremony once she arrived. SO, she waited in a car... ALONE!! The wedding party had to be inside to line up, etc. I can't imagine how wrecked her nerves were just waiting there!
Amanda also got this cool shot from the back of the ceremony. I'm pretty sure she was lying down.
We had about 5 minutes to do some quick couple stuff, and the location posed a gigantic photography challenge. There was ONLY full sun outside - No shade and there was no place indoors to go. So, we rocked out that parking lot outside!!
This shot kind of happened by accident. I asked them to do one thing, they did another & I liked it even better!! Look at Monique!! SMOKIN'!! Cheek bones like that should be in front of the camera more.
There was a live jazz band there too - H-O-T!! Just delicious. The sax guy would walk around & play at the tables, and yes - this little old lady acted out what everyone else was thinking.
Da' Rings.
Although short, their wedding was super sweet. I sincerely had a great time with them and all their family and friends. And I, the girl that doesn't cry, got a little choked up during their ceremony... Congrats you two :)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Wedding Photography Rocks!
For the 4th of July, I stayed behind my computer all day from morning until 1am. You could say I began having a mini breakdown... I miss my husband and my 2 boys. Any one may wonder "Why In the World is Wedding Photography so expensive?!". First of all, you can find photographers out there for $500-$2,000 but things are(n't) happening as they may be happening in my process. Wedding Photography is WAY more than showing up for your wedding & taking a bunch of pictures. So to give you just a mild glimpse into what goes into ONE wedding for a photographer, I am going to quote my friend Anne Ruthman and my process is almost identical to hers here (other than the Pictage part):
" 1. Wedding Day - capture images in RAW format, with professional Canon cameras, lenses, and flashes and with a really good knowledge of light and composition
2. Backup - Download all images to backup hard drive and to main hard drive
3. Favorites - Select and give extra special developing to my absolute favorite images, turning them into the works of art that I originally felt and perceived when I first captured them, start to feel like maybe I don't suck too badly
4. Slideshow & Blog - Export images in different sizes, select music for slideshow, stitch music together if needed, add watermark and extra sharpiness to blog images, upload blog images to flickr, upload slideshow images to personal sever, write blog post
5. Edit - realize that even with great cameras, lenses, and lighting, pictures only look "OK" and that some are just downright awful and should never be seen in public. Delete the downright awful pictures and keep everything that could be mildly career destroying, but might be interesting for a grandkid to find in 80 years.
6. Develop - Take the mildly career destroying images and clean them up with color and exposure corrections, maybe a slight crop or straightening in the event that I happened to be walking at a tilt on the wedding day (note: images cannot be printed from undeveloped RAW files, these are "digital negatives")
7. Upload & Archive - When the stars have aligned, I can upload all of the images from the wedding in 1-2 days. Usually the stars are scattered all over the place and it either takes forever to upload, with constant babysitting, or I just mail off the final images. All of the final images are archived on servers in California, and then finally placed on the online proofing website- Pictage. Pictage then has to verify all of the files to make sure none of them are corrupted before releasing them to you. If there are any corrupt files, I have to go back and fix them.
8. Print & Burn CD/DVD - Double check to make sure DVD image numbers match Pictage image numbers in order to prevent future headaches and ordering confusion, burn a copy to send and a copy to keep, print with personalized image
9. Album Design - Assemble favorite images into an initial draft design for an album using geometric equations of golden mean mathematics (j/k!!)
10. Album Customization - Get feedback from client about album design preferences and create changes
11. Album Printing & Binding - Album is hand-printed and hand-bound in the united states, sent to me for final approval, and then sent to client for happy enjoyment!
12. NEXT!"
I have been doing all of this all by myself... until now. Steps 1-12 are hours and hours and hours of time... I have been working at times up to 80 hours a week. My friends - wait.. what friends?? Are they still waiting around for me?? My family, my children, all of my relationships that are not business related have been waiting on the sidelines.
So, changes are in motion and I almost glad my 4th of July was miserable because I will NEVER have another 4th of July like it. I love photographing weddings more than you can possibly imagine, and now things are changing so I can continue loving it rather than dreading the post production. HURRAYYY!!! Good.. NO - GREAT things are on the horizon!!
" 1. Wedding Day - capture images in RAW format, with professional Canon cameras, lenses, and flashes and with a really good knowledge of light and composition
2. Backup - Download all images to backup hard drive and to main hard drive
3. Favorites - Select and give extra special developing to my absolute favorite images, turning them into the works of art that I originally felt and perceived when I first captured them, start to feel like maybe I don't suck too badly
4. Slideshow & Blog - Export images in different sizes, select music for slideshow, stitch music together if needed, add watermark and extra sharpiness to blog images, upload blog images to flickr, upload slideshow images to personal sever, write blog post
5. Edit - realize that even with great cameras, lenses, and lighting, pictures only look "OK" and that some are just downright awful and should never be seen in public. Delete the downright awful pictures and keep everything that could be mildly career destroying, but might be interesting for a grandkid to find in 80 years.
6. Develop - Take the mildly career destroying images and clean them up with color and exposure corrections, maybe a slight crop or straightening in the event that I happened to be walking at a tilt on the wedding day (note: images cannot be printed from undeveloped RAW files, these are "digital negatives")
7. Upload & Archive - When the stars have aligned, I can upload all of the images from the wedding in 1-2 days. Usually the stars are scattered all over the place and it either takes forever to upload, with constant babysitting, or I just mail off the final images. All of the final images are archived on servers in California, and then finally placed on the online proofing website- Pictage. Pictage then has to verify all of the files to make sure none of them are corrupted before releasing them to you. If there are any corrupt files, I have to go back and fix them.
8. Print & Burn CD/DVD - Double check to make sure DVD image numbers match Pictage image numbers in order to prevent future headaches and ordering confusion, burn a copy to send and a copy to keep, print with personalized image
9. Album Design - Assemble favorite images into an initial draft design for an album using geometric equations of golden mean mathematics (j/k!!)
10. Album Customization - Get feedback from client about album design preferences and create changes
11. Album Printing & Binding - Album is hand-printed and hand-bound in the united states, sent to me for final approval, and then sent to client for happy enjoyment!
12. NEXT!"
I have been doing all of this all by myself... until now. Steps 1-12 are hours and hours and hours of time... I have been working at times up to 80 hours a week. My friends - wait.. what friends?? Are they still waiting around for me?? My family, my children, all of my relationships that are not business related have been waiting on the sidelines.
So, changes are in motion and I almost glad my 4th of July was miserable because I will NEVER have another 4th of July like it. I love photographing weddings more than you can possibly imagine, and now things are changing so I can continue loving it rather than dreading the post production. HURRAYYY!!! Good.. NO - GREAT things are on the horizon!!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Boudoir Info
Lately I have been getting a lot of inquiries for boudoir sessions. SO, here is my info & please contact me if you have any other questions. I charge $300 for an 1.5 hour session which includes the high resolution images on a cd for you with the reprint permission and a 5x5 or 5x7 20 page album (does not include cost of hotel room). Each session has enough time for 2-3 wardrobe changes. I will be more than happy to show you more of my boudoir portfolio if you'd like! Here's an 8x8 album that you can most definitely upgrade to:
Email me with any questions you may have! april@evokenc.com
Email me with any questions you may have! april@evokenc.com
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