Will you be my friend on FB?

Some of you are already my ‘friend’ on Facebook and I would love to become friends with all of you. If you would like to keep in touch please take a minute and add me to your friend list on FB. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1387639918
I love seeing what everyone is up to and this is the easiest way to keep in touch....

Wedding Photography Unveiled by Jacqueline Tobin Deputy Editor of PDN

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT BEING A PART OF THIS GREAT BOOK! PDN is the most respectable trade publication and they just published a book about 20 wedding photographers across the country. It is an informative book for wedding photographers and includes the work of most of my favorite wedding photographers. Some of the wedding photos included in the book are from the Ward/Laterman, Nulty/Callaghan, Madsen/Blalock, Firestone/Raines, Camp/Wakeley weddings and the Prescott/Martin wedding.

FAMILY PORTRAITS: The Perfect gift for Mother’s Day

My husband and I will be married for 20 years this August and we have two children. I am embarrassed to say that we have only done three family portrait sessions together! One of my favorite photos of me and Jeffrey was taken during one of these sessions and I smile every time I walk by it in our house. The family photos that we have taken are beautiful candid photos that reflect each of our personalities and us as a family. This past Christmas I took the time to put together a digital family photo album for Jeffrey and he really loved it! (Buying presents for Jeffrey is always difficult for me because he has everything that he wants and needs!)

In honor of Mother’s Day, if you book a family portrait session for your mom or wife before May 10th we will give her a free 8x12” print. Finding a gift that your family members will enjoy can often be a challenge. Giving the gift of a family portrait session is something that is always appreciated and not thought of often enough. We are offering four different types of portrait sessions now including our traditional option which includes prints, and online hosting and three digital options. We just started offering digital albums and they are a great way to enjoy your family photos. The three digital albums that we offer are: an extremely affordable press printed hinged book, a hand bound silk album that features your photos printed on watercolor paper, or finally an album made in Italy that has photographs flush mounted on thicker pages.

If we have taken your family portraits in the past we can use those photographs and any new ones that you take to create a beautiful digital album that is the perfect way to enjoy your photos without taking up any wall space. If you would like to order any duplicate albums they are offered at a discount since we don’t have the added expense of designing it from scratch.

Photo Tip: Light & Photography

Last month I started posting simple photo tips for families who are taking snapshots. Some of the moments captured in snapshots are the most memorable that you will have of your friends and family and I hope these simple tips will help you take prettier photos.

In the last newsletter I talked about simplifying composition so that your photographs really focus on what your intended subject is. Once you start simplifying your compositions your images will get stronger and you can start thinking about other aspects of a photograph that can make it beautiful. In this entry I would like to talk about light and how to see its effects on your photos.

Every camera renders light differently so you have to experiment and then look to see how yours interprets light. The next time you are taking photos with your point and shoot take a photo:
• with the sun behind you
• with the sun behind your subject
• in open shade
• in the brightest part of your home (hopefully there is enough light and your flash doesn’t pop up)
• your subject close to a window that is facing north

If you really want to study light take these photos in the morning , afternoon and evening. The quality of light changes dramatically during the various times of day.

After you take the photos, upload them to your computer and look how the light is depicted in your images. Look at the shadows under people’s eyes when they are out in the sun, see how people squint when facing the sun, look at the even skin tones in the open shade, notice the beautiful quality of light from the north facing window. Once you decide which type of lighting you like the best you can try and use it when you are taking photos in the future.....

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY PLAYING WITH LIGHT!

Kari and Brandon's plans for their Wedding in Montana

Several weeks ago we talked about having our brides blog so they can share waht they are thinking and planning. I would like to thank and welcome Kari and Brandon as our first couple to be our guest bloggers!!! Thank you for taking the time to share what you are planning with us!

Kari and Brandon are getting married in Montana in August at the Springhill Pavillion!

At the end of the blog you will see some of their favorite photos from their portrait session!

Tell us a little about yourself?

My Name is Kari I am a Barista at a local coffee stand here in WA. My fiancé’s name is Brandon and he is a Firefighter for a fire department in Snohomish County. We both enjoy staying active by going to the gym, walking our dogs, and playing sports. We both have a strong sense of family and keep them apart of our daily lives. We also enjoy traveling. Our favorite place to get away is road tripping to Montana.

How did the two of you meet?

I was working at a coffee stand at the time. The stand happened to be in Brandon’s Fire District. Although I hadn't met Brandon yet, some of his coworkers would stop by on a regular basis. One day as I was leaving work Brandon and the guys were pulling up to get a coffee. I went to my car and was getting ready to leave when I realized I locked my keys in my car. Luckily, with the help from a Slim Jim, some wedges, the guys were able to get into my car! But from then on I couldn't stop thinking about the cute guy with curly hair. A few months later I ran into Brandon at a restaurant in Lake Stevens, we exchanged numbers and the rest is history...

How did you get engaged?

We got engaged on the beach in Mukilteo, WA. We went to dinner early that evening and were planning on going to a movie afterwards. Brandon suggested that we go and walk on the beach and look for seashells for his niece. We didn’t have very much time before the movie, so I was kind of hurrying him so we wouldn’t be late. I didn’t know at the time but he was trying to stall and I was getting impatient. I suggested that we at least start walking back towards the car and look at the same time. As I turned around to see if he was walking towards the car, he was down on one knee. He proposed to me and I said yes!

Tell us what you envisioned when you started planning your wedding. Is there a particular color scheme or theme that you are using?

We really wanted a family BBQ style wedding in Montana with a rustic theme.
Our idea was to keep a rustic Montana theme and incorporate bright summer colors. Brandon and most of his groomsmen will be wearing their Class A Dress Firefighter Uniforms. The Bridesmaids will be wearing a royal blue dress to compliment the Groomsmen.

What other vendors have you chosen to work with and why?

All of our Vendors came highly recommended from the Springhill Pavilion. The Pavilion provided an information packet that included a preferred local vendor list. Since we were from out of town it made our research easier by just going off that list. Here are the Vendors that we decided to use; Vans IGA will be providing our floral arrangements. The Sweet Pea Bakery will be making our cake and cupcakes. Our DJ will be Joe’s Mobile Disc Jockey Service. Montana Party Rentals will be providing all the tables, chairs, linens, flatware and other rental items. And we are using Cheiko Horn, from Nashan Photography, for our engagement and wedding pictures.

What blogs are you following?

The blogs we are following are theknot.com, snippetandink.blogspot.com

What magazines are you looking at for inspiration?

We are constantly looking at a variety of wedding magazines for inspiration and ideas. To name a few; The Knot, Brides, and Modern Bride.


Why did you choose to get married at the location you selected?

The Springhill Pavilion, in Bozeman, MT, fully captured the rustic Montana theme that we were looking for. Brandon went to high school and college in Bozeman and had been up to the Springhill Pavilion on occasion for different events. When he took me there on one of our trips back to Bozeman I fell in love with it.

How has the economy effected your planning for the wedding?

Due to the economy we have decided to do a lot of the things ourselves. We have been able to save money by making our own invitations, center pieces and other arrangements. All though it has made it a bit more time consuming, we’ve enjoyed the time together and the personal touch it added to our wedding.

Why did you decide to work with us as your photographer?

Not only did Nashan Photography fit in our budget and come recommended by local vendors, we really enjoyed the pictures on their website. We felt that their style of photography would truly capture the feel of our wedding. http://nashan.com/

What do you envision your photos to look like?

We envisioned that our pictures would capture our strong sense of family, friends and the love for each other, as well as the rustic Montana theme that we wanted.

If you have had your free engagement portrait session, how did you enjoy it and what were your favorite photos from it?

We did have a free engagement photo session and we really enjoyed it. It was very laid back and casual, which fit both our personalities. Chieko made us feel comfortable and was a lot of fun to work with. We really enjoyed the photos in front of the old rustic buildings and the ones down on the Yellowstone River.

(If you would like to see their engagement portraits visit http://nashanclients.com/RedCart/ and scroll down to Chieko: Gardner/Swayzee engagement)

What kind of shoes are you planning on wearing?

I haven’t picked out my shoes yet, but thought it would be fun to wear royal blue pumps to match the bridesmaid’s dresses and to just be a little different.

Anika's Belly Photos

I met Anika and her family 18 years ago when Jeffrey and I moved to Montana. She was the first babysitter for Keegan and now the tables have turned and she and Stefan are having a baby. It is truly dumbfounding how quickly time goes by, luckily we have the ability to take a slice out of time and freeze it with photographs. As a gift for Anika and Stefan I offered to take some belly photos and they agreed! Here are some of my favorites. I hadn't spent any time with them is way too long and it was so much fun spending time together taking these photos.....

The Winner of the free copy of Wedding Photography Unveiled is....

A few weeks ago I started a contest on Digital Wedding Forum, DWF, a forum for wedding photographers, asking the question why do you love photographing weddings? There were a variety of submissions and I related to all of them which reiterated why I love photographing them myself, but I had to choose my favorite entry.

Garrett Elliott wrote the most entertaining entry of the bunch and I choose him as the winner of the free copy of the book Wedding Photography Unveiled by Jacqueline Tobin. It features 20 photographers and I am one of them. Garrett your entry is so funny and entertaining...Thank you to all of you for taking the time to submit.

The contest started out on DWF and they informed me that I am not allowed to give away any copies of the book because my work if featured in it. So they pulled the thread......