This Weekend: Engagement Workshop and Senior Portrait Session

Starting this morning, I will be hosting an engagement/bridal workshop! About four couples and two former brides' whose weddings I shot will be modeling for me and about a dozen of my photography colleagues from the Mile High DPS Social Group and in the Mile High Photographers organization. You may remember the site as the secret garden inside the DU campus where I and my assistants took formal portraits of my last wedding couple, Peter and Harriet seen here:
Image courtesy of Paul Martin for Picture Your World Photography

I got this idea a few months ago to invite the brides I have shot to model their fabulous dresses so I could experiment with some illustrative, magazine style bridal portraits in a lush setting. All of the portraits of brides I've shot in the past have been during stressful times, usually sometime after the bride shimmies into her dress right before the ceremony. I had one session with a bride where I shot her in studio, but this will be the first time I get to relax and try out some lighting arrangements I've been researching without the pressure of wedding coverage weighing me down.

Taken by me while driving in the limo to the wedding

When a colleague told me he had a couple who needed engagement shots as well, we came up with the idea of having several more couples come to get shot as well, turning the shoot into a morning workshop. At first I was worried that we would have more models than photographers. But now we have plenty of shooters who need these kinds of shots for their port. Each bride or couple will be divided among a group of 2-3 photogs who will work with them for about 30 minutes, then we will switch so that each photographer has a chance to shoot all of the models. Afterwards, each photographer has pledged to give three free, unwatermarked images to the models, trading their time for prints. I will have the photogs email me the images and upload them to a private gallery on my website where the models can download originals from there.


Then, later that afternoon, I will be shooting a senior portrait session in downtown Denver. Jordan, 17, and his mother Monique, are one of the first people book a special discounted senior session I started advertising this week. The promotion includes a quick hour-long session with two 8x10s, four 5x7s, a strip of wallets and of course the yearbook image for just $150.

Jordan is an adventurous teen and he will be the first I've photographed with a prop -- his violin! He wants his shots to be urban, edgy and fun with interesting tilts and angled shots. He's definitely interested in doing some modeling, so the photos he chooses from this session could also be the start of his very own modeling portfolio.

Get the Job Done: Harriet and Peter's Engagement Session

My favorite shot from Kim and Michael's fall engagement session

This evening, during the Golden Hour before sunset, I will take engagement photos of one of my upcoming May wedding couples, Harriet and Peter. I'm excited about this session for a couple of reasons:

1) It will be the first one I've done for a client that will combine ambient light with off camera flash. I started charging my Alien Bee battery pack Tuesday night which will allow me to take one of my AB1600 strobes on location with me. Thanks to attending several sessions with the Colorado Strobist Flickr group, I've gotten tons of practice getting great results from a very simple, my pared down "travel lighting kit," which consists of a shoot through umbrella, a light stand, a single strobe, a reflector and two Pocket Wizards. My friend and fellow photographer Christine will be assisting me with the shoot.

Lately, I've been using my Canon 580 II used off camera with a Custom Bracket and a off-camera shoe cord. So I'm very excited to be taking my portrait photography to the next level. And I'm confident that I'm more than prepared.

2) Harriet and Peter are home bodies, so they have decided to have me shoot them near their apartment complex. One of the things they told me during their consultation is how much they love having home movie nights. I think it would be so much fun to have some outtakes while they are watching their favorite flick on their living room couch!

When I shot Kim and Michael's engagement session during the fall, I loved being able to do some storytelling images explaining how their romance began through a shared love of skiing and bicycling.



For inspiration, I spent the evening looking at great shots from the E-Sessions and Engagement Photography group pools on Flickr. I loved this series of shots from Ryan Richard:

Growing Pains: Client Who Cares about Photo Storytelling

Michael and Kim

My latest client's love of photos was a great thing to see and be a part of.

Too many times, people take photography for granted and are to willing to scrimp on the money to pay for a professional photographer. New stats are showing all the time that photography budgets are the first to get slashed during event planning. So many people believe that they can give a camera to anyone and end up with shots that are just as good, if not better than those taken by professionals. I have to admit I've seen some shots taken by so called pros that made me shutter, but the majority of the time I'm simply in awe of the work that so many talented professional photographers can produce. I'm glad Kim and Michael, my last clients, understood the importance of photography and made images and the power of storytelling a hallmark in their engagement.







I was blown away when I arrived at the events center to shoot their party. Every single guest was greeted with the photo I took of them during their engagement session and it totally set the stage for more images guests would see throughout the evening. Kim created wonderful displays of images that showcased the progression of her romance with Mike. They made you feel like you were being included in this great journey the couple were taking together, and the impact was amazing.







I loved hearing people ask "Who took THAT picture." I still can't believe how great it felt to hear Kim proudly say, "my professional photographer, the one taking pictures over there!" That's me they were talking about!!!! Other people kept coming up to me all night long telling me that Kim was pleased and gushing about my work, which makes me happy because I was very nervous about shooting for them. I know that Michael had originally wanted a friend of his to take the photos, but the photographer never really agreed to do it. So they hired me. I was worried they wouldn't be happy with my product, wishing Michael's friend would have shot the party instead.

I think Kim will be a great referral for me. Having my pictures featured so prominently during her party was better than a slideshow presentation. And she has a website up as well that will be highlighting more of my photos. I've agreed to offer her low-res online versions of the pics. I wish I could travel with them to take their wedding photos and I hope they get a good photographer to capture those memories as well. But I'm extremely thankful for the boon I'm sure they have brought to my fledgling business.

I think what Kim did at the party is a great precedent that you might try getting your clients to do as well. If you take the photos early enough in their wedding process, you too can have images showcased at engagement parties, bridal showers, receptions, etc. etc. I hope that I can be Kim and Michael's professional family photographer too throughout their lives, and those of their children and grandchildren.

This Weekend: Editing Family Portraits; Shooting Engagement Party

This will be another busy weekend for me with two heavy hitting projects that must be completed. All day Saturday, I will be editing photos from the family portrait session I held last weekend with the Newell family.



It was a very tricky session trying to make sure the little boys were always looking and smiling at the camera at the same time for more formally posed shots. I think I had more success capturing candid moments like this one where the boys truly came alive while playing with natural elements in the park including the river and fallen autumn leaves.



Then Saturday night, I will shooting Kim and Michael's engagement party at a Denver-area event center. Besides capturing the highlights of the night, including dancing and toasting and speeches, I will need to complete a shot list of specific guests and Colorado residents who will not be able to make the trip to the actual wedding that will be held next year in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Get the Job Done: The Value of the Impulse Buy During Presentation

Kim and Mike's Favorite of the Set

During the presentation of my first set of engagement portraits on Sunday, I discovered the value of the "impulse buy," and how it can be used to generate more print sales.

An "impulse buy" is a spontaneous purchase of an item that a shopper hadn't planned on buying. According to a survey conducted by The Yankee Group, shoppers are driven to make an impulse purchase by a "special sale price," free shipping and holiday or seasonal promotions. Other studies have long assumed that impulse buying happens at the cash register, which is why many small items such as batteries, candy, magazines and mints can be found on display racks or on the counters around cash registers in retail stores. I think I unwittingly tapped into that unconscious buying pattern by having prints available for purchase during the presentation.


My favorite of the set

When Kim and Michael arrived to my home to see the photos I had taken of them for their upcoming engagement party, several of my favorite photos had been printed out in 8x10s and displayed to tell the story of their romance fueled by outdoor activities including bicycling and skiing. The prints included with a laptop photo slide show set to a play list of love songs made quiet the impression.

It was the first time I had printed images from the KODAK ESP 3 All-in-One Printer I had received to review for my job at the Denver Post. To be honest, I didn't have high expectations of the prints thinking they wouldn't look nearly as good as anything I'm used to getting from the professional printers at Wolf Camera. To that end, I didn't feel comfortable selling them at full price, and I told the couple that if they purchased any prints that same evening, I would sell them for a discounted prices -- 8x10s for $10 and 4x6 for $2.50. After that, the price would go back up to $15 for 8x10s and so forth if Wolf or my online printing service did the work later.



As you can guess, the couple brought nearly all the prints and I made an extra $85 that night. That may not seem like a lot of money, but imagine how much more I might have made if I had other products on hand during the presentation, including more prints or even announcements for their party. I'm learning that accessibility and convenience are important to clients and make it easier for me to earn extra money too. I've already found out the hard way that the chances of securing additional print packages decrease unless you include them in upfront costs. So this could be another business strategy to spur more sales.

This Weekend: Presenting Engagement Photos; Shooting Family Portraits

Told ya things were going to get crazy! As the winter celebrations grow nearer, clients are starting to see photographs as great options for holiday cards, family portraits and parties.



This weekend, I will be presenting photos from my first engagement session to Kim and Michael. I thought the shoot was a success, and Confluence Park near the South Platte River was a wonderful location. It was important for me to be able to capture this active couple as well as some of their favorite things to do together. They spent most of their time courting while skiing and bike riding, so I wanted my shots to be able to remind them how their romance progressed.



This presentation will be the first time I use music to highlight a slideshow of the images that my MacBook Pro can create. I hope it's not too cheesy, but I've been told that music, even food and drink, can set the tone for the presentation and make it a more enjoyable experience. I also plan to have several of my favorite images already printed up in hopes that I can get some immediate sales during the presentation. I will also have a new proof book available for the couple to take with them so they can chose which images they want printed.

A few hours before my presentation, I will be shooting my first outdoor family portrait session with the woman who owns my dogs' daycare center. Cristal and I worked out a deal in which she would exchange free daycare for the cost of the photo shoot and prints. Again, I think exchanging goods and services instead of paying out money is a good idea during the troubled economy, and day care is just expensive enough that I think it's a great trade option! I loved Confluence Park so much that I suggested we shoot the portrait session there again. Cristal said she wanted to take advantage of the fall colors, and the park is bursting with reds, golds and cinnamons.

This Weekend: Time to Get Back to Work

For the last couple of weeks, I've been enjoying a lull between photography assignments, organizing my office, backing up images and shooting fun (though unpaid assignments) for myself. But the holiday seasons are upon us, and it's time for me to get back to work!

This weekend will likely be a harbinger of how hectic the next few months could be now that people are starting to think about photography gifts they can give to friends and relatives, including portraits and seasonal cards.


Roadrunner logo for Metro State College

To kick things off:
Saturday: I will be shooting a session with students modeling Auraria Campus bookstore clothing, including items with logos from the Metropolitan State College, Community College of Denver, and University of Colorado at Denver.




Sunday: I will be shooting Kim and Mike's engagement session. We narrowed down several location choices and decided to shoot along the bike paths near the REI Building and the Platte River in downtown Denver. The couple spent a lot of time there during their courtship, and I can't wait to capture some fun panning shots of them on their bikes. Here are a few images I took of the Platte River and numerous walking and bike paths which should serve as great location shots.



Meanwhile, I plan to do some bartering for my photography services with the owner of my dog's daycare center: she needs a family portrait for her holiday cards and in exchange she will give my dogs a month worth of free days. During these touch economic times, I think it makes sense to take advantage of exchanging goods or services without handing over cash. It's a great way for people to share their expertise, save time and never spend a dime. Plus, I could use some new family portraits in my portfolio and doggie daycare is expensive, so I think it's a good deal.

One of my neighbors who received my business postcard asked yesterday if they could use it for a portrait session. He wants to surprise his family with a nice photo of himself since he often shies away from the camera. "Can you make a guy like me look good?" he asked shyly? You betcha!

This Weekend: Preparing for my First Engagement Photo Session

Last night I booked my first engagement photo session! My contact who helped me secure shooting the National Brotherhood of Skiers summit conference in January referred me to Kim, my new client, who is getting married next year out-of-state. Kim and her fiancee Michael want to have an engagement pictures as well coverage of their engagement party next month here in Denver, and they have asked me to shoot both events.

I'm not worried about the party, as I've had plenty of experience shooting these type of gatherings. I have asked Kim to give me a shot list and assign someone to point out important people to make sure I get photos of all the family members who will be traveling to the party, but probably won't make it to the actual wedding.

But I need to spend this weekend researching how to take engagement photos. In my initial consultation, Kim told me that she and Mike met while skiing in a Slippers-n-Sliders club event. So I definitely loved her idea of trying to recreate the first time they met by dressing them up in ski gear and hoisting their skis. I wish there was some snow on the ground! I also like the idea of shooting them where Mike proposed. And I definitely want to capture the romance and fun of their relationship.

Know any examples of engagement shots you love? Please send them my way so I can check them out. I've also visited several Flickr E-session groups to get some ideas on posing. And I will be hitting my photography books to see what I can find about lighting this situation as well, since we will be holding the session outside.