Breaking News: America's Cutest Family Could Win a Car!

Are your loved one’s North America’s Cutest Family?

PROVE IT!

Picture Your World Photography is participating in the International Charity Model Search to select North America’s Cutest Family, and you’re invited to enter the competition!

Many prizes will be awarded and the Grand Prize winner receives a NEW CAR! Now is definitely the time to update the family photo!

Call NOW at 303-548-6112 to book your Model Search Special session and be eligible for the contest.

Model Search Special:
$50 entrance fee includes:
60-minute photo session
one free 8X10 and one image submitted to the national gallery



Finalists will be determined by on-line votes. Each vote is $1, and all proceeds from votes benefit the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS.org). Official voting begins 1/4/10 and ends 4/8/10.

The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of almost 7,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and twenty-five countries. At a family's request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby. I have known about this program for quite some time, but I haven't yet found the strength to participate because just thinking about the loss of a newborn child brings tears to my eyes and I doubt that I would be able to photograph those final moments. But helping the organization raise money like this IS something I can do!



But wait! For those who did not qualify – you can still earn rewards! Send this email / postcard to friends and families and tell them you referred them to Picture Your World Photography. If they book and complete their photo session with the studio, you can earn the following print credits for 2010 usage:

2-5 referrals:
Receive two 5x7’s from your most recent session or on a future session 2010 (FREE!)

6-13 referrals:
Receive one 8x10 from your most recent session or on a future session in 2010 (FREE!)

13-20 referrals:
Receive one 11x14 from your most recent session or on a future session in 2010 (FREE!)

21+ referrals:
Receive one 20x30 from your most recent session or on a future session in 2010 (FREE!)

I know one of my client's family have GOT TO BE America’s Cutest Family!

The grand prize international winner will be determined from the 52 city finalists. The winners will be selected from the finalist gallery by photography and modeling industry experts. The winning family also receives a session with the renowned portrait artist Sandy Puc and international recognition. Call 303-548-6112 now to enter your family in this exciting contest.

*Contest open to residents of the US and Canada. For more information, visit http://sandypucmodels.com/.

This Weekend: Bridal workshop and senior portrait session

This weekend, I have two shoots scheduled, a bridal workshop in Colorado Springs on Saturday and a senior portrait session at the Lair 'O the Bear Park in Jefferson County.



The bridal workshop will feature several photographers from the Mile High Photography group shooting about three brides who will be modeling their dresses for us in a park in downtown Colorado Springs. My new friend and photography colleague Kristi Crosson said she was so inspired by a similar workshop I organized last month photographing engagement couples that she wanted to do the same thing with brides! I'm glad to be able to concentrate on shooting during the workshop whether than run and manage it. I think I did more directing than I did shooting!



It can be easy for photographers to get into a rut when they shoot session after session of clients. But being able to see what posing, lighting and editing techniques other photographers use while shooting the same subjects is extremely motivational and educational, helping to keep all our ideas and our imagery fresh. Plus, it should be fun to work with a model who is relaxed whether than overwhelmed (which is usually the case on an actual wedding day). I can't wait to experiment and try using my Speedlights again.

Then on Sunday, I will be shooting Lukas, another senior from Dakota Ridge High School and close buddy of Jordan, whose senior portraits I shot last month. Lukas and I were suppose to have this session late in August, but storms rained out out plans and forced a rescheduled. So far, Lukas has been the only senior this year to request an outdoor "green" session rather than an urban/cityscape one, so it will be fun to try out a new locale with my friend and colleague Sean Donnelly who will be my second shooter/assistant for the day.



Since Jordan referred Lukas to my studio, he received a coupon for $25 off additional prints or his next photo session. Turns out that Jordan's mom took the coupon so she can use it off a family portrait session she has scheduled for this fall! Who doesn't love happy, repeat customers!!!

This Weekend: Booked a senior session, hosting another photo booth

ON SATURDAY:

Today, I booked my first senior portrait of the season! I met my client, Monique, last year when I took senior portraits for her friend Christine's daughter. Monique attended the session and hung out with Christine while I shot her daughter. Monique enjoyed the photo shoot and loved the photos so much that choose me to shoot her son's session. That's one of the best referrals you can ask for, and because of it, Christine's daughter will receive $25 worth of free prints!

I am extremely excited about this session because it will be the first one I've shot with a senior male and a prop. Jordan, 17, plays the violin and he wants several shots with his instrument in them. Jordan said he wanted his photos to be edgy, urban and abstract. We decided to start shooting along the 16th Street Mall in Denver, and specifically near a sculptural garden that captured Jordan's eye.

Here are some examples of the kind of poses he's looking for:





ON SUNDAY

On Sunday, Jason Peckovitch and I will set up our photo booth and sell prints at the first annual "Hot August Nights Car Show" in Fort Collins. We met the client who hired us to shoot this event at our last car show coverage where we discovered that beautiful models and fast cars meant lots of print sales. If these events keep being profitable for us, I think Jason and I should start coordinating our schedules so we can be prepared to have booths available at various events throughout the car show season next year!

Get the Job Done: Shooting opening night of a film festival

This evening, I will be shooting the opening ceremonies for the First Annual DocuWest Film Festival hosted by the Foothills Art Center in Golden. The event organizer asked Efrain Cruz, director of Illuminate Workshops, to provide student photographers to cover two days of festival. I told Efrain I would be able to work tonight's shift, photographing the reception, first moving screening and after party from about 6 till 10. As part of my compensation for the work, I get free access to film festival which as an interesting line-up of featured works.

I've never attended a festival like this, so I can't wait to see tonight's film "Kimjongilia." Accepted into the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Kimjongilia reveals the shocking truth about North Korean forced labor camps as survivors talk about the horrors the experienced.

The event organize has asked for primarily posed shots as well as a few candids to show people enjoying themselves, both of which I'm very good at. Tonight's event should offer me more foundation building experience of shooting indoors in low lit areas. Plus, I am looking forward to meeting new artistic contacts in Golden, a city I haven't spent much time in, and gaining exposure for possible future clients. I'm glad to know that Efrain's referral network is working, providing opportunities for his students to be successful in their craft.

Growing Pains: A Photographer Pool

My instructor and colleague Efrain Cruz, director of Illuminate Workshops, has come up with a great idea helping photographers land paying gigs. If you remember, Efrain's kindness and sincere interest in helping his students succeed is what not only convinced me to continue pursuing photography but was also the reason why I got my first paid assignment. He sent out an email to his students letting them know that an opportunity existed that he couldn't shoot, and that he had referred our names to the contact instead. I was the only one reached out to the contact and thus, I got the job, which led to another job and another and another....well, I think you get it! :)

Now Efrain has developed a structured way to refer students and upcoming professionals who may be available to shoot a special event. He has created a web form for collecting names, experience level and interest of photographers who would like to know of such opportunities.

If you would like to be included, please fill out the form here at Efrain's Illuminate Workshops site. I have filled out the form, expressing my specialization in portraiture. Good luck!

Meanwhile, fellow photog and business management specialist Jim Turley wants to form a network of photographers who will refer business to each other, giving the referring photog a 10% commission. So far, he has five people in mind each with a little different set of skills/experience. He believes my portrait work sets me apart and has asked me to join. First off, I am honored Jim even thought to include me and very pleased that he believes I have the skills to make his idea a reality.

I want to thank Efrain and Jim for their continued support in my photographic efforts. Having and maintaining relationships like these are the bread and butter of any successful business. But I'm glad to know too that both of these talented men are also good friends, and I know that my progress and happiness is important to them, so it makes it easy to trust them and want to do your best for them as well.

Get the Job Done: Gloria's Senior Portraits

, originally uploaded by Sheba Wheeler.

This Saturday, I did another senior portrait session with Gloria, a childhood friend and referral from Jordan. After finishing these great shots with Gloria, I'm more convinced now than ever that portraiture is the type of photography I love and prefer doing.

I like being able to show the client a new side of themselves, and I like having them experience a one-on-one session where they are the main focus. That makes the experience more personal and memorable if I can make them feel special and important. If a client is nervous, I will take the time to show them some of my favorite shots right in camera. The clincher happens when you hear that quick intake of breath or that gasp right before they say, "Wow, those do look good." I'm not sure if they are surprised by how they look or my ability to get the shot! :) Either way, those are always great reactions to witness.

A colleague told me once that a fellow photographer took portraits rather than some other type of photography, namely nudes or boudoir shots, because portraiture "was safe." But I don't think so. Maybe the photographer takes portraits because he enjoys being able to make people feel good about themselves, like I do. Lord knows we all have those moments when we need someone to remind us just how beautiful we really are.

Gloria said she wanted flowers in her senior portrait, so we spent the early morning at City Park where the flower beds are gorgeous, colorful and plentiful. I'm happy that Gloria's sister was with us; she not only was a great assistant holding reflectors and diffusers, but she was instrumental in getting true smiles and laughter from Gloria.

There's a Rainbow in the Sky All the Time

There's a Rainbow in the Sky All the Time, originally uploaded by Sheba Wheeler.

This post originally appeared in my bi-weekly entries to One Day One Picture.

Always be aware of your surroundings. A momentary drizzle forced my senior portrait shoot with Jordan inside to wait out the rain. But I would have missed this incredible opportunity to photography Jordan with the rainbow in the background if her little sister, Donovan, hadn't grabbed my arm and dragged me to the window.

"Look! A rainbow!" I wasn't sure if I would be able to capture this natural phenomenon before it disappeared. So I rushed Jordan to a balcony and started shooting.

To get this shot, I had to meter for the sky and rainbow, which left Jordan underexposed. To compensate, I used a bit of fill flash to lit up her face and body, but she was still more shadowed than I wanted. So in CS3, I used a quick mask to select Jordan's face and a Curve to adjust the lighting in just that area. I think it works because I still want Jordan to be the main focus of the image, but the rainbow in the background gives the image depth.

This picture has become very popular and Jordan's referrals have helped me secure senior portrait sessions with two extra seniors. With a deadline of Sept. 19 to get their photos into their school, I've really got to get a move on it!