be back soon...

Hey all you loyal bloggers! I have been on a sort of hiatus (vacation, break, breather, holiday.) Whatever you wish to call it. I'll be back soon, so don't think I forgot about you!

Hope

This image was shot 3 years ago but I thought it was fitting for both the inauguration of President Obama and Valentine's season. To a new start!

Engagement: Jeremy and Amber

Today was a fantastic engagement photo shoot with Amber and Jeremy out off of Iron Canyon. It felt like a spring day only in the middle of winter! These two had no problem keeping up with my requests for them to kiss. Thanks for a fun break in my day of archiving and I look forward to working with you both!

PHOTO 101: Wedding Photography Mistake #4

The Time-line Crasher

You have planned your wedding down to the second. It is a master piece fit for the LA Philharmonic. Every vendor has been given a time-line of where to be and when. Your big day is here and your photographer has no clue of the time-line or just plain forgot it. He has now made things impossible to go smoothly because he took too long taking the portrait session and too long setting up the lights that kept shorting out during the family photos.

As a wedding photographer I take the entire day off before the event. I decompress and memorize the time-line for the next day. Since I am the one service provider that is with the bride for practically her entire day, I also provide the service of answering "what time is it?" I have yet to see a bride or any of her bride's maids wear a watch. Oddly, you will never see me with a watch on unless I am shooting a wedding. It is the only time during my week when I need to know the time. Brides are always grateful that someone took the time to know (without having to look) the time-line. It takes a huge burden off her and allows her to go with the flow of the day.

Side note: there are brides who will NOT follow any time-line on the day of, even if she swears she is an on-time person and has nit-picked the time-line down to the second. When this happens it is really important that you go with the flow and literally work around her. Remember: it is her day.
Note to Brides: if you are looking for a photographer and are concerned that they might miss shots or mess up your schedule I always recommend getting their most recent clients contact info and actually calling them.


WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKE #6 The Chimper
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKE #7 The Do-Over Guy
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKE #8 The Wrong Place Guy
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKE #9 The Partier
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKE #10 The Narcissist

Back in Time: A Poem by my Great Grandmother in 1899

A PHOTOGRAPH

Only a Photograph
Among a hundred others.
But how it glows!
As his touch o’er it hovers,
The dark eyes flash
Then gaze as a true lover’s
When they meet mine.

Passing it lightly by?
Dear friend. . . does it mean no more to you
Than any other?
Smiled it not on you when brought to view
From out the heap?
Bringing to your eyes hot drops of dew
As fill my own?

You’ve dropped it!
How came you by such thoughtlessness?
Let me pick it up!
See! What reproachful gentleness
Glows from its eyes. . .
Pardon you? Most certainly. Yes.
(How could he know?)

By Grace Alldredge (my great grandmother)
October 26, 1899
Des Moines, Iowa

The poem is about the above photograph of one of her many "sweethearts" in her 20's. His name was Wellsley Hux Greathead and it was taken in November of 1897 in Marshalltown, Iowa.

This is Grace Alldredge taken in 1895 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wedding Photography: How I got started

I often get asked how I got started as a wedding photographer and who I used for my wedding. The short answer:
My start: Joe Buissink
My wedding photog: Laura Kleinhenz of Docuvitae
The long answer:
My sister, Cindi got married 11 years ago and used the then fairly unknown wedding photographer, Joe Buissink for the unheard of price tag of $4,000. They got him just before his prices skyrocketed and he became practically untouchable by us mortals (price-wise). Joe is now a legend in the wedding photography industry pretty much doing celebrity and high high end weddings. At the time he, along with one of my Art Center instructors, Kathleen Clark were two of only a handful of documentary photographers shooting weddings. When I saw the outcome of his work at my sister's wedding, I was in awe, but not yet hooked. I was studying at Art Center to join the ranks of the now dwindling advertising photographer crowd. Once out of school, armed with my trusty agent Lisa Ellison, I was out to conquer the photography world. It only took about 4 years to realize I absolutely DID NOT want to have anything to do with this world. It sucked the life right out of me and made me realize the type of life I wanted was down a different path. I was told at Art Center, that as a woman, if you wanted to be a successful photographer you would not be able to have kids (or at least I would not be able to be a normal mom). This always shocked me and anyone who knows me knows I am a "have it all, do it all" kind of gal. Then, in 2003 the marriage proposal came from my High School sweetheart (okay, Junior High School crush) Tim O'Sullivan and the search was on. As an advertising photographer (starving photographer is more like it) how could I find the right wedding photographer. All I found in my hundreds of hours of searching were a bunch of over priced, under qualified photographers who lacked any sense of artistry and passion. There were only two worthy wedding shooters I knew of: Joe Buissink and Isabel and Larry, who are family friends. Joe was so off the charts for my sad little photo budget as were Isabel and Larry of Isabel Lawrence even WITH a friend discount. Then I stumbled on Laura Kleinhenz. She was also out of my budget but was willing to trade part of her fees in custom binding services for some of her high end clients. Although I do not do binding full time anymore, I still do the occasional custom book for brides who want and can afford it. (See Little Book Bindery for more info.) She was so great to work with and shot the entire wedding in film with more of an artistic photojournalistic style. Her work is very different from my own and she captures things in ways that are so deeply beautiful. After realizing there were not that many people doing any work that stood out I decided to jump into weddings full time. I had shot a few weddings for friends over the years since 2001 and knew I liked it so it seemed to be the perfect fit. Weddings on the weekends -- wife, mother, teacher during the week. I started to steadily work myself out of work keeping only the best clients doing (and still do) marketing materials and annual reports for Private Schools, and I opened up Save The Date Photo in 2004 and never looked back. I can now say that those instructors at Art Center were dead wrong. While wedding photography is not looked on as a photography profession at Art Center, in my mind it encompasses everything I learned there. At every wedding I am able to photograph architecture, still life, editorial, fashion, portraiture, food, and even cars. I love how diverse it is and I do not have to deal with picky art directors telling me how to do my job (although I do get the occasional aunt or mother who likes to put their two cents in). My life is basically this: party with some of the happiest people on the planet, eat some cake, do what I love, and then hang out in my pajamas the rest of the week while archiving and playing with my husband and son. I do have it all and I am loving every second of it. Who knew work could be fun, rewarding, and pay the bills all at the same time.