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Photo Tips

2011 Top Ten “Discoveries”

01.07.2012

 

Welcome to 2012–hope your new year is off to a great start! Here’s a look back at some 2011 “discoveries” (for us)–photographic and otherwise–that you may want to try as well:

  • Pinterest: “collect” images from the web of stuff you love. Post and follow others like twitter. You can follow Jane here…pinterest.com/shauck.
  • Mac Lion & iCloud: to complete the PC to Mac transition we upgraded to the Lion OS and now use Apple’s iCloud to back-up and share among our iMacs, iPad and iPhones.
  • Backblaze: online continuous backup for your computer…check it out at www.backblaze.com.
  • French Press coffee: a nice side effect of our 10 day power outage after the Oct. snowstorm. If you can boil water, you can make great coffee in a french press!
  • Treva Restaurant: a stand out among the West Hartford eateries, Treva’s fresh, flavorful Euro-cuisine and Chef/Owner Dorjan are great!
  • Coconut Grove, Miami: loved the village vibe down in Coconut Grove, loaded with trees and bistros and nearby Key Biscayne’s beaches. We stayed at the Mayfair Hotel and Spa.
  • Boden: Jane loves this British web retailer’s simple, classic, well-tailored clothes. Check them out at www.bodenusa.com.


May IRIS E-News is Out!

05.06.2010

Our May IRIS e-News is here….you can sign up here to receive our newsletter!

May IRIS e-News.jpg



Photo Tip: Beyond Snapshots

04.27.2010

Two girls in front of green door at Elizabeth Park

What photos do you love most?

Probably those that capture the essence of your subject or some distinctive aspect of their personality.

Yet we’re often guilty (us too with our own kids) of asking our children to flash a smile when they pose for the camera…with mixed results.

Here are some tips on how to get more than smiley snapshots of your kids (works with adults as well!)

* Go for no smile: tell kids in a soft voice “no smile”, then take a photo.  That’s how I got the shot above.

* Get them talking:  ask them to talk about anything that might be of interest (favorite ice cream flavors, Harry Potter, etc.) and listen with the camera to your eye. The range of emotion passing over kids’ faces is amazing.

* Remove the audience: if you want your subject to connect with you (and the camera), remove the distraction of other people watching you shoot. Kids are especially affected by another parent or sibling looking on.

* Belly laugh: ask for a fake laugh but don’t press the shutter until your subject is truly laughing – most people will laugh because they feel so silly – and don’t be shy about demonstrating yourself!



New Workshop – beyond automatic!

04.07.2009

Photo workshop beyond automatic



Digital Workflow Seminar in Farmington, CT

04.11.2008

Some photographer friends are teaching a Digital Asset Management (“DAM” :) ) seminar on digital workflow.  I just wanted to give the link here in case anyone is interested in learning more about Lightroom, professional photographer workflow, etc.  The seminar is April 30th in Farmington.  The cost is $149.  The link is here. I think you can see by the title of their workshop that not only will you learn a lot…you will be thoroughly entertained!!!



DWF and PPA Convention, Tampa

01.14.2008

Well I just returned from the Digital Wedding Forum and Portrait Photographers of America convention in Tampa !  It’s been a great 5 days though – seeing old friends (Hi Elsa, Roman and Mouna!), meeting new ones (Hi Melissa and Linda), attending seminars, cocktail parties and a major industry tradeshow.

This is a great event where you are learning from (and having drinks with) the best wedding and portrait photographers in the world.  While everything was covered from the latest editing and shooting gear, to the business-side, I’ll share with you some of the inspirational stuff I heard because that’s universal to everyone…a lot of it was about childhood/children:

  • “What do people try to save from a house fire?”  – can’t remember who said this.
  • “Would your four-year old self be proud of who you are today?” – paraphrasing Jerry Ghionis
  • “Every child is the artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.” – Picasso, quoted by Jesh de Rox
  • “It’s never too late to be who you might have been” – George Eliot as quoted by Tamara Lackey
  • “We sell the experience” – Denis Reggie (he coined “wedding photojournalism”, shot JFK Jrs. wedding, and his base is $50K/wedding)
  • And, I didn’t attend David Williams‘ seminar this year, but everyone came out of there truly emotional and it reminded me of when I saw him two years ago – he said that when you take a child’s portrait with a parent, you are actually taking it for the child, not the parents, so that years from now, when the parents have passed on, it becomes one of the few physical records of the parent’s love for the child, and thus becomes the most valuable at that time.  David Williams has no pictures with his mother so this point was truly close to his heart.  I have always remembered that at both portraits and weddings.

It’s an amazingly small and open industry and I feel so happy to be in this business!