One of many project undertaken in November, the beautiful Laura :)
Dec 10, 2010
Dec 8, 2010
Nov 5, 2010
I really do love Weddings :)
I shot a wedding in late October and just fussing with the pictures some more until they're perfect- here is a sneak peek!
Oct 19, 2010
Christmas Cards !!!
We are offering one of the best Christmas Packages! Get both and Family Photo shoot AND Custom designed Christmas Cards for only $80. Hurry Offer ends Dec.13th. Send us an email to book now and avoid the rush.
Sep 22, 2010
The Sin City Edit
I pulled out the grunge brushes, fake rain and lense flair and it's still not quite as graphic as some "Sin City" themed work but this is my best crack at it for now. Let me know what you think- I'd love to hear your comments
Sep 21, 2010
Sep 16, 2010
First Time Using My Westcott Light that I Bought at Photoshop World
As I've mentioned on a couple of different forums- I spent a bit of money at Photoshop World in Las Vegas this year. My 2 all star purchases were an awesome studio lighting system (I've got 2 square soft boxes and a hair light) and a wacom tablet. So I can both make some better pictures and edited them better and faster (its a total win win). Here is a quick glimpse at Round one with my new set up!
An awesome actor came in as my model .His name is Jesse Collin- if you need an actor for something you should look him up he was a total riot in studio.
An awesome actor came in as my model .His name is Jesse Collin- if you need an actor for something you should look him up he was a total riot in studio.
Sep 13, 2010
10 Networking Tips For the Shy or Sheepish
Recently I have rediscovered my own little brand of social avoidance. I love people, I love to get involved in their lives and make strong friendships- I'm just not a huge fan of talking to strangers and I especially do not enjoying being the first one to strike up a conversation. And fellow photographers seem to be a whole new bag to me than clients. After Photoshop World Conference in Vegas and a Local networking event I think I have a couple of strategies for making more connections.
1) Fake it til you make it!
I'm leading off with the most painful of my suggestions. Grit you teeth, get a good antiperspirant, hold something so they can't see you shaking and go talk to people.
2) Stay positive.
I seem to inevitably say something totally retarded when meeting new people but try your best to just keep smiling. Also no one likes a whiner try to always lead off with positive things.
3) Bring a friend or "wing man"
If you already have a buddy who fits in the atmosphere bring them along- as you meet people introduce each other. This also avoids the awkward standing in the corner by yourself feeling. Often I socialize with my husband and much to my horror he will start telling people what I do- after the initial discomfort though frequently I've struck up good conversations and actually made the connection. So go ahead and cling to the social butterflies maybe it will rub off a bit.
4) Be a good listener.
Almost everyone is self centered enough that they would rather talk about themselves then hear about you. So take a step back from your desire to let them know all about you and ask a simple question like, “What upcoming projects do you have that you're excited about?" Also people love to hear their own names so use their name as often as you can during the conversation.
5) Have good business cards and USE them
It's great to make a contact but if you're at a large event talking to several people you may not remember the important info (for example I typically remember what people look like but not their names). Enter your business card! And no need for some covert secret handshake or slip-it-into-their-pocket-like-a-thief-in-the-night action to give them out say something like, "I've really enjoyed chatting with you, I'd love it if you could email me a link about that camera you were talking about" and hand them your card. You get bonus points for getting other peoples cards too- hey here`s an idea for a light hearted joke: suggest a race for who can contact who again sooner.
6) Without appearing vain check your appearance rather frequently.
If there is food being served check your teeth, if you went to the washroom check for tp on your shoe, if you decided to wear the false lashes make sure they're not on your eyebrows but use a bathroom or be discrete in the mirror checks. Although people might talk to you if you have something amiss in your appearance it's likely not the kind of attention you want to attract. I also always rock some chewing gum and scented body lotion so that my breath is ok and any nervous BO is masked but not with an overpowering scent.
7) Move around the room.
I have this personal obsession with really awesome shoes (that aren't always very practical) so I need to work on this one more too. Many people stick to their own corners and circles, use suggestion # 9 to try and get into a new circle of conversation.
8) There will always be people to look for mentorship from and people to mentor.
No matter how many years of experience you have or the education or equipment there is a distinct chance that someone else's work is superior to yours. The flip side is also true though. No matter how many years of experience you have there will always be people who know less and whose work is frankly worse than yours. Always try to check your ego and don't make too many assumptions, often at social gathering we're not carrying our portfolios around with us. I personally feel it is safe to take the humble road and not brag about my work. I'll talk openly and honestly about what I do but I leave the horn blowing aside.
9) Compliment others.
Most of us feel reassured and admired when someone says they like our work but you can do one better if you've seen the work of who you are talking too pick one piece and give a very specific compliment. If you haven't seen their work compliment their attire or an attribute of their personality (I'd avoid complimenting anything physical as to come off professionally interested, not romantically)
10) Be Yourself!
Although somewhat obvious, cliché and possibly interpreted as contradicting #1. Being yourself is also vital to the longevity of a contact. If you were so into another character when you initially talked to a person additional contact may leave them feeling like you have a personality disorder. While I would discourage giving your life story to anyone, be honest and open about who you are and what your about. If your primary goal in the industry is to make money to support yourself or your family don't go off on a rant on the value of having clients become close personal friends. I find writing thing down about how I want to present myself helps me to have a professional veneer that still lets the essence of who I really am shine.
Selling my brand online and networking in person are 2 distinct skill sets both of which I am in the process of acquiring. If you found this post helpful or have even better suggestion I would Love to hear them! So please leave a comment :)
1) Fake it til you make it!
I'm leading off with the most painful of my suggestions. Grit you teeth, get a good antiperspirant, hold something so they can't see you shaking and go talk to people.
2) Stay positive.
I seem to inevitably say something totally retarded when meeting new people but try your best to just keep smiling. Also no one likes a whiner try to always lead off with positive things.
3) Bring a friend or "wing man"
If you already have a buddy who fits in the atmosphere bring them along- as you meet people introduce each other. This also avoids the awkward standing in the corner by yourself feeling. Often I socialize with my husband and much to my horror he will start telling people what I do- after the initial discomfort though frequently I've struck up good conversations and actually made the connection. So go ahead and cling to the social butterflies maybe it will rub off a bit.
4) Be a good listener.
Almost everyone is self centered enough that they would rather talk about themselves then hear about you. So take a step back from your desire to let them know all about you and ask a simple question like, “What upcoming projects do you have that you're excited about?" Also people love to hear their own names so use their name as often as you can during the conversation.
5) Have good business cards and USE them
It's great to make a contact but if you're at a large event talking to several people you may not remember the important info (for example I typically remember what people look like but not their names). Enter your business card! And no need for some covert secret handshake or slip-it-into-their-pocket-like-a-thief-in-the-night action to give them out say something like, "I've really enjoyed chatting with you, I'd love it if you could email me a link about that camera you were talking about" and hand them your card. You get bonus points for getting other peoples cards too- hey here`s an idea for a light hearted joke: suggest a race for who can contact who again sooner.
6) Without appearing vain check your appearance rather frequently.
If there is food being served check your teeth, if you went to the washroom check for tp on your shoe, if you decided to wear the false lashes make sure they're not on your eyebrows but use a bathroom or be discrete in the mirror checks. Although people might talk to you if you have something amiss in your appearance it's likely not the kind of attention you want to attract. I also always rock some chewing gum and scented body lotion so that my breath is ok and any nervous BO is masked but not with an overpowering scent.
7) Move around the room.
I have this personal obsession with really awesome shoes (that aren't always very practical) so I need to work on this one more too. Many people stick to their own corners and circles, use suggestion # 9 to try and get into a new circle of conversation.
8) There will always be people to look for mentorship from and people to mentor.
No matter how many years of experience you have or the education or equipment there is a distinct chance that someone else's work is superior to yours. The flip side is also true though. No matter how many years of experience you have there will always be people who know less and whose work is frankly worse than yours. Always try to check your ego and don't make too many assumptions, often at social gathering we're not carrying our portfolios around with us. I personally feel it is safe to take the humble road and not brag about my work. I'll talk openly and honestly about what I do but I leave the horn blowing aside.
9) Compliment others.
Most of us feel reassured and admired when someone says they like our work but you can do one better if you've seen the work of who you are talking too pick one piece and give a very specific compliment. If you haven't seen their work compliment their attire or an attribute of their personality (I'd avoid complimenting anything physical as to come off professionally interested, not romantically)
10) Be Yourself!
Although somewhat obvious, cliché and possibly interpreted as contradicting #1. Being yourself is also vital to the longevity of a contact. If you were so into another character when you initially talked to a person additional contact may leave them feeling like you have a personality disorder. While I would discourage giving your life story to anyone, be honest and open about who you are and what your about. If your primary goal in the industry is to make money to support yourself or your family don't go off on a rant on the value of having clients become close personal friends. I find writing thing down about how I want to present myself helps me to have a professional veneer that still lets the essence of who I really am shine.
Selling my brand online and networking in person are 2 distinct skill sets both of which I am in the process of acquiring. If you found this post helpful or have even better suggestion I would Love to hear them! So please leave a comment :)
Sep 7, 2010
I find it funny how much you can learn without realizing it. Photoshop World Conference in Las Vegas was a good time but there wasn't one workshop that stood out to me. However in hindsight- I took a lot away from the experience.
I remember looking at a showgirl photograph in Vegas and thinking, “They used a shoe flash mounted right on the camera- that light is harsh and unflattering...hmm...if they would have used a softbox and rotated to keep the shoulder dim then filled in some of the shadow under her chin with a reflector... That would have been much better" Of course after having this thought I promptly smacked myself! I doubt the "photographer" of the imaged cared to do anything more than take a picture of the showgirl.
I also turned my camera off manual mode (as I had previously felt somewhat guilted to shoot in manual by the many- "you're not a pro if you don't shoot in manual" messages out there. Instead I turned my camera to Aperture priority and WOW I took some better pictures! I knew my exposure triangle and I had a "medium" idea of where all the controls on my specific camera where (my new camera and I are still getting to know each other)but things turned out better in less time when I let my camera do a little bit of the work for me.
Although purchasing CS5 (which has some retardedly awesome features- I agree I haven’t found a feature with the word “smart” in it that I don’t like) is still a while off in the budget for me- I did finally trade in my "bar of soap" for a Wacom tablet. I am somewhat sceptical of the learning curve- the sales man kept reassuring me that within a couple of hours I would have it all figured out- I think it will be more like a couple of weeks but we'll see. Maybe I’ll post a side-by- side comparison and see if I can tell the difference in 2 photos edited in the same amount of time.
In short Las Vegas was sweet and after I get through the backlog created from taking some away- I have lots of new pictures :)
I remember looking at a showgirl photograph in Vegas and thinking, “They used a shoe flash mounted right on the camera- that light is harsh and unflattering...hmm...if they would have used a softbox and rotated to keep the shoulder dim then filled in some of the shadow under her chin with a reflector... That would have been much better" Of course after having this thought I promptly smacked myself! I doubt the "photographer" of the imaged cared to do anything more than take a picture of the showgirl.
I also turned my camera off manual mode (as I had previously felt somewhat guilted to shoot in manual by the many- "you're not a pro if you don't shoot in manual" messages out there. Instead I turned my camera to Aperture priority and WOW I took some better pictures! I knew my exposure triangle and I had a "medium" idea of where all the controls on my specific camera where (my new camera and I are still getting to know each other)but things turned out better in less time when I let my camera do a little bit of the work for me.
Although purchasing CS5 (which has some retardedly awesome features- I agree I haven’t found a feature with the word “smart” in it that I don’t like) is still a while off in the budget for me- I did finally trade in my "bar of soap" for a Wacom tablet. I am somewhat sceptical of the learning curve- the sales man kept reassuring me that within a couple of hours I would have it all figured out- I think it will be more like a couple of weeks but we'll see. Maybe I’ll post a side-by- side comparison and see if I can tell the difference in 2 photos edited in the same amount of time.
In short Las Vegas was sweet and after I get through the backlog created from taking some away- I have lots of new pictures :)
Sep 3, 2010
Day 5
Photoshop World 2010 Las Vegas is now over. I think today was my best day in classes. I plan on writing a blog post detail some of the things I learned once I get home. I unfortunately seem to have caught a cold in the heat of Vegas but from here on out we're just enjoying the sight of Las Vegas!!! More posts and pictures to come :D
Vegas Day $$$ 4
Well I was parted with many of my dollars today but not from any of the "normal" Las Vegas means. I bought some serious equiptment today! Including a tablet for my computer :) I'll take some pictures of it all when it arrives.
Last night- or I guess technically this morning, I went to Studio 54
I also took some more photos on the strip and in the trade show. Having a great time- I've learned a lot too!
Last night- or I guess technically this morning, I went to Studio 54
I also took some more photos on the strip and in the trade show. Having a great time- I've learned a lot too!
Sep 2, 2010
Day 3 in Vegas!
Lots of Stories! But I'll have to write more tomorrow. I took lots of pictures so here is a sneak peak at those. They need a little back story- they set up studios with models posing at the trade show. Photographers just came and snapped away!
Aug 31, 2010
Vegas Day 2
So this morning we decided to be the "suckers" and go to one of those time share presentations. They fed us, showed us around and talked for hours; lastly applying the pressure sales... the prices kept dropping and dropping and we kept saying no but as dictated by our deal we got 3 Vegas shows out of the deal for about $20. Considering all the free food I think we still got a reasonabley good deal although I think my favorite part was the conversation with all the people who had said no on the limo ride back to our hotel- everything was expressed: anger over the price, complete distrust of the infomation given, mathematical assessments of the economics of the time shared development to frank expressions that one couple said no just to tick the sales people off. Our sales person said they make about a million dollars a week with 600 sales people selling from 9:00am to 4:00pm.
In the afternoon, I moved onto photoshop pre-conference workshops. I did a photoshop for Beginners Workshop the instruction was great but the subject matter was well below my skill level. It is always hard to know beforehand what "beginner" means in some respects. I use photoshop so often however my level of formal instructions is actually quite limited- next to nil. It was a tough staying excited for stuff I new but a cute Texan instructor helped.
There was an interesting presenation on HD video shot on a DSLR tonight. Clay Blackmore of Clay & Co Photographers is not a good presenter in my personal opinion. I found his dialogue far too fast paced and disjointed although I liked much I what I could catch. Their product was without a doubt high quality but I noticed several people leaving the talk and frankly I joined them- it's been a long day and my brain can't process such scattered thoughts no matter how cool the work it produces is. Hopefully I gleaned something good from it in the first couple of hours I attend :D
Day 3 is right around the corner- see ya'll then!!!
In the afternoon, I moved onto photoshop pre-conference workshops. I did a photoshop for Beginners Workshop the instruction was great but the subject matter was well below my skill level. It is always hard to know beforehand what "beginner" means in some respects. I use photoshop so often however my level of formal instructions is actually quite limited- next to nil. It was a tough staying excited for stuff I new but a cute Texan instructor helped.
There was an interesting presenation on HD video shot on a DSLR tonight. Clay Blackmore of Clay & Co Photographers is not a good presenter in my personal opinion. I found his dialogue far too fast paced and disjointed although I liked much I what I could catch. Their product was without a doubt high quality but I noticed several people leaving the talk and frankly I joined them- it's been a long day and my brain can't process such scattered thoughts no matter how cool the work it produces is. Hopefully I gleaned something good from it in the first couple of hours I attend :D
Day 3 is right around the corner- see ya'll then!!!
Aug 30, 2010
Las Vegas Day 1
Ok so for those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook you'll know that I am attending Photoshop World Conference in Las Vegas this week. I thought it might be cool to fill you in on the highlights while I'm here. These are my adventures for Day 1:
We woke up bright and early at 4:00am our time to board our flight. My arms length photography really couls improve :P
We flew on US Airlines Express... The take off while the sun came up was beautiful!!!
Although apparently the "express" part secretly meant you got to sit on your neighbors lap! They were VERY squishy planes inside so when we got to Pheonix AZ we jumped at the chance to switch to a bigger plane. We're now in Las Vegas and settled in at the Mandalay Bay, ready for pre-conference workshops tomorrow :D
We woke up bright and early at 4:00am our time to board our flight. My arms length photography really couls improve :P
We flew on US Airlines Express... The take off while the sun came up was beautiful!!!
Although apparently the "express" part secretly meant you got to sit on your neighbors lap! They were VERY squishy planes inside so when we got to Pheonix AZ we jumped at the chance to switch to a bigger plane. We're now in Las Vegas and settled in at the Mandalay Bay, ready for pre-conference workshops tomorrow :D
Aug 6, 2010
Before and After
So one of the Hallmarks of a professional image is some amount of photo editing. From simple color and contrast adjustment to rather intense airbrushing Glowing Photography actually started off as an editing and retouching studio :)
Here is a very small sample of some of my retouching work for a beautiful client.
Here is a very small sample of some of my retouching work for a beautiful client.
Aug 4, 2010
This Blogging thing is Tough!
Hey!
The truth is I tend to read more blogs than I write. Everyone else seems to always have such great insight or wonderful tutorials- one of these days I will construct and finish one of those but until then here is a picture for a recent wedding I photographed :P
The truth is I tend to read more blogs than I write. Everyone else seems to always have such great insight or wonderful tutorials- one of these days I will construct and finish one of those but until then here is a picture for a recent wedding I photographed :P
Jul 10, 2010
What has Glowing Been Doing Lately?
I love the endless illusion of summer and the opportunity to shoot like a mad-woman! As most of my family clients are pretty private people, here are all the models who I worked with- or edited new photos for in the last month-ish
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Jun 12, 2010
Check This Out!
A good friend is doing the Reitmans Shapeover Challenge and I took the photos for it ! There is only 2 days left before the competiton is over ! Check her out here
May 27, 2010
Fun Times! Ivana
Sorry for the delay. I have taking lots of pictures and doing even more edits... it really makes for fun times. This glamorous and sucessful model is actually a friend of my husband. She's super cute and great to work with
Busy Bee! Sindy
I have started working more with Models recently... here are the awesome result for Sindy - an aspiring model with very unique attributes :)
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