Caleb & Whitney are getting married in March. Yesterday, we had the honor of shooting their engagement session. What a fun couple. I’m so excited for the wedding.
Here’s a few favorites from their e-session.
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Posts Tagged ‘Photography’
Caleb & Whitney are getting married!
Saturday, January 28th, 2012One VERY “HOT” senior girl!
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011Taylor Bollinger is certainly a beautiful young lady, but that’s not what I mean by “hot” (that would be terribly inappropriate and a little creepy). What I mean is that we had a 115 degree heat index during Taylor’s session so she was, indeed, one VERY “HOT” senior girl.
Even through the heat, she was toughing it out, and we had a great session with some really unique images.
Here are a few favorites from Taylor’s session.
So you wanna take better pictures?
Sunday, March 13th, 2011I frequently get e-mails from people asking me for advice on how to take better pictures. They often want to know what kind of equipment to purchase and where they might be able to go for classes or lessons, etc. I certainly don’t mind getting these e-mails, nor do I mind answering them, but it seems my answers are often very similar from one e-mail to the next . . . . so . . . . I thought perhaps it would be useful to the masses if I posted a generic response here on the blog. I’m certain there are others out there who have the same questions, but have just never thought to send me an e-mail or ask a professional directly. So this blog post will be the first in what I plan to make a series of helpful (or at least I hope they’re helpful) answers to questions about taking pictures, and equipment and lighting and learning photography in general. My plan is to search through some old e-mails from people, post their original questions and then post my responses (don’t worry, I’ll keep it anonymous). Then, if any of you blog followers have additional questions, please post them right here in the comment section of the blog and I’ll try to address those in future posts as well.
So, here’s an e-mail I just received on 3/13/2011:
I’m interested in photography. I was wondering if you had any suggestion, as far as a class to take, or what camera to buy. I love to look at wedding photography sites, really have no intention of learning photography and use it professionally. I have time now, and would like to learn how to take awesome photos of my family. Thanks for your time and any suggestion is appreciated.
And here’s my response:
As far as equipment suggestions, you can really learn the craft with just about any camera that allows you to change the settings manually. I bought my wife a great little point and shoot camera that I take on vacation with me and leave my DSLR at home . . . it’s really that good of a camera, and it’s easy to carry and put in a suitcase or purse, etc. So if you want something like that, I would recommend the Canon G12. It’s a convenient camera because of it’s size and portability, and it takes great quality pictures and you can change all of the settings manually just like a DSLR (plus it takes pretty good video as well which my wife loves for footage of our kids around the house). Plus there’s no additional lenses to purchase, so you don’t have to worry about spending a whole bunch of extra money for “accessories” after you make your initial camera purchase.
If you’re wanting something larger, more professional and something that you can change lenses on (not to mention more expensive and addicting), then you’ll want to buy a DSLR (DSLR stands for “Digital Single Lens Reflex”). The Canon Rebel series offer a nice affordable starter camera (it’s what I started on back in 2006). I would probably recommend the Canon T2i as a beginning DSLR. The link I’ve just posted is for the “body” only. It does not come with a lens. You can purchase “kits” that come with a body AND a lens, but most of the time, the lenses that are included as part of the kit are just cheap pieces of junk so I would buy the body by itself and then buy lenses separately. Lenses are where you can really start spending a lot of money though, but they are very important. Much more important than the camera body itself. I would much rather have a $2000 lens on a $50 camera than the other way around. Think of it like this . . . if you have 20/20 vision, but you put on a pair of cheap, dirty, fogged up glasses that are the wrong prescription, that 20/20 vision doesn’t really matter much, does it? Same thing goes for lenses. A poor lens on a great camera body will result in poor images. So I would always recommend purchasing quality glass. But because of the variety and different uses for different types of lenses (wide angle, prime lenses, telephoto, and on and on), that’s a whole different discussion that can lead to thousands and thousands of dollars of equipment purchase (so we’ll save that for another post)
Having said all of that . . . there’s no need to break the bank when you’re just learning (unless you just have cash to spend). So if you’re going to purchase a DSLR and a single lens to get started with, I would probably get the Canon T2i that I mentioned above and a simple 50mm prime lens (a prime lens means a non-zooming or fixed focal length lens). The 50mm 1.8 is a cheap, but surprisingly good quality lens for the money (warning: it feels very cheap. It’s very light and feels like it’s made of plastic, but I promise it’s a pretty darn nice lens for the money). If you have a bit more to spend, I use the 50mm f1/4. It’s a bit more expensive, but more sturdily made, and better quality. But if you’re on a budget, the cheaper 50mm is a great option too. You can’t zoom either of these 50mm lenses (but you can zoom with your feet and you’ll learn a whole lot about composition and how to “see the shot” by starting with a prime lens . . . . in my opinion). Plus this lens is cheap and can be used on any future Canon camera if you decide to upgrade down the road.
As for education, first of all READ the MANUAL for your camera (perhaps a couple times). Become VERY familiar with your camera and how to use it’s manual features. Don’t just set it on the “Green Box” and start clicking . . . you’ll take some “o.k. pictures that way, but you won’t really get the full use and potential out of your new camera unless you move away from the green box). Next, I would recommend buying a book called Understanding Exposure. It’s a great book for starters (in fact it’s a great book for any level of expertise. I should probably read it again just as a refresher). After you master those two books, you’ll be well on your way to taking awesome pictures.
So that’s where I would start, but my best suggestion is to just get out there and start shooting. That’s the best way to learn. Shoot Shoot Shoot and have fun.
Hope this helps.
All the best – TZ
Zoe’s 6-month pictures
Thursday, December 16th, 2010Zoe turned 6-months on Thanksgiving and she’s already doing SOOOO much. She pulls up on EVERYTHING (her crib, tables, toys, baskets, our legs, and so on). The girl LOVES to be on her feet. She even lets go and tries to balance on her own. She manages about 1 second before grabbing back on, but she gets so excited and proud of herself when she’s on her feet by herself. It’s really funny. I have no doubt she’ll be walking by 9-months.
Anyway . . . here is a little wall collage we put together from her 6-month photo shoot. Each image below is a separate print. They will be framed individually and will hang separately side by side in her room like this to spell out her name. This works great for kids with 3 or 4 or even 5 letters in their name.
Marti and Wade – wedding sneak peek
Tuesday, November 9th, 2010This year has been crazy busy with weddings. We’ve done 25 weddings total this year (6 in October alone – yowzer!) Anyway, we just haven’t had time to do sneak peeks for everyone so I apologize if you’re wedding didn’t make the blog. I’m gonna try and do better. So here’s a quick sneak peek from Marti and Wade’s wedding out at Water’s Edge in Gordonville. Marti (and her family) were a real hoot! We had a blast on a beautiful day with a totally fun and laid back couple.
Thanks Marti and Wade for asking us to be a part of your day.
a boy and his truck
Thursday, November 4th, 2010This is Broughton Fisher from New Madrid County Central High School. This is one pretty cool truck (Broughton’s not bad either 
My little girl is 3-months old . . . and prettier than ever!
Thursday, August 26th, 2010Do I sound like a proud papa or what? Yeah Zoe is exactly 3 months old today so of course we took some 3-month pictures. It’s amazing how much she’s changed in just a short time.
Most of the time, Rachel and I both just stare at her and can hardly believe how beautiful she is (good thing she got her mama’s looks eh?)
Here’s just a few from my little lady’s session.
Maddy & Wedding Brock – Sneak Peek Wedding Photos
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010Maddy and Brock got married on July 31, and Rachel and I were there to share in the joy (not to mention the heat and humidity). Seriously, I think this was one of the hottest, most humid weddings we’ve EVER photographed, but boy did we have a good time (did I mention that it was HOT!!). The wedding was so unique. All of the guys had muscle cars that they brought to the wedding and then each couple drove off in one after the wedding. We even blocked off the street for 30 minutes or so to do some shots with all the muscle cars.
Here’s a little sneak peek from Maddy and Brock’s wedding day.
Mallory & Ryan’s Wedding – A Sneak Peek
Monday, June 14th, 2010Mallory Wilson and Ryan Gibson got married on May 29 and let me say I just loved everything about this wedding. From the Victorian style to the 57 Chevy to the super fun wedding party (especially the guys – Ryan your groomsmen were a hoot!)
Anyway, sorry it’s taken me so long to get this sneak peek online (it’s been a little busy around here). In fact, we brought our daughter home from the hospital on Friday and then shot Mallory and Ryan’s wedding on the following day (so to say that it was an eventful week would be a massive understatement!). My wife, Rachel usually comes with me on weddings, but since she had a baby 3 days prior, I let her off the hook on this one so instead, my mother-in-law, Charlyn came along to help me out and even 2nd shoot a bit (Thanks Char!)
Holly and Nathan got married – a sneak peek
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010I shot Holly Balsman and Nathan Moran’s wedding on May 22nd. They got married at Hermann Hill winery in Hermann, MO and it was a beautiful venue. I must say, we were all a little nervous because this wedding was on May 22 and Rachel’s due date was May 19th (and she hadn’t had the baby yet by wedding day) . . . so I was nervous and Holly was nervous and Nathan was nervous and my wife was nervous. I told Rachel when I left the house that she had to sit with her legs crossed all day and that Zoe was forbidden from entering the world on this date. Luckily for all, she waited a few more days and I got to be a part of Holly and Nathan’s beautiful day. I felt so honored.
For those of you wondering, I did have backup. Kris Gay with Bella Vita Studios in Fort Wayne, IN came up to help me shoot and she was going to be my backup in case I had to leave. Luckily, I didn’t and we got to shoot the whole wedding together. (Thanks Kris)
Finally, before I post the sneak peek images, I have to give a shout out to the videographer. He was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! His name is Michael Gebben with Gebbs Wedding Films and not only is he amazingly talented, he is a super nice guy and was a pleasure to work with all day long. If you have a chance to check out Holly and Nathan’s 5 minute video, you should do it. You will be BLOWN AWAY! Not only is the video incredible, Michael produced it on the DAY OF THE WEDDING and showed it at their reception. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. You can check out their video here (it’s less than 5 minutes and totally worth your time) – http://vimeo.com/12011064
Now on with the pictures:
