Before and After: Maternity and newborn photography

One of the more interesting things that I do in this field is maternity/newborn photography. Many times, I am called to shoot an event with which I am VERY familiar with and that's the case with this kind of photography. I have come to really enjoy working with mothers and then their newborns.

But that wasn't always the case! I was never sure how to pose kids and/or mothers to get the best shot.  However slowly but surely I developed my own style and what became very true was that it was more important to show how happy the parents were in that moment. As a father, I look back at the months leading up to and just after my daughter's birth and if not for pictures, things would be a BLUR! I keep that in mind when shooting these paired shoots. so much happens so quickly that it's important to have pictures that tell the story of the exact emotions of that period. I hope I captured that.

I would like to share a couple of my favorite "Before and After" shoots. Enjoy!

Until the next frame...staying in focus!
Hayden

The same BUT different!

No two people are alike.

We have all heard that statement. It also applies to snowflakes and fingerprints. However, it also applies to weddings! This wedding season (yes, there is a wedding season!) I have had the pleasure of shooting some truly different types of weddings and it's been quite interesting. I have already written about the Brown Wedding and how that came together. Each event brings a new and fascinating aspect to experience and varied point of view. As the photographer, my goal is to be omnipresence and to be unobtrusive as possible. As you can image, those two beliefs don't always mesh with each other. I am always proud when I see pictures from the guests of the wedding and I am in NONE of them! I know I was there and I took a picture of the same thing that the guest did but I managed to not be PART of the proceedings. It involves a certain amount of stealth.

That said, it is almost impossible to not be involved in what's happening. The words of the officiant will move you whether you are single or married. If you are of that faith, you find yourself mouthing the words of the ceremony, right along with the cleric! The joy of the couple is infectious and you would have to be a stone wall to not smile when the bride comes marching down that aisle. On top of all of that, sometimes you get to capture images of the most spectacular and beautiful settings. The last wedding was a good example of this. The couple got married in one of the most simple yet ornate church's that I have been to. R and J were married in an Anglican church in Brooklyn NY and you could imagine stepping out from the doors onto the English countryside. It was gorgeous and the couple took full advantage of the beauty of the space. So did I.

If you have ever attended an Anglican or Catholic wedding, you know that there is a mass included. Translation: the ceremony is long! I guess that's the trade off: Protestant and evangelical churches have long services on Sundays but short weddings and Eucharistic churches have short services on Sundays and very long weddings! But the length of the wedding allowed me to fully shoot the church, the wedding party, the guests, and all the little details that I would have had to rush with a shorter event. R and J were a regal couple and emanated a love that with carry them forward and that, coupled with a great setting, made for excellent images (or at least, I think so).

My hope is to one day be the photographer for an Indian or a Greek  Orthodox weddings! Those are spectacular visually!

I wish them well and pray that their relationship will always be housed in beauty in the same fashion that their wedding was housed in a beautiful house of God.

Staying in focus...on to the next frame.

Greene Light Photography would like to thank the Pearsons for permission to images and descriptions from their wedding for this blog.

Wordless Wednesday

When Life Gives You Lemons

As I mentioned in my last post (Bridezillas), brides tend not to be event planners. As a result, when things go wrong (and they always do), they get frustrated and often ruin their day. Recently I had the pleasure of shooting at a wedding where something went very wrong and the bride and groom took it on the chin and made the best of it. The result? Some really iconic pictures that truly captured their spirit.

S (bride) and R (groom) are both teachers so when they planned their wedding, they wanted lots of details that conveyed that. The centerpieces were apples

 and the table numbers were on mini chalkboards.

Their wedding program was a in the style of a composition notebook. To top it all off, instead of a limo to take them from the ceremony to the reception, they chartered a traditional yellow school bus!

It was a perfect compliment to the theme....

Until it broke down on Atlantic Avenue!

We hadn't gone more than 10 minutes away and were nowhere near where we were planning to take pictures and there we were. Stuck on the busiest street in Brooklyn in a hot, broken down school bus. And that was the tipping point. S could have started to fume and complain and completely destroy her day OR she could roll with the punches and make the best of the situation.  She chose the latter. It was her BEST decision of the day!

There is an old saying that when man plans, God laughs. It speaks to the fact that there is already a plan set out for you regardless of what you think you're going to do.  S realized that the reception hall was actually walking distance away. Furthermore, an iconic Brooklyn building that she had originally wanted to take pictures in front but had gotten scrapped during a logistics meeting, was on the way. It was almost as if she was MEANT to take her wedding photos there. So she summoned up the large wedding party and declared that they were going walk, no...Process down Fulton street to the reception hall!

It was glorious. They stopped traffic to get their group shot.

They walked through a major African market occurring at BAM for Dance Africa like a royal wedding procession. As they turned the corner on the street that the hall was on, a music vendor, blaring music, started to play Lenny William's "I love you". They dropped everything and as Lenny belted out the lyrics "Girl I..I ...I....I....", S and R had their first dance right in the middle of the street!

Magical! All that was left was for the couple to walk down the block to their reception and then they realized that the street had been closed off due to the festival! The were able to walk down the street in grand fashion with S and R in front and their entire party flanking them in celebration!

It couldn't have been planned any better!

I reaffirmed a lot that day. My philosophy has always been based on the two rules:

1.    Don't sweat the small stuff.

2.    It's all small stuff.

It drives my wife crazy but I truly believe that things will work themselves out and the end result may in fact be better than what was originally planned if we just let things unfold. This wedding was a prime example of that and I hope that S and R continue to live their lives like that because, as any married couple will tell you, life sometimes hands you lemons.

Staying in focus....on to the next frame.

Greene Light Photography would like to thank the Browns for giving permission for this blog and the use of their images.

Bridezillas

Brides are not generally event planners. Most women generally have a job that does not involve coordinating a very large special event. Even when it is part of their skill set, it's very different when it's YOUR  event! Why do I bring this up? Well the one thing that is consistent for every event, be it a wedding or a birthday party or a cocktail reception, is that things go wrong. All the time. The things is that event planner, being IN the business, KNOW that things can go wrong. In fact the expect it and either plan for it or are really good at thinking on their feet. Like I mentioned, most brides are NOT wedding planners! They tend to not expect the little (and sometimes HUGE) snafus that can happen at a wedding. And what happens then? Well...they have a whole show dedicated to just that! Bridezillas!!

A lot of people often ask me whether I have encountered any Bridezillas when shooting weddings. My answer is always "not really". Why? Because I understand what makes brides crazy most of the time and work towards alleviating their stress and/or getting the hell out of their way!! Think about it: you have been planning ONE event for around a year, down to the smallest detail, and after all that planning the fondant melts, or the flowers are slightly wilted, or the place serves chicken instead of quail, or the photographer shows up late! It can be maddening! I don't blame these women for being mad! But here is the difference between a regular bride and an event planner: the EP would have known not to have a fondant cover cake out in the heat, would have moved the best of the flowers to the front where most people will see them, would know that people don't REALLY care that you served quail, and would have been in touch with the photogs long ahead of time and ensure he was there on time! I just make sure MY portion of the day doesn't cause her stress and maybe help her to navigate the rest of the things that are causing her anxiety (I shot the cake early because I knew it would melt, I will edit the flowers in post and they'll look perfect, I will take a glamor shot of the food that will make people THINK it's quail, and you can count on me being there an hour EARLY!). Being an event planner myself helps me to calm my brides because I need a calm, happy woman for the best pictures!

Speaking of a wedding where something went wrong, my next blog is about a wedding that had a major snafu and how the couple turned it into a great, memorable day that resulted in some of the best wedding pictures for them! Stay tuned.

Staying in focus...on to the next frame!

Daddy daughter dance

I have been a photographer for years but professionally for about 4 years. It has been a great ride and Greene Light Photography is growing. I really enjoy everything that I do and most of all, I enjoy preparing for gallery shows in November...oh yeah, my next show will be in November! LOL Out of all of the types of 'jobs' that I get, I truly enjoy weddings. That is something that you won't hear a LOT of photographers say! Weddings are lucrative but they are A LOT OF WORK! Most photogs don't enjoy it.

One of the moments in every wedding that touches me is the Father/Daughter dance. It's such a special moment and every time we get to that dance, I loose myself in the experience. I have been a father for almost as long as I have been a pro. Each time I see a bride step to the center of the floor to dance with her daddy, I fast forward to a day when i will do the same with MY daughter. I am transported so deep into thought that I OFTEN have to remind myself to take pictures of the ACTUAL dance happening before me!

Interestingly, that results in BETTER photos. I channel all of the emotion that I am feeling at that moment and take shots that I think that reflect that love that a father feels at that time. That's what makes a photographer great! Being able to understand what emotion that photo is supposed to convey and try to capture it. After all, isn't a photo supposed to remind you of how you felt in that moment? When it happens, it's magical! Hopefully, I can keep capturing those images and hopefully, it's for one of you!

Onto the next frame...staying in focus!

That looks reeeeaaaaallllyyy familiar

Every professional photographer has their own niche. Some do portraiture, some do events, others do weddings, and the list goes on. For those of us that do portraiture, and weddings, we bring our own style and innovation to the mix. Every now and again, we hit on a pose that really works for that situation. It becomes our hallmark and gets us noticed. And that's where the problem begins.

Recently, I've started to get a lot of similar jobs. When I first started Greene Light Photography, almost every job that I did was the first or second time that I had done that kind of job. I remember my first wedding/family portraits/concert/newborn shoot clearly. I remember how nervous I was for each of those and, subsequently, how happy I was with the results. That said, I saw room for improvement. So I improved. I read, I downloaded, I upgraded, I sought counsel. Now I know exact WHY some of the poses that I used early on were successful and how to recreate them with other people and get even better results.

But where does that leave my original clients? I wrote a blog about using other people's ideas for your own shoot and how it puts you in a quandary as to how to use the idea without plagiarizing (click here for that blog post). Well where is that line when it's your OWN idea? Are my clients who thought that they got a one of kind photo now upset when they see me use that same technique on another subject? Would they be more upset if they see it done better than their original?

As a photographer, my job is to constantly come up with new and innovative creations for my clients. For the record, I work really hard at not repeating iconic poses and images. However, what am I to do when a client REQUESTS a particular pose because they saw it in all of my advertisements and on my website? It would be crazy for me to say to a customer "I'm sorry. I only did that picture for that client and I promised that I would never recreate it!" That's not logical to me but it very well be what my original client wants me to say. I almost feel that I would lose that original client because they chose me because they WERE going to get a one of a kind type of picture. Or is being the first person ever photographed in that way enough to appease them.

And you just thought we showed up with our cameras and started taking pictures...

Well off to the next frame...staying in focus.

Ooo Ooo Ooo me Me ME !

Business has been good. I have been able to balance my career and my art. At the same time, enough people have noticed my work for me to make a little extra cash on the side. I have enjoyed the jobs that I have done because they are ones that I actually want to do. I have mentioned before that I do not have the pressure of having a constant stream of photo work to pay the bills because I have a pretty steady 9 to 5. I am thankful for that because it allows me to do the work that is interesting to me and not become a photographer's version of an ambulance chaser. Or at least I thought it did...

Recently there have been numerous monumental events in the lives of people that I know: engagements, weddings, births, etc. I am genuinely happy for my friends and I express that to them. Here's where it gets weird: I found myself hacking my services in the same breath that I am congratulating them! It got so bad that I would see that someone got engaged or announced a pregnancy in Facebook and I would immediately send them a message letting them know that I would love to be their photographer...when they were ready, of course! I had to stop and really think how that made me seem to my friends. I know I personally hate it when people only reach out to me to sell something to me or to tell me about a 'great deal'. But there I was doing just that...not intentionally though.

Here is the funny thing; I don't know if I WOULD be able to handle the volume if everyone that I solicited actually said YES!! I think would be swamped. I had to take a long look at what was driving those actions. After pondering it for a while I realized that it was driven by the artist not the businessman. Subconsciously, I think I saw the 'event' as an opportunity to capture something beautiful and I wanted to be the one to do it. I am always in search of that one amazing image and I guess I am always seeking new chances to capture it. Note: if I have asked to shoot your important occurrence it's because I think you and your family would create amazing pictures...my form of a compliment, I guess.

I have decided to pull back on the hard sell and go back to the guy who could just say congrats without people thinking that there was an agenda behind the well-wishes because there shouldn't be. It doesn't mean that I won't ever suggest to people that I should be the one to capture the important times in their life. I just won't do it in the same breath as my 'way ta go'! Hopefully, people will find their way to me when they start to make decisions about their photographic needs. I hope.... :-)

Well, on to the next frame...staying in focus.

Williams Wedding Guest Photog pictures

I was honored to attend the Williams-Felix wedding as a guest. Here are some images that I captured and I am happy to share.

Anything you can do, I can do better!

First off, let me start by saying congratulations to my fraternity brother, Austin as he starts his new life with his new wife Anna. We had a great time at their wedding in the Dominican Republic. It was a great being around my chapter brothers and their spouses/girlfriends and it was exactly the reinvigorator that my wife and I needed. We were able to leave the little one home for 5 days and have some adult fun (you know I'm a big proponent of 'adult fun').

This is the second wedding that I have been invited to that I was not the photographer. I have already come to terms with the decision as to whether to bring my equipment to a wedding that I'm not working. This weekend I found myself wrestling with another conundrum though.

Photographers see the world in a different light that most people. We see the world in frames and pictures and what may seem to be boring tends to yield interesting pictures in the eyes of a photographer. That's even more true when the environment is beautiful and the layman can see how they can create a great picture. In those situations, a good photographer can create a phenomenal, one of a kind image. So here I was, at a wedding, with a gorgeous background, and with all the necessary equipment to create an iconic photograph. But that wasn't my job at the time! My job was to be a guest! So there I sat twitching, wanting to get in and pose the couple the way that I thought would result in the best shot. I just KNEW that I could take a better picture than the guy that was assigned to work that day. I bit my tongue and let the guy work because that the respect that I would like when I'M working but it was torture!

The next day, we were able to see the pictures, edited and stylized (I WISH that I could have that fast of a turnaround time!!) and they were gorgeous!! The photographer did a great job and I felt stupid for doubting his ability. After all, he works for the resort and this is what he does every day! Oh course, he know the right angles and what composition to use for that scene. That's HIS gig!

I made me wonder if other artists had the same issue. Did musicians go to concerts and feel like the band would suck after hearing their warm up session or their sound check? Do chefs go to other people's restaurants and criticize the potential of the meal from just the list of ingredients? Are directors hypercritical of other directors when they learn of the cast of characters and feel like they could do it better than they could before open night? I don't know the answer but I DO believe that photogs struggle with this all the time. The funny thing is that I don't feel that way when I'm shooting an event with dozens of photogs around taking the same shot. Maybe weddings just make EVERYONE crazy!

Just another thing to keep in focus...see you in the next frame.

Going Down in DR

This was taken on the beach on Fathers Day in the Dominican Republic. The sun was setting and there was a fire in the trees down the beach. The blues and the yellows provided the contrast for a great picture. Shot with the the 5D and the 70-200.

Geeking out about photography tech...

Technology has taken us to new places with photography. The most obvious of them is digital photography but there are some other simple things that make our life easier as well. Recently, I shot a wedding and as used some of the toys in my bag, I realized just how much technology comes into play with photography.

At this wedding, I didn't have a second shooter so I was only going to get the shots from the two cameras strapped around me. I then remembered that I had a remote trigger for my flash that DOUBLES as a remote shutter release. I set up one camera on a tripod behind the officiant and therefor I was able to get shots of the couple with their guests behind them. It didn't work as well as I would have liked because I got a bunch of shots of the officiant's back but the technology worked well. I just have to pick a better spot next time.

I was also able to place that camera back there and know that, if I did pick it up in one of my images, the technology also existed where I could very easily erase it as if it were never there. That process used to be laborious and splotchy at best in the past. Not it's ridiculously easy.

Speaking editing software, wide angle shots are now easier to create. I happen to own a Fisheye lens which has an 180 degree range. That means that I can take a picture and capture almost everything from my left and the right peripheral sightline. The problem is that as you get to edge of the image, everything gets warped. The easy solution is to take a bunch of pictures and stitch them together in an editing program. Everyone looks normal and you have a nice wide angled shot.

There are many more examples but you get the point. Photographers used to show up to events with their cameras and shoot and then a week later hope that the images turn out the way that they wanted them to. Now there are so many ways to fix or augment your shot that shutterbugs are allowed to be creative, even at a stress filled event like a wedding.

That's my focus...see you in the next frame.

Nervous like a bride

When I got married, everyone asked me if I was nervous. My answer was always 'no' because I knew I was marrying the right woman for me and someone that I loved. There was nothing for me yo be nervous about. But there in fact was. Weddings are, at their basest level, events and things go wrong at events. I may not have been nervous about the WOMAN that I was marrying but what if I sneezed right when the pastor says "you may kiss the bride"? What if I trip and tumble down the aisle instead of the stately walk I planned? We have all seen the disaster weddings prominently displayed on youtube (and if you have not, stop reading right now, go to youtube, type in 'bride falls into water', and see how many videos pop up!). So, yes: I should have been nervous. But I wasn't and if you know me, that's just my nature.

However, I am nervous now. I have a wedding in a few days. I am not the groom. I am not a guest. I am the photographer. I think I might be as nervous as the bride herself! Once again, weddings are events where things go wrong. When I got married and if something went wrong, I knew at the end of the day, we'd get a laugh out of it and I'd still have gotten married. It's soooooo different when you're the photog! If something goes wrong with me, I may ruin someone's entire day AND their future ability to share those memories with friends and family. I am completely prepared for the event but no-one can be prepared for walking backwards to catch a bride approaching you, tripping, falling, and smashing your camera. Shooting a wedding is one of the most nerve racking jobs that you will ever take as a photographer! Remember that sneeze at the first kiss? Well if YOU sneeze at the moment at MISS the kiss, you can pretty much forget about a high satisfaction rating and residual income!

Even with all of that looming over your head, a wedding is the most exciting event you will shoot because you get everything rolled into one: portraiture, party scene, candids, detail & macro shots, and sometimes even musicians. It's a great ride and will leave you exhausted but if you're prepared, you may get some of the best photographs that you will ever take.

And I'm off to sharpen my focus and make more memories. See you in the next frame.