At the reception, Emily’s dad spoke, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.  :)  I believe that most dads will always see his daughter as 2-5 years old.  An age where daddy is her greatest hero, and she is his beautiful little princess.  On her wedding day, all he can see is this little girl running to see him to wrap those little arms around him, to give him a little kiss, or to twirl around to show him her new dress, or the new way she has her hair.  As a father, nothing is sweeter than your little girl and how much she wants your approval, and there is no greater joy, or gift to her, than to tell her she is beautiful.  On her wedding day nothing has changed, except, it is the last time she will ask for his approval.  The last time a father can really reassure her by saying, ‘you are beautiful’.  From that point on, she will ask those words from her husband.  This has happened at every wedding I’ve photographed.  It’s an unspoken human tradition that seems to transcend race, culture, and religion.  At that moment the torch is passed from father to husband.  Sometimes, it is quick, with no visible emotion, other times, it’s well planned, full of tears and joy.  But, every bride always asks her daddy, ‘how do I look’, and her daddy, as loving as he can says, ‘you look beautiful’.  Sometimes her dad will just nod, but the meaning is the same.  For that moment, she is his little princess again twirling in her new dress, new shoes, and pretty hair.  It’s the last time she will do this for him, wanting those words, ‘you are beautiful’.  It is at that moment he realizes that all of those other times where just a practice run for her wedding day.

Here are just a few of the photos from Emily and Adam’s wedding:

Congrats, Emily and Adam!  It was an honor and blessing to photograph your day.

Here are a few resources:

Cortland Mansion

Hagerstown Bible Church

Don’t forget to click ‘Like’ and feel free to comment!  :)

We decided to build instead of rent for a number of reasons.  1.  The overhead for rental space is not cheap.  Since we won’t have the higher costs of a downtown store front, we can price ourselves very competitively.  2.  Family.  I’ve been given this amazing opportunity to work where I live, to be here for my kids and watch them grow up while they are young.  Most dads don’t have this luxury, and I wasn’t about to give that up.  :)

We have several visions for the studio.  Including a more controlled environment for ad and commercial work, plus, studio rental opportunities for other area photographers, and marketing/ad firms.  We will also have some of the best photographic equipment to give our clients the best quality possible.

Having this space opens up huge opportunities for us to grow in business and in photography.  It also helps position us to become one of the areas most sought after visual artists.  We are still working out the exact specs, but I have a meeting with the contractor tomorrow to hopefully sort everything out, and we hope to have it open by late summer/early fall.

We are more than excited about this, and words cannot express how much we appreciate all of the support we have received from our family, friends, and especially our clients.  You, our clients make us.  I am ‘self-employed’.  This is totally wrong.  I am employed by everyone who has ever used our services or purchased our art.  I’m supposed to be my own boss, but in reality, I have well over 200 bosses and counting, and all of you are awesome.  Thank you for not only helping me achieve my dreams, but for helping me to support and provide for my family by doing what I love.  I hesitate to say ‘what I’m passionate about’, because, while I do love photography, it is not my ‘passion’.  God, my family, and my kids, are my passion; everything I do, I do for them.  I’m just fortunate enough to have a gift that allows me to see and then create beauty through photography, and I’m even more fortunate to have amazing clients who share my love for art and beauty.  Thank you.

Thanks guys!  It was great hanging out with you in your beautiful city!  :)

I have more of their photos on my Facebook fan page!  Check them out and become a fan!  facebook.com/alifestudio.fb

Congrats Amanda and Billy!

Congrats, Kendra & Leo!

Congrats again, Kim and Mark!

The wind was blowing against the side of my house and created a buffer where the snow didn’t lay.  Luckily, it’s also the main door we use, so shoveling wasn’t needed.  On the other hand, it also burried one of our cars.

My neighbor’s truck.

Another example of how the wind created this buffer around our house.  My back yard is flat, but the snow made ‘waves’, kind of like sand dunes.  Some spots are crazy deep, while others are just deep.  :)

Example of our ‘snow dunes’ shot from a second floor window.

More of the ‘Snow Sand’, but from a more artistic approach.  :) 

So, today I put my boy to work.  Sure he’s only four, but he’s got to start earning his keep.  No more of this eating and sleeping here for free thing.  :)  j/k!

And of course there is our little diva.

We’ve never had enough snow in a year to buy a sled, so we improvised and used a snow shovel.

It worked pretty well on our little hill.  :)

More of the diva, who is not very fond of the snow.  I wasn’t surprised.  That’s ok, though, because she is super cute.

She dropped her mitten.

Definitely a model in the making.

Here is another member of the family.  She is half beagle and half pig, yes, pig.  Her name is Piggle, or Pig for short.  :)

And last, but not least, I call this peice ‘Sibling Rivalry’, though I’m still considering ‘Clash of the Titans’.  :)

Choosing a photographer can be a daunting task.  To make matters worse, there are a lot of ‘photographers’ out there who think they have a “professional camera” and think, because of this, they can shoot weddings, or anything else professionally.  This is totally not true. That’s like saying, I have paint and a paint brush, that means I can paint like Da Vinci.  Well, I’m a terrible painter, and I would never try to pass myself off as one, nor would I try to book commissioned work.  A true professional photographer has worked for years perfecting their craft to be able to shoot your wedding.  Wedding photography has become a ‘buyer beware’ industry.  Below are tips to help you find the best photographers, and avoid disappointment or worse.

1.  Experience
Ask the photographer how long he/she has been shooting weddings. Ask how many weddings they have shot by themselves.  If they haven’t been shooting weddings for very long, or they don’t have at least 20 weddings under their belt as the main photographer, you should be very cautious.

2.  Their Work
Web sites are great.  The problem is photographers have had issues with people stealing their online images and posting them to their sites for years.  The good news is, those online images will not print very well, so you can validate a photographers work by looking at printed images.  Make sure you meet with your potential photographer and view full albums of weddings.  Two or three albums should give you a pretty good idea of their talent and skill.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask for access to a few online wedding proofs.  Keep in mind that those images are the photographer’s proofs, and not the final product.  In looking at the proofs, look to see if the images are properly exposed, that they are not too dark or too bright.  Also, check the color.  Does everyone look natural?  Light skinned subjects should not look orange or blue or “washed out”, and dark skinned subjects should not be too dark.  You should be able to see definition in the face. This might sound silly, but skin tone is one of the most challenging things to master in digital photography.  Another red flag that many people are not aware of is a lot of black and white images.  This could indicate that the photographer is trying to hide poor exposure or color.  It’s a trick we all use when we like an image, but something was off, like the flash didn’t fire or the camera didn’t focus properly.  This is fine with a hand full of images, but if you notice a very high percentage of images are black and white, be careful.

3.  Referrals
Ask all of your potential photographers for referrals.  If they hesitate, run.  A real professional photographer will be happy to give you referrals. Make sure it’s a good amount too, and don’t be afraid to ask to see their wedding photos.  I typically give 3-4 referrals when asked.

4.  Equipment
Equipment is very important.  While just having a great camera will not make you a great photographer, a great photographer with poor equipment is limited as to what they can capture.  A slow flash can miss split second moments.  And if the camera breaks during the wedding, even the best photographer is out of luck.  You should ask what equipment they have. The brand of the equipment isn’t important.  What you want to make sure of is the camera is pro rated by the brand they use.  For example, I shoot with Nikon. Nikon’s pro rated cameras are the D300, D300s, D700, D3, D3s, and D3x.  A Nikon pro should be shooting with one of these cameras.  Even more important are the lenses.  Lenses have what is called an f/stop number.  The lower that number the better the lens, and it will shoot in lower light, which is vitally important for weddings.  A pro should not have a lens that has an f/stop higher than 2.8.  If they are using lenses that have an f/stop of 3.5-5, they shouldn’t be shooting weddings.  I shoot with Nikon’s best lenses. The f/stop on my lenses range from 1.4 – 2.8.  A pro must have at least one back up camera as well.  Things happen, and all it takes is a drop.  Make sure your potential photographer has back up equipment!  For me this would be a deal breaker.  No real pro would only have one camera.

I hope these 4 points help you on your photographer search, and helps you avoid a very bad situation.  Your wedding photos will be some of your most cherished possessions, and your wedding album will be your first family heirloom.  Make sure you invest in the quality you and your wedding deserve.  One more thing, ask how the photographer will dress.  You would think this would be common sense, but I have heard of photographers showing up in jeans. I’ve seen videographers do the same.

When I started my business, one of my goals was to be able to help people in someway, and I have been amazed at the doors which have been opened for me to do that. My business, my photography, is more than my job, it’s more than my income, it’s who I am, it’s my calling. I am doing exactly what I feel I am supposed to be doing, and I have been greatly blessed. It is because of my gift and my business that I can give back in ways that I never would have been able to before. ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’

As I have watched and read the news, my heart has been broken for children of Haiti, and especially those now orphaned. While traveling there isn’t exactly practical for me, giving is. So, after much thought, I have decided that for every wedding booked this year, I will be donating $100 to an organization that is helping the orphans of Haiti. At this point $2,100 has been raised, and the potential is there to more than double that amount. In fact, if we do book 50+ wedding this year, I will double that donation to $200 a wedding, and give $10,000. I am still in the process of reaching organizations, so if you have any input into this, please let me know.

Kate and Scott’s wedding was back in May at Stone Manor Country Club in Middletown, MD.  It was a beautiful day, perfect for an outdoor wedding.  As I said above, I made a post on Kate & Scott’s wedding a few months ago.  So, if you would like more info and to see more images, check out that post!  :)  Of course, you can also visit the new site at www.alifestudio.com!

As I said above, these are just some of the images published in the 2010 issue of Bliss.  Make sure you pick up a copy to see more of Kate’s wedding!

Speaking of Kate, she is the owner and publisher of Bliss, and speaking of Bliss their 2010 Bridal Gala is this Sunday at Hager Hall from 11:30 – 4 pm!  Come on out to see me at booth #10!  (How did you like that segue?)  :)  Remember, if you sign up online you get an admission discount and a free gift!  www.hmbride.com Come on out to visit 50 vendors and sign up to win some awesome prizes!

Congrats again, Kate and Scott!