Fine Art Maternity- Part 2 :: Tacoma Family and Maternity Photographer ::

Annnnnd, here's part 2 of the fine art maternity shots.  It's been an exciting weekend, full of intrigue, anxiety and rebuilding my Facebook fan page.  I'm working on a blog post about that, but in the meantime, take a mosey over to the new one and give it a like, will you?  I'll wait.  :D

www.facebook.com/dorothydeanphotography

Back already?  AWESOME.  Now you get to see the rest of the fine art maternity photos.  Yes, some of these are the same images as the previos, because I couldn't decide which I liked better!  Ahhhh, the beauty of shooting digital.

I'll soon be offering this service, as I LOVED this.  I love the light, love the posing, love the fact that it's not in a field or a lake or anywhere else.  It's pure figure work, which I adore doing.  Stay tuned for pricing here, as it's not going to fall under my usual portrait prices.

New Pricing- Tacoma Family and Wedding Photographer

The time has come, my friends, to talk of many things.  In that case, it's pricing.

Prices are changing effective immediately.  The cost of doing business has gone up, your wants and needs have changed and to be honest, I'm trying to simplify things.  People want digital files.  So digital files you get! Portrait pricing is as follows:

Deluxe Package- $600; includes 20 digital images and a 20x30 canvas 

Basic Package- $475; includes 15 digital images 

Military and emergency personnel discount- $50

Yup, just two packages.  Easy peasy!  

But what about prints?  No worries.  They're still available, as are canvases, albums and a few other goodies.  I know people like to be able to order prints a the same time they download their images.  Makes it easy.  But I don't want people to have to pick and choose right away.  The prices on those are changing, too, but not by much.  I HAVE discontinued wallets, since no one seemed to want them. 

Product	Price	Extra Shipping
4" x 6" Print - Lustre	$10.00	$0.00
5" x 7" Print - Lustre	$15.00	$0.00
8x10	$35.00	$0.00
11x14	$55.00	$0.00
11x14 Canvas	$70.00	$0.00
16x20 Canvas	$150.00	$10.00
20x24 Canvas	$175.00	$10.00
20x30 Canvas	$175.00	$10.00
24x30 Canvas	$190.00	$10.00
24x36 Canvas	$190.00	$10.00
30x40 Canvas	$225.00	$10.00
20x60 Canvas	$225.00	$10.00
32x48 Canvas	$300.00	$10.00
4x8 Accordian Book	$60.00	$0.00

Finally, homecoming prices are going up as well.  Homecomings are now $225.  This includes the on-call time, 70-100 images, 

Even though I'm simplifying packages, I'll be adding some special sessions, with pricing all their own.  Stay tuned for details about Comic Book sessions (which will include a custom printed comic book!) and Fine Art Maternity and Boudoir!

Fine Art Maternity, Part 1- Tacoma Family and Maternity Photographer

A few weeks ago a fellow photographer asked in a group I'm part of if anyone would like to do some fine art photos.  She was itching to do something and well, I'm always up for it.  I suggested we do some Weston-esque work, another, very pregnant, member volunteered to pose and a shoot was born!

The shoot was awesome.  Emily was fine with doing pretty much whatever we wanted her to do.  Alisha was really open to different types of lighting and working outside her comfort zone.  I was excited to finally shoot FILM again.  There was digital, too, but FILM.  OMG.  

It ended up with Alisha using the strobes and me shooting with the available light from the modeling lamp.  I was perfectly happy with that.  I like mono lights.  I like continuous, touchy lighting.  It was exactly what I was going for when we first planned the shoot.  The images I got surprised me in some ways, but not in others.  Then there was the happy accident in Lightroom....  I clicked a button, not meaning to use that one and all of a sudden the images were perfect.  The lighting, the color, all came together on that set and I didn't have the heart to turn them black and white.  Some got both treatments, as you'll see in the next installment.  These had NO retouching, as I just don't do that, unless there's something I screwed up.  What you see is who Emily is.  And she's BEAUTIFUL.  

Before you get pic spammed, a big, HUGE thanks to Alisha Liker of Ayanoz.com and Emily Caldwell.  If you want to see what Alisha shot today, take a trip over to her blog, My Lens and I.  

Now, the photos!

Tracey and Spencer- Olympia Wedding :: Tacoma and Olympia Wedding Photographer

When I first moved to Tacoma last year, I stayed with someone who ended becoming one of my closest friends.  She was awesome, and amazing and took in a family and their cat in need of a place to stay until they could move into the house they were busy closing on.  We only knew each other via the internet.  Luckily, neither of us were serial killers.

This blog is not about her.  But because of her, this blog is happening.

Whuuut?

You see my friend had a sister.  A sister who was getting married. This sister needed a wedding photographer.  I'm a wedding photographer!  So in January, I met up with her and her fiance, we decided we all liked each other and some AWESOME photos were born.

Meet Tracey and Spencer.

Yes, that pretty much sums Tracey up.  She was an amazingly fun person to shoot.  She gave me pretty much free rein to shoot whatever and however I wanted.  The wedding was super relaxed, and the food?  AMAZING!  

Anyway, you're here for photos, not words.  Enjoy.  

(Me again)

Ok, so this series is probably my favorite set of wedding photos. There were these old RVs on the property, so we decided to shoot a short editorial.  It's Tracey, seeing her future as a military wife.  

(I kid.  I'm a former military spouse.  Housing isn't this bad.  Ususally.)  

And then they danced.  And Tracey danced with her dad to a big mash up of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Walk Like an Egyptian.  It was hilarious!

Finally, I'd like to give a big shout out to my second shooter, Amanda Cameron of Amanda Cameron Photography.  She did a fantastic job, and I couldn't have done it without her.  Thanks, Amanda!!  

Let's talk about canvases.... -Tacoma Family Photographer

You've gotten the session.  You have the perfect photo, and you want to look at it all the time.  Who wouldn't?  Your family is awesome!

The first question comes when you're looking at all the choices offered.  Large print?  Canvas?  Which one?

The answer is.... it depends.  I know.  Really helpful, right?

I'm not going to lie.  I love me some framed prints.  I love the gallery feel they give, especially when they're displayed in an oversized black frame with a wide white mat surrounding them.  LOVE. IT.  But I'm also not going to lie- when you get too much above 11x14 prints, that gets rather pricey.  As in, you're almost better off buying your own mat cutter and learning to do it yourself kind of pricey!  A good 20x30 frame can run close to $100 (if not more- I'm talking about the simple black frames I prefer), then there's the mat you need to get cut to go with it.  That will run you at least another $20-30, if not more.  By the time you've paid for framing and matting and the print, that 16x20 you loved is going to run you around $200.

This is where canvases come in.  While you may not get that same aesthetic a series of framed prints gives, you save a significant chunk of money.  Instead of a 16x20, you can get your favorite image printed larger, say 24x36.  Or a cluster of canvases, to show off MORE of your faves.  Another benefit of canvases is that they come ready to hang.  You don't have to worry about taking it to the frame shop, waiting another month, then getting the hardware on, and and and.....  Just take it out of the box, put a picture hanger up, put the canvas up.  Revel in its beauty.

The second question I get is "how big a canvas should I get?"

You know the answer.... it depends.  I'm just FULL of helpful responses today!

Really, it does depend.  How big is the wall you're hanging your canvas on?  Will there be other photos around it?  Is it the focal point for that wall?

A good rule of thumb is the bigger the wall, the bigger the canvas, if it's going to be the only one.  You want it have presence, and to not look like it's lost, floating alone on a sea of wall.

One of my favorite tricks to figure out what size I need to order is to first decide how many things will be hanging on that wall.  Then I take an old newspaper and cut it into the sizes I'm considering and tape each one to the wall to see which one I like best.  If I'm planning a cluster of images, I cut a paper for each image and play around with the arrangement.  If I already have copies of the photos I want to hang (even just 4x6s), I'll put those on the papers so I can make double sure I like the arrangement, both in size and variety.  A lot of work?  Maybe.  But I know I'll be happy with the arrangement in the end.

(Yes, there IS an easier way to do this.  There's an iPad app called Preveal that takes a snapshot of your wall and does the work for you.  You can even plug photos from your session into it.  Ask your photographer if they have it!)