Take It To The Limit - Eagles Tribute Band

We did some photos for a local band called Take It To The Limit a few weeks ago. TITTL is an Eagles tribute band out of Scottsdale, AZ. These guys did a few pieces for us during the shoot and honestly we forgot we were supposed to be photographing the band their music was so entrancing. Here are a few shots from the session:

Our backdrop wasn't quite long enough for one of the shots...

Before:

After:

One of the main purposes for the shoot was to duplicate this shot off the Eagles album "Hell Freezes Over":

...and our version:

Not too shabby, eh?

Anyway, all the guys in the band are great. If you get a chance, check out their website and check out one of their shows.

Rocky Point, Mexico Photography

We got to do one of the most enjoyable photo shoots ever a few weeks ago. We were invited to go down to Rocky Point, Mexico with a group of families and photograph them on the beach. As it turned out, the tide pools provided a fantastic background near sunset, so that's where we set up. We've got skills, don't get me wrong, but with an environment like this it's hard NOT to take great pictures. Enough talk, here are a few of the images.

So....let us officially announce that we are available to travel to rocky point and do photography for your group or event. Really, we'll do it.

Happily Ever After, Part I: The importance of setting priorities for your wedding

Written for DM Photo by

Katie Kolesar, Scottsdale Style Maven

With the popularity of TV shows like Bridezilla, we are all acutely aware of how an event thought by many to be the most important moment of a woman’s life can tend to be a bit stressful. Planning a wedding starts out with the romance that comes with getting engaged. Everyone want to know how he ‘popped the question’, and of course, what will be coming next! All the little things that converge and culminate into your wedding day are just that- little things. Not little in importance, read: little as in there are just lots and lots of them to do, and not ever enough time to do them all. The problem with little things is that there are too many of them to begin with, and they somehow start to multiply faster than gerbils on Viagra!

As someone wise once said, “hindsight is 20/20”. I can speak with authority as one who had a dream of fairytale perfection for her own wedding, where everyone shared my vision and knew exactly what to do and when to do it, ready to lend a helping hand or defend my choice of having a gold-colored wedding cake, for instance. As I progressed in the planning stages, I woke up to reality as I began to understand that everyone involved in my wedding had their own perfect idea of how it should take place. So, instead of just dealing with all the little details, and getting the logistics put in place, I also had the burden of rallying the troops to get on the same page. Easier said than done. Strange politics are involved when you are fighting a covert war of smiles and agreeing to disagree, whether it’s with your mother-in-law to be, the maid of honor, or that especially helpful wedding comrade, the groom.

That said, it is a very tempting idea to stick to your guns and still try to pull off the wedding of your dreams. In order to have a chance of accomplishing this, plans must be made early and clearly, and they must be made by you (the bride). Let’s face it, this is your day, and though all others want to do is help, the leadership role is yours to fill. The best way to go about taking the lead is to make a list of your key priorities. Before involving anyone else in the idea stage, sit down quietly by yourself and write out your list of priorities for your wedding. This could include a specific location that is meaningful to you, specific music that you would like to have played, a theme or style that sets your wedding apart, or a special officiant to perform the ceremony. Do you want it in a church, on the beach, on a mountaintop, in your backyard?

Prioritizing is the first in a series of crucial elements that will directly impact whether you realize your vision for your wedding. Otherwise, there are several outside factors that can and will cause you to lose control, if you don’t take measures to prevent it. This is the one and only moment when things can be up to you, and your budget. Be sure to get them all down on paper, on a numbered list, because once you spell out your priorities, the next steps will inevitably be compromise and revision.

Some key priorities to consider are:
1. Number of guests on your guest list. (This can dictate other important decisions such as wedding and reception location, meal and entertainment choices, wedding party, etc.)
2. Budget. (This is key for you to keep control of decision-making, wardrobe, and preventing hurt feelings or guilt.)
3. Delegating. (Choosing a reliable helper, hiring professionals such as a wedding photographer, wedding planner and stylist.)

Once you’ve pinpointed your priorities for your wedding, it will make all subsequent decision-making and planning less overwhelming, taming all those to-do lists in one fell swoop. Taking the time to jot down your list will help the details fall into place much more easily and efficiently, ensuring that you will arrive at the altar with all of your hair still attached to your head. For more in-depth information on the above-mentioned topics, check back soon!

Cheers,

The Maven

email me at: maven@scottsdalestylemaven.com
http://scottsdalestylemaven.com

On Camera Flash = Garbage

We often cover poorly lit receptions or other events at which there is not as much light as we'd like. Cameras see light different than the human eye - even if you think there's enough light, the camera may not. This is typically when photographers pop a flash on their camera. Well we do everything in our power to not do this. Why? On-camera flash = less than stellar images. They might as well have come from a point and shoot. Here's an example I found online of a very typical on-camera flash result:

Notice the harsh shadows everywhere: behind the grooms head, under the bride's left arm, under the desk, behind the statue - this is what happens when you shoot with an on-camera flash and why we avoid it like the plague.

So what are your options? Well, DM Photo has a few that many other photographers don't have. First of all, our camera bodies are specially chosen due to their exceptional handling of low light situations. Here's an example of an image shot with no flash, outside at a reception lit by just the small tungsten light bulbs overhead:

Notice the absence of the harsh shadows caused by on-camera flash, lack of hot spots, and smoother exposure (light) gradients.

Another option is to bounce your flash off a nearby wall. Soft, flattering light is a function of 2 things: 1) the size of the light source (size matters and in this case, yes - larger is better, which is why small on-camera flashes produce unattractive lighting and harsh shadows) 2) proximity. The closer and larger your light source, the better. Many times, however, a small hot shoe mount flash (the ones you see on many photographers' cameras) are not powerful enough. That's why we carry a larger, more powerful strobe. When bounced off a wall, the light source in effect becomes the large wall and produces very flattering light. Here's an example:

Notice there are still shadows, but they are very soft and actually bring depth and interest into the image, as opposed to making it look like it was taken with a point and shoot camera.

On camera flash produces lousy images. Using no flash or bouncing the flash with a sufficiently high powered strobe produces wonderful images, which is why DM Photo has invested heavily in acquiring this kind of equipment. Check out our gallery of Arizona wedding photography to see more images taken with our signature style of creative and flattering lighting.

In the Name of Intolerance...

What are your opinions about this?

http://thomashawk.com/2008/04/christian-photographers-fined-6000-for.html

My opinion is it is utterly ridiculous. Religious views aside, how can one party expect another party to violate its beliefs just to accommodate the first party's? Maddening.