http://www.stalux.org/fashionshow
Super excited to be shooting the St. Thomas Aquinas Cruisin' Around the World Fashion Show on Sunday, April 10th!
FedEx delivery today...200 flyers to be stuffed in the loot bags! Looking forward to meeting the faculty, families and students!
Can't be at the show? I will still honor promotion for any St. Thomas family that books a shoot with me by July 31st. Just email or message me!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Hey guys!
Does everyone get excited like me when FedEx rings your doorbell or when you see the brown boxes stacked at your front door? For me it means, photography goodies have arrived!
It can also mean photography goodies have arrived for you!
Professional photography is an investment. Your investment includes the photographer's professional training, a seasoned eye, high quality cameras and lenses and hours of tedious editing to create a photo with perfect color, contrast, detail and clarity.
However, most people make the common mistake of leaving their digitals in the darkness of their drives or clouds, never converted to paper to be framed or showcased for others to ogle over. Please don't do that...I cringe just thinking about it, even though I can be found guilty as well.
If people do send their images out to be printed they will typically use big box retailers, because of the convenience and cost, but mostly by the simple lack of understanding of the print process. Big box retailers are not professional print labs. They do not specialize in the art of photography printing, so hence they do not invest in the same equipment or paper as a professional print lab. Just these two variables can produce staggering differences in the final printed photograph. This is before we even touch upon calibration of the printer or the simple knowledge of the sales associate operating the machine. Again, these are non-pro labs.
Is professional printing more costly? Yes, I'm not going to dispute that fact, however, I promise you that it will be worth the investment. Do you need everything professionally printed? No. If 4x6 images are going into an album, then perhaps you go with the convenience and cost of a non-pro lab. If you want a larger image to be framed or a photo created on stretch canvas or bamboo, then maybe that is where you should support your investment.
Either way the decision is personal and it is all yours to make. I am happy to help with any questions you may have.
However, if you get excited by FedEx deliveries, I can help with that too...
Sometimes the most soul-bearing photographs come from capturing people simply doing what makes them most happy. It's the everyday moments. The moments that were not intended for a camera to be flashing. It's catching people in their element. They are not propped or posed. They are just going thru the daily motions of what they do.
I was at my childhood home in the Berkshires visiting my parents for the holiday weekend. Not looking for an amazing moment to photograph, but lucky for me, I did fall right into one. I happened to capture my mother in the room where you will most likely find her at home...her kitchen. Anyone who knows my mother, knows she is an amazing cook! As fast as I can open up a can of chicken soup, she would have her seasonings measured, vegetables chopped and broth simmering.
I wanted to share these two images that I love, not because of a stunning backdrop or perfect studio lighting, but because the essence of my mother radiates in these images. She looks so content and "at home."
Sometimes the best photos come from the unplanned moments. Moments where you catch people in their happy place...
A sign that Spring is here!
The air had a chill this morning when I took my dog, Heinz for a walk. However, Mother Nature is letting us know in tiny and discreet ways that warmer weather days are on the way. Flowers are sprouting and buds are on the trees. Take a closer look for yourself when you are out for a walk or driving home from work...
Personally, I have always been in awe of Springtime in New England. It is truly majestic how our surroundings that have been withered and drained of color by the covering of snowfall and bitter temperatures come back to renewed life.
So, let's all take the unspoken advice from the blooming flowers. We can all start our day with a renewed perspective and purpose...
Do you enjoy taking photos of your children playing sports? Do you want to capture action without capturing blur?
Here's the trick... INCREASE your shutter speed, which will REDUCE image blur. Try it out!
To note: No one was hurt during this belt testing session. Except the boards...
This dark haired beauty has many reasons to be bouncing with excitement! She and her family just recently moved into a gorgeous new home, she has two adorable little pups (one is a kissing bandit) and hey let's face it, you never outgrow mattress jumping! Thank you Nina for inviting me to your new home and capturing the fun! Next time I want you to take the pictures and I'll get the puppy kisses...
She's sass. She's spunk. She's sweet. She's the whole package. Miss Lydia or "Lids", as family and friends endearingly call her lit up my lens yesterday morning. Never a dull moment with this little firecracker!
Muah Lids!
Ok, so the thing is this. Even though photography is my job, it doesn't mean that I leave my camera at home, "when I'm off the clock." Photographers who love their craft, I can assure you NEVER think in those black and white terms of "on the job or off the job." It would be like asking a dancer not to move her body when she hears a rhythmic beat and only to perform when the curtains draw on a lighted stage. It simply does not happen. I may not be shooting an individual portfolio session or birthday party, but I am frequently interested and involved in the activities and events that are happening locally in the Seacoast area, or wherever I may be visiting. Sometimes these may be school or town sponsored events, possibly sporting events that my children may be involved in or even just checking out the local scenery, sights or businesses. I'm ready to capture whatever I feel in my heart warrants the next close of my shutter.
Photographers are also big sharers! We absolutely love to pass on our images along for others to view. Our photographs are like our "babies" and we can't wait to show them off, in the hopes they bring someone else a smile, as they did us.
Then, if we are lucky enough, they do just that! They make someone smile or allow them to see the beauty in something that seemed so simple until it was photographed and displayed with a new perspective. Photography is an art and it is very personal. It touches everyone differently. My photography style may tug at your heartstrings or it may not. I hope it does.
So, with quite a few people reaching out to me about such photographs, I have started a new collection entitled, "Around the Town Images." These are images that I may shoot that are not involved in an individual portfolio session. You may see them posted on my Facebook page, Lisa Wotkowicz Photography or my business website. These edited and high quality full resolution digital images can be purchased individually for $15.00 for personal use or printing.
Do you see something that makes you smile? Did I capture a photograph that would look perfect framed on a vacant wall in your hallway? Maybe I caught your child score the winning play? Wonderful!
Message or call me and request your Photographer's Around the Town Image...
So, this winter has been pretty gosh darn nice this year in the Northeast...well by my standards at least. Unseasonably warm temperatures and lower than normal snow accumulations have made me one very happy gal...
At least until this past week when Mother Nature made me realize that without her blanket of snow and bitter winds, those good ol' germs were floating and basking around in the mild early Spring air and looking for a nice place to hang out... Me. So, hello respiratory infection, oh and why were at it, let's have stomach bug join in on the fun as well...
So today, ten days later and without getting into the unnecessary details, I am truly grateful that I am on the mend. I finally made it back into society. Health is truly the essence of everything important and none of us should ever take it for granted. I was so blessed to have such good friends bring me soda, gatorade, homemade chicken soup even though I was waving my white flag out my bedroom window. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, as it will not be forgotten.
So, after what felt like eternity being indoors and not lifting one finger to a lens, I was in some serious camera withdrawal. I went outdoors and quickly scoped my yard to locate my subject(s). It was a quick find..they stood out like sore thumbs...Miss Pretty In Pink and Mr. Dapper In Red Argyle, both with smiles as bright as the sun that was beaming in the sky. Siblings from across the street, they know me well and are quite familiar with the elongated lens that was approaching. They got together and hammed it up for me and it truly felt like all was good in the world again.
But most importantly, the few clicks of the shutter was more than filling a void to be shooting again, it got me a few captured unrehearsed moments for their sweet mom as a way to say, "Thanks for the homemade chicken soup.."
Stay healthy everyone and do good when possible!
Turning double digits is a big deal.
For the child it means, "I am so much closer to being an adult...which equates to; eating what I want, staying up for how long I want and ultimately doing what I want..." As the saying goes, "ignorance is bliss", I guess.
However, for us adults it means a little something different and it is usually not filled with the same feeling of sugar plums dancing in our heads... It represents time. Where did it go? How did 10 years go by in a blink of an eye? Yes, it's a cliche, but it's the ultimate truth.
It signifies change. How can this amazing little human being I gave birth to (which feels like yesterday in so many ways) would prefer a friend's sleepover instead of snuggling on the couch with me? Those were the days, weren't they... Yes, they still do occasionally happen, but they are becoming few and further in between.
Most importantly, it makes us think about the future. We have the private conversation within ourselves, "The scale has tilted...adulthood looms closer than the day they took in their first gasping breath." At that realization, we too take in a deep gasping breath. But, it's ok. All is ok. This is the path of life. If we are lucky enough, we get to witness the change and be part of it.
So this afternoon when my double-digiter runs off the bus (and right past me with no hug), I'll just take it all in...
And maybe if I'm lucky enough, I'll get that snuggle on the couch later this evening...even if it's bribed by vanilla bean birthday cake.
Happy 10th Birthday Zaynah!
Keep on amazing us!
xo
