New Smyrna Beach Engagement Photography: Ashlynd and Morgan

UPDATED POST:  Watch the full Slideshow.

On Saturday I met with a really fun couple and their dog to shoot their engagement photos.  The photo session was scheduled to make the most of the time just before sunset, the "golden hour"as photographers call it.  The photo session was shot at Smyrna Dunes park on the North end of New Smyrna Beach, FL.  The photo session started with a walk along the boardwalk where I had a chance to get to know Ashlynd and Morgan as we walked and talked and I shot photos.  We made our way to the South jetty of Ponce Inlet on the beach which is where their wedding ceremony will be.  These shots are just a sample of the whole shoot but they are some of my favorite ones.

Their dog Timber was a great addition to the photo session.  He was really well trained and seemed to pose on command when needed.  He will also be the Ring-barer for the upcoming wedding. 

We had some great light right before sunset.  We even ran into another photographer along the boardwalk who seemed to be shooting some senior portraits.

This is one of the shots where Timber seemed to pose right on command.  

On of the shots I really like was this one which I just got just after I put my 50mm lens on my camera.  I really like the way this lens can really blur the background out completely so you focus only on the subject of the photo.  

This photo session was a lot of fun.  Congratulations to Ashlynd and Morgan!

Thanks for letting me capture your love for each other.  

-Pete: Emanon Photography

Just Another Day at the Beach

Family Portrait Shoot on the Beach 1
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

It's been awhile since I last had a blog post sometimes things just get a little hectic around here. I had actually started a blog post a couple weeks ago just after my post reviewing the iPad but I could not get the pictures to work as I was trying to write the blog and post the pictures from my iPad. Posting shots to flickr then using the blog it feature there seems to work a bit better for me, then I can type up the blog posts like this one on my iPad while my computer does other things like it is right now (uploading the hi-res retouched version of Mondays shoot to my sales gallery site.).

So on the this picture. Monday's shoot was great the family I was shooting was in town visiting New Smyrna Beach on vacation. I met them at North Beach Community Park which is one of my favorite locations to shoot at the beach because it is pretty centralized in NSB, it's not nearly as crowded as some of the other beach parks and it offers natural sand dunes as a background. I took a lot of shots in several locations as the sun was just starting to drop below some clouds to the west. This is one of my favorite shots from this shoot. I got lucky with the clouds in the fact that they were there. The last shoot I did here there were almost no clouds an the background was a haze/sea mist filled sky. I like this pic, but felt the clouds real made some thing of it, and I thought it would make for a good bw conversion so i just started playing around with some of the b/w presets in aperture3 until I found a really contrasty effect which almost silhouettes the family. I have another version of this which was taken in the vertical position you can see that one my clicking on the photo and going to my flickr photo stream.

An iPad Review: The 5 things that the iPad is missing... and no I don't care that there is no Camera!

I've had the iPad for almost a month now, and I've had enough time to play with it.  Over all I would say it's great.  I've generally really pleased with the purchase decision, however, there are some shortcomings.  There are a few things that I think the iPad should have come with, and a few that I hope are fixed soon with a software update.  Let me start off by saying that the main reason I went ahead and got the iPad was because I was amazed when I saw how the iPad displays photos.  As a photographer, it's critical that I am able to use the best method possible to display my photos to potential clients.  The iPad simply outshines any other method to portably display photos.  Since I got the iPad I have also been looking to find as many other uses of the iPad for my business I have come across some good ideas which I will be implementing, and I will share some of those here too.   As great as the iPad is and as impressed as I have been let me get into the dirt here.
First off, this is not a rant about what the iPad doesn't have, that everyone seemed to want to criticize as soon as the iPad was released.  I know the iPad is not going to replace a laptop or desktop.  I also don't care that the iPad doesn't have a built in camera.  That's not why I got it, and I'm fine with that.

The first thing that the iPad is missing
-A micro fiber cleaning cloth.

Even my ipod touch came with a cleaning cloth to keep the screen clean and to wipe off finger prints.  I was kind of shocked when I opened the box and took out my ipad and there was no cleaning cloth.  for $499 for the 16GB iPad WiFi apple could have and should have thrown in a 2 cent cleaning cloth.  For anyone else who has bought an iPad, the first thing you should get after you get the iPad is a cleaning cloth.  I've been using some extra micro fiber lens cleaning cloths that I have, you can get them really cheap from most eyeglass stores, and they work great.

The second thing that is missing:
-The protective case that Apple sells for an additional $39.

While Steve jobs showed off the iPad at the press conference and said it could be held any way and the screen automatically adjusts, it was pretty cool.  Its not until you are holding your own $500+ after taxes and shipping piece of magic iPad that you realize how smooth and slippery it feels while you are holding it.  The first iPad i saw and got to hold, had the Apple case and it make so much of a difference.  I would say that you could go out and get other cases from some of the companies that specialize in accessories for iPods like Griffin technologies of any of the numerous others, but the simple answer is that none of them have released a case that can compare with the design of the Apple case.  The ones that seem to come closes in design are much more expensive then the apple case.  The only problem that you have when you order the Apple iPad Case is that the wait time is longer for the case then for an actual iPad.

The third thing that is missing:
-A web browser that doesn't crash

I have been using my iPad a lot, I've been really having fun with it, but I still can't figure out why is causing the safari browser that comes with the iPad to crash and shut down at what seems like completely random times.  After it crashes, I will restart it and it will open the same web page and seem to work fine  it is really random and to the point where it is a bit annoying.  Secondary to the browser constantly crashing, I have 2 more complaints about the browser.  The first is that the button that opens the new windows is located directly next to the bookmarks button and I have several times been meaning to open the bookmarks menu when all of a sudden it has opened a new window.  Also, as you are browsing the web, it seems like every link you click on the browser wants to open a new window.  I know that there is the same effect in desktop web browsers, but it seems like new windows open a lot more easily and frequently on the iPad, there is also no indicator on the window you are currently viewing as to how many other open web browser windows there are.  I have also been finding it annoyingly that some web pages are automatically loaded as the mobile friendly version of the page, there are some of these mobil pages that don't have links to get back to the normal web page.  I think I should have some control over a setting as to how the browser is recognized by websites so I don't have to get the mobil friendly site.

The fourth thing that is missing:
-Flash... There I said it Adobe's Flash Player

When Steve jobs showed of the iPad at the Press event he said something to the effect that the iPad made for one of the best web viewing experiences ever.  Well, we all knew there was not going to be support for Adobe's flash player, and I think most people have been able to come to terms with that.  The problem is that until you are viewing the web on an iPad, you do not realize how much of the web has Flash supported content.  It seems like on most web pages that I brows through there are markers telling me to download the latest version of Flash player... The problem however it when you click on that link you get the short message from Adobe that Apple will not support the software at this time.  This would not be a problem if HTML5 was here today and in use and taking over the content that is currently out there as Flash content, but it's not, and it's really anoying.  Jobs and Apple and Adobe need to loose the egos and make it work.  Just make it work!

And the fifth thing that is missing:
-Built in support to be able to use the iPad as a second monitor when connected to a computer.  This is a software issue that Apple should have just done.  Having the iPad connected to my 13in. Macbook almost doubles the display space and in using the iPad as a Second display, I can make use of secondary display features for some of the programs that I use like Aperture.  Now you might be asking how I know that this is a simple software issue, be cause there is an APP out there that lets you wirelessly do exactly this.  It is called AirDisplay and it does work great.  But it const $9.99 in the APP store and I feel that there should just be a built in option when you have the iPad connected via the USB cord to your computer.

There are a few other things that I have come to feel should also have been included in the iPad, and while I might feel they should have been included, I do not feel that they are missing and detracting from the iPad experience as the 5 above.  Including a SD/Macro SD/or micro SD card slot would have been useful.  I don't think the price difference between the different iPads based on Memory 16/32/64GB models is really justified.  I think having one model and an available SD slot would have been all that was needed.  Also, It would be nice for there to be a free word processing app, while typing can be done with the included notepad app, it's not really a productivity tool, I think the iPad can be good for taking notes in meetings and such, and there are some APPS that make use of the built in Mic and will make an audio recording as notes are typed, but I feel that Apple should have given this to us.

Grad Season is almost over

Grad Season is almost over
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography
I'm finishing up my second spring graduation season with GradImages. I've been shooting for them non-stop for the past week. My last scheduled graduation is tomorrow. Tomorrow's graduation caps off a string of 20 graduations in the past week or so. Many of them were large graduations too, though even the 900 graduates at the one high School graduation that was expecting close to or more than 1000 graduates doesn't quite compare to the 4 UCF graduations I shot at the beginning of May. Each of those averaged about 1300 graduates if I remember correctly.

In my work for GradImages, our main job is to photograph each graduate in between 1-3 or more poses during the actual commencement ceremony. If you have had official photos taken at a High School or College/University graduation there is a pretty good chance that they may have been shot by GradImages. If you are in FL, you might recognize the name Bob Knight Photo, there have been some corporate mergers, and names have been switched around a few times, but we are the same photographers, and I must say, we are pretty good at what we do. For example, after shooting the UCF graduations, the time from the end of the ceremony to the time graduates received and email with proofs of their photos was between 24-72 hours.

Anyways, one of the other things we do while we are photographing graduations is to photograph and provide the school with complementary Public Relations photographs of their commencement ceremonies. The PR photos as we call them are the one real time the photographers on our teams get a chance to shoot some creative shots. This photo was one of the PR shots that I made for the Apopka High School graduation at the Amway Arena in Orlando, FL. The female graduate was the SGA President and Mace carrier. She was great and let me take some cool shots like this one, and deserves credit for being a photo subject. Some more credit is also due to Kylene Gay (Her Blog Here) who was another one of our team photographers and made a shot similar to this one at another ceremony, which was the creative inspiration for this shot.

To clean up this shot just a bit, I added some selective sharpening and a vignette in Aperture3. Lighting was provided by an overhead high intensity spotlight that was lighting the stage from the rafters of the arena.

Shooting the 'First' Wedding

Scott Kelby may have given the best insight when he wrote in his book The Digital Photography Book v1: If you have a long lens, before long, someone you know will get married but they won't have a budget for a professional photographer.  He'll ask "Can you shoot our wedding photos?" 

Well for me it didn't happen quite this way.  I've been working on getting my own photography business going for more then a year now (real business licenses and all).  I've had the intention to start to work towards getting into the wedding photography business.  Now, BEFORE any of you who are reading this who happen to be seasoned wedding photogs, don't start writing your hate emails just yet.  I did not just one day say "oh, I can do that," and I did not just run out to Wal-mart but a digital rebel kit and say "now I'm a Pro."  I've been shooting photos for about 20 years now (I started when I was about 6).  I can use film, and I learned how to develop my own in a real wet chemical darkroom.  I got my first SLR while in high school, and my first D-SLR in 2005.  As far as becoming a pro-photographer, it's been a long time coming, it's a long story, and I'll tell you another time.  But as far as shooting weddings, I've read most of the books out there on the topic, and I've been studying the work of some of the better ones out there, well they at least impressed me with their work (David Ziser, Jasmine Star, and locally Mel Watson and Louis Torres' podcast is pretty cool too).  I've been putting a lot of thought into how I would shoot a wedding and what my style would be like, I've been working up my own confidence, and skills but wasn't feeling like I was 100% ready to shoot a wedding on my own, but then it happened.

A close friend of mine was getting married, I was invited, and one day I was just curious so I asked her who her wedding photographer was going to be and what their website was since I wanted to take a look.  She told me that she was just having some guy she worked with take photos, since he used to own his own studio 20 years ago or something."  With that, I told her I had been thinking of getting into wedding photography, I asked her if she could ask her "Official" photographer if he would mind if I took some photos while I was there.  My friend asked and the other photographer didn't mind, and since my friend really wanted to help me out, she gave me pretty much free reign to shoot anything I needed to build up a portfolio for wedding photography.  I worked out great for me, I got to shoot a wedding, use the pics, and there was a good bit of pressure and stress that was removed from my shoulders since there was another "official" photographer.

Well, I just want to say, I am in no way trying to claim to be the best photog out there, I don't have the best equipment on the market, and I know I'm still working  on developing my skills.  But when I first saw the "official" photographer he was "the guy who got a rebel kit at Wal-mart".  (I had a flashback to David Ziser's blog post here)

I'm going to make this brief, but in short, the "official" photographer has a Digital Rebel, the kit lens, and a 430EXII flash with a Sto-fen bounce.  I don't know if he had extra batteries, flash cards or anything else.  In his defense, he did have a shot list, and he definitely showed he had some experience with setting up group poses.  However, when the bride (My close friend) was getting ready to walk down the aisle, the official photogs camera had some sort of a malfunction, and he quickly asked me to step into his position and get the shots of the bride walking down the aisle.  As the reception was getting underway the bride came up to me and said the official photographer wanted to do a staged exit to get the photos so he could leave, and she asked if I was staying till the end.  I told her I was staying and would take the pictures.  I was having a blast, shooting hundreds of photos at the reception.  The other photographer also came up to me to see if I was staying to get the shots of the bride and groom leaving, I told him I was, and that was the last I saw him.  (I'll add that I don't know what he had agreed to shoot for the bride, or if he had a contract, but, I made the decision that in my business of shooting weddings, I will stay from start to finish).  By the end of the night, both the bride and groom, and several guests were telling me that I saved the wedding, and that I was much better then the other photographer.  I like to think that it says a lot about the amount of work I have put into preparing to shoot weddings.  But it was also a little luck, a little good fortune, and good business.

The morning after, as I was driving back to FL from NC where the wedding was, I got several texts from the bride, thanking me for all I did.  I spent the next 11 days editing photos, since the bride was a close friend, and she was letting me use the photos to promote my own business, I probably spent a lot more time.  on the 10th day, I selected a few of the best photos and made a quick little animoto slide show and posted it to the bride's facebook page for her to get a quick pre-view as soon as she returned from her honeymoon.  By the 12th day after the wedding I had uploaded the best photos 'print ready' to a gallery on my website.  I then made a full-video playable dvd with slide shows, and the image files, I made a custom DVD-case and sent that to the bride and groom.  There is some more stuff I am still working on (My official gift to them will be a printed photo book type album) and I'm still working on some 'Artist Edits'.  This was the first wedding I have ever shot, I left having shot thousands of images.  The photos that accompany this post were all shot at this wedding.  I would welcome comments from other photographers, let me know how you think I did?  Leave me tips for what else I could do, or do better.  Tell me what it was like to shoot your first wedding.  Just remember, everyone has to start somewhere.  And the most important people the bride and groom from my first wedding keep thanking me.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.