Clear Image in the North County Outlook

http://www.northcountyoutlook.com/business/article.exm/2009-08-12_portrait_studio_employs_new_media_to_generate_sales

Discussing Social Media and Adaptation in today’s market.

Lake Union Cafe Wedding

Here is a quick video of a recent wedding shoot at the Lake Union Cafe in Seattle.  My favorite is the one of David and Alyce under the bridge!

http://animoto.com/play/ex4DU55GB04eIB0jGMnxDA?autostart=true

Lens Baby, Baby!

One of our new “toys” is the new lensbaby composer.  This is a wacky lens that bends and twists, and purposefully creates a motion blur effect.  We are excited to use this on our 2009 High School Senior portraits and perhaps some daring parents and business professionals.

Check it out: http://lensbaby.com/lenses-composer.php

Photography 101 Tips & Tricks

We are currently working on offering photography, camera, and software classes in our studio soon (probably next year), and thought we would start sending you regular tips to help you in your photography world.  If you have any questions or suggests, please feel free to contact me!   Cheers! Daniel Jolly – Owner and Operator

Basic Camera Definitions we will talk about  Point and Shoot: Most of us have these – a small, lightweight, and automated camera useful for it’s convenience, travel readiness, and intelligence. Look for future tips and classes on getting great shots with your point and shoot! DSLR: Digital Single Lens Reflex In short, this means that the subject is viewed through the same lens as the picture is taken. A mirror is raised when the shutter button is pressed, allowing light to reach the image sensor. Most DSLR cameras use interchangeable lenses. These come in a wide range of selections, and most people own the consumer models such as the Canon Rebel and Nikon D60.  Professional models get very expensive, the difference being a variety of things such as: body and seal construction, speed of internal computer and hardware, sensor quality (what captures the image), and advanced options (e.g. autofocus intelligence, video).    Choosing between the “big 2″ of DLSR’s, Canon and Nikon, is a choice based primarily on what the user has experience with, preferences on function placement and body feel, and what type of lens they have invested in.  A professional quality lens can, and often does, cost more than the body!  Both Nikon and Canon are excellent companies producing amazing equipment!  We are heavily invested in Nikon (or Nikkor) lens, so buying a Canon camera wouldn’t make sense for us, so we use Nikon and Fuji (Fuji uses Nikon bodies and puts their own software & sensor inside).   Our Portrait Studio uses high end Nikon Lens and Fuji S5’s, one of the most renowned digital portrait cameras in existence.   The unfortunate thing, is that most people who buy DSLR’s, including many “professionals”, just turn their camera to the “P” (Program) button, which basically turns your DSLR into a heavy, expensive, point and shoot (no, “P” does not stand for “professional)!   Stay tuned for more!…

Summer is Here!!

Hey there, Mindy here!

Check out this Patriotic Firecracker, isn’t she darling!? This gal was truley a joy to work with! Her little expressions were so much fun to capture! I can’t wait to work with her again soon!

Spring Day with Daddy 2009

Here’s a personal video of a day with my two kids.  We went to Edmonds Beach and our favorite forest walk at Yost Park.  What a beautiful day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXa9HfjzB5A

New Easter Designer Cards!

Always eager to take his shirt off, my son gets to know Barley the Bunny

My super cute girl having fun with Barley the bunny!

 

We have lots of exciting new things for Easter this year, including designer cards for your bunny session!  Here are some examples with my kids playing around with one our bunnies, Barley.

Bunny Portraits

We are now booking our Live Bunny Portraits!  We made some of our first appointments yesterday, and our first postcards are about to go out!  Give us a call soon to get the best times!  We will start March 10th.

Social Networking – Excitement and Woe

Ok, so now I’ve gone nuts.  I’ve created a monster that I hope I can keep up with!  Yesterday, I joined BizNik and LinkedIn.  We are working on our Facebook after the success of our Myspace.  We are on MerchantCircle and just sent out our first email newsletter – whew!  I feel like I’m a full time on-line social networker!   We are also working with Animoto for our video uploads to YouTube, which are really cool!  Thankfully, I had a chance to connect “for real” at a Smokey Point Chamber event at the new Medallion Hotel, and than heard Mayor Kendall give a state of city address this morning at the Marysville Chamber Breakfast (hmmm…sausages and Tabasco…)

Going Green

New Equipment Announcement

One of the biggest buzz words  in the media (besides our failing economy), is ”going green”, and it’s everywhere!  Here’s are recent part to play: Our new printing equipment investment is a Noritsu D701, and we are the first in the area to have one installed! It has been real great so far, and gives us better color control – saves on energy costs, and no more mixing toxic chemicals – whoohoo! It just passed its first “test” with flying colors, printing almost 900 orders for the Marysville Parks & Rec Basketball shoot.  To be honest, we are far from being a 100% “green” business, and like most small businesses, don’t have the resources to make it happen instantly. But, we do care, and are conscience of our role of stewardship.  Here’s to a huge step in the right direction!