The "Digital Negatives"

THE ORIGINAL HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL FILES ARE INCLUDED WITH YOUR WEDDING ALBUM.*

Why do I offer the "digital negatives" included with your wedding album? Because I am not a salesman.

Many photographers will not release the digital files because their pricing models require them to make additional sales after the wedding in order to turn a profit. But because a fee is charged up front for the service and my talent, I can focus on creating great work in a relaxed atmosphere without worrying about how many prints, frames, etc. that I have to sell afterward.

My goal is to provide excellent customer service and build a relaxed and friendly relationship with each customer. So charging the creative fee up front allows me to only be a salesman once, during the initial meeting, because I don't have to sell anything else to make a living. And as a customer, you can rest assured that you won't get hit with any surprise costs after the wedding.

Now, my customers may choose to get their reprints from me, or to upgrade their albums because there are so many good shots, but I don't have to feel pressured to make that happen. In fact, there are plenty of good reasons to buy reprints from me, here are several:

1. When you buy reprints from me, the color and density correction is always right, so the prints will always look beautiful. If you go to Sam's Club, or Costco, the prints will never look as good as they should.
2. Asking your friends and family to make their own orders online is far more convenient than the hassle of having to coordinate multiple orders from all the aunts and uncles. That's a hassle you don't need!
3. While my reprint prices are higher than the mini-print labs at Costco, I don't mark them up for maximum profit, and they are better quality prints. The difference in cost might make a small difference today, but the difference in quality will make a big difference for many years to come.

*So, what if you haven't ordered a wedding album? No problem, you can still add on the "digital negatives" if you want them.

Starks/Moore; The Renaissance Hotel, St. Louis

The Starks/Moore wedding was quite an affair; one of the largest weddings I've photographed. Held at the completely restored Renaissance Grand Ball Room atop the most historic hotel in Saint Louis, the 10 hour wedding celebration was an extravaganza of live music provided by family and friends of the wedding couple. I was truly astounded at the musical talent present among this group of people. And these were by no means amateur musicians; ...how cool is it to go to work and be entertained with a live concert! It was truly amazing. This wedding was so stunning, and there were so many great shots, I may have to blog it again, so stay tuned.

Click the images to enlarge.

The Power of Music

I'm a person who likes solitude. I can be quiet with myself and explore my thoughts for hours. I guess that's useful to keep a person grounded. But today, as life seemed to be bearing down a bit more than usual, I found myself surfing blogs and photography sites searching for a diversion (and some inspriation) from myself and my thoughts. Just as my search for a diversion had become tiresome itself, I came across a site playing a really cool song I'd not heard before. Not sure of the artist, but the song was from a Hotel Costes compilation. I decided to leave the song to repeat in the background while I sorted laundry (the diversion of last resort). Its easy to forget how powerful a little music can be. Now the laundry's sorted and I feel so much better.

Picture Of The Day

I thought I'd throw in a couple of lovely details from a recent wedding just to add a little color to this post. I'll be blogging this wedding in the next few days, so here's a sneek preview.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

What am I thankful for?

Well, I thought a lot about that through the day yesterday, and I was surprised that not much in my day-to-day life jumped to the forefront of my mind! And then it occurred to me that I must be awfully spoiled when I have so much, to then expect so much more!

So, I decided that what I am most thankful for is that I have the opportunity to live in a place where life is really fairly easy, and I don't directly face poverty, war, famine, etc.

I am truly fortunate to live in a blessed nation, and my thoughts are with those elsewhere who have not been so blessed as I am.

What's in my bag?

I get ask this question a lot; mostly by other photographers. But occasionally a bride, groom or parent who is a camera buff will ask about my equipment.

I'm not a brand loyalist. I shoot the best quality equipment, and right now, that leave a choice of Nikon and Canon. Beyond that I like a camera that I connect with; one that has features and a control layout that feels natural to me. For me, that's Nikon.

So, here's the list of things you may find in my bag right now:
(though, not all of it at any one time)

Camera Bodies:

Nikon D300 camera bodies
Fuji S5 Pro with grip (this camera has a magic all its own!)
Nikon D70 (bought it years ago as backup; have never had to use it)

Lenses:

Nikon 17-55 2.8
Nikon 18-200 3.5-5.6 VR
Nikon 50 1.4
Sigma 30 1.4
Nikon 85 1.4
Nikon 105 2.0 DC

Lighting:

4 Nikon SB800s
Pocket Wizard slaves (although I find the SB800s built-in system very reliable indoors)

Other Stuff:

Cards: 4 Sandisk 16GB Extreme IIIs
Other Cards: Misc. Sandisks of various sizes
Lexar stackable card readers
Various batteries
Laptop
Showit Software
Bottled water
Granola bars
Change for the parking meter
Cellphone

So, now you know what's in my bag! Post a comment to tell me what's in your bag!

Will the amazing Nikon D3 be making an appearance in my bag? Stay tuned!

Party Of Five!

I'm so excited! I just learned today that I'll be attending [b]ecker's next "Party Of Five" workshop in January. For those of you who don't know, [b] is and awesome photographer, and kind of famous too. I firmly believe that [b] should take his rightful place on next years AmPhoto Top Ten Wedding Photographers In The World list. I've been watching [b]ecker's website for a while now, and it's been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration to me. [b] is certainly one of the stars of wedding photography, and I appreciate his willingness to share his expertise with others. Thanks [b].

Hello California!

I've lived a number of places, mostly in Kansas and Missouri; ...can you believe I hadn't heard the phrase "fly-over states" until I got hear to California? Well I am officially from a fly-over state.

It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I am excited to be here. I'm looking forward to building my photography business here in LA/OC. I haven't been here long, but it already feels like home. And, it's really nice to be excited about the future; ...change is good! The future's so bright....

The Inaugural Post; This Is Fun!

So, here I am, my first post on my very own blog! So this begins my online journal of where I’m headed in life. I feel a little excited starting something new, what will it become? There are several reasons I've decided to start blogging, but maybe the most important is so I won't forget! There's a lot of my past that sometimes seems more foggy than I think it should. So with this blog I'll kill two birds with one stone. That is, I'll not only have a place to show my work as a photographer, but I can record a bit of my personal life as well. I think I should have started this long ago, but its never too late to start a good habit.

...wonder what I'll blog about tomorrow?

Testing, testing, 1...2...3...

Is this thing working? ...Hmmmm, guess we'll see.