It's a Boy!!

WE'RE HAVING A BOY! October 6th is the due date. Any name suggestions?

Window Light

I love natural light. Now there is a time and a place for everything, and I definatley dont leave the house without my 580ex flashes, but when it comes to natural vs. artificial light, there is just no comparison. Actually maybe I should qualify that. I love manipulating natural light. Just running out in the noon day sun and shooting is probably one of the most horrible lighting situations possible, but when you take that same sun and diffuse it through a window, the results can be breathtaking. Window light is great because it is so soft and flattering.

The other day I was hanging out with Sofia and we had some nice light coming through our sliding glass door so I set the camera up on the timer and took this shot of us. Below are some of my favorite window shots too.

Branding

The last couple of days I've been really working on my branding. I know that this is something that all successful businesses do, so I 've been trying to keep my logo out there and start using it on everything. I'm sure if you are reading this you've probably noticed the change in my blog, but I've also been working on my main site and my myspace page. As far as websites go the last to tackle is my client gallery space. As I look ahead I really need to start thinking about some sort of a catch phrase or slogan that helps define my business. There are so many "artisitic photography" type of phrases, that I want something unique, but I'm finding it hard to put into words...hmm I just had an idea. If someone can come up with a great phrase for me I'll give you a free portrait session! Yeah that would be cool! So it is official. Spread the word, have your friends that are great with marketing take a look at my site and come up with something unique,original and fun and they will get a free portrait session (in Corvallis)

OSU

OSU is more than a pretty place, and it is a GREAT place to take engagement pictures. The cool thing about the campus is that we can do both indoor and outdoor shots. Chad and Kelly both work at Oregon State so they showed me all of the secret places that no one knows about.(well, at least that I didn't know about) They're engagement session was a a lot of fun. We got some real dramatic lighting inside and some great expressions outside.

Nyssa

Yesterday I had a great time shooting Nyssa's Senior Session! Nyssa is going to be one of my senior reps next year. She's also an aspiring photographer, and you can see some of her work here. By the way, I'm still looking for a few more reps. One for Corvallis High School and two for Cresent Valley. So if you are a going to be a senior next year and want some amazing pictures (at a 50% discount!) send me an email or checkout my myspace page and I'll send you some more details!

My Best Friend

I just wanted to take a minute and say something about my sweet wife. Last weekend we celebrated our 5th anniversary. It has been a great 5 years. I think that one reason I know that is because I am so excited for the next 5 years. Life with Kara has always been an adventure;one that is filled with love and joy. Kara really is a joyous person.

We have shared some amazing adventures in our years together. We've lived in Honduras and walked through gun shots to volunteer at an orphange (her idea),rented a basement apartment under a family with 6 boys who were Wrestlemania fans (my idea), and traveled about a million times back and forth to Klamath Falls, Utah, Idaho and Los Angelos to visit family and friends.

Our latest adventure of course is growing this business while raising Sofia...and preparing for our second child to be born. Yup Kara is pregnant! I'm nervous and scared, and feeling all those fatherly pressures,but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so glad I have Kara to share my life.

p.s. this was our engagement picture, taken by my dad.

Check it out

I just saw the coolest website! One of my couples has their own website for their wedding. Jaime and Rob are getting married in August and have done a great job of taking an original engagement shot of them (example is here on the blog) and manipulating it to their own tastes. (click here to view their site)

A lot of photographers really fret over giving clients control over the imgage files because we can't control where people get their prints done or what they do with the files afterward. But I think that this website just shows how consumers are becoming more educated about image manipulation and how to adjust photos. A lot of people have a basic understanding of photoshop or at the very least how to change an image to black and white, and I think that empowering clients by giving them the image files it alows the client to adjust the image exactly to their liking. It is kind of scary because you don't know what they will come up with, but so far all I've seen great postcards, magnets and now websites with my images on them. I can't wait to see what's next!

New Website.....Again

Ok. So this is my fourth website in about 8 months. The previous three I had designed myself and they weren't bad, it's just that I didn't think they were doing my pictures justice. So I decided to go with a site designed by big folio. They have been great to work with so far. I am really excited because I think that this site gives a true representation of my photography. Click here, and enjoy!