Fall Weather...Wedding Weather!

This time of year when the weather starts to cool, it seems that every patio I dine on has a bird's eye view of a Destin beach wedding. Sitting outside enjoying the nice climate and beautiful sunsets, the photographer in me can't help but want to go shoot the beach wedding in the distance just because it is there! Every bride looks so beautiful and picturesque set against the backdrop of our emerald green water and sugar white sand that the Gulf Coast is known for; I can'thelp but want to capture the beauty.

But I digress, instead of crashing the beautiful beach wedding, I observe from afar and catch a couple shots of the sunset. Love is in the air and I'm loving this fall weather!

A Beach Bum in the making!

This little guys ROCKS!

Last year he was barely standing and had to have his little monkey Jorge around to feel more comfortable. This year - he was a great flirt and a little ham!

I love that Mom and Dad wanted some shots in his swim trunks - and the red popsicle! That's what it's all about!

Thanks for being amazing clients!

Your Pixel Perfect!

"Education is a kind of continuing dialogue, and a dialogue assumes different points of view" ~Robert M. Hutchins

One thing photography has taught me is that you can never stop learning new tricks of the trade and yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. In an industry that is peppered with new technology and techniques on an artistic fast track, it's helpful to split up the uncharted and swap answers much like a grade school vocabulary assignment. If we weren't constantly learning and evolving, we'd all still be posing the wedding party for 6 standard shots, snapping a photo of the cake, and calling it a day.

Networking and exchanging ideas is a key player in what keeps our art fresh and makes our photos pop. Ed Davis and Sandi Korshnak of Your Pixel Perfect Studio in Moscow, PA have been one of many contributors to our continued education. We met at a photography workshop in Oklahoma and our networking has truly paid off. Aside from learning the importance of throwing away old 'to-go' coffee cups to avoid mistaking them for a new one (Ed), we've been charmed by their inventive ideas like bringing a photo booth to a wedding shoot. How whimsical and fun! In an effort to stay current and share our network, I've interviewed our friends at Your Pixel Perfect. Here's what Sandi has to say:

How long have you been a photographer?

We opened our doors in 2007.

How did you develop your photography into a business?

We took online courses because we both worked night shift at the time. We were on a rotating schedule 4 on, 4 off, which made it difficult to do classes at a school somewhere. We did this for 2 years while we introduced ourselves to the marketplace, bought equipment and backup equipment in preparation of becoming full time, which we did July of 2009.

Tell me about your favorite experience as a photographer.

Honestly, I just love getting to be the person who captures the memories that someone will cherish for a lifetime; whether its someone getting married, or a newborn's first photo, or a family hanging out together at their favorite place. I love the fact that in 50 or 60 years, someone will be holding one of my images in their hands, telling a story about it.

What is your favorite tactic to getting clients to relax?

For little kids we just talk to them at eye level. High fives and silly faces or noises work too. Since we work as a team, one of us plays with the child, the other shoots. When the kids are older, Ed does the "girlie poses" and we talk to them and joke around with them. For adults, we just act like ourselves, and I can usually get them to pick on Ed with me. If these don't work, we threaten to make them ride the rocking horse til they smile. The thought of being on that usually makes them laugh.

How do you separate your business photography from your personal? Do you still have time to shoot for you?!

That's a tough one. Sometimes we are so consumed with the business end, trying to get new business or trying to do something for our current clients that we forget to shoot for ourselves. We try to schedule some fun shoots. We go through Model Mayhem, or sometimes just post on facebook that we are looking for models.Most of my shooting for myself ends up being snapshots on my phone.

What is the strangest thing you have been asked to photograph?

A body laying on a table in a funeral home. haha. We did the still photography for a film company who was doing a web series for Nickelodeon. The show was about a girl who lived in a funeral home. She could see the dead people, and had to help them fulfill their last deed so they could move on. It was shot in a real funeral home. One of the actresses had to play a dead girl, so she was on the table with her dead makeup on.

Check out Your Pixel Perfect' s blog http://yourpixelperfect.blogspot.com/ and website! http://www.yourpixelperfect.com/

A family to be!

What a wonderful Labor Day Weekend we had!

Our friends the Osterman's came for a quick visit to the beach for the holiday. I've wanted to get some photos of her belly ever since she called to tell me she was pregnant! I was very lucky they allowed us to shoot them out at the jetty's. She's positively glowing.

Traffic and parking was a little tight due to it being Labor Day weekend but we decided to brave it anyway. Parking was about 1/2 a mile from the entrance so only one of us made the trek - I dropped them off at the entrance and parked the truck and hiked it back over to them!

Just as I always do, I "park" my flip flops somewhere along the boardwalk or wall or somewhere close to the entrance. I don't like to fling sand all over the place! We got back to the entrance when we were done and I realized I had forgotten to pick up my flip flops! Hubby went to get the truck and I went back to get my flip flops... For the first time in 36 years - they were GONE!!!! Are you kidding me!? GONE. I had no spares. I was going to have to go buy shoes before dinner - dangit!

When Hubby got back to us with the truck i was pointing at my bare feet and he was pointing behind him... we get in the truck and he said he saw my flip flops under some random bench about 3 blocks down. Sure enough - my shoes were over there... How RANDOM!


Things like that can only happen to me! :)

I can't wait to meet this little guy! He will be so loved.

Thanks guys! I love these images!