SWAGGER WAGON

A photographer friend of mine had this on her blog and her facebook - Steve and I laughed so hard we almost wet our pants!!!!!!!! This is our life - and I am going to say yes - we are this cool!!!! (especially Steve - this is exactly what he is like when no one is around - just ask the kids!!!!!) Thanks Ursula - You made our day here's hoping this makes all of yours as well!!!!!

Summer Newsletter

I am soooo excited!!!!!  Beka and I have been working all summer (oh yeah, and Steve too!) on new ideas for the business!!!  One of these ideas was a newsletter - one that would highlight who we are and who our clients are - not just push products and specials (although we did mention a few - but just a few I promise).  Our first edition - Summer is finally out - take a look and let us know what you think!!!!

-Laurie

Raw vs Rendered Images - at a wedding

We have had many of our clients ask us recently about the difference between rendered portraits and raw images. Steve always loves to start his stories to our girls in this fashion so in honor of him...When I was a kid...photographers took almost the exact amount of images as they showed their clients. When my husband and I got married it was a big deal that our amazing photographer, Henry Glover, took over 300 images!!!! My dad being a wedding photographer himself was shocked - and after cleaning out our firebox this summer I know why he was - the bill to just to process those images was well over $300 - and that was only to be able to see the "raw images" YIKES!!!!!! No wonder my dad was shocked!!!! With his average wedding bringing in about $400 total there was no way he could afford to be that frivolous with his film (For those of you in the younger crowd - film is like the old time version of a memory card)! Anyway, that is why wedding photographers typically shot 120-150 images at a wedding and that was it!!!! Then came digital...Fast forward to our last wedding... a small wedding at the bride's home where we shot a total of 1194 usable images (yes usable that is after I deleted about 200 because they were too dark, blurry, or I am in the middle of the frame fixing someones hair) - WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!! So how do we handled all of these images? Well the first wedding we did we "rendered" every image the bride saw - so we picked or favorite 150 images and spent hours photoshopping every detail of the images! we did this twice - because in the end the same 25 were chose over and over again - there were a few differences between the bride's family and the groom's but most of the same images were chosen over and over! However - brides would call back multiple times saying, "I know you took one of my sister and our Uncle Harry - I did not see it do you have that image?" and then Steve and I would "render" another few images and post to our website.

I found out quickly though that brides did not necessarily want a picture of their sister and Uncle harry but they needed to see it as it was a memory they had at the moment. So now I had a problem that needed a solution! Steve and I are very particular about the portraits that leave our studio - not because we are uppity but because in the days of digital cameras we want our clients to know that our images are worth the money they are paying - not only do we take time to take the portrait but we spend hours making them beautiful pieces of art to be enjoyed for generations. However to truly charge what we would need to "render" 1194 wedding images would make us out of everyone but Donald Trump's price range. So what to do what to do??????


So we are experimenting - We have decided to put up all the "RAW IMAGES" of our wedding on a secure website with a password given only to the bride and groom - of course they can share it with whomever they choose. These images are the usable photos that be used to create a "RENDERED PORTRAIT" Our brides can then see all of their choices and choose the images which become rendered.


PLEASE NOTE!!!!!

ANY image purchased from our studio for printing is Artist Rendered even if they are shown on the website only as a raw image !

And since a picture is worth a thousand words here is the picture version of my ramblings...

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Katie Class of 2011

I love Senior Season... and I especially love it becuase of sweet people like Katie. Katie was so quiet and reserved in the beginning of the session but as we dodged cars and watched as many crayons bravely gave up their lives for the perfect shot the true Katie came out!!!! Then the fun started - after hours of scouting all the perfect locations possible from Pelham through to Tallahassee we came back home exahusted and full of beautiful images!!!!! I can't believe you are old enough to be a senior Katie but you sure are one of the most beautiful ones I know!!!!!

And the password is....

I did not mean to cause so much confusion on the password to the proofs - here is how it works...

1. put in your email address - this email will be used to follow your order - it is not a specific one that we know already.

2. password: the password on all three days is the same it is the name of the director of the studio in all lowercase. The reason we do not just give you the password is so to help ensure the privacy of the dancers - this way only the people associated with the studio and their friends and family can acess the site.

If this does not work for you please feel free to call Steve or Laurie at 229-294-9694 or 229-221-3830. Thanks!!!!

Flint River Dance Arts

What a privilege it was to be able to photograph this year's recital. Steve was thrilled to accept the challenge of photographing so much action in such a quick time!!! The dancers were amazing and hopefully these images will show just a glimpse of their beauty. You can find the proofs by going to our website and clicking on the word proofs which is located all the way to the left under the heading Blog and More.

http://www.inthemomentphotographyanddesign.com/

It will take you to our proofing page. Simply click on the dance recital and enter your email address. Once you have entered your email you will be prompted for a password which is the the dance instructor's first name in all lowercase letters (After 30 years I am sure everyone knows it). You will then enter the first page of many. You can change pages at the top right of the screen. Each performance has a seperate screen. Steve was able to shoot over 1,000 images each night, specifically trying to get each dancer.

*** 2 things to note***

1. These images are performance images which means sometime the focus is slightly off and the lighting maybe harsh. However with any order which is placed online we will hand edit the images to enhance their quality as best as possible.

2. Although Steve made an attempt to catch every dancer at their best, it is not possible to predict and plan every move. So if somehow your little one's image was not of your favorite moment we are very sorry.

Because of these two considerations, we have drastically reduced our studio prices for these images. Image prices are:

4x6 images - $4.00 5x7 images - $7.00 8x10 images - $12.00

If you would prefer to place your order with a check you may call the studio at 229-221-3830 to place your order.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Laurie or Steve Walton at 229-221-3830 or 229-294-9694. Thanks so much!!!!!!

Flint River Dance Art and Dance South
Recital Pictures

Hey All! The Recital pictures are turning out amazing. We are working on sorting through the images and will be posting them on the website next week. Please check back with us on Wednesday to see the pictures. E-mail or call us if you have any questions.