…soon you will have answers!

As a wedding photographer, I am keenly aware of how people look. Especially how brides and grooms look (and feel) on their wedding day. A long time ago it became apparent to me that the more put-together the couple looks (the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, the perfect hair, etc) the more confident and beautiful they will feel, and with that, they will have the perfect day! So with that in mind -

Sara Lovell, a Rochester MUA/hair stylist has agreed to an interview with me in an effort to educate and help brides prepare and look gorgeous on their wedding day. Sara has a huge list of tips already, but we are still interested in getting more questions so that the interview can be more productive and more informative for you! So, ask away – and in two weeks, your questions will be answered! Use the Facebook comments tab, or the native blog comments, and please please please also share this with your friends/girlfriends/family/coworkers – we want A LOT of questions, so we can have a GREAT interview, so it can ultimately help you have the wedding day you always dreamed of!

This is something that has been a concern of mine in the past, and of other photographers I know as well. The issue of image credit has come up almost every time right after  I posted a new blog or a new images to Facebook. We photographers put a lot of work into our images and when we post it online for everyone to see it is like displaying the best of the best in our portfolio – so why do clients still think it’s OK to strip the image of any identifying marks (logos) when they repost it on their own social media sites?

Drew is an awesome wedding photographer down in Orange County couldn’t have said it any better, so here it is verbatim:

“I get asked a lot by both photographers and clients what my policy is on letting my clients post their images to their blogs and facebook account. I personally love it when my clients post their family pictures on their blogs, facebook, etc. It shows me that they truly love their images! I encourage my clients to “steal” their pictures from my blog to use on the internet. Here are a few do’s and don’ts that you should think about when reposting your images:

1) DO ask your photographer what their specific policy is on taking pictures off of their blogs. Some photographers encourage it and some don’t allow it. If this is important to you this is something you should ask BEFORE you hire your photographer!

2) DO include your photographer’s name and website under the images (a link would be super nice!). That’s just the polite thing to do

3) DON’T crop out their logo. Unless you have paid for the digital negatives don’t alter the files in anyway. Most photographers use their blogs to advertise their work and do so as a courtesy to give their clients a sneak peek. If a client crops out the logo then how will other people know who took the picture?

4) DON’T edit the picture in any way. Taking the pictures is only half of a photographers job. The other half is editing. If you think you can do a better job or want to edit out some of your wrinkles or use selective coloring please don’t show and/or tell your photographer. That is super insulting. If you don’t like your photographers editing enough to want to edit it yourself than maybe you need to find another photographer next year.

5) DON’T try to print from the files on the blog. For me specifically I know that the files I upload to my blog are too small to be printed in a 4×6 size. It’s not cool to invest in a family session and then print the images off of the blog and not pay for prints. Make sure you know how much the prints cost before the session to avoid sticker shock. Same goes for scanning prints that you already bought. Not cool! Some of my family members are guilty of printing images off of my blog. It makes me cringe when I see them FRAMED in their homes with my logo still on there! To be fair, I’m also not great at emailing them the file when they ask for it ”

Thanks Drew, I couldn’t have said it any better!

Please respect your photographer.

*Photographers, you can re-post this information, just as long as you give Drew credit. (http://www.drewbphotography.com/)

* If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at kristina [at] photokisses [dot] com

As I sit nice and cozy in my office, designing some albums and ordering holiday prints, I am already thinking of awesome things to do next year. Everyone who knows me, knows that winter is my favorite season. So…

Grab your sweetheart and let’s go play in the snow!

Details:
1/2 hour session, $150 with images on disc. Book now, shoot January 1-31. 1/2 hour if it’s brutally cold, longer if we are having too much fun to quit. 20-30 images on disc with print release. Sweethearts, best friends, moms and daughters, pets – anyone that can have a snowball fight

Contact me using the form above, or email me directly kristina [at] photokisses [dot] com; make sure to include 2-3 preferred dates (any day in January) and 2-3 preferred locations (in the Rochester area)

Once again, this is not just for engaged couples – anyone can play!  Have a fantastic holiday and I hope to hear from you soon.

That boy never took his eyes off her. You could reach out your arm into thin air and feel the love they shared. It was something out of a fairy tale.

This image ended up on their ceremony program for their wedding

Gotta love the light at the Sunken Gardens!

Cool ivy wall

Kisses!

Switch of scenery and clothing

The mansion at the Mt. Hope Cemetery… gotta love it.

This is Jenny’s favorite picture. And mine!

Since they are both performers, we also did some quick headshots.

This is going to be their wedding thank you card

Thanks for an awesome experience guys, I can’t wait to blog your wedding!

This is yet another photography project I have going on. Some of you may remember “Flying Hair” from a few years ago, and then later I started “Dance Visions” which unfortunately didn’t go very well, and now I’m working on a “Hands On” project where I have hands framing the subjects face or body in interesting ways.

Sometimes I do projects that aren’t the “norm” for me – I learn tremendous amounts this way, from posing to lighting to expressions to camera settings… I love it! Of course, my biggest love will always be WEDDINGS but sometimes it’s nice to do something different.

I had a photoshoot with my Fredonia friend Katherine. We did a basic black background/black shirt head and shoulders pose with different expressions – my favorite to shoot. I like simplicity. I hope she does too. This girl is not a smiler, but we got some nice serious expressions. In my opinion her eyes are absolutely gorgeous. Here are my favorites:

And something not quite sendable to auditions, but a cool shot nevertheless…

Katherine is having her senior recital March 25, 2007 at SUNY Fredonia. One of the pictures from this weekend will become her recital poster. I am excited to know that all of the music students will get to see it.

Benny is a model, photographer, make-up artist, and hair stylist, all rolled into one. He’s simply awesome and his work in the fashion world speaks for itself. He has shot/MUA’d for magazines and events and portfolios and everything else under the sun. And today, Benny agreed to waste an hour with me and to model for me for my headshot portfolio. Needless to say, I was thrilled.

Had a photoshoot with my friend Kat!

The next day found the following on her blog:

“After my photo shoot with Kristina, I have to say I feel so much more comfortable about my looks. I realize body types can change overnight (literally) so I am not stressing about that too much. I have never had more beautiful pictures of myself than I do now. I love black and white photographs of me. I think they do me justice. So Kristina if you are reading this I thank you once again.

Just today I recieved them compliments about my pictures and about me.

jimmarnone (9:43:16 AM): youre new portrait pics on myspace are beautiful, honestly
jimmarnone (9:44:41 AM): yes, you are definately looking beautiful kathy

Hey Kat,
I loved all of your pictures. You look absolutely great in black and white tone. It felt really natural in those pictures. Your friend does a real good job at shooting pictures of you. I would say your strongest attributes would be your eyes, they’re really capturing and beautiful. Please do pass on the compliments to your photographer for me. She should take a lot more pictures and you seem to be a very good candidate for her to work on her photo shootings. Anyway, hope everything is going well for you. Drop in a line sometimes!
Johnny

Hey ya,
It was nice of you to drop a message to my blog. I’m doing alright. Just perk up when I recheck your pic profile. My my, you sure do look very good and no you don’t look old. You just simply look gorgeous, magnificent, crème de la crème, etc. I do not know what can I say to discribe you on how I feel when I look at you. I’m sure you make all men are drooling for you.
Scott”