We have a winner for the Free Boudoir Session!

Put your hands together for Diane! She was one of the 4 people who followed the directions and left a comment on the blog. I'm always amazed when I post a blog like this and I give the rules of engagement, only to find that people either don't read them or figure the rules don't apply to them. Because my email fills up quickly with people who want to enter and are asking how to enter.

Diane, contact me as soon as you can you have 48 hours to claim your prize!

Congratulations and I can't wait to work with you.

Free Session Giveaway and July Special

July Special! Get it while I still have appointments available!

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I've been busy and yet not busy at all, strange paradox huh? Well I've still been taking pictures but.... none of the ladies wants to let me use her pictures online. To shy I guess, so I'm going to be daring and do this.


I need a real woman who wants a "boudoir" session with me and will sign a model release form so that I may use her photo's online to promote my business, I will give you a FREE session. That's right FREE.

Here's the deal. You have to be a normal lady, not a model, a house wife would be awesome but a wife in general will do. All women are beautiful no mater shape or size. So now is your chance to prove to the world that you don't have to be a tall and skinny to be amazingly beautiful!

Leave your comment below and tell me how much you love your husband/boyfriend/man in your life. The winner will be chosen by a random generator and announced July 10th, Only one comment per person please.

Rule Breaker

1.Thou shalt not tilt your camera

2. Thout shalt not have thy subject out of focus...


Oooooh I’m a rule breaker!


You better go get the handcuffs and hall me off to that special Jail they have for people who break the “Laws of Photography”, cuz hunny I break those laws almost every day.

I love to look at pictures that have style and zing, pictures that evoke an emotion, any emotion. That are colorful and sparkle. Or have no color but just capture your soul.

Let’s do a mini Art History lesson! That sounds like fun right?

Neoclassicism embodied the very rational nature of the time; if it wasn’t rational then it was not considered correct and was therefore rejected.
In answer to this movement came another known as Romanticism, The movement stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation (means fear, big word for me too ), horror and awe.
No I’m not saying that photography is exactly like these two movements, but there are similarities. The old school ways of photography follow strict rules and demand every detail be rational. I remember standing along side my mentor, Ms. Pearlman, with my note book and pencil feverishly writing down what not to do when taking pictures. She also said, “Now Jennifer, there will come a time when you will be required to break these rules, but first you must know them and know why we have them, and if you must break them, do so with 100% intent”. I’ve always remembered this and so I’m sharing that pearl (no pun intended Ms. Pearlman) of wisdom with you today.
Yes the old school ways produce technically sound photographs, they are crisp and rational, but for me… lack luster and boring. There some photographers out there who only do this traditional style of photography. Some of them are absolutely appalled at the new generation of rule breakers. Some of them even go so far as to say that to take a picture that breaks one of the traditional rules will result in “crap” (their word not mine) and perceived as “amateurish” (again their word not mine), and that true professionals don’t take pictures like that.
Well, I like so many photographers these days, want style, we want sparkly we want emotion. After all the emotion of the moment is what we want to remember right? I want people that see my work to be swept away and feel the photograph from the inside out rather then just see it with their eyes.
In a recent gander at the internet, I found that photographers these days are all a bunch of rule breakers. And you know what; the public loves them for it.

Don’t believe me, just look up “life Style Photography” in Google and see what you get! It’s a movement baby and if you don’t want to be left behind learn to break a rule or two!

So if you are a traditional photographer and you disagree with me, that’s okay, But I double dog dare you to get out there and break some rules with your camera, Get a lens flair on purpose, tilt your camera and change the composition, underexpose a little, over expose a lot. Jump up and down with the shutter open. Mess with your depth of field! FEEL the picture rather then just take it. Who knows you might like what you get.

It’s art, it’s life, it’s photography
Peace and love

Invest in your face, get a Professional Headshot!

 

Invest in your face!

 

As a model or actor the single most important thing you can invest in is your
face.  Or a quality picture of your face rather.  I'm talking
headshots people!  It's the most important calling card you'll ever have
created.   Talent is made and broke by the quality of your
headshot.  Casting directors thumb through the stack of headshots and yank
out the ones that pop out at them,  taking only seconds to
judge.   Trust me you want your picture to pop out at them.  You
want to catch their eye,  you want to be one of the ones called in for an
audition.  If you get called in for the audition,  then your headshot
did its job.  If you don't get called in for auditions,  You're going
to want to rethink that headshot.

"But I don't want to spend the money!".   Well to answer
that,   look at it this way.  If you don't want to spend the
money on yourself  to insure that you are presenting yourself to your agent
(you're lucky if you have one), casting directors, and talent agencies, 
and their clients.  Why on earth would you think that they would want to
invest one iota of time in you?  Why would they take you seriously if you
don't take yourself seriously?   Think about that for a little bit
will you?    If you are unwilling to invest your hard earned
money into your future,  why should they consider you for a commercial,
movie, or print work?   Trust me they won't.  

"Oh I can take my own headshot".   Really?  I'm a
professional photographer, that means I get out of bed each day and go to work
taking pictures of people and I use the money I get to pay my mortgage and feed
and clothe my family.  And I won't take my own headshot.  Why? 
Because it's really hard to get a good one.  Self portraits are incredibly
hard to master and it's best to leave it to the painters.  No!  I
have a professional take my headshot, so should you.   If you
submit your headshot that you created yourself (in your bathroom)  to a
casting director and it is mixed in with actual professional headshots, 
how well do you think it will hold its own?    Seriously think
about it.

As a possible actor for a job,  directors are looking for people who
look confident, engaged, well groomed and professional.   You are only
going to get that if you invest in yourself and get professional headshots
done.  The good photographers in this country charge between $200 and $1000
to give you the headshot that will open doors.    Sure you could
get on Craig's list and try and find a cheep photographer to do the job, 
but why would you gamble like that.  Think for a moment,  if the
photographer is charging less then $100.00 for the headshots,  how are they
making  money?  They are relying on a high volume of people to come
in,  witch means your session is going to be rushed,  and not
relaxed.   And how much photo prepping are they going to do?  It
might be cheap but is it worth it if it doest get you the interview or
audition?  The average speaking roll in a commercial pays $400.00. 
That alone will pay for your headshots,  so it's an investment with a great
payoff.

You want to be an actor or a model?  Get the best headshot possible. 
Don't skimp and passed over for the less qualified talent with a better
headshot.   Be smart and invest in your face.

A good question over Coffee

“Why are professional Photographers so expensive?” a good friend of mine asked me this very pointed question the other day over coffee. I believe it’s a great question, so great that I shall again address it on my handy dandy Blog.
Many people go to a chain store to get a likeness made, and that is good enough for them. I am not trying to put down the chain stores if that’s the style you like, go for it, I don’t want to stop you from something you feel is worth your money. If you are like my clients though, you are not satisfied with the traditional mug shot style produced in those kinds of stores.

Let me break it down for you.
The people that work in the chain stores are people who needed a job, and most of the times have very little experience even holding a camera. The thing that makes the chain stores work is that they are like fast food. Completely duplicatable (is that a word?). You can go to the store in California and New York and get the same picture, they use the same equipment and same lighting set up and the camera is positioned exactly the same distance. They even have lines on their screens to tell them where the heads go. And they try and crank as many people through as possible, you’re lucky if your picture session lasts 15 min.

They get you in by offering a super low deal like $3.33 for 75 prints. They loose money that way, but they are counting on up selling you on a package that is about 2 to $300.00. Statistics show that 60% of people take the offers and that’s how the money is made. It’s not enough though. In 2007 Wal-Mart closed over 700 of their portrait studios because they just couldn’t make enough profit from them.

Professional photographers are people who have put in long hours of study, practice, practice and more practice. A professional knows what an F/Stop is, and he’s (or she) not afraid to use it. They capture emotion, not just a likeness; they work with you until they have “the picture”. Photography is their passion; it’s what makes their day bright and give them a high that is uncontained by words. You go to a professional photographer because you know that they are going to create a masterpiece that is centered on you.

Think about it, you wouldn’t go to Ford expecting to by a Mercedes! You wouldn’t go to McDonalds expecting Foie Gras and you wouldn’t go to a lemonade stand expect Champaign. The really good stuff comes with a price.

I hear you I hear you hurry up and get to the question! Okay so how does all that tie in to why professional photographers cost so much.

Let’s really get our hands dirty and break it down bit by bit.

For a two hour portrait session:
- one hour of Consultation prior to the shoot (I don’t charge for this)- two hours of shooting- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs - 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.
You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:
- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks’ worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Expertise

I love it when people say things like “your camera takes such good pictures” or “What kind of camera do you use” or “is your camera expensive”. It just makes me smile because the camera you hold in your hands does not make you an expert. Any one can go to an electronics store and by an expensive camera but unless you know how to use it, chances are they guy with the digital pocket camera pictures are going to turn out better then yours. Oh and for those of you who think the green box is all you need! Well you’re in for a great disappointment.
Many photographers take years to make money with their camera. Not only do they invest in a camera but a lot of other things as well, such as, books, lighting equipment, soft wear, computers, and enough equipment and gadgets to fill a one ton truck. Oh and they know how to use it all too. They know how to manipulate light so that the subject looks their best.
When your pay a professional photographer, your buying their expertise!

So in closing, to those of you who made it to then end, thank you for having the endurance to see it through, I hope I’ve answered the question to your satisfaction. My good friend thought it made sense and after coffee, she booked a session with me. Nice surprise for me, even better for her!

Take care,
-Jen

Cob Webs

Jessi, originally uploaded by Jennifer Harvey.

Okay so don't hate me! I've been busy and my poor blog has been neglected! I hope you don't mind if I dust the cob webs off and start posting again.

I've been working with this girl Jessi for the past few weeks, she keeps me fresh and lets me try new things. Here is one we did this week. I happen to like it!

As far as new things, not a lot is going on. I'm working on a getting my business under control I've hired a personal assistant (wonder if I can get her to do my blog!) and a licensed cosmetologist Looking at more options for my clients and keeping up with the appointments.

I am also restructuring my pricing so that you all get a better deal for your money! I'll try put up more pictures, but you can always go check out my flickr account for a lot more pictures!

Keep it real and have fun!
-Jen

How to Look Good in a photograph

I know you all want to look good in your portraits, I want you to look amazing. Here is a little video done by my friends over at PhotoJug. They did such a great job I wanted to be sure and share it here with you! Enjoy.




Digital Cameras: User's Guide:How To Look Good In A Photograph

Remember Spokane Photographer Jennifer Harvey specializes in Beauty and Boudoir photography and is also very skilled in Head shots, High School Senior Portraits, as well as baby and intimate portrait photography for couples.