It’s the details that come together on a wedding day to make it different from the rest. These small decisions and personal touches are so evident, especially when they are the sum of hours of work and planning. To follow up Leslie + Mike’s wedding, I have a special how-to post. Leslie carried the natural and handmade feel of their day in to the design of their fabric wedding invitations and agreed to share her process with me – and you!

Thanks again for sharing Leslie and I’d love to hear if you enjoyed this post or are considering making some fabric invites of your own! happy monday

Coming from a photographer’s standpoint there are ways to make sure your wedding is “picture friendly” by maximizing the opportunity for photos and making sure photography becomes a seamless part of the day. My top three recommendations to include:

• Multiple times for photos. Rather than fitting every photo into one large block of time, I find it most convenient to break up the time into smaller pieces. Not only does this eliminate large gaps in the wedding time line where you are away from your guests, it allows a change of scenery, light, and emotion.

• A First Look. This fits with the above statement although it is a more polarizing topic. In my experience, first look couples generally are more relaxed and enjoy the ceremony / walk down the aisle just as much as everyone else. It’s personal preference although I honestly think it can add to the wedding day.

• Time to photograph details. When you put so much time into planning each aspect of the day, in order for it to be documented there needs to be time to photograph the pieces of your wedding ensemble (shoes, earrings, dress, etc…) as well as the details and decoration of the ceremony + reception. For the reception, this involves time for the photographer to document everything untouched before guests come in and enjoy.

Mike and Nikki’s wedding (above) was very picture friendly, and since wedding and reception were at the same location (Nikki’s family’s farm) it made it easier to photograph the reception venue (the barn) as well as other wedding day details. Once guests arrived for the ceremony, there was little time that they were away from Mike + Nikki and the reception was relaxed and so that everyone could enjoy the wedding at their own pace. They could enjoy the dessert bar (there was no “cake cutting”), stay inside and dance, or head out of the tent to the bonfire.

Marc and Ginny had an elegant wedding at TPC Sawgrass and took advantage of the beautiful buildings and golf course and had plenty of time for pictures in a variety of locations.

Chris and Kate had a classic wedding day with plenty of time for photos while guests enjoyed hor d’ oeuvres. The ceremony and reception took place at the same location so there was no additional travel time to consider.

Matthew and Caitlin had an evening wedding so all of the photos too place before the ceremony and reception (with the exception of family photos). Without a first look we wouldn’t have had the daylight for pictures outside and I always recommend going outside for pictures (even if it’s raining or snowing – I’ll be right there with you).

Tommy and Megan had an afternoon wedding with a high tea reception. It was a casual affair that allowed them to not only enjoy the day and their time with guests but be able to leave early for their honeymoon!

I hope this helps, and honestly I can’t say there is a right way to plan your wedding – but there is a wrong way :) haha. I had to say it.

Now, If you’re not familiar with flickr, you are missing out on a very versatile photo storing and sharing site that is kind of like an archives or library. A lot of their tools help you organize and categorize your photos while also making it easy to share and discuss as well. Think of it like hundreds of little streams all feeding into a river. Once the photos are on flickr they become a part of the larger pool (you can protect them however, as well) and you can view everyone else’s stream and see what they are pouring while they can do the same to you.

Here’s a view of the organization page where you can see I’ve created a set of images that I’ve chosen from all of my photos which I can scroll through at the bottom.

I like to see how flickr ranks my photos in terms of “interestingness.” You can view lots of stats on your images, but this stat I believe comes from a combination of views, favorites, and what flickr deems as, well… interesting. This is also how they find images for their Explore page – where everyone’s photos come together and the best from the day is listed 1 to 500. If you’ve never checked it out, you really should head over there – there are some amazing things on flickr.

I found that I’ve had 9 images “explored” by going over to Big Huge Labs and just entering my flickr id. They have tons of other tools you can use with flickr which allow you to do even more with view and organizing on flickr. I found my best explore listing has been at #54 with this classic image of Matt and Sarah:

I hope you enjoyed my musings on a tool I’m sure you’re all familiar with…. or maybe not? So if you have questions let me know and go check out what kind of photos I’ve been taking for the past few years + start adding your own!

I feel like I’m starting to write a paper. Don’t worry, I’m not – I’m just about to tell you why I’m talking about this. Yesterday, while I was still on my trip in NY, I was able to go to The Genesee Center for the Arts and meet up with a friend and intern there, Margaret Boecker. If I lived in Rochester, I would love to take advantage – that sounds wrong, but you know what I mean – of the art center. They have a ceramic studio, darkroom, and book arts/printing studio set up for artists to rent space from and work out of. Margaret gave me a little tour of the book arts center and where she works and what goes on in the studio. Of course I knew about letterpress (it’s okay if you didn’t though) but I hadn’t seen the process in person so I really enjoyed being able to have a tour and closer look. I’m also going to be working with Margaret and have her print some materials for me so it was great to talk through some of the details of that – and I look forward to sharing the finished products with you on here and in person.

First on to a few more photos that I snapped while walking around…

the drawers of different fonts and a pile of tiny letters

the vandercook press in use + the detail of the polymer plate being used

the heidelberg + Margaret talking about printing on it

While there are different tools and ways to letterpress (can I use that as a verb?), what makes it so special, so coveted these days is the time and effort that goes into creating each piece, the often handmade and personal qualities, and most of all the inviting impression. You can not only see the text but feel the letters pressed into the paper. It’s often used for invitations – particularly for weddings – since it is such an elegant way to print. Letterpress creates something that people want to hang on to and save.

I would rather buy one thing that lasts than several that will keep replacing each other – which is why I hope that with the letterpress materials I get they will not only look great but be saved or passed along to another person. I’m not sure if that’s realistic but that’s the hope. So, as I said I’ll keep you posted on their progress and I hoped you enjoyed the field trip I took and the closer look at printing and letterpress. Questions? I’m not sure if I’m qualified to answer but I’ll do my best or bring someone else in if necessary.

I just purchased a 16×24″ gallery wrapped canvas of one of my favorite wedding images (by Anne Ruthmann) and am so excited to have it hanging on the wall. The canvas is a new addition to my home and since I know some of you are unfamiliar with the gallery wrapped canvas I thought I’d give it a little introduction.

What’s so great about the gwc? Well, probably the main thing is that it comes completely ready to hang on the wall. While prints stay tucked away in boxes for a few years, this will no doubt find it’s way displayed, because you don’t have to take any other steps to prepare it. I really do love a good framed print – with a beautifully cut mat and frame to showcase the image – but if you’re looking for something new I would go with a canvas and you might actually save money in the end.

To create the canvas print you can either use a high quality inkjet printer to put the image directly on the canvas (aka giclee), or you can use a traditional photographic method where the emulsion of the photo is stripped and transferred to the canvas. I currently go with the traditional method where the emulsion is transferred from my photo lab, WHCC, and am impressed with the quality. Canvases are archival quality, wrapped around a wood frame, and once the image is applied a coat of UV protection in the form of a matte/semi gloss/gloss finish covers the canvas to seal it. The final result presents images in a new way and is not only created to last, but it looks good.

Hmm.. did I answer all of your questions? You’re probably wondering how much I charge for them: an 8×10″ or 8×8″ canvas is $125 and sizes go up from there. Getting a smaller size is perfect for creating a group of photos on your wall that you can easily add to with each photo session, while a larger size can be an impressive centerpiece on your wall. Are you convinced? I’d love to hear what you think about them so leave me some comments!

Here’s a little snapshot from this morning that I couldn’t help but share. The temp really dropped last night, and this morning there was a nice little coating of frost on my car. Doesn’t it look so much more interesting at the macro level? To do this, I had my camera on manual (of course), used a large aperture so that there would only be a small area in focus and got as close as possible to focus at the macro level with the lens I had on. If you have a camera with automatic settings, there probably is a macro setting on your camera (usually a flower) that will allow you to focus at a very close range and do something similar- the large aperture however creates the blur in the foreground and background. enjoy!

Even after getting professional photos, some people still aren’t sure what to do with displaying them. Digital files find a home in one of the many folders on your computer, while prints sit in the box they arrived in for at least a year or more before they see the light of day. That’s not to say that every photo should be on your wall, desk, or table, but a few simple suggestions in displaying may help you organize what you have up already and set up a few that you don’t.

I have three different photo examples which should help you visualize your prints framed in an area of your house: on the wall, on a desk/table, and going up wall of stairs. These suggestion open the door to endless possibilities, so you can easily adapt them for our needs and work off them to create something of your own.

Example #1: Hang frames on your wall with order. You can do as I show, where frames fit together to create a square or rectangle, or I love this example from Martha Stewart, where frames sit or hang from a central line, giving them a much more orderly look than if you scattered them on the wall.

Example #2: Display frames on a table, desk, or shelf by grouping a variety of sizes and leaning them against the wall. This could be a little difficult to keep from looking cluttered, but if you keep it simple I think it will work (look at Pottery Barn for good examples). I like this, because you can display several photos and easily switch them around to create different looks; if you had a few different areas (living room, bedroom, office) with a set up like this, that would be perfect. I also like this because you don’t have the awkward distance that comes with a frame that are standing on their own. It can be hard to group multiple photos together with that distance between them.

Example #3: Frames that are hung up a stairwell can be done in a pattern to stay organized (I found this idea completely from Pottery Barn, I must add). You’ve seen the stairwell photos before… I’m pausing because if you’ve seen some of the set ups that I have, they can get a little out of hand. I really do like the stairwell idea, but I prefer it when there is more order and less random placement, so why not set up a “stair-step” pattern with the frames?

Within these three examples, there are a few important principles that are the foundation of these ideas. #1: a 5×7 photo alone is way too small to hang on a wall.. even an 8×10 could be too small with the wrong frame. When you group a few photos together, you can create a pattern that allows for smaller prints and a variety of photos. #2: the frames are very similar. They don’t have to be exactly the same, but you know those “specialty frames” -we’ll call them that for now – where there is writing around the outside, fabric, or a crazy pattern? I think you know what I’m talking about, well they don’t really fit in this type of situation :]

How can you get started with what you already have? My advice is to simplify. Go through that collection of frames you have and find a common thread to tie them together. Along with this process you might ask yourself what photos could be displayed in an album or photo book, instead of in a frame. This might be a lofty goal (okay, for me it is) but imagine a matching stack of photo books that chronicle your adventures and are set out so you can easily flip through with friends. I need to get to work on that! I hope this little info session inspired you to reorganize the frames in your house and use your photos sucessfully for decoration. I love taking pictures for people, but obviously I do that so that they can enjoy them for years to come in frames or in other methods of display. So, I look forward to offering a more complete service to clients from photo session to hanging prints, and would love to hear if you are interested.

it’s Christmas Eve! and to give you a little pre-Christmas gift I have some tips on taking photos. First let’s start with the tree picture. This is a really simple trick, and it’s something different to spice up a usual picture of a tree… or anything with Christmas lights. What do you do- set your camera on manual focus, so that you can adjust it to be OUT of focus. Sometimes breaking the rules is all it takes- the lights then show up as beautiful circles. This is the really basic way to take a photo like this; you can also get this effect by playing with the distance between a subject and whatever is in the background.

As far as Christmas morning goes, my advice would be to try something new. Take a picture from a new angle- maybe up high or down low, or shoot without everyone smiling and saying “cheese” for something candid. You’ll need to make sure you have a good light source, preferably a window, so that you won’t have to blind people with direct flash or cast them in the yellow glow of indoor lights. Your camera will have settings to correct the indoor lights, but if you have a window that will be your best bet for natural looking photos.

Merry Christmas!

So, I have a fun and very random thing to share with you guys. Up above, I combine my love of photography and fun dance parties to make the movie you see. It was super spontaneous and not planned out, that’s why my friend Zach and I are just doing random stuff, mostly involving one person disappearing and the other appearing along with dance moves- it’s okay, you can laugh if you want. When you’re done laughing, if you’re asking “how did you do that?” it was soo simple I’m going to share with you all.

Back in the day movies had more in common with photography in that they were made up of still frames that played together really fast to show motion. You see where I’m going…. so you can still do the same thing, and achieve a lot of different effect by the number of frames you take and how you put them together.

So, when Zach and I made this, it went a lot slower than you see in the finished product. We took turns taking pictures on a camera that was set in one spot so that the only thing that would be moving was us, not the room. Next time I do one I think the camera will be traveling somewhere too :] We planned out the shots to try and make a cohesive and continuous motion throughout each frame and then put them all together in imovie! We didn’t have enough action for the whole song, but it was a blast to make, and you should try it out! Oh, I should add I did some quick (and some what messy) photoshop work on some of the frames to achieve what we were going for ;]

I thought I’d post on a fun photo project that anyone can do- it isn’t anything new, and I didn’t invent it- but it’s a lot of fun and options are endless.

Here’s what you need:

• a camera (one that you can control the length of exposure, cause you will need a long one)
• a light (flashlight, lighter, sparklers, headlamp- that’s what I used)
• a dark night

Then, just go outside and set your camera on something that is steady. It’s easiest to switch your camera to manual, and then select an exposure that is at least a few seconds. I think that I used 30 seconds on the drawings above- the more time you expose, the more time you have for drawing, so it’s always good to run a few tests and see how you’re doing. So, you or a friend clicks the button to start the exposure- and you go about drawing with your light source. It really is that easy- if anyone tries this post your photos on my facebook page – Mary Dougherty Photography – to share, cause I want to see what you’ve done!