Beautiful Family on Easter Weekend

One thing I can't state enough is you cannot keep a good photographer down, so with that in mind I share some portraits of one of my favorite families, The Isbell-Howards. I have known Latesha & Chris Howard since I graduated from high school & it's a pleasure to shoot their family every time. This year, I got to pleasure to shoot them, their kids, her sister & her baby girl & their mother on Easter Saturday.

Car Down Payment Fund...

Well if you didn't know by now, I was in a bad wreck two months ago leaving an event.
The most important thing is that noone involved was injured in any way by God's grace. 
The young lady that caused it; however, didn't have insurance & mine lapsed (keep insurance people lol)
So I'm trying to get back on the road again. The good thing about all of this is it's been fun
hoping cabs & buses & walking to get to some of my jobs. However, lack of transportation has
been keeping me from serving all of you as well as I want to. So I'm getting out here and working as hard
and as smart as I ever had to before to get this up but some of you have been offering to help whether by donations or linking me with car dealers & brokers. All of this I appreciate beyond the fullest. So if you wanted to donate, you can click the button below. If you know any car dealers or brokers, shoot them my info & let them know I'm looking for a good 2000-2006 SUV or Truck (no Fords Please. If you know my history you know why lol. Chevys, GMCs, Jeeps, Nissans are cool.)  I am also running an email special so if you want good photographs for your money, I can do that as well. In fact, anyone that donates $50 or more gets a free digital portrait session on me. Thank you all for your support & I look forward to serving all of you again soon. Be blessed.

By the way it don't look like it was damaged much but that's because she rammed me into another car & my baby had a hump in it.

Event Work Tips and Techniques

                            

When it comes to event work, it's hard to give a good technique because people can & will do different things depending on what equipment & skills they have, but I can tell you what I do:

1. Usually in a dark club situation I'm on ISO 1000, with a shutter speed of 1/50 & an f-stop between 4-5.6. In a lighter situation, ISO 400, shutter speed 1/125, f-stop 5.6

2. The shutter speed is slow because I want some details in the background as well as any light effects that will enhance the photo.

3. The f-stop is 4-5.6 so that the focus is on the individual or group in front of me & not so much on the people in the back. Also I find that using the lens blur depending on if you know how to use it properly or not is real cheesy. If you have to use it, use a light touch (black layer mask it in photoshop & use a soft brush at 40% opacity to do a light blur but not so obvious)

4. Engage people & let them know what you are doing. If they ask if these will be on any social media (facebook, twitter, etc) tell them honestly one way or another but let them know that YOU will not put them up because if you are a professional photographer who is trying to get paid for your work, you won't but let them know your clients might. If they refuse, smile, say thank you & move on even if they are rude to you.

5. Make sure everyone in the shot has your business card/flyer so they know where to go look at the photos later on if you do not offer to print them on site. Make sure they know that you offer other services as well. You never know who you might be talking to.

6. My light source is my Nikon SB-700 Speedlight usually set in manual mode on 1/2 to 1/4 power covered by a Gary Fond Half Dome Diffuser. There are so many different ways to diffuse light & do effects. Never be afraid to just bounce the flash off light colored & white walls and ceilings. Just check your angles & make sure you lit your subjects properly. Ideally you want to invest in a professional bracket so that there's a high separation between your camera & flash so you have more of a studio feel to your work.

7. Capture every big & small detail at an event: whether it's a wedding, a party, or a banquet. You never know what was the one thing that stood out to your client or someone at the event so capture everything. Remember my 3 D's: Details, Details, Details.

8. Special effects are cool & they help your work stand out, but do not get away from creating clean event images that people will proudly display in their homes & not just on the internet.

9. Get paid what you are worth & then some. I'm pushing for a minimum $100/hr & some still think that's too cheap & there are some client's who think that just "taking pictures" should not cost so much. What regular people with I-phones & point and clicks do is "take pictures". What professional photographers do is show the skills they have learned & paid top dollar for, shoot the event with their very expensive equipment that does break down over time, and use their trained eye & vision to capture the event beyond your wildest dreams, then go home to process & edit the photos properly because they represent us & our clients & then present them to them & the world. So get what you are worth.

10. On the same note, deliver what you are paid to do in a promptly manor & go beyond the client's expectations. Professionalism guarantees that no matter what your rates are, your clients will keep coming back to you over and over again because it's about the quality of your work & the quality of your customer care. 

 This is all for now. If you have more specific questions feel free to contact me at djeromesmedley@gmail.com

To see more of my event work, go to http://djeromesmedley.smugmug.com

Until next time...

Brandon & Danielle Preview...

It was truly an honor to shoot this couple on their special day. A true example of love, I got to shoot these at the historical St. James Hotel in Selma, AL. I can't wait to show more from this day.

Baby Love...Dianca & Dian Preview

Devin & Tiffani...

 

Embrace the Love Collection