Lightroom Mogrify

So what does "mogrify" mean? Well, I have no idea what the actual word means but I do know that photographers and photography gurus now associate the word with Timothy Armes Lightroom Plugin. If you don't use this plugin yet, you have to give it a try. It's a watermarking and image border creation tool that works through the export command in Lightroom. It has some great options and it's really slick. For more information click Here. While your there check out Timothy's work as well. He has some great images. If you want to go directly to his home page click on his logo to the right.

Now back to Lightroom Mogrify. The only way to currently watermark images in Lightroom is to use the print module and load your logo via the identity plate adjusting the opacity to your liking. This method is limited and does not allow you to create a custom border. Hopefully in a future version of lightroom we'll see a better watermarking tool but until then, Mogrify provides an excellent alternative. It gives you real flexibility for creating a border for your images as well as placing your watermark. Once you create your settings, you can save them as an export preset for future iamges. This makes a great tool for blog images. Here are a few samples. Let me know what you think. These are two wedding bridal bouquet's.

Pology

I hope you've already had the opportunity to visit the travel and cultural online magazine at pology.com. It's put together each month by the hard work of Neil Schwartz who really inspires with cultural insights and amazing photographs that are contributed from various photographers. I recently had the privilege to be included among them. In '08 I spent a month traveling in Southern Africa. Among the many stops was the town of Chimoio in Mozambique. One of the most powerful experiences was seeing the children. Their eyes tell such an amazing story. I was completely captivated by them and I think Neil was too. I suggest you fly over to pology for an inspiring visit and if you'd like to view my series on the Children of Mozambique, click here. Here is one additional image that you won't find there but was one of my favorites. I dare you to just stare into this little girls for awhile.

John & Nicolas Big Day

It turned out to be a beautiful day for John and Nicola. They seemed very happy together, the bridal party was fun and Mechanics Hall in Worcester made for a elegant venue. Check out some of the shots from their special day.

Dan & Colleen's Wedding

Here are a few quick ones from Dan and Colleens wedding at Searles Castle. It was a great day and they were a pleasure to work with.

Take a look.

Kevin & Valerie's Engagement Shoot

It turned out to be a beautiful Fall day here in New England for Kevin and Valerie’s engagement shoot. They were alums from WPI in Worcester where they met and Kevin proposed. The grounds of the University were gorgeous and they really enjoyed each other. Here are few images from the day.

Menemsha Sunset

I just got back from Marthas Vineyard. I was a nice relaxing time. One of my favorite spots is a small fishing village in Menemsha. It’s the best location on the island if you want to see a spectacular sunset. The sad thing is everyone gathers at the beach to see the setting sun and as soon as the sun drops below the horizon everyone cheers and then they jump in their cars and head for home. They miss the best part. About 10-15 minutes after the sun sets is the best part. That is when this image was taken. I love the colors and how the sailboats silhouette against the purple and yellow sky. Enjoy

Jason & Jess's Special Day

Once again it was an ominous forecast on Sunday June 29th but the day turned out great. Jason & Jess were fun and relaxed. It was a pleasure to work with them. Here are a few images from the day. Click on read more to view them.

My Beautiful Wife and My Beautiful 50mm f/1.4

Just recently I added the 50mm f/1.4 to my camera bag and I have to say it’s fantastic! Super sharp, lightweight, compact, incredible bokeh, great depth of field. Ok, I’m out of adjectives but if I could think of more I would use them to describe this lens. I love it! Almost as much as my beautiful wife. Enjoy

John & Nicolas Engagement Shoot

I just shot a nice engagement shoot at the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens in Boylston, MA. It’s a really beautiful spot and Nicola and John were just as beautiful together. It didn’t go off without a hitch though. When we arrived the gardens were closed for a private event. Conveniently the gate was left open, so we drove in and got some great shots without being noticed. Here are a few images from the day.

Sunrise or Sunset?

So what’s your preference, sunset or sunrise? This is a sunrise shot in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard. I woke up at 4:45am grabbed my gear and headed east toward the lighthouse. When I arrived the sky was a deep ominous blue that progressively brightened and became less dramatic. As the minutes passed I thought this sunrise would be uneventful. Then I saw some ripples forming in the clouds. As the sun continued to rise the light hit these ripples and that is the capture you see above. I didn’t want to draw attention to the lighthouse and take away from the beautiful sky but I wanted to know it was there. Therefore the slightly silhouetted structure adds a nice sense of place.

Who doesn’t love “The Vineyard”

Flying Seagull

This was a fun shot. I was strolling a quit beach on Chappaquiddick. A small island within Martha’s Vineyard. I strapped on the 70-300 VR lens and was following three birds with bright red beaks down the beach as they were playing in the water. I still don’t know the species but they captured my attention. As I was stalking them, I noticed this seagull out of the corner of my eye. He flew dangerously close to my head. I turned quickly and snapped this image in an instant.

That was fun!

Back in Action

Yes, I'm back in action. I just got back from a week in Marthas Vineyard. "The Vineyard" as we call it here in New England. For those of you who might not know, "the vineyard" is an island off the coast of southern Massachusetts. I was planning on blogging while there on vacation but the internet connection of our rental property was not as advertised. So now I have to catch up. It was a great trip. Marthas Vineyard is beautiful island with varied landscape from gorgeous beaches to picturesque cliffs to small fishing villages. I will be posting some images this week so stay tuned.

For more information about wedding photography click here. Or if you like to see my wedding gallery, you can find it here. You may also wish to visit my home page at shuttervisionstudio.com for more information on architectural, commercial or stock photography.

Wedding Photography Brochure

As part of a recent marketing campaign, we have released a brochure focused on weddings. It is simple and elegant. Highlighting our perspective on shooting weddings, how we interact with clients and a variety of options that we offer. We do not offer pre-made packages. We allow our clients to create their own not forcing them to fit into a mold or sell them services that they don't want.

Here is what the new brochure looks like. Let me know what you think. Leave me some feedback.

Have a great Sunday!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

Storage Solution

With the increase in popularity of DSLR camera’s, the technology is advancing rapidly. Of late there has been a mega pixel race much like the arms race during the cold war period (actually not really but it’s nice metaphor). This has brought on challenges for photographers when it comes to larger and larger file sizes and available storage. For example let’s say you are a wedding photographer with a laptop that has a HD capacity of 100GB (pretty common). You’d probably fill that drive to capacity after 10 weddings. At my last wedding I shot 10GB worth of images. Now, what if your shooting 20, 30 or more weddings a year? That’s not to mention all the other “stuff” on your hard drive, from software to personal photographic work. The bottom line is we need a solution. More space for archiving. Currently there are some online solutions but in my opinion they are still pricy. So here is a temporary solution. This week BestBuy had a sale a 500GB Western Digital External HD. For the price per/GB you can’t beat it and at 15-20 weddings per year, it will last you about 3 years. They are portable of course and if you upgrade your laptop or desktop within that time, no problem, you can still use it. For the price, not only are you purchasing storage space but your buying yourself 3 years. 3 years for the technology to advance, the megapixel race to level off and hopefully a more permanent solution.

Let me know what you think!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

All in Wonderful

That's the slogan for the new IMAC. You can check it out here. What a great pun. Apple has just announced the all new Imac with a completely redesigned case made from aluminum and glass. It's thinner, sleeker and cooler. If you thought the old imac was cool, you have to check this one out. Many photographers have a love for mac and it looks like this new version won't dissapoint. The question is will the advantages in screen size (available in 20" & 24") and hard drive capacity (320GB standard & up to 1TB, That's right 1 Terabyte, get used to that term) be enough to sway photographers away from the beloved macbook pro that offers more flexibility in mobility? Only time will tell.

So, have you bought one yet?

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

Wedding Shot List

Today I am back with a sample shot list for you wedding photographers or those of you aspiring. The trend of late has been photojournalism. A candid story telling style to wedding photography. When shooting this style some would say 'you don't need a shot list' which is true but let's face it you always end up taking some family portraits and some basic setup shots. That's why it's good to develop a general shot list. Not that you use every shot for every wedding but it certainly helps in your coverage of the event. Also you can still have a shot "planned" but be candid or photojournalistic as well. A shot list helps with that. It's a good starting point and can be tailored for each wedding. If you have a client that wants a more traditional style, you can give them the list and let them select the exact shots they want. That works well also. Let me know what you think about shot list's and if you like, click on the file below and you can see one that I use to start. I hope it helps.

Wedding%20Shot%20List.pdf

Have a great day!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

Mac or PC

Currently I use a PC. For those of you photographers what do you prefer? Let's see some comments about the pros and cons of each from the perspective of photography. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.


Talk to you tomorrow!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

The Top 10 Wedding Photographers

American Photo magazine had a recent article on the top 10 wedding photographers. What, I'm not one of them? Ha, Ha, but seriously it was an interesting article. You can find it here on pophoto.com. At times wedding photographers are under appreciated. Here is a quote from the article that I wholeheartedly agree with. Here is what they said about the varied abilities of wedding photographers.

"In the course of a wedding day they serve as architectural photographer, documenting locations; as portrait photographer, flattering the day's key players; as product photographer, shooting a closeup of the rings; and as photojournalist, telling a story, under pressure, with pictures."

How true these words are. Wedding photography is challenging. The article also gave links to the top 10 wedding photographers so you can check out there sites and be inspired.

Enjoy!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

Canon Firmware Update

For you Canon users out there, Canon has recently announced a firmware update for the new EOS-1D MarkIII. That is a mouthful. If you say that is. This update is supposed to fix problems in dial operation, the look of images when played on the LCD monitor and it will reduce the tendency to autofocus on the background in certain situations. The latter has been the big complaint among users. You can find the update here.

Even without this update this seems to be another winner from Canon. A pretty awesome machine if you ask me. Even though I am in the Nikon camp, I'm not afraid to say so. I don't buy into that brand bashing just because it's not the manufacturer I use. Canon makes some outstanding equipment. I would love to get my hands on one to test it out. We will see what Nikon has up there sleeve. There are rumors flying that an announcement is coming toward the end of August. Most likely the next in the evolution of the D2X. Maybe a D3 or D3X. Stay tuned. If your using a Canon 1DMIII let me know what you think.

Have a great day!

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding, architectural, commercial and stock photography. We are located in the Boston, MA area and serving all of New England. You can go right to my wedding page by clicking here.

A Fun Capture

This was a fun image that I took at a wildlife park outside of Sedona, Arizona in the spring. You have to have patience shooting wildlife because often you don't get that really exciting moment or reaction unless you wait and strike at the right time.

There were some Ostrich roaming and I was watching them. I took several shots, all what I would call the typical. Then suddenly something startled this one and he reacted with mouth wide open and piercing screech. That was the shot I wanted. The one I was waiting for. I locked the focus on the eye and snapped. It is tack sharp and the small depth of field gives a little blur to the background accentuating the subject. Simple you say, yes, but I love it still. A fun capture. Let me know what you think.

I hope you like it.

Please don't forgot to visit shuttervisionstudio.com for more information about photojournalistic wedding photography. We are located in the Boston, Massachusetts, New Hampshire area.