The First Photo-less Generation? Yes, Really……

It seems as though the digital revolution has altered the world of photography forever….but are we now a culture on the road to become the first photo-less generation in almost 150 years?

It’s 100% true:  the combination of digital photography and technology has greatly impacted the way just about everyone on the planet enjoys photos.   Whether it be in a digital revolving image frame, viewing photos on your iphone or tagging your friends in your images on facebook, digital images are enjoyed by everyone!  In fact, it seems that not a day goes by any more when a client doesn’t give us a call to ask to purchase these wonderful, plentiful, digital negatives that have become a standard in image preservation.

And we must admit, enjoying the compact nature and many avenues to share digital negatives is a wonderful bonus for both clients and photographers alike.  In regards to photographers, our processing is much quicker at times as we now are the actual photo lab handing our clients processing directly.  By replacing actual film with digital negatives, it reduces our “archiving surface area” as we no longer have to maintain hundreds of rolls of film in film safe containers.  Heck, even our clients have virtual storage for their images creating an “at your fingertips” style of backing up their images so they no longer have to worry about losing delicate film negatives….

But one thing we have noticed is that although our clients absolutely LOVE their images, it seems that many of those same clients who are purchasing digital negatives instead of prints or albums, unfortunately, often times, never print a single image as a result of this ease of sharing.  They are so pleased and excited by the idea that they can view their images at any time on their computer or phone, that many clients believe there is no longer a need to print them…

However, recently we had an experience that caused us to see the concept of photo printing in powerfully different light; we were reminded me of the importance of printing not only to share your memories with your virtual friends, but also as a documentation of your own personal history and life.  We’ll explain….

About a month ago we visited my parents in their home.  As we were relaxing and enjoying each other’s company, we noticed a big box of old photos sitting on the counter of their living room bar.  Jared and I headed over to investigate the images, and as we got to looking through them, my dad gave us a quick history each of these older photos discussing the many details of our family posing in the images.  It was exciting to share in his memories and stories while enjoying the amazingly tangible nature of these old photos.  Many had been printed on a very thick photo paper with artistic edging, which was something we hadn’t seen in a very long time…

It was at that moment that we truly realized that these images told our family’s history in a way we never could detail personally as they were shared and passed down through generations. Of course the stories have probably evolved over time, but we learned so much that evening about who we are and how our family came to be, that it was really a largely emotional experience.  It was also at that time that we realized that we hadn’t printed a photo of ourselves in almost 4 years.  We had spent so much time enjoying our own personal images on our computers, that really, we too were guilty of not printing; we really hadn’t taken much time at all to print any of our history…

In saying all of this, as photographers, we now feel a greater responsibility to our clients, our friends and ourselves.  We would encourage every person we know to enjoy their digital negatives as much as possible.  Give them lots of love and care and share them with everyone you can; just don’t forget that printing photos will help to share your past with your future loved ones so that they too can relive your history for years to come.

Studio ATG:

Trish Gumina-McMillen
Studio ATG
Studio ATG Website
Studio ATG Blog
702.809.4878

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Megan Ruth Stay (You can call me Meg)
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Company Name: MegRuth Photography
Number of Years in Business: 2
Website: megruth.com
Blog: blog.megruth.com
Twitter: @megruth (are you sensing a pattern here?)

How did you get started in wedding photography?

I shot my first wedding when I was twelve, my dad gave me his 35mm film camera to photograph at my sister’s wedding. It was then that I fell in love with photography. I took classes through high school and went on to get my BFA in photography in college. I moved to NYC and started my career on the production end of the industry, but I missed photographing. So when my husband and I moved to Vegas I started my own business.

I absolutely love being a part of one of the happiest days in two people’s lives. I love that I get to share those moments with them and allow those memories to remain forever. It really is one of the things that brings me the most joy in my life.

What did you do prior to this?

In New York I was a studio manager for a food photographer. It was a delicious job. A little too delicious for my figure…

If you didn’t do wedding photography for a living what would you be doing instead?
I love what I do but secretly would love to be a baker in my own shop. I’m thinking mostly breads. I’d have some great photos of my bread, that’s for sure!
I’m fairly certain that I couldn’t give up my great brides and grooms though. I have way too much fun.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love baking. I always said if there was one thing I could eat the rest of my life it would be sour dough bread. Love it. Sewing is another passion, I’m working on my second quilt. It’s not as hard as you think. House projects are another fave, my poor husband has a never ending “honey-do” list. But I promise I help!

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?

I was so fortunate that my, now, friends Packy and Anna found me and trusted me to document their wedding adventure when I first started my business. They got married ON the Hoover Dam two years ago at 7am. It was already about 110 degrees. “The Dam Wedding” was a dam good time.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

There is always something special about each wedding I photograph but this past May I was able to be the photographer for my friend Amy’s wedding who I’ve known since I was six. We were roommates all through college and she means the world to me. Being able to capture the love between her and her husband, Warren, was a blessing.

What is your inspiration?

One of my greatest inspirations is Dorethea Lang. She was a photog-journalist during the turmoil of The Great Depression for the FSA. She went all over the country documenting the human suffering while making every ounce beautiful. Some people criticized her for making her images happen but I am a firm believer that you can direct a subject in a way that allows them to be themselves and get a specific message to the viewer while maintaining your integrity.

Photographers should know their photographic history; there are so many amazing predecessors out there!

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.

The next place on my list is Spain. I want to go to Barcelona and Madrid and just meander the country in a convertible while eating scrumptious food. Doesn’t it just sound blissful?

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

The bride and groom are shadowed almost the entire day by their photographer, you want to like them. I think that a lot of people hire me not only because I produce images they’ll love to look at and share but because they’ll have fun with me. I’m a bit of a ham at times which I think people find fairly amusing.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride on their wedding day?

Make sure you slow down and enjoy the little moments. By nature I’m a people watcher so being a photographer allows me to do that for a living, which is amazing. There are so many wonderful things that happen at weddings. The looks between sisters, or the mother of the groom. Enjoy all those tender moments and I’ll do my best to capture them for you.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

My favorite camera to photograph with is a handmade wooden 4×5 view camera. I love photographing with Type 55 Polaroid. It’s so dreamy.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

I’ll let the images speak for themselves. And head over to their blog for more images from this engagement session.

I’m looking forward to coordinating their poolside wedding ceremony at Red Rock Casino this October!

About The Black Chicken
The Black Chicken is a division of Studio ATG.   They are the associate shooters of the company so you get the same fun and unique style that Studio ATG is known for.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

What: 37/60 The Wedding Photography Workshop for Brides
When: Tuesday, August 24th from 6-7 pm and Saturday, August 28th, from 10-11 am
Where: To be supplied upon registration
Cost: Free, Registration required
How: Call 702-465-5700 for more information or to register. Or visit booths 614 and 604 at Bridal Spectacular

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION A BRIDE FACES IS WHO TO MARRY. THE SECOND IS HOW TO HIRE THE RIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER TO DOCUMENT HER WEDDING

37/60 The Wedding Photography Workshop for Brides, offers 37 serious recommendations in 60 minutes, guaranteed to help brides:

• Save money
• Save time
• Maximize their wedding photography experience, regardless of their budget

Las Vegas wedding photography studios Artistic Imaging and WriteShot have partnered to develop this educational workshop to all brides, many of whom feel overwhelmed by the myriad of wedding photography options available.

“There will be no sales pitch, at all. This is purely an opportunity for brides to learn and get answers to their questions, regardless of their budget,” says Adam Frasier, Artistic Imaging.

According to Natasha Chornesky, WriteShot, millennium brides are smart and regardless of their budget,  they’re looking to learn as much as they can about maximizing value before they commit to any particular wedding vendor, especially photographers.

Vegas has many talented wedding photographers. 37/60 is designed to benefit all brides, regardless of whom they eventually hire to shoot their wedding.

“We’re reaching out to empower brides with real information, so each one can make decisions that best suit her distinct needs,” says Chornesky.

Workshops are scheduled for Tuesday, August 24th from 6-7 pm and Saturday, August 28th, from 10-11 am and are limited to 10 participants each. Workshops are free, registration is required. Call 702-465-5700 for more information or to register.  Information will also be available during the Bridal Spectacular Show at booth numbers 614 and 604.

About Artistic Imaging and WriteShot
Artistic Imaging’s  Owner/Photographer Adam Frasier has been a  professional wedding photographer for over 7 years. Frazier is the Founding President of Las Vegas Wish Upon a Wedding.

WriteShot’s Owner/Photographer Chris Cozzone has been a professional photojournalist and wedding photographer for over 20 years. Natasha Chornesky Owner/Photographer has been shooting professionally for four years. Chornesky is the Founding Vice-President of Las Vegas Wish Upon a Wedding.

Contact:
Natasha Chornesky
702-465-5700
Natasha@writeshot.com

Please let them know we sent you!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

How did you get started in photography?

Ingrid had to take PHOTO 101 as a prerequisite for her BFA. Upon seeing her first black and white print magically appear in the developer tray, she immediately feel in love with photography. The next day she changed her fine art emphasis from painting to photography.

David helped assist Ingrid when Images by Ingrid was just beginning. He found a creative outlet for his unique eye of angles and composition. He enjoys capturing moments, shooting the must get traditional wedding pictures and the challenge of creating dramatic effects with off camera flash.

What did you do prior to this?

Ingrid went to school and worked in food and beverage. It took 8 years and three colleges in three states to get her BA in fine art.

David was a custom picture framer and currently is a bar/wine manager for a fine dining restaurant here in Vegas in which has  served for 13 years. He is also part of the 9% of the Vegas population who was born and raised here

How do you describe your style?

Documentary coverage is an entirely different approach to wedding photography. Ingrid believes her photographs represent much more that just a tired fad, but as documentarian,  it is her responsibility to capture each moment exactly as it happened. She does not intervene or interrupt  the moment already taking place.
She feels the mastery of this style is very easy to claim and advertise, but rarely is it achieved.

Her lighting preference is soft natural light. Her portraits of her couples reflect fun, happy moments at times and others a deeper revealing side. Her passion is to create an emotional response from the viewer through her images.

David is more a traditionalist. He enjoys capturing the must get images at weddings.  He is a master of off camera flash and captures the most amazing pictures of  the bride and groom with Vegas sunsets. He sees angles and photographs them differently then anyone else. Clients and venders love his detail shots of rings, food, locations,

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?

Ingrid would be a life coach or chef/restaurateur. She has  created  the life of her dreams and would love to help others achieve their dream life too. Also, Ingrid is too good of a cook, this is why they have to go to the gym regularly. She feels with 14 years in F&B and cooking skills she could create an amazing  restaurant.

David would be wine & food critic. David has been in F&B for 13 years and is currently a bar manager during the week at a fine dining restaurant in Vegas. Ironically every time they go dining he is already playing the part.

What are some of your hobbies? Attending live sporting events, concerts, traveling, sailing dining out, spending quality time with family, plus any activities that create memories and experiences.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? For Ingrid and David each wedding is crazy, fun and unique.

A crazy wedding memory for Ingrid was a wedding at Lake Mead. The ceremony and reception was on an island in the middle of the lake. All the guests, food, décor, had to be boated to the location. The ceremony was under a beautifully decorated tent and the reception was held on top of the houseboats.  There were Hawaiian dancers, fire breathers, and a late night bon fire. Since night travel on the lake is dangerous all the guests and venders had to stay on the island and spend the night in houseboats. It was a blast.

David’s craziest wedding memory was a helicopter wedding to Grand Canyon. They were both terrified, and excited about the prospect. This was when helicopter crashes at the Grand Canyon seemed to be a monthly event. The plan was for Ingrid and David to fly with the couple to the Grand Canyon for the ceremony. Unfortunately, on the ride out, a thunderstorm came in and they had to turn back. It was defiantly an experience being airborne with thunder and lighting following you back to the airport. The best part was David and Ingrid met up with the couple the next day and once again flew to the Grand Canyon.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

For David and Ingrid every wedding is the best experience. They love their couples and give their heart and soul at every wedding.

What is your inspiration? Ingrid’s and David inspiration is their clients and the fun, happy, and unexpected moments of the day.  Each wedding and couple is unique. To photograph the day with that important fact in mind is their inspiration.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Tahiti, Greek Isles, Barcelona, Estonia, Serengeti, Thailand, Egypt, opening day at the new Marlins baseball bark in 2012, New Years eve in Times Square, 2012 Summer Olympics in London,  sail the Caribbean, race car driving lessons, drive the autobahn, wine tours in Italy and France,  and these are just to name a few.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

The blend of documentary and traditional photography. Ingrid and David create timeless images, not fads of the moment.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Hire professionals you are comfortable with, let them do their job, and just relax and enjoy your day.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

In 2012 Ingrid and David plan on taking the year to photograph outside of Vegas as much as possible. Their goal is to not only shooting weddings all over the world but visit and photograph past couples.  They hope to create a fine art series their 2012 adventures.

They love their job and hopefully it shows in their images.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

To learn more about Ashley, check out her vendor spotlight interview here.
Website: www.ashleybartoletti.com
Blog: www.ashleybartoletti.com/blog
Twitter: @ashleybphoto

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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Name: Steven Fogarty
Location: Las Vegas, NV and Park City, Utah
Company Name: FogartyWeddings
Number of Years in Business: 3 as a wedding photographer
Website: www.FogartyWeddings.com
Blog: www.Facebook.com/FogartyFOTO
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FogartyFOTO

How did you get started in wedding photography?

After a successful career in computers and email, I decided to learn from the masters how they make such gorgeous photos. Since then I’ve studied with some of the most amazing photographers alive, including: Joe McNally and Matthew Jordan Smith and Denis Reggie, the father of wedding photojournalism. They’ve all influenced my style tremendously.

What did you do prior to this?

For the U.S Congress in Washington, DC, I designed and managed the LAN email system that replaced their 20 year-old mainframe email system. I then accepted a position with Novell / WordPerfect, which brought me to Utah. With 3 friends I co-founded an Internet email business, that we sold in 1999. We just moved to Vegas a couple of weeks ago.

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?

I’m kind of a history geek. One of my great pleasures is listening to educational tapes on very long drives and discussing history with friends. I would love to teach history.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to snowboard really fast and steep with my peers, and to ski with my children. Scuba diving is the easiest way to leave the planet. And I love to read, mostly geeky history and policy stuff. I love wrestling with my 4 boys.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?

It was snowing really hard the morning of Courtney’s wedding in Aspen. She was distraught, tearfully wondering why her mountain-top wedding was to be ruined. We reminded her that these morning mountain storms are often very short and pass quickly. The clouds broke, her wedding was full of sunshine. Everyone was happy (and very relieved!) Her photos are gorgeous!

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

I loved photographing Rachael & Evan’s simple Salt Lake City wedding just before he shipped off for a one year tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is the crew chief on an Apache helicopter. Photographing Nicole & Travis at the Paiute Golf Resort was such a blast because Nicole didn’t stop smiling the whole day – it was clearly one of the happiest days of her life. And photographing Jane and Seth at Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah was absolutely gorgeous on that stunning fall mountain day. Russians know how to party!

What is your inspiration?
While it sounds corny, I honestly believe that wedding photography is the most important, the most challenging, and the most rewarding photography I do. I am very grateful that in my work I am able to create things of such beauty that are so timelessly valuable to my brides.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world more than once. Of the 17 countries I have visited, I still remember India for its rich, ancient culture, incredible cuisine, and extraordinary contrasts, like the 3 men walking arm-in-arm down the street, one shirtless and dressed in a traditional dhoti, one dressed in a western business suit, and the third wearing a fusion of the two. Emerging wealth juxtaposed next to striking poverty amid ancient culture, and sensory overload. I would love to return to India with my family.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

My clients want strikingly beautiful portraits to hang on their walls, plus lots of discreet photojournalism (PJ) of the day’s real moments, informal photos that will bring back a flood of warm memories with every look. They want a photographer who records the party, without becoming the party. They want the kind of amazing portraits that few photographers can make and are Can’t-Look-Away-GAWJUS. They want traditional portraits of the wedding party. And they want lots of quiet real-moment PJ – the photos I consider the most important of the day.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Don’t worry about the photography! Forget all of your cares for that one day, let the love and attention of everyone who has come so far to wish you well just sink in.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

Thank you Juliet for giving me and my family such a warm welcome to Las Vegas!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Chris and I photograph, write and layout all of the content for each of our client’s books. Because each couple has its own extraordinary story and each wedding is also extraordinary, all the work we do is completely custom. We don’t use any templates. And, we don’t have any formulas. We really mean it when we say to our clients, “The sky is the limit!”  Our books average between 98-110 pages, and include anywhere from 125-200 photographs. Books are available in a variety of dimensions, but since we shoot full frame, we rarely make a book smaller than 10×10. All of our books are printed on UV coated paper that will stand the test time.

Recently, we bound a book for a husband and wife who show world champion cutting horses, so we had the binding hand tooled in their favorite pattern by a saddler and we commissioned a silversmith to hand forge a decorated sterling silver heart. And, in July we had a client who wanted their book bound in platinum goat skin complete with a layer of 6 inches of fringe, cut from the same leather! Currently, we have a book in the works that will feature one of wedding calligrapher Laura Hooper’s dazzling maps.

Whether a client selects a photo wrap binding or a custom goat leather binding, or something else entirely different, we’ve designed our books to be heirlooms–to be read often and cherished even when read over and over again. It’s a challenge to describe our books because they really are so different from traditional wedding albums.

In addition to the three books each client receives, we always provide a disc of high resolution images and our clients also have the option to order fine art and additional prints and books from us at their convenience.

Their tagline may describe it best:

The perfect marriage of images and words.

Name: Natasha Chornesky
Location: Las Vegas and Los Angeles
Company Name: Write Shot
Number of Years in Business: 3
Website: www.writeshot.com
Blog: www.writeshot.com/blog
Twitter: @thewriteshot

How did you get started in photography; what did you do before:
Chris has been shooting for over 20 years, with both his photography and written work appearing in the New York Times, Newsweek and other national and international publications. Ever since before he was old enough to pronounce “photographer” he knew he wanted to be one. Taking a cue from his mother, who first put a camera in his hands, Chris started shooting before he was old enough to drive. Chris shot weddings in both Chicago and Long Island before moving to NYC, where his editorial work took off and he found a niche covering street life and professional boxing. At that time, he wrote, shot and edited several magazines, eventually earning national and international recognition. Chris loves uncovering and telling stories, so it’s no surprise that three years ago, he and Natasha joined forces to bring  in-depth real photojournalism coverage to the lives of families. Since then, the two have covered milestone events from birth to death, including weddings.  Chris continues to shoot professional boxing and he is currently involved in several non-fiction writing projects to be published in 2010.

After not having shot since high school, Natasha picked up a camera in earnest in her role as summer director and middle school principal at several independent schools, both in the southwest and on the east coast. Documenting the students lives for their families and for school catalogs, she rediscovered her passion. Understanding, through her work with over 1,000 families, the importance of knowing one’s roots and preserving family history, Natasha left academia 5 years ago, to pursue photography full-time. She teamed up with Chris to document individual and family life events. Weddings are her most favorite milestones to record.

How do we describe our style?
Real photojournalism. Our pictures tell stories and our writing shares the behind the scene details and subplots. Our books reflect the true movement, warmth and emotion of a wedding and the days and events leading up to it.

If we didn’t shoot, what would we do?
If Chris didn’t shoot, he’d shrivel up and that would be the end of him. If Natasha didn’t shoot, she might survive, but only in the company of the couple’s three dogs and horse.

What are some of our hobbies?
Chris, a voracious reader, names The Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole as well as anything by Hubert Selby, Jr. among his favorites. Chris has also seen and rated over 1,500 movies on netflix. Freaks and Nosferatu count among his favorites. He is not a fan of “chick flicks,” so Natasha indulges in them (along with popcorn, Snow Caps, Twizzlers and Junior Mints) when Chris is away, on assignment.  Natasha also loves hiking with the couple’s three dogs, Gorgo, Grendel and Seven and trail riding with Halligur, her Icelandic horse.

Craziest wedding experience?

We showed up at a family BBQ 2 days before the couple’s wedding day and the bride opened the door exclaiming, “My dog ate the ring! The ring I am supposed to get on Saturday!” All 35 people in attendance spent the evening following the dog around waiting for it to go to the bathroom. You’ll have to read the couple’s Complete Wedding Book to see what happened . . .

What is our inspiration?
We’re inspired by our belief that everyone’s life is extraordinary and that life events should be properly documented and preserved for future generations. It’s important for everyone to know their roots, from where they came, of what they are made. Most people are moving too fast to share their life events and what they value with their loved ones, so we assist them in doing so.

An exotic place we’d like to visit?
We’d love to go to Cuba—to capture the extraordinary lives of kids training in the local boxing gyms.

Why do our clients choose us?
We attract clients who value real photojournalism and who love a good story. They are looking for an heirloom and thinking about their future families. They believe their wedding is comprised of multiple elements, events and personalities—much more than just what happens on their wedding day, and they are looking for a way to document their entire story, their new beginning– for themselves and for their future children. They want a book with which they can curl up and read, enjoying their story, with its own intricate subplots and beautiful images, over and over and over again.

Our advice for brides and grooms on their wedding day?
Just be yourself. You’re surrounded by everyone who loves and adores you. Each one of these people already thinks you are perfect, just how you are. So, don’t worry about a thing. All your vendors and attendees will roll with whatever happens and whatever happens is part of your unique story. And, remember to be grateful for all that you have. You are blessed.

Our unbiased opinion on the two most important investments for your wedding day?

First, a planner. We don’t ever ask if our bride’s have a planner. We simply ask, “Who is your planner?” We’ve found that in the absence of a planner, day-of organization falls on the shoulders of the photographer. Do you really want your photographer running your wedding? And, of course—invest in a photographer you love. The images from your wedding will last your lifetime and be passed on to future generations, so don’t skimp. Don’t wait until “later” to order fine art prints and a book or album. Brides who wait, end up not doing it and/or so overwhelmed with the number of images on a disc that creating an album for themselves feels overwhelming, unmanageable and time consuming. Your images, your book and your prints are a lifetime investment, not just an expense.

Promo for TSL Photography from Terrence Lighten on Vimeo.