blog - Page 27 of 33 - Destination Wedding Photographer Stacy Reeves

T4P – Networking!

October 14, 2008

Tips for Photographers (T4P) is a weekly feature where I talk about a cool tip that I think will benefit my fellow photographers. For more T4Ps, click here!

Today’s tip is about something very important to me, which is networking. I think there are two types of photographers. The first is the kind who hordes everything they know, refusing to teach anyone anything unless they pay an absurd amount of money (if at all), and who thinks that if they share their “secrets” for free they will lose all their business. These photographers live sad, lonely lives and often have businesses that are always on the edge of failing.

The second photographer knows that it is their style and personality that makes them successful, not some secret marketing gimmick or Photoshop action or anything like that. They enjoy meeting and helping other photographers, and understand that the photography industry is a community of good people. These people openly network with other photographers, share what they know, and learn from those around them.

Thankfully, the latter type of photographer is becoming much more prevalent these days. It seems like everywhere you turn, successful photographers are sharing their advice and the tips that have made them successful. And, if you notice, the photographers who share the most are often among the more successful in their market.

I encourage all of you to be that second type of photographer. Get to know the photographers in your market, attend guild meetings such as your local PPA chapter, organize Photographer Happy Hour, or simply make yourself available as an assistant or second shooter if needed. You’re likely to make a lot of great new friends, and you’ll be surprised at how it may actually help your business (I book around 5-10 weddings each year that are referrals from my peers).

You can also participate in online communities. The three I frequent most are the Flickr’s Starting a Wedding Photography Business and Wedding Photography groups, both of which are free to join, as well as the Digital Wedding Forum (DWF). The DWF is probably the single greatest collection of professional wedding photographers in the world. There you will find some of the greatest wedding shooters on the planet, all offering their insight and advice on a daily basis. It’s not free, but in my opinion, it’s worth every penny. They also have a great forum for beginners called DWF Start, which is the perfect place for someone who is just starting to get into wedding photography. I highly recommend it! Open Source Photo is another great forum with lots of successful professionals, and it’s free which is always good. For those of you in Texas, I recommend Texas Photo Forum, which can be very helpful for networking with your neighbors.

If you’re not already networking with other photographers, either online or in your community, you’re missing out on a very valuable resource of both information and friends. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and network! :)

By Stacy | Posted in Tips for Photographers | Tagged forums, networking | 10 comments |

Alli and Matt are married!!

October 13, 2008

These two are near and dear to my heart for a lot of reasons, especially because I had a part in their first meeting, so I was very excited to be able to be there for them as their wedding photographer. The venue was spectacular, the weather (despite an impending hurricane) was perfect, and the people (many of which were my friends, as well) were typical Texas awesome. You’ll see a lot of black and white images in this post.. Something about this wedding was just so classic and romantic, and I feel that black and white really allows the content and emotion of the image to come out. I think that treatment really suits this set of images well. Here are some of my favorites:

wedding of allison alli tacquard and matthew matt lynn at house plantation in hockley texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

My two former college roommates.. The girl on the right giving the toast, Brittani, was my very first bride! wedding of allison alli tacquard and matthew matt lynn at house plantation in hockley texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

Allison’s bouquet toss was hilariously eventful – it required three tosses, two of which were caught by her unsuspecting mom! Alli just doesn’t know her own strength ;) wedding of allison alli tacquard and matthew matt lynn at house plantation in hockley texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

I am pretty sure Alli and Matt do not want to be reminded of the state their poor car was in that night.. Here it is BEFORE most of the destruction.

Alli and Matt, I am so thankful to be able to call you guys friends, and to know that so many strange twists of fate came together to bring all three of us together. Hopefully I can come visit your beautiful new home next time I am in town!

By Stacy | Posted in Portraits, Weddings | Tagged hockley, house plantation, houston | 3 comments |

Laci’s bridals

October 10, 2008

Although I unfortunately did not have the pleasure of shooting my dear friend Laci’s wedding, I was luckily able to shoot her engagement and bridal sessions. Laci is not only one of the most beautiful girls I know, but she is super friendly, kind, incredibly smart, and an all-around impressive woman. I have admired her for years, and I couldn’t be happier to get her in front of my camera! Here are a few of my favorites from Laci’s bridal session in Houston:

bridal portraits of laci black boston at buffalo bayou in downtown houston texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

One of my favorite all-time images.. If I ever decided to advertise in a magazine, I would get this image as a full-page spread. I think it symbolizes everything my photography is about: romantic, relaxed, beautiful, sexy, unconventional, classic, and of course, bridal! bridal portraits of laci black boston at buffalo bayou in downtown houston texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

bridal portraits of laci black boston at buffalo bayou in downtown houston texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

Laci’s new last name is Boston, so we had to take a few of these for her fiancé Josh! bridal portraits of laci black boston at buffalo bayou in downtown houston texas by dallas wedding photographer stacy reeves

Laci, it was so great to see you again and to have the honor of photographing you and Josh. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for the wedding, but I’m sure it was gorgeous and I know you two are going to have an amazing life together! Call me when the beautiful babies start coming ;)

By Stacy | Posted in News | 2 comments |

T4B – How to pose

October 9, 2008

Tips for Brides (T4B) is a weekly feature where I talk about a cool tip that I think will benefit brides everywhere. For more T4Bs, click here!

This is the first of what will hopefully become a weekly feature – Tips for Brides! In keeping with the Photographers’ Tip, and by my lovely November bride’s special request, today’s tip is going to be about posing for the camera.

I think the primary thing on every girl’s mind when posing for a camera is looking as skinny as humanly possible. There are a few ways to do this.. The most well-know is called the “bevel.” This is the stance that you see on the red carpet from virtually every celebrity. Essentially you stand at a 45 degree angle to the camera, put your weight on one foot, cross the other foot over it, pop your knee, and lean back slightly. Here is what it looks like in practice (note: these poses are more dramatic, for artistic effect; you’ll want to be a lot more subtle when posing with the girls for a snapshot):

Basically this pose creates an hourglass figure, accentuating your waist and giving your body some serious curves. A similar but less-dramatic option is to turn your hips to the side and either pop your knee just a bit or point that leg straight out, but turn your shoulders to face the camera.

One factor you’ll notice in many of my photos is girls with arms on their hips, or hanging down away from their bodies. No matter how skinny you are, no one – NO ONE – looks good with the arms squeezed up against their sides. It makes your arms look larger than they are, and does nothing to show off your waist. Keeping your arms away from your body keeps the skin pulled tight, making your arms and waist look thinner. Notice the hippy arms and subtle bezel working together:

Sitting down is another tough situation. It can create unflattering rolls or pooches, and virtually eliminates your silhouette. Instead of plopping down indian style or sticking your legs straight out, try sitting on your hip and swinging your legs to the side. This creates what we call an “S-curve” that is slimming and curvy, as well as modest for girls in short skirts.

Another important part of looking good in photographs is to know your best angles. Spend some time in front of a mirror and move around, studying the way your body moves and at what angles you think you look best. Better yet, pull out some recent photographs and pick out the ones where you think you look hot. See if there are any common features in how your body is positioned relative to the camera, and keep that in mind when taking photos in the future.

Hopefully this has been a little bit of an insight into posing technique and how to look your best in photographs. Enjoy!

By Stacy | Posted in Tips for Brides | Tagged posing, Tips for Brides | 3 comments |

T4P – Posing Inspiration

October 7, 2008

Tips for Photographers (T4P) is a weekly feature where I talk about a cool tip that I think will benefit my fellow photographers. For more T4Ps, click here!

Today’s Tip for Photographers is going to be about posing inspiration. Posing is probably one of the hardest aspects of being a photographer, and in my opinion, one of the most important factors in what separates a good photographer from a so-so one. It also completely sets the tone for the photoshoot and your “style” as a photographer.

My primary source of inspiration for my posing is magazines. My poor boyfriend can attest that I buy every single Bridal magazine I can find, as well as several high-fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle, and I immediately run home and flip through every page, ripping out any poses that inspire me. I have a huge collection of tearsheets that I have collected over the past few years…

I used to paste these into a journal where I would make notes on each pose, what I liked about it, how to achieve it, what types of brides/dresses the poses worked best with…

Now I keep them organized into a binder, divided into categories such as “Poofy Dresses,” “Mermaid dresses,” “Bridesmaids,” “Bride and Groom,” “Groom alone,” “Details,” etc., so that I can easily find the tearsheet that apply to whatever it is I am shooting that day.

Before each session, I go through my binder and review the poses that apply to that particular day’s shoot, and I try to commit 2-3 of the poses to memory. I study them very carefully and try to burn the aspects of the pose that I like into my brain. Then, during the session, I will re-create those poses, but I will do something different to make them my own, such as changing the arm placement, lighting, angle of the body, or composition. After awhile, you will have a mental repertoire of images that you can work from during your sessions whenever you can’t think of something new or unique.

That’s it for this week. Hope you guys like the new feature! Let me know what you think :)

By Stacy | Posted in Tips for Photographers | Tagged posing, Tips for Photographers | 15 comments |

New features – Tips!

October 7, 2008

Today I am starting the first of two brand new features for this blog. Starting this week, I am going to post a Tip for Photographers every Tuesday. This could be something related to running a photography business, marketing, lighting your subject, wedding workflow, etc. I’ll share some of my favorite actions, software, and sources of inspiration. If you have something specific you want me to cover, let me know!

Also starting this week, I will be posting a Tip for Brides every Thursday. This might be something related to photography, such as how to stand to look skinnier or when to have your photographer arrive on the day of the wedding, but probably more often than not it will just be some cool website or vendor that I have discovered and want to share with you!

There are already several tips floating around in the archives, so if you want to see the tips I have already posted, look under the Categories link at the top of this blog.

By Stacy | Posted in News | 2 comments |

Unforgettable song…

October 3, 2008

My handsome and amazingly gifted boyfriend Jason runs a music blog called Digital Citrus where he randomly posts cool new songs that he has discovered. He seriously has a gift for finding moving, unique songs that will stay with you forever. He really outdid himself today though… Rosie Thomas’ “Farewell” is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in my life. Lyrically and musically, it’s heartbreaking in its beauty and simplicity. Go listen for yourself and check out some of his other recommendations! I’m also a huge fan of his other two recent posts, Barcelona’s “Let Go” and Ben Sollee’s “Panning for Gold”… Oh who am I kidding, they’re all amazing :)

He has been thinking about discontinuing Digital Citrus, which would be a travesty of epic proportions. Please do music lovers worldwide a favor and leave him a comment telling him to keep up the great work!!

By Stacy | Posted in Personal | Tagged music | 6 comments |

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