Thank You- 2009

This year has been so defining for me- I want to thank each and every one of you who were a part of it. Not only allowing me to capture your most precious memories, but also taking the time to be a part of my life, my family and my passion.

Many of you were patient with me through the growing pains of creating a successful small business and your kindness and encouragement is why I am able to bring my venture into the next decade.

Thank you all for being a part of this wonderful journey for me. I could not have done it without every single one of you. Honestly, there's not enough space on the page for each of your beautiful families!

Happy 2010-

Dominique Lucas, The Lucas Family & Fall Child Photography

What is an Heirloom Print?

Recently, due to the rush of the holiday season- I've had several clients inquire about picking orders up the day they are processed, changing an order after it's been approved and even changing an order days after it has been placed.

I think it's important for consumers to understand what an "heirloom print" truly is and why professional photographers cannot be your one hour photo stop.

In my recent examiner article, "Professional Portraiture; More than Just a Snapshot" I discuss in detail what photographers go through to produce an image. More than just taking a photograph and printing it out at Walgreens. The time consuming work it takes to crop, color balance, edit, and so on. Thanks to my sister, I have a perfect quote for this-

"every 'hot' girl that can point a camera thinks she's a photographer, 'oooh, you took a black and white photo of a lawn chair and its shadow and developed it at Walgreens, you must be so dark and brooding' "-Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)

How right he is on this. Trust me, your local professional studio and freelance photographer is NOT charging you 30$ (or even 100$ in some cases) for a 2$ 8x10 they picked up down at the local one hour print shop.

Nearly all professional photographers process orders through big labs out of state and especially during the holiday season rush, they are putting them in as soon as possible. Which may be as soon as you putting the order through and handing over the credit card.

An heirloom print is a photograph that has not only gone through the extremely rigorous (and sometimes almost perfectionist) process of detail editing, but has also been ordered from a reputable lab that will showcase the most beautiful colors and contrast on high quality paper.

So, before you order, think. Make sure you want that photo in black and white and consider the time it may take for your prints to arrive. Just like that tshirt you wanted to order your husband for Christmas- we have deadlines too!

The Worth of a Freelance Photographer

The Worth of a Freelance Photographer

Posted using ShareThis

The Worth of a Freelance Photographer

The Worth of a Freelance Photographer

Posted using ShareThis

Professional Portraiture; More Than Just a Snapshot

This is the sample article I wrote which awarded me an invitation to write as a representation for the Denver Professional Photography Column.

Photogs- I will LOVE to hear your input on things I can write about and feature your comments/quotes!

***

In our world of high end technology, user friendly gadgets and do-it-yourself guides on the internet, it seems as if there is no longer the need for a professional. From something as simple as changing your oil to as complicated as planning a wedding, it just doesn’t make sense to pay someone to provide a service when you can perform the same service for free. Inevitably, there are individuals who do not like to get oil on their hands or just have no time to plan a wedding and the professionals in these fields are utilized.

But what about a photograph? From the time we are children, most of us know how to work a camera. Pushing a button and instructing everyone to yell, “cheese” doesn’t seem like much of a professional feat. Even taking the time to line a few people up correctly takes very little effort, nearly anyone could accomplish that. One hour photo shops litter our street corners making it so easy to print your own masterpiece that it seems ridiculous to pay more than twenty five cents for a print. Most importantly, if you can pick up the same camera your local professional photographer uses for a fair price and switch it on to “auto exposure” then it’s very plain to see why the shelf life of a career photographer has nearly expired.

The process of professional photography extends far beyond the time it takes to snap the photo and drive down to the drugstore to pick it up. It entails countless hours of painstaking color correcting, cropping, skin softening, eye enhancing…the list goes on and on. In our day and age, a photographer cannot survive in the professional world if they are unaware of how to remove a blemish or change the color of the sky.

This is why photography must be seen as an art. Professional photographers are not charging for a snapshot they think might be a little better than yours, they are charging for a photograph that has gone through the steps of becoming art, like a painting on the wall. An investment in an heirloom that will last a lifetime and capture the true beauty of you, your family or your child.

There are times for snapshots, not every event calls for professional portraiture. Having a nice digital camera on hand for when your son or daughter takes their first steps is invaluable. There are also times for a professional, to capture a moment that will last forever. I guarantee, once you see the difference between a snapshot and the art of portraiture that you will never go back.

Sugar Overload

Ok....don't get me wrong. I love me a great cake smash...













{Davin when he was just a wee one...where in the world has the time gone?}

But I'm seriously on a sugar overload and I think my magic plexi (to keep the floor clean) is about to crack!

I've had an influx of Oct/November babies in the studio and let me just say, I never thought I'd get tired of the cake!

Ok....fair enough. I'm not really tired of it, there's nothing better than seeing a baby stick their foot into a mound of cake....
















but I'm a little over the cleanup. The laundry has been a tad overwhelming!


I have been a bit nostalgic- especially with the kiddos that I have been photographing since they were brand new (like this little one)




















(forgive the straight out of the camera shot, and the repeat on the tutu....I don't think I'm going to edit the drool though!)

But I think I'm ready to move back to newborns. I can't wait to snuggle my brand new niece next Tuesday and get all kinds of itty bitty baby shots!

So...Now What?

I keep asking myself that. In the scope of so many different parts of my life.

We've been married for 2 years, now what? My toddler is active and out of control (sometimes in a good way), now what? I have this business, that I love with all of my heart and put a large amount of energy into, now what? I've poured all of my time and talents into two wonderful charities to try and make a difference, now what?

From another perspective, it would seem as if I should just float. Exist. Be happy the way things are....but I feel as if I've run up against a brick wall.

Obviously, no photographer ever "made it" by just staying stagnant. Taking the same pictures, charging the same prices, going to the same locations.....you get the "picture" (ha ha)

I know many aspiring photographers in my life that would tell me, "you should just be happy with the business you get" and, "you're so lucky to be able to shoot more than once a week". But luck really has nothing to do with it, in my opinion. I've worked my butt off, invested a ton of money and above all- poured everything I had into gaining the knowledge to compose a well exposed and creative photograph.

On the flip side, I had a NILMDTS colleague tell me this weekend that the prices I charge for prints are absurd. That if I continue to charge these prices and then raise them at some point, my clients will have sticker shock. I was told that just because I'm not a "full time studio" now, does not mean I should undercut myself or treat myself as anything less than a prized professional photographer.

It's such a hard balance in between the hobbyist turned small business owner and the cutthroat diehard photography buffs. We never agree, on anything. Especially pricing.

I just feel like, "where do I go from here". I want to be successful but that doesn't completely mean money for me. I want to give back and that dips into the small profit I do incurr. I want to grow as a photographer and seize every opportunity I can to learn and create and yet....I feel as if I'm doing things the wrong way sometimes.

I wish someone would write the manual on being a "professional artist" (the quotes mean it's a joke)

NILMDTS & Fetal Hope Walk

Today was a day that just complimented itself.

I thought I might be crazy for agreeing to do a 5k right before going to a training for NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep for the newbs). I must admit, it did feel kind of crazy getting up early to go "run" (I'm not sure I did much running actually) when I had another long engagement to attend afterwords, but they sure did compliment each other.

So...we did the Children's Hospital Fetal Hope Walk. I had to help pimp my favorite mommy site (mom's like me denver, woot) and hey, who can resist free hoodies for both mom AND baby!?

but I was secretly hoping that I would run into a family that I knew was there. Not just any family, mind you....a family that I had photographed through the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep foundation. This amazing family was connected to me through a long time friend and although I had never met them before the session, they became like family to me the minute I walked into their hospital room.

As NILMDTS photogs, we hardly ever get to build these relationships. I wanted to see them, in a different place...honoring their little angel. And I did!

This is such a special family to me. Not only did it bring me closer to the family member I already knew, but I just felt their warmth and love all over me- at the hospital and again today.



Then, off to the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep training for Area Coordinators. There was a lot to talk about and a lot to take in. So many areas in need of better structure, so many horror stories about bad situations between photographers competing with one another and not willing to service these families because of the air of competition in the business. Maybe I'm spoiled, but it just shocked me to hear about how selfish some of these photographers were....only using NILMDTS for personal gain or promotion. Never willing to put the competition aside to give these gifts....

My morning complimented my afternoon/evening. Every time I heard a story from the AC's around the country about bad situations in their area or things going wrong in the organization...I clung to this family. I clung to the love they've shown me and the appreciation I've felt from them since the day I set foot in the hospital to photograph them.

I came home on a mission....to bring new structure and energy to my area. To share these stories to other photographers. As I told the mother of this angel, "It's not a happy ending, but a happy tangent" and she replied, "It's all a part of his story".

It is true, that these stories never end.

But....I Can't Just Take a Picture Anymore!

So, I've been thinking about starting a blog to go with my site for awhile now. I was just having a hard time coming up with exactly what I would write about. Of course, I could tell everyone how I photograph the way that I do- but it seems odd to me that anyone would want to do what I do. For those who are passionate about photography, I find it so much more rewarding to find your own style. See through your own eyes...

ANYWAYS, last Friday gave me an insight about a first topic. It made me laugh and I'm sure hundreds of other photogs can relate.

My friend Alix and I went to go see Sandy Puc's Tot's to Teens seminar. On one of the breaks, we were chatting about all of the different aspects of a photo- getting exposure right, white balance, etc. She mentioned the phenomena of, "I just can't take a picture anymore!"

I laughed. It's so true. Any aspiring photographer or pro knows exactly what we were talking about...

Remember the days when you could just snap a photo? On a point and shoot, disposable, whatever kind of camera you had in your hand. You got the subject in the photo, yelled cheese and that was that. The photo eventually got developed or put on the internet and everyone reminisced about how fun that event was...

Fast forward to when you start to pursue photography. Someone yells, "take a picture" and you frantically search for your high resolution DSLR. Wait, you can't take the photo without your hot shoe flash, god forbid you make the rookie mistake of shooting with your on board flash. Set it to manual, there's no way you're going to screw up using an automatic setting! Make sure your ISO, Aperture and Shutter speed are perfect....uh oh did you forget to set your white balance? Are you shooting in raw? Is your focus sharp? ARE YOU POINTING THE CAMERA AT THE RIGHT LEVEL!?!?

It's insane but it's impossible to "just take a photo". Not to mention the time you may spend correcting things in Photoshop afterwards.

Gone are the days of the snapshot.

(Now...my husband makes me pull out the point and shoot when our son is doing something cute)