Tampa Engagement Photography – Marty and Lauren
I recently had a fantastic experience with a couple who’s wedding I am photographing next January at Cross Creek Ranch.
Marty and Lauren said they wanted to do something different and suggested we do some chalk drawings. Lucky for me, Marty is an artist (and fellow Star Wars fan!). I found a parking lot and brought a ladder, Marty handled the chalk and the fantastic pose of Lauren. I added a few things after in Photoshop and we ended up with a great engagement photo!
We did several different setups but I’ve only got room for a few favorites:
After we got everything that Marty envisioned, it was time to do something for me. :)
The day before, I noticed a small carnival in the parking lot of the mall. I’ve been wanting to shoot an engagement at a small fair for a long time and finally got my chance. We hopped in the car and headed over to Citrus park to start shooting. It was a little muggy and the bugs were out but Marty and Lauren were real pro’s… we got great stuff!
Look closely… notice the shape between them? :)
We had a great time and I’m really looking forward to the wedding!
Macdill Air Force Ball
Last Saturday I had the privilege of photographing portraits at the Macdill Air Force Ball at the Hilton in downtown Tampa.
Start-to-finish it was a fantastic experience. First, the people who were in charge of the event were fantastic. Jason met me there on Thursday to check the room we would be working in and Clarence checked on us all night to make sure we had everything we needed to keep it running smoothly. I’ve never felt so well-managed.
The ball was great. Over 900 tickets sold so there were a lot of portraits. We set up two portrait stations and I was lucky enough to be able to get the best people I know to help me out. Kevin, Eve and Melissa are all good friends and fellow members of the Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association. Having them there made it so easy. We had a big push of people in the first hour and everything ran smoothly. Once everyone went in for dinner, we had some “down” time. Naturally, we couldn’t resist the chance to take some self-portraits of the team:
The portraits came out great! Some of the credit goes to the guests, who were all dressed like movie stars and treated us with respect and kindness the whole night. That’s one thing you learn quickly when photographing the military: Everyone is is nice, well-mannered and friendly. They are the dream clients for us. I hope we get this gig again next year because it was a blast!
A Little Tip About Your Profile Pic
I always like it when I discover something I didn’t know. Even if it’s a little thing.
The other day I met someone and after we parted, he sent me a text. I noticed that his picture popped up with his text message. Later, when I was sending him an email through Gmail, I saw the same picture on his contact info.
That’s when I realized that your Gmail profile pic will show on android phones.
I know you’re probably thinking, “No sh*t, Booray.” But I didn’t know that. I always thought that the only way to have a picture pop-up with someone’s text message was to assign a picture to them in your phone. I didn’t make the connection that when you assign a picture in your phone you’re really just assigning it to their Google profile. So, assign a picture to their profile on your computer and it will also apply to your phone.
So, I spent about 10 minutes this morning assigning pictures to the profiles of my friends who have never bothered to do it. Since I have a rather large database of images and have photographed many of my friends, I can do it easily on my computer. Much easier than if I tried to do it on my phone. Now, instead of just a name popping up on my phone when I text my babysitter, I get this picture I took when I photographed her dance group:
The reason I’m telling you all this is two-fold. First, it’s neat that you can so easily attach a picture to your friends in Gmail and have it show on your phone when they text you. Second, attach a picture to your Gmail account! Impressions are important. Having a great picture of yourself pop-up every time you text someone makes a difference in how you are perceived. Personally, I think everyone should have a great headshot for all their social media, etc. Nothing breaks down barriers better than a smile. I make a point of attaching the same headshot of myself to everything. It’s on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Google+, Gmail, even this blog! If someone comes in contact with me anywhere on the web (or by text) they always get the same picture of me. There’s never any confusion and the more they see it the more familiar I become.
The moral of this story is this: How you present yourself matters and your online picture is the way that most people see you. Make it a good one.
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