Time flying

Time has been flying over the last few weeks. Lots of things have been going on, family functions, weddings, parties, and school functions. I thought I would change this weeks posting to something fun.. A trip to the zoo is the subject above.. Just a few pictures, more are on http://flickr.com/georgestarrphotography along with lots of others be sure to check out Split Rock Nature Conservatory too...

Flowers are always a good subject, they always seem to smile :) And with this one I got a bug to boot.

Dragon Flies are a bit tougher of a subject because they seem to never rest.

Birds are easier, but also very quick... This guy showed up and decided to eat one of my other subjects.. Well not directly the one I was focusing on, but one close to it.

Elk Creek Winery

Had a great time Saturday at the Elk Creek Winery located West of Dry Ridge, Kentucky. The weather was great, maybe a little too sunny but we all survived, slightly red around the edges but that beats a wash out!! Actually it was pretty nice, had a breeze blowing, and the AC inside felt great!

We had the chance to do an engagement shoot with this couple, it was really great, if you have read our past blogs you probably have seen their picture. At the end of reception our last picture was a pose that we did in the engagement shoot that was a fun moment. We are like our couples, we like to have fun too, and these "fun" shots are always great for that. We got a lot of great pictures for the couple and hope to have them all posted up for their viewing very soon.

On a personal note, our son graduated Kindergarten Friday morning, it was really cute to see all the kids in his class perform their show for us parents. Sunday we went to the Zoo with our son and our nephew's family and had a great time with just a few sprinkles, we got to see Curious George at the zoo, the kids just loved it as did most of the adults!! (yours truely included)



We are looking forward to some upcomming photo shoots, weddings and parties coming up this summer. We do have a few dates open for your parties or special events, so give us a call or email for our rates on what you need. We also can still schedule family, children, maternity and Boudoir sessions over the next few weeks. Give us a call, let us know what you want and we will go from there.

Name the couple and get 100$ off deposit.

Two for one

We had a busy weekend but it all turned out well. We had a great time with both weddings, everyone showed up on time and everyone was in a good mood and the pictures turned out great. They are both posted up for the couple and their guests to preview within a week of their wedding!! We always shoot for a week, althought we quote two.

Looking at one of the couples pictures they posted up on facebook made me think that while it is good to have a pro take your pictures because of the quality of the images it is good to have family and friends take some too. While as professionals we try to get everything we can your friends know the people better and sometimes get a shot that we might not get. However, don't depend on them to get all the shots you want, or in the quality that you might want to hang on your walls or in an album. While small digital cameras have improved over the years, they don't replace having profesional cameras and professionals taking your photographs.

It's is always fun for us to see the pictures your friends and family take, so feel free to include us as your friend on facebook or myspace or just shoot us an email with a link if they use something else to share them.

If we are doing an album for you and they have one that you just love we would be happy to include them with our images.

We have one wedding this weekend coming up and I'm looking forward to it and hopefully the weather will hold out.

Snow on the Ground again this morning!

Woke up today with snow on the ground again. Icey roads ont the way in, and generally cold. Looking for an image to post I thought I would post the one above, from a rather warm spring Day last year. As a lot of you know I do mostly Weddings, but I also do photography for the love of it too. I've been in the mood to hike a little and do some nature photography and can't wait for warm weather to return.

The economy must be turning around because dates are filling up quickly this season, and already booking into next year. It's exciting to see all the new faces and can't wait for wedding season to start.

Through the wintner months we have done a lot of Boudoir and Maternity sessions, and expect that area to continue. Remember we have specials for members of the Armed services and public servants. We also offer a 10% discount for our weddings for members of the Military.

Spring is also a popular time for Senior portraits, We do offer them at your location and very flexible times.

Gearing up

Wedding have been slow this January but a lot has been going on. We have had lots of shoots and social events. We have also been busy meeting with our new brides. It looks like 2010 & 11 will be pretty busy, so book your Wedding, events and parties early.

Personally I've slacked a little on blogging, I have had albums and other order processing to keep me busy and blogging is something I always did after processing wedding pictures because it was fresh on my mind. More time behind the camera and not infront of a computer is good. I know a lot of you have been following my blogs looking for news on what we are up to and I hope you continue to do so and I'll try to keep up with my blogging a little better.

Thank you for all your referrals and kind emails, it's through word of mouth that our business started up and now continues to grow.

Congratulations are in order!

To All of the newly ENGAGED couples. We've got great news that a lot of you have got engaged, and we are very happy for you. Finding that special person you desire to spend the rest of your life with is something very special.

We've got the news by your requests for our services, and dates are booking up fast, so be sure to book you wedding as soon as you can. I hate turning people down that have been refferred to us, but it happens every year.

I've added a build you own package to or price list, Starting at $695.00 you can add onto it just what you need. Do you need more proofs, more time, a High-Res Cd set with a release so you can print your own picture, or perhaps you want an album and don't need all the extras that are in our packages. Our packages are still the best deal, but in these times we know people also want a lower price and still get quality service.

We are still booking sessions for Mothers-to-Be show off their bulge aka: Maternity Photographs. Also we are extending our Boudoir Session Special for a limited time, Free Sitting fee and a free 8x10 to all Militay, Police or Fire service personal or their spouses.

Christmas and the New Year

Christmas is a time for family and we were busy with other peoples families this year, however, we took time out for ours too.. Here is my son proudly smiling after beating Myself, and his Aunt and Cousin at Wii Resort Bowling over Christmas Break.

I hope everyone had a Great Christmas and a will have a good year in 2010, A Few changes are in the works to help us meet your needs a little better. With the way the economy is these days I find people trying to cut cost on services and it gets confusing to me to do custom packages based off of my other packaes. I just had 2 parents albums made last month for a couple that only ordered a Bridal album.. Ooops!! The loved their Bridal album and I guess I will love the other 2 albums over time!

We were busy with a lot of Maternity portraits over the last two months and I can't wait to photography all the babies. While we mostly do weddings we are available for other sessions too.

Unpacked

I finally got my office totally unpacked at home so we should be back up to full speed. Fall is coming on soon.. Leaves are already falling in our new back yard for me to rake. This weekend was uneventful and the only pictures taken were a couple family portrait sessions. (Christmas card portrait season you know!)

I'm looking forward to our wedding this weekend. While we do have fun doing portraits our true calling is with weddings.

We are still offering a free 8x10 and portrait session to members of the armed forces, see our web site for other specials. We have also started offering training for photographers or beginners, we've got a lot of request from people wanting to know more and even for photography jobs. I'm pretty well covered for people to work we me and we don't let people shadow our weddings, even if you are willing to work for free, which I get a lot of offers.

Great Weekend

The opening image is an Infra-Red Image of the Supension Bridge and Downtown Cincinnati.

I got spoilt over the weekend, the weather was great.. The days started out a little cool but turned out nice. My son and I went down along the Ohio River heading to the Newport Aquarium and got distracted by a Helicopter hovering above one of the skyscrapers. Being four and a half years old this was something for him so we stopped under the suspension bridge. We got out pictures of the helicopter and took some of the cityscape and bridge, took a walk and took some more. It was a very relaxing morning for the both of us. It does make me wonder how good he will be in a few years, he was using one of the extra cameras we have a Canon Rebel XTI which is about his size camera.

The image below is one of his favorite's and I love the angle he took it from, it's like really seeing it from his view.

Time for another Photo Tip

This week I'm going to go with a Photography Tip, The weather outside is really nice so lets take our cameras outside.

I'm a wedding/portrait photographer and I shoot people outdoors a lot. One of the biggest helps I have for shooting outdoors in the sunlight is my FLASH, yes a flash. What most peopel do is forget their flash when they go outdoors. Most of your point and shoot cameras have an option to turn on the flash even outside (flash always) or (Fill Flash) It really does work more than you think to light up faces and take away shadows caused by leaves, and other items.

I always try to find some shade to shoot in outdoors, it helps people not to squint, reduces hotspots on peoples skin and foreheads.

Granted shooting in direct sunlight is to be avoided when you can, but try using your flash. Even in the shade I use the flash to bring detail out for the main subject. I'd rather blow out the background (over expose it) than have the people so underexposed that you can't see their faces.

With an SLR camera you can set the flash power, I normally end up going to a setting that is +2 over what the meter thinks it needs. (see your manual on how to do this, EV+2)

Using your display on a digital camera outdoors is next to useless, shoot a few and and go inside and check your images until you have learned how to get the results you want outdoors.

One other note, for those of you with a Digital SLR, shoot in raw mode, it really helps if you are not right on your exposure, you get about 2 stops of extra exposure (forgiveness for a lot of photography sins)

Good luck and happy shooting!

George

(The Above picture is of My son - just having fun - no fancy equipment or anything)