Lowell, MA – That cheeseball line above was taken from a moving box, which undoubtedly annoyed me every time I had to pack and move another box. Let’s face it, unless you live like a nomad, moving is a terrible experience. When Ashley and I first [...]]]>

“With Every Move, There is a New Beginning”

Lowell, MA – That cheeseball line above was taken from a moving box, which undoubtedly annoyed me every time I had to pack and move another box. Let’s face it, unless you live like a nomad, moving is a terrible experience. When Ashley and I first moved into the Loft at 27 Jackson St., we didn’t have much, it was mostly photography and studio gear. We rented a small truck, moved it all in and in the preceding months just made like 45 trips to Ikea to get what we needed. Well, as it turns out, we didn’t realize how much stuff we had collected until it came time to move.

As you can imagine, we’ve had a lot of changing going on… with the baby on the way and moving our life and our business, we’ve been pretty overwhelmed. However, once things settle down it’s going to be perfect. Our new loft is a bit different, but we’ve already felt the positive affects it is having on our photography. The new place is built around a community of artists and we’re very excited to be a part of it. That doesn’t mean it was easy leaving our old place. It was our first place together and there were so many memories both personal and professional. It’s weird to leave the place where we started and that’s why on the day of our last shoot, I thought it was important to make this image. For me, I consider this a family business portrait. We’ll never have this exact space again and we’ll miss the floors, the windows and our signature blue wall.

Adios Loft 27; we’ll never forget our time together!

“My cousin/uncle/friend bought a digital SLR and they take pretty pictures so they will definitely be able to handle a wedding, right?”

“Maybe not.”

If you are not into photography in general then I’m guessing [...]]]> You always have the option of cutting out the pro photographer and letting a novice or advanced amateur shoot it.

“My cousin/uncle/friend bought a digital SLR and they take pretty pictures so they will definitely be able to handle a wedding, right?”

“Maybe not.”

If you are not into photography in general then I’m guessing you don’t really want to invest the money in professional wedding photography, and that is ok. As long as there are limited expectations put on the amateur’s work, everything should fall into place. On the plus side, you will at least have some pictures of your wedding day and have saved a considerable amount of money. And what if your amateur turns out to be a natural talent, and ends up being sparked into greatness because of your wedding? There is always that possibility, but the odds are against it, and at the end of the day there can be NO complaints about your amateur photographer missing this shot or that shot. NO complaints about being handed a disk of images that are dark, out of focus and not properly sized. NO complaints about your “online print store” book that really didn’t come out that good. The adage “you get what you pay for” is usually spot on in this regard.

However, if you love pictures and really appreciate the art of story-telling photography, you are going to want to consider investing in professional services. A dedicated wedding photographer will have the sense of purpose necessary for anticipating moments, posing portraits and maintaining a high level of creativity throughout the day. Not to mention the hours a professional will spend preparing your images for preview, print and album design. Consider the overall experience that you receive from a true professional and that is a large part of the investment.

It is a matter of determining YOUR level of appreciation for photography. Every one places their own value on such a subjective experience; but in the wedding planning arena it is often viewed as just another commodity, that can be easily replicated by the inexperienced. So if you choose someone outside the industry please adjust your expectations to match their experience.

If anyone has used a cousin/uncle/friend as their main source of wedding photography, we’d love to hear how it turned out, good or bad, and please post a link to the pictures.

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Tradition: The Wedding Album has become the benchmark for displaying a couple’s wedding images. The book becomes part of the family, especially in the early years as [...]]]> Wedding Album vs. Digital Files

Have you chosen to invest in digital files rather than a wedding album? Here are some considerations for you.

The Wedding Album

Tradition: The Wedding Album has become the benchmark for displaying a couple’s wedding images. The book becomes part of the family, especially in the early years as it is on display and later on stored and revisited by children and grandchildren and hopefully great-grandchildren.

Preservation: The quality and craftsmanship of today’s bookbinders have given The Wedding Album a look that can fit any style and personality. Easily stored in a preservation box at room temperature, these books last for generations.

Tangibility: The feel of the pages, the cover, the spine and the overall craftsmanship are a very large part of enjoying the modern wedding album. Photographic images were meant for print and these albums are a testament to this fact. A visit to a newlyweds home will undoubtedly involve a peak at the wedding album.

The Digital Files

Digital storage: With the access of large – resolution files comes the need to organize, store and back up these files for the future. The digital files need to managed, organized and protected. The DVD or Flash Drive where you received your files should only be considered a temporary vehicle for your digital file storage. They should be backed up onto at least one on site external hard drive and one off site hard drive or remote server.

Rate of advancement: Digital photography is here to stay, but what direction will it go? No one really knows if DVD’s, USB connections, or even JPG’s will be around in 30 years. Imagine all those floppy disks out there sitting in boxes with files from the 80′s; that very well could happen to a disk of wedding images.

Dependence on technology: There are infinite ways to use and show off digital files, from digital photo frames to slide shows with music, etc. The world has embraced the digital photography revolution, but what is often over looked it the dependence upon technology. You can’t very well look at digital images without the use of a computer, tv, and almost certainly the internet.

The Full Rant

It seems like everyone and everyone is looking for digital files these days. The majority of the people we meet on a daily basis are asking us if they can purchase the digital files of their favorite images and more often than not they ask to purchase the whole session. In this modern, digital age I can see the demand for digital products; people want to share, with friends and family, their favorite images, which until the last decade came in the form of prints and albums. It is so easy to upload your photos to facebook and show the world how good you looked on your wedding day, or how fast your family is growing and maturing. Has the demand for the digital image surpassed the demand for the print image? There are a few considerations with digital media that everyday folks might not consider when sacrificing the traditional photographic media. First, the inherent tangible nature of photographic images, specifically in the context of the wedding album. Second, proper storage and back up of all the data . Lastly the rate of technological advancement in the digital imaging industry.

The photograph has always been something you can hold in your hand, flip through and pass around. The Wedding Album, specifically has been the standard medium to show off your wedding images. Some, however, are choosing not to invest in an album and choose digital files and slideshows in lieu of the album. It’s our opinion that nothing can compare to the look and more importantly the feel of the wedding album. Just flipping through the pages, front to back, back and forth; it’s an experience that the digital medium will never replicate. Don’t get misunderstand, slideshows can be incredibly creative and eye popping, but it is different, and lacks the inherent nature of the traditional print. The true test is if you really love photographs, ask yourself this, “Would you rather see your images preserved artistically in an art book, or projected on screen?” If you are still on the digital side of the fence, I hope you have enough hard drive space.

In the world of the digital image one can never have too much storage, and you can never have enough backups. Where there were once boxes of negatives, there are now external hard drives. Digital files pile up faster than you can imagine. Take a look at your “photos” folder on your computer and then ask yourself if you’ve backed those up onto an external. If you have, are they also backed up on DVD as well; how ’bout an off site server for a fourth level of storage? The digital world is fun and pretty easy to manage, but it sure is sensitive and can quickly turn into disaster if you’re not prepared and backed up. It is common for computers and external drives to fail (knocking on all surrounding wood…. ahhh, IKEA everywhere) and data and images get lost. Whereas, it is highly unlikely your wedding album will be thrown away or will be unable to open.

Lastly we need to consider where the technology is going. We don’t really know where 10, 20 or 30 years of digital imaging innovation will take us. Will JPG be the appropriate format? Will a CD or DVD be readable in 30 years? Imagine all your digital images on floppy disk, seriously, imagine that right now. How are all your VHS home movies working out for you, have you put them on DVD yet? These are things we will all be experiencing in the coming decades, so it is easy to understand that the photographic print is not obsolete, nor will it ever be. Your wedding album is a tangible piece of art that can never be replaced by trend, even one as overwhelming as the demand for digital files.

So if you’ve chosen the digital road or are considering NOT investing in a wedding album … please let me know what you think? 978.516.0370