Just Plain Awesome
Jan 28
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

New Prop Alert – Corpus Christi Photographer

So I’m more excited about this new prop because I found it, in the dumpster behind my Studio in Rockport Texas. So if you know me even a little, you will know that I am NOT a “dumpster diver” at all- I’m sure you can find really great stuff, but that is so not me. I wont even ask for a discount at a store, its just not my personality. So when I saw this bike glistening in an almost empty dumpster I couldn’t resist and grabbed it. I spent the day at the studio yesterday with my dad, hanging new backdrops, moving old ones, and overall just getting rid of some junk that had accumulated. We had made a nice pile of empty boxes and shipping tubes that were laying around the office. The shopping center that we have the studio at is full of office suites and small gyms so I knew when I saw the bike it wouldn’t be covered with yucky garbage. I pulled it out and it was brand spankin’ new! Tires had no signs of use, they even have the little nubs that are on new tires. I dusted off the cobwebs, probably just from […]
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Jan 17
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

Standard Work-flow

Work-flow is the method in which a photographer imports the images from a session into their computer and then complete a series of tasks to prepare each image so it is ready for the web and for printing. What makes a difference between a professional photographers images and ones that beginner captures or even your own? The difference is their work-flow, we don’t just upload photos straight from our cameras- there is a huge amount of time taken to work on each image before our clients ever even see them. Basically an editing process can take anywhere from 2-4 hours for every hour spent shooting the session. I use professional editing programs from Adobe. I always start the editing process in Adobe Lightroom and finish an image in Adobe Photoshop if needed. I import the images into Lightroom where I can sort through them and choose favorite and cast off any non-keepers. Non-Keepers are determined by facial expressions,  composition, and the “Feeling” I get from an Image like was discussed in a previous discussion- “Listening to my Inner Yes.” I make edits in Lightroom and basic tweaks that can be applied to many different photos at once. I also treat each […]
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Jan 08
by admin in Stuff 0 comments

Loving and Knowing your Session Location

A portfolio is meant to do three things 1) make a good impression for potential clients,  2) show clients what they can expect from their photo sessions and 3) give your clients options of locations to help them choose what location will work best for their session. One question I love to ask is what image on my website grabbed your attention and made you pick up the phone to call me? This gives me great incite to what type of location they are interested in as well as what type of images they would love me to create for them. As a local photographer in the Corpus Christi Texas area, there are so many options for locations. We live along the coast, have many rural farm areas, as well as great tree covered areas. Each area looks completely different then the next which gives my clients lots of options to choose from. But throughly knowing the locations and how to utilize each section to the fullest is where trusting me as your photographer comes into play. I use a lot of the same locations, same poses, but in between I throw in a few shots that are entirely unique. I do […]
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Jan 07
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

Natural Photo Session – Lighting Options

When scheduling your photo session you want to keep in mind what will help your photographer create the best images possible for you and your family. And who better to trust in then your photographer! Your personal photographer will give their professional opinion and guide you when booking the perfect time to book your session and its your job to Trust they know what they are talking about. I have had clients that were upset the day of their session because they looked out the window and saw that it was cloudy outside, for me I’m excited for a little cloud cover and I’ll tell you why. Clouds create a natural huge Diffuser, if you think of the sun being a large flash or light source, having a cloud in between you and the sun makes the quality of light softer and more even. When you are in direct sun it can create harsh shadows across your face, make you squint, and over all make it difficult for your photographer to create quality images. But there are ways that you can combat shooting in harsh sun. Find Open Shade– Open shade is a fully shaded place that is flooded with […]
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Jan 06
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

What an Image is Worth- made with Blood, Sweat & Ink

As a fairly new(ish) professional photographer, I have felt the need, in the past, to discount or give major coupons to clients in order to feel like they are getting the best possible deal for my work. Before I finished my portfolio building or set my current prices, I would have wavered and bent to every client complaint regarding pricing. In the process, I would be underselling my work, devaluing myself as an artist, and allow my artistic esteem to be slaughtered ever time. I have set my current price list competitively for my area as well as set the prices based of my target demographic. For me, my target demographic is a client that values photography and have some money to invest in my services and the final products offered. Clients that “value photography” may just simply mean they display images of their family and friends in their home. My ideal client wants to spend a little bit of money to achieve a big statement in their home about their family. This ideal client has a little understanding about the investment in time, the time it takes me to produce the works of art they wish to display in their […]
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Jan 05
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

My Thoughts on Posing

I believe I take a more journalistic approach to posing in that I enjoy more of an organic style to posing. I do practiced posing but in the loosest sense of the word, not in a way you might think. I suggest where to stand, who in which spot, and then general spots for hands, tilting of the head, etc. From there I let the person or group take over with natural movements, this gives a less robotic feel to the pose and gives the family a chance to interact with each other and for me to capture the moment. I pretty much do anything to capture images, I run, chase down kids, climb trees, lay on my stomach or back, climb through bushes, and get on top of things to capture the perfect image. I will do anything to avoid an artificial or contrived image with my photography. With children I find that posing is much more effortless, you can put a child in a general pose and they will naturally start moving in an organic way. But with adults it can be a little more difficult. They tend to freeze up and pretend they have never taken a […]
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Jan 02
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

Creating yummy delicious Bokeh!

Q: What in the world is Bokeh, and how is it Yummy? Bokeh (BOH-Kay) in the photography world is the aesthetic quality of blur or out of focus parts of an image that is produced by a lens. Bokeh occurs in the parts of the image that are outside the depth of field, creating gorgeous little blobs of light. So basically it means “Blur.” You can choose to use this blur quality in the background or choose a “reverse bokeh” where the majority of your foreground is blurred. Photographers sometimes use a shallow focus or a shallow depth of field deliberately to focus the audience attention on the subject. You can achieve this aesthetic “yummy” quality in your images in a few ways: Maximum aperture (smallest f-stop) Longest focal length you are limited to with the lens chosen Minimum distance to your subject Maximum distance your subject is to the background In laymen terms, open your Aperture as large as you can, zoom in, and get warm and cozy with your subject while making sure they aren’t to close to the lights from which you are hoping to achieve bokeh circles. To achieve the maximum aperture you can set your camera to […]
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Dec 30
by Laura J. Middour in Stuff 0 comments

Capturing Memories that will last Forever

Photography to me is the most powerful way to capture ideas, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, laughs, tears and they say “a picture paints a thousand words” but I don’t believe a thousand words could even encompass what you can capture in a single image. In a world where we are surrounded by images, and are capable of creating images with just a simple click of our cell phones I believe that professional photographers are still essential to help people capture memories. Its a chance for the whole family including you to step out from behind the camera and be part of the memory. I have been surrounded with the “Arts” my whole life, my mother is a painter and all around fabulous person, and my father was a Military man when I was young and a professional photographer my whole life- they both always encouraged my siblings and my creativity. Once my father retired from the military and we settled in one location, south Texas, he developed his business fully. At one point we even had a dark room in the house. He focused on what he loved to do and shoot- Sports. The business became a family activity and we would […]
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