Amy's Bridal

We had an awesome time shooting Amy's Bridal Pictures. She is so much fun to work with - a natural model!!! She is getting married on Valentines Day (how romantic) at the Marty Leonard Community Chapel in Fort Worth.

Can't wait to do your wedding. For now, here are a few sneak peeks at your bridals.

Kurtz Family

We had so much fun today taking pictures of the Kurtz family. We had a great session at the Arboretum, despite the mud. Annabelle was going from one storybook house to another. She is so adorable and such a natural model. She even struck tons of poses for us. Her dad had to remind her on a few occasions that she is a little lady with a dress on... all she wanted to do was play! =)

It was great seeing you again, Carl and we will have the rest of your pictures up soon.

The best daddies make toys out of leaves and sticks that their daughters find in a park =)

Annabelle striking a pose for the camera. Watch out daddy! She is going to be a model.

My favorite one of all time!

Annabelle pulling her dad around the park.

Blogging, Facebook, and Updates

Hello everyone. I am truly sorry for not being more diligent on blogging and I will spare you all of the excuses. All I can promise is that I will try harder.

While I have not been blogging, I have been faithful to Facebook! I have quite a network of friends and fans that produce the most interesting posts. I HAD to share one. This is the prime example of why you do not hire a 'budget' photographer or videographer!!! Watch as a bride's wedding day is ruined....

New Cameras

ShutterSpire has been able to get new cameras in the last couple weeks, and we can't be more excited. We went up to the Canon 7d's, and the picture quality is astounding. You won't believe the difference; and that means even better pictures of you on your wedding day or for your portrait session. Check out this picture that Tim took while a storm was rolling in. We did not edit this picture at all. I am impressed with all of the cloud detail.

Video

I have recently gotten into video, and LOVE it. I have been making DVD slideshows for my clients out of their still pictures and they are coming out amazingly beautiful. Additionally, our new 7d's have video capacity. This means that we have a whole new set of possibilities at our fingertips. Just wait to see what the future of ShutterSpire holds.

Expose

Our new Expose site is up and running at http://expose.shutterspire.com/. This is a way to pass on information and display our new Boudoir service. These sessions are really fun and I enjoy making women look and feel beautiful. Go check it out and tell me what you think.

His & Hers Bridal Open House

ShutterSpire Photography, Events by Secmele and Cowboys Golf Club are hosting an upscale event catered to both the Bride and Groom. This fabulous event will include top-notch vendors, champagne and hors dourves, displays, and even a fashion show. Come out and see us on January 10 from 12-5. More information at http://www.hishersbridalshow.com/

ta-ta for now.

I do have more exciting news, but I will save that for another post. If you want more up-to-date happenings, visit us on Facebook and become a fan. http://www.facebook.com/shutterspirephotography

Erika and Raul are Engaged!

We had a great day today. We had the privilege of photographing Erika and Raul’s engagement pictures. They are the cutest couple and so much fun to spend time with. At the beginning of the session, Erika told us that they are not used to getting their pictures taken, but I think they are naturals. They came up with so many cute poses and looks that they made our job easy! The location they chose was the Arlington Highlands because it is a favorite date-night spot for them. In fact, their first date was there at Gloria’s Restaurant.
I hope the both of you enjoyed your ‘date’ with the paparazzi =) We are looking forward to your wedding in May.

Randle Family Pictures

We had so much fun today with our friends Secmele, Damien and their family! We went downtown and took their family portraits. Wow, trying to keep up with FIVE kids was an adventure for us. They were running in different directions all at once, but it was great. What a wonderful family! All the kids were so well behaved. That is a true testament to how Secmele and Damien are fantastic parents!

I couldn’t put up all my favorites from this shoot, (what would be the point in waiting for the finished product??). Here are a few that I really liked.


Secmele and Damien have been married for almost a year now and they are adorable together!

This one of them is my absolute favorite! Hope you all had as much fun as I did.

Expose Unveiled!

We had the best time this weekend by kicking off ShutterSpire's new service, Expose. One of my former wedding clients (you have seen Jessica's images all over the place) got three close friends together and we did a boudoir session! They got a hotel room in Dallas and we had a blast. All four girls were absolutely beautiful and perfect models (so I can't take all the credit for the images) =)

Evonne Makeup Artistry and Leanne Weber Hair Stylist were on site and made the girls feel like movie stars while Christina (me) from ShutterSpire took the pictures. The four girls and I were there all evening, and we would have stayed longer had some of us not been required to be at work in the morning.

Ladies, the pictures are looking as beautiful as you are and I can't wait for you to see your galleries. I should have them done in a couple of weeks.

News update

We, here at ShutterSpire have been very busy lately and I am excited to share with you all of the wonderful things we have coming up!!!

We are doing a boudoir shoot this Sunday for one of our past brides and a few of her friends. We are really excited about that. This will jump-start our boudoir services that we endearingly call Exposé.

We have been working diligently on our Vendor Network and have quite a few vendors enrolled. We are in the process of trying to get everyone up on the site and get pictures taken for them.
On a similar note, we are also working on the Bridal Show that we are sponsoring and Cowboys Country Club is hosting. The title of it is His and Hers Bridal Show and it will be January 10, 2010 from 12-5. It will be a very upscale event that you will not want to miss. More details to come in preceding months. Keep checking www.hishersbridalshow.com for more information (should be up in about a month).

Recently Booked Brides

We want to welcome and thank our two newest brides and congratulate them on their upcoming weddings.

February 14, 2010 – Amy and Greg will be getting married in Fort Worth

May 22, 2010 – Erika and Raul will be getting married at Rolling Hills in Arlington

Congratulations to Shaalon and Peter

This weekend, we had the privilege to cover the wedding of Shaalon and Peter. They got married at the Grace Avenue United Methodist Church in Frisco. Their reception was held at the beautiful Marriott Hotel at Legacy Town Center.

They were a great couple and we had a lot of fun shooting their images. Peter was even a good sport and played along with a ‘begging’ proposal shot that we wanted to do.

Since both Shaalon and Peter are Indian, we had Indian food at the reception. It was the first time I have ever had Indian food… and I was pleasantly surprised about how much I liked it. As with any type of ethnic food, dessert was my favorite =)

The wedding was beautiful, the reception was great, and we really appreciate being a part of their big day. I also want to take time to thank their vendors for providing such fabulous services.

Dress – Circle Park Bridal
Tux – Men’s Warehouse
Jeweler – Ashok Gopaldar
Flowers – Gayle Larsen
Hair and Make-up – Farah Mohd
Limo – Premier Transportation; Al Garcia

Vicki and Pete are Wed

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to be a part of Vicki and Pete's nuptials. They had a beautiful wedding at the Holiday Inn Express in Addison. It was a fabulous hotel with wood trim throughout. The ballroom that they had was so nice and the wedding turned out fantastic, thanks to Secmele Randle Weddings and Events and the help of Vicki's family.

Vicki was such a pretty bride, and she was so animated. She made the cutest faces and I was able to capture many of them. This was an emotional time for both Vicki and Pete, and you can truly see the love they have for each other in their pictures. The images should be finished and will be viewable on our website on Monday, August 17.

Hodgepodge

I want to apologize profusely for neglecting this blog. It has been a busy few weeks and I have not had time to write anything!!! We are getting ready for some upcoming bridal shows and having to enter over 1000 brides names into our software so we can send out the promos has been exhausting. At any rate, we have had some promising consultations this week (Thank you Erika and Leslie) and I hope we are able to work with them on their wedding.

The August Newslettter is out with new information, suggestions, and specials. We have a special every month. Check every edition of our newsletter for a new special. If you would like to receive an e-copy of our letter, please send an email to info@shutterspire.com with the subject line, NEWSLETTER. I will make sure you get a copy.

How many of you loyal readers still want the "How to Take Better Pictures" articles to come back? Please let me know.

Otherwise, have a great day and the weekend is nearly here! =)

Break Free: Bridal Action Photography

It has been so busy around here and not near enough hours in the day to accomplish all that we wish to. I am very sorry for neglecting this blog for two and a half long weeks. Tim and I went out of town to see family and try out some new styles of photography that I know you are going to love.

Break Free: Bridal Action Photography
You might have heard it called “Trash The Dress”, but we don’t like those words. Your beautiful gown should never be associated with garbage. So instead, we came up with something that we believe is a little more befitting.

With a Break Free session, we want you to feel the freedom from worry, anticipation, or any other negative feeling associated with the stress of your big day. We also want you to break free from tradition. Do the things you normally do in everyday life… just do it in your wedding dress. Make these sessions about who you are, as a person or as a couple.
This was our first Break Free session, but certainly not our last. It was a lot of fun and the idea of it has caught on like wild. Charlotte decided to participate for a few reasons. She has been happily married to her husband for five years now. The dress, however, was purchased before she got married, when she was engaged to another person. She wanted to break free from that bad memory in her life.

“But don’t you want to give your dress away?” This is always an option. It can still be an option after one of our Break Free sessions. You don’t have to destroy your dress (hence why we changed the name from “Trash the Dress”). Almost everything you do can be cleaned at a later time, if you wish to still keep it and pass it on. However, if you have no need to hold on to it – we can immortalize your dress in a fun and unique manner that is all about you!
Charlotte and her family are big four-wheeler fans, so her idea about riding her bike with her dress on was fantastic. We got some great shots of it and the most important part, Charlotte had fun doing it. We then headed over to a creek on her grandmother’s property and got some beautiful wet pictures. We hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as we do. Charlotte’s whole gallery is online at http://shutterspire.zenfolio.com/

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is coming to Dallas

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is coming to Dallas this Friday to announce to yet another deserving family that their prayers of a new home will be answered. In the spirit of giving, ShutterSpire wants to find a way of helping the family too.

The two weeks following the build, ShutterSpire will donate our time to providing portrait services and all of the proceeds will go to the deserving Dallas family. We will do special mini-portrait sessions at the Dallas Arboretum all day from Monday through Friday from July 20 through July 31. These sessions will be approximately 30 minutes long and we are asking for a $50 tax-deductable donation for the service. Please RSVP to assure you get locked into a time slot. Call us at 214-516-5088 or email christina@shutterspire.com and I will get you on the schedule.

What else can you do to support the family? The build will take place from Friday, Jul 10 through the following Friday. You can volunteer your time, help build, or just come cheer the family on. For complete details or to register to help, go to the Cheldan Homes website http://www.extremecheldan.com/

Break Out of Automatic Mode

This series will have a new article posted every week on Wednesday and will cover a range of topics to make you a better photographer. If there is a topic you would enjoy reading about, or possibly a question you have, feel free to drop us a line at info@shutterspire.com

Break Out of Automatic Mode

I know it is a scary idea to switch out of your Automatic mode, but that is the only way you are going to learn. You learned to ride a bicycle as a child and eventually took off the training wheels. Now you can ride a bicycle with comfort and ease. These articles will hopefully train you in the same way. You will be taking the pictures that you envisioned in no time.

Our first step is to put on the training wheels. Switch your camera out of its automatic function, and into the programmable function (P-mode). P-Mode works similar to Auto in that it will make sure that you get a properly exposed picture, but it allows you to add in some of your own creativity. You are able to adjust your ISO, exposure, aperture, and flash functions.
ISO, Exposure, and Aperture

These three things together are the recipe the camera uses to create a picture. Changing one (or all three) of these elements gives you all the creative control to create the images that are in your mind. Let me start off with a few definitions.

ISO – This is the same as ‘film speed’. The lower ISO numbers can be taken when you have plenty of light (outside during the day). The higher ISO numbers are more sensitive to light and allow you to take pictures when not much light is present. When you take pictures with this speed, you will also have more grain that appears in the image and many photographers use this to their advantage. Why would someone want grain? It can make the picture feel warm and fuzzy, or aged and delicate. It can add to the mood of the image. I prefer to stay at ISO 100 – 200, and rarely ever go slower than a 400.

Shutter Speed – Your camera’s shutter speed is measured in seconds and you will nearly always see a fraction of a second. This is how long the shutter stays open to take in the image. Again, this has to do with lighting, as well as what effect you are attempting to achieve. If there is a lot of light, you do not want your shutter open very long. A shutter speed of 1/250 of a second would work well here. That shutter speed will also stop nearly all movement in the image. This is an excellent speed to use if you want to take a picture of your child kicking a soccer ball or your dog running across the yard. If you are inside, or the light is dimmer, you should go to a slower speed such as 1/60 of a second. This shutter speed will stop camera shake (the natural shake of your hands), but if the subject is moving, you will see some blur. This is an excellent speed for the photographer to show movement (like at a party).

Aperture – Aperture is very detailed. Think about your eyes for a minute. When you walk into a dark room, you initially can’t see anything until your eyes adjust (iris gets larger to take in more light); then you are able to look around. Now, step outside from that dark room and your eyes start to hurt. It is too bright and your eyes need to readjust (iris gets smaller to restrict the amount of light). This is the same way the aperture works on a camera. The more wide open it is, the more light gets let in, allowing you to take pictures in lower lighting conditions. Now that you get the general idea, we need to move onto the technical information. Aperture is measured in f-stops. The smaller the aperture opening, the larger the f-stop. For instance, when you walked outside, if you were going to take a picture, you may use an f/16. And, you walk back inside with low lighting conditions, you may change your camera to an f/2.8. There are other effects aperture has as well. Most people like close-up pictures with a great deal of bokeh, or blurry background behind them. You can achieve this with lower f-stop numbers (my favorite is a f/2.8 or f/5.6) This is also referred to as “Depth of Field”. A narrow or shallow depth of field has only a few select items in focus, whereas a wide or deep depth of field has nearly everything in focus.

I want to SEE what you are talking about

I took a variety of pictures using different ISO, shutter speeds and apertures so you can see the different combinations that they have.

ISO 100 1/1000 f/2.8
This first image is done outside in the morning on a bright sunny day. My dog was being good, so I took his picture. I am on ISO 100 because it is bright outside and I want the clearest picture possible (very little grain). I also like bokeh, so I put my aperture down to a f/2.8 and in order to get proper exposure with these settings, I need to use 1/1000 of a second shutter speed (I will explain how to determine this in the next article.)

ISO 1600 1/800 f/16
I wanted to change things up a bit to give you a variety. I bumped my ISO as high as it would go. When zoomed in, there is noticeable grain in the picture. I wanted to see if I can make the background come in pretty clear, so I set my aperture to f/16, and to get a decent exposure, my shutter speed is 1/800 of a second. I ended up slightly underexposing this picture, so I probably should have gone to a 1/640 instead to allow just a little more light in.

ISO 100 1/30 f/2.8
I decided to move inside and take a few pictures of my fairies. Again, I wanted to show a shallow depth of field and get a crisp looking picture without much grain. As you can see, only the center figure is in focus, whereas everything else is blurry. This too is a little underexposed, but if I would have gone to a slower shutter speed, I would have had to use a tripod to avoid too much camera shake.

ISO 800 1/30 f/8
This is the midpoint with a much faster film speed, same shutter speed and a smaller aperture. As you can see, the figures on the left and right are coming into focus more.






ISO 1600 1/20 f/16
These are the maximum settings I could use before having to bring in a tripod and flash or additional lighting. As you can see, the figures are mostly in focus (and so is the background). This is due to the aperture giving us a wide depth of field. The ISO is giving us grain. Look at the two images below. They are enlarged sections of two of these images.

ISO 100























ISO 1600

























Your Assignment
For this week, I want you to put your camera in “P” mode and scroll through the different settings that your camera has for the correct exposure. Take pictures using these settings:
ISO 100
ISO 1600
f/2.8 (or as low as your camera will go)
f/22 (or as high as your camera will go)
1/30 second
1/800 second

Submit your images to me to post on our blog. Have a great rest of your week and enjoy our holiday weekend!

ShutterSpire is 1 year old!

Even though we are still pretty new, we have seen huge changes in the last year and want to share those with each of you. Over this week, I will be working on re-posting ALL of our past events and portraits for you to enjoy. You can order prints if you like, as though the pictures were brand new. I am also working on getting a few of my favorites up on both Facebook and MySpace.

If there is anything that you would like to see in particular, please drop me a line and I will be sure to get it up.

Have a great week!

Dulce is a Senior!

Girls are so much fun to photograph, and Dulce is no exception. She is cute and silly and I really enjoyed working with her. Today was also my assistant, Evany’s first time as a shooter and he did an excellent job directing some poses and coming up with ideas. Between the two of us, Dulce is going to have a lot of really nice shots to look at, and I know that it will be very hard to choose. Here are a few of my many many favorites.




This last one was the work of my new assistant, Evany. He posed her and composed the picture. Edited in Lighroom by Christina.

Take Better Pictures Series - Article 1

Welcome to the first in a series of Articles to help you take better pictures. This series will have a new article posted every week on Wednesday and will cover a range of topics to make you a better photographer. If there is a topic you would enjoy reading about, or possibly a question you have, feel free to drop us a line at info@shutterspire.com

Get to Know your Camera

Contrary to popular belief, the camera you use has very little to do with the pictures that come out. Do you have an old 4MP (megapixel) digital camera sitting on the shelf? Do you have a 35mm film camera that has gone with you on every family vacation for the last 10 years? Take them down and dust them off, because you are going to learn how to take beautiful photographs with them.

First thing is first, you need to determine what kind of camera you have. They all work primarily the same, but have a few different features that are important. I will be talking mostly about digital cameras, however, I will add in information for you film users as well. Otherwise, the information can apply to both.

There are two primary types of cameras that individuals purchase. The first one is called a point-and-shoot camera and the second is a DSLR camera. I will explain both types.

Point-And-Shoot
These cameras, by far, are the most popular on the market. I took a picture of my point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot A570IS (yes, even professionals purchase these cameras). They are very versatile and small, and they can be taken anywhere. You do not need to know the camera very well to take superb pictures with it, making it the easiest camera to use. These cameras come with 7-10 megapixels these days and a decent optical zoom. They are loaded with features and pre-sets for various settings and conditions. I will go over all the features of this camera later on.

DSLR
DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflect. When you look through the viewfinder of these cameras, you are actually peering through the lens itself with the use of mirrors. When you press the shutter button, the mirror folds down and the light hits the sensor, which stores your information like film. The single lens, mounted on your camera, and the reflective mirrors give the camera it’s name.

These cameras are a bit more complicated than a point-and-shoot, however they aren’t as tricky as you may think. They are quite a bit pricier, but offer several advantages over the point-and-shoot. First, you may change out the lens. You can go with a wide angle lens and get more information in the image, or you can go for a telescopic lens and make the subject appear closer than what it is. An additional advantage to DSLR cameras is the ability to shoot multiple pictures very quickly. Do you have a dog that you want to catch running across the yard, but your point-and-shoot only lets you capture 1 or 2 images? How about your kids at play? DSLRs are fast, reliable, and accurate and you can shoot many pictures at a time – an important feature that point-and-shoots do not have.

Canon vs Nikon
We get this question asked to us a lot, and I would like to clear the air. Obviously, we shoot with Canon cameras, but that is our personal choice. Nikon is a great camera maker, as well as Sony and there are several other brands on the market. The camera you choose is entirely up to you and you will get the same great quality going with any of the major brands.

Your Assignment
Every week we will end with an assignment for the week. Your first assignment is to email me what camera you have and three things you know about it, as well as three things you would like to know about it. I will post your responses on this blog throughout the week.

Misael - Class of 2010

Misael is finally a senior. I had the opportunity of shooting his senior portraits today, and it was a learning experience for me. See, normally Tim is with me to help out on the posing and conduct all lighting set-ups, but he was unavailable and I had to do it all myself. I took a crash course from him last night, and seemed to remember most of what I was doing. Yay! Go me.
Since I didn’t have a second shooter, I enlisted Misael’s best friend, Evany. Meet Evany (pictured below). He did a great job as my assistant today. In fact, the close-up picture below is one that he composed himself.
Misael is one of my former students at South Garland High School. He is on the Swimming team and is a hard working student in his classes. Congratulations on being a senior! This will be the best year of high school, so don’t forget to enjoy it.
Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek at your pictures. I will have the rest up in the next couple weeks.

The Cost of "Something-For-Nothing" Mentality

It has been my experience that nearly everyone is budget conscious – especially these days. Tim and I too have found some hard-times. In these times, it is important to watch every dollar and determine the best place for it. Do you want a new television set or should you repair that leak? Would you want to take a trip overseas, or should you stay close to home and spend that money elsewhere? Our life is full of choices similar to these pressing issues.

What concerns me is the “Something-for-Nothing” mentality. It is great to get free stuff, don’t get me wrong. I always enjoy my occasional freebees and great deals. Though not monetary, they always come at a cost. When the bank gives me a mug for signing up with them, I have to find a place for it and store it in my house indefinitely (I don’t drink coffee, thus don’t use mugs). When I go out to use the free Wi-Fi at a local eatery, I feel obligated to purchase a sandwich and a drink.

However trivial these ‘costs’ seem, some freebees come at a much higher price.
When Tim and I were getting married in 2005, we planned and paid for our own wedding. We didn’t have a lot of money and had to make some tough choices on which vendors to include and which to eliminate. We decided that, to us, the food was the most important. We were having a Celtic Renaissance-themed wedding and that entire culture revolved around family meal-time. As a result, the majority of our budget went to catering, and we got the room for free (we had A LOT of food!!). Then we had to decide how we will remember the day. That is where we made our mistake.

Can you believe that Tim and I, wedding photographers, did NOT hire a photographer? We had a friend that said she would do it for free, and we took her up on it. Hey, how can you go wrong with free, right? She did a few simple poses and took pictures through the whole ceremony. We went on our honeymoon and upon our return, we were excited to see all the beautiful images that this film-student had shot. Two weeks went by, then three. I asked her about my pictures and she told me that something happened with the lab, but she was trying to correct them herself. Another week passed and she handed me a box of about twenty over-exposed blurry images. Nothing to make a lasting album out of. Nothing to pass down to our kids. Nothing except twenty over-exposed blurry images.

One thing we have learned from this experience is that the value you put into preserving your memories should be your top priority. If you are looking for the cheapest photographer (or worse yet – your Uncle Joe), will you really be getting the lasting memories that you desire, the beautiful custom made album to pass on to your children and grandchildren, and a wall-portrait that you can be proud to display on the mantle in your home? Or are you just going to have snapshots of your day? Anyone can press a shutter button, and a $100 point-n-shoot camera has a lot of the same qualities that high-end DSLRs have these days.

Additionally, if you are a client that desires a CD of your images, let me discourage you right now. A disc can be great and you have your images right there and are able to print what you want. Instant gratification isn’t everything, though. What you can print at home, Walmart, Kinkos, or even Wolf Camera are not high quality professional photographs. These images will not last for generations. Neither will the CD you just purchased. We are already seeing a changeover taking place from DVD to Blu-ray. Remember ‘floppy’ discs? Eight-tracks? Records? They are gone. Technology changes! That disc will not be readable forever and all that money you spent on it will be gone too. You did not buy something that will last for generations. That purchase may be good for the next ten years, if you are lucky and technology hasn’t changed in that time. For the same amount of money, you can have your photographer create you a beautiful album, guaranteed to hold up through the years.

So please, for your wedding, hire a professional photographer. Please don’t purchase images from a discount photographer on a disc that will melt away with time. We, here at ShutterSpire, warn you against making the same mistake. Create an heirloom; afterall, isn’t your family worth it?

How much are your memories worth to you?

Manuela is 15

It is always an interesting experience doing something new for the first time. You almost felt caught in a whirlwind of activity and you aren't quite sure what to do and which direction to turn. That is how we felt last night - and it was great. We were able to photograph a quinceanera for a very deserving young woman. The ceremony was beautiful, the food, excellent, and the dance, exciting. The picture I chose to post on here is a very sweet image while Manuela and the other Quince were kneeling at the Virgin Mary. It was a true testament to their Faith. Congratulations girls!

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