Recent Sessions
We’re going to take the trickiness out of print sizing! I posted a blog post like this before that was authored by my good friend Danielle. Today I decided to make one myself – scary huh? It actually turned out to be pretty fun! I also love decorating, and this was kind of a mix of photography and interior design. 
If you’ve read one of these before, then you probably already know what the first photo is going to be. It’s going to be that standard size 8×10 that everyone loves. The 8×10 has come to be thought of as “THE” size to get for your wall. I’m not sure how this happened since technically it is classified as a desk portrait – I believe it has something to do with it being the “recommended size” of chain studios. 
Here is the 8×10 over a standard size couch.
Can you actually see Mindy’s pretty face up there. Having trouble? Yeah me too. So let’s jump up to the next most popular size. The 11×14.
Better!! You still can’t see Mathew’s beautiful eyes very well though. 
Why don’t we try that scary 16×20 that sounds so huge?!
That’s not too intimidating after all is it?! There’s actually room for some 8×10′s and 5×7′s to create a nice wall collage! But we’ll get to those later. While we’re on a roll why don’t we go all out and try a 20×30?
That print is scary at all is it?? It actually looks pretty great up there! Photography is a form of wall art, and it’s meant to make a statement on your wall! I would say these larger sizes make a fabulous statement, wouldn’t you?
Now just for fun here’s a few wall collage ideas to ponder as your making out that print order.
This is a 16×20 and two 11×14′s.
And a 20×30 canvas with two 11×14′s.
And finally – a 16×20, an 11×14, and two of those beloved 8×10′s.
See? 8×10′s DO have their place. It’s just not wise to use them as a focal point – unless of course you want a focal point on your desk.
Sometimes she consents to model for me. We got some great shots, and I wanted to share a few on here. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of my Facebook, you’ve already seen Mattie girl. If you’re not, you should be. I LOVE little girls in frilly clothes…seriously….LOVE. Although this little girl is a charmer no matter what she’s wearing. Enjoy!!
Little Carter is a one of the people who reminds me why I love what I do, and why I worked so hard to get to where I am. When you meet this boy in person his eyes melt your heart. One of the questions that I get most in mentoring sessions, and from other photogs is “What do you do in post processing to make the eyes look like that?” And my reply is always the same – “I capture it correctly in the camera! ” These days it seems more emphasis is placed on programs than good ‘ol “painting with light” knowledge, and I’m so grateful that my clients are amazing and that their photos remind me why I love photography so much! When I see eyes like this boys, I’m so happy that I’m able to capture their beauty and share it with the world!
Although I have to admit..it would be HARD to take a bad photo of this amazing man!
Della – your children are ADORABLE! Thank you for letting me document a small part of their lives!
That’s right, it’s contest time!!! We have to break in the new Blog somehow right?? Since Facebook changes their terms of service about once a day, this contest will take place here on the Blog. The subject is exactly what it appears to be. I want to hear about your proposal! I *love* love stories, and I love to document people in love.
Send the story of your proposal to contact@vaughanphotography.com (or use the contact tab above) for a chance to win a free engagement session, a mounted 11×14, and 20% off any wedding package (optional – booking not required). The first two items alone value over $200.00, and entries are only being accepted until July 20th!
Below is the flyer for the contest – it is also on Facebook. If your not a fan already hurry over and join! If your not getting married yourself, but know someone who is then don’t forget to spread the word! I recommend tagging them in the photo on Facebook.
Here is all the info – I can’t WAIT to hear your stories!!!
Why the F.A.Q. post? I often get questions from other photographers, especially the aspiring photographers who are searching for knowledge on the web. I try to reply to everyone, and I think I pretty well succeed at that, but I’m sure that other people have the same questions. My goal here is to use a few peoples questions to help many. I’m going to *try* to do this once a week. If you have a question you can send it to me via the contact tab above or head on over to my Facebook Page Discussion Tab and post it there. I just added that page today, and I’m hoping for some interaction. You can post photography questions if you’re a photographer, session questions if your a client, or just drop a note and say hi! And of course you can always leave your questions here in the comments – I read them all.
Since this is the first post of this type, I’m going to start with beginner questions. These are three that I have received recently. Askers are anonymous of course.
~What is the most important thing when starting a photography business?
I think there are two main points. First of all, you are starting a legitimate business. This involves all the legal and tax aspects. If you are charging anyone any amount of money for any service, you ARE a business and you need to be legal. You don’t want the IRS to be mad at you – ever. Second of all, it take a ton of learning and a ton of practice. There is much, much more involved in being a photographer on a professional level than most people realize. If your serious, my best advice is to find a photographer you admire and ask about mentoring. And study your heart out – and PRACTICE! 
~What camera do I need to start my business?
I would LOVE to be able to give a straight reply to this question but I’m afraid that it’s just not possible. I can tell you that I shoot Nikon, but I can also tell you that I’m friends with some amazing photographers that shoot Canon, Sony, and Pentax. The best advice here to go to a store and play with the various models. See what feels right in your hands, and have an idea of some of the features that you want. Remember – it’s the photographer that takes a photo, not the camera. A capable photographer can work any camera to do what they want it to do.
~How can I use photoshop to fix my images?
To put it simply, you can’t. When I ask new photographers what they most want to achieve, the things they love are all done in camera. Photography is all about working with light and angles to achieve desired results. You have to also know how to work your camera fully to make it do what you want it to do. Photoshop is definitely a great tool, and it can enhance images beautifully. It is not intended to fix mistakes however. It’s much more important to master your camera than photoshop.
I hope this helped! Stayed tuned for more F.A.Q. posts in the future and don’t forget to submit some questions with the links mentioned above!!
Here’s another before/after!! This one is pretty close to how I normally process everything – quick enhancements only. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I’m an advocate of getting it right in camera – but I won’t get on that soapbox today!
Before:
And After:
And the comparison:
Any questions, feel free to use the contact me tab above! Info on mentoring can be found on the photographers tab.
Have a great weekend!!
I love posting these as much as you guys love seeing them. Remember Samantha? Of course you do, we photographed her kissing Spiderman. Here is a before and after of one of her shots.
Before:
Normally I post the developed file as the before – not the processed but the developed, where it’s been changed from a digital negative to a Jpeg. I have found a way to post the actual digital negative, so this is a raw untouched file. It is exposed a bit dark because I didn’t want to blow out the sky in this particular shot. Although, you can see, it in focus. and the scene as a whole is properly exposed, and the lighting was nice.
After:
It actually appears like a lot more work was done here than there actually was. The image was already properly exposed, so I just did a crop to cut out the sky, since the clouds came through and the shot didn’t have the blue that I wanted for the sky. Then I did my basic process, which is fairly simple. As long as you have a great SOOC image, the post processing can be totally minimum and look amazing. This image took me a little over a minute to process from start to finish.
Here is the side by side:
There you have it! Want to learn more? Click on the Photographers tab up there and contact me for mentoring!!
Have a great night!!
Part 1? Yes part one. It was wayyy too muggy and hot to knock out the whole session in one day, so we will be adding to this later! I’ll keep this short since it’s my 2nd Blog post of the day…I’m on a roll huh?
Happy Tuesday everyone!! Now that things are slowing down from the holiday weekend, I thought that it would be a good time to look over the exciting changes that the new site will bring. As thrilled as I was about my brand new Blogsite, I was kind of sad to see my old site go. It hung with me through the early days of learning, and starting a business and has served me well. Eventually though, I noticed that most of my traffic was to my Blog, which I enjoy because I like to interact with my clients. So it was time to let the old site and blog go, and pursue options to combine it all into one. That’s how we landed here!
You’ll notice as you look around that this Blogsite is different in alot of ways from my old Blog. There’s the pretty flash header and the animated galleries. It also , of course includes client proofing and my portfolio right here, as well as all the information links. I love that everything in combined into one easy to manage site. That gives me more time to do what I love – capture great images!
My FAVORITE thing about this new site is the option to provide clients with their own mini-sites. Right now you will probably see this mostly with weddings and my senior reps. They will have their very own site for their friends and families to browse and enjoy, as well as their regular proofing gallery to order from. What was that……? That’s right! You can now place your order directly from this site.
Keep your eyes open for an announcement about the very first mini site that is on its way soon! I hope you all have a great day!!!!