The photographic art you choose to place on your wall is ultimately the result of the vision of the photographer. This vision, coupled with what you wear to your session, the environment, the lighting, even the mood the subjects are in at the time of photographing creates the work that you will want to proudly display on your walls forevermore
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Ed Sharp Photography Custom in home & on location Photographic Portraiture "Capturing who you are, not just what you look like" Serving Upstate New York and Beyond |
Why hire a Professional PhotographerYou have many choices when searchingfor a Photographer to create your portrait and you will soon realize that not all Photographers are equal. Ed Sharp Photography offers a more personalized experience than you will find from most photographers. Our philosophy in creating your portrait is that it should say something about you. It is important for the photographer to understand their subjects on some level and this will play a big part in creating a unique portrait that will be treasured for years to come. When we say "Capturing who you are, not just what you look like" we mean we want your personality to come through in your portrait. There have always been the department store and discount chain photo studios who make their money by shooting high volume with inexperienced people behind the camera, churning out sheets of pictures at a very low price. Today you can also add all the new "Instant" photographers that seem to have sprung up all over that think that digital photography is an easy way to make some quick bucks. Using the "spray and pray" technique (photographing a ton of pictures and hoping they get something presentable),most of these fauxtographers will most likely leave you disappointed. A trained professional photographer looks at each subject individualy and will make the best use of pose and lighting so that your portrait represents you at your best. The guy at Sears or JC Penny can't do that, even if he knew how. Author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography has written a brilliant article about Custom Professional Photography and has generously allowed it to be reprinted here. What Is Custom PhotographyYour first step in the process is more about determining who you are, who your family is and then seeking a photographer that reflects your style. For instance let’s say your family is extremely outdoorsy and loves playing on the beach. You start determining what style you like, browse through photography website portfolios and determine if any of the styles exhibited there would be a good fit with your life and family style. You have already determined that you should probably seek out a beach type photographer (that is if you live near a beach) and then begin narrowing the field down a bit. Finally after a bit of internet research, you have narrowed it down to two photographers who do what seems like solid work, the sort of outdoor beach look you desire. It is now time to ask yourself: Do you like photographer A’s style over photographer B’s style? Is it because the people in the images of A’s style are having a great time and it seems very caught up in the moment vs. B photographer more posed, looking in the camera images? If this is a case, you probably like LIFESTYLE photography or perhaps even take it a step further and define your desired style as a PHOTOJOURNALISTIC photography style. The photographer you probably should choose is photographer A because their style is very similar to the style you desire. What custom photography ultimately is all about is choice and experience. Custom photography is about finding someone who will photograph your family, give you devoted 1:1 attention without worry of who is next ‘in line’ or the feeling of a crowded portrait studio.
A custom photography experience should have you, the client and your experience in mind. Why Choose Custom PhotographyCustom Photography as something "special"Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well. Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session. Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child's stages in life. Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget, it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting). There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client. The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product. The result of all this are heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session is only asmall portion of time involved in this process. Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get to point B from A let's face it, even a bus ride would suffice. If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea. Custom photography is much the same cup of tea. It is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile. Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of "mass produced," "mass marketed," corporate "everyone is a number". Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great an experience would be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime? Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass. Author Marianne Drenthe of Marmalade Photography created the above article about Custom Professional Photography and has generously allowed it to be reprinted here. |