Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Setting The Record Straight

Setting the record straight

I have a lot of new friends on Facebook, So first off let me say Welcome to my photography page!  A lot  of you are there because you were referred by friends and family to add me.  I am currently running a contest for a free session giveaway once I reach 1,000 friends, so I know a lot of you have been spreading the word on Facebook, suggesting my page to everyone you know.  I also have been pushing the contest along a little, by clicking on the “people you may know” links on the side; if you appeared there because we share mutual friends, I might have clicked you, and I thank you for adding me.  I have realized that a lot of us are connected on here, and it was another way to get my name out there and get to 1,000 friends even faster.  I appreciate everyone who added me, and I do hope that you will stick around even after the contest is over.  Please keep me in mind if you ever want great portraits at reasonable prices.  I run specials a lot and will be running contests from time to time, so stick around, there’s lots more to come! 
I of all people know there’s tons of competition out there.  With the digital age,  it’s harder than ever.  Everyone who picks up a DSLR is suddenly a photographer.  I constantly have to come up with fresh ideas and offer my clients things they can’t do themselves with their own point and shoot cameras.  I have to compete with Wal-Mart and their junk package, that they themselves consider a loss package.  Of course they never lose much, because usually you never just walk out of the store studio with only that $12 package.  Usually you get suckered into way more pictures at a lot more cost that the $12 you initially said you were going to spend….(well at least I always did anyway).   And even if you did just walk away with only the $12 package, more than likely  while you were there you picked up some groceries, right?  So even if they lost money on the portraits, they still got your money another way. 
There’s tons of photography sites on Facebook.  Just type in “photography” and you will see just how many there are.  Hell there’s at least 10 Hartman Photography  pages, one is even in Shamokin Dam.  I almost wish I would’ve come up with a studio name, rather than my last name.  (Too late now, right? haha)  However, I run my business with  pride and have no need to “steal” away  other photographers clients.   There’s plenty of business for us all without stepping on toes.  One of my closest friends is a photographer in Sunbury, PA.  I don’t run down her friends list and steal her friends away.  I don’t photograph over at the Marina, because I feel like that’s her turf.  I refer people looking for a wedding photographer over to my old boss from Lifetouch National School Studio and fellow photographer in Mifflinburg.  I have two other photographers on my friend list, and yes we may share a couple mutual friends, only because so many of us are connected on Facebook….Not because I went down their friend list and stole away their clients.   I get along and play well with others; I don’t need to be the hack bitch FAUX-tographer who can’t get clients the moral ethical way.  There is a girl who recently did this to me.  I will not mention any names here, but if you were her friend and received an add from me, let me apologize.  I was so upset when I found out what she had done to me, that I did it right back.   She ran down my entire friend list on my photography page and clicked add to everyone.  And I was so upset, I said “two can play this game” and I proceeded to run down her friends list and do the same thing.  Two wrongs don’t make a right, and I feel as though I shouldn’t have stooped to her level.  Some of my friends and clients were fooled by this girl, some were not.  In my opinion her work isn’t very good, it almost seems as though she just puts the camera on Auto and just clicks away, hoping she got something/anything at all.  I’ve heard it called “Spray and Pray” on other photography blogs.  So let me apologize to you if you were added out of an angry moment to get even with someone running around with a camera pretending to be a photographer.  It was immature of me to even try to get even.  I realized after I did it that I am better than that.  You can stay and see what real photography looks like or you can delete me and hope her poor business ethics and lack of morale don’t destroy her and her “business”.     It took me a long time to get where I am today (been doing portrait photography since 2001, way back before digital)  It took me a long time to gain the clients I have, and the amount of people on my friends list, just to have someone try to steal that all away.  I trust that you can weed out the good from the bad.  I assure you, I have been doing this a very long time, and I'm not going anywhere.  So I'd like to say to you:  Thank you for staying with me and trusting me with your precious memories!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Aiden and Braxton

My boys took a few minutes out of their busy video game playing time to pose for some pictures.  I recently upgraded camera and lighting, and just needed to have a few test shots... It turned out to be a pretty fun afternoon, and they cooperated longer than I ever thought they would  =)


I tell him to smile natural, and he pulls out the mega cheese face....




my son looks so grown up here, well except for that missing front tooth haha...


a moment of brotherly love... I am still not sure..Braxton seems to have the crazy eyes....


So different, yet so alike....



This one is one of my favorites, he was actually laughing at his brother, which makes it even more special!




My little man, he didnt want to wear the pappy hat, he said it looked dumb... but in my opinion,  he sure does look pretty good in it...

Monday, June 20, 2011

Landon at the Train Depot














This little guy LOVED climbing around on the trains and driving them! He had a blast for his 3 year portraits!  I edited a lot of the pictures with a aged look to them, it just seemed to fit the mood of the portraits, taken at an old train depot. 

Friday, June 17, 2011

Elizabeth







Funk Wedding














I don't photograph weddings... well I do, as a guest, but not as the main paid photographer.  Its just a preference, I prefer portrait photography over wedding any day.  There's just too much stress of EVERYTHING to do with a wedding.... getting the perfect shots, even the best equipment can fail, if it happens to be a rainy wedding, people in my shots, or the crazy guest standing too near to me and over exposing every single shot of mine with their own flash (trust me, one of my own wedding guests did this to my wedding photographer, and half my proofs had a big white light coming from the side of the picture)... Not to mention, there's no retakes.... Wedding Photographers are booked months in advance, I cant be sick, my kids cant take a tumble down the steps the morning of.... I cant just call up the bride to be and say " Can we reschedule your event till next weekend, I'm at the ER today"   

So as much as I'd love to someday venture into weddings, broaden my spectrum, don't count on it happening anytime soon.  I just don't need the added stress.... I would rather be in the moment of friends and family, enjoying the day celebrating with them, rather than be the one behind the lens getting frustrated.  For now, I'm just happy capturing a few shots here and there and keeping out of the way of the real wedding photographer, so I'm not the annoying guest with my camera and ruining the pictures that are actually being paid for.

Braxton







Backyard fun with Braxton, Bella and some Bubbles.  And afterwards I had fun playing around with some new photoshop actions.  <3