Starlite Photography

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

HELLO SAN ANTONIO!!

I'm not planning on working much here in San Antonio, so I thought it might be nice to just do some work for free or donation for people who don't have a photographer. I know that on occasion, we have people who come here for military schools and get married. I would love to give a session to a family just starting out. I would also love to give a session to a family who is currently experiencing a separation due to deployment in a combat zone. My husband recently returned and I loved being able to send him a photo book of the kids for him to carry with him, and it was such a comfort for us both. Please email or FB me if you think that you might have a candidate or be a candidate for either of these sessions.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

$150 Session KISS

Keep it Simple Silly!

$150 for an hour session on location. You will be provided a DVD slideshow with full resolution images with minimal editing and a full photo release and information on great places to produce your images at with professional papers and inks. Additional time available at $150/hr.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Wedded Bliss!

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day ~Gene Perret

Bring to your wedding a unique flavor with your photographs that will last longer than the taste of the wedding cake. I love photographing weddings, and being invited into such a special moment in people's lives. I try to capture the tone and energy of any couple on this momentous day to preserve and enjoy for many years to come.

*****2010 Wedding Package Price List*****

*Engagement Session: $220*

This popular photo session lasts approximately 1-2 hours, and will give you and I a chance to become comfortable with each other before the wedding. These sessions are no-stress and high fun content. I will arrange a unique photo location in tune with your personalities and the tone of your wedding. Included in this package is a 10x10 custom hard cover companion album. In addition to the companion album, you'll receive an 8x10 inch image of your choice, matted to 16x20 for guests to sign and personalize at the reception. This is a great addition to the wedding guest-log that you'll be able to frame and hang on your wall at home. What a great, fun way to remember all the guests that shared your day with you! You will also be able to order prints of the session to customize your invitations.

*Bridal/Boudoir Portrait Session: $220*

This session is shot on location as well, in your home or at an agreed upon location. I'll spend 1-2 hours with you, taking several different poses of you in your dress or bridal troussou or a combination of both, whichever you prefer. A portrait of you in your gown, will be provided to you, at an 8x10 size, matted to 11x14 for display at your reception. A "look book" containing your wanted poses will also be complimentary in a soft cover custom cover album at the 5x5 size. Larger sizes available at increased cost.

*Basic package: $1200*

This package is designed for couples on a budget. It includes coverage from the hair/makeup session all the way through the main activities of the reception like cutting of the cake, tossing of the bouquet and garter, first dance as well as candids of the bridal party and guests. As you can see, this is pretty much a full day of photography, and equates to full coverage of your wedding day. I will edit enough images to give a thorough documentation of your day, and include high resolution copies on an archival quality DVD. This allows you to make as many prints as you like, using your local photo lab, so you can give them to family and friends. This offers a huge savings over purchasing individual prints and incurring recurrent fees.

*Deluxe package: $1450*

This includes everything in the Basic Package, as well as the Engagement Session and Bridal/Boudoir Portrait sessions listed above.

*Album Package: $2000*

This includes everything in the Basic Package, as well as a custom designed 10x10 inch, 20 page leather-bound lay-flat flush mount panorama wedding album. This is an extremely high quality, custom designed piece of artwork that you and your family will cherish for generations to come. Also included is one 5x5 inch matching companion/parent album. Additional companion/parent albums may be added at $100ea. Since these are mini versions of the main wedding album, they cannot be purchased without the album package. This is a perfect size for your pocket book, and is a great way to show your wedding album to all your friends and coworkers without having to worry about losing or damaging your original album. These also make a perfect gift for each of your parents as well. Larger sizes and more pages included in the books are available at slightly higher costs.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tips For Black and White

A few little tips here and there never hurt anyone aspiring to make their photos better, and I certainly don't think that there is any harm in helping those wanting to improve in the field of study that I love so much. I few little tips for successful B&W images will take you from average to amazing.

Think about the shapes in your photo as opposed to the colors, since you will not be seeing them. Bringing your subjects into odd or opposing locations can be exciting in your framing, such as a person dressed in a dark color placed on concrete steps in the sunlight that will read white. The camera will bring a drama that will draw you into the subject, just because they are the dark and therefor, most powerful item in the visual plane.
Use textures in place of colors.
Amp up the contrast by shooting in harsher than normal lighting. Use dramatic contrast to bring out features in a face, or still life. Go near a window, take a walk outside and see what shapes you can see in the shadows created by the position of the sun.
Consider the BLACK and WHITE, so that you don't end up with shades of gray in your photograph. Much of what frustrates me when I look at my shots at the end of a perfectly nice day of shooting in nature is the lack of impact because I forget to look for extremes in contrast. Nature has lovely colors in plants, but needs a discerning eye to bring out intricacies of natural plant structures and rock formations. The eye sees more than the camera, so you need to eliminate color from what you consider in your photograph; not an easy task in the Botanical Garden when you are out of practice.
Always remember that the more you shoot, the more you can critique your work, and the better you will become. Your eye will edit out things that are distracting like power lines, but your camera will not. You will begin to notice and consider these things when you are framing your shots more and more, the more you shoot and review what you have worked on. Just like driving a car, at first you thought about it all the time; 10 and 2, and after some-teen years of driving, there is little thought to the actual mechanics of driving. The mechanics will become more natural the more you do them.