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Be a ________.

During the last few months one of my major goals has been to shoot more food photography.  I am really interested in the subject, I enjoy all aspects of it, and I think I can do it well (eventually).

So my past few months have been focused on learning – studying food photos, “becoming” a foodie, learning styling techniques – I never wanted to jump straight into food but rather be a food person who knew how to photograph.  I’ve been studying food, food photos, collecting recipes, deciding on what I want to focus on. In learning to “be” a food stylist/chef  you learn about presentation.

Thus my thought for the moment – become involved in the shots you want to shoot.  You shoot sports?  Go PLAY sports more – referee for the kid leagues, shoot hoops more at the park and watch more games.  See how the pros present sports.  You want to shoot business people?  Get deeper into business – meet with SCORE, talk about business planning and attend a seminar so you can see how someone has designed their speech.  Desire to shoot more animals & nature?  Interact – get out there, follow wildlife, hunt (with or without the gun), track animals – learn their behaviors.

— Related tangent —

When I first started learning to be a wedding photographer I listened to everything wedding photographers said. Advertising, marketing, sales, websites, SEO, photography & lighting, everything!  Eventually it dawned on me that photographers were good at making images.  I should learn advertising from an advertising specialist.  I no longer pay much attention to wedding photographers when they speak on subjects other than booking or shooting weddings.  The thought is very similar to what I’m talking about above.  Learn to be great at your subject – not just aware of it.

Sometimes when I want to shoot something I just pull it up, shoot it, wonder why it doesn’t sell.  I think the main reason is because someone else understands the subject while I just wanted a good photo of it.  Can I take good photos?  Yes.  Absolutely!  I shot models for years – and then I realized that because I don’t enjoy it all that much, the images weren’t high-class.  I can shoot well enough but the connection wasn’t there.  The question is – how involved are you in the shoot?

It doesn’t make sense for a city-dweller to go shoot cows and barns.  It doesn’t make sense for a sporty jock to shoot ballet.  Who are YOU and what can you shoot better than everyone else?

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Wedding photos of Lindsay & Joe (Rochester)

We met with Lindsay and her mom as well as Joe’s mom back in May. We had a good feeling Lindsay and Joe were going to have an incredible wedding and fun reception. Lindsay and Joe were married January 2nd at the Linehan Chapel at Nazareth College.

After the ceremony we had the fantastic opportunity to shoot at the Monroe County Office Building. It was snowing and dark outside when we arrived and I was very glad (and grateful!) Joe and Lindsay had made arrangements for a fantastic shooting spot. One of my favorite shots of the last couple years is the dip kiss shot below!

Following the reception we went to the Rochester Plaza Hotel, a place we’ve been a few times in the past. We love shooting at Rochester Plaza Hotel because it’s a GORGEOUS reception venue, the staff is pleasant and the service is wonderful! We rarely enjoy a venue as much as we do RPH. Oh, it doesn’t hurt that their bacon wrapped scallops are to DIE for.

Photos? Photos!

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Stock photography

We have a gallery of over 3000 images with multiple stock sites.  We’ll be posting images, links, information about stock photography, etc. in this section.

In order to get the maximum possible return for each image, we’ve decided to skip exclusivity for now and focus our attention on a broad spectrum of stock agencies. We are always examining, adding, removing and investigating agencies. Our plans for 2009 include adding Alamy and removing a few non-earners from our regular upload cycle. Production is key so I’ll put the list of agencies we work with into our income order.

1) Shutterstock – by far our biggest producer.

2) Dreamstime – images “season in” and produce more later than they do earlier.

3) IStock – difficult but worth it.

4) Fotolia – hard on some types of images.

5) 123RF – a mid level producer for us.

6) Bigstock – just behind 123RF in rank.

Other agencies we submit to but not regularly include:

• Canstock
• MostPhotos
• FeaturePics
• Veer Marketplace
• CutCaster
• YayMicro

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Apple Walnut Rice Salad

This is our first attempt at posting a recipe online and our second attempt at food photography ever so please be gentle! We’re going to be posting recipes and photos at least twice a week.  This is a recipe I found on an Indian foods site. After eating it as shot, I’d replace the brown rice with basmati but choose the rice that suits your palette.  This is best served warm.

Apple Walnut Brown Rice

1 cup brown rice 2 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil 1/4 tbsp grated orange peel 5 tbsp orange juice 1 tsp vinegar 1 pinch nutmeg 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste 1 whole apple 2 tbsp raisins 3 tbsp celery chopped 2 tbsp toasted walnuts, chopped

Instructions 1. Cook a cup of raw brown rice and keep aside. 2. In a bowl, combine 2-3 tbsps olive oil, 1/4 tbsp grated orange zest, 5 tbsps orange juice, 1 tsp vinegar, pinch of nutmeg pwd, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. 3. Add the cooked brown rice, one chopped apple, 2 tbsps raisins, 2-3 tbsps chopped celery (both stalks and leaves). Toss all the ingredients. 4. Finally add 2 tbsps toasted, coarsely chopped toasted walnuts.

Nutrition Facts Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. Serving size: 1/2 of a recipe (8.6 ounces).  Servings: 2 Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.   Amount Per Serving Calories 358.26 Calories From Fat 169.4 % Daily Value Total Fat 19.49g 30% Saturated Fat 2.56g 13% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 13.07mg <1% Potassium 356.69mg 10% Total Carbs 44.54g 15% Fiber 4.46g 18% Sugar 15.56g 10% Protein 4.21g 8%