Anne's Blog

Welcome to 2012- A Year of Adventure!

2012-01-01T14:17:00.002-05:00

It's 5am in Brisbane, QLD Australia on Monday January 2, 2012. For my family, it's still New Year's Day in the states. I'm sitting on the porch, watching the sun light up the horizon and listening to the morning chatter of birds. I took a 30 second video so you could join me in this beautiful waking of the new year in a new place... just turn up your volume to hear the birds and then press play *twice*...

In a few more days I'll share more about this journey... how I got here, what I'm doing here, etc. If you have any questions you'd like me to answer, just leave a comment here on the blog or catch me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I'm documenting this journey quite thoroughly for our family who want to know all of the little details, and since it's just easier to use Instagram or Path streaming into Facebook, everyone else gets to join me along this adventure as well. If you're interested in following along, connect with me on Twitter or Instagram and say hello- it's going to be quite an adventure!!

Bon Voyage 2011!

2011-12-12T07:40:00.014-05:00

This year has been huge.

In one way or another, almost everyone I know has gone through some kind of major shift in their life this year. Some pleasant, some not. What was 2011 like for you? I really want to see YOUR reflections on 2011, so please leave me a comment or link to your blog where I can learn about your journey from this year.

For me, 2011 took me on a whirl-wind tour across the country to do some speaking, workshops, and coaching in San Fransisco, CA; Houston, TX; Orlando, FL; and Detroit, MI. This year was also filled with fun in San Diego, CA, then Las Vegas, NV and even more fun in Austin, TX during SXSW. I took fewer weddings and more corporate jobs and still ended up meeting my goals and then some. 2011 was also one of the best birthdays I've had as an adult thanks to some awesome friends who helped me get away from it all in Loon Mountain, NH. I also got to spend more time with family and friends this year than I have in MANY years.

I'm so grateful that I've been able to reach a healthy balancing point between work and play.

This year I also took a lot of risks that I'd been considering for a while. Some worked out- like the coaching tour, while others did not, which is totally OK because it would have been physically impossible to do it all! The important part was that I gave a few things a solid try so I wouldn't regret it later. I had wanted to start a local magazine focusing on the arts and culture of the city I live in and even had some awesome people to help make it happen, but in the end, the timing just wasn't right for everyone involved (including me) so we shelved it. The groundwork was laid and if there's another opportunity in the future, I'm sure something good will come of what we've already started (in fact, I just got word that one of the super big projects I've been trying to move forward is gaining ground with a few key players!) I also had started shopping for a new studio space to maximize and expand my services along with some other photographers, but again, the market timing wasn't right so I ended up moving out of my studio to be better prepared for a future opportunity or collaboration, and to save up some cash for some awesome things happening in 2012. On the personal front, two of my favorite fur babies died this year- Misty and Bailey. Both had longer lives than the average pooch and they brought so much joy to the lives of everyone who knew them. They were great companions for working from home when I needed to get out of the house for some fresh air. They kept me in touch with always being fully present to each moment.

After the rain, keep your eye out for rainbows.

I was able to conquer some big long term goals in 2011 that I've been working on for a while. Goals like finishing a Music Education degree I started many years ago but never really used as a photographer (which I don't regret because I learned a lot and met my super awesome husband.) Speaking of super awesome husband, together we've also made some great progress chunking away at a pretty significant portion of our credit card debt. While it was not the total amount I'd hoped for at the beginning of the year, we managed to make significant progress while still having tons of fun and doing plenty of traveling together. We made a few healthy sacrifices too, and those are paying off in more than financial gains.

If you're still reading... thank you. Thank you so much for caring and staying in touch with me even when I've taken extended time outs from social media. What I'm going to tell you next may come as a shock, but I've been wanting to share it for quite a while. My break from social media has been very deliberate. As you know, if you want to grow your business, you must "always be marketing." Likewise, if you want to slow your business down, all you need to do is take a step back and stop putting yourself out there- which is what I've been doing. Are you freaking out yet? Are you on the edge of your seat? Before this gets too out of control, let me assure you that I'm still planning to be a photographer in one capacity or another. However, I will be getting VERY exclusive about who I work with and for what reasons.

I've been a professional photographer for nearly 7 years now and in the last couple years, the work that has excited me the most has been the work I've done in coaching and consulting other people toward achieving their goals and dreams. I always told myself that if I ever stopped falling in love with my work behind the camera, I would take a step back before something I loved turned into something I loathed. I'm sure you've met a photographer or two who seems to hate showing up to a wedding and would rather get a drink than grab one more photo of the party on the dance floor. I never want to be that person, EVER, so I plan to take a step back before it actually happens.

I believe in doing what you love, every single day, and if what you love starts pulling you toward something other than what you're doing right now, than it's time to follow your heart into another phase of personal growth and self-realization.

For me, that's spending less time on photography, and more time on helping others realize their dreams. If you think you're too old to switch careers or start something new, my girl Marie Forleo has some inspirational advice for you:

I've been testing the waters with a few different methods and styles of coaching and at this point I still consider myself to be learning and refining my style. I've identified that I'm really good at honing in on what is uniquely valuable about each person and finding the hurdles that are holding people back from being their fullest self. I believe it takes at least two years to develop a level of mastery in any given area, so I fully expect that I will continue to learn and grow into this role for at least another year or more. Initially I had considered going the life coaching route as many entrepreneurs do, however, one of my other big scary goals has been to get a masters degree in order to leave the door open to a possible doctoral degree. Getting a graduate degree was something I had planned on doing while starting a family, but since that hasn't happened and the timing feels good now to start changing gears, I'm planning to start a masters next fall that will help me refine and hone my ability to help others. Applying to grad school wasn't even on my radar at the beginning of the year. So yeah, this year has been huge for change.

How could next year even begin to top the transformations of 2011?

How about by spending the entire Winter and Spring in Australia, followed by an entire Summer traveling Europe!?! Seriously? Seriously. It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime and I can't wait to share it with you!! I also can't wait to work on my surfing skills, which I just started learning when I was in Australia last year...

Real Wedding; Linden Place, Bristol, RI - Outdoor Ceremony & Indoor Reception

2011-08-08T15:07:00.006-04:00

Union Studio Yoga | Andover, MA

2011-04-17T19:05:00.005-04:00

Take a deep breath...

I'm always amazed when serendipity becomes connection. Recently, a local yoga instructor, Jen, found a blog post I'd written about her from a year ago when I didn't know her name. That blog post led to us reconnecting, getting to know each other, and working together on this project for Union Studio Yoga.

The owner of the studio was looking for something that would feel dramatic, deep, and personal. Keeping with the flow of their current website, we went with black & white processing, but to give it the dramatic feeling, I made sure to include a lot of shadows by using only one light at a time. To make it feel more intimate, I kept the light close and focused for the posed images to create the heavy vignette, which forms the sense of an individual bubble around each pose and eliminates the sense of space in the room. To help it feel more personal, I turned each teacher's attention away from the camera so that the viewer could observe each teacher enjoying their own personal moment instead of engaging head on or directly with each teacher.

Here's Jen- who just exudes light everywhere she goes. My life has already been enriched just by knowing her. She makes things which are incredibly difficult look effortless and graceful, and that's what makes her amazing...

Remember when...

2011-04-12T11:48:00.003-04:00

... your wedding ring was brand new?
Shiny without a scratch.
Foreign to the finger.
Catching the corner of your eye.
Reminding of one who loves you.

Three's a crowd

2011-04-06T19:36:00.004-04:00

I'll be out of town until Monday with limited access to email.
If you need a faster response, please call me: 888-678-2663.
For information about Wedding Photography, please visit http://anneruthmann.com
For information about Workshops, please visit http://fisheyeconnect.com

Studio Open House & Anne-iversary Party!

2011-03-27T12:51:00.005-04:00

You're invited to join me in celebrating my 2nd year at Western Ave Studios and my 6th year in business as a full time photographer! The last year has brought great balance and peace to my life, and I can't wait to share that with you. For the first time since I started my business, I have FINALLY been in the same city for more than 2 years!! There's so much that goes into those first two years of opening a business or starting in a new city that I'm soooo glad to finally be in a place where I can experience the fruits of building a great team of people to work with! So....

Let's Get Our Party On!

Where: Anne Ruthmann Photography - Studio 302, 122 Western Ave, Lowell, MA 01851
When: Saturday April 2nd, 2011. 12-5pm Studio Open House, 5pm - 9pm Stay & Party with Glen David Andrews Band
RSVP & Map: So I can have enough gifts for all guests http://on.fb.me/anne411
(Don't live near me? I might be visiting your area soon!! For cities and dates, [CLICK HERE]!)

PS. The idea for the "Anne-iversary" came from my dear friends & photography colleagues Rich & Ashley Pizzuti, who also helped with the image above. They celebrated their "Anne-iversary" as the day we first met and I "helped them get their heads out of their @$$" by inviting them to get more connected with the local community of photographers. We've become such good friends since that first meeting and I really admire how quickly they've grown since then!

SXSW 2011 Adventure

2011-03-18T12:30:00.000-04:00

I'd heard about SXSW (South by Southwest) for the last few years and it always sounded amazing- so I vowed that I would find a way to make it work as soon as I could! This year it just so happened to line up with my husband's spring break from teaching, his birthday, and St. Patrick's day. Could the timing be any more perfect?! So- I proposed the idea of a super awesome birthday week in Austin, TX- but since we're still on our "Smarter Spending" mission to pay off debt, we needed to do it in a way that wouldn't kill our financial goals.

Over the holidays Alex's step-brother had offered to let us stay with him if we ever came to visit Austin - so we took him up on it and saved big time on the hotel costs. Next big cost is getting there. We've done our share of driving over the years and it's not our favorite way to travel, so we decided to finally cash in on some airline miles that we'd accumulated from lots of international travel- so our flight was FREE- wahoo! To save even more money, we decided not to get a badge for SXSW and just check out as much as we could without a badge- which turned out to be a great idea! We did end up renting a car and paying for some super tasty meals, but we totally lucked out on at least half of our meals, drinks, and entertainment because SXSW offered so many free opportunities to party! Yeeeeah baby!

The free parties were mostly due to the SXSWi (interactive) crowd seeking promotion and attention getting opportunities with full open bars and appetizers sponsored by tech and media companies. We met a lot of tech entrepreneurs and start-up geeks, sat next to venture capitalists and record producers in cafes, and got the insider scoop on many more free events around the city. The energy and level of connection that people wanted to have with each other was amazing and unmatched by any other festival I've ever been to. What we didn't get to experience without a badge was any of the films- since those venues were all limited seating and were sold out with badge holders. We also didn't attend the panels, but we heard mixed reviews from people who did attend. The tradeshow sounded awesome, but with so many startups hosting parties elsewhere- we didn't feel like we missed out. We were leaving just as the music festival portion started kicking into gear with even more people filling the city. One record label dude was telling me that SXSW has pretty much become the largest music festival in the WORLD. I have a hard time believing that, but the sheer number of musicians filling every nook and cranny, as well as pop-up stages built just for the event is nothing short of amazing. I seriously cannot think of a better way to spend a spring break if you're over 21+ and a tech or music geek! Yes, it was epic.

"Peeps, you don't have to eat them, you can light them on fire and stick them to people!"

While we were there to check out SXSW, for me it was also an opportunity to see why the city of Austin, TX has adopted the motto of "Keep it Weird." Between the trailer food parks, eclectic city neighborhoods, fearless local style, and fascination with novelty - the city did not disappoint in visual interestingness. Honestly, it was impossible to take it all in during one trip, but what an amazingly vibrant and creative city to live in!! No holds barred on creativity in Austin- which is why it's officially now my favorite city in Texas. ;-)

I decided to instagr.am the whole adventure with my iphone and put it on Flickr (does it get any geekier?) Here's a photo slideshow of the complete adventure- mishaps and all. For caption detail, click on the images to open in Flickr and go one by :

Announcing: Smarter Business Workshop

2011-03-08T08:37:00.022-05:00

I've presented for many different conferences and organizations, and have received great feedback on what I have to offer and how I can really help move people forward in a workshop format. However, what has frustrated me with the conference format is that I always want more time than what I'm given. One or two hours isn't really enough for me to do anything more than give a few solid tips, a dose of inspiration, or focus on just one topic. Sometime's that all you need to get started, but most often it just leaves you with some ideas and not really a plan for implementing them. It's like buying a pretty day planner for the inspirational quotes but never actually using it to plan your life.

Since I've been doing more one-on-one consulting for photographers and other creative businesses, I've really honed in on how to get to the core of where changes need to be made in someone's business and how they can move forward without abandoning ship. Most often this seems to involve a financial or a marketing shift- which often cause changes in other aspects of the business as well.

The key is that we can't throw out everything you've been doing in the past - we have to take where you are now to build on your successes and knock down the road blocks that prevent you from moving forward.

I'm not saying I have all the answers- I don't believe anyone does- but I do believe I can help people find the right answers for themselves. In fact, the biggest thing I've learned through consulting is that you already know what you need to be more successful than you are right now- that's not the problem- the problem is that the path to get there is cluttered with a bunch of other people's ideas about what you should be doing and how you should be doing it.

I believe the solutions to your problems are already within yourself and all you need is a little help finding ways to implement them.

So, that's why I've decided to do the Smarter Business Workshop, and why I've decided to do this workshop as bare bones as possible in order to make it as affordable as possible. I will not be renting a fancy bus or RV, I will not be renting a an expensive conference room, I will not be selling you extra materials or a monthly membership, and I will not be using this workshop to fund a down payment on a new home. I just want to help you run a smarter business- for your own sake, for the sake of our industry, and for the sake of our society in the pursuit of freedom and happiness. You can even attend the first evening for free (but you may not get into the full workshop day if you haven't registered in advance.)

If you're ready for an experience like this, learn more at http://smarterbusinessworkshop.com, or by clicking below:

If you're not ready, you can always learn more for free online at http://photolovecat.com or in person at your local PUG Meetings. Our Boston PUG is meeting TONIGHT- and you're welcome to join: http://facebook.com/bostonpug

Coming to a City Near You! ... and tracking my carbon trail

2011-03-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ever since my friend TimCo. told me about Dopplr and using it to track my upcoming trips and share my travel schedule with friends, I've been hooked.

Not only because it helps keep my friends and family in the loop, add upcoming trips automatically to my blog widget, and update my facebook page for me- but also because it tracks my carbon trail and helps me stay aware of the impact I have on the environment. Now, it doesn't always make me feel warm & fuzzy when I look at the carbon trail I'm leaving behind, but it does help me have a basis on which to calculate and be aware of my impact. It also provides me with reports that are both beautiful and useful concerning my travel and carbon impact:

Another service I used to use a lot, but haven't used in a long time because they were a little slow to get plugged into other social media outlets, was Virtual Tourist. It's more about building a social travel guide, kind of like Yelp, but with more opportunities for discussions about certain things to do and places to see. Dopplr also offers an opportunity to add discovered content, but what I like most is knowing when my travel is going to coincide with friends. So - where can we meet up? Are you already on Dooplr? Let's connect! http://www.dopplr.com/traveller/AnneRuthmann

Best of The Knot & Wedding Wire 2011

2011-02-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

My sincerest thanks to my clients, whose reviews of my work and service have honored me with The Knot's Best of Weddings 2011 Pick and WeddingWire's Bride's Choice Award 2011. I have to admit that I used to think these awards were only given to people who paid to advertise with the companies offering them (since there are quite a few companies where that IS the case even though they don't tell anyone), but since I don't have paid advertising with either site, I can officially get behind what an honor it is to receive these awards. There are HUNDREDS of wedding photographers in the Boston area, and only a handful of companies receive even one of these awards each year so I'm very grateful to be one of the select few to be honored by both for 2011!! There are times when I feel like I should be blogging more or networking more, but I'll always take a step back from marketing if I need to spend more time serving my clients so that they'll have an awesome experience. These awards are confirmation for me that all of that hard work does pay off in the end, and is ultimately the most important part of what we do.

I also received notification that The Knot's Ultimate Wedding Lookbook, which has been in the works for the last two years, has finally gone to print and I'm happy to share that you'll find some of my work featured in the book. The editors sent me a sneak peek of a spread where an image of mine is featured - the flaming chef in the food collage below is from a wedding I photographed a few years ago. I'm grateful that The Knot editorial team has continued to invite me to submit images from my client's beautiful and unique weddings for publication, especially since they are such a joy to work with- which is amazing when you consider how many images they look at every day! I look forward to sharing more of my client's weddings with them in the future (with client permission, of course!)

Gratitude Journal #6 - Obstacles as Opportunities

2011-02-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

I wake up and post to facebook, the first thing that comes to my mind, as if a message from a dream:

"Lucky people see obstacles as opportunities"

At that VERY moment, the universe responded with a very silent and cunning, "Oh yeah? Let's test that theory," and then dumped a big pile of Murphy's Law on my day.

I get out to my car and my steering won't work. It's so frozen tight I can't even begin to move it. Obstacle #1- an opportunity to take Alex's car instead. I get in Alex's car and text that my car isn't working- he may need to take the shuttle today. I start driving his car and the brakes give out. Like, completely give out. I'm not even a quarter mile from home and I have to turn around in morning rush hour without brakes just to get the vehicle back home safely. I coast into our parking spot just barely not hitting the brick wall of the building. Obstacle #2- an opportunity to test the public transportation. I talk to the people who drive shuttles and see the city buses pass by all the time. They point me to the bus stop and I go to wait. Thankfully I have some cash on me that I'd taken out the night before so that I can pay for the bus. As I'm waiting for an unusually long time- I text the people I'm meeting in Boston and tell them my situation and that I'm going to be there as soon as I can, but I will definitely be late.

I finally see the bus, only it's driving on the other side of the street and it's not stopping. There are no bus signs in this neighborhood so there's no way for me to even know where the bus usually stops- which is why I asked a shuttle driver. The bus has passed me by and I can't afford to wait another 20+ minutes for it to come around again. Obstacle #3 - an opportunity to call a cab. I call a cab and they arrive within a few minutes to take me to the commuter rail station so I can train into Boston. I had only planned to spend $1 on the bus, and end up spending $9 on the cab. The cab pulls into the commuter rail station just as the train is pulling away- and I think... if I'd called the cab instead of waiting for the bus, I would have made the train- lesson learned. The next train leaves in an hour. I don't have enough money left to buy a round trip ticket, so I have to use the ATM and pay an extra fee for my commuter rail pass. At least there's a Dunkin Donuts in the station so I can eat breakfast after a crazy start to my morning. I order my regular Iced Latte and they tell me that they don't make lattes at this location. Obstacle #4 - an opportunity to try the iced coffee. The iced coffee isn't nearly as good, but it's all I'm going to get this morning as I tackle everything else life is throwing at me. At this point- the entire morning is a complete wash, but rather than give up, I keep moving forward toward the obligations and commitments I've made rather than give up in pitiful despair that my day has been ruined every step of the way. I'll spare you the rest of the details, but just know that the day did not get any better.

Everything was an obstacle- like I was on the biggest friggin' obstacle course of my life.

While the obstacles certainly didn't feel like opportunities that day- the challenges I faced and pushed myself through actually became beneficial to me later on. I learned how to navigate the public transportation system into Boston and to the school I was visiting. I learned that buses in Boston aren't nearly as scary as buses in other cities with less public transportation. I learned that commuting by rail is much more pleasant than commuting by car. I learned that when you're lost in Boston on public transport, there's always someone willing to be gracious and help you out. I learned that I can use my iphone to help me navigate closer to my destination via bus. I learned that there was a subway stop closer to the theatres than I had realized. I learned that WiFi on the train allows me to have a productive commute into Boston. I learned that sometimes WiFi on the train isn't available and it's better just to sleep. I learned that riding public transportation makes life more interesting and has many more people watching opportunities. I learned that I need to bring my own water and not rely on others to have it in their water coolers. I learned that I can make better Iced Coffees at home and bring them with me. I learned that my husband is willing to go out of his way to make at least one of our cars work. I learned that I can survive the worst obstacle course I've ever been on and that cheese & wine with friends is the best way to end such a "lucky" day.

While obstacles rarely ever feel like gifts or opportunities- they are put in our life to help us learn and grow in ways that we normally wouldn't without them- and that makes them a gift worth being grateful for. If we aren't grateful for an obstacle and the opportunity to work through it the first time, it will keep showing up in our life over and over until we learn to accept it as a lesson and spend time learning how to conquer it.

Success comes from picking ourselves up over and over and over again and never giving up on our journey.

Awesome People of 2010

2011-02-09T18:35:00.002-05:00

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet amazing people every time someone steps in front of my camera. I do admit that I tend to fall in love with people as I'm photographing them- they become more and more beautiful as I study each little reflection of light filtering through my lenses. I've come to realize that everyone has something amazing to offer the world, and in each person lives more beauty than a camera will ever be able to capture. I'm just lucky that I get the full in-person experience, even if it's just for a few moments. Here is just a sample of some of those amazing people that make this the best job in the whole wide world...

My Dream For Lowell: Smith Baker Center [Anne-alysis]

2011-02-07T12:48:00.000-05:00

Ever since I moved to Lowell, I've felt an intense energy to create change in the city and on a large scale. However, I am only one person and am limited in my personal resources. What I do have is vision; a vision so intense and so real that sometimes it's scary. When people hear me talk about all of my ideas, they are often overwhelmed, but when I lay them out visually and with clear examples of successful models already working, suddenly it all seems more possible and much less scary. So, here I share my vision with with you- with whomever the universe it calling to see this...

The Smith Baker Center becomes a Community Performing Arts Center

Current State:
This building is already owned by the city and is in grave need of roof repairs before the leaks do any further structural damage to the inside of the gorgeous craftsmanship of this building. It's an amazing acoustic space, thought by many in the city to be one of the finest acoustic spaces in the area, partially due to a unique grooved ceiling that allows the sound to only reverberate in necessary areas. The current seating has allegedly accommodated former Parker Lectures, New England Orchestra Performances, Community Theatre Productions, and even a national touring Cambodian Opera. The Lowell Plan showed me that they had created a vision for this space, but I have yet to see any financial backing or successful partnerships happen for this space.

My Vision:
The wood seating needs to be removed and updated for modern accessibility. The theatre seats and pews, which are uniquely curved, handcrafted, and made from gorgeous woods, could be auctioned off to providing funding for updating the seating. There's a beautiful set of organ pipes which I've been told are disconnected and is likely to be worth more sold as parts to get a new sound system, than repaired. Youth Build could invest time and energy into cleaning the place up and helping with some of the repairs that they are capable of doing. Music Business students at UMass Lowell could invest time in creating feasibility studies for the usage and marketability of the space and maybe even take on event management internships of the space with a dedicated managing supervisor. The UMass Lowell Off Broadway Players are also an amazing college student run and managed group that are quickly outgrowing their 500 seat Comley-Lane Theatre, and would make fabulous use of the opportunities afforded by a more inviting, innovative, and publicly available space.

The former classrooms on the lower level under the stage area could be outfitted for sound insulation and used as private music teaching rooms rentable by the hour and the larger community music/theatre rehearsal space could be used for rehearsals to save energy when the larger space isn't needed. It might be an ideal place for cabaret performances, like those put on by The Miracle Providers Northeast and for film screenings, like those put on by Lowell Film Collaborative.

The larger space is ideal for folk and acoustic performances which would allow the Lowell Summer Music Series to becomes a year round folk music series and a place to hear bands without needing to buy a beer or be 21+.

If you're interested in learning more about the opportunities involved with this space, please contact paul_marion @ uml.edu or lznunn @ lowellma.gov

Superbowl Sunday Artistic & Ad Review [Anne-alysis]

2011-02-07T00:36:00.000-05:00

To preface this "Anne-alysis" with some street cred- I was once a marketing girl by study and by profession, as well as a professional musician and music educator (among many other things.) Through these experiences, I've come to despise manipulation in ads when it's done in a way that makes people feel inferior or inadequate in order to boost sales, however I equally enjoy cleverly done humor and artistically or emotionally inspiring ads. Even though everyone looks forward to the Super Bowl Commercials - I haven't been all too impressed in the past with the advertiser attempts to appeal to the lowest common denominator- as if all SuperBowl watchers are mindless meat-heads. Because of past experiences, I've always preferred the Oscar commercials more because they are designed to appeal to a more creative mind- those of filmmakers, producers, directors, and appreciators of the visual arts.

However, this year the Super Bowl ads stepped it up a BIG notch. Maybe it was a reduced budget for the luxury brands that made it important for them to create a commercial which could be sold at both the Super Bowl AND at the Oscars- but there were quite a few very artistic commercials in the mix that were complete surprises in between the meat-head spots. I welcome this smarter use of resources and I'll test my theory by seeing if some of the same ads get replayed at the Oscars. After watching the entire series of national spots, I have two stand out favorites and I'll tell you why:

DORITOS:

WIN #1: Highlighting a unique product experience
The Doritos cheese dust is a unique experience to Doritos and any mention of it will make the ad memorable- both reminding previous consumers what their prior experience is like and informing new consumers of what they can expect from their experience with the product.

WIN #2: Making a negative experience a desirable one
If you've ever had even one Doritos chip, you probably remember that it's no so convenient to do anything else with your fingers after holding onto a chip, unless you have a regular supply of napkins nearby. Most people have associated this dust as a messy and unnecessary feature of a Doritos chip, so to create an ad that takes this often "inconvenient" trait of the product and makes it something desirable, is clever and brilliant, and exactly what marketing SHOULD do.

WIN #3: Socially unexpected and shocking behavior
In order for an ad to be effective, it must be memorable, directly connected to the uniqueness of the product, and create added desire for the product. Since we've already covered the uniqueness and desire part - that leaves only a memorable hook. With ads for erectile dysfunction permeating even our dentist waiting lobby, it's hard to shock Americans anymore... except when you enter the business office realm where we're all supposed to uphold a certain level of professionalism. Enter: unexpected and shocking behavior for the win. What makes it super awesome is that we don't know if the guy is gay or straight and it doesn't even matter- only that he LOVES Doritos dust and will break the unspoken laws of social grace to get it. Bravo. Seriously, truly, brilliant.

CHRYSLER:

WIN #1: The American Dream
As Americans, we love promoting our American brands and we have pride in helping those who are struggling- this ad taps into feelings of inspiring Americans to achieve and reclaim the same greatness and luxury we once had. Being born in Detroit, and having most of my family still in the area, I know what a bad rap the city has on a national level, yet how amazing it is if you actually take the time to discover all of the luxury hidden and preserved within the historic buildings- most of which stemmed directly from the auto industry turning the United States into one of the most innovative and powerful countries in the world during the 1900s. That's no small feat and no small history for a city full of profound luxury built by the sweat of blue collar workers.

WIN #2: Motor City Born
Chrysler is a Detroit born brand, and has been a Detroit (area) based and made product for its entire life. When I lived in Rochester Hills (a northern suburb), I would regularly see test cars painted in matte black with tape on the headlights and grill to cover up which model Chrysler was testing on the public streets at any given time. Considering the movement and souring of the American auto industry, it's refreshing to see a product taking that negative vibe and turning it into a point of pride. This sells a reason to support Chrysler products for the money they will keep in the American economy, in a time when so much of what we own is produced elsewhere.

WIN #3: Unexpected Combinations
The first two take care of unique and desire, but we still need something to make it memorable and stand out against many of the other car ads played during the Super Bowl. By juxtaposing the negative visions of Detroit against the luxurious locations, artisan craftsmanship, and fine arts that Detroit has to offer, they present a vision that American cars aren't just for the working class- they're actually for luxury owners as well. That, combined with the recognition of a well-known Detroit native millionaire who basically rose up from the ashes of old and broken Detroit neighborhoods to a life of luxury and power, makes this a memorable and inspiring commercial that instills desire for the American brand. Total win.

Now - the music...
While I'm not excited by seeing people smash their heads into each other, I do appreciate that this huge publicly watched American spectacle supports the arts in some small way. From the camera crew on the field, to the painters of the field, to the fashion designers of the uniforms, and the sound production team needed to support a combination of field and newscaster noise in a balanced and audibly pleasing way. Let's not forget the musicians, dancers, designers, and choreographers for the entertainment aspects of the pre-game and half-time show as well. Now that I've shown my appreciation for how they support the arts and all of the artistic effort that goes into it, let's move on.

So, Christina Aguilera missed some lyrics in the National Anthem. This is obviously not the first time she's done the National Anthem at a public sports event, so it was just a mistake. Having sung the National Anthem myself in front of a HUGE crowd of people, I can tell you that this is not an easy thing. It is a song designed to be done WITHOUT accompaniment and the vocal range required to pull it off successfully is quite difficult and a bit of a mind-game when you're in the middle of singing it - determining whether you've got the guts to go for some high notes or improvisation opportunities. Because of that, I totally understand how she could have fudged up the lyrics. She still has a great voice and at least she didn't slaughter the music itself. The sad part is, I'm sure most Americans wouldn't have even noticed the missed lyrics if it weren't for social media.

Dear American public - can we please stop insisting that studio musicians perform live without a recorded vocal track? I actually enjoy the Black Eyed Peas as entertainers and how creative their music production team has been with renewing old pop and rock tunes through various sound recording and mixing techniques, but this live performance suffered greatly from the fact that the sound was being mixed and produced live as it was happening. In all likelihood, they didn't have enough rehearsal time to work out the kinks of being in that space and setting everything up on the spot to create a professional performance in like 15 minutes or less. If it's OK for Glee- a TV show which could be recorded with choreography and multiple rehearsals- to allow lip-sycing over their own recorded tracks - why isn't it OK for the performers with limited time at the Super Bowl? These aren't improvised performances or true concerts - these are very planned, crafted, and highly choreographed events designed to fill a very specific time slot that is being broadcast to millions of people at once. Seriously, I'm over the need for a live performance - unless it's a musician who is actually a live musician at heart with a sound that doesn't need to be overproduced just to sound good. Thanks, but no thanks. There were a lot of great and amazing things about that halftime show- but all I'll remember is how bad the sound was, and that's unfortunate.

What do you think? Did anything stand out for you? Feel free to disagree with me - it makes life more interesting. ;-)

20 For 20% More in 2011 - Are you ready?

2011-01-29T09:45:00.002-05:00

Over the last year I've been doing quite a bit of individual consulting for other photographers and I've really enjoyed the process. However, I believe there's a better way to do this. A way that's more affordable and provides a support network that doesn't have to always involve me and the premium for my time. As much as I love helping other photographers, I really love working on my own business and being behind the camera just a little bit more... no offense. ;-) So, I'm launching a new program to help make this consulting thing more streamlined, effective, collaborative, and supportive. However, I also know my limits in the time that I can offer, which is why I have to limit this to 20 people. What does it cost, you say? A $20 donation to ThirstRelief.org. Crazy expensive, right? Actually, the expensive part is in the time that we'll be putting in to help each other out- and that's not to be taken lightly. You will be expected to help others, and if you don't, you will be booted out of the program. It's not personal, it's tough love. So- if I haven't scared you away, and you're interested in collaborating on earning 20% more in revenue this year, fill out the form below and let's see where it goes! PS. This is not just for photographers - anyone who owns a small business can apply!! Maybe you know of someone who could benefit from this? Feel free to share the love!

(Note: the form below is hosted on wufoo and your responses will NOT appear on this blog without your permission! The info is all on the down-low, I just wanted to make it easy to fill out right here.)

Greater Lowell Empty Bowls Fundraiser

2011-01-27T10:20:00.002-05:00

When I come across an event that supports a mission I believe in and care deeply about, my first thought is always, "How can I help?" I have hands and a heart like everyone else, but this gift of photography seems to be a unique talent that I can offer to help tell a story through imagery, so I volunteer it whenever I really believe it will help make a difference.

In the case of Greater Lowell Empty Bowls, I knew that because this was the first year, it would need to be thoroughly documented in order to provide a sense of the overall experience for people who've never been. Being able to see what the event is like in advance can help people feel comfortable knowing what to expect, which reduces the anxiety of going to a new event where you may not know anyone.

The "empty bowls" were donated by many different people- some were handmade by artists, some were bowls that had never been used from someone's home, some were cute, some were funky, some were simple, and some were crazy. The most unique bowls were definitely the first to be selected and taken home.

I think my favorite part was looking at the bowls people had selected for themselves and wondering what it might have meant to them. ;-)

Once the bowls were selected, people camped out at tables throughout the room and enjoyed unlimited cups of gourmet soups donated by local businesses and organizations specializing in culinary arts. Most people stayed for nearly two hours, meeting other people at a shared table, or just sharing some quality time with family.

Additional funds were raised through a "Chinese Auction" where raffle tickets were sold and buyers could place raffle tickets in bags for items that they wanted. Raffle winners were selected for each item by pulling a ticket from the bag. In the past, I've donated a gift certificate for my services for this kind of auction, but I still have yet to hear from anyone who "won" me, so I decided that my services are best donated by actually documenting the event itself. However, for things like Spinners game tickets, or a jewelry piece, it seems to be a great way to "win" something wonderful.

In the end, all of the money and efforts were going to a great cause - Living Waters Lowell and the Hunger/Homeless Commission of Lowell.

The entire event was made possible because ONE person named Patti, thought it would be a great fundraiser to help strengthen and educate the community about the needs of others within our community. Her effort, combined with the support of a few friends and businesses, made the entire event possible. It's amazing what we can do if we simply decide that we can, and we put in the effort to make it happen. Thank you to everyone who put in the effort and time to help strengthen our community by giving back to those in need.

In the future I hope to spend more time documenting how these funds are used and to tell the stories of those who are helped by efforts like these.

(Technical notes, because these images are being hosted on facebook, some image quality and brightness may be reduced from the original images. To see more from the event, simply click on an image.)

Erica & Spaulding's Vermont Apple Orchard Wedding

2011-01-20T00:29:00.003-05:00

I have quite a few weddings from last year that still haven't made it to the blog, but it's just because a lot of my clients like a private first look at their images before I share them with the rest of the world. So here's Erica & Spaulding's beautiful apple orchard wedding that I had the joy of capturing last year! I'll hope to create another post later with all the juicy details, but in the meantime, check out the full slideshow preview of their wedding day! (Press play on the slideshow below to start the preview!)

An Experiment in Film

2011-01-16T14:30:00.004-05:00

This holiday I decided I was going to shoot all family memories on film again- just for the creative challenge and fun of it. My tools were a 1979 Olympus OM10 w/ 28mm f/3.5 lens, a 1980 Minolta w/ 50mm f/2.0 lens, a few rolls of expired Kodak NC Portra, a few rolls of expired B&W TMax, and some new rolls of Kodak High Definition 800. Below are some of my results, thoughts, and conclusions about this experiment.

(My husband, deep in his favorite record store "Encore" in Ann Arbor, MI)

Shooting with Film:

I love my old cameras because they are entirely manual focus and manual advance- and the meter functions pretty much only in AV mode and I have to change the ASA rating on the film in order to over or under expose in situations like back-lighting. Using the older cameras means fewer frames per second, needing to prepare for a "moment" in advance by pre-focusing, and taking the time after the image to advance the film. I'm generally a VERY fast focuser and shooter- so there were several times when my patience was tried or I was frustrated that I wasn't able to get the shot I wanted simply because I had to spend the time manually focusing or advancing the film- this part I knew going in and made me really get back to anticipating the moment I wanted. However, I would say I only got about 20% of the shots I REALLY wanted because of the manual aspect of these cameras and film, much of the things I really wanted had to be posed and created so that they could be prepared for in advance. I've really come to embrace being able to seize a moment without needing to be fully prepared for it with digital.

(Mary did this spontaneously before I was fully prepared, so I had to ask her to do it again for the film.)

On the other end of that... I lost an entire roll and a half of film because the film simply DID NOT ADVANCE. Half way into one roll- something must have been bumped off balance, because a perfectly good roll suddenly no longer advanced. I thought I was getting tons of awesome shots and in reality... I ended up with nuthin'. I was PISSED that I had nothing to show for an entire hour of making my sister and her boyfriend freezing cold and even having them lay their heads directly in the snow for a full 10 minutes- which they were not too happy about. Another strike against film- or against that camera I was using. Not to mention I was limited by the ISO that I had in my camera- which meant I had to use flash when I was indoors with 400 speed film before I could switch to my 800 speed film... either that or waste the rest of the 400 speed roll in order to move on quicker to the 800 speed, which I did once over the experiment. Strike 3 against film.

(They went up the hill 5 times in order for me to get the shot I wanted. The film stopped advancing after this series.)

Developing Film:

Next comes the proofing. I still have to pay to send, or spend gas, to physically drop off and pick up my film with a processing center and hope that they take good care of it. Each lab processor has a different eye for color and exposure- which can be adjusted when they are developing and/or creating the final output from the film. If you can always get the same person to work on your film- that's awesome, but most often, unless you're working with a tiny lab or a huge lab that can provide you with your own dedicated developer, you get a lab that has different people with different preferences working on your film at any given time.

(An interesting red streak during exposure - would not have been so cool if it was over a bride's face as she walked down the aisle.)

Since I generally have my film scanned to disc, I also have to hope they don't get any dust on the scan or film. Now, since I'm a cheapass when it comes to experimental projects, I just went for Costco- who usually does a great job and keeps the dust to a minimum while letting their negatives hang to dry. I still had issues with the scans produced from the film, but they really weren't any worse than some of the professional labs I've worked with in the past when I used film regularly.

(Nope, Rob doesn't have his nose pierced, that's a dust spot on the scan of the negative.)

What did suck was that something was either wrong with some of the film or something happened in the developing process itself to create crazy colors and light patterns on the film. Granted, some of the film was expired and it was expected that the results be "off" but this was also the case on some of the "new" film. We may get dust spots on digital, but you can't easily fix this kind of color banding problem when the actual film negative has been destroyed or altered in some way. Strike 4 against film.

(Carol needed to convert this image of her grandson into B&W just to enjoy it, because the color developing was so terrible on the negative.)

Editing Film:

Then came culling images on the computer. I definitely shot less- WAY less than I normally would- which makes editing super easy. I can just edit out the bad instead of editing in the good. My expected keep rate with film is around 80%, while my expected keep rate with digital is around 25% of what I shoot. However, I definitely get MUCH better candid moments when I'm working in digital because I'm going for those least expected in-between moments that are very hard to capture when the film needs to advance at a rate less than 3fps. Strike 5 against film.

Then there were the white balance and exposure controls. You're limited by the gamut of the film itself and whatever colors it can give you. While you can choose your film for its color profile and even use filters to alter the color at any given time, you're still limited by the color gamut available in the chemicals of the film itself. With RAW, your gamut and exposure range is at least 10 times or greater than that of film- there's just no comparison the brightness and saturation that you can achieve in digital compared to film. Strike 5 against film.

(These colors do not reflect their real-life vibrancy, and there's not much I can do about that in post-production without adding something that wasn't originally there.)

Conclusion:

For me personally, this holiday experiment in using film has renewed my love for digital photography. I don't mind film for unpredictable results when creating personal artwork or on the side as an added bonus, but it has reminded me that I will not rely on it for a client who is paying for consistent and reliable results. I will not put my clients in a situation in which my choice to use film has resulted in a lack of coverage or an undesirable outcome. I have so much more control with digital - for better or worse - and when it comes to serving my clients in the best possible way, I wouldn't want to give them anything less than my personal best.

(Thanks to all my family for trusting me with the holiday memories while I take uncalculated risks to screw them up for my own artistic experimentation, and to Brian & Mary- hopefully we can do it again, but in digital next time!)

Get Mentored & Save Lives

2011-01-13T09:45:00.009-05:00

*Please note this auction has ended. Thanks to all who participated in the bidding- even if you didn't win, you helped donate more to Thirst Relief by simply participating! If you'll be at WPPI, I can't wait to see you there! Watch PhotoLovecat.com for the Early Bird Happy Hour event! To my winning bidder- thank you so much for your generous donation to bettering the health of our planet! Your winning donation will provide clean water for 225 people!! That's amazing!

The Thirst Relief Mentor Auction is one of my favorite fundraisers to participate in because it creates a win-win-win situation for all involved. The bidder gets a great mentor for a donation that saves lives, the mentor gets to meet someone who cares about the world at large and help strengthen them in their pursuit of living a passionate life, and Thirst Relief gets the funding they need to deliver clean water to areas of greatest need. Watch the video below to learn more about how Thirst Relief uses your donation:

The auction ends tonight.

I'm participating as a mentor again this year, and I'm offering a year of mentoring ($1200 value) to help you define, refine, and move forward in whatever ways you need to this year. I've seen my mentees from previous years flourish and thrive after our time together, and while I know they did the hard work on their own, sometimes it was just a little bit of encouragement and advice that helped unlock the door they needed to walk through to get to the next step in their business.

Here are a few of the ways in which I've helped mentor others:
- Edited portfolios to showcase the most unique and highest quality work
- Defined unique branding elements that reflect an artist's individual tastes
- Identified niche markets and opportunities to strengthen presence in those markets
- Streamlined email communications by establishing appropriate filters for content
- Organized and created life + business calendars that reflect larger priorities
- Reorganized pricing structures to work with individual sales style preferences
- Set up pricing structures to increase profitability and exceed revenue goals
- Advised businesses and non-profits on social media and direct mail marketing campaigns that increased revenue and client/patron engagement
- Set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals to help keep businesses moving forward and focusing on the larger goals to prioritize everyday tasks
- Helped businesses identify appropriate outsourcing solutions based on needs
- Revitalized two different failing businesses by creating sustainable systems

If you'd like my help with any of the above, or more, click on the image below:

IMPORTANT TIP:

There are MANY amazing mentors in this auction, so if you get outbid above your budget (and yes, I believe we should have budgets for our giving), take those dollars you were willing to donate for one person's time and donate it to another!! Just because you don't know them, doesn't mean they don't have something amazing to offer- the world works in mysterious ways and you may just end up with someone perfect for you! To see all the mentors by alphabetical order, which is also the order in which the auctions end [CLICK HERE]!

LOVE IT: Boston Flash Mob Wedding

2011-01-12T21:19:00.001-05:00

This totally combines ALL of my favorite things: singing, public displays of affection, element of surprise, wedding loveliness, theatrical display of awesomeness, and LOVE... rock on John & Caroline. You are officially the most awesome couple to ever get married at the Prudential Center!! And the officiant's speech?! I'm seriously in tears right now....

... if you plan to do this for your wedding... please call me so I can get some amazing photos of it!!

Memories of Misty

2011-01-09T07:52:00.003-05:00

Misty died on Wednesday, at the wise old age of 15. She was an apricot colored teacup poodle who was originally the constant companion and source of joy for my great aunt, Dorcas (definitely not a name you hear anymore!) When Dorcas passed, my mom took over care of Misty, but quickly realized that Misty needed more attention than she could give on a regular basis. When I moved to Terre Haute, I was working entirely from home and in a town fairly isolated from everyone I knew, so I decided to care for Misty and thought it would be a great way to get me out of the loft at least once a day. She definitely made walks in downtown Terre Haute a little more exciting as people giggled in delight when they saw her prancing down the street.

Misty brought a lot of wonderful and unexpected things into my life. Because she's the kind of dog that people can't pass by without commenting on, she became an easy way to meet new people, which really helped me get to know my neighbors and neighborhood better. Of course the poop scoop clean-up was never a glamorous job, but it just comes with the territory. When we moved to Lowell, we moved into one of the only places that allowed renters to have dogs. We met a TON of dog owners, but unfortunately we also found out that Misty isn't so great with other dogs and because she had no idea how tiny she was, this resulted in more damage to her than anything else. Misty loved people- especially old ones, hated dogs & children, and could care less about cats. She also loved to model and helped me test different lighting styles- but also knew when it was time to quit.

If you've ever read Marley & Me- you know what dog ownership can be like at all extremes. Misty wasn't a big dog, which meant I was often able to take her places I might not have been otherwise, but it also meant that she compensated for her petite size by producing a fierce bark. Somewhere along the line we noticed that she started to lose her hearing. She would bark when nothing was there, and then she wouldn't hear us when we called for her. Other challenging memories include the time she ate some leaves off a friend's porch and couldn't walk straight for more than three steps, the time a friend's dog took a chunk out of her side, the time a lady threatened to call the police because I left her in the car with the window down for 2 minutes, the hair cuts which were never pleasant for her or the groomers, the dingleberries, the potty pads she needed as she got older and couldn't be bothered to wait and go outside, her terrifying fear of being kept in a room without human contact, her need to have something substantially soft and adequate to lay on, and her desire to held by anyone just to get warmer.

I never would have chosen a small dog myself- I'm more of a big dog person- particularly of the lab variety (minus the shedding). I love the dogs which are always friendly and happy to see you, even if you accidentally left them out in the freezing cold overnight (sorry Bailey!) Misty is not that kind of dog. Instead, she would express her anger or distaste very clearly if you did something she didn't agree with. She was pretty judgemental for a dog- much like her original owner once was. However, she also taught us a lot of things about ourselves and helped us become better people in the process. She was a constant reminder of how to live a better life by making sure that we consistently woke up at a reasonable time, traveled a little less and got home in time for dinner, made sure we got outside to enjoy nature at least twice a day, had stronger friendships, were kind and inviting to strangers, got our hair cut at least as often as she did, communicated more in our marriage about responsibilities and expectations, and that we should never be ashamed to dance around in circles when we're really excited about something...

Thank you Misty for coming into our lives and helping us learn how to live more fully and joyfully. ;-)

Planning for 2011 - The Time is Now

2011-01-02T07:26:00.012-05:00

I consider myself to be a pretty fearless person.

After all, I don't mind: going swimming on a beach where sharks have struck before, jumping off a cliff while showing my chunky body in a swimsuit on youtube, scaling a rock climbing wall even if I don't have the right shoes on, letting people see my house when it's not the cleanest it could be, going out in public when I look less than stellar, sharing my ideas even if they get criticized, trying a food I can't pronounce and have never seen before, dancing while I'm waiting in line, bursting into song when a good tune pops into my head, or being the first to offer a hug to a complete stranger. Yeah, I think that makes me pretty fearless...

Except that there are still some areas in my life where I'm holding on to a bit of fear.

It's time to take the plunge!
(video taken by Leigh Miller, at the Rockhouse in Jamaica)

Money. That lovely bartering system made of paper, metal, and plastic that we've devised as a society to help us trade goods and services. As I mentioned in my 2010 year end review, money no longer controls me... but that was only half true. While I no longer have an emotional attachment to money, it can still hold me back from doing something really risky. Those student loans will never go away on their own- nope, not even declaring bankruptcy will take care of those bad boys (and I'm not advocating that bankruptcy should ever be an option.) While I managed to pay off my car loan in 2010, I did not manage to make significant progress on my other debt. Debt that has been lingering since those lovely college days of overspending with the promise of making it all back when I got a "real job" and the early days of starting my business when buying that expensive lens today was OK because it was going to be paid off with the next job.

Problem was, I was making the money I needed, but I wasn't paying things off.

I can't even really tell you why I was only paying minimums on my credit cards when I was able to afford more, other than I always wanted to have the most fun I could at any given point in time. I didn't want to subscribe to the idea that life should be enjoyed after I was wildly successful- it should be enjoyed right now in whatever way possible. I wasn't thinking about the longer term things in life like buying a house or preparing for a comfy retirement- I was fully invested in living right NOW to the fullest enjoyment and indulgence without a care for what tomorrow brings. After all, the world could end tomorrow- why stress about it today?

Who wants to pinch pennies when you can attend a rock concert in Norway?!

Here's a little something from Sondre Lerche, who I was able to see play live in... you guessed it... Norway. ;-)

It wasn't until I dreamed a crazy big dream that my priorities started to change.

Suddenly life wasn't about me being able to indulge every moment in whatever I wanted. My hedonistic ways shifted to a philanthropic vision of helping others find the happiness and joy that I've been able to find. No, not through racking up credit cards and only paying minimums, but from feeling an internal sense of success and confidence in the things that make each person unique. So far, I've been fairly successful with this "mission" by utilizing several outlets:
• photolovecat.com - to help photographers be more successful as small business owners
• lowellhandmade.com - to help support artists and creatives in my local community
• business coaching and mentoring other artists and small business owners to develop sustainable profitability and make smarter business decisions
• teaching and mentoring students in low-income areas to find confidence in their unique gifts and talents through the creative arts
By many standards, I've already achieved a certain amount of success toward my goal... but I'm not satisfied.

I know I'm capable of doing more and helping more people.

One of my great big crazy dreams is to create a creative arts community center in my lovely town of Lowell, MA. A place where people from all walks of life and backgrounds can come together to take a class in the arts and develop their personal creativity to become a more confident and empowered person. We have a lot of the ingredients needed to make it happen already- but right now people are buckling down just trying to keep the awesome culture our city already has going strong through rough financial times. While I know there are other people who share my mission and are on board with it, I also know

I am the only one who has the drive, desire, and total vision to actually pull everything together to make it happen.

The only thing holding ME back is that I don't have the finances to make it happen because of all that fun I've been having when I haven't been blogging. In order to get the finances to make it happen- like a bank loan or venture capital investments, I need to show that I actually am very capable of being responsible with money. Which starts with paying off my debt. How much? Five figures worth of debt. *gulp* Yep, just thinking about the amount makes me want to throw up a little. You know what's even crazier? I want to pay it off in ONE year.

I'm just a little bit terrified that I'll fail.

After entering the numbers in the CNN Debt Reduction Planner Calculator, I received a strategic plan for paying off the debt in the amount of time I specified: one year. Oh boy. This is not for the weak, that's for sure. It's also not for people who love their luxuries, as I have over the last few years. It's for the disciplined, the frugal, and the people who love to just collect money and watch the numbers stack up in their accounts.

It's for the Warren Buffets of the world.

To this date, I have not been one of these people. However, I know ordinary people who have done it, and I know that I have their support. I know what adjustments they made and how it forced them to be creative with what they already had. If Warren Buffet could live out of his car when he wanted to save money by not paying rent, than I can make more lattes at home and eat out less. But I'm not going to give up my 69¢ wash & fold laundry dude- because he actually saves me money! Just knowing that this will stretch my creativity and force me out of my comfort zone makes me more excited to do it. I no longer see it as a restraint on my fun, but rather an an adventure in doing even more with even less.

Bring. It. On.

I am publicly declaring that this journey starts now and I will be documenting my successes and challenges along the way. If you would like to join me on this journey- please comment and declare your intentions as well- or just let me know that I have your encouragement. Together we can make this happen. Together we will challenge ourselves to have more financial freedom by doing more with less. Let's do this. Let's light some fireworks:

One more thing before I go- I have a second crazy big goal for this year as well: To help 20 small businesses earn 20% more revenue in 2011. I'll share more about that later, but I wanted to make sure you knew that it was coming. ;-)

Reflecting on 2010 - A Year of Reevaluating

2010-12-30T12:44:00.011-05:00

Before I can reflect on 2010, I almost need to go back two years to 2008- when the snowball started rolling and picking up everything in its path. My last year end review was in 2007 and a large part of that is because I hardly had a chance to come up for air in 2008 and 2009!

2008 was the boom year for everyone, right? We were all in high spirits and money seemed to be in endless supply! I served more clients than ever that year, moved from the midwest to the east coast, and spent over half the year away from home traveling to serve those clients. I learned to be incredibly efficient with outsourcing, tackling email, streamlining my workflow, etc- but the sheer amount of travel I was doing was taking a BIG toll on my personal life and I tried very hard to make sure that 2009 wasn't a repeat of that- but still ended up doing most of my wedding work outside of Massachusetts. That's just the reality of moving to a new state where no one really knows you-

It takes two years to rebuild a business after moving to a new location.

When I moved to Lowell, I made sure that I didn't make the same mistake that I did when moving to Terre Haute. In Terre Haute- I knew it was a temporary location and because of that I spent an entire year not reaching out to other people in my community- which meant I didn't have many friends that enriched my personal life. Once we knew we were going to be there another year, I decided to put myself out there more and find like-minded people to enjoy life with and it made SUCH a huge difference in my experience.

I learned that friendships are a critical part of living a balanced life.

Once I moved to Lowell, I jumped right in and sought to meet as many people as I could in order to better understand the city, the culture, and the values of my new neighbors and potential clients. I found some amazing people who Alex and I became friends with quickly and my life has been so enriched because of their friendships. They are one of the big reasons why I love living in Lowell, MA.

In 2009, I decided that in order to make room for local clients to hire me, I wasn't going to take any more clients that I'd have to fly for unless it was a client or location that was super awesome. The rush of 2008 was still weighing heavily on me and outsourcing wasn't working out as well as I would have liked. Results were only 50% to MY liking (still 90% to my client's liking) and I stopped blogging a lot of my weddings because I stopped having pride in my work. I felt like I had become a machine, pumping out images on demand, without really feeling like I was able to put my soul and full attention into them. When I turned over back end production- I lost a lot of control- which I needed to give up just so clients would get their images in any kind of reasonable time frame while I was traveling to the next wedding. This did not make me happy as an artist or as a business owner.

Something needed to change.

In 2009 I was still serving some clients who had booked me during the optimistic boom year of 2008- but who were losing their jobs quickly with little to no warning. I was worried that I was going to be scrapped from the wedding budget purely because there was no longer a steady income to cover the rest of the bill- so I made sure that I went above and beyond for my clients in order to really make their investment in my documentation of their wedding a very positive and worthwhile experience. Ironically, my highest package ever was booked for 2009- which crossed the five figure mark and gave a whole new meaning to high expectations. I took half the amount of weddings that year so that I could really focus my energy on doing the back-end production to my 100% satisfaction. I slipped on my response times in order to focus on production, but I finally started to have pride in my work again and it felt so good know that I had created something as beautiful as possible from start to finish for my clients. Granted, it took a LOT longer than outsourcing and I had to borrow the time from other aspects of my business, but my love of weddings and my creative spark were renewed to the point that I finally felt like I had a soul again!

I think we can all agree that 2009-2010 were very tight years for us all. It also didn't help that I was still a "newbie" in the East Coast market and I definitely wasn't the cheapest option on the table because I was actually trying to earn a living as an artist- not just as a part-time hobbyist.

Like everyone else, I was suddenly in a position of completely reevaluating every aspect of my life in terms of its financial and personal value.

Suddenly our big 1500 sq. ft. downtown loft wasn't all that awesome and that gorgeous $5000 table I wanted so bad wasn't as necessary. When the opportunity to become Faculty in Residence in the UMass Lowell Honors House came up- we welcomed the chance to take our rent payment and apply it to the debt we acquired during college and early in our careers when it seemed like there was no where to go but up. Don't you love how life can just laugh in the face of all the plans you've made?

2010 became the year of doing more with less. We all had to find ways to be more creative and to produce just as much with less of everything. As much as I hated downsizing my living situation, many very wonderful things have come out of that move. Since there was no longer room in our 750 sq. ft. faculty apartment for my office- I acquired a beautiful 450 sq. ft. space at Western Ave Studios in Lowell for HALF the amount I was paying to keep it inside our downtown apartment. Half! Why didn't I do that in the first place?!

Sometimes it takes an uncomfortable push to get us unstuck from our regular patterns of life, which we may not even realize are holding us back from having something better.

Now that I've been embedded in the artist studio community for over a year, I can definitely see the larger picture of advantages and disadvantages to owning a studio outside of the home- which makes me more informed for any future decisions I may want to make in my business. I can also definitely say that having a studio where people can come in and meet me face to face during open studio days has led to meeting some great people and working with some really wonderful clients. It absolutely helped increase my local client base far beyond what I was able to accomplish when I was working from home. Not only that, but being in a building with 40 other photographers has also helped me refine MY vision and identify what I do better than anyone else! Yes, everyone can have a camera, but everyone doesn't see the world in the same way or care about the same things. We are triggered by different things and drawn to different moments of beauty- and that is what makes each photographer's work uniquely valuable. I've learned that my strength and value is in my ability to capture unexpected human moments quickly and artfully as if it were as natural and reflexive as blinking or breathing.

This vision is what makes MY work unique and compelling- and knowing that allows me to spend more time focusing on it.

On a personal level, 2009-2010 also brought a deep depression into my life. In an effort to be healthier, have less stress, clearer skin, and sleep more - I quit drinking caffeine. Now, for someone who has had a regular caffeine drip in her system pretty much since birth, this turned out to be a terrible idea. I always thought that people who were depressed were just sad or lazy. Oh no, it's most definitely a chemical imbalance that is very difficult to reverse naturally. I tried to beat the blues by going to the gym nearly every day during the summer and still I was unable to achieve a sense of happiness that I had with just a regular cup of coffee each day. I had no motivation to do anything. I forced myself to take a shower and get dressed each day, but beyond that- I was pretty worthless. I lost interest in everything I knew I loved- my relationships, my photography- everything that made me happy before suddenly did nothing for me. Life felt pointless and directionless, but I didn't even have the motivation to end my life.

Everything just felt off and out of whack- like I wasn't even alive- merely existing on an artificial level.

Eventually I decided to bring caffeine into my diet again, and sure enough I got my happy back just as quickly as I put caffeine back into my system. Amazing how much one little naturally occurring chemical found in beans and leaves can change an entire outlook on life. Thankfully caffeine is cheap, legal, and easy to get- especially with a Dunkin' Donuts on nearly every corner in Massachusetts. With my renewed sense of energy- I was ready to take on the world again- which is when I decided to branch out into the world of becoming a teaching artist in addition to the photography and consulting I was already doing.

This year I also had a wedding that was cursed at every step of the post-production process. If anything could have gone wrong- it did. It put me through the ringer in every way it possibly could have. Problems which I'm normally able to solve quickly and easily suddenly took 10 times longer and were 10 times more complicated to correct. Just when I wouldn't think it was possible for things to get worse, they would. Computers would fail, files would corrupt, uploads would stop and stop and stop, and what should have been done in 3 months took 6. At one point I just decided I was going to drive 14 hours to spend an entire weekend sitting down with the clients with my actual hard drive and a back-up hard drive (which I ended up needing to use) just so we could get the job done. I'm just lucky my car didn't catch on fire while I was traveling there- because at the rate things were going, it was almost expected.

It was like Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors where everything was going terribly wrong despite my best efforts to make it all right.

Rather than chalking it up to being unlucky or cursed (though I'm convinced there was some supernatural evil at play), I used each difficulty and challenge as a learning experience and as an opportunity to be better. I became better at negotiating expectations when they needed to change for any number of reasons, I became better at dealing with tough situations over and over and over again to the point that I'm now tougher than a Las Vegas vault, and I realized that it's still worth it for me and for my clients to wait just a little bit longer to receive a finished product than to merely settle for whatever can be done quickly. I never want to repeat those experiences again, but if I have to, I now know how to deal with any number of difficult situations with grace, care, and responsible action that benefits both me and the client.

In spite of all the challenges that 2010 brought to my life, it also brought a lot of blessings.

1. I got to start 2010 with an AMAZING trip to Australia with Alex!
I still haven't even looked through all of the images I captured while I was there, but the entire experience was incredibly fulfilling and eye opening on so many different levels. I even learned how to surf (as well as learning that I need a LOT more practice!) What's even better? I may be returning to Australia for several weeks in January 2012- and I can't wait to go back!! Having fewer wedding clients and more weekday clients also meant I was able to take more weekend trips away with Alex as well as take my regular two week vacation to visit family during the holidays. After all, being able to get up and take off to anywhere in the world is one of the reasons why I started my own business in the first place! Oh yeah- on top of surfing for the first time- Alex and I also went on our first ever hot air balloon ride over the hills of New Hampshire! It was ahhhhmazing.

2. I gave back more this year than any other.

I raised $400 in just 5 hours by donating Headshots for Haiti Relief in February. I donated a year's worth of business mentoring which raised over $900 for the Thirst Relief Mentor Auction. I contributed event images twice to the Miracle Providers Northeast as well as the Revolving Museum. I mentored a starting photography graduate and an intermediate photographer as part of my business internship program as well as a writing student from UMass Lowell as part of a community service learning project. I donated my time to educate photographers during Inspire Boston, Pictage U Boudoir & Lighting Workshop, and future photographers of the Boys & Girls Club, as well as continuing to coordinate a very active and educational Boston PUG group dedicated to helping photographers grow their business. This year I was also invited to present to Lowell cultural community partners on the topic of Social Media Marketing Strategies and was able to provide on the spot individualized consultations to help community non-profits leverage social media in a way that fits their organization and outreach goals. On top of donations of time and talent- I've donated regular financial contributions to local and national environmental organizations.

3. I took my business coaching to a new level.

I've always given one or two professional business presentations each year as part of various conferences or invited opportunities, but after my Boston Inspire presentation, I was contracted by several local photographers to help them individually better define and refine their pricing and sales strategies as well as exploring more profitable product offerings and ways of providing service to their clients. I've learned a lot about individualizing plans so that they can work within the confines of what each business is already comfortable doing while still being able to help them recognize and implement new methods for greater success. I've even helped a part time photographer realize that perhaps running a small photography business isn't the golden ticket of easiness that they originally thought it was- which is equally valuable to their ultimate quality of life goals. I also branched out from photography by mentoring other businesses and non-profits outside of my own industry and helped them identify resources, tools, and marketing strategies that will work best in their businesses.

4. I've developed a team of contractors I can rely on when I need them.

One of the disadvantages of moving every two years is that as soon as you find a good team of people to work with, you're gone and have to start over again. Now that we've crossed that two year mark and my husband is pursuing tenure in Lowell- I've been able to make longer term plans and build a network of people I can hire when I need them most. The best part is knowing that I'll be able to work with them for years to come. Now my "outsourcing" has become more like "insourcing" where contractors can come in and help me with the tasks that weigh me down and get them done in a much more focused way than I can when I'm running the business and keeping all the balls in the air. This amount of human capital alone has helped me finally provide the full level of service, quality, and delivery that I want each and every one of my clients to receive. Knowing I've made my clients happy has made me infinitely more happy!

5. My life finally has a sense of balance and peace.

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The first couple of years starting a business in a new town or a new industry is tough and not for the meek or mild. There's much more quality of life to be had in starting out by working in someone else's business before starting your own- especially if you end up realizing that you don't want to invest the extra time and work it takes to be successful. Friends and family see you working yourself like crazy with little time to spend with them or to even take care of yourself. It's hard on everyone and sometimes it ends relationships. I'm sure you can imagine that having to go through that intensity cycle for five years straight instead of just two can amplify the amount of damage it can do. Luckily my husband, family, and friends are amazingly supportive and have been very understanding, they've even helped me- maybe occasionally forced me- to take time for what is most important in life. There will always be another problem to solve or fire to put out.

Work will always be there, but quality time with friends and family are in limited supply.

When I declared that friends and family are most important in my life- I made my actions match by making sure I prioritized time spent with them over time spend doing whatever extra little thing that I thought needed to be done in my business. I've learned to schedule time with family and friends far enough ahead that a last minute opportunity to take a client isn't going to change my plans to spend time nurturing the only thing that ultimately matters and always helps me get through the tough times. You know what? I didn't feel like I missed out on any of the extra work I could have been doing because...

Money no longer has control over my life.

By staying connected to a larger and longer-term perspective on life, I've been able to really tune in to where I'm happiest and what activities feed my energy versus sucking it away. It's much easier for me to let go of succubus relationships that hurt me or make me feel guilty, as well as not getting defensive when I feel like people aren't understanding me. I eliminated staying in touch with online forums that fueled my anger or disgust, and you'd be surprised how much just that one little choice eliminated a host of negative feelings that I had previously become easily caught up in. By taking my business out of my home, I've been able to be more focused on spending time with my husband when we're home together, and more focused on time with my clients when I'm in the office. Just that one little change has really made an impact on how much of my attention I'm able to focus on the things that need to be done!

Not only am I happier, but my relationships are stronger and more meaningful than they've ever been.

Now I can't wait to ring in the New Year!! I have lots of wonderful plans for 2011, and I can't wait to share them with you next week!! If you've done a year-end review, please post a link in the comments so that I can read it and share it with others who are doing year end reviews!

An Open Letter to Wedding Bloggers

2010-12-28T11:14:00.005-05:00

Lately, something very disturbing has been happening in the blogging world.

Dear Blogger,
I love you. You've dedicated your time to becoming the most awesome curators of this crazy world we call the internet. You've defined and refined your own personal vision by selecting the best images to covey your carefully crafted boards of inspiration alongside your witty words of wisdom. Seriously, I dig what you've got going on and I think what you're doing is fabulous. Period.

I would love to continue supporting you by giving you awesome content for "free."

All of that beautiful work my clients invest into their weddings, or that I personally invest into a special creative shoot just for the benefit of you and your readers, all of that has value which you get to benefit from in ad dollars and clicks and hits to your blog. Hopefully, I get to benefit by getting at least one more awesome client out of it.

You see, in order to continue providing that beautiful content and in order to keep getting clients who are awesome enough to design those super creative real weddings, I really need my name to be ON my work. As awesome as it is to have a link to my site under an image I provide you, it's equally NOT awesome when someone takes that inspiring image of mine (and my couple's) from your blog and then uploads it to another website, inspiration board, or commercial site and doesn't give me any credit for creating the image, doesn't give the couple any credit for their creativity, and doesn't give you any credit for featuring it.

It's totally not your fault... or is it?

There's a good reason why I watermark images on my own blog and on my facebook page- it's because I KNOW people will take those images and put them elsewhere online. That's what makes blogs so awesome! I'm totally willing to put my work out there for free because I know that if someone ends up finding my image in some random place online and loves it, they'll still know how to find the creator because my name is ON the image. That someone could be a cool client who hires me to create more beautiful images, or maybe a magazine editor that wants to feature one of my couple's weddings.

How will they ever find me once my image leaves your blog if my name isn't on the image itself?

How are you protecting and supporting the work of photographers who are providing you with the yummy FREE content you need to keep your readers coming back for more which ultimately keep your pockets full of ad revenue? Seems like the LEAST you could do is provide a link AND let us put branding or SOME kind of watermark on the content we're giving you for FREE. I know it won't prevent people from cropping out the logo or watermark if they really want to- but at least you've done your part. At least YOU have been the responsible one who is committed to keeping your favorite photographers connected to their own work. Even if you created a small border around the image that blends into the background of your blog with a simple website or copyright text in the border with matching font from your blog, you'd be able to provide creator credit ON the image without disrupting the overall flow or look of your carefully designed blog or inspiration board.

To the wedding bloggers who HAVE incorporated these practices all along,

I thank you for being smart, savvy, and for doing your part to help support your content creators.

I'm encouraging photographers and wedding vendors to invest their advertising budget with you because you really do care about the success of your content providers and advertisers. I'm encouraging brides to visit YOUR blog because I know that they will be able "borrow" the images from your blog guilt-free for their inspiration boards because you've already let the creator provide creator credit on the images at their own discretion.

To the following wedding blogs, thank you for continuing to be awesome:
WeddingBee
Offbeat Bride
So You're Engayged
Wholly Matrimony

Since writing this blog post, these bloggers have either declared that they allow watermarking or have committed to allowing watermarks starting now:
Rock n Roll Bride
Polka Dot Bride
Brides Up North

If you know of any other blogs who support their content creators by providing credit ON the images themselves - please let me know so that I can thank them with a link in this post! To the bloggers who insist on NOT allowing any creator credit ON images, perhaps you could at the very least disable right-clicking and dragging images off the blog, or put all of your images in a flash gallery to help protect your content creator's rights and usage of their work. We work hard to create that content you're earning money from and our clients who paid us to create it have a stake in where it ends up online- it's the least you could do.

Hugs & hot cocoa with marshmallows,
Anne Ruthmann

Gratitude Journal #5 - Power of Poverty

2010-12-24T06:00:00.009-05:00

I forget how easy it is to disconnect from the larger things in life when we're so busy worrying about all of our own little problems. The experiences I've had teaching in the Boston Public Schools of Dorchester bring me back to that larger reality. It's a reality that private school families and children may never understand because they have paid to shelter themselves from it. A reality that even suburban public schools may never understand because they can't fathom a place where people don't go the extra mile to support their children in obtaining the best education possible. Frankly, I didn't understand it either, until I stood face to face with the problem three days every week.

When I accepted the opportunity to be a Teaching Artist Assistant for the Citi Performing Arts Center Education Department, I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that I was drawn to the idea of teaching a creative performing arts curriculum in the public schools again (before photography, I taught elementary music.) Frankly, I had reached a point over the summer where photography was only half-fulfilling and I needed more soul fuel (more about that in my year end recap). I LOVE teaching- mostly because it's an opportunity for me to learn from others and the ways in which they experience the world differently. If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you may have seen my excitement about working with the students each day before I'd go in. They challenge me in so many ways, but perhaps the most powerful is the challenge to be a better person.

What is a better person? We often think of it in terms of our own development for tolerance, kindness, and success. However, what good does any of that do if we aren't using it to help others? It's like making a really great discovery and never sharing it with the world. Working in Dorchester has taught me the power poverty has over people and its ability to crush the spirits of otherwise amazing people. At least the students I get to work with are going to school because they have the support of their families who value school enough to help them get to school even on days when it's tough and uncomfortable to be there. You remember those days in high school, right? Now amplify that uncomfortable feeling by 100, and you might get a sense of what it's like for a student who hasn't been given a successful model of emotional stability to deal with everyday problems.

For every student I work with in the schools, there are at least an equal number of people the same age who aren't in the schools getting the experiences they need to be successful in our society. Even though, as a community, we provide these opportunities for to everyone through the taxes we pay, there are still people who don't understand our language or don't value our system of education before work, who prevent their children from going to school. These children don't learn to socialize within our diverse society, they feel shut out of opportunities because they haven't learned to communicate well with other people from diverse backgrounds, and they are intimidated by what seems to be an attempt to control their lives rather than provide opportunities, support, and empowerment. America was founded by immigrants, and only if we work together to help each other out, can we all move forward toward a healthier and more peaceful society. When I found the video below, it really tapped into the things I've seen happen in impoverished neighborhoods. I hope you'll watch it, and I hope it will inspire you as much as it has touched me and the reality of what I've experienced right here in our own back yard.

This Christmas, I am grateful that I have been able to experience these stories in person and to know that they are very real and still happening right in our own communities. It has inspired me to continue on a path of sharing everything I can with others. While we cannot solve the world's problems alone, we can make small differences that, when combined, add up to a big impact. Please visit girleffect.org and join me in helping to change lives.

Real Bride's Advice: Making Your Own Wedding Album

2010-12-20T07:42:00.011-05:00

This is a guest post from Annabel, whose wedding I photographed in 2008. My words are in parentheses. ;-)

A few weeks ago, Anne asked me if any of the pictures from my 2008 wedding ever ended up in an album. Oh boy, did they. What they ended up in is a hardbound 11 x 13 wedding album nay, volume, with a glossy dust jacket and hundreds of wedding photos spread out over 126 glorious, premium-papered pages. And the only thing more crazy than having such a hefty, museum-quality wedding album, is the fact that I did it all myself.
(*Anne: From my perspective, the paper & print quality is decent for what is available to consumers. However, as a professional I have access to much higher quality album options, but better quality does come at premium.)

Now I know that making your own wedding album might not sound all that crazy to the average Jill, but if you’ve ever done a project like this, you might recognize that this is a task meant for only the truly ambitious (read: mentally ill) brides and/or grooms among us. Remember your high school yearbook? It was, what? 60 pages? There were probably fifteen kids on the staff killing themselves to put it out at the end of the year. And they didn’t even have jobs! So before you embark on a project like making your own album, you must ask yourself, are you feeling equal to fifteen over-achieving teenagers?

Me? I have no regrets. My wedding album is an heirloom I treasure and it’s beautiful. I’m not the only one who thinks so, either. We bought copies for all of our parents- and my mother, no kidding, makes people wash their hands before they touch it. Her friends may roll their eyes but they’re lucky she hasn’t put it in a glass case, turning only one page a day, like those illuminated manuscripts in museums. I can’t blame her- while I’ve yet to frame a single wedding picture, my giantess of an album sits propped up on a bookshelf in my living room just waiting for the day when I can afford museum lighting.
(*Anne: Storing albums with this many pages upright might cause the binding to become loose, unless it's propped on a book stand that allows the book to lean back, stay closed, or lay open with the binding sinking into the spine instead of the pages pulling on the binding. Storing flat is the best way to preserve the binding.)

Recognizing that what the mentally ill really need is a forum on which to communicate their crazy notions, Anne has asked me to share my experiences making my own album with her blog readers. So here we go!
(*Anne: Annabel is completely sane, and extremely creative. ;-)

Lets start with the cons:

• It takes a lot of time - I made my album when I had what some people might call “free time” but also goes by the name “life-crippling underemployment.” I don’t know that I would have had the time to devote to making as nice an album if that hadn’t been the case. Altogether, I bet I spent forty hours or more on it during this time. Even if you’re only doing a simple and short album with no fancy layouts, I promise you, this is going to take at least a day or two of your life. Narrowing down your photos alone will take several hours. Uploading high-res photos, laying them out, dealing with the inevitable technical glitches, and proofing your album will take up what will start to seem like an infinitely expanding amount of time. If this sounds awful to you, pay someone else to deal with those frustrations for you. If this sounds like fun to you- welcome to my club! Drinks are in the kitchen and you can hang your straight jacket on the hat rack.
(*Anne: even when I do the initial design for couples, it can take weeks or even months for them to look at the album design enough times to decide what changes they want to make!)

• It’s not necessarily cheaper – Although I knew Anne would make a great album, I wanted to do my own. I designed my album on blurb.com, which is a fantastic site where you can lay out and print your own high quality hardcover books. You have to download their layout software program onto your computer (the program is free) and then upload your album to the site. My large format, 126 page album, ended up costing roughly $100 per copy. Considering the time I spent on it and the cost of printing, I doubt it really made financial sense to do it myself. Remember that life-crippling unemployment I was talking about? After I made my album, I couldn’t actually afford to purchase it until a month later when we could afford it. Still, for me it was worth the time, the cost, and the wait.
(*Anne: Doing the math- if Annabel's album took her a week, and if she had a job that earned her $1000 per week, than her album cost her $1100... luckily she was able to spend time instead of cash.)

• Technology is frustrating – I have little bit of a background as a graphic artist and so was prepared for the technical part of creating my own album. If you are easily frustrated with technology, putting together your own album may not be for you. There’s a definite learning curve with the software on most of these book design sites. If you’re someone who picks up new technology easily and have a speedy computer with plenty of space for your photos and plenty of processing power for the software, then you’re in good shape. If not, you might want to pay someone to do it and save yourself the hassle. Sometimes the photos don’t load properly and you have to start all over again, sometimes the blurb.com software is glitchy (though to their credit they are always updating it and their customer service was great when I used it a year ago), and sometimes malevolent elves crawl into your computer and screw things up for no reason at all. That last one is almost guaranteed, trust me.
(*Anne: Agreed!! Stuff happens ALL THE TIME to delay what feels like should be a simple & quick process!)

And now, some tips

• Think about design – Before I started my album on Blurb, I looked through some of the public wedding albums on there and they were all kind of, let’s see how do I say this nicely?: terrible. Well, I guess there wasn’t a way to say that nicely at all, huh? It’s not that the people making the albums were terrible, it’s just that our first instinct is to try to get as many photos into as few pages as possible. Economical? Yes. Pretty? Not so much. That kind of design leads to a really hectic-looking and amateurish product. Instead of looking at other wedding albums, try looking through some of the books the professional photographers have made to show off their portfolios on Blurb or in your local bookstore. Use their ideas to organize your album and make it the piece of art it deserves to be. These people know how to use white space to draw the eye in and to use design to create a feeling. If you have ten pictures of people going nuts on the dance floor, put ‘em all on one page and let it feel crowded and crazy, just like your dance floor was. But you don’t want the picture of your dad crying in public for the first time ever to be sized down and hidden among a bunch of other pictures- give it it’s own page.
(*Anne: EXCELLENT advice! Annabel's album was BEAUTIFULLY laid out and provided just the right balance of things that went together, highlight moments, and space to appreciate the "work" and the memories all in the same space.)

• Put a pin in it for a few days – When you finish your album and preview it once or twice, don’t go to print and buy it right away. Let it sit there for a few days without looking at it. Then, go back and preview what you’ve made. Have other people look at it too. You’ll catch mistakes easier that way and maybe realize that two pages of people eating is not as adorable as you thought it was when you were making it.

(*Anne's final thoughts:
Most couples I survey after a few years of marriage never actually got around to making their own wedding albums. They tell me they hung a photo on the wall, or gave photos as gifts to family members, but their own wedding albums often don't get created, despite their best intentions. The sad part is... I'm equally guilty of thinking I can do my own album. I've spent 5 years helping other people make their wedding albums, yet even after being married for 7 years, I still haven't made time to do my own wedding album. We all start off with ambitious visions of having plenty of time and dedication to the project, but at this point, I'm ready to hire someone else to get it done for me just so I'll finally have the whole story of our wedding day in one beautifully bound place! Annabel's story is definitely exceptional- which is why I'm so glad she was willing to share her experiences on my blog!! Thank you Annabel- you're the bee's knees. ;-)

Holiday Vacation Schedule

2010-12-13T10:02:00.006-05:00

Monkey, Scarf, & photo made by Stacey Piwinski of Art Turtle Studio

Please note I'll be traveling on holiday vacation from December 17th - 31st. I'm putting this out there now so that if you've been thinking about getting in touch, you can do it before I head out of town to spend time with family! I'll be spending a week in southeast Michigan and then a week in the Kansas City Missouri area. Depending on my schedule, I might be able to arrange a time to get together with you if you're in either of those areas! Drop me an email to let me know if you're interested.

I can generally respond to emails in 48 hours when on vacation, but if you really need to get in touch, I won't be spending too much time behind the computer- so feel free to call. Occasionally my cell phone doesn't work where our families live, but I still try to check voice messages regularly.

Watch out for my year-end review!! It's been quite incredible! Last but not least, a shout out to my Holiday Photo Booth assistants during December Open Studios: Nilda, Alex, & Kathleen- you made the days so much more fun and such a breeze!!! THANK YOU!!

Photo taken by Alex Ruthmann... my hubby and not normally a cameraman.

No More Boring Holiday Cards!!!

2010-12-11T08:08:00.001-05:00

Only two days left to visit my FREE Holiday Photo Booth so you can get some holiday photos that won't suck this year! If you're lucky, we'll even give you a chocolate chip cookie. ;-)

When? THIS Saturday 12/11 & Sunday 12/12 from 12-5pm
Where? Western Avenue Studios, 122 Western Ave, Lowell, MA
Who? You & me baby
Why? Because you like to have fun!!

Gratitude Journal #4 - People Who Anger Me

2010-12-05T07:31:00.006-05:00

People who know me are often surprised when I express anger or dislike toward someone else. If there were a poster child for Optimists International, I would probably be nominated. In fact, I actually won an award at the age of 12 for an Optimist International Oratorical Contest, speaking on the topic of Love. Despite my sunny outlook on life, I still have moments of anger and intolerance. I am only human.

Lately, one person has angered me so much that I twittered about feeling really good about punching someone's face in:

While I tried to put a humorous spin on it and it help several other people feel good about expressing their anger that day, the feeling of disliking someone that much didn't really feel good deep down. As Buddha would say:

"You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger."

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

Knowing that I am the one holding onto these negative feelings, regardless of how the other person is feeling toward me, my first thought is to try and neutralize my own anger. I start by recognizing and publicly declaring the angry feelings- but while that helps me release some tension, it also just adds more hate to the world... which kind of sucks. It means I'm not really dealing with it; I'm just passing it on to others- which can then magnify and intensify.

"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule."

One of my methods of shifting my energy quickly is taking a shower. There's something incredibly magical about water, especially in the shower where it literally washes away anything on your body. It's also a great private place to meditate and listen to your own inner dialogue. This gave me time and space to bring some perspective to my feelings. I realized that part of what made me angry was not being able to get my way- a very selfish motive. While I felt that what I wanted to do was actually going to help and benefit others- the anger came from a place of not getting what I wanted. How selfish of me to think that somehow what I wanted was more important than what anyone else wanted. That's all anger really is... selfishness. I thought I was more enlightened than that. I also genuinely thought that what I wanted to do was going to benefit others. I had completely convinced myself that my requests were completely selfless, when in fact, my anger made me realize they were selfish. I really don't identify with selfishness being one of my character traits, so I appreciate people who anger me and help me realize when I haven't been true to the person I'd like to be.

With a greater perspective on my own anger, I was able to see that this person wasn't trying to hurt or punish me for what I wanted to do. They were merely trying to take into consideration the thoughts and feelings of everyone that I would potentially be affecting, and how my actions would be perceived by others. They may not have sugar-coated their message or responded with our usual word-softening niceties, which may have made me interpret things more harshly, but they also weren't making it personal... I was. With a perspective that was now flying at 200ft instead of 8ft, I was actually able to express gratitude for the person who helped me see that my actions may not be received as positively and helpfully as I was hoping they would. Thankfully I never expressed my anger directly to the person who triggered me- or else I might have damaged a relationship with someone who might also be able to help me in the long run. I've burned a lot of bridges in my life, intentionally or not, and I've learned that building bridges actually brings much more wealth and happiness into my own life. I'm so grateful for moments and people who help me recognize the opportunity to be a better person.

{If you appreciated this post, please join me in my journey to have a greater positive impact on the world by writing your own gratitude journal and sharing it or a link to it in the comments below. I would love to read your moments of gratitude and share them with others!}

Free Holiday Photo Booth!

2010-12-04T05:56:00.008-05:00

Buy unique & local handmade gifts this holiday season! Holiday Open Studios this weekend and next from 12-5pm! Directions available online: http://www.westernavenuestudios.com

Freshy Fresh on Facebook

2010-12-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

Facebook has become such a strong platform now that I often have to ask myself, should I put this on my blog or on facebook first? Lately, the answer has been facebook. I'm sorry people, but resistance is futile. Facebook is where my clients are, it's where future referrals are, it's where my family and friends are, and it's much more interactive and engaging than waiting by the inbox wishin' and hopin' for a blog comment. This doesn't mean I'm giving up my blog - it's still completely relevant and useful for things like google-ability, but for right now, if you'd like to see the freshest stuff from me, head on over to facebook where you can find things like:

On my Anne Ruthmann Photography page:

An invitation to my Free Holiday Photo Booth this weekend and next:

Some wedding photos from Nancy & Mike's Jamestown, RI wedding:

An awesomely awkward family photo for a holiday card:

On my personal Anne Ruthmann facebook page, you can find my twitter feed even if you don't "twitter":

Just a note so you don't feel bad: I may not friend you right away on my personal page (I have a list of over 400 friend requests I need to sort through), but you can still become a fan at any time on the Anne Ruthmann Photography facebook page!

LOVE IT: 100 New Yorkers Engagement Proposal

2010-12-01T04:42:00.002-05:00

When I saw this video, it filled my heart with warm fuzzies and I just had to share it with you. I think I will always be in awe when it comes to little acts of love. I found myself pausing the video frequently just so I could read each page! There are some really funny and wise quotes among the many photos.. you just have to see it for yourself! Click play to watch the youtube video below:

To read more about the story behind this video, visit: A Special Marriage Proposal from New York and Seoul

Thanks to Sheng Chen for sharing it!

Gratitude Journal #3 - Will You Join Me?

2010-11-26T08:54:00.001-05:00

Today I'm so grateful for you. I'm so thankful that you take the time to read my blog. Even if you've never left a comment, I know you're there and that you care. You've seen that I've started a gratitude journal on my blog to share the ways in which I'm inspired by the thoughtfulness and kindness of others. I would like to expand this experience across multiple blogs to encourage more people to recognize and share the beauty of others around them. Together our small stories can make a big impact.

Will you join me?

When you're ready, post a gratitude journal of your own on your blog and leave a link to that blog post here in the comments. Once I get your link, I'll visit your blog, read your gratitude journal and leave a comment with a link back to my latest gratitude journal. We can do this exchange as often as you'd like! To be consistent, write "Gratitude Journal" in your blog title so that it can easily be found. I would love for each gratitude journal to serve as a starting point for exploring the ways in which we can all be more beautiful, gracious, and loving people. I can't wait to read your stories and be inspired by you!!!

Hugs and love,
Anne

Photo taken at Pizzuti Studios!

Do I Need A Second Photographer?

2010-11-21T08:22:00.010-05:00

I have the ability to work solo or as a team, which means I'm often asked if couples need two photographers on their wedding day. I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions, so here are a couple things to consider when it comes to one or two photographers:

1. How big will your wedding be?
Are you going to have over 200 guests, or less than 70 guests? While I've covered a 500 person wedding on my own with no problems and great images, sometimes the sheer size of a room with many guests in it is better covered with two or more people. However, if what you want is an intimate wedding with a relaxed feeling, two photographers may be overkill and might make your guests feel as if they're always being watched. The images below are from an intimate wedding of only about 30 guests. You see three completely different perspectives from one person, and I didn't feel limited by trying to avoid another photographer being captured in my shots:

2. Will there be important moments happening in different places at the same time?
Obviously one person can only be in one place at a time, so if your wedding events involve important moments that you'd like documented simultaneous in different locations, you'll obviously need a second photographer. The next question would be, is it necessary for the second photographer to be just as skilled as the primary photographer? Some photographers bring along an "assistant" to every wedding, but that doesn't mean the "assistant" is a capable photographer- they may be more of a bag wrangler who might grab a photo if needed. Determine the importance of that second photographer and their ability to capture events when the main photographer is not around.

3. Does your location have restrictions on where photographers can be and how they can move?
Many couples may not realize the policies and implications that their venue places on photographers or videographers. Some churches won't let photographers into the sanctuary at all during the ceremony, which would completely kill the need for a second photographer. Some will allow photographers to be stationed in different parts of the church as long as they don't move around, which might mean that a second photographer can get a different angle without movement. A photographer's favorite place to shoot is obviously one in which they aren't restricted. Know what restrictions your venue has so that you can speak with your photographer about how they feel they can best cover the events.

4. How does your favorite photographer prefer to work?
As someone who shoots both solo or as a team, I can see the benefits and drawbacks to both situations. What it really comes down to in the end, is selecting a photographer for their images. Images that make you fall in love when you look at them. If you start your decision with the work, than you can allow the photographer to decide what they need in order to capture those images. Ultimately, no matter how many photographers there are, there's only one editor deciding which images are worth keeping. Some people create their best work in a team and feel completely off without a second photographer in the same room, while others create their best work when they are the lone gun, getting all of the shots they want on their own without worrying about where a second photographer is or what they're capturing. There's really only one best angle or shot at any given point in time, so even if two people are shooting the same moment, it's highly likely that only one of those images is going to be worth keeping. Whatever your wedding requires, trust that your photographer will make the best recommendation that what will allow them to get the best images for your particular event.

Myth: A second photographer means better images
Quantity does not equal quality. Hiring two inexperienced photographers over one experienced photographer isn't a better "deal" if you're ultimately disappointed with the quality of the images that were produced. The best "deal" is to hire the best quality you can afford, no matter how many people it takes to achieve that quality.

Myth: More photographers means more images
There are times when I've worked alone and captured more images than I did when I had a second photographer. Each photographer has a different style of capture and editing images down to the final selection. Ask your photographer approximately how many images you can expect from your wedding, and ask to see an entire proof gallery featuring the images of the photographer that you're going to be working with. Take notice of how many posed vs. candid vs. detail images they capture and decide if that's the same balance you'd like from your wedding day.

Myth: Males & females see things differently
Any two people will have different perspectives no matter what their chromosome structure is. Bigger factors in the way that people perceive the world may be how tall or short they are, if they are near sighted or far sighted, what lenses they prefer to use, if they like details or people more, if they prefer to be in control or go with the flow, or if they get more excited over candid or posed images.

Myth: Guests and family members with cameras will provide acceptable additional coverage
First off, if you're getting an album from a photographer, a guest's images are not going to be included in that album. Secondly, I've seen the photos your guests and family members take and I'm in no fear of losing my job to them even if they do have a "fancy camera". They aren't very good at anticipating moments, they don't know how or where they can get the best angle, they really don't understand lighting at all, they generally limit themselves to taking pictures of only people they already know, and they don't have back ups of things like batteries and memory cards in case their camera dies or they run out of memory. Oh, and you may never actually see the images they took if they forget to upload and share them.

Myth: Two photographers is more expensive
Everyone has different expenses in their personal and work life, so you can't automatically assume that two photographers will be more expensive than one. Sometimes intern photographers join me as a second shooter for free just to get experience and build their portfolio, but I also don't guarantee the quality of their work or rely on them for important moments. If all you want is an extra photographer as a back-up plan, ask the photographer if they can provide that for you rather than hiring or inviting someone else who is going to try and compete for the same important moments.

Hopefully my responses do not elicit a definitive yes or no answer, but rather points to consider. First and foremost- look for a portfolio that has imagery you can fall in love with- then talk about the rest with the photographer who created that portfolio and make sure they're a great personality fit as well. Most client relationships with wedding photographers last 1-2 years- so you really want to make sure you enjoy working together!

CAUTION!!
Recently I heard a very disturbing story about a local photographer who tells couples they'll have two photographers for their wedding day, only to send one "second" photographer to the wedding to tell the couple at the last minute that the "first" photographer was too sick to make it. In reality, this "first" photographer is booking multiple weddings on the same day, hiring a bunch of "second" photographers to tell couples the same story, while he may not even be photographing a wedding at all that day! It's people like this that make me sick to my stomach. The couples end up just being glad that the second photographer is still there, even though they've paid for two photographers and the person they met with isn't the person shooting their wedding. Please make sure you do your research before hiring a photographer. Check for online reviews and ask for references from three recent couples before hiring someone to document your once-in-a-lifetime event. Make sure that the quality of the images on their website represent the quality that you'll receive. Since a wedding day is something you can't do over, you want to make sure you're getting the best you can afford so that you'll have no regrets later.

Doug - A Personal Lifestyle Portrait in Greater Boston

2010-11-18T15:17:00.004-05:00

When Doug contacted me about doing a portrait for him, I naturally assumed we'd be doing professional headshots for his online business presence. I had originally met Doug over coffee at Brew'd Awakening to discuss website development for the LowellHandmade.com project and I learned that he had developed the website for my local Aveda Salon: Salon City. I was a little surprised when I asked him where he'd like to use the images and the response was not for his business website, but rather for a personal profile. I was so delighted that not only would I be creating something more personality driven, but also something that might lead to an attraction. I'm a total romantic and I can't hide it. Just the thought of love makes me all giddy inside and turns my cheeks into pink squishy balls of joy! I still wanted to make sure I got at least one good portrait for professional use, just because it's good for everyone to have, even if only for a Linked-In profile:

For me, the key to a great personal lifestyle portrait is to capture images that are friendly, inviting, and tell a little story about you. If a picture can say a thousand words, we want to make those words a clear and honest reflection of who you are so that they attract someone who shares your values and interests. When I asked Doug what kind of things he likes to do when he's not behind the computer, he mentioned that he loves riding his bike and he's currently in the middle of some home renovation. So, we hung out at his home for a little bit and then took his bike out for a short walk in a local park. The other key for me with personal portraits is to make the photo look as if a friend with a really nice camera could have taken it - not too posed or overly creative, just natural and relaxed, as if it were happening in the middle of an activity. We want to make sure it doesn't come across as if someone is a model or that they are using a stock photo of someone else, but that it just happens to be a really great picture caught on the fly. Why can't anyone do this? Because not everyone knows how to use all of the technical tricks to make people look more beautiful while doing it. (Thanks to another web guru, Lara Swanson, for the link!)

I actually like that he's talking in this one because it feels more candid...

So, I'd love to hear from you... do you think I was able to create something that matches his story and is flattering to him?

Actor Headshots - Suburbia

2010-11-16T15:24:00.001-05:00

The UML Off Broadway Players contacted me about doing their actor headshots again, this time for their production of SubUrbia by Eric Bogosian. Since the show is a little more in your face and comical rather than emotional and dramatic, I went with the subway tile background and the actors decided to choose images that were more casual in nature. There are only 5 shows for this performance, so make sure you get out to support student driven theatre!! For showtimes and info on reserving seats: {CLICK HERE}

Cabaret Show Fundraiser - The Miracle Providers NorthEast

2010-11-15T08:13:00.012-05:00

On Saturday evening I had the joy of seeing my first FULL Cabaret Show done by the Miracle Providers NorthEast. The theme was Fairytales & Fantasies, and WOW. Just, WOW. It was an INCREDIBLE show. The costumes were AMAZING, the makeup was phenomenal, the dancing was insane, and the lights, sound, and set made the Lowell Elks Lodge look like a fabulous cabaret club. I was in awe for most of the performance but still managed to take some photos from the back of the room behind the crowd (no flash, mostly 135mm, 1600 ISO, f/2.0 - 2.8, 1/160th sec, tungsten white balance, captured in large JPG.) They did a great job of performing in the round, and the set up allowed everyone to have a fairly intimate experience with the performers as they roamed the room. The best part of the evening is knowing that almost all of the proceeds go to benefit families and children who are affected by HIV/AIDS. If you're interested in volunteering for a show or any other events, please visit: http://miracleprovidersne.org

Here are some of my personal favorites from the evening:

Next time I'm going to have to buy my ticket in advance to secure prime seating so I can get even better images!! To view the full slideshow of 197 images, click play below:

Gratitude Journal #2 - Trash Scavenger

2010-11-14T09:36:00.005-05:00

There's a dumpster behind our apartment and it's a popular spot for scavengers looking for bottle deposits and other cash attracting items. It has side access making it easier to discard items without lifting the top, which also makes it easy for people to dig through the trash at standing height rather than climbing in over top. Most scavengers I've encountered just hunt furiously through the discard until they find enough bottles and can move on to the next opportunity. I don't acknowledge them, and they don't acknowledge me. I always walk by with a negative feeling weighing over me.

I'm coming home from work one day and as I get out of my car, I see a woman in the parking lot. She's wearing plastic gloves like our maintenance workers do. She greets me with a huge smile and points out what a lovely day it is. I don't recognize her as one of the regular maintenance people, and it's a Sunday, when I normally don't see the maintenance people anyway. I figure, maybe she's a neighbor going for a walk- but with gloves? As I walk past her and to the door, I look back and realize she's scavenging through the dumpster. Yet, her demeanor is a complete 180° from every other scavenger I've encountered. She's friendly, welcoming, happy to be there, enjoying the day, and being leisurely enough in her activities that she has gone out of her way to say hello to me and make small talk. As I"m looking back, she looks up from the dumpster and says, "Have a great day!" I smile, nod, and process what just happened as I walk in the door.

I have no negative feelings. Quite the opposite- I feel inspired. The trash lady made me want to be a better person.

How did she do it?! How did she take something which normally gives me negative feelings and turn it into something completely positive and inspiring? It was so simple, so disarming. She wasn't ashamed of what she was doing; she presented herself with an ease that made it feel like it's perfectly normal and completely acceptable for people to scavenge through other people's trash. She gave me a huge genuine smile, and she engaged me in recognizing the beauty of the moment and the day. It's so simple and so elegant. How many times have I been in a hurry that I just didn't acknowledge someone, or my first words to them were something other than a greeting? How many people have I walked by and not even tried to give a smile to? How many times have I let my own situation at the moment make me less of a decent person to others? If a trash lady can make the time for human decency, what the hell is my excuse?!

So, to the woman who occasionally visits the dumpster in my parking lot: I'm grateful for your smile. I'm grateful for your appreciation of a beautiful day. I'm grateful that you take the time to greet people and share your warmth and good spirit with them. I'm grateful that you were digging through the trash behind my apartment, so that I could experience how deep and strong your inner beauty is. You set an example for how we should always treat one another, and you make me want to be a better person. Thank you.

I would love to hear about someone who has unexpectedly made your day better. Feel free to send it to me in email, post to your own blog, or in the comments below. I love being inspired. ;-)

If you post a gratitude journal of your own, please leave a link to it in the comments so that I can visit and be inspired by you!

LOVE IT: Daily Affirmation

2010-11-13T08:45:00.002-05:00

This morning, I woke up feeling a lot like Jessica (Click play to watch):

I believe she starts off the video by saying, "Look, I can be a Sark!" If you don't know of Sark, well, here's where Jessica may have attained her inspiration, and could be another full Love It post for me: Planet Sark

Honoring Our Veterans - UML Flag Raising Ceremony

2010-11-11T08:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of documenting the flag raising at UML in honor of our Veterans. Here's a little sampling of the event:

Ryan & Sharon - Gloucester Eastern Point Lighthouse Engagement

2010-11-08T16:59:00.004-05:00

I think it's safe to say that lighthouses are popular spots to get engaged in New England. There's definitely something quite romantic about being out on a point surrounded by the ocean with the sight and sound of waves crashing against the rocks, and the feel of wind in your hair. Gloucester Eastern Point Lighthouse definitely delivers on the dramatic scenery with its very long stone breakwater, perfect for walking on with loved ones. Unlike the Beavertail Lighthouse Engagement I recently did, the sky was almost completely overcast and threatening rain for this session. It even sprinkled a little while we were by the lighthouse, which worried Ryan & Sharon, but knowing that some of the most amazing images can be created with overcast skies I kept shooting and letting them know the results would be amazing. We still had the challenge of working with the wind, but as you know... I love a challenge. ;-) I know I'm completely biased, but I kicked some ass with this engagement session- everything just "clicked!" (I'm so punny!)

Ryan is an architect, and loved this building, which is also where they'll be having their rehearsal dinner, so I wanted to highlight some of the elements that Ryan loved about the building:

Seriously, could they be any cuter?!

There were a few dogs on the beach that day- which is rare for a lot of beaches, but this beach allows dogs during the off season when there aren't swimmers. Isn't he adorable?! Since I couldn't actually take him home with me, I took a photo instead. ;-)

It wouldn't be an Anne Ruthmann engagement session if I didn't manage to capture something completely ridiculous. ;-)

And something incredibly romantic... (this sky was insane- no dodging or burning needed!)

Holiday Photo Booth Samples

2010-11-07T15:56:00.001-05:00

We had a ton of fun kicking off this year's holiday photo booth a little early this Saturday!! Check out some of our favorites from the day (hit play to start the slideshow):

If you missed the early holiday photo booth this weekend, you can still plan ahead for the first two weekends in December. For more details, check out the event page on facebook: {CLICK HERE}

Free Holiday Photo Booth!

2010-11-03T12:46:00.001-04:00

This Saturday, and the first two weekends of December, I'll be offering a free holiday photo booth at my studio from 12-5pm!! Last year I did this and it was a TON of fun!! We got so many creative images with fun and silly props. Since it happens during Western Ave Open Studios, there are also a ton of amazing artists to see with local handmade items to make for a very unique and artistic holiday gift shopping experience!! I would love for you to visit with your family and friends and stop by for your free holiday photo and maybe even some cookies and hot cocoa!!! To see some examples from last year, {CLICK HERE}!

Film Noir Boudoir - Not Just for Brides

2010-11-02T15:30:00.000-04:00

Often, my Film Noir Boudoir clients are brides who want to give their groom a gift on their wedding day, but lately I've had many more women contacting me wanting to create something for themselves before or after a life changing surgery or for a partner of many years. Some of the stories are incredibly touching and personal, and I feel so grateful that I get the privilege to document people with such deep beauty.

November Desktop

2010-11-01T13:04:00.000-04:00

The weekend before our official 7th anniversary, my husband and I went to Killington, VT to celebrate with fall color, cider, local foods, sight seeing, and just getting away to relax together. These photos are from that weekend, and if you'd like a sample of Vermont for your own, feel free to click on any image to download it for use on your computer desktop!

For my wool loving friends, who also might enjoy foreground obstruction images:

Maybe you'd like to imagine you're in the carriage barn looking out at the view from the the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site:

Or perhaps what it's like to stand on the top of Mt. Killington:

Or for something completely different, a little retro leather & antique embroidery:

Gratitude Journal #1- Flat Tire

2010-10-24T18:08:00.004-04:00

I'm feeling that something isn't right, so I turn down the radio and hear thumping as I drive. The sound is familiar and I know what I need to do. I pull the Red Ford Escape into the Hess gas station and get out of the car to discover that my rear driver-side tire is flat. It's been this flat before, and after Alex put air in it, it was fine for a few more weeks. If it's a leak in the tire, it's a pretty slow leak that takes weeks to show. However, with the recent onset of cold temperatures, I figure the tire probably lost air much more quickly than normal.

As I'm attempting to put air in the tire (I'm so grateful for free air stations), a man comes over to me and asks if I need help. At first I think he's an attendant from the gas station who's wondering why I've had the air pump on for an unusually long time. I explain that I just need to put some air in my tire and it should be fine. He looks at me, he looks at the tire, and it becomes fairly obvious that the air probably isn't doing anything for the state of the tire. He puts the air on the tire just as I did, pounds on the tire with his fist to check for pressure, and determines the air isn't doing a thing. I dig in the back of the car to find the spare tire hidden but unsecured against a collage of forgotten items and he runs to his car to pull out his jack.

I attempt to help in whatever way I can on multiple occasions, but he refuses, so I'm left to stand by and watch. It's cloudy, gray, and sprinkling- not an ideal day to change a tire. He's tall, lean, attractive, and comfortably dressed with a newsboy hat and bright white socks inside sport sandals. He has a bit of an accent when he speaks, but I can't really figure it out. I wonder if he helped me because I might have looked more like a damsel in distress from behind, rather than a pimpled glasses-wearing married woman who was probably just going to call the insurance company if she couldn't fix it on her own. I refrain from calling or texting anyone else in order to be fully present in case he decides he actually does want my help.

As his jack lifts the vehicle, the gravity of the wheel combined with the rear suspension continues to keep the wheel too low to put the spare tire on. What seems like it could be an easy fix, turns into something more complicated, involving the use of both of our jacks and an additional 20 minutes of getting wet in the cold. We make small talk and I find out he's from Brazil, moved here 10 years ago, works for Honda in Tewksbury, has a sister in Italy who has a new baby, and he has family in Orlando. He lives down the street and his name is Ivan... I think... I have a terrible memory for names. I tell him that I must thank him and I ask him to think of something I can help him with.

He shows me how putting the bad tire under the car while the tire is off will help prevent damage if the jack fails and shows me the proper star pattern I need to use in order to screw the bolts back onto the wheel safely. I look for a receipt for the tire, wondering who I should take it back to in order to have it fixed. I find the Firestone receipt from Terre Haute, IN and I can see that the tires are two years old but only about 20,000 miles into their 60,000 mile lifeline since we've rarely driven this car since moving to Massachusetts. Once the spare tire is on, I clap in excitement, and start moving the stuff around in the back of the car to make room for the flat tire. As Ivan looks at the mess in the back, he asks if I'm sure there's nothing that will be damaged by the tire and I assure him that if my husband cared about the items, they wouldn't be there. I feel a little guilty about the mess, so I find a wine glass and external speaker to move to safely to the side, cover the remaining stuff with a spare sleeping bag and put a plastic gray poncho on top so Ivan can feel good about putting down the tire in a safe spot.

I thank him again and ask him if there's ANYTHING I can do for his help, and all he says is "God bless" and starts to walk away. I ask him to wait and tell him that I at least have to give him a hug, he stops, I hug him, he says "God bless" again and walks off to his car. I get in my car and start to think of ways I can potentially return the favor, or even pay it forward. As he drives away, he waves at me with the biggest smile on his face and I return the wave and smile. Part of me wonders if finding a way to thank someone for doing something altruistic makes it less fulfilling to the giver. My thoughts are interrupted by "First Church" programming on WERS, my favorite radio station which I had just made a donation to yesterday, but had never listened to on Sunday mornings. I look down at the clock and the time is 11:11am, a time that reminds me of supernatural synchronicity, since I often find myself seeing 11:11 on the clock nearly every day. I'm overwhelmed by all of the feelings I'm experiencing which turns into tears welling up in my eyes and streaming down my face. I must find a way to pay this forward.

I don't change the radio station, which would normally happen at the sound of religious programming. Instead, I listen, hoping I'll hear a message that will inspire me to pay it forward. I decide I should probably take the car to a shop to get the tire fixed, but I also wonder if they'll be open on a Sunday. When I get to Dutton St where I would need to turn in order to head toward Firestone I'm listening more than thinking and I end up turning right toward the errands I had set out to do before discovering the flat tire, rather than turning left toward the shop. I decide it's fate, and I figure the spare tire can handle the trip to Harvard, MA and back since I won't have time to run the errands later in the week.

(Note: as I write this, the time is now 4:44pm.)

Fall foliage is in full peak and by next weekend most of it will be gone. I delight in the bright red and yellow maple leaves that seem to practically glow as I drive by them and I think of how wonderful and how fleeting fall colors are. From the radio, I hear that the musical meditation will be "Late October" by Paul Cienniwa. It's a beautiful choral piece with complex harmonies and I'm reminded of how much I miss singing in a choir that performs challenging and fulfilling music. I learn that First Church is in South Boston, which is reassuring in that it's close enough to participate in, yet disappointing in that it isn't closer to home. I remind myself to start looking for opportunities to sing after the holidays. With our holidays spent out of town in the midwest, I know I can't commit to learning holiday repertoire only to be absent for the performances.

The Rev. Canon Robin Whitehead from St. Botolph’s Church, Boston (the "mother Boston"), England tells a story of two men who are neighbors and get into an argument that leads them not speaking to one another and to one of them building a creek to divide their homes. A carpenter comes along looking for work and the other neighbor wants to build a fence so he doesn't have to look at the creek or the neighbor's home and be reminded of him. The carpenter works hard and at the end of the day produces a beautiful wooden bridge over the creek. The neighbor crosses over and the men forgive each other. The story reminds me of a couple friends who have decided to stop talking to me despite my efforts to reach out to them. I wonder if they'll ever cross the bridge and if there's a lesson for me in there as well.

Along the road, there's a sign for "Phil's Apples: State Cider Champ" and my curiosity leads me to follow the arrows. After a few wrong turns, I find the little orchard which could easily be missed if driving too fast. Phil greets me and asks me if I'd like to pick some apples, I tell him that I'd actually love to buy some cider, but after seeing no signs of a visa logo on his screened porch, I tell him that I only have a debit card. He says he can also take checks, but I tell him that I'll have to come back after I find an ATM. He asks me how much cider I'd like, and I tell him four gallons, which I'll be sharing with honors students at UMass Lowell. He tells me the cider is really good this year, and I should try a sample. I take a drink, agree with him and let him know that I'll be back later.

I continue back on my original drive to Friendly Crossways where I had planned to pick up my studio coat rack and birdcage that Rich & Ashley borrowed for their wedding. On the radio I hear about a Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless that needs volunteers and feeds at least a hundred people. I remember last year's Thanksgiving at the Honors House where we had prepared enough food to feed 8-10 people, but only had one additional guest. While there were other students in the dorm for Thanksgiving, they may not have felt comfortable joining us for a private meal, but perhaps they'll feel comfortable volunteering for others. I think I've finally found my way to pay it forward and decide that this Thanksgiving would be better spent preparing meals for those who have no friends or families they can share Thanksgiving with. I reach out on twitter and facebook to find out if anyone knows of a place locally where we can volunteer.

After picking up my items and some of the items that Rich & Ashley had left at Friendly Crossways, I head back into Harvard center to find an ATM so that I can pick up the cider from Phil's. While in the General Store and happy to find an ATM, I discover some sodas I've never seen before, including one called "Curiosity Cola" which I decide I must try along with some locally made natural sodas and another locally made Root Beer. I'm delighted by how much I love this little town of Harvard, MA with its orchards, farm stands, Fruitlands Museum, conservation land, candlepin bowling and general store with locally made goods.

I make my way back to Phil's Apples without getting lost (but had marked it with a dropped pin on my iphone map just in case) and wait for Phil while he talks with another couple who is there for the first time, also for cider. They ask about the price of the honeycomb, which they decide not to get. Phil asks if they'd like to buy some apples, and they thank him but just want the cider. As Phil talks, I notice the baby cider press he's using. I'd only seen large cider presses that required lots of gears and electrical or water power to operate until now. It's so simple, so fresh, and Phil is so happy; it makes me feel even better about paying $6 for a gallon of cider. Phil mentions that it's too cold for his wife to be outside pressing the cider like she normally does, but that they can usually make 20 gallons a day. I feel a bit bad about taking 4 gallons at once, but notice another pallet of cider further back on the porch. The previous customer asks me if I need help, but I feel fully capable with two gallons in each hand.

On my way back to Lowell, it starts raining again and I change the station to NPR where there's a discussion with a developmental cognitive neuroscientist about the value of dramatic play in developing executive function. I'm especially interested since I have a natural curiosity in neuroscience but also since I've started assisting in a theatrical artist residency for Citi Performing Arts Center in collaboration with the Jeremiah Burke High School. I've been considering a masters in arts education, and the discussion on the radio talks about the lack of research in this particular area, which provides some encouragement toward a possible masters thesis.

I call Alex, who is spending his last day in Missouri with his family. I tell him what happened with the tire, Ivan who helped and wanted nothing in return, that I picked up some cider to share with the students on Monday night, the discussion on dramatic play and cognitive development and that we should think about volunteering for Thanksgiving. He tells me about his presentation, how he met a professor who started an entire honors college at WVA, and that he'll be heading into Kansas City with his mom and stepdad for some Leo's pizza- his second Leo's visit while being there. He lets me know that his flight will be arriving into Manchester, NH at 11:20pm and we talk about our upcoming obligations for the week before saying we'll see each other later tonight.

Since the rain still looks like it won't be letting up, I call the band I had scheduled to shoot outside with for the evening and ask if they'd like to do an inside shoot or reschedule. We reschedule their session for later in the week and instead of shooting their session, I spend my time writing this story to share with you. Whether these things are fate, pure coincidence, or something greater, I cannot say, but I do know that I felt compelled to share it all with you, with the slight chance that it will inspire someone else to be as grateful as I am in this very moment. I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers, for the colors of nature, for beautiful music, for stories of inspiration, for ways to give back, for people who do what they love and share it with others, for people who want to change the world in positive ways, for diversions and curiosity, for the rain that sometimes changes our plans, and for being able to share it all with people we love. What are you grateful for?

Seek Adventure

2010-10-22T11:25:00.001-04:00

Casey & Jon - Scituate Lighthouse Engagement

2010-10-21T08:14:00.002-04:00

I wouldn't call this a full engagement session because we were really just scouting potential portrait locations before the wedding. However, when I saw them together, I just had to grab a quick photo! Aren't they adorable?!

Math is Cool

2010-10-20T08:11:00.002-04:00

Nancy & Michael - Jamestown Beavertail Lighthouse Engagement

2010-10-19T08:00:00.002-04:00

Most lighthouse engagement sessions are quite windy, especially in the fall on the Atlantic ocean. This day, however, was EXTREMELY windy- even for Jamestown, RI. I wish I had checked the wind speeds so I could tell you exactly how windy it was, I'm guessing it was somewhere in the tropical storm range. That being said, it was also an incredibly bright and sunny day with not a single cloud in the sky (they were all blown away), which we get much more often in New England than I've ever seen in the Midwest. I could have copped out and shot in the shade or in an area more protected from the wind, but Beavertail Lighthouse is where Michael proposed to Nancy, so I really wanted to show off everything that made it wonderful. Since the wind was moving in the same direction as the sun, I embraced the hard light and hard wind as an additional creative challenge. How do you create great images when people are being blown away and blinded by the sun? You work it.

This is how most of our in-between moments were spent...

It was pretty cool to see these birds fly by in perfect form...

This wouldn't be a shot I'd normally include, but at this very moment, Michael looked at Nancy and said, "You're so beautiful right now" - I just had to capture it, no matter what.

Backlit...

Flare...

Shadow...

Lighthouse light...

In honor of their engagement, and as a thank you for keeping such lovely grounds, I've made a donation to Beavertail Lighthouse. If there's a lighthouse you love, I hope you will consider doing the same.

Pssst... people who "like" Anne Ruthmann Photography on facebook, got to see these photos before you did! Just sayin'. ;-)

Mobile Monday - Week 11

2010-10-18T10:20:00.001-04:00

Mobile Monday is a collection of personal iphone photos, songs, videos, and twitter captions from my daily adventures (in other words, not an example of my professional work.)

Cheesy photos of @alexruthmann & I in Killington, VT during the Hay Festival: http://bit.ly/dkN4Qp 10.11.10

An environmentally friendly brewery 10.11.10

Butler, MO gets added to the visitors map by @alexruthmann at Long Trail Brewery 10.11.10

I love fun chairs- I wish I had a place for each one I find! 10.11.10

I'm very fond of my new fork. 10.11.10

Visiting Wood's Cider Mill 10.11.10 http://j.mp/9AHOEi

A trip to Vermont with @alexruthmann is never complete without a stop at one of these 10.11.10

The farm honor payment system 10.11.10

Flight 10.11.10

I don't think I'll ever get tired of tree-lined drives in the fall 10.11.10

Lime & Lavender to brighten the gray day 10.12.10

Glowing sun gets tucked in by cloudy blanket. 10.12.10

Inn at Scituate Harbor, MA 10.13.10

Mixtape by Tift Merritt 10.13.10

Laramie Project Headshots for UML Off Broadway Players 10.13.10

Wicked! 10.14.10

The Pho at Viet Thai in Lowell is the BEST! 10.15.10

Clouds are parting... 10.16.10

Had a fabulous wedding vendor experience at The Atlantica in Cohasset, MA!! Wish every venue was that awesome! 10.16.10

Take Time to Pick Wildflowers

2010-10-17T08:34:00.002-04:00

The Laramie Project - Actor Headshots

2010-10-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

The UML Off Broadway Players will be performing The Laramie Project starting this Thursday, October 21st until Wednesday October 27th. I've heard so many great things about this play and I can't wait to see it! For more details, {CLICK HERE} to see their event page! I had a ton of fun doing the headshots for the show! Here are the images the actors chose for themselves, we had so many fun out-takes that couldn't be used, but may still find their way onto facebook. ;-)

These lovely people won't be acting on stage, but will be managing behind the scenes:

A Little Something Special

2010-10-14T10:14:00.017-04:00

For two days only, Saturday November 13th & Sunday November 21st, I'll be offering a limited number of studio boudoir sessions for only $300 with 10 high resolution digital files included.

Studio sessions generally include about 1-2 hours of shooting in studio, and about 1-2 hours of collaborative editing immediately after the shoot. This means no waiting to see the results, and you get to pick the favorites!! All shoots will be done in Film Noir Boudoir style, which means all black & white images. Prints & albums are also available, but no minimum purchase is required for the session special. Email me now to schedule your session!

Belly Dancing in Art Deco Detroit

2010-10-13T08:51:00.001-04:00

Meet Krystal, my step-sister, and an incredibly creative spirit. Once I had seen her in full belly dancing costume, I just knew I had to do a creative shoot with her handcrafted fashions set against the gorgeous Art Deco architecture of downtown Detroit. Here are a few of my favorites from our creative collaboration...

And just in case you thought she was always serious... here are a couple out-takes from some in-between moments...

I'm always up for a creative collaboration, and if I love your concept, I might even do it just for the fun of it!!

Celinda & Brian's Newport Rhode Island Engagement

2010-10-12T08:09:00.014-04:00

I have to start off by saying congratulations to Celinda & Brian, who were happily married this summer! Since I never got a chance to blog their engagement session last year, we can just consider this a flashback. ;-) The afternoon started off cloudy and rainy, but we set out to have fun anyway!

A little dock-side fun...

I love this silhouette with just a touch of detail and the sailor in the background...

Soft light from the other side..

Yummayyyy....

The lavender bush was a special reminder for Celinda... I love it when we can incorporate something personal and meaningful into the shoot.

We dodged a little more rain by heading to the arcade...

She rocked Dance Dance Revolution!

The sky calmed again and we took our chances out on the rocky shoreline...

I love the little bit of hair blowing in the wind...

The rocks were tricky, and wet from all the rain...

Movie poster?

This is one of those images I love for unexplainable reasons...

Here's to making the most of a rainy day...

Mobile Monday - Week 10

2010-10-11T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I did a mobile monday post, did you miss them? Just a reminder, this is a collection of iphone photos, songs, videos, and twitter captions from my daily adventures (in other words, not an example of my professional work.)

Been a long time since I rocked the side-pony. 10.04.10

All the things you want are real ♫ 10.05.10

Headshot Shootout @LensProToGo Studio! 10.05.10

I just used #Shazam to discover Monument by Mirah. 10.07.10

Beavertail Lighthouse Jamestown, RI 10.08.10

Trees 10.09.10

On the road 10.09.10

Colors whizzing by 10.09.10

This year, we're starting the fire... instead of waking up to a fire alarm. 10.09.10

The view out our window this morning. 10.10.10

Anatomy of an Onion for my medical illustrating friends. ;) 10.10.10

Appreciate the Little Things in Life

2010-10-10T10:31:00.001-04:00

Let Your Hair Down

2010-10-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

The Cake in the Window

2010-10-08T11:51:00.002-04:00

It stared out the window, knowing its ultimate fate. Pretty and sweet, it was all done up for the special occasion. The cake enjoyed the attention it received before everyone sat down for dinner, but now... now it was all alone, left only to its thoughts of what the future holds. The glimmer of hope was in realizing that at least the top would be saved and kept safely frozen among peas and pizza, where it would be seen and thought of often, and maybe even live to see another year.

If cakes could talk, what would they say?

Keya & Robbie's Indian Filipino Hindu Catholic Wedding Album

2010-10-06T11:59:00.002-04:00

You read that right - Keya & Robbie had an Indian / Filipino / Hindu / Catholic Wedding! Weddings are one of those rare events that bring people from diverse backgrounds together in harmony, and provides an opportunity to enjoy music, dance, and food together. Keya & Robbie decided to take all that they love from the traditions of their combined heritage and bring it together in a spectacular 3 Day, 5 Event wedding! The result was an amazing weekend full of love, life, culture, and more love! Their love for each other, their friends, and their family was simply intoxicating. I am so honored that I was able to witness and capture so much beauty. In the future, I'll break down some of the more specific events that happened, but to give you an overall vision of the day, here's a sample of some spreads from their 120 page wedding album:

Special thanks to Delia Turner, who joined me to help photograph 3 of the wedding events.

One Big Little Happy Family

2010-10-05T10:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak peek from a family lifestyle portrait session with Joanne T Cheng's family! It's always an honor to shoot photographers with their families!

Bench Seats are Better

2010-10-04T08:49:00.003-04:00

... for cuddling together.

The Secret to Marriage

2010-10-03T09:39:00.006-04:00

... is being flexible and finding ways to have fun together. ;-)

(Self pic with my husband at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia.)

LOVE IT: Bottle

2010-10-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

A little slice of inspiration for your imagination... and your heart. Click play to watch (5 min).

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

October Desktop

2010-10-01T08:40:00.003-04:00

Both of these images were selected because their original versions were quite bland in their natural state and easy to glance over, but after pulling out their rich colors, they're beautiful pieces I'd love to see on my desktop every day. Is there anything that you pass over on a regular basis because it doesn't look interesting at first glance? There's extraordinary beauty to be found within the ordinary. Click an image to download a high resolution version for your desktop.

Dena & Jeff - Four Years Later

2010-09-30T08:47:00.019-04:00

Today is Dena & Jeff's 4th wedding anniversary!! I thought I'd check in with a little facebook interview to see what their thoughts are on four years of marriage...

Anne: Four years since the wedding, what's changed since then? Has anything stayed the same?
Dena: Well, we are now four, with the addition of Miss Evaline on 01.09.10. Cisco [the adorable dog] is still with us getting older, but still sweet as ever. We are still living in Clearwater. Jeff is still at the same company. I am now a stay at home mom with a side business at www.denarella.com. [I love her upcycled bags!]
Jeff: The biggest change: our daughter Evaline was born this past January. There may have been other changes over the last four years, but they're all eclipsed by the joy (and terror) she's brought into our lives.

Anne: When looking back on your wedding day- what do you remember most? Was there anything you would do differently if you could do it again?
Dena: The friends and family that came together to have a great party. Dancing, eating and socializing with everyone! If I had to do it differently I would of taken group photos before the ceremony. I also would of made the list of photos that I really wanted to make sure that we got them - like you suggested :)
Jeff: You mean other than the obligatory "my beautiful wife walking down the aisle"?
The band.
After our original band cancelled a few weeks before the big day, we were able to find a Blues Brothers tribute band that could perform on short notice. I was worried we'd end up with a theme wedding based on a theme neither of us wanted.
They showed up for the reception... all seven of them, including a full horn section and rocked out all night long to the delight of our guests. The next day, our caterer told us that in the hundreds of weddings he'd been to, he'd never seen so many people on the dance floor for so long.

Anne: What advice would you give to a couple who's planning their wedding right now?
Dena: My biggest advice to couples is to trust in your vendors. Research them and then let them do their job. They do this for a living and they usually know best. Also dont sweat the small things. In the end they do not make a difference and no one will notice except you!
Jeff: Don't sweat the details. I can say this because I was the guy portion of the equation, but I think my wife would agree. On our wedding day, she found out the flowers delivered were totally different than what was ordered, but beautiful nonetheless. She didn't make a big deal out of it because the guests wouldn't have noticed and it would have gotten in the way of why we were there that day: to have a great party with our family and friends.
...and get a band.

Anne: I have to ask... what did you end up doing (if anything) with your wedding photos?
Dena: Um. . . We have a bunch around the house. Jeff also made me a 1st year photo book that has them in there. We also gave most of our family framed photos. I still need to make photo books for ourselves and our parents.
Jeff: We have a few of the photos, in frames, around the house. But, we're both pretty tech savvy, so all of our favorites are in digital photo frames, or screen savers, or photo slide shows. I end up seeing a few different photos of our wedding every day.

Anne: Can you share your top 10 favorite wedding images and why you love them?
Dena: I almost bit it coming down the stairs. Too funny.

Loved having my cousins, room mate from college, and my sister with me for the wedding.

I love this beach. I wanted to get married here since I was small.

What a great group of guys!

Daddy tear - nice shot anne.

My dad got the sand from the beach, and it was a bit wet. Stuck in the bottom.

Our personalities exactly!

Our new family!

My favorite all time PHOTO!

Why you buy a $200 dress and not spend a fortune!

SPEND THE MONEY ON A REAL BAND. It is worth it! My caterer said that he has never seen so many people on the dance floor EVER!

Anne: What have these last four years of marriage taught you?
Dena: Patience, Love and Understanding. Things will happen in time and enjoy the moment you are in.
Jeff: What have I learned? If this was the Newlywed Game, I'd guess that Dena would say, "not enough."
However, I would say that having a partner to share my life and experiences has made the bad times better and the good times extraordinary.

Anne: Can we see a recent image of your family?
Dena: Check [Jeff's] Flickr. You can also check Evie's blog at evalinetherese.com

Happy 4th Anniversary Dena & Jeff!! To see a slideshow of my favorites from their wedding day, click play on the slideshow below:

Kristin & Will: A Scottish New Hampshire Wedding

2010-09-28T09:57:00.023-04:00

In the lovely hills of New Hampshire, land of the motto "Live Free or Die", rests the quaint Grand View Inn & Resort with a sprawling view of Mt. Monadnock. It was spring and the magnolias and apple blossoms smelled as sweet as they looked. Family members pitched in putting the final touches on the handtied bouquets and handmade decor. The weather was delightfully warm and sunny- a perfect day for the groom & groomsmen to wear traditional formal kilts with all the extras. The bride looked stunning in her birdcage veil, handmade wedding clogs, and custom Heather Wang Jewelry. Guests arrived from near and far as Aaron Denny played guitar, and those who couldn't were able to attend virtually with the modern technology of a laptop webcam with wireless internet. After the ceremony, the bride & groom were surprised by the gift of a Scottish Bagpiper playing for their exit! The guests enjoyed fabulous local foods, sipped drinks under the stars, and danced the night away. Click play below to see their entire wedding day slideshow:

Thanks to Janelle DePiano for interning as a second shooter with me for this wedding!
PS. This is my first time embedding one of these slideshows in my blog - so please let me know if it works!

Love is... wading through the fog together

2010-09-27T11:13:00.006-04:00

We don't always know where we're going in life, especially when something unexpected throws us off course, but we do know that love helps guide us through the fog.

LOVE IT: The Swapaholics

2010-09-26T10:05:00.000-04:00

The Swapaholics combine three of my favorite things: fashion, recycling, and an amazing deal! If you've never been to a Swapaholic event, there's no better time than during Boston Fashion Week to check out their Sip & Swap this Thursday at Arts at the Armory in Somerville! Founders Amy Lynn Chase, owner of Haberdash Vintage, and Melissa Massello, creator of Shoestring Magazine, make a powerful pair of fearless fashion finders, bringing their expertise together for the benefit of lucky swappers. Armed with an impressive team of volunteers, each event provides an opportunity to trade in your less-wanted items for something you'll love more! The best part? You know the entire stash is fresh that day direct from other swappers just like you, and whatever doesn't go home- doesn't come back- it heads off to Salvation Army where the less informed can wade through racks of unwanted clothing and pay more for one piece than you traded for all you can carry! Want to be in the know before you go? Check out these 6 Tips for Becoming an Expert Swapaholic!

I had a ton of fun documenting the Canal District Clothing Swap earlier this year, and even did a mini-fashion shoot with Jen Loves Kev and Orchid Grey, who are part of the Delightful Dozen collective of fashion bloggers who trade fashion pieces and interpret them in new ways.

Click play on the slideshow below to see my coverage of the entire swap!

Thanks Offbeat Bride!

2010-09-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

Little did Offbeat Megan realize when featuring a couple of my images recently on the Offbeat Bride Blog in her posts on Funny Groomsman Photos and Paying Homage to Your Pets, that both of the weddings from those photos are celebrating their 4th year of marriage this September (or maybe she's super psychic!) In honor of this interesting coincidence, I thought I'd check in with these lovely couples to see how they're doing and what words of wisdom they can pass on to future couples! Stay tuned for their response!

A deep breath

2010-09-24T12:16:00.001-04:00

in anticipation...

Sexy on the Beach

2010-09-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

H & J had a FABULOUS wedding at the Paradisus Palma Real resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Once I saw the resort at night, I just knew we had to get some creative night shots. What I didn't know was how sexy H & J would be at the end of the night!! Yummmmmay.

Special thanks to Corey Ann who was my human light stand and reflector for some of these shots!

LOVE IT: Random Moments

2010-09-22T08:40:00.006-04:00

Alex and I were waiting for a ferry in Brisbane, Australia and the only other person at the terminal was a skateboarder who was attempting tricks off the bench in front of us. It was a completely ordinary moment and yet I was captivated. I decided to capture it in the abstract way that I was sensing it- just a bench, a board, a body, a trick, and a return. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Click play below to watch the video:

Two Visions of One Moment

2010-09-21T09:48:00.016-04:00

"The true voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."- Marcel Proust. There are many ways to see any given moment, and I love exploring them.

Real Wedding Details | Purple, Pink, Gray

2010-09-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

What is Post-Production? Why would I want Processed Images?

2010-09-17T09:26:00.005-04:00

Here are a few examples of images that have come straight from the camera, and what a processed version might look like. Since there are many different ways of processing images, every digital developer (or photographer) will have a different preference for the final result (as well as a different way of capturing the initial image.) These examples represent part of my post-production thought process, but are in no way meant to represent a "right" way of doing anything.

In the above image, I reduced the yellow tone to bring the whites back to a bright white so that the white linens in the room actually looked white and the pinks were more pink than peach.

In this one I actually added yellow to make the scene a little more surreal and the couple a little more sun-kissed tan rather than cloudy-day grey.

I decided that the expressions of the people in the background were an important part of this image, and the best way for me to highlight them and give them more of a presence in the image was to increase the brightness and convert to black & white so that the eye would be less drawn to color and more drawn to contrast.

While this image isn't too bad in its original state, it didn't quite reflect just how incredibly vibrant all of the colors were in person, so I added some brightness and contrast to reflect more of what it looked like in person.

As much as we'd love our equipment to cooperate and think like we do 100% of the time, there's always a chance that during a critical moment, a flash will under-fire or not fire at all! When images are captured in RAW instead of JPG, there's a much greater chance for rescuing a critical moment in post-production. While this wasn't critical, there's a pretty hilarious bridesmaid gesture in the background that's lost in the original, but saved with processing.

The original looks pretty true-to-reality here. The colors in this plant weren't very bright or saturated, but with some contrast and saturation this flora becomes spectacular and fascinating rather than easy to glance over.

Most of my clients choose to have me process the images, however I occasionally work for other photographers who prefer to save money by processing their own images. It can be pretty time intensive depending on how much the developer looks at each image, which is why someone who does their own digital developing might take quite a bit of time after shooting hundreds of images on a wedding day.

If this post was interesting, you might also like:
Should I get Digital Negatives From My Photographer?
or
Why Do Wedding Photos Take So Long?

Harvard's Secret Garden

2010-09-15T15:36:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite things about collaborating with clients on the location for their shoot is discovering places that I wouldn't find otherwise! This little hidden garden was the perfect place to find some privacy on a very public campus. It was also where the groom was supposed to propose to his bride. However, like many perfectly planned engagement stories, fate had a different plan and the gates were locked, so the proposal happened just outside the garden instead. Luckily the gates were open for our photo shoot, and I was able to catch a little glimpse of what made the garden such a special place for these Harvard grads...

I loved being able to incorporate parts of the quote carved into this stone bench!

Rumor has it, some people can sneak out of their window at night to access the garden, even when the gates are closed. ;-)

LOVE IT: someecards

2010-06-08T09:39:00.000-04:00

My love for the irreverent, paired with a special occasion or a random media story, helps someecards continually put a smile on my face. I also love that I can just share the link on a facebook page, or embed here on my blog instead of needing to send them via email, which means instant smiles for anyone I want to share with. Here are just a few of my favorites du jour:

This one is video:

Boston's Faneuil Hall

2010-05-18T12:40:00.002-04:00

I love going to different locations for engagement portraits because I always find something new to inspire me! I also love incorporating interesting architecture whenever I can, and Boston's Faneuil Hall provided the perfect combination of architecture and inspiration for this engagement photo! I'm thinking about making this a large canvas or standout on one of my office walls, but I can't decide which one I like the most - what do you think?

Real Wedding Details | Vintage Paris Inspiration

2010-05-05T08:55:00.005-04:00

While it's wonderful to fantasize about what a wedding would look like with an unlimited budget and the unrestrained creativity of every vendor involved, I think it's also nice to see what real weddings are doing with their themes and details. The following images are real details, from an actual wedding, inspired by Paris in the 1940's.

My favorite details of the evening: the guestbook was actually a coffee table book of black & white vintage photos of Paris, and the placecards were luggage tags.

Green Idea: Bridesmaid Dress Recycling

2010-05-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

You know that bridesmaid dress sitting in your closet? The one(s) that came with the reassurance that, "you could totally wear it again!" Yet, somehow it's never actually made a second appearance at any event? There's a girl out there who would love that dress more than you ever will. A girl who will look at that dress as a perfect gown for her winter ball or spring prom. A girl who would normally never be able to afford a dress like that.

Donate My Dress has assembled a list of dress donation organizations across the country that will find a deserving girl for that dress you had to have, but will never wear again. I love the event that our local Belle of the Ball creates, which makes getting a used gown a very special experience for girls referred by their school counselors and local social service agencies. If you need any more inspiration to donate, might I suggest watching 27 Dresses?

The Fleeting Spring

2010-04-29T11:56:00.000-04:00

Spring; so beautiful, yet so fleeting. Trees blossom with dainty soft flowers, only to shed their petals and quickly make way for leaves and berries that house and feed the birds of summer. I wanted to capture this fleeting moment, specifically, the moment in which the petals take flight from the trees. It's really a moment better communicated by video, since the motion of the petals is what's most beautiful, but as a still photographer, I wanted to push myself to explore communicating that sense of flight through still imagery. What follows is my process of exploration and discovery, which is how I approach almost anything I photograph...

I started with a basic observation of the petals leaving the trees, and I observed that the petals in the air are very difficult to see when set against the background of the tree.

Then I turned my attention to documenting the aftermath, the destination point of the petals and how the wind seems to gather them into clusters near curbs and walls, yet this still did not demonstrate the motion and the fleeting moment.

Still unsatisfied, I thought, perhaps using a shallow depth of field would sufficiently separate the tree and its fleeting petals from the background, but was unsatisfied with the minimal petals that I was able to capture. In person, I felt surrounded by petals floating in the air.

Perhaps a darker background, to offset the light color of the petals, set against the texture of the rippling canal, could do this petal shower justice?

Or maybe the sidewalks, all lined with gathered petals, would be better?

Ultimately, I settled on capturing only the petals in manual focus, with a telephoto lens, with an aperture just large enough to capture several petals while still keeping the background out of focus, and framed to create a feeling that they were free floating with seemingly no attachment to their former host.

After feeling as though I did my best to capture a still photograph of a fleeting moment, I passed a spider, troubled that all of the petals were revealing its invisible trap. Not everyone appreciates this beautiful wonder of spring.

Even after I left the scene, I continued to think about how I could capture that moment, that feeling, in a still photograph, and one more idea came to mind... I could have tried to move with the petals, at a tight aperture and a slow shutter, with a background with just enough contrast and shape to show the background in motion while keeping the petals in focus.

I'd love to hear from you! How would you approach a moment like this?

Boudoir Workshop - May 25th & 26th, 2010

2010-04-28T08:10:00.003-04:00

May 25th & 26th in San Diego, CA I'll be sharing lighting, posing, and marketing resources for my Film Noir Boudoir & Pin Up Photography. There are great photographers on board sharing their tips, all with pretty different styles, so I'm looking forward to their presentations too!

Full disclosure: I'm not receiving any financial compensation to teach this workshop or to publicize it, however Pictage is covering my travel costs. I'm looking forward to being an attendee as much as I'm looking forward to teaching! I just love workshops!

Free To Be

2010-04-27T11:18:00.000-04:00

We started these engagement photos right on Boston's famous Freedom Trail. Like any other major city with an active downtown area, there are people everywhere. Now, I'm pretty awesome at making a crowded place look like there are only two people there, but when the local characters actually add something a little more interesting to the shot, well.. sometimes I can't resist.

You Look So Familiar

2010-04-26T06:12:00.005-04:00

They walked into my studio yesterday and there was this light surrounding them. A familiarity, as if I needed to know something more, as if a story needed to be told. I almost asked them if they wanted to hang out sometime, but stopped just short, thinking how it might be a little weird since we had only just met. Then they appeared again, in my living room, as my husband started up an AppleTV slideshow of my Flickr stream set to his Pandora stream. I wasn't really paying attention, since I've seen the images many times, but I happened to glance up and see the image below, and it was too serendipitous to ignore. When I originally photographed the image last year, all I saw was a generous smile and a perfect moment, but now for it to appear again just after seeing them in my studio- I had to say something.

I have this general rule in my life: twice is coincidence, thrice is significance. So, maybe this blog post will mean something to someone, maybe it won't, but I feel better knowing I put it out there.

Worth Waiting For

2010-04-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

"There's a good reason why I waited so long," she said with a smile.

Inspire Boston 2010

2010-04-24T17:03:00.001-04:00

In February I had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring as part of the Inspire Boston Workshop & Retreat for Photographers. What I loved about this particular workshop was that most of it took place in Concord's Historic Colonial Inn, which provided a cozy atmosphere and gathering place for all of the photographers involved. Of course, it was also great that we had nearby access to all of the photography amenities at Lens Pro To Go.

The classes were intimate, rich with content, and there was plenty of time for mingling and mentoring in-between sessions- which I find to be a critical piece in a retreat-style workshop. My presentation was a reverse thinking way of approaching pricing, which was designed to really make people define what they want out of being self-employed. I always feel like I need a couple days to really get detailed on any one subject, especially when I'm speaking to a large group of people who have different needs and are at different places in their business. Which is exactly why I loved being a mentor as part of the retreat. Even though it was only supposed to be 30-45 minutes with each person, I often ended up mentoring for more like 90 minutes just because I really wanted to help each person and not just skim the surface. I just love helping people, and I feel like we can accomplish so much more when it's one on one.

Special thanks to The Graziers who really put the bulk of the effort into making Inspire Boston happen. I know it's been a dream of theirs for quite some time. Richard Esposito put together this series of clips from the workshop, so you can get a small sense of what it was like:

How to Take Great Food Product Photos with a Point & Shoot Camera

2010-04-23T09:00:00.010-04:00

In this online marketplace, something as simple as a photo can affect the overall perception of your product's quality and value, which will ultimately make or break an online sale. Like many small businesses, Sweet Lydia's needs great photos of her products for her website. The photos need to be an accurate product representation, and they need to be desirable to her buyer. While she would love to have a professional photographer create images for her on a regular basis, she really wants to be able to create great imagery with her point & shoot camera on her own in the meantime. Since Lydia has become a dear friend, and I want her to be successful and well-represented online, I shared some tough love on her original product photography and then invited her into the studio for a mini-lesson on improving the product photos on her website. The following images were some that we were able to create with her Canon PowerShot point & shoot camera:

It starts with a custom made marshmallow, sandwiched by graham crackers, cookies, or dipped onto a pretzel, and then wrapped in a blanket of chocolate. Yum! We want it to look just as fun and tasty as it sounds!

Here are the techniques I shared to help improve her product photos:

• Create a mini scene with complementary objects to provide context for the product use & to suggest a relationship that attracts the ideal buyer. In the circumstance above, we paired a sentimental box with stamps to suggest sending a food gift to someone sentimental far away. In the second photo, we used a small basket and a fresh cut flower with mason jar to suggest taking some along for a picnic.

• Use soft natural light, preferably in open shade but close to an open light source like a window or door. The images above were taking in a hallway next to a large window of light in the afternoon.

• Use complementary colors to make products stand out rather than blend in. We used greens to help offset the pinks in the first image and then the pink flower in the second image to provide contrast to the brown, but also to create a relationship with the sprinkles.

• White balance for a warmer tone when photographing food (on a point & shoot camera, this often involves changing the "AWB" to Shade or Sun). Warm colors make food look healthy and nutritious. Blue tones make it look moldy or old.

• Step back and zoom in to provide accurate object size comparisons and to compress background scenery to a minimum. Zooming in helps narrow your background so that you don't have as much competition for attention in your product scene.

• Make adjustments in Photoshop or iPhoto, or whatever program you have, to enhance brightness and contrast for a little extra detail and clarity. Extra contrast helps provide sharpness and clarity, as long as it isn't taken too far, which could result in something looking fake. Brightness will help bring out details and textures.

While I know we can create more amazing images with studio lighting and/or professional cameras and lenses, it's not always practical for today's crafters and entrepreneurs who are working with limited budgets and time. A basic photographic understanding of how to make a product look more appealing can really make a difference in online sales, which hopefully translates into more people making a living doing what they love, which ends up creating a greater sense of peace and happiness in the world! ("Some say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.")

Featured on Boston Channel 5 Chronicle!

2010-04-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

Tonight at 7:30pm, The Boston Channel 5 Chronicle is doing a feature on local Art Colonies and I'm very proud to say that Western Ave Studios will be featured as part of the program! I was out running on assignment most of the day they were filming, so you won't see me personally anywhere in the program, but you will get a taste of the wonderful artist community I work in every day!! It's just another great reason why you should come and visit my studio! ;-)

Clicking the image below will take you to the video preview of the program: