Donald Pope Photography

Elizabeth & Ramon's Special Day

One of the great things about being a wedding photographer is that you get to travel and meet wonderful people.  On my last assignment  few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to shoot wedding for a beautiful military couple.  The couple are in the Navy and are stationed in the Suffolk, Va area.   

Since I am the name, face and primary photographer Donald Pope Photography, it is important that I get a good feeling about the entire event.  This one really felt right.

When I arrived at the venue, I was pleased to see a very beautiful historic home that has been converted into a hall for special occasions.   The venue is called The First Lady.  The staff, the food provided by the staff and the atmosphere was perfect.  I highly recommend this location if you need a wedding venue in the Hampton Roads area.  The wedding was officiated by Cathi Warfel of Ageless Balance.  A very nice wedding cake was provided by Silver Spoon Bakery & Gourmet. 

The exterior of The First Lady of Suffolk has a warm feeling.  It feels like you just stepped back in time.  

This is a shot of the bride gazing out of the window.  It was shot with a 2.8 professional lens in order to soften the background.  The bride was dressed in a traditional white wedding dress.  

During the ceremony, Elizabeth & Ramon both held each others hand's then kissed each others hands as part of the vows.

The venue had a large chair that reminded me of a chair that a king or queen would sit in.  I decided to use it as a prop to create a portrait that was a little bit different and creative. 

I used Photoshop Lightroom to remove a small bit of the color, then soften the focus and clarity.  

Elizabeth and Ramon seemed to be a couple very much in love.  This photo was shot as a much larger photograph, but cropped down for a close and intimate perspective.  It was processed in Sepia tone, with some color added back to the photo.  

And finally, we try to make sure that we do something simple yet creative.  This is one of my signature poses.  I love look of both the brides and the grooms faces. 

Wedding Photographer changing the pace a bit at Eagle Harbor, MD

Every now and then, all photographers, including Donald Pope Photography, has a weekend day that is completely free.  But the camera is always working.  On Saturday, 08/01/09, I drove from Delaware to a small town called Eagle Harbor, MD.  Eagle Harbor, MD is one of the smallest incorporated towns in the United States with a population of only 55, it still manages to throw an outstanding community party once per year.  The party is called "Eagle Harbor Day"

The music was provided by Stone Pleasure Band.  They are an outstanding R&B Band.  Of course my mind was thinking about weddings.  I kept saying to myself "they would be great music for a wedding".  

The Stone Pleasure Band does not have a website right now, but if you need to book them for a wedding in Maryland, Delaware or Virginia, drop me a line and I will put you in contact with them. 

 

 

 

Mandatory equipment for all wedding photographers

There are many pieces of equipment that are optional for a wedding photographer and there are some equipment that is mandatory. 

Let's start with the obvious..the camera.  To really be able to be versatile and create superb photographs, a Digital SLR should be one of your first purchases.  If you are new and your budget is small, I personally recommend the Canon XSI Rebel.  It is a very good camera at a reasonable pricing point.  You can normally purchase a Rebel with two kit lenses for under $800.  And what makes it better, is that the kit lenses have built in image stabilization.  This should be good enough to get your started.  But keep your eye out for a back-up camera.

The flash is very important.  I have owned Minolta, Nikon and Canon products.  If your budget allows, you may want to consider the Canon 580EXii.  This flash is a bit expensive.  It is almost $400 in most stores, but well worth it.  When I used smaller flash units with less power, the problem of not being able to bounce a significant amount of light off of high church and reception hall ceilings presented itself.  Not having enough power could ruin most of the photographs for a particular event.  Don't go cheap on your flash unit. 

Although this is not a complete list, some consideration should be given to either editing software or a color balancing tool.  Most new camera come with some very basic image processing software so you may be able to get away with not purchasing top dollar software immediately.  Much of my editing time during the early years of my business was spent trying to color balance (setting white balance).  I would recommend purchasing the Expodisc color balance tool.  It costs about $100 and will last a lifetime.  If the color balance is correct in-camera, it will save you valuable time while editing.  

When I buy retail, I try to buy at Cameras Etc in Delaware.  Delaware is a tax free state and that saves you a fair amount of money when you are purchasing electronics.  There are few true camera stores left in the U.S.  Cameras Etc is a real camera store with real camera experts staffing the business. 

Stay tuned and subscribe for more information on starting and running your photography business.  There is much, much more to follow. 

Wow! What a difference a make-up artist can make.

Delaware is a very small area for a wedding photographer to work in.  As a result, we try to travel in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to do engagement sessions and wedding photography.  We expanded our services to include portrait sessions with model clients in those areas.  This photo shoot was shot in Temple, Hills, Maryland on July 25th, 2009

Say hello to the beautiful MiTia Neblett.  We could not have asked for a better example of a model that was a pleasure to work with.  Take a look at the results.  She wants to be a model and she is well on her way. 

The magic to this shoot was the use of a professional make-up artist.  Akia Richardson provided the services for this client.  Shoot us an email and we will put you in touch with Akia. 

With the excellent results in this session, I would recommend that wedding photographers give a lot of thought to the use of a professional make-up artist.  It could do wonders on any bride. 

While it is well known that weddings are now being requested in black and white, the same is true of portrait sessions.  It works for both brides, grooms and models.  Can you say "wow"?

Fabulous Delaware Wedding

Amy and Brandon were a fabulous couple who were married on May 30th, 2009 at the Newark Family Parish, Newark, Delaware.  Both families, the church and the guests really made me feel like I was one of the family. 

Donald Pope Photography utilized a 2nd Shooter on this wedding.    For wedding photographers, 2nd Shooter refers to an additional photographer that captures additional shots at varied angles.  This was really a success because it produced photographs at various angles.  The wedding prints and books are all being published by a partnership with Pictage.  

Check back in a few days for clips from the online DVD Slideshow of this wedding. 

Simple Engagement Portraits can say a lot

 

I was recently speaking with another wedding photographer from the Atlanta area.  We were discussing the importance of engagement photographs.  Some wedding photographers place a high value on engagment photographs while others don't seem to think that it is important.

Donald Pope Photography is committed to always trying to produce engagement photographs for our couples.  I think that they are very important.  They do a couple of things.  First they give the couple a sample of the fine work that you are able to create with a camera.  Secondly, it helps to get the couple excited about the photography aspect of the wedding.  Engagement photographs also help the bride and groom to have photographs to use for things like event cards, announcements or photographs to be displayed at the wedding. And to top it all off, couples usually have a lot of fun during the shoot. 

Now you see it and now you don't. Photo editing magic

 
Before Editing

After Editing

Ahhhh.  The wonders of photo editing.  It is amazing what a wedding or portrait photographer can do with a little time and photo editing software. 

These photographs were from a family portrait session that I shot in Delaware.  The photographs were shot under studio lights in the clients home.  This is the same type of lighting that would be used in a engagement photo shoot.  The shoot went great.  When the shoot was over, we made some edits and converted a few to black and white.  The client contacted me and asked if there was anyway to alter one of the photos to include just the father and son.  I responded with sure !

The task was accomplished using Photoshop Elements.  The mother and daughter were simply painted out of the photograph.  This is particularly easy because we shot on a solid black back drop.  After about 1 hour of altering, we were able to make the edits, then soften the edges.  And like magic, we have a new photo with just the father and son. It seems that all of my Photoshop training has paid off. 

Consider this technique when you are trying to make changes to existing photographs.  This could also be done with older photographs that you are trying to restore.  These basic techniques can also be used to alter a traditional wedding photograph. 

Black and Whites. This just in....people love them !

 

I recently shot a wedding in Newark, Delaware.  I made some edits and created some black and white photographs. The black and whites were fabulous.  While looking at them, I started to remember that it was not very long ago that black and white photographs were not the in thing.  Very few people appreciated how they look.  Frankly, I think that the editing process has improved so dramatically in recent years that a black and white from years ago is nothing like a black and white created today.  Brides and groom now ask for a couple of buzz words.  Photojournalism & Black and Whites are always on the buzz word list. 

There is officially a high demand for black and whites.  As I look around Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, I can find wedding photographers that take the supply and demand rule seriously.  Some actually charge extra for the photograph to be converted to black and white.  Donald Pope Photography would never charge for black and whites.  They should always be included in the pricing of a professional wedding collection or package. 

Creative Photographs and Creative Ideas

 

Where do your ideas come from as a wedding photographer?  For some of us, creative ideas come naturally. For others, it is a laboring process requiring a great deal of our creative thoughts. 

Often, my ideas come from other photographs and concepts.   Although the wedding photographs may be very much like other photographs, they are never really the same.  The people are always different, the mood is always different, and the venue is normally different.  This almost assures a unique photograph. 

For photojournalism, it is important to capture photographs that actually have a message.  If you were to photograph the typical wedding group posed in front of the alter, no real creative message is conveyed.  But if you take that same group, assemble them together and tell them to just have fun, you will have a photograph that tells you exactly what was going on at that moment.  Creativity can be a lot of work, but it is part of the fun. 

Wedding Photography...how much to spend?

The question of how much to pay for a professional wedding photographer is as interesting as one could imagine.  While many brides and grooms think that anyone can pick up a camera and take photo, that is far from the truth.  So how do you decide how much to spend?

Well the 1st thing you have to do is decide what your budget is for a professional photographer.  How much is too much?  Well you have to take a look at each market.  A wedding photographer in Delaware may be more expensive than the same photographer in a rural area of the midwest. 

Once you find a professional photographer within your budget, the 2nd thing you need to do is choose a photographer that does the quality and type of work that you expect.  And one thing to remember is that the bride and groom will be working with the photographer to create the photographs, so it is important that you actually like the photographer.  You have to feel good about him and his feel for you. 

Do you ever see a photograph that jumps off the page?  You can't really describe why it looks so good, but it just does.  How does he do that?  Good Training, great lenses, expensive software and good assistants all add up to a great collection of photographs.  "Cheap" photographers tend to not have the training, lenses, software or assistants that would yield outstanding images. 

It means what your mother always said....you get what you pay for. 

dp