Daily Prompt: The Potential of a Group can be OFF the Charts!

The Graduating Class of any school holds their future in their hands…  what they could, can and will accomplish in life can be astronomical!  Therefore, the Potential of a Group can be OFF the Charts!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last year I took the Group Portrait of the Union City Graduating Class (also my daughter’s senior class)…  I allowed them to portray what they felt that day and possibly how they felt about their future. This was their portrait!

As hats were thrown into the air there was a sigh of relief for many and a deep breath of the weight now on their shoulders!  However, the celebrations began shortly after.  Several of the senior I see on a regular basis and I am so very proud.  They are taking adulthood and making the best of it if not taking the steps to one day change the world.

Now on to MOM Bragging Rights…  these 2 young adults are my children and I know they will make their own mark on our world.  Ben was a part of the graduating class of 2012 and Martha, 2013.

Has your school scheduled a Photographer to help document this monumental time in your life?

Daily Prompt: Group

 

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New Way to Pay for your Prints – Introducing the PayPal Button

I am so excited today to share the New PayPal Button on my website! I am a huge fan of PayPal and I use it whenever it is available.  Now I can offer you this feature on my website!!!!

No more limiting my customers to Credit or Debit cards….  one click of the button and you can log into your PayPal account and purchase your prints.

If you have not used PayPal before, it is supper simple and easy to set up and account.  Go to PayPal and set up an account.  You have the option to use credit cards or debit cards as your payment option but even better…  you can have PayPal set up to use your checking or savings account for your payment!

That’s right…  You can now pay for your prints with your checking account from my website!!!!!!

No more shuffling around to find your Credit or Debit card to make a purchase!

Char

Daily Prompt: Sometimes Quirky is a Part of a Good Photo Shoot!

Today’s post is about the word “quirky.”

Definition: different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion <the waitress styles her hair in a quirky way that always gets her remembered by customers> from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

My first thought of “quirky” of some of the funny little things I do or say on a photo shoot…

Such as attempting to pose in a abnormal way to show a client how I would like them to pose.  A good example would be this next photo of McKenzie…  her mom actually said that she had more fun watching me try and pose during the photo shoot!

Then there are times that I get sidetracked!  This next picture was taken during a photo shoot with my daughter.  We were playing around with a mirror found in a garden area at Southern Exposure, located in Southern Michigan.  I was attempting to take some pictures of her and her reflection from different angels when I discovered myself in the mirror!

Then there are always the silly faces…  or playing that some of my seniors might decide to do!

My ultimate goal on a photo shoot with a senior or family is to have fun!  I want to capture their true nature and character.  What they love doing and what life and family means to them.  Sometimes this leads to some “quirky” moments to get the job done but I am okay with that!

Daily Prompt: Photographers show us “Quirky”

Daily Prompt: Pictures Showing Fast Forward!

This is a Senior Portrait of a 2014 Union City Senior.  He wanted one where it looked like he was coming out of the blocks…  I took the shot a step further by adding a zoom blur to make it look like he was in hyper speed!

Daily Prompt: Fast Forward

 

Daily Prompt: Photography: New

Daily Prompt from WordPress today for photographers is Show us New…

I chose this photo to share with you…  A new perspective and angle of shot for me!  Shayne was actually standing on top of an antique tractor when I took this picture.  It almost looks like she is standing on top of the world!

Check out my New look to my website!  http://www.photographybychar.com/

New Sports Templates for Team Portraits & Memory Mates

Above you are looking at the new 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait print that you will receive when ordering a package containing an 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait or an individual 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait.  All schools of the teams that I photograph will also receive an 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait for displaying in their school.

Above you will find the new 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait print that you will receive when ordering a package containing a 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait or an individual 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait.  Also, all coaches will receive a 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait  of the team they coach.

You will notice that the new Team Portrait prints look similar to the Memory Mates!  Now you have nice complimentary prints for scrapbooks and framing.  There will be times when I will customize the Memory Mates to suit the teams, school/team colors and portraits taken.  Here is an example of a change in the Memory Mate for the same school but different sport:

I am looking forward to an exciting and busy year of High School & Middle School Sports!  Good luck to all of the teams that I am photographing…  Athens, Tekonsha & Union City.  You will also find me in Harper Creek this fall photographing athletes competing in Football & Volleyball.

A NEW Project ~ Bike Night on Tuesday Nights

This summer I was asked to take on a new project.  The project was to Photograph bikers and their motorcycles at Bike Night on Tuesday night, July 16th at JD’s Country Connection.  As many of you know I specialize in Sports & Portrait Photography but I have always been open to challenging my skills.  Over the past few months I have had a Newborn Session, a Wedding, and a Horse Session all of which has brought their own challenges!  With that said, despite the heat and the harsh sunlight, I was able to capture some amazing portraits during this Bike Night Session which has led to me rediscovering black and white photography.

Years ago I took some 35 mm photography classes at Kellogg Community College including a black and white film class.  Not only did I learn how to photograph in black and white but I also learned how to develop my own 35 mm film, process that film and create my own prints in a darkroom.  Now days with digital photography we have a darkroom right at our finger tips and so much easier to use!

While working on these portraits I discovered the wonderful attributes they held for black and white photography.  The process of converting color digital photographs to black and white brings on a new appreciation for the lighting and contrast a color photograph holds. You can literally see the emphasis on ones character and story change during the process of black and white photography.

Photographing bikers and their motorcycles is an exciting experience.  Not only am I expanding my photographic skills but I am meeting some really neat people. You will find me at JD’s Country Connection around 7 pm on Tuesday nights for the remainder of the summer.  JD’s Country Connection is located on the corner of M-60 and Old 27 in Tekonsha, Michigan.

You can find Photography by Char on Facebook along with more photographs from Bike Nights at JD’s.  https://www.facebook.com/PhotographyByChar