Tiny Dancer

This is a image I made of Renee, a dancer from New York who likes to pay me a visit for new headshots every time she comes to town. This year was no exception, and I think we really got some nice shots for her portfolio. I was using the new light modifiers on my large softbox to control the spill, and shooting on a white background. The EggCrates from LightTools worked brilliantly, and I was able to darken the white cyclic to near black even though I was merely 3-4 feet from the 4' softbox. Thank you Renee for testing out the new setup, and I can't wait to hear the responses you get this time on your headshots.

Jeff

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The albums are rolling in

Just in time for Christmas. All of the album orders from the last few weddings are starting to arrive, and do they ever look great. Here is a sample of Melissa and Joels album. What a great time we had! It was a pleasure to work with you guys and be part of your festivities. Everyone was so friendly and fun to hang out with. Best wishes for the future.

Jeff

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Family photos

My wife was asking me today about doing some new family portraits for Christmas so we can send them out to people. Since I was already in the studio playing around with some backdrops, and my number one modeling assistant, I obliged. This is the result of the shoot. It was tons of fun, and I really like the casual nature of it all. So everyone can have a rockin' Christmas this year from our family to yours.

Jeff

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Digital negatives and reproduction

I had the pleasure of helping out Susan & Richard (a couple whose wedding I shot this summer) the other day. Susan bought some frames which were off size, 5.5" square, and had some prints done up from the DVD of digital negatives I gave her of the wedding. Needless to say, the print quality of the discount lab she used was not exactly what she was hoping for, and the size was also slightly small for her frame (she cut a 5x7 into a 5x5). So I touched up the negative, and had the prints done at a pro lab and you can see the results for yourself, in this photo of 2 photos, especially in the bouquet. (This was, as it turned out, the most important part of the subject since the shadowbox frames were to contain a dried piece of the flower arrangement)

The lesson here is that when your photos really matter, it is always best to get them done by a professional. Both the editing and the printing. The couple were both very pleased with the result and that is what makes me happy in the end.

Jeff

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My downfall is online gaming!

I am not talking about poker, roulette, or even bingo, but a game more sinister and unsuspectingly addicting than all of the above put together! That game is of course called Scrabulous. It is a Facebook application that I actually did install, and now I am hooked. I come to the computer every couple of hours to check on one of the 7 games I am playing simutaneously. I am not going to ever get anything done around here again. But seriously, if you have Facebook, you should play. It is a ton of fun, and up to 4 people can play simultaneously.

Jeff
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All work and no play

I was actually quite productive this weekend, and thus I haven't posted in a couple days. I managed to get all of my outstanding projects compiled, edited, and completed. It is good to know that the monkeys of photo shoots passed are off my back. I do think however that I have given myself carpal tunnel syndrome from all the mouse work. So to top it all off, my friend and fellow photographer Michael came over today, and we fooled around with making red/blue 3D images that turned out pretty cool.

You have to try this out for yourself. You will need some color gels though to view it. For you photographers out there, I know you have a pack of Rosco samples in your bag you can use. I am reasonably certain this is exactly the tomfoolery they had in mind when giving you those samples anyway. Right?

Jeff
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Great lighting gear

I have been working with a company on their website, doing mostly coordination and photography for the site. It is nearing its final stages, and I thought I'd give you the 411 on Lightrein. They sell photographic lighting equipment. Which in itself is no big news, but it is some of the items they have that are remarkable. The strobe lights they carry are equipped with extra powerful modeling lights, which really makes them actually useful, as opposed to the crummy 150W light in most strobes. Better yet, is the soft box light modifiers, called Egg Crates, which allow you to control a soft source the way you would conrol a hard light with varying degrees of spill. These have to be seen in action to be truly appreciated. When you can have a 3'x4' softbox 3' away from a white cyclic, and not get any spill on the cyc, that is amazing. The site should be up in a couple days. www.lightrein.com check it out!

Jeff
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A good meeting

I was fortunate to have spent the evening with some of the best photographers in the province at the PPOC Alberta dinner meeting. It was good to see everyone, I am sorry that I was unable to attend the conference a couple weeks ago in Canmore. I was surprised by the turnout tonight! I was great to have about 15 of the students from the photography program at NAIT join us for the evening. There is nothing quite as inspirational as listening to some of your peers talking about what excites them. The speaker tonight gave us insight into what makes a good photographer, and it is less to do with the process and technical aspects of the photos, and more about how to establish rapport with the clients. I couldn't agree more. I am often asked via email to send a price list for a wedding session. I seldom ever do this, since to me, it is far more important to meet face to face and make a purchase based on the chemistry between photographer and client than to shop by price point. After all, I will be with you more than just about anyone else that day, and we had better have fun together!

Jeff
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Edmonton Maternity Photographer

Today started like any other, except for the fact that the wind was 200km/h!! I was glad to be inside shooting a beautiful mom to be. I really loved the sari she brought along, it really made for some beautiful colors and textures in the shots. After all was said and done, she ended up with a really nice set of photos for a series in her babies room. Thank you for being so good, even though your feet were getting swollen! It was a pleasure to work with you.

Jeff

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Custom Framing in Edmonton

Some of you may not know, but I offer a full service photography business, including custom matting and framing.
I have been doing a couple of framing projects over the last couple days. They turned out amazing! I did 5 diplomas for a surgeon here in Edmonton, and a large canvass for another family. I really enjoy the framing. I made some beautiful shadow box mats for the diplomas, and the client was so impressed he gave me an $85 tip!
(I guess that's why doctors drive Ferrari's and photographers don't)

I also met with some nice people today about an upcoming wedding this summer, and finished editing a print order from a previous wedding for Richard and Susan.

Jeff
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New look

I have been talking with a couple of web designers about a new look for my website. I really need to take it out of the dark ages. Since I am not much of a web designer myself, I need it to be simple enough for me to maintain and operate on my own. So you will not be seeing any crazy flash animations and embedded Java hoo haa here. Just a clean new look, and some really great photos, because that is what I know how to do. Hopefully the new and improved site will be up before Christmas.

Jeff

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Not so slow time

Well I booked a shoot today for a family/ couple/ pregnancy photo. I am really looking forward to it. I really enjoy doing pregnancy photos. I love to capture the magic and beauty of a child carrying woman, and still make her look like a glamour model. See you on Saturday C. I know you'll love your photos.

Jeff
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About time!

Well, I have finally started a web log. I suppose it makes sense to start this in the slow time, then I can actually keep it up to date, even though there will be little to report for a while. I hope to keep the world appraised of the cool things going on here at Trident Photography. More to come in the future...

Jeff