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Glamour & Boudoir Photography

What to do to prepare for a successful Photo session

— 08/22/2016 by Monika Wertman —

What to do to prepare for a successful Photo session.

In this post we will focus on some of the things you as the client can do to ensure that your session with us will be successful and productive.

sisters

Whether you plan to book us for a family or senior session, a glamor/boudoir or a couple’s session or a newborn session, there are a few things that you as a client can do to prepare for your time with us and to ensure that you will not only have a great time during the session, but that your pictures will turn out great.  You will, of course, assume that we will do everything in our power to ensure these things as well, and we do, but you can help make it just a wee bit easier for us.

newborn

Here is how:

#1   Schedule a consultation with us prior to the date of your session.  We offer consultations with most of our sessions, in fact make them mandatory for some.  Even if you have booked a session for which we do not require a consultation, book one anyway.  During this time we will plan the where and when, what you should wear etc.  For a family session, this can be discussed over the phone if you are super busy, and with children, you are.  We understand this.  For a senior, boudoir, engagement or couples session, an in person consultation is best and highly recommended!

#2   If you plan on bringing your pet to the session, please inform us ahead of time so we are prepared with water for your pet and by having anything he may bounce into out of the way.

nursing school and pets

#3   Discuss your wardrobe with us.  This can be a simple discussion of color choices or be more involved such as what it is you are planning to wear and if you have questions on what form of clothing photographs better.  If you plan to wear formal wear, please let us know so we have the studio set up accordingly if we are shooting inside.  If we are planning on outdoors only, and we are dealing with high heels, please let us know, so our plan does not involve you climbing over rocky and potentially muddy surfaces.

couple

#4   If your session includes several clothing changes, organize them before you arrive.  Changing time will go more smoothly and take away less time from your session.  ( A few months back we had a family of 8 with three clothing changes, the mom was fantastically organized.  I have never seen anything go more smoothly!  It was impressive)

#5    We will most likely ask you this, but in case we do not, please let us know what ages your children are.  This applies to an in studio session as we’ll as an outdoors/lifestyle session.  We love working with littles, but want to know ahead of time so we are prepared with props and location choices that are age appropriate.

little girl

#6    Women and girls, please wear makeup, even if you generally don’t do anything more than mascara, do a bit more for your session, especially if it is a senior session, a professional headshot session or a glamor session. (we offer professional hair and make-up services starting at $85 if you are not sure what to do, and include these in all of our regular glamor and boudoir session) Wearing make-up ensures an even skin tone and guarantees fantastic results for you.  On this note, do not fret if a pimple pops up the day of your session.  We remove blemishes in post production.

glamor shot

#7   If it is a hot summer day and we are shooting outside only, please bring some water with you.  We always bring some, but it helps if our clients come prepared as well.

#8    Please arrive on time!!!!!!!  We set aside your session time plus 15 minutes.  If you run late, you eat into your session time, which gives us less time to create the images we want to create for you.  If we come to your home, please be ready for us.  We generally arrive 5-10 minutes early so we have time to set up.

family pictures

Wertman Photography has several shooting spaces within the studio, including a private dressing area.  When we go on location, we can bring a pop-up tent for clothing changes as well.  Together we will create great images that will stand the test of time and will preserve precious moments for you for years to come!

Understanding Dance

— 06/01/2016 by Monika Wertman —

Ballet and dance, especially the classical variety has always been my favorite to capture in photos.  I danced as a child and teen and my oldest danced seriously through high school and even attended a performing arts high school.  We were both trained in the Ceccetti method, and learning to understand the dancer’s body through training stays with you.  When I work with dancers, this knowledge really helps and makes it easy to show what I would like to receive from them in photos.

ballet

Dancers are wonderful creatures who instinctively know what looks right if they are at least a few years into their training.

ballet dancer

It is important to also understand that not every pose looks good in pictures,and that certain poses need to be shot from certain angles.  It is equally important for a photographer to see when the dancer is over her pointe, has the correct turnout and is holding her shoulders correctly.  All of these nuances can make or break the image.

ballet dancer

I have always felt intrigued by the “behind the scenes” aspect of daily training.  The element that makes the dancer tick.  As an audience we only see the beautiful outcome of countless rehearsals in the studio, but never the stretches, the rituals and the comfort zones that all dancers have.

ballet dancer

I have captured a few of those over the years and am sharing a couple of them in this post.

ballet dancer

I am also always intrigued by contrasting the softness of dance against something contrary, something hard and unusual.  Sometimes, however, it is nice to just capture the pure beauty of a certain gesture in warm light.

dancer

ballet dancer

If you have a dancer, consider Wertman Photography to capture her or his essence.  We understand how to portray it and how to create beautiful images.

Weddings and Celebrating Love

— 05/02/2016 by Monika Wertman —

There is nothing we enjoy more than capturing love in any shape or form and one of our favorite things to shoot are weddings.  I wanted to play around with some ideas that had been hopping around in my head for a while and since during a wedding we are dealing with a time line and locations that are chosen by the bride and groom, we don’t always have time to get everything we want and need to be flexible as nature sometimes throws a kink into our wheels.  For that reason and because something new should not be tried out on clients, I organized a stylized wedding shoot with several local vendors and 5 fabulous models.

uptown bride

Maryland has fickle spring weather and we had been watching the weather with baited breath, praying that it would be nice the day of the shoot and it was.  In the morning we shot at Ava’s Lounge and the Ballroom at Schindel Rohrer in downtown Hagerstown whose owners Gary and Jennie are wonderful to work with.  I wanted to capture an uptown/lounge feel for images for a long time and Ava’s is perfect for that.  JB Bridals generously provided us with 6 gowns and 6 tux ensembles for the day and the first two gowns were perfect for what I had in mind for the lounge.

bride , groom and best man

Bella Salon and Spa sent us two of their most talented stylist and make-up artists, Lindsey and Bettina and they stayed with us all day, touching up and re-creating hair and make-up. TG designs added floral arrangements to our adventure and let us play with the bouquets all day.

bride and groom

The second half of the day was shot at Cortland Manor, at the time under management of Hempen Hill Barbecue and Josh is a gem to work with.  He had his team at the ready all day and even fed everyone lunch.  Being prepared by Hempen Hill, you can imagine that we did not lack a thing and that it was delicious.

rings

Carson jewelers let us play with fabulous bling all day as well.  You can imagine that I had a blast shopping for the gowns, tuxes and jewelry prior to the day and appreciate everything that everyone contributed to make our day successful.

two brides    bride and groom

We had a blast working with everyone and from the feedback I have gotten so far, the feeling was mutual.  I think the images speak for themselves and if you see something here that you would like to do at your wedding, please let us know.  The vendors mentioned within this post are our preferred vendors to work with for your special day, and since we had this experience, we know for sure that you will be pleased when you choose them for your next event or special day.

wertman photography stylized wedding shoot-24    bride and groom

Please vote on your favorite image in this post and you will be entered into a drawing for a 1 hour family session for up to 5 people.

It’s Bridal Season, win an Engagement Session

— 03/18/2016 by Monika Wertman —

This Sunday we will be at the inaugural bridal show at Frostburg State. The show will feature local venues, caterers, vendors and photographers. Wertman Photography will represent Hagerstown, MD and show off why it pays to hire a professional with years of bridal experience, an all inclusive wedding experiences as well as a fun, outgoing personality you want to spend time with and who will guide you through the jungle of wedding preparation.

bride and flower girl

Come join us this Sunday at Frostburg State for show only specials and a chance to get to know us better as we show you why we are the choice you should be making.

wedding day       bridal shoot

You cannot leave this day to chance.

engagement photos

 

Check out some images from some of our favorite brides from last year and come see us Sunday or book your free consultation now.

wertman photography engagement Jake and Meghan-13

 

Weddings small and large, we can handle them all and guide you to a blissful experience.

engagement

 

Nominate newly engaged couples on this blog to enter them into a drawing to win an engagement session, a $300 value. In order to be entered into the drawing, you will need to tag them on this thread and provide their full name. They can only win if we can contact them.

bridal session

Casting Call

— 03/03/2016 by Monika Wertman —

Casting Call for Male and Female Models

wedding-photography-slide
I need two female and two male models for a stylized bridal shoot.  Shoot will take place at two venues, 4 clothing changes, hair and make-up services provided.  All work is for trade and each vendor is participating to receive images and new promotional material.  Trade for models will be fully edited portfolio images from the day of shooting.
Female models need to be 5’8″ to 5’9″ and need to bring heels with them, in either white, cream or silver, evening shoes to match the gowns.  size 8-10 wedding gowns need to fit, which translates to regular dress sizes of 6-10.  I am looking for hour glass models.  We want these images to look real, yet fantastic.

wertman photography Adrienne and Joshua wedding-12

Male models should be a size 40 regular with an inseam of 34.

Please contact us no later than March 18th to be considered for the opportunity.

April 5th will be the fitting day at JB bridal in Chambersburg.  the shooting will take place in Hagerstown on April  12.  Hair and makeup will likely start at 8 am and shooting will start at 10am.  Please plan on a full 8 hour day.  Only serious, committed models need apply and we will meet in person before the fitting day.

Please contact the studio directly through email if you are interested:  info@wertmanphotography.net

wedding gown

The importance of the right Wedding Photographer

— 12/31/2015 by Monika Wertman —

Congratulations! You just got engaged! Now that the initial excitement has settled it hits you that you have a wedding to plan. Like most women, you have likely been planning this event in your head since you were a little girl, but reality is just a wee bit more overwhelming than a little girl’s dreams.

engagement

 

For your wedding day, three things are of the utmost importance. The groom, you have found him, your dress, that could still be a hurdle to overcome, and your wedding photographer. These three are on the top of the list for obvious reasons. The venue, the ceremony space, food and entertainment rank high as well, but let’s face it, everyone is going to remember what you looked like in your dress and if you and your fiancé looked happy. For the two of you, the ceremony, the venue and the party will be memories that will seem fleeting and a bit vague and that is why your photographer needs to rank right after your dress.

wedding gown

 

Your photographer is in charge of preserving those special moments your wedding day is made up of.

rings

She is the one you will turn to to capture another moment you thought may not happen and as long as you hire the right person, she will have already captured that shot. A good wedding photographer will be everywhere the day of the wedding. We always hear: “Wow, I don’t even remember that we did this”, or ” Wow, we never made it over to that area, thanks so much for preserving this moment.”

wedding day

 

Here at Wertman Photography we pride ourselves in becoming your best friend over the year in between you signing with us and your wedding day. We help you plan your day, create a time line for you, go over who is going to be in pictures both at the ceremony and at the reception and best of all, you can trust that we will create artwork for your walls that will stand the test of time.

wedding day

 

All of our wedding collections include an engagement session. We help you plan that session, from wardrobe, to location, season and styling. We will create artwork for your walls that will compliment your wedding day wall art and we give you many options from an engagement guestbook to safe the dates that will further aid in planning your wedding day.

wertman photography Adrienne and Joshua wedding-14

All of our collections also include a beautiful leather album, sizes depend on your collection, but each album is crafted with care from the design to the finished product. We help you choose the images that will tell your wedding day story perfectly.

wedding party

 

With Wertman Photography you will not only get all day coverage from two photographers, but a guiding hand in planning your big day. We believe that your photography needs to be in the best hands and that you should not have to worry about it, but trust that your story will be told and preserved for years to come.

wedding reception

 

For information on all of the options included in the different wedding collections, please contact us at 301-693-3021 or email us at info@wertmanphotography.net. Consultations are always free and non-binding and we love to share what a great studio can do for you.

At the Hagerstown Prime Outlets

— 09/28/2015 by Monika Wertman —

In this blog post I will switch things up a bit. Usually I tell a story about one of my clients and their session, but we are trying a marketing approach that is new to us and I thought it would be fun to share the set-up.

 

The idea started when I got a letter in the mail about putting a booth display into the food court area of the outlets in Hagerstown. The cost was very reasonable and they caught me at just the correct time, with money left in the advertising budget and phone calls with crazy requests arriving every day. This opportunity, by far, seemed the most cost effective way to spend my money. Another benefit is the time frame. We installed the display today, September 28 and it will be up through the holiday shopping season until January 1.

wertman photography prime outlets

 

The decision about what to show potential clients was not as easy as the decision to give this new-to-us marketing strategy a try. We finally settled on bridal, athlete and seniors. As you can see, the selection shows a nice variety of gestures and poses, while offering a peek into studio lighting and on location use of architectural elements and natural light.  The selection can also be found throughout the galleries, so feel free to find the images if you want to see them more clearly, or go by the display to do the same.

wertman photography, Prime outlets display-6

 

Many couples get engaged over the holidays, so the hope is that they remember what they saw while shopping and will come talk to us about their wedding day, while families will see what can be done with just about any activity and book us for various occasions.

wertman photography, Prime outlets display-5

 

We also have informational materials about senior photos, boudoir sessions and wedding coverage, as well as regular business cards at the display area. Gift certificates can be purchased for any amount all throughout the year and make wonderful stocking stuffers. A sign planting that idea is on display as well.

wertman photography, Prime outlets display-2

We encourage you to check the display out for yourself, please let us know what you think and remember to check in on Facebook throughout the life of the display for contests and drawings. At some point we will probably add a little information collection box as well.  For now, if you can guess where this alcove is at the outlets, or if you want to go and find it, leave the exact location in the comments below and everyone who gets it right, will be entered into a drawing for a free one hour session for up to 5 people, a $150 value.  We will draw a winner at the end of this week.

 

Please browse our galleries, new work is added on a routine basis and you just never know what you may find this time around. Call us today to secure a gift certificate in any amount that can be applied to sessions and as print credit. Gift certificates make the most wonderful stocking stuffers as well!

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