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Stuff in the ‘tristate’ Category

Why Wertman Photography for your Wedding Day

— 01/12/2017 by Monika Wertman —

Congratulations! You just got engaged!

So, why hire Wertman Photography for your wedding day?

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.  Here at Wertman Photography we will help you feel less overwhelmed by taking the worry out of preserving your wedding day memories.

engaged couple

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.

uptown bride

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

bride and groom

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.”

bride and flower girl

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.

bridal portrait

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.

love and engagement

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.

bride in archway

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.

rings

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.

Thank you for a great year

— 12/23/2016 by Monika Wertman —

We had a great year working with so many of you!  It was fun and exciting and sometimes a bit more challenging than expected, and we got awesome images.

maternity rachel

Here is a quick look back over the last 12 months, highlighting some of our favorite shots from this year.

newborn baby boy

newborn

hands

This year we got to play with newborns, expecting moms, brides, fun seniors and awesome families.  Several of you were repeat clients and we love you for it!  Some of you were new to Wertman Photography.  We want to thank you for putting your trust in us!

bride , groom and best man couple

sisters

family interaction

composite senior girl sports  composite senior boy

business shots

dancer and flour dance from the wings

senior girl actress

senior girl artist

senior tuba player engaged couple

fun with couples

love

sisters fun at the museum

sleeping child

Here is wishing you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and fun time with your family and friends.

brother and sister

Enjoy the look back over the year and come join us again in 2017.

 

Playing with Flour

— 10/19/2016 by Monika Wertman —

dancer and wind

Playing with flour is something I have wanted to do for a while.  Last summer I had a senior in the studio who was enrolled in the culinary program at the local high school and we played with flour a little, yielding some great shots.  A few months later I saw an image that combined flour and dancers and I wanted to do something similar.  I love dance being a dancer myself and the mother of a dancer, so combining dance with flour is natural.

dancer and flour

The first order of business was to secure one of my favorite dancers I have worked with before, presenting me with a challenge as Nutcracker rehearsals have started.  It left us with a 5 pm starting time on a Sunday afternoon.  The second order of business was to find an empty, industrial space we could make a mess in.  One of my business associates offered the use of such a space.  At 5pm we had some natural light left that entered through a strip of windows to our left, but we were able to control the rest of the light and by the time we were almost done, the natural light was fading quickly.

dancer and flour

This was so much fun!  Maddie, my dancer, is a blast to work with.  She is beautiful, graceful and follows instructions wonderfully.  She had some of her own ideas that we incorporated as well.  But the time we were done, Maddie had flour in places she probably never thought were possible.  It was her dad’s birthday and they went to dinner after we finished the shoot.  I am sure that her hair was still lightly grey at dinner 🙂

behind the scenes

 

This shoot was one of those things I love to do.  Work with a lovely young lady who is open to trying something unusual, resulting in imagery that we are proud to display.  It also gives us a chance to play.  A chance to figure out what it takes to get a certain shot, so we can repeat it if a senior or adult wants to have the same experience.  Before we got into the flour, I tired some things with sheer fabric and the fan I have, to discover that the fan was not powerful enough for the effect I was after.

behind the scenes

As an artist, you do not wait to try these things with your clients, but in sessions that are arranged to try out new things.  As an artist, I draw inspiration from other artists.  I see things and wonder how it was achieved.  I know how to light things to get what I want, but some of the other effects, such as creating wind to achieve certain effects have to be explored on my own time table, not that of a client.

dancer and flour

I believe that these sessions during which we play and explore to continually build our portfolio is what sets us apart from the competition we have around us.  Wertman Photography has grown over the last few months, adding an additional photographer and a videographer to the team.  We have added equipment that needs to be explored and personally I am working on my masters in fine art, continually growing as an artist.

dancer and flour magic

When you hire us, you get a team of artists, not technicians.  You will work with people who understand light, movement, emotion and relationships.  This knowledge shows in our work.  Whether we work with athletes, create fine art for fun, photograph families, babies or weddings, we bring our knowledge with us and apply it all to creating memories for you that you will be proud to share with your friends and families for years to come.

dancer and flour

Call us today to book your unique session.  Tell us what you have in mind and we will be sure to get it done for you.  301-693-3021

dancer and flour

Vote for your favorite image for a chance to win a family session for up to 5 people, a $150 value.

 

Swimming and Action Shots

— 10/12/2016 by Monika Wertman —

wertmanphotography-ab-swim-2016-5

Two weeks ago we had the pleasure of working with Alderson Broaddus’ swim team again. I was great working with the athletes we met last year and working with some of the new recruits.

The weather was much warmer this year than last and the sun was out the entire time we were there. More of the swimmers opted in to capture action shots this year as well. We used a different location for the team shots and I still worked in different areas of the campus. 19 of the 20 swimmers were able to attend the team picture and everyone was there for the head shots. All in all a successful trip.

male swimmer back stroke

What I enjoy most in working with these young adults is seeing the obvious connection they have as a team and their dedication to their sport. They are all very easy to talk to and very easy to get good pictures of.

male dive

Athletes as a rule are fun to work with. They love showing off their skills, their athleticism and in this case, how they have grown in one year.
When we get to work with a particular team year after year, it is fun to see how the athletes change, grow up and develop in their skill set.

male breast swim

It surprised me to see how these young men and women had changed in a year. They are, after all in college and at least the juniors and seniors are over 20. Yes, they are looking older and more mature. They are coming into their own in many ways and athletically this shows.

male fly swim

We have worked with a couple of other teams as well, but for me at least, being the mother of a swimmer, this is the most fun.

female back swim

If your child is part of a team, school or club, and you are tired of seeing the same pictures every year, please consider sharing this post with your coach and school. The images captured during this shoot have just been shared with the parents and part of the proceeds from the picture purchases will go back to the team to help them go to Florida for training in January.

male free swim

Every sports team raises money for gear, trips, entry fees and other assorted stuff. Why not raise funds this way? If you are interested please give us a call today at 301-693-3021.

female breast swim

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!

Celebrating Love

— 07/15/2016 by Monika Wertman —

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of helping a lovely couple celebrate their love for each other during their engagement session in Harrisburg, PA.  Sometimes engagement session can be a bit of a challenge as it takes the couple a little while to be comfortable in front of the camera.  I do my best to help them forget that I am recording their affection for each other, but the groom in particular often does not loosen up until we are about 20 minutes into the session.

engagement photo

These two were different and it was very easy to work with them, as they seemed to immediately forget I was there recording their every move.  I was able to capture sweet little moments as well as lots of laughter.  When I did insert some instructions, they were carried out quite naturally and as a result we got some great imagery.

engagement photo

We walked all over Harrisburg, starting at the water front and working our way to the government buildings that are surrounded by a beautiful park.

engagement photo

I love shooting in locations other than the studio’s hometown as it gives me the opportunity to incorporate architectural elements not found in Hagerstown.  Harrisburg has wonderful bridges, old buildings and great architecture that create a wonderful backdrop for any photoshoot, but lend themselves especially well to an engagement session.

engagement photo

The weather held out nicely for us as well that day, staying sunny with wonderful clouds in the sky.  The forecast that morning called for rain halfway through our scheduled session time, but we were lucky and the rain held off until after we were done.

engagement photo rings

At Wertman Photography we include engagement sessions in our wedding packages, as it is important to work with the couple before their wedding day and a pleasure to get to know them during the process.  During the engagement session we have time to explore what each of them likes, how they act in front of the camera and how we work together as a team to create good imagery.  For me, gaining this knowledge before the wedding day, makes it easier to prepare for the big day as the couple and I have gotten to know each other better.  It paves the way for great communication in the months leading up to the wedding.

engagement photo

Your wedding day can not be recreated, and this knowledge creates pressure for the couple, sometimes more so for the bride as so many things need to be prepared for and run smoothly.  Getting to know each other during the engagement session, laying the ground work for trust during that session, takes the pressure off my couples as they know that they will not need to worry about their photography coverage the day of their wedding.

engagement photo

When you first get engaged, you are on cloud nine, floating happily until your realize that you have a wedding to plan.  Let us help you take some of the pressure off and make us your trusted advisor for your photography.  Know that we have you covered!  Call us today to schedule your free consultation and let us show you why your first choice is Wertman Photography.  301-693-3021.

engagement photo

Team Action Sports Photography

— 07/12/2016 by Monika Wertman —

Wertman Photography is now offering team action sports photography.  We have been offering athletic photography for a while, creating portraits that show the athlete’s spirit, determination and personality.  Now we are taking it one step further and will be offering action shots for teams of all sizes and ages.

swim team photo

It all started when I had a chance to take photos for my daughter’s college swim team.  I took care of the individual shots of each swimmer that are now on their website ( Alderson Broaddus University), created some killer team photos and captured action shots of the swimmers who wanted to participate.  I created a controlled environment; the coach gave us one lane in which we got to play and have some fun.

swimming fly

Every athlete looks like the latest olympian in their minds and it is this look we are after during our time with them.  For swimming, you can not get these shots during a meet.  The lighting is not right and too many people crowd the deck.  This is true for all sports.

swimming fly

We are offering a controlled environment during a practice night, under guidance of the coach, giving each player a chance to look their strongest and best.

swimming free

 

Contact us today if you want your team, club or dance school to book a day with Wertman Photography to create images like you have never seen them before.  Images you will be proud to share with family, friends and hang on your wall.  Images that will make your son and daughter look like a champion.

Check out our galleries for dance samples and other sports and fitness related images as well as older blog posts related to this topic.

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