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Stuff in the ‘tristate’ Category
Senior Photos should be a great experience
— 06/10/2016 by Monika Wertman —Now that summer is here and you are thinking about who to hire for your senior photos, let’s look at what you should consider when making your choice:
Whether you are a guy or a girl, you will want to showcase your interests, whether they are sports related, you have a favorite pet, or are into cars or other big toys. Are you into winter sports and would like to get action shots in the snow? Here at Wertman Photography we will be happy to meet you at your favorite location and incorporate that interest into your session.
Now we all know that you want your senior pictures to look different than last year’s school picture, right? How do you accomplish this, you ask? Here are a few tips on what you should do to insure that you will get some one of a kind images from your high school senior picture session:
Spend a couple of months researching the kind of imagery you would like to see. Look through sports magazines and browse the web for ideas and styles. Do you like the edgy, grungy look? Do you want to look like the latest gold medal winner in one of her endorsement commercials, or do you want to look like the girl or boy next door, clean and pristine in your gear?
Once you have determined what look you want, contact us and show us what you are looking for. We will then plan your session and recommend the appropriate length of time we will need to accomplish the look you are after. If you are a football player, chances are you have access to your school’s field, if you are a swimmer, access to a pool may be more difficult. As a skier or snow boarder, we will need to wait for the weather to be cold enough to work in snow. We need to understand exactly what you would like to accomplish in order to give you the session of your dreams.
Understand that special requests require prior planning and that you are asking your photographer for individualized services. She will invest time in your session and you and your family will invest money in return. This tradeoff will ensure a fantastic session for you and great images for your family and you to share and display. After all, your senior session should be an experience you will look back on remembering how much fun it was to create the images you wanted.
Ask about cost only after you have determined whether are the right fit for you. It is important to have report with your photographer to get what you want, when you have fun, the images show it. But do ask, you will want to know how much your family will need to invest in the service and what you will receive in return. Ask about products that are offered and be aware that a boutique studio and a boutique service such as you are looking for and we offer, will offer some great print collections for you to choose from.
Finally, after you book your session and have paid the retainer fee, enter the date in your calendar and arrive 5-10 minutes early at the predetermined meeting point. Your photographer will be there waiting for you and when you are on time all will go smoothly and you will have a wonderful experience which will in turn result in great photos to choose from.
We have worked with some great seniors over the past few years and some great athletes, and are looking forward to adding you to that group. Please feel free to browse our senior and sports gallery for additional images and call us to schedule your session.
A Tailored Newborn Session
— 05/20/2016 by Monika Wertman —Over the last few months, we have had the privilege to capture several maternity sessions and the resulting newborn sessions, tailoring each to what the family wanted. Each had it’s wonderful moments, but the one I am highlighting today holds a special place in my heart as it is the firstborn of a sweet couple who we have been creating memories for since they got engaged. Every time we get together, their love for each other shines stronger than the last and seeing them add a little bundle to this love has been precious. It is these sessions I live for, these moments that hold special meaning and are the reason why I do what I do.
We did a series of three sessions, two of which were maternity, the first one being the gender reveal session, the second being the big belly session and of course, the third one being the newborn session.
This couple is a hoot. We always laugh a lot when we get together and everything is very natural and free flowing. I make suggestions and the two of them interpret them in their own perfect way. For our gender reveal, my mommy-to-be had very specific ideas and working in the upstairs floor of an old building that houses a restaurant and bed and breakfast on the first and second floor and was under construction, gave us a perfect background to not only showcase the changes that were happening with this sweet couple but also the freedom to write on brick walls and contrast roughness and softness.
For our second session, we were still able to go to the floor that was under construction as there are big windows and with the now larger belly, I wanted to create some silhouette images I had not been able to get in the earlier session. We also drove than old family house for outdoor shots.
Each of the three sessions included shots in front of an antique mirror recording progress and change.
For our newborn session we started in the nursery with a very bright-eyed 1 week old baby girl who gave us more than we had imagined. Even at her tender age, her parent’s personalities are showing through and she was ready for action.
For the second half of the session we returned to the old building to add to our collection of mirror shots and add a few images of the little one in her mommy’s wedding gown and images of the three of them as the new family that they are.
Being allowed to take a part in a young family’s happiness is a privilege and honor we do not take lightly here at Wertman Photography. This is a special moment in a couple’s live and amidst the chaos of lost sleep, diaper changes at 3am and bleary-eyed happiness it is important to step back for a couple of hours and just enjoy this bundle of joy and let us record these moments to look back on when everything settles down.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pictures for Mother’s day
— 04/05/2016 by Monika Wertman —Are you stuck trying to figure out what to give mom for mother’s day this year? She has everything, now what?
We have a solution for you: Why not give the gift of memories? For a mom, there is nothing more precious than images of her children, whether the kids are young or grown up.
Once grand kids are in the mix, this treasure trove of memories expands and pictures become even more special, especially if miles are in between you and your mom.
So create some memories with Wertman Photography this year and gift them to your mom, she will love you for it and treasure the gift for years to come.
We can even frame images for you, create special photo gifts you can’t find anywhere else or create that special portrait that mom will want to hang on her wall in a larger size. The options are without limits.
Call us today to schedule your session between now and April 24 so we can guarantee delivery in time for mother’s day, or purchase a gift certificate to give to her so she can be in on the fun.
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.
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.
You cannot leave this day to chance.
Check out some images from some of our favorite brides from last year and come see us Sunday or book your free consultation now.
Weddings small and large, we can handle them all and guide you to a blissful experience.
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.
An Engagement Session in the Cold Weather
— 01/26/2016 by Monika Wertman —It is cold out and while we warm the house with fires and just came out of the most festive season of the year, many young couples also got engaged. I recently worked with such a couple, though he had popped the question before the typical season during which many guys do so and we were able to get the engagement photos done while Christmas décor was still up.
We went outside for several of our shots, for 10 minutes at a time because it was too cold to stay out longer than that. This is a very sweet couple and very cute together. The lovely bride has been a client of mine for a while and I was thrilled to share this fabulous change in her life with her.
We started our session at 4 in the afternoon as they life by an open field with a mountain range in the background and fabulous sunsets in the evening. As with all sessions, it is all about planning it out. For our engagement sessions we allow about 2 hours for shooting, changing clothes and moving about between different locations. We include a consultation during which we decide how to style the session to our couples’ tastes, how to offset the imagery we capture during the engagement session with what we will capture the day of the wedding, and discuss wardrobe, what colors photograph the best and what story we want to tell.
We have fun planning and the day of the session goes smoothly because we planned. Even if a detail goes astray, we adjust and the end result is great imagery our couples are proud to hang on their walls.
What is important to keep in mind when you select Wertman Photography for your wedding and engagement photographer, is that we shoot to create artwork for your walls. We capture sweet moments you may want in an album or book, plenty of images we can create safe-the-dates from or a guestbook, but you will have several images to choose from to decorate your walls with. These will be meant to be at least 16×24 inches and you will have the option to get them printed on canvas, metal or in framed fine art prints.
Please explore our wedding/engagement gallery to see more samples, like us on facebook, twitter and instagram. All the links are on our site. We would love to add you to our favorite clients.
Maternity Photos with the Growing Family
— 01/13/2016 by Monika Wertman —I know that this is wedding and engagement season, but at our studio, it is also baby bump and newborn season. We have three families who are expecting an addition to their fold within the next month or two and one family who already welcomed their newborn just before Christmas. We have the privilege to photograph that little sweetheart tomorrow.
Some of our families prefer to keep their photos private and we always respect their wishes, while others have agreed to share. While some of our expectant parents will be new to parenthood, others have done it before and all of them are equally excited to welcome this new member of their family into the fold.
This post will be about a growing family who cannot wait to see the little one in person. This mom, while having done the motherhood thing before, had not done maternity shots with her girls and was excited to have the experience this time around.
We incorporated the entire family into the session, got some shots of mom and the girls, some of dad and the girls, some of all of them, some of the girls playing with baby clothes, some shots of mom by herself and of the couple by themselves.
One of my favorite images from this session is the feature image of both mom and dad, lost in the moment, just focused on themselves. There was a lot of laughter during the session, a lot of cutting up and being silly, but in this moment there is quietness and contentment. It is sweet and special.
This was phase one of two and I cannot wait to capture this sweet family after the little one arrives. I am sure that it will be a fun filled session with lots of energy, producing some great shots of not only the newborn addition but of all of them.
Please feel free to browse all of our galleries for ideas and don’t hesitate to call us or contact us via email if you have a special request. Chances are we have done it, even if it is not on this site, as mentioned above, some expectant moms prefer to keep their session private. If you are inclined to show more skin during your maternity session, feel free to browse the boudoir gallery for ideas, and again, ask us, as the same rules apply for that gallery as well.
Maternity session pricing starts with the same rate as a family session, but if you want more, we can accommodate for an additional fee. Ask us for details. 301-693-3021, or go to our contact page to send us an email.
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