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Stuff in the ‘hagerstown’ Category
Shooting an Engagement Session on Location, Steph and Justin
— 04/17/2015 by Monika Wertman —A couple of weekends ago I met with a cute couple in Gettysburg, PA to shoot their engagement session. We decided on this particular location for two reasons:
1. They live in Lancaster, PA, about 2.5 hours from my studio, Gettysburg was about halfway for both of us, and
2. Justin is a Civil War buff, so this rustic location fit the bill.
I scouted out a couple of neat spots to shoot at with the first one being at Trostle Farm, a building that saw a good amount of fighting and had the rustic fencing and wonderful tree lines and rocky areas that make for a wonderful backdrop for engagement photos. It was a windy, but sunny day and we got some really cute shots.
On our way to the second scouted location, Devil’s Den, we stopped by some cannons and another farm, the latter owning some white picket fencing that could not be passed up.
Devil’s Den is a wonderful rocky outcrop, heavily visited by tourists, but I managed to find some spots that allowed us privacy. The sunny sky and puffy clouds enabled me to get some great shots of silhouettes of my couple and some nice contrast shots as well.
We had a lot of fun shooting in this unique location, being able to incorporate interests of the groom with the added bonus of giving Steph and Justin some ideas for their honeymoon, because as we talked, I found out that Gettysburg was the destination!
Please look below to see some of the great shots we got!
A Twist on Boudoir Photography
— 04/03/2015 by Monika Wertman —Just the other week I had the pleasure of working with a lovely young lady in creating some boudoir photos for her fiancé. While we talked during her consultation, I discovered that she collects pin-up drawings and paintings from the 1940s and suggested to style her shoot around that theme. She jumped at the opportunity. I secured my stylist for the session who transformed my client into a gorgeous 1940s gal who played her role very well during her session.
We employed some of her fiancé’s favorites into the session, including his navy shirt, a navy hat, some beautiful lingerie and a few fun props I have acquired over the years. As always with my boudoir clients, I am very mindful to sharing these photos and am only allowed to showcase the more demure images. We captured some gorgeous shots I am not allowed to share, but it is this respect for my client’s wishes that has earned me repeat business.
This session was so very successful because I incorporated a fun concept, hired my stylist for hair and make-up and allowed my client to relax and have fun. Below please look at a few samples form the session, more can be seen in the boudoir portfolio.
What to expect from your Modeling Portfolio Session
— 04/03/2015 by Monika Wertman —Just the other day I had a young lady at the studio who needed some portfolio photos for a modeling job. Over the years modeling agencies have started requiring digital photos of their potential models instead of comp cards or printed images. Here at Wertman Photography we have been conscious of this trend and our first question when an inquiry about portfolio shots comes to our doorstep is:
“What does your agency want from you?” The answer varies, but the common thread has been the digital image. When my latest aspiring model called me the other day, she had a complete list of images they wanted to see.
As a studio, we know that they want some full body and some portrait style images, but the list of attire may vary depending on how the agency plans to market their models. In this case, we needed a casual look, a business look, or professional look and a swim suit look. My client decided that she would do her own hair and make-up, but was aware that this service would have been available to her.
We had a fun session as I quickly discovered that my model was someone who had swum in high school and had been on the rival club team my youngest swam for for several years. It is always fun when you discover that you have something in common, it livens up the session and I am able to capture the true personality of my subject.
We were able to capture a big variety of images for her to choose from and she is very happy with the results. Here are a few of the shots we captured.
Charles & Michelle’s Wedding Story
— 04/02/2015 by Monika Wertman —When you think wedding, you usually think of a long engagement, a wedding planned with every detail in place, a big dress, a fancy venue and lots of guests. Most of the weddings we help our brides with fall somewhere onto that spectrum and always have at least one year in between the bride and groom signing our contract and us capturing their special day. This past December I had the pleasure to meet a couple who did things a bit differently.
Michelle and Charles had been engaged for a little while and while planning a big party with both of their families in the coming summer, you see, Charles is in the Service and stationed pretty far from Michelle’s home, the actual wedding was a rather spontaneous endeavor, executed in the courthouse with no plans to capture and record the moment.
I received a phone call on a Friday morning from Charles’ mother, asking if I was available to get a few shots of the family and the bride and groom at my studio after the courthouse ceremony. It just so happened that they caught me on an editing day, which meant that I could say: “yes, when do you need me?” The answer was that they were about to leave and would 45 minutes from now work for me? I told them that this would be fine and why didn’t I meet them at the courthouse to get a few shots outside.
I arrived just as everyone disembarked from their cars and followed the wedding party inside, caught all of the important moments, got a few more outside of the courthouse and finally met the families back at the studio for more.
Michelle and Charles are a lovely, fun couple who turned out to love their photos, the very ones they thought they did not need. Just the other night Michelle contacted me to show me where she hung their canvas print of the two of them in front of the courthouse, and to tell me that she had discovered that she needed just a few more prints to finish the display on her wall.
I decided to share this story to show that photography is important on your special day, whether that day is big or small, whether you are planning a big bash or are eloping. When you browse our site and come across pricing, we list a wedding collection starting cost. This starting cost considers the big planners, the year-long engagement with time for engagement pictures and a glamor session for the bride and the day long celebration of two people uniting in love. If you are planning a small 1 or 2 hour affair, call us and we can tailor a collection for you that fits your needs.
Successful Pictures for a Family of Eight
— 04/02/2015 by Monika Wertman —
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of capturing images for a family of eight. Mom and Dad plus 6 children. I met the three youngest at our consultation earlier in the day and they were very well behaved. I looked forward to our session and when the time came that evening, I was not disappointed. This lovely family of eight, was well organized and came to the session well prepared and arrived on time, even a bit early.
We got some great shots that night with three clothing changes for all and were done within 1.5 hours, including the clothing changes. You may say, well, that sounds easy. Trust me when I say, it was not. I have had family sessions in which I had to remind them that they only had me for an hour and that we needed to get started. The session that comes to mind took place a few years back with 15 people and was staged at the family’s home. Let’s just say that it did not go smoothly and made me change the way I approach family sessions.
So let’s look at what makes a large family session successful:
- I have a consultation with the respective family before we have our session. This may be over the phone or in person, though I prefer in person.
- One of the first questions I ask is: “How many people are in your family and what are the ages of the children?”
- We discuss how much time I have allotted and what they should expect from me and the session.
- We discuss the color schemes they have in mind and I make recommendations based on the skin tone of my clients.
- I ask if they would like to have different groupings, i.e. the whole group, just the girls, just the boys, the kids by themselves, etc. You get the idea.
- If clothing changes are involved, I show the area they will change in and where they can park purses and bags.
When little ones are in the family, I remain conscious of how rapidly they run out of steam and patience and I work quickly and remind all of the big kids and the parents that they need to remember that they are in the picture as well. It seems obvious , but I often have at least a few shots in which mom is too busy to make the littlest one happy to remember to look up and smile. I catch it and help her remember.
My best advise to you is: Ask me about what to expect, agree to an in person consultation to see the studio and know what space we will be working with both for clothing changes and the session itself. If we meet on location, be prepared to walk a bit, I will find several spots to get pictures at to give you variety.
Senior Sports and Senior Pictures Tips
— 04/02/2015 by Monika Wertman —With spring and summer just around the corner, senior pictures are not far behind. No matter who you choose, what size session you commit to, whether you are a boy or a girl, if you play a sport you will want to showcase your sport.
Now we all know that you do not want another picture in your gear that looks like last year’s school picture, right? How do you avoid it, 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, search your local photographers and see if they have something similar in their portfolios.
- If you find someone whose style is close, but not quite what you envision, call and talk to them, find out if they are willing to bend their style a bit or if they can recommend someone who fits your vision better.
- Once you have found the photographer who seems to have the style you are looking for, set up a consultation to talk about how they work and determine if you click with that photographer. Most photographers will be willing to sit down with you and plan your session, if they are not, look for one who does.
- When you meet your chosen photographer for the first time during the consultation, bring your sample images with you, show them and ask if something like it can be done. 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. Your photographer needs to understand exactly what you would like to accomplish in order to give you a correct answer.
- 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.
- Ask about cost only after you have determined whether the photographer you are talking to is the right fit for you. 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 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 wonderful experience which will in turn result in great photos to choose form.
Here are a couple of our favorite sports related senior photography portraits. Please visit our portfolio to view more.
Wertman Photography Launches New Website & Blog
— 04/01/2015 by Monika Wertman —
It is here! We are so excited to share our new website with you. Wertman Photography has been in business for over 5 years and many exciting things are happening in 2015.
We are growing in many ways including our space at the studio, which doubled in February of this year. We now have three distinct shooting spaces available and a private dressing room to make glamor and boudoir sessions even more fun and private than they were before.
We learned that we would be able to expand our physical space at the end of the summer of 2014 and decided that other changes were also necessary. Our website needed some serious TLC and after seeing work our web designer had done for other photographers, we decided that Visual Lure would be a great fit for us. Justen designed a site that is not only gorgeous but really took our vision and our love for art deco to the next level. If you have not done so yet, please browse the entire site and enjoy not only the richness of the design and the ease of the functionality, but also our portfolios to understand who we are as a photographic studio.
When we opened our doors in 2009 we knew that we would give our clients a great experience during any session and that we would produce imagery that our clients would be proud to hang on their walls. Today, five and a half years into the photography business, we continue to provide you, our clients with a great experience and great images, and we offer products you may have never thought about. We continue to innovate and add more products and specialized services to our studio. You are treated with special care and every session you book with us is tailored to your needs.
This year we have revamped our High School Senior sessions to include up to three locations and clothing changes and hair and make-up for the girls. The offered collections can accommodate any budget and print collections include many exciting products.
Our Glamor and Boudoir sessions are also redesigned to include some great products when purchased as a collection and can also be booked as stand alones you can add to, including make-up and hair.
We love weddings and engagements, as you can see in our wedding portfolio and offer all-inclusive collections with plenty of time and great options built right in.
As our new site highlights, here at Wertman Photography we love timeless design and elegance with a modern twist our clients desire. Please read more on the about us page where you can find some client review and testimonials.
We want to thank Justen at Visual Lure for creating a great new website for us and hope that all of you enjoy it as much as we do.
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