fbpx

Blog

Stuff in the ‘portraits’ Category

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.

 

Fun and Talented High School Seniors

— 12/02/2016 by Monika Wertman —

We had some fun and talented High School Seniors this year.  For the first time ever, we also had seniors late into fall, which made for an interesting journey into colors, leaves, cool weather and locations.

Here is looking back at some of the fun we had and some of our favorites from this year.  We spanned the interests these young adults had as well, giving us an opportunity to play with some new ideas as well as explore what makes these students tick.

There was Jake, a Criminal Justice major at our local technical high school.  He also plays lacrosse but plans to go into law enforcement so we reached out to our friends at the police to arrange for some unique photos.

senior law enforcement

Jake also loves his pooch, so we incorporated his pet into the session as well.

senior with pet

Showcasing both his love for his major in high school and his love for lacrosse led to this image:

lacrosse senior

Then we had Amanda who plays several sports, balancing her love for sports with her academics and who had several ideas of what she wanted out of her session, something we always discuss in our consultations and implement as much as we can, giving it our own unique twist.

senior girl soccer softball

Amanda is a very pretty young lady and we felt that we should showcase that as well as her athleticism.

senior girl

And then we also created a composite for Amanda as she is also in the marching band at her high school.

senior composite

One more as it is our favorite from this session:)

senior softball girl

Another male soon-to-be graduate we worked with this fall wanted to go hike to Wolf Rock, described to us as a walk, that turned into quite an adventure as I discovered that wearing heels was not very practical as we had to actually hike up a mountain for this session.

senior hike

This young man also had his own ideas and we took advantage of what nature supplied.

senior guy

Another one of our girls this year is an artist and we showcased this both in studio and out at a local park as well as downtown.  Here are some of our favorites from this lovely young lady’s session:

senior girl artist

senior girl artist

senior girl artist

Jimmy is a theatre student at our local Performing arts high school and was a lot of fun to work with.  His session was off the cuff, as he did not originally want to get his senior pictures done and followed mom’s lead when she made him do it.  We had a lot of fun improvising his session and got some great shots out of it.

senior theatre student

The following image is at the old YMCA building downtown he used to swim at as a child.  Sweet memories.

senior theatre student

And this in the back of Barbara Ingram School of the Arts, his high school.

senior theatre student

Another favorite from this fall is the following sweet gal, also a theatre student at BISFA, Bailey, who was wonderful to work with.  Her acting talent was very apparent and we had a hoot working with her.

senior girl actress

Our local theatre was gracious and let us use the space for the first half of our session.  The folks at the Maryland theatre are always great to us.

senior girl actress

We then travelled up to Bedford, PA for outdoor pictures and a place Bailey’s family is very fond of.  We love exploring new places and this one was a gem.

senior girl actress

senior girl actress covered bridge

Our last senior for this fall is a young musician, also at BISFA.  He plays the tuba, sax and flute and is a very enthusiastic musician who was open to great ideas and willing to give everything I suggested a try.  This was a treat for us as he was the first classical musician I had ever worked with and the first one who plays wind instruments.  This session was a fun adventure.

tuba senior musician

tuba senior musician

yes, we had to play with the smokey feel of a club.

 senior musician

great textures in our alleyways downtown

sax senior musician

and who can resist the sax?

I hope you have enjoyed our look back at some of our favorite seniors from this year.  Please vote for your favorite image.  The winning senior will receive a magnet of their favorite image and you will be added to a drawing for a free family session for up to 5 people just for voting.  What could be better?

Call us today for a free consultation to find out how we can customize a session of any kind for you and yours.  We will be glad to work with you.  301-693-3021

 

Family sessions outdoors

— 08/04/2016 by Monika Wertman —

Over the last few weeks I had the chance to work with several families, many of them with little children and new babies on the way.  All of the session took place outdoors because the weather was nice and these families chose to be photographed outdoors.

family interaction

Working with young families is always fun and I love shooting in a pretty location.  Being outside gives me a chance to propose great locations that give us plenty of options and scenery changes.  Here in Hagerstown, we have many such locations.  We have parks galore and within a short driving distance we have great little and big waterways that add to the variety I can offer my clients with an outdoor session.

little boy by water

During the initial phone call I ask if they have a favorite spot that means something to them as a family. Most of the time the answer is:”no”  If this is the case, I then propose one or two locations I think will work well and let my families decide from there.  We generally settle on mid-afternoon and many times it has to be on a weekend day.  Occasionally I am asked if we can do the session at the families’ home.  We offer this option as it turns it into more of a lifestyle session.  Indoor or out, a home location offers it’s own challenges that we love to rise to.

family session

At Wertman Photography we are also willing to travel a distance if that is what it takes to make our clients happy.  Within a 25 mile radius from he studio, we travel for no additional charge, outside of this radius, the additional rate depends on the distance we need to cover and how long it will take us to get there.  Personally, I love to go to new places a bit of a distance away.  It allows me to be creative and meet challenges I may not have here in town.

family

One such session was held on family land, on a rainy day.  We walked through softened areas to get to water ways, used tree cover when it started raining and utilized umbrellas when it got a bit worse.  In the images you can not tell that it was overcast, because we where in wooded areas and only emerged when it was not raining.  It was a fun session and produced fun images the family loves!

family interaction photo

Call us today if you want a unique session in an outdoor location of your choice or recommended by us.  We will be happy to work with you and create memorable images that you will be proud to hang on your walls.  301-693-3021

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.

wertman photography baby bump-maternity-5

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.

wertman photography baby bump-maternity-4

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.

maternity

Each of the three sessions included shots  in front of an antique mirror recording progress and change.

wertman photography baby bump-maternity-1  wertmanphotography maternity-9408  wertmanphotographynewborn-2530

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.

newborn

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.

newborn in weddinggown

wertmanphotographynewborn-2630

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.

hands

Please vote for your favorite image

— 02/02/2016 by Monika Wertman —

This weekend I took my almost four year old grand daughter with me to visit her auntie in college and see her compete during two swim meets.

We had a lot of fun, walked a lot, played a lot and finally nap time arrived.  Being four, she clonks out when she is exhausted instead of taking a timed nap.  She is also loosing that baby look.  She looked super peaceful and somewhat baby like in the following images and I want to print one of them out in a large format.  I can not decide which is my favorite, so I decided to put it up for a vote.

sleeping child

sleeping child

The image with the most votes will be printed, and to entice you to participate, we will draw one winner for a family session up to five people with a $35 print credit attached out of the image that receives the most votes.

sleeping child

Time is precious and childhood flees, photography preserves special moments, and this was one of them.

sleeping child

Please check out our galleries to see other precious moments preserved in time and call us for your next session.

sleeping child

We also offer gift certificates, so if you are stuck and do not know what to give your special someone for Valentine’s day, why not give the gift of memories?  Gift certificates can be purchased now and used in spring or summer.  Call us today, 301-693-3021

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.

maternity rachel

 

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.

maternity rachel

 

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.

wertman photographyrachelmaternity-

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.

babybump

 

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.

Want to schedule Senior Photos?

— 10/23/2015 by Monika Wertman —

Though summer is over and most seniors have had their sessions, some of you may not have had them done yet or are already thinking about them as a junior. No matter who you choose, what size session you commit to, whether you are a boy 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.

senior picture outdoors

 

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:

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. 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.wertman photography seniors 2016-6

 

  1. 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.                 wertman photography seniors 2016-1

 

  1. 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.wertman photography seniors 2016-5

 

  1. 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.wertman photography seniors 2016-2

 

We have worked with some great seniors this year and some great athletes, and are looking forward to working with you. Please feel free to browse our senior and sports gallery for additional images and call us to schedule your session.

wertman photography seniors 2016-4

1 2