So the latest dish is that Kevin is having his images featured pretty much everywhere. He will have his images of Chicken Dinner Rd on KTVB and some images of the capitol building on the state website. We love to take photos of families and individuals but Kevin’s heart is really with landscapes, macro, and still life imagery. He is amazing at it.  Kevin is documenting the Idaho Public Television Festival right now. Every morning he is in the studio taking shots to remember this year’s Festival. If you enjoy the programming for yourself or your children please consider pledging a donation.  Festival provides a majority of the income that Idaho PTV needs to run. I don’t know about you but every morning and every afternoon my daughter’s favorite shows are on Public TV. 

Festival 2009 Details

If there are any special images you’d like for Kevin and I to take please send us an email info[at]ktlifestudios.com. We travel all over the state every weekend documenting our beautiful home. We do venture out among the northwest to other areas as well. If there is a particular view or landmark you’d love our take on just shoot us an email!

Well we finally finished the blog. After a lot of changing and customizing we’re happy with this. Not just happy but thrilled! We’ll be launching a portfolio building campaign soon. As part of the portfolio campaign we’ll be offering free sessions on a limited basis. We are looking to fill our portfolio with certain subjects and compositions so if you fit within what we need you can enjoy a free session with 50% off our print prices and your choice of 2 5×7 or 1 8×10 print complimentary.

When searching for a photgrapher know what type of output you want your images in and why. Do you want a cd of selected images to use for email and web posting purposes? Do you want to be able to scrapbook or include the images into projects? How about prints for the wall or family? Do you want them to look just as beautiful as they did when you chose them from the photographer on screen or proof prints? All of this is important.

Digital output can be quite pricy. These are the photgraphers negatives. Their intellectual property. They not only took the time to take your portaits but they also have invested time and money in learning the art of photography. That combined with their raw talent and the time and cost of creating your final images really what your images cost.

Prices with professional photgraphers range just like that of other artist. The more reputable and popular the photographer usually the more they can charge. Are they worth it? Of course. That doesn’t mean local professionals that are just getting into business or making a name for themselves aren’t worth what they charge. Usually they are worth much more.

Many photographers will not release digital negatives and prohibit scanning of their images because they want to retain the integrity and value of their work. Some photographers are flexible about this because of local market demands. The problem with giving someone a cd of the images really has a book of issues. Most clients do not understand digital imagery and print needs. As a professional we calibrate our monitors to our professional printer so what we see is what we get. I personally don’t print many images at home or at local printers but because of the variety in home printers and 1 hour print counters you really never know what you will get. We are lucky that locally we have Idaho camera that offers digital prints that are great quality. Usually I get my prints from a lab strictly for professionals and only digital. They quality is beyond a comparison to a local department store lab.

So my idea of the best arrangement is this. Order your prints through your photographer and get a cd of digital images sized for web use only. Usually they will be about 500 px wide and have a watermark for copyright purposes, but hey you can email or post them online and give your photographer credit too!

So you are about to gets portraits taken and don’t know what to wear. Well you are not alone. Everyday people like you and I have the same predicamint. What to wear! If I’m in a hurry sweats will suffice but that won’t cut it for portraits.

What you wear really depends on the look you are after. Whatever the choice it should reflect your personality. I can remember as a teenager taking family portraits and having to wear a very formal black dress from choir. I *hated* it. It was so not me. Actually the whole family looked stiff. My new baby sister was in a Santa suit…

If you or your family feel comfortable in formal clothing by all means this is not meant as a deterent.

As a general rule anything too busy, logos, ill-fitting, dirty, stained, worn out, or clashing should be avoided. Now rules are made to be broken but this is a good guide.

If you are in doubt ask your photographer what they have in mind. Usually they can be extremely helpful with wardrobe choices. Some photographers would be happy to delve your wardrobe to help you play dress-up!

White can be tricky. It doesn’t always fit the scene or lighting available. Knowing where and when will help.

Ultimately keep it clean, keep it simple, keep it you, and if in doubt ask!