Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Carrera Panamericana racers help rural craft community

Getting the donated wool to Mexico is always a challenge. I mentioned this issue at a Mujeres en Cambio board meeting and Diane Ruszczoffered a possible solution. Her husband Gerie organizes a caravan of race cars coming from the US into Mexcio for the Carrera Panamericana. http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com/. This amazing race, that began in the 1950's, has over 100 cars racing from Veracruz through central Mexico and ending up in Zacatecas. Gerie's, Coyote Caravan, assists drivers from the US to navagate the roads from the boarder to Veracruz passing through San Miguel on the way. I spoke with him about the possibility of the race cars bringing wool to Las Rancheritas. He agreed to contact some of the racers about the proposition. Three of them agreed. I made the arrangements to meet them near Austin to load their trucks with the wool and I was invited to go along. I thought the story of race cars bringing wool to Mexican rug hookers was too good a story to miss so I road  with the cars. Here are the photos of the trip. 

The trip from Laredo to San Miguel. 

18 Bags of wool arrive at the village.
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Boni with the cars that brought the wool. Rugs on the hoods of the race cars.
Racers with rug hookers at the car exibition in SMA.
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Our heros Diane and Gerie who made this all happen.
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Charlotte and drivers. The end of her adventure, the beginning of theirs. 
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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Gallery 8



Gallery 8

Gallery 8



Gallery 8

bridal



bridal

Bridal



Bridal

new front page



new front page

Pricing of wedding photography


Planning a wedding is a daunting job. This will most likely be the biggest and most expensive party a couple will ever plan. I get many inquiries from couples looking for a photographer and the first question is, “How much do you charge?” This is certainly a legitimate question; after all they have a budget. However, there is no way I can give them an accurate bid without knowing the details on what they want.

1. Time. The most expensive part of photography is the actual hours. Many couples think they need a professional photographer for the entire wedding including all of the reception. I have photographed hundreds of wedding. The most important photos, the ones couples want prints of or want to use in an album, are almost all taken in the first 3 – 4 hours. Reception photos become repetitive. Dancing photos are fun, but for hours? I feel that I am wasting their hard earned money by staying for the entire reception. And there are creative ways to get the photos of the bouquet and garter toss and other events without staying to the very end of the reception.

2. Prints. I take between 150 and 200 photos per hour, most of which are memorable. So for an average 4 hours wedding I will end up with about 550 -700 images. These are organized into categories: ceremony, couple, family, reception etc. The digital images are burn onto a proof CD so the couple has a complete record of their wedding. However, no one wants prints of every image. From the proof CD they will choose their favorites to make prints from or to create an album. I include prints with each package. The number of prints depends on how many total photos I have taken and the size of the print. A 5 x 7 is cheaper then an 8 x 10 or 11 x 14.

3. Digital images. Sometimes couples just want high-resolution images so they can print their own photos. They will still receive the proof CD. Once they have decided on the ones they want they send me those favorite images and I will send them the high-resolution files.

4. Albums. This is the most elegant way to have a keepsake of you wedding. I design lovely albums using the images the couple chooses. However, album costs can run from $250 to thousands. It all depends on the paper, cover, number of pages and other extras.

5. DVD. A more reasonable way to have a memento of the wedding is with a custom DVD. These are a less expensive alternative to a videographer or an album. What I like about DVD’s is that the couple can choose custom music like their favorite song or music played during the wedding. They can also have several copies made for parents. Plus a DVD takes no room to store and they can watch it on a TV with friends. Plus they only cost around $250.

6. Number of photographers. I almost always have a second photographer for the first one or two hours of the wedding. There is a lot happening before the wedding and during the ceremony. Having two photographers makes sure that I capture the most memorable images: those tender looks at the altar, the tears from a parent, I child resting on grandpa’s lap, those images that are spontaneous and will never be repeated. Once the reception starts, unless it is a very big wedding, I can handle the remainder of the photography. This saves the couple money once again.


SO you can see here a few of the variables involved in pricing wedding photography. I encourage couples to call me. Once I know what they are looking for and their budget I can make suggestions on how to get all the photographs they want and yet keep within their budget. Make the call to me or other photographers. You will learn more from a phone call then from a simple email.   512 447 2150



Pricing of wedding photography

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Family Portraits


Family portraits probably the most important of all photographs. These photographs are the history of the most important people in your life. Frequently the only time people will think of having the taken is at a wedding. However people change so quickly, especially children. But other people that change are our grandparents. Maybe next year they will not be with us.

Having a relationship with a professional photographer will assure you that you will have these mementos forever. That snapshot for the family vacation will never hold a candle to the beauty of a professional family portrait.



Family Portraits

Monday, July 16, 2012

Posing

I know you want everything spontaneous. You hate posed photos. Well, 90% of you photos will be spontaneous but those posed photos of family and friends and of course the two of you will be the ones people want prints of. Everyone is looking great, beautiful clothing, perfect makeup, so these are going to be the images people will want. But of course you don't want to look like "ducks in a row". Talk to your photographer and make plans on the location and the attitude you would like in those posed photos.
I suggest you look at wedding sites and magazines for interesting groupings. Any group photo even for a business can give you an idea. Share these with your photographer. And then think of location. The most challenging are at the altar since there are so few options. I suggest you take those group photos out of doors or at the reception. Think about the backgrounds. And give it some time. Rushing does not lead to creativity. You do not have to do all of them at once. First, after the ceremony, do the two of you then later on the families. This way people won't get sick of smiling and you have time to be creative. I'll say it again. These are the most important photos of the entire wedding so plan them well. Here are some samples of a classy classic image and a more fun poses.


The Bar Mansion Wedding