Michael Howard Photography Blog

Michael Howard Photography Blog http://howardphoto.net/ Michael Howard Photography Blog en-us Paper to Print /// Workshop Review http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=100 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=100 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:40:00 GMT
On the first day we went over technical things and had a couple of photo shoots. I brought in the amazing Sulivan Mellencamp to model for us during the instructional portion of the day. First, I went over shooting in ambient light using reflectors and then did a simple one light, off-camera flash demo. After the instructional part of the day I threw the attendees a slight curve ball and had them photograph each other. They all spread out around the Factory and had a lot of fun shooting each other. Then that night I gave them another photo assignment, which was to photograph something for themselves and to find beauty in their surroundings.

Then on the second day I talked specifically about the journey of finding your own vision, followed by a long photo critique session, then I gave a quick summary on the history of photography and we ended with an open Q and A session. This was probably my favorite day because we got into the 'why' of photography and not just the 'how'. From the feedback I've gotten it appears that most of the attendees got a lot of the 2nd day as well, which is a bit of a mini fine art photography program.

Overall, this was such a great learning experience for me as well, so be on the look out for future workshop announcements! I might even be doing an underwater workshop this summer!

Here are some quotes from some of the photographers that attended:

'Michael, your workshop was fantastic! I learned so much about technique and especially creative vision. The hands-on approach yesterday was just excellent at driving the points home. And today's discussion was like a mini-course in photography. Plus the people that I met are just incredibly inspiring! So, so glad I came...well worth it. Thank you for putting so much time and energy into making it a success! It was!' - Rhiannon

'I must say that Michael Howard met and exceeded all of my expectations. This was his first workshop but he has such a vast breathe of experience as well as a true gift for this art form that he was able to impart to us. I would definitely take more workshops from this wonderful and kind gentleman. He gave me the gift of confidence in my talent. Thank you Michael!' - Lori

'Thank you so much for an amazing learning experience. I honestly didn't know if this workshop was going to be beneficial to me as a beginning photographer, but was blown away with all that I was able to learn. I came away feeling very inspired and confident that I can take my photography to the next level.' - Grace

'I FINALLY have a good handle on my off camera flash set up that I've been working on learning for almost a year. But more than that I got a reminder that I shouldn't be comparing myself to the 1,000s of other photographers out there, I learned how to critique my own photos, and I was reminded of the importance of taking the time to create photographs for yourself and not just your business. It was a remarkable experience and one that I am still mulling over days later.' - Amber

Below are some of the images that I took of Sulivan during the instructional portion of the day

]]> Laura + Eric /// Nashville Wedding Photography http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=99 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=99 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:22:00 GMT Ceremony: Brentwood United Methodist Church
Reception: Country Music Hall of Fame
Wedding Dress: Arzelle's, Nashville Bridal Boutique

]]> Photo Walk with iHeartFaces http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=98 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=98 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:45:00 GMT iHeartFaces Blog. Angie and Amy, the owners of the blog, contacted me last month about leading a photo walk in downtown Nashville since they were going to be in town for the Blissdom Conference. I had never lead a photo walk before, but it sounded like a lot of fun so I gladly told them I'd be a part of it. We had about 30 brave souls come out and push through the cold weather for a couple of hours. Walking around and photographing anything that inspired me was very refreshing. It's been a long time since I've done that. It was also wonderful to meet so many new people and to help them with any questions they had. Below are some of my favorite images from our walk!

Here are a couple of group photos!

]]> The Annual Wedding Gift /// 2010 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=97 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=97 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:44:00 GMT no charge. If the wedding requires me to travel, like last year's winner, then I require that all my travel expenses be covered.

Here are the guidelines for how the program works:

- E-mail all stories to me at michael@howardphoto.com
- All stories must be submitted by midnight on March 20th, 2010.
- You must provide the couple's name, contact information, wedding date and location
- You may send in your own story or the story of a couple that you know
- The chosen couple will be notified privately by the end of March
- The couple that I choose will be required to meet in person and to sign a written contract

The chosen couple will receive the following:
- Complimentary wedding coverage by me for up to 8 hours on the wedding day
- A complimentary high-resolution disc of the images with a written copyright release

Here are some images from last year's recipients, Nita and Jason in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

I look forward to hearing from all of you! Last year was a true blessing for me!
Michael

]]> December Underwater Shoot http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=96 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=96 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:40:00 GMT Cliff Brunk flew out from San Francisco to photograph Jessi and Ryan's wedding with me. While he was out here he wanted to experience an underwater shoot and to try his hand at it. You can see some of the great photographs he took on his blog at brunkblog.com. It had been a couple of months since I last did an underwater shoot, so it was fun to set something up and get back in the water. For this setup I had the opportunity to work with some wonderful people. Lisa Johnson did a wonderful job at the underwater makeup along with her a sweet assistant Jennifer. The brave models for this shoot were Rachel Wood and Lisa Panknin. The pool water had quite a bit of chlorine in it, which burned their eyes the entire time. I'm very appreciative for their efforts and commitment to push through the pain. Also a HUGE Thank You! to Jasmine Sterling, the clothing stylist, who worked so hard to pull the clothes and fabrics. She made a lot of alterations to the dresses and really got the vision for this concept. Thanks for going the extra mile!

Below are some of my favorites!

]]> Jessi + Ryan /// Nashville Wedding Photography http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=95 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=95 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:40:00 GMT Ceremony: Harpeth Hills Church of Christ
Reception: Loveless Barn
Wedding Dress: Faccio Bridal

WARNING: This is a mammoth post, so prepare yourself for quite a few images and a lot of scrolling.

Right before we left to visit family for Christmas I had the pleasure of shooting Jessi and Ryan's wedding in Nashville. Aside from Jessi and Ryan being fun and hilarious people, this wedding was a little extra special because my good friend Cliff Brunk flew out from San Francisco to photograph with me. Jessi wanted a 2nd photographer for more wedding coverage, so I contacted Cliff to see if he was interested in second shooting on her wedding. I've been a big fan of Cliff's work for a couple of years, so it was great to finally shoot a wedding together. We also did an underwater shoot the day before Jessi and Ryan's wedding, but that'll be on the blog in a few more days. I love when a client signs up for a 2nd photographer because I always try to fly in a photographer from another part of the country that I highly respect. Not only does the client get a quality photographer, but I also get to hang out with other photogs that I respect within the wedding photography industry.

Jessi and her mom did all of the planning for the wedding and were a super organized team. I was very impressed with how well everything was put together. I really think they could start a mother/daughter wedding planning service and be successful with it. Jessi is the only bride to ever hand me an 11x14 print out detailing all of the color schemes and decor choices for her reception. I'm really thankful she did cause the reception was gorgeous and it helped us know ahead of time the exact details to photograph.

Anyway, enough with the rambling. Below are some of my favorites as well as some of Cliff's great shots. Enjoy!

Michael

Photo by Cliff Brunk

]]> Jessi's Bridal Portraits http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=94 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=94 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:53:00 GMT

]]> Edwin + Sheila http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=93 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=93 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:47:00 GMT Ceremony: Nashville Downtown Pedestrian Bridge
Reception: Pinnacle Tower
Wedding Planner: Big Events Weddings

I think my new favorite thing is having a wedding span across two days. It was so nice to work with Sheila and Edwin on their unique wedding. On Friday I meet up with them and a small gathering of their family at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Nashville. From there we walked over to the Pedestrian Bridge for their small, intimate wedding ceremony. Then just their family had a private dinner at Germantown Cafe that evening.

On Saturday I meet up with Sheila and Edwin at the modern Hutton Hotel for a few getting ready photos and some portraits! From there we headed over to the Pinnacle Tower for the formal reception and some more portraits. I absolutely loved working at the Pinnacle! The building itself is designed with such a sense of presence and size that it really added a unique feel to the reception.

I know this type of two day schedule isn't for a lot of people, but it was a great way to not feel rushed and for everyone to enjoy this time in Sheila and Edwin's life. So if you are looking for a non-traditional way to celebrate your wedding you might want to consider a more spread out time frame.

The Wedding Day!

The Reception Day!

]]> Published on StyleMePretty.com http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=92 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=92 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:30:00 GMT the beautiful blog StyleMePretty.com. In August I flew up to Cape Cod to shoot Lisa and Chip's gorgeous wedding. Both of them are artist's and they hand made a lot of their decor elements for their wedding. For example, they personally constructed each one of those paper stars hunging from the trees that lit up at night. Also they had the men's ties screen printed with the peacock feather design just for their wedding. One of Lisa's close friends also hand made the two birds that served as the cake toppers! Combining all of these unique, custom elements with the ridiculous location of their wedding took everything to another level! It was my first time visiting Cape Code and it has now been put on my list of 'Places I Must Take My Family!'. You can't go wrong with the northeaster's love for Dunkin Donuts along with charming towns, amazing beaches, sail boats and the ocean! It's a very family friendly place and I'll be going back in the near future!

Below are some photos from StyleMePretty's blog! Make sure to check out their blog for all of the wonderful wedding decor inspiration!

]]> Slap Bracelets, Spandex and Crimping http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=90 http://howardphoto.net/index.cfm?postID=90 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:11:00 GMT
1) We can follow and produce the latest fads in our work to make sure we are always seen as relevant, popular and 'with it'. This requires us to constantly follow what others say is 'in' and make sure we promote trendy products and aesthetics as much as possible to maximize profit, since that's what is considered most acceptable at the given time.
2) We can express our own unique vision whether it's seen as a fad or not. This requires courage and faith to be true to how we see the world even if the latest fad is completely opposite of our perspective on life.
3) We can refuse to be trendy and refuse to fight against the constant stream of popularity. We would then find another field of interest to make money and express ourselves artistically. Basically give up and do something else.

Specifically in wedding photography there have been a lot of fads over the years, mostly dealing with post production work on images. The current fads deal with vintage looking images, so photographers have created actions that make photos look like old polaroids, faded or vintage photographs. Also a lot of popular images are shot with a tilt shift lens or all the details are shot at f1.4 for razor thin depth of field. The shallow depth of field is extremely popular for detail shots, which most wedding blogs can't get enough of. Some other previous trends have been textures, over-sharpening, over-saturation and brightness.

So if I'm not shooting with a tilt shift lens, a 50mm lens at 1.4 and not putting the 'vintage' action on my photographs, am I being a stubborn business person because I'm not selling what most people are wanting to buy?

Now think of a musician or band that's had a long, successful career, say 25 + years. Do artists that have such amazing careers sustain their reputation based on following whatever is popular at the time or do they stay true to their own vision as it matures during the passing years? I would argue the later. So as a photographer, should I be concerned because I'm not producing work that's built on the back of the aesthetics for 2009 photography trends? Maybe, but I feel that the only way to have a long, successful career and to be proud of your work is to stay true to yourself. My advice to all aspiring photographers out there is to not emulate what's being praised by wedding blogs and magazines, but to express the unique voice you've been given regardless of popularity. If everyone's work looks the same then the only bargaining chip is who has the lower price. On the other hand, if you can communicate your personal vision effectively, then no one else can offer what you have and your prices will reflect your individual creativity.

(Let me add that I'm not claiming to be original in my work, but that I need to have the mindset of finding my own voice. I'm talking to myself probably more than anyone else. What I'm interested in is 'why' we do things, what are our motivations for shooting at 1.4 or using 'X' action set for example?'

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