Tips to Prepare for Your Portrait Session by a Professional Portrait Photographer

     When you need a  professional “headshot” or portrait for you newest book cover, new job or website or even for your loved one’s desk, it is so important to have a phone conversation before your session. Why? A professional portrait photographer will help set you at ease about the session, and and help you feel and look relaxed since that photo will set the  impression you want to make on the world…and its got to be a good one.

     Talking on the phone or even in person begins the relationship with your photographer and it does make a difference. It’s important to prepare the photographer by having a thorough conversation with her/him about why you want the photo, how it will be used, and what audience it will target.You don’t want it to be a blind date when you go to the portrait studio. You want familiarity so you can relax and be yourself without being self-conscious.

    A professional photographer will discuss hair and make up tips as well and what kinds of clothing to bring to make you look the best. The professional portrait photographer will suggest women getting your hair cut about a week before the session for best results and a blow dry that morning before the session to give it life and buoyancy. Going to a makeup artist that morning would also lend itself to a fresh soft facial look. For men, it is suggested to have a haircut a day before the portrait session and shave the morning of to remove any stubble.

Final products should be “Pictures With Personality!” That can happen when you follow these tips! For additional portrait tips, more information and helpful advice about preparing for your portrait session, browse our Preparing For Your Portrait Session page.

Thanks and I look forward to our phone conversation about YOUR portrait!

How do you choose GOOD photographers for your wedding, bar/bat mitzvah or event?

Not everyone knows what makes good photographs and they don’t know how to choose a good photographer for their event. What are you supposed to look for?

There are so many photographers out there it is a daunting task to choose a good photographer. In fact, some newbies are quite good sometimes and most often cheaper than professional photographers.  However, when they see all the results of a newbie amateur…well,you deserve better.

Good photography and a good photographer doesn’t come cheap mind you. There is expensive equipment to purchase and maintain and there is technique to be learned and continually upgraded.  And the cost of building and maintaining a website is not cheap today either.

All that is well and good, but what I want to know is How Do I Know What To Look For? Just like buying anything, you do need to know what you are looking for to make the right choices.

Most people don’t know what they are looking at is bad photography! Here are some things to think about when searching for a good photographer:

1. It’s in the lighting. A good photographer knows how to create beautiful images in any kind of light whether  in a dark banquet room or outside in the summer heat. That photographer knows how to adjust their camera to get consistent quality images.  When there is a loss of detail, it is overexposed. If you can only see white faces and black backgrounds that image is underexposed or the photographer doesn’t understand camera settings.

2. Composition makes a balanced photo. If a photographer crops in so close as to cut at a joint such as wasteline or elbow, the person either looks huge or that he or she lost an arm. That is so unflattering. Professional photographers crop in between joints to make for a beautiful balance.  The eye should be drawn to just one point of interest in each photo. Do you get confused as to where to look in a photo? Is more than one thing going on? That is bad. One point of interest…that is good!

Also not every person in a photo should be centered. If you are shooting a family in a beautiful setting, most often including mountains or streams and the natural environmental symmetry makes for a spectacular image.

3. Focus. Photos should not be fuzzy or soft. They should be crisp especially the face, and eyes should sparkle.

4. Contrast  If the photographer shows you a flat image, run away! Images should have contrast from light to dark to hold your interest. It makes a two dimensional photo look like it is three dimensions and pops off the page likes its real life.

5. Backgrounds. So many photographers zoom in so tightly they don’t get how to incorporate nature’s beauty into their images. Not good! A good photographer knows how to do that. That is what makes them good and you should be looking for that kind of photographer for you.

Are you getting my point???!  

What You See Is Not Always What You Get–Choosing a Professional Photographer

Choosing a Wedding, Events, Portrait or Corporate Professional Photographer in the 21st century is vastly different. Photography is vastly different! No longer the result of spending years learning camera technology, lighting, film processing, chemicals, enlargers and years of schooling; digital technology has all but replaced those processes. Photography now is instant, easily accessible, and you don’t have to spend hundreds of hours learning the trade or spending thousands of dollars on camera equipment.  Point and shoot cameras and cell phone cameras along with photoshop and other software editing programs make picture taking easy and prolific. The results are pretty fantastic considering the lack of training.

As a result, everyone thinks they are professional photographers, and the market is flooded with those cell phone amateurs posing as professionals. But put these amateurs in a real wedding, event or corporate setting and you will see that what you see is not always what you get.

Real photography professionals understand lighting, camera technology, posing, composition, and the decorum of the photography client relationship. If you really value your wedding, portrait, corporate, or event photography; interview real professionals. You may be paying a bit more, and it may take a bit more of your time; but you can really tell the difference and quality and professionalism does count. So though the cell phone photos may look good on the phone, what you see is not always what you get.

Celebrating the Bar and Bat Mitzvah

It has been said in Jewish tradition that celebrations are meant to be an expression of the soul. The Jewish celebration of life, the bar and bat mitzvah, is so impactful that every time we do a mitzvah (a good deed), we enhance our connection with the source of our life. To “celebrate” life is the ultimate mitzvah. Life parades its magnificence in everything and everybody, and it is a beautiful expression of our soul to want to celebrate that daily.

Joan’s extensive Jewish travels abroad to Eastern Europe, Israel, and Italy prompted her to make a statement about the meaning and importance of Jewish tradition through her photographs. “Seeing the bitter remains of concentration camps, towns once inhabited by thousands of Jews, now only buried memories of loved ones, and salvaged ritual artifacts from the Nazis prompted me to make a statement about our traditions in my exhibits of bar and bat mitzvahs: L’Dor V’Dor, From Generation to Generation.

If you are looking for an experienced Bar and Bat Mitzvah Photographer in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs or Troy, NY; please give me a call at 346-4485 or email me at joan@joanheffler.com

Branding, Marketing, Selling…It’s All About YOU!

My business is always about Branding, Marketing and Selling. After every photo session, I have to go out in the big world and hunt for new clients. It’s not like the same person gets married over and over again or needs a corporate portrait every week. So I have to be very clever in my Branding, Marketing and Selling points so I stand out above the crowded photographer-laden area of Albany, NY.

Well, I was always striving to be an individual and to stand out in school so I just started using those same techniques from my childhood for growing my photography business. First, I befriended all who crossed my path and treated them as though they were my best friends to break the ice. Second, I joked with them and we laughed together, making the strong bond that I still create in my studio or on location with my photography clients. And lastly, I give them Pictures with Personality! Each and every person has a uniqueness about them and that is what I capture the best.

See what I mean. Check out my photos. They all reflect the pulse of the group or the individuality of the person.

So, my Branding, Marketing and Selling is all about YOU.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Excitement for 2013-2014

This coming year (2013-2014) 5774 will be exciting for bar and bat mitzvahs in the capital region. New venues for the reception such as the Colonie Country Club in Voorheesville  (http://www.coloniegcc.com/) make for more exciting parties. And with the addition of so many more Albany DJ’s experienced with the Jewish tradition of the hora and the candlelighting ceremony…well, what more could you ask for!

If you are looking for an experienced Jewish photographer with the knowledge of the bar and bat mitzvah, give Joan Heffler Photography a call.

The Jewish Photographer of Choice for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs

Sitting down with the parents of a bar or bat mitzvah and discussing how the bar and bat mitzvah day unfolds is one of the most fulfilling times of my professional life. Growing up Jewish, attending numerous bar and bat mitzvahs in my youth and having gone through the process with my son; it never gets old. In fact, chills always run through me as I relive the experience with my child and with others over and over again as we prepare for their child’s bar or bat mitzvah.

All family members and friends flock near and far to watch and be part of a child becoming a man and a woman in the eyes of the Jewish tradtion. It is now their responsibility at this very young age of 13 to be in charge of passing on the Jewish laws and traditions. That’s what a bar and bat mitzvah stands for.

And afterwards, such a celebration! Rejoicing in happiness. The cup runneth over! The excitement bubbles over and at the end of the day, we have a man and a woman emerging from their years of study. We have qvelling parents and qvelling grandparents, and we carry on the 5,000 year old tradition!

Mazel Tov!

It’s OK to hire a “professional” photographer.

I recently went on Facebook and clicked into a photographer’s post of a recent wedding she took. I check out a lot of photographer’s works all the time so I can see what is out there and how my style compares. Her pitch was that she can photograph your event, portrait, wedding and you don’t have to pay professional photographer’s prices.

Whoa! The quality of her work was far below a tried and true professional. Really now. If you care about your photos and want to treat them like heirlooms, please please, hire a professional. It’s really ok.

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur!

What makes a great photographer?

Great photographers see what others do not! Great photographers are like artists. They see composition in a scene, they see the symmetry in the background and place their subjects to maintain that symmetry and enhance that person’s features. A great photographer would never let a flag pole or tree branch stick out of one’s head in a photo. A great photographer sees the beauty in all  subjects and sculpts a magnificent piece of art.

A great photographer also builds a strong relationship with her subjects as the session unfolds and that is an art in itself.  Seeing the subject’s soul and beauty inside and bringing it to the surface to allow that person to shine in front of the lens makes for a great photographer’s skills and a beautiful portrait.

Wouldn’t you want that skill photographing YOU?

Service Service Service

Being of service to a prospective client is so so important. Let me tell you a true story that happened to me recently and the one who offered more service got my business. I was looking for new wall to wall rugs for my bedroom and went to two stores. The gentleman at the first store was very attentive and gave me all the details I needed to know including rug swatches. He even offered to order more colors for me and have them shipped by the next day.

I then proceeded to the second store. Again, the kind gentleman was very cordial and gave me what I needed at the time..an estimate. He did not offer to order swatches nor help me in any other way besides a ballpark estimate.  His ballpark estimate for the flooring was significantly cheaper than the first stores ballpark estimate so I had him come out and measure. Within a few hours he called and faxed over his best price but did not call to follow up.

The next day, I went to the first store to return the borrowed rugs and the gentleman asked me for my business. I told him he was more expensive than the other store, and the rug I wanted was the same. He showed me a sign in his store clearly stating he would offer a cheaper price to anyone who brought him an offer from another store. Not only did he do that but he offered me one more thing that I didn’t know I wanted but took and it was the one item that got me to sign.

He went out of his way to provide me with service service service and I signed on the dotted line! I am still waiting for the other store’s salesman to follow up and he has not!

Amazing, huh?