Presenting images with personality
Contact Joan (518) 346-4485
Contact Joan (518) 346-4485

Bar Mitzvah Bima Shots

Bar Mitzvah bima photo taken at Temple Israel Albany NY
I posed this shot of the bar mitzvah boy with his parents in a touchy feely kind of way since it is a time of great happiness for bar mitzvah families.

Rosewood Home Builders

Rosetti Development corporate photo for their website promoting their wineI was hired by Rosewood Home Builders to photograph Richard’s portrait along with his senior staff members. We clicked really well and he asked me to photograph him with his own private wine label. We cleaned up the background a bit so we could focus in on him savoring his private label wine.

Why I Took this Shot

A graceful jellyfishI was visiting friends at the Atlanta Aquarium and saw the gracefulness and beauty emanating from this jelly fish and wanted to capture that on film. I didn’t matter that there was a thick glass separating us. I wanted the audience to feel they could reach out and touch the graceful lines of the jelly fish.

Adding a vintage touch in sepia demonstrated the timelessness and agelessness of this glorious creature.

How I Took This Picture

Albany NY photographer

I was photographing a wedding at the Italian American Club and worked with the event staff and the bride and groom extensively prior to the  wedding day. Since it was a relatively small wedding, I wanted to get every guest in a shot with the bride and groom as the centerpiece. The staff had a 10 foot ladder ready for me and the bride and groom knew to ask the front row to lower the backs of the chairs so as not to be a distraction. Once on the ladder, I asked the crowd to keep their eyes on the bride and groom kissing. And they did, and they loved the shot and so did my bride and groom.

Why I Took This Shot

albany ny photographer

I wanted the focal point to be on the interaction between the vendor and the girl with the others focused on them as well. Everyone was focused on the transaction and clearly you understood the story immediately. That’s a great photo.

I was photographing a special event for cancer survivors at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY a few years back and alot of the vendors were promoting healthy eating like this vendor, Ryan’s Market. The nicest guy you ever want to know and he was offering the little girl a choice of which pepper she would like to eat. He was very animated about his vegetables and wanted the girl to get very excited about eating healthily.

You’re hiring me to photograph your event only for my wit, right?!

I would hope you value the work of a professional photographer; but with cell phone cameras, we can take our own just as good as a pro. Right?  YIKES, no!!

Pros understand composition, lighting, different techniques, oh!, and have a wit about them to captivate the audience to get the right shot.

Don’t have that?

Then feel free to contact me at joan@joanheffler.com and visit my website at www.joanhefflerphotography.com.

Why I Took This Photo

Buffet Table at Vanderheyden Hall 185th Anniversary Gala at 90 State St. Albany, NYI have been the photographer of choice for more than 7 years at Vanderheyden Hall in Wynantskill, NY since Karen Carpenter Palumbo became Executive Director. The experience has been incredibly meaningful to me since Vanderheyden serves a very special population of almost 500.

Vanderheyden’s 185th Anniversary Gala was at 60 State Place, Albany, NY. It was an elegant affair and I wanted to focus on that theme. This photo elegantly depicts their theme color blue amid the stature and excellence of their work and legacy. The food display was beautifully arranged by 2 Shea Catering befitting such a regal and high class institution. This table with its beautiful ice sculpture was at the forefront of the event the entire evening and I wanted to make sure to capture that.

 

Photos for Free. Really?!

Scenarios like the following knock me out. People don’t get it.

I’m photographing an event and one of the guests asks me to take a photo of them with a VIP and then hands me their card and says “could you email that to me?”

For free???? Really. This is my life’s work and I can’t give it away for free. I say, “if you wish to pay for it, I would be delighted to email that image to you.” I get a frown.

Folks, you don’t go into a store and ask to borrow a dress for one evening for a gala and then return it the next day do you? Then please understand that photographers take images at events for pay, not for free.

I would be happy to photograph for anyone wishing to value the work of professional photographers. Feel free to contact me at joan@joanheffler.com">joan@joanheffler.com and visit my website at www.joanhefflerphotography.com.

Hire A Professional Photographer

A word to those non profits and businesses who need photography to brand their business Hire a pro who knows how to tell a success story of your brand…your mission… creating Pictures With Personality!  Too often I speak with an information gatherer on the phone instead of the decision maker and all they want to know is How Much? Really???

My job at that juncture is to teach them the value of a seasoned professional photographer and how they will get the best return on investment; the best bang for their buck. My job is to teach the information gatherer the value of the most dynamic photos they can possibly get to increase their business exposure and their bottom lines.

Next time non-profits and businesses, when you want to increase your exposure in the best way possible, call Joan Heffler Photography at 518.346.4485 or joan@joanheffler.com

How do you know what you’re getting when you book a photographer?

There are 3 ways to  book a photographer:    1. Online   2. Telephone   3. In Person

I am amazed how many people don’t call to speak with the professional photographer for their wedding, event, or corporate portrait. Mostly no one these days makes a face to face appointment either. How do you know what you’re getting when you book a photographer then? The best methods are to research their website, look at all of the reviews for red flags, and then google that person to see if there is anything outstanding in the google search that would urge you to call that photographer.  Especially, look for the images that photographer has online. You learn a lot from a google search!

Booking a professional photographer cannot be done solely online since you need to build trust! First a phone call, then a face to face will get you the results you want!

Kind Words

Kind Words

Echoes of our weddings still chime through our days. We are truly newlyweds in our delight. It was wonderful to have you there ~ and with camera in hand. The pictures are great! I’m so glad you captured the waltz ~ you were the only one who did. Your photographs are clearly at a high artistic level ~ you saw the subtle, the beautiful and the meaningful.

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