Lachlan | Terre Haute IN Photographer

I finally got to do little Lachlans Newborn photos yesterday. :) Sounds like (Lock-Lan) incase anyone was wondering. ;)

It is always nice to see cute little faces, but I forgot how hard newborns were! I am going to give kudos to all those only newborn photographers!! Don't know how you do it!!

Much Love!

-BB



Dan+Lynsi | Paris IL Photographer

 Who doesn't love awesome shoes!! Lynsi and Dan were my first wedding of 2011! No better way to kick off the wedding year like a laid back couple!  Lynsi is the owner of Making Memories Event Planning and Decorating, so you can only imagine her wedding was beautiful! Yellow accents were incorporated all through out her wedding! The aisle had a custom made runner and was lined with real yellow rose petals. When I walked into the 'getting ready' room, I could instantly smell the flowers.

I have to say, she is simply beautiful. You can't hide this kind of beauty! It's the inside and outside kind. Lynsi was so prepared for her wedding (it had been a long time in the making) that she spent most of the day laid back, not really worrying much about anything. My kind of bride!! P.S. I loved the book shelf! :)

My Favorite!

The boys spent some of the day playing a little game of basketball. It did get a little rowdy I might add!

That had such brave faces for how COLD it was outside!! We were all freezing! But look at them... so in love it doesn't even matter!

At the end of the day, when all the party goers whined down, all that mattered was the two of them. Thank you so much for allowing me to hang out with you on your big day! It means a lot that I have been blessed with such amazing clients!

Much love!

-BB

....and the winner is!!!! | Terre Haute IN Wedding Photographer

First I would like to thank all the vendors that donated to my giveaway, it means a lot that you support me! Next thank YOU for visiting my blog and entering!!


The winner is............































Julie from Love Life Family Photography!! Please email me at billie@billiebushphotography.com with your address and email and I will get it to all the vendors!! You have until Tuesday at 11:59 pm to claim your prizes!! If not claimed I will pick a new winner!!!






Once again, thank you for entering!!



The winner of the 2nd 20x20 black fur is Hannah Melvin! Please contact me with your address!!

Giveaway!

The Giveaway is closed now for entries!! Anything after this point will not be included!  Thanks to all that entered and I will post the winner here tomorrow morning! :) Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

Spring Fling Giveaway!! | Terre Haute IN Wedding Photographer

It is that time!! I hope everyone is excited!!

I am lucky enough to be hosting this awesome giveaway. Thanks to all the vendors that donated an item!

There will be *3* possible entries.
(there should only be TWO blog post per person!)
You MUST like every vendors page and leave a comment for every vendor!! I will be checking for the winner!!!

1. To enter- comment on this blog what you'd like to win most.

2. 'Like' all the vendors Facebook pages and comment that I sent you! Share a link to this blog post on your facebook personal or business page.

3. Comment again on this blog that you have completed the above and post a link where you shared it.

Good Luck to everyone! There are some amazing prizes and I hope YOU win!!

Morgan Kervin Photography

Giving away one mentoring-either Rockin' Photoshop or Rockin' your camera (http://www.morgankervin.com/mentoring.html)

Facebook Page

Billie Bush Photography

One 20x20 Black FurProp

One Brown Baby Wrap

Facebook Page

BCP Photography

One year Membership to the Forums

Facebook Page

Bluebonnet's Photography and Design

One Frog Lens Critter

Facebook Page

The Album Cafe

$75 Gift Certificate

Facebook Page

Rachel Brenke Photography

A Marketing set and a $25 gift card

Facebook Page

FotoTale Designs

$50 Gift Certificate

Facebook Page

Amanda Howard Photography

One Custom Logo, Watermark and Brush

Facebook Page

Make sure you LIKE and COMMENT on every vendor's page. This giveaway is perfect for anyone in photography no matter your level! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Don't forget to follow me!! Entries must be in by April 23rd 2011! You do not have to do all three entries. You can only do the first if you'd like and ect.

Justin+Mandy | Terre Haute Indiana Wedding Photographer

These two were so much fun from the moment I arrived! They have booked me for their May Wedding and I am so excited. I love having couples who are fun and outgoing and that will do whatever I ask.. ;o). It wasn't hard to find nice spots, we went to Turkey Run State Park, which is one of my favorite places! They were up for pretty much anything.

 

Justin was quite funny. I have to say I did laugh a lot this e-session :) I love to laugh for sure!

How do I manage to get all of the cute couples? :)

Thanks Justin and Mandy for letting me capture such an important time in your lives..  I love my job!!

-BB

Morgan Kervin- Choosing the right Photographer!- | Terre Haute Indiana Wedding Photographer

I am lucky enough to be friends with Morgan Kevin of Morgan Kervin Photography. She is a very well writer and gives out a lot of useful info to clients, moms with cameras, as well as newbie photographers! Even though I am mainly a wedding photographer, I do often do sessions as well so here is her recent post on choosing the right photographer for you!

Choosing The Right Photographer- Morgan Kervin

I want to start by saying that one photographer is NOT the right one for everyone. There will be photographers that you just don't click with....you want to get along with your photographer, make sure you like their personality or you won't get the 'magical' portraits you're looking for. 

When you start off looking for a photographer that is right for you, you will have three main choices.

1. The retail chain 

2. The professional

3. The shoot and burn

Feel free to share this post, just make sure to link back here :) Thank you!

The retail chain

The goal of retail chain portrait studios is to reel you in with an AH-MA-ZING deal, like free sitting fee and a few freebies, but what are you really getting? Sure the sitting fee may be free for the first person, but what about the rest of your family?

A simple search of a major portrait studio says their special offer is 26 portraits for $7.99 - crazy deal, right?

Did you read the fine print....one pose, one subject, natural color only, additional sheets $19.99 (which are typically 8x10). That session will probably last 10-15 minutes and you will get 7 shots to choose from, not necessarily usable shots. If you wanted an 11x14 canvas, guess how much that is...$149.99 (want to know how much MY 11x14 canvas is...$140).

The professional

The goal of professional photographers is to create a lasting experience that yields quality portraits. There usually isn't any crazy deal to reel you in and then give you sticker shock after you're there. You are able to ask for a comprehensive price list before hand so you know what you could be investing.

Your 4 person family will probably be charged a sitting fee of $100 or more and that probably will include only the photographer's time and talent. The session will typically last 1-3 hours, yes HOURS! That means you can change outfits and maybe even locations, and did you say you needed to feed your baby-there is plenty of time for that too. You will end up with 20-40 great images for you to choose from. For print orders professional photographers use professional labs and give the highest quality prints. The professional also edits with one of the Adobe programs such as Lightroom or a version of Photoshop's Creative Suite.

The shoot and burn

The goal of the shoot and burn photographer is normally to make some quick cash. Please do not confuse the shoot and burn photographer with a portfolio building professional photographer. You will probably spend $25-$50 and your session will last about an hour. You will get a CD with the images from the session, probably around 100 or so and a 'copyright' release. The shoot and burn photographer may not offer prints and if they do most likely they are printed from a consumer company that anyone could order prints from. Basically the shoot and burn photographer is like a friend with a camera...except they are a stranger and you are paying them to do what you could get with any point and shoot. Just remember that just because they have a 'big camera' does not mean they have any idea what they are doing with it. The shoot and burn photographer typically uses free editing software such as picasa or picnik.


With all of that being said, the equipment does not make the photographer! I have seen amazing images taken with iPhones or point and shoots, and horrid images taken with top of the line pro level DSLR's.

This post is about the care and consideration as well as the intentions of the different types of photographers that you can book a session with. You may be a retail kind of consumer- if that works for you then go for it! Just like you may prefer a shoot and burn to a professional- again if that works for you then go for it!
Just know that not all photographers are created equal : in price, quality, or experience you receive.
No one can tell you what the right photographer is for YOU

What to expect:
Retail store: in and out in 15 minutes, 1-3 good images, spend $10-$300
Professional: 1-3 hour session, 20-40 great images, spend $200-$1000
Shoot and burn: 1 hour session, 100 maybe decent images, spend $25-$50
The difference is in the quality and experience. When you look back at your images on your wall how will they make you feel? Will you even remember how that day was? Will they make you smile because of the memories they bring back?
I know that when I look at my favorite images of my kids hanging on my wall, which are professionally done, I remember every detail of what happened that day and can't help but smile at the chaos that went into getting that priceless image.
When I look at the retail images from when my son was a baby all I can remember is that we only got the one image and we spent so long just waiting to be seen for a 10 minute - what felt like going through a fast food drive thru- session.
When I look at the images from when we had a shoot and burn session, those are all on my external drive - never printed because they honestly weren't wall worthy at all. I just remember that my life would be no different had it never happened.



Let's get down to recognizing good work and bad work
  

You will notice on the bad newborn image the lighting is bad and very uneven. Not to mention the use of selective color, the bad posing of the baby and the fact that the baby has a pacifier in his mouth.

In the good image you will notice the nice even lighting, a serenely sleeping baby that is well posed. The good image looks over all more put together and effortless.

Another example but this time maternity.

The bad image well....that's a dreadful color cast, she really wasn't that color-she was not an oompa loompa.

The good image has even lighting and good composition.

Notice the bad images- on board flash used, subjects facing the sun and dappled lighting on their faces. Poor composition and I could go on and on about no vision or real connection with the subjects. Of course the bad angle too....no, the lovely lady getting the flower isn't really a giant.

Notice the good images- Nice even lighting, clear communication and you can feel the way the subjects feel ♥

Bad image- wow lots of bad in this one. Terrible posing, completely crumpled background, very bad cloning, color is off and image is underexposed.

Good image- interesting angle and composition. Good color and exposure. Sharp focus.

A note from Morgan

For all of you that are thinking OMG, she is totally bashing aspiring photographers and I feel so bad for the photographers that have their images put up on this post....don't feel bad, all the craptastic images are mine! Yes the bad images are from when I first started portfolio building almost two years ago. Let's just say I thought I was awesome and knew what I was doing, and thank every day that someone told me I sucked...now I strive to prove them wrong :)

Every professional photographer starts out not knowing what they are doing, what you need to know is that there is a difference in someone doing it for a hobby, someone doing it for the quick cash, and someone operating a business or aspiring to do so. With each different type of photographer there is a different style and quality that you will get. A good rule is to look through your potential photographer's portfolio/website and if you love 80% or more of their current work then they may be the right photographer for you, I also suggest having a chat with them by phone or in person to see if your personalities match up. Lastly ask yourself if you would want to hang these images on your wall for years to come and pass them down through the generations to come.

Thank you Morgan for letting me share this with my readers!! :) Morgans blog is http://www.morgankervin.blogspot.com/. Please check her out! She has a lot of useful info! ;)

Much Love!

-BB