Good Works: Locks of Love

This endeavor has been a long time coming! With a skimpy amount of patience, I finally grew my hair longer than it's ever been before to attain the minimum 10 inches required for a donation to Locks of Love. On July 18th, I had just enough for the cut. Doesn't look like it due to my curl, but it's all there!

It was a mini sacrifice; one throughout which I learned to push aside my own vanity in order to do some good for someone in need. Anyone with long hair knows what an emotional attachment it is, and although I loved the novelty of my own lengthy locks and enjoyed the style very much for myself, I often came to empathize with those who not only don't have a beautiful head of hair to brush and style every day, but physically cannot have such a thing. I felt it more significant to empathize with the underprivileged, the young kids suffering of cancer causing hair to fall out from chemotherapy or other diseases preventing normal growth, than to pine over how wonderful my own long hair was.

Throughout my growth, I consistently had the mindset that my locks were just temporary. I appreciated people's comments on how beautiful it looked long, but I knew this was also a materialistic and temporary thoughtscape; a concept which would never physically last forever.

I constantly thought about those underprivileged kids with diseases. Adolescence is one of the most difficult times in a person's life, and all a kid wants is to be "normal" and fit in with her peers. I understood that losing a suitable hairstyle for me who can easily regrow my own hair was a justifiable process in order to provide some child looking at a bald head in the mirror every day with a curly, strawberry brown prosthetic for her to fling around and style any way she wants. Although I won't get to see that child getting excited about wearing the hair I've donated to her, the cause still excites me endlessly.

I've been inspired. I considered consistently growing out and cutting my hair for Locks of Love throughout my life, but I simply don't have the patience to grow it that long again. Instead!, the motion I've decided to work through Amkar Photography is this. For a donation of at least $25 per portrait session, I'm now offering "before" and/or "after" portraits for those who wish to donate their tresses to Locks of Love (or other similar charity). Portrait proceeds (100%!) will be donated to St. Jude Children's Hospital for cancer research.

I hope we can transform vanity into charity and help some kiddos in need! Please check out my charity page for information on donating and setting up a portrait session.

Charge of the Light Brigade

As an example to a point made in my earlier post about whether or not you need two wedding photographers regarding the subject of venue lighting, here is one scene that stands as the epitome of challenging lighting venues. In this case, a photographer's assistant is required in order to get the more dramatic side spot lighting as seen in these sample photos. These images were shot in the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the St. Louis Science Center.

Similar lighting challenges would also be met if your venue has dark ceilings higher than 9 feet, is an outdoor nighttime reception, or if the lighting in your space is simply awesome being dark (for instance, entirely candle lit) and flash would just totally ruin the effect. You may want to consider the creative side spot lighting. If you're not sure about your venue, ask me and I can scout it for you and give you some pictorial samples as seen here.

Click images for larger detail.

The Planetarium is unique in that it has a super high domed projection screen as a ceiling. The point of this venue is darkness, so nighttime and planetary effects can be admired. The challenge to photographers is that we need light to record anything! 

Note the above images of my lovely model and sister, Beth. Flash lighting floods that projection screen and whites it out, completely obliterating the "sunset" effect of the orange rim lighting around the room. The side spot lighting highlights only the floor space where subjects are interacting and allows the beautiful ceiling projection to show.

There's a particular quality to light held at the side of a subject which gives more dimension and mood to subjects, as shown above in this portrait. With no ceiling close enough for flash to bounce properly, flash lighting tends to be flat and less dynamic. Boo on that.

Notice in the above composites of a "guest" sitting at her table that the sunset rim lights create a wonderful red glow when flash is not used.

The image above mocks a creative posing opportunity I had with the actual bride and groom when they gave me a moment to pull them away from their reception to do some portraits. I had Beth pose against some wall decor in the buffet area to showcase a more creative display of the differences in light quality between the ambient room lighting, flash lighting, and side spot lighting. Notice the soft roll off of left side shadows in the side lit photo.

Other things Of Note

To be fair to my clients, I can't proclaim the awesomeness of creative spot lighting without also mentioning one operational drawback. The spot light is VERY BRIGHT. It's a 6 inch LED circle that definitely draws attention to itself in a dark room. I don't recommend looking directly into it. It's also a continuous light, which means it's on all the time when in use (doesn't flash only when a photo is taken as with flash lighting). Also noted when I shot this actual reception, those giving toasts were not prepared to be so "spotlighted" and I think they were thrown off guard by the brightness. Heads up, bridal party!

If your venue is small or over-crowded (not a problem at the Planetarium), usage of the spot light by my assistant may be less effectual. My assistant will pretty much need to be glued within a 30 degree angle from myself to project the light properly on subjects, and if he or she can't get around, missed opportunities may arise. The spot also needs to be fairly CLOSE to subjects too, for best lighting. Be prepared to share your intimate moments with a ball of light!

Another cool thing (depending on your location) is that you can purchase the use of my creative lighting assistant for only for a portion of your wedding day. This saves you the cost of hiring a second photographer for the entire day, and just gives you the benefit when you need it most. (Partial day second photographer services are not available for out of town locales.)

I have fun doing these lighting tests. Bring em on! As the artist here, I obviously hope clients will get stoked for what looks awesome in these dramatically lit venues. I'd sure like to capture these spaces in their intended Most Awesomeness. Yup!

Location Crusade: Indoor Downtown St. Louis Backup Spots

Sometimes we must face the music and realize that ideal spots chosen for a shoot day just may not work if it's devastatingly hot and humid or raining or snowing. I commend those for taking chances though, even if it means double-sleeved groomsmen must sweat their faces off. However, Mother Nature doesn't have to be a Debbie Downer. We can stick it to her and still have wonderful backdrops to our photos!

I can provide indoor backup ideas for any area of the city, but as downtown St. Louis is a popular shoot spot (especially for bridal parties in between wedding events), I've done some downtown scouting for locations where management won't kick us out. I've provided some imagery and admission costs to each (if applicable). Mentions of paying for parking will not apply if you are a wedding party traveling via bus or limo. (Click images for larger detail.)

Union Station Train Shed (free admission, pay for parking)

Technically the train shed is outdoors, but in snow or light rain, the covered panels may be just enough to shield you from the elements. This location has something of a harbor feel, with a seafood restaurant in the rear and the Hard Rock cafe near the parking area (not pictured). There's also a quaint bridge going over the pond. It's a good option for a covered yet outdoor vibe. Virtually peopleless on a weekday afternoon. Pretty chock full of passersby on a weekend, including paddle boaters on the pond.

Union Station Marriott Hotel Lobby (free if you're sneaky, $250 if playing by the rules, pay for parking)

The Marriott's hotel lobby is a little taboo regarding professional photo sessions, but since it's such a fantastic spot, I'm sharing my two cents on it. I call it taboo because the hotel never used to charge for venue usage on portrait sessions. Apparently they've been charging the $250 fee since 2008, and I've done at least 3 shoots in there with no fee paid and no one giving us hooey about it. Just ONE time (engagement session) the hotel manager caught us and said we couldn't shoot without having paid the fee to use the space. So if you don't pay the fee, I view this as a hit or miss location if you can dodge the manager (which wouldn't be difficult on a busy weekend). That said, the images above in the top row are in the actual lobby of the hotel. The lower images are beneath the lobby at the main entrance. If you're iffy about dodging management in the upper lobby and don't want to pay that fee, shooting at the fancy staircase down below is a safe bet! Technically it's not in their lobby (it's near the entrance to the mall part of Union Station).

The Old Courthouse (free admission, street parking meters)

There's really not much eye candy in the Old Courthouse besides this one shot of the circular dome, and perhaps another angle looking straight up into the dome. This would be a great scene for a large bridal party. A bride and groom could pose on the second level if they hustle up one of the side staircases. Allow extra time for the shoot if you go on a weekend or other peak tourist time such as holidays. Extra time may be needed to clear tourists out of your shots. Call Rose at 314-655-1613 a few days in advance for best coordination (she'll send you a letter of authorization, which may grant you easier access). The Courthouse is open 8-4:30pm every day.

Hilton Hotel Lobby at 400 Olive Street (free admission, street parking meters)

Fancy hotel lobbies are pretty sweet options for classy portraits. I haven't once had a member of management shoo me away from shooting at this location nor the next one listed. If you've been to any other fancy downtown hotels, chances are they'll be okay to shoot in. Union Station just has to get all huffy about it *hands on hips*.

Chase Park Plaza Lobby (free admission, street parking meters)

Chase Park Plaza is so classy. Technically it's not downtown, but it's near enough to head there if you can, on the way to or from downtown.

City Museum ($12 admission per person (plus $5 per person roof access), free parking)

City Museum can easily suck up an entire day of one's life. It'd be great for an engagement session or senior portraits. Children will get too easily distracted by all the activities to be able to sit and have portraits taken, or you'd have to recruit your photographer for extra time in order to follow all your kids around getting shots of them in action. If you're taking a bridal party here, it'd be quite a hefty admission fee for the average mere hour or so you'd have available between wedding day events. Despite, there sure is a lot to see, and a plethora of exotic, weird, fascinating and fun textures and backgrounds.

I hope these location ideas provide some do-able options for anyone considering indoor shoots in downtown St. Louis. If these ideas helped spark some ideas of your own for locales I hadn't thought of, I'd love to try out what you have in mind.

Please inquire if you need insight on other areas of St. Louis for photo shoots, indoors or out!

Worst Case Scenario Wedding Day Survival Guide: Thunderstorms & Power Outages

We all like to expect that a wedding day will go as smoothly and as close to our dream as we'd hope it would, and for the majority of what I see, wedding days are mostly awesome with no issues. However, there always exists a scrap of worry that something may happen which would throw the whole dream off kilter, especially when outdoor events are planned and atmospheric conditions cannot be controlled.

In my 4.5 years of shooting weddings, the first a weather related fiasco happened was on April 28th this year. I must highlight the couple, Andrea and Patrick, because they handled thunderstorms and on-and-off power outages so well that I came to note how they handled it as a guide for How Not To Worry. Here's a list, in order of significance, on how to prepare yourself to handle a wedding fiasco if you fear the worst. Hopefully this guide will settle the minds of over-worrisome brides and help them know there is no reason to worry!

1. Most Important! You are marrying the person you love. If this is key (and it should be!), even the end of the world can't keep you two from getting married. Enjoy being rained on or being blown away as a unique set of crazy events and challenges that didn't stop you from tying the knot.

 2. Keep calm and roll with it. If you lose power in a windowless room, smart phone flashlights work like a charm. In a pinch, I harnessed usage of a bridesmaid's phone light to snag a few portraits in the dark. Spot lighting quality wasn't half bad!

3. Notify guests to prepare for weather conditions. Anytime a ceremony or reception is held outdoors, guests should always be prepared with umbrellas or a nearby indoor or tented area for retreat. A mention about preparing for weather can even be stated in the invitation.

 4. If the power goes out, get creative and play it by ear. Delegate tasks to your service providers or event coordinators to improvise if loss of power means food can't be served or music can't be played. Prepare to transform a sit down dinner into cocktails and h'ordeuvres, or even an order of pizza for all your guests. Something is better than nothing, and your guests won't mind if they're hungry. (Luckily the power came on and stayed on just in time for Andrea & Patrick's reception.)

5. Use your bouquet as an umbrella! Simple resourcefulness goes a long way.

Preparedness is your best prevention!

Say NO To "Say Cheese!"

This post is not a proclamation to parents to wean them off telling their children to say "cheeese!" for portraits, although in hindsight I think we can all agree that when kids have to consciously run their "smile file" it's going to be a pre-processed robot grin. If not that, then a smirk or grimace or downright frown. This post shares my own intrigue into child psyche, and observations on how to really snag great smiles out of them.

After formal portraits of these sisters I had them roll in the grass for a while

Lo and behold, kids don't really like doing what parents tell them, do they? It's no different for portraits. Most kids dislike the chore. The key from my angle as a photographer is to make them feel like they're playing, not like doing a chore. I normally take a few "standard" shots of children to figure their chemistry before finding out what intrigues them playfully.

A note to parents: Once formal shots are taken in all the pretty clothes, let them play. Let them roll around in the grass, let them touch a pile of dirt, let them pick dandelions and throw them all over the place. The majority of my shoots with children of any age involves simply playing with them, and they usually get a kick out of it. I bring bubbles or balloons, or encourage parents to bring a mini birthday cake for first-birthday smashing reenactment. All my children's portraits are done outside because I've yet to see a kid who doesn't love being outdoors, and children so love to interact with nature. It's a lost wonder I suppose.

Although this cute little ring bearer had an adorable frown, he only smiled when I told him not to... and then he got embarrassed about it! The above range of emotions happened within about a minute. Kids are bipolar, true story.

What parents unknowingly love is a laughing-his-head-off type shot of their child, not a constipated Olan Mills smile forgery. They want to see a punch of emotion. It's quite hilarious to learn on site what sorts of invented smiles kids have come up with after years of being trained on "say cheese!" Some have perfected the Sarcasm of Smile so well they actually start making terrible faces at me, assisted by fingers pulling mouths down and such *eye roll*.

Every baby has the "extremely entertained by something" face. Often with tongue hanging out. He was laughing at bubbles.

Toddlers and babies are up to their own wills. They want to be independent, so let them explore and interact with things. Don't be discouraged when a 2 year old wants to keep bolting away from the chair you want her to sit in. Smiles are optional for babies. Drooly dropped mouths of wonder are just as priceless as huge crazy grins. Some kids smile when you tell them not to and some kids need a round of applause to get them clapping and laughing. These tactics are short lived because young kids have very short attention spans.

Heck, I have a very short attention span. Next toy! Let's run this way! Punch my balloon! Smack my hand! Pop those bubbles! Kick your shadow! If they're not doing something different all the time, I'll get bored too!

Best Daylight for Outdoor Portraits

Being a Natural Light preferring photographer (and I'm not talkin' beer), I'm often at the mercy of the solar landscape. Whatever daylight decides to do on a shoot day is what I have to work with, and I have to be versatile. I view outdoor photography as Ideal but also up to God's decree. Which is kinda cool. Roll with nature!

I've put together some daylight samples of what light looks like at different times and how best it can be utilized for portraiture. Often my portrait subjects are not available at the best lit times of day (sunrise or cloudy midday), so other measures must be taken to avoid too-harsh direct sun which is present for the largest chunk of a person's active daytime. These images were shot in springtime at correct exposures with no digital retouching. Quality of light will vary according to season, altitude of local hills/valleys and atmospheric precipitation. Huh! I became a weatherman for this job.

The Hour Surrounding Sunrise

Sunrise lighting is very fair and gentle (though no one wants to get up early enough for it!). Lighting is warm, diffused, and soft on facial features. Light will remain this quality until the sun passes the horizon.

Midday Clear Skies (Full Sun)

Squinty-face equals poor portraiture. When the sun is at high angles (in spring, 8am through 5pm), it gives subjects that horrific "raccoon eye" effect. Eyes become minimized, shadowy and triangle shaped. Good portraits demand good eye communication from subjects, so in harsh light I always take them into shade. Locationally, this limits you a bit. If there is no shade available, I will choose another location.

Midday Overcast

Some will find clouds too dismal, but the overcast outdoors are an absolute dream to a photographer. Clouds are natural diffuse screens; shadows are not so harsh and lighting is soft and lovely. Clouds also make dramatic sky textures too. This day was on the bright side of overcast (thin clouds), so a little bit of a squint is still present but the raccoon eyes are diminished.

The Hour Prior to Sunset

Sunset lighting is golden and fabulous, and also well diffused as the sun gets closer to the horizon. It's tricky though to deal with a time constraint as you're slowly losing light versus slowly gaining it (as is the case with sunrise). Work quickly to snag the light before it goes!

After Sunset (Off-Camera Flash)

Not my preferred lighting, as bright diffused daylight just brings out the freshness and vitality of a face. For loss of light after sundown, flash is required. It does look much more dramatic, which can be a cool noirish effect if you desire it.

To sum, the choicest time of day is sunrise or cloudy midday. Although planning around what the atmosphere is doing is not something we have any control over, it's good to note that a cloudy day is not such a bummer, even if you miss out on blue skies. If you can't dodge being photographed in harsh midday sun, tactics will be taken to keep you in shade. The best option for the latter without being spatially confined to patches of shade is a lush green forest! Forested areas provide a great canopy, and if you don't mind a little bushwhacking they also make excellent and supremely romantic spots for lovely portraits. Consult with me to locate a primo forest near you!

Turn Engagement Photos Into Guest Books!

Shooting on average 20 weddings per year, I get some pretty hefty exposure to changing trends in wedding styles. On the topic of guest books and other means of collecting signatures and well wishes, I've seen everything from signed notes hung on trees to a family member mulling about with a video camera asking guests for candid statements. Those are great ideas, but how are they preservable? If I had a stack of note cards, I'd want to put them into a book anyway. If I had a video of verbal comments, I'd have to dig up the video from a buried Facebook feed or its disc from some trunk. The key to a keepsake is something you'll enjoy revisiting and something easy to access. I personally like books :).

Even in our advanced digital age, the good old fashioned Book still stands the truest test of time. Interesting, hm? Those who want guest books have long been tiring of traditional lined books with the frilly "Guests" inscription heading each page. And so, I've analyzed some trends in photo guest books and designed my own as you see in two samples here. Images from engagement sessions or pre-wedding bride/groom shoots work great for these! It's like a pre-wedding album. See more album layouts in my portfolio.

Design is collage style and fully customized (including a full front/back photo wrap cover) and designed by myself, taking cues from the atmosphere of the shoot. Guest books are created as an Art Book style album. Collage design means no guest is bound to lines. They can get creative with their personal statements. Paper can be chosen in plain, pearlized or linen textures. Designs are prepared strategically and spaciously with room for signatures and messages. Lighter and half opacity backgrounds are designed for dark colored marker pens and darker backgrounds are designed for metallic pens. Art Book albums lay flat when left open and stand a bind-tight test of time with acid free pages that won't yellow or degrade.

Your guests will be so floored and intrigued by your fabulous photo rich guest book, you'll need to put up a sign telling them you intend for them to sign it. (Because they won't think it's ok to sign fabulous images, you will have to remind them!)