Addy's Amazingly Blue eyes
Okay, sometimes the most amazing images are the ones which happen totally unexpectedly. Today I photographed a family and their two children for their holiday photos. Addy, who is 10 months old has the most amazing blue eyes! She has skin like porcelain and was a pleasure to photograph. Plus, she’s a redhead! Does it get much better than this?
No doubt about it; there are many emotional moments in a wedding which the photographer needs to capture during your special day. For example, one of the most compelling moments is when the groom sees his bride for the very first time. The reaction is priceless!
Typically, the challenge photographers face is capturing all of the “must have” photos that the bridal couple identify as well as those very special moments, and making sure that there is time to capture those priceless moments. Timing and scheduling are everything! Following are suggestions for capturing the “must have” photos.
Incorporate your photographer into your planning process as soon as you possibly can. Upon booking a photographer, you need to discuss schedules and locations for your ceremony, reception, and locations where you would like your photographs taken. Your photographer should be in a position to recommend locations for taking outdoor photos. The initial consultation should also discuss the scope of the wedding photography, and whether all of the photos can be capture by a single photographer or multiple photographers. Having more than one photographer will assure you that all of your must have photos are taken, especially for activities which are happening simultaneously. A second photographer will also allow for more candid photographs.
Provide your photographer with a listing of your “must have” photos. It is best to provide this listing during the initial consultation with your photographer, but the list may be provided to your photographer at any time in advance of the wedding. The photographer should have the confirmed “must have” photos no later than two weeks before the wedding date however.
Identify a person to assist with the “must have” photographs. You should assign a person to assist the photographer in identifying and gathering relatives, family, and friends you wish to have included in your photographs. As a part of the wedding contract, we require the couple to identify a person who will assist us in identifying and lining up people for the formal portraits.
Have contingency plans. In the event that the weather is (or will be) inclement, you should have a clear understanding with your photographer on alternate locations or plans for taking the on location photographs. One such option is to take the on location shots in advance of the ceremony. Generally, the more time a photographer has, the better the results will be since there isn’t a “time crunch” to get the photos done in advance of the wedding reception.
Keep your guests entertained between the ceremony and reception. A major concern of bridal couples is keeping their guests entertained between the end of the ceremony and the beginning of the wedding reception. One service that we provide is a photo booth. Our photo booth uses studio lighting and backgrounds and allows your guests to have formal photos taken or just take some fun photos via the use of props.
Communicate! The success of your wedding event is dependent on effective and constant communication. Your wedding day schedule is likely to be very dynamic and will change constantly as the day unfolds, therefore you need to remain in constant contact with your photographer. We recommend that either a member of the bridal party or a close family member be identified as our point of contact with the bridal party and that we have the cell phone number of this contact person.
John Douglas Photography provides a photo booth at your wedding reception when you book two photographers. In addition to providing your guests with a great way to be entertained while they are waiting for the bridal party to enter, a photo booth also provides the opportunity for family, friends, and special guests to have professional photos taken with the bride and groom. We provide the props, background, and lighting.
After the photos have been taken, we can arrange to have them played back during your reception. Guests love seeing the photo booth shots that were taken during the reception!
Photobooths can also be used at other special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, or corporate events.
Shrouded by the plethora of ceremonies and rituals that mark an Indian Wedding, the work of a Wedding photographer becomes much more challenging and unpredictable. The diversity in customs and conventions from one wedding to another paves way for a need to get acquainted with commonalities of Indian Weddings, so as to not miss the crucial events.
A very young and handsome wedding participant
Mehndi: The process of getting ready for the wedding starts with painting the Bride’s hands and feet with an intricate artwork of henna.
Applying Henna Artwork
Brides intricate henna artwork
Sangeet: An evening of music and entertainment for the close circle of family and friends. It can vary from a traditional night out to a wild party.
Barat: The groom is decked up in finery and brought in a procession to the heavily decorated wedding venue. This procession could be on a horse, elephant or in a trusted four wheeler. The groom’s family would be accompanying the procession and in most ‘barats’ you can expect folks dancing to a live band along with the procession on the move.
VarMala: The Bride and groom exchange colourful garlands of flowers on a small but decorated stage called “Mandap”.
Pheras: The Bride and Groom exchange vows in front of the holy fire and go around the fire holding hands seven times.
Mangal-Sutra: The Groom ties a Golden Locket/Thread around the Bride’s neck as a mark of them getting married. The Mangal Sutra is the Indian equivalent of a ring in most cases.
Kanya Daan: A ceremony where the Bride’s family formally hands over their daughter to the Groom’s family. It’s a symbolic ceremony which involves the first family.
Bidaai: A symbolic ritual these days where the Bride leaves her parents and joins her husband in the journey to his house. An emotional event; where the Bride and her family usually break down into tears.
( for a gallery of my high school senior photos, see http:johndouglasphoto/photo-galleries/senior-photos )
High school graduation is a major milestone in our lives and it acknowledges our transition from adolescence to adulthood. I believe that senior photos should play on this transition and give a glimpse of what the subject is all about; where the subject has been and where the subject intends to be; a glimpse of the child and the adult to be.
Fall Photography, Fitzgerald Park, Grand Ledge, Michigan
The basis for any good photo is to have your subject relax. The photographer needs to establish a good rapport with the subject. Pick a location or location where the subject will be comfortable and have the subject bring clothes that are comfortable and compliment them. Generally, the clothes that we like the best, are the clothes that are most complimentary to us. I have found that it’s always best for the subject to bring along a friend or someone that they are very comfortable with. Some of the most interesting shots are where the subject is interacting with someone else besides the photographer!
"The Look"
I always like to take photos of the subject where they are looking directly at me, or where they are looking off camera. This variety tends to bring an informality to the shots which I think are especially effective for on location shots.
For the photo on the left I asked to subject to lower his head, and as he was raising his head, slowly rotate to his left and look off camera.
The Grotto, Fall Senior Photography at Fitzgerald Park, Grand Ledge, Michigan.
Here is another example of where the subject is not looking directly into the camera. I think the look is very engaging, relaxed, and complimentary. Since the ambient setting was dark, it was necessary to use some off camera flash to remove some shadows and provide color and detail to the rock outcropping surrounding the subject. The flash also adds vibrance to the photo.
Yesterday was the fourth time I had the opportunity to photograph Alina! I photographed her baptism, Alina at three months old, Alina at Christmas time, and now at one year old!
Alina just started walking a couple of weeks ago, and while she had a little bit of trouble negotiating up and down inclines, it won’t be long before she is totally confident on her feet. She had a couple of spills even before we started the photo session and ended up with a few scratches on her face, but after a couple of tears it was forgotten. Kids are so resilient.
It’s always fascinating to see a young child discovering the world. Alina was fascinated with the flowers, wood chips, sticks, and she even managed to eat some dirt. Alina had an engaging personality, and her facial expression was changing constantly. The MSU children’s garden is a great place to photograph children and I had my 50 mm f/1.2 lens with me, the day was overcast, perfect for photography!
These are some of my favorite photos!
This is my first attempt at painting with light. The photo has not been edited digitally. The effect is achieved by placing your camera in a dark location, and adjusting the aperture and ISO such that a long shutter time is required (approximately 15 to 30 seconds). During the time that the shutter is open you illuminate objects with light. A tripod is required of course. Very cool effect. It’s giving me lots of ideas.
I saw this technique demonstrated by national experts in this technique recently at Photoshop World 2012 in Washington D.C. This was one of many interesting photographic and digital techniques discussed at the conference.
This past weekend I attended Photoshop World 2012 in Washington, D.C. It was amazingly easy to get from Lansing to D.C. since Sun Country Airlines flies directly to Reagan International Airport. Get off the plane, hop on the Met and you’re at your destination in less than a half an hour, no need for a rental vehicle or shuttle buses.
The location of the hotel was only three blocks away from Chinatown, a perfect opportunity to take some long exposure night photographs.
I arrived in D.C. on Thursday, and since the conference didn’t start until Saturday, there was a lot of time to explore various parts of the city. The temperatures were in the 80’s under sunny skies, and all of the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Actually the cherry blossoms started to fall on Sunday, so the timing was just perfect
Because of the large scale of all of the buildings in D.C., all of the distances appear to be much smaller than what they actually are. After the first full day my feet were extremely sore from all of the walking. D.C. presents many opportunities for the photographer, and there is a nice blend of contemporary and traditional architecture as well as the opportunity to photograph some abstract objects.While there were many opportunities to take interesting photos, it was disappointing to see so much construction and renovations taking place. The Capitol dome was being renovated on the outside as well as construction on the mall.
The most noticeable earthquake damage was to the National Cathedral. Inside the Cathedral large areas of safety netting have been installed to protect visitors from the mortar and stone loosened from the recent earthquake. It is estimated that damage from the earthquake alone is about 15 million dollars. Even though the safety netting obscured clear views of the stained glass windows (as can be seen below), it did provide some interesting effects. While there is not an admittance fee to tour the National Cathedral, they are requesting free will donations. I would encourage anyone visiting the National Cathedral to be generous to assist them with the needed repairs!
Unfortunately, safety netting has also been installed at some of the large common spaces at Union Station making it difficult to photograph these areas. Even though I wasn’t able to capture a lot of interior spaces at Union Station, there were many interesting objects to photograph such as these hand painted paper mache eggs and some exterior shots of this amazing space. While I was photographing, I was imaging how Union Station looked when rail traffic was king and how crowded it must have been, especially during World War II, and the post WWII eras.
I always enjoy visiting the Hirshhorn musem and sculpture garden. This trip I had the luxury of having more time to spend at each of the exhibits, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting not only to photograph the exhibits, but also photograph people interacting with the exhibits.
Photoshop World is a unique opportunity for photographers to meet and to learn various photographic techniques from world renown photographers as well as keeping up to date with technical advances in digital photography equipment and software. The advances in technology are nothing short of spectacular and you can’t help but be inspired by everything that is presented at this conference.
A recurring theme at this conference is that photography has rapidly expanded with the digital imaging revolution to the point that photographers are really not “specialists” as in the days of film. As a result of the saturation of the market, full time photographers have to distinguish themselves from others either by subject matter and composition, digital editing techniques, reputation, and sheer luck. Another theme is that the use of digital enhancements (i.e. use of composite imagery and layering) is not “cheating”. In other words, the photographer needs to use everything at his or her disposal to distinguishing themselves from other photographers.
After attending this conference I decided that my short term goals are to learn how to “paint with light” as well as work with extremely long night time exposures.
I was amazed with many of the products which are available. There were two different products which really made an impression on me; metallic prints, and a product line of photo albums with an acrylic cover and metallic printed pages. I took some photos of some of the metallic prints and was struck with their sharpness and clarity. Photos don’t do them justice and it was impossible to photograph them without capturing some light reflections, but I think you will get the idea of how impressive these are. Can you imagine how beautiful a family photo or a landscape would look printed on this media?
I wasn’t able to take a photograph of some of the photos albums that really caught my eye, but here is a link to Millers Lab which I thought really made an outstanding flush mount album.
Thank you to Westcott lighting for setting up their new continuous studio lighting using compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) and for having models available to photograph. The lighting was very natural and allowed you to see what the lighting would look like in advance of taking the photo (unlike studio strobes).
I left the conference feeling inspired and enthusiastic.
Long after your wedding vows have been exchanged: the wedding dress stored; and the thank-you notes have been written, your wedding photographs will remain as the most tangible and cherished reminders of the beauty of your wedding day.
What makes your photographs beautiful? It’s a combination of a dedicated and experienced photographer, the style of the photographer, the style and personality of the bridal couple, effective editing, and an effective collaboration between the photographer the bride and groom.
While it is important for you to know the “style” of your photographer, we believe it is also very important for the photographer to properly portray the individual style and personality of the couple and provide them with the photos which best characterize the couple. When we are preparing for your wedding photography, we will usually ask the couple to describe themselves and how they would like to portray themselves in their photographs. Couples will respond with such terms, as traditional, conservative, spontaneous, animated, unconventional, and fun. It’s important for a photographer to have this information; it’s difficult to force a couple who are traditional or conservative to be spontaneous and unconventional without looking forced or contrived. The key is realism.
If we were to try and describe our style, we would say that we are photorealists, we would never force a behavior that didn’t occur naturally; we prefer to use editing techniques which are believable. There is elegance in simplicity, and when simplicity is pushed beyond limits, the photos transcend reality.
The particular style and technical skills of a photographer can be broken down into several key components: posing; background, lighting, and editing.
Your photographs will consist of a mixture of candid shots (“photojournalistic”) and posed shots. The candid shots should be interesting and properly composed and processed to provide you with the most interesting images. Photographs which are posed should be relaxed and not overly posed. Props add interest to the photo, but should not dominate the photo.
By far, our favorite photos to take are the informal shots of the bride, groom, and bridal party after the formal photos have been taken. These photos are the first shots where the couple are not in the public eye and have the chance to exhale after all of the formality of the ceremony has been completed. It is the chance to interact with one another, have fun, and enjoy each other’s company as man and wife.
Most people will agree that the photos which are most visually appealing are the ones which are relaxed and not overly posed. We will give the couple some general direction and just let spontaneity take over. We believe that some of the most appealing photos are where the couple is engaged in conversation with one another and are oblivious to everything, (including the photographers). We don’t believe in totally relying on props, but props can definitely add to the photos, as long as they are not overdone.
In the photo below, the brides eyes are engaging the viewer while the groom is focused on the bride. The image is zoomed in very closely to their faces which really emphasizes the feeling of intimacy between the bride and the groom.
In the poses below, you will note that both the bride and groom and never simultaneously engaging visual contact with the camera.
A professional photographer will be able to convince the viewer that he or she was not there to take the photograph and that the viewer is experiencing a very private moment.
It has been my experience that women can be spontaneous and have fun with other women. Men can be spontaneous and have fun with their bride, but having a male be spontaneous with another male or group of males is next to impossible. I usually get around this obstacle by asking the men to get involved in some type of common activity (short of the use of firearms, parachutes, liquor, fireworks/incendiaries, or tobacco generally). Sometimes spontaneity happens unexpectedly as shown in the photo below, it all depends on the group. I love this photo because of the dynamic feeling, oh, and the finger in the ear is a nice touch which happened quite unexpectedly at the last moment. One thing that I have found is that you can’t force spontaneity, you can encourage it, but if you try and force it, it ain’t gonna happen.
In the photo below I gave some very general directions to this group of debutantes and the came up with this pose at the spur of the moment. They obviously had a lot of fun creating the pose and it shows. It’s one of my favorite photos.
For shots involving the wedding party we like to do things which are spontaneous, fun, and unexpected. It usually depends on the read we get from the group.
Objects such as flowers, cars, trees, or even other people in front of the subjects can be used to provide interest to the image and can actually be used to “frame” the subject providing visual interest. The photos below illustrates an example of framing subjects with foreground and background objects or people.
If you have a nice or interesting background, the photographer needs to use it to his/her advantage. An effective background can be a beautiful blue sky, foliage and greenery, a graffiti covered wall, brick wall, or water and beaches. The photo below is an example of a beautiful fall background.
If you don’t have a beautiful background, the photographer needs to mitigate the background as much as is possible. Techniques we use to mitigate a not so attractive background include using a shallow depth of field (blurring out the background and the foreground) cropping closer to the subjects, adjusting your angle of view and vignetting.
Ask your prospective photographer about the rule of thirds. If you receive a deer in the headlights look accompanied with lots stammering and shrugging of shoulders, then your photographer may not have a good understanding of good photographic composition. If you get a meaningful explanation, chances are your photographer has good understanding of the principles of good composition and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you having impressed your photographer with your knowledge!
Leading lines are a way of having external elements draw the viewers eye to a location or subject in the photo. Below are some examples where the architectural elements force your eyes to follow an implied path or to draw your attention to a particular subject. A good photographer will use leading lines, the rule of thirds, positioning of the horizon, and background, and perspective to provide interesting compositions.
Cliff Mautner (a world famous photographer who has an amazing photographic style) (http://www.cmphotography.com/) refers to composing a great looking photograph as being able to see in three dimensions.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a photograph that has been improperly composed by the photographer not taking the time to evaluate the background.
The photo below represents an excellent composition of leading lines, composition, and background. The photo was composed by Ryan Brenizer, a New York photographer who has provided a lot of excitement with a digital technique known as the “Brenizer method”. See www.ryanbrenizer.com. I provide further discussion of the Brenizer method under “Editing” below.
The rendering below is an illustration of the Eli and Edythe Broad museum currently under construction on the Michigan State University campus and again illustrates the concept. Whether you like the architecture or not, you will have to agree that the architecture is dramatic and very strongly illustrates the concepts of leading lines. No doubt this location will be used for a lot of dramatic photos when the construction is completed. I know I plan on shooting there!
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will then know the key to photography.” – George Eastman
Natural light is by far the most flattering and interesting light for a photographer to use. In the photo below I placed my subjects between the camera and the sun and used a small amount of fill light (off camera flash) to fill in their faces and remove some shadows. The photo was taken at about 7:00 in the evening and was very soft and diffused (the so called “golden hour”). I love the way that the sun is highlighting the faces of the couple. Very dramatic and complimentary!
If your photographer is aiming flash directly at you, it might as well be a gun that he/she is using because he/she is gunna kill the photo. There are situations in which flash must be used. When flash is required to be used, it should be used properly by diffusing the light to the greatest extent possible. A good photographer avoids the use of direct flash like the plague.
In situations where it is necessary to use artificial light, the best images will be attained by the use of off camera flash, reflected flash, or bounced flash. Off camera flash, reflected, or bounced flash will be diffused and will add nice light to your subjects without being harsh or casting harsh shadows. The larger the light source the more diffused and softer the light will be, providing you with complimentary photos. The photographer should be using softboxes, umbrellas, reflectors, or bouncing the flash from the ceiling in order to generate a large light source.
Below is a photo that we took recently of a high school senior. It was a fall day, and the shot was taken in a shaded area. We loved this particular location because of the background, which consisted of trees and a large barn. For this photo we used an external light source which was off camera. The flash was used primarily for filling and lighting the subject which really makes the color pop and reduces shadows from the subject.
Digital editing is the process by which your photographs are enhanced to make them more visually pleasing. All of the photos should be reviewed by your photographer with a critical eye and corrected for exposure, sharpness, composition, digital noise, and color fidelity before being handed over to the client for review. A good photographer will spend a substantial amount of his/her time editing the photos as opposed to the “shoot and burn” photographer who will do minimal editing or no editing at all. All photographs should be evaluated for proper exposure, sharpness, noise reduction, composition, and color fidelity and adjusted if necessary. The amount of time editing is one of the major reasons why there is a substantial difference in the prices that photographers charge.
During the editing process special effects may be added. These special effects include conversion to black and white, vignetting, cropping, and selective desaturation. There are many other special effects that could be added but my personal philosophy is that the photos which are taken should represent reality and not represent the abstract.
For our digital editing we use state of the art software and hardware. The monitors we use are color calibrated to assure that the colors we see on our monitors is the same colors that will be printed. For digital editing we use Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Lightroom 3. The editing we do is non-destructive editing, which means that the original photo is not modified; the original file is maintained in it’s original format.
We use skin softening and blemish removal moderately. The object isn’t to make an 80 year old person look like they are 25 years old, the object is to remove obvious flaws in the skin and make the person look pleasing. Usually skin softening is needed for closeup portraiture.
Vignetting is a digital technique by which the perimeter of the image is lightened or darkened. Vignetting can be used to mask a distracting background or to focus the eye towards the center of the image. Our style is to provide a very soft transition when we add vignetting to an image. A very hard transition is not complimentary and does not look natural. Again, the key to effective editing is to not make it look as though a digital technique has been used.
The photo below provides a demonstration of effectively vignetting a photo to mask the background in order to eliminate some of the distractions and to focus attention on the subject of the photo.
We use cropping judiciously. A photographer should never use cropping as a substitute for poor composition.
One technique which is being utilized quite frequently is angular cropping where the photo is rotated and cropped. While it may be trendy to use angular cropping, the value it adds to a composition is questionable. Just because you have the technical means to do something does not mean you have to do it. The following photograph is an example of angular cropping. Perhaps not the best photo to use an example of angular cropping, but I can’t think of any photo where angular cropping has improved the composition of the image.
For critical shots, we shoot in raw format. Shooting in raw format provides us with greater control over color and exposure as compared to using the conventional JPEG format.
Digital editing allows for easy conversion of color photographs to black and white.
Selective colorization is a technique which draws attention to an object by removing color saturation from objects surrounding it. Below is an example of selective colorization.
This effect can be very effective when it is done properly. We have seen many photos where selective colorization is overdone and draws the viewers eyes away from the subject rather than compliment the subject.
The use of digital imaging has allowed the use of some digital techniques which are truly breathtaking and dramatic.
A very dramatic digital technique is creating a panoramic photo using a very shallow depth of field. In this technique a photo is taken of the bride and groom with a lens which allows for a very shallow depth of field (a 2.8 aperture setting or less). A series of overlapping photos are taken around the periphery of the subjects without changing the focal length or other settings on the camera. These images are then “stitched” together digitally to produce an image that has a very shallow depth of field. A New York photographer by the name of Ryan Brenizer (www.ryanbrenizer.com) has perfected this technique and has shared his technique with other photographers. Ryan’s technique produces beautifully executed photos as can be seen in the following images.
We like to capture at least one photo of the couple using this technique.
Another technique we use which we believe is very dramatic is a technique called composite imaging. In composite imaging a number of layers are added to one another. Each layer may have specialized lighting effects applied to it. Think of composite imagine as being analogous to double exposures with the old film technology, the exception being that digital compositing enables you to add as many layers or exposures as you like!
As photographers, we like to choreograph the events we photograph to assure a smooth flow of events. It is not necessary for us to know every minute detail of your special event, but we do like to know the general flow of events so that we can prepare ourselves accordingly.
We always appreciate being invited to your ceremony rehearsal so that we are familiar with the particulars of your ceremony as well as any restrictions which we need to be aware of. We are always very respectful of all participants in your ceremony and try to remain as unobtrusive as possible.
Schedule is always an issue in photographing a wedding. The time between end of the ceremony and the beginning of the reception is typically the time that both the formal photographs and informal photographs of the wedding party are taken. A concern of the bride and groom is keeping their guests waiting at the reception while they are waiting for the arrival of the bridal party; therefore the photographer doesn’t usually have an excessive amount of time in which to take a lot of photos. If there isn’t enough time to get photos after the ceremony, one option is to take photos of the bride and groom before the ceremony. Most brides are very traditional and don’t wish to be seen by the groom before the ceremony, but some brides and grooms like to have this moment shared in private before the ceremony. If this is the case the photographer can arrange to have the photographs taken in a very nice location and the photos can be just as effective as being taken at the ceremony.
Schedule and locations are a large part of the discussions which should take place with the bride and groom and photographer well in advance of the wedding date.
The location where your wedding is photographed have a very large impact on the drama of your wedding photographs. While we may not be able to achieve the drama of a panoramic New York sky line at night, or Central Park during the day, the photographer can find locations that provide as much visual impact if the right location is chosen. If the bride and groom are looking for on location photos, the photographer should be aware of locations to shoot which will provide beautiful images and still keep the bride on groom on schedule for the remaining events.
A couple of key questions that every bride and groom need to ask themselves when looking for a wedding photographer are: 1) “Is quality photography more important than price, or is price more important than quality?”; and 2) “Will we be happy with this decision in 10, 25, or 50 years from now?” Ultimately the decision that is made will be the correct decision for you, but you need to deliberate on the question and find the compromise that best suits your situation.
A famous photographer was once asked: “What is your favorite photograph?”, to which the photographer responded “The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” A good photographer is always anticipating that special moment or that amazing composition. It is this anticipation that keeps the craft interesting and stimulating.
In reviewing some of the photos we’ve taken over the past year, there are some which are especially memorable. Here are some of our favorites which evoke a special emotion, portray the curiosity and innocence of an infant, or are just plain fun.
I always enjoy attending the Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, Michigan. Last year was the first time I attended, and it was very dry and very warm. It was so dry you could actually taste the dust being generated from all of the crowds. Definitely not good for camera equipment and changing lenses was definitely out of the question
This year the weather was perfect and I was able to spend more time enjoy the vendors, musicians, actors, performers, and the crowds. I was fascinated with the colors and textures of all the various items for sale. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I had taking them.
Please feel free to common on the photos if you would like. I always enjoy reading your comments.
This year I did a lot of Christmas Photos on location. While it is a little more work to transport lights and equipment with me, it is usually more comfortable for small children (and animals) to remain in their own homes where there are familiar surrounds. These are some of my favorite photos.
John Douglas Photography was asked (and honored) to photograph the official Holiday card for Downtown Lansing, Inc. The photos were taken on December’s “First Friday”. Cathleen Edgerly, Marketing Manager, arranged to have a CATA trolley transport the group to a downtown location on East Michigan Avenue. There was a lot of activity with people shopping, viewing the decorations, and socializing. The CATA trolley, in addition to the Capitol tree, made a great background. Here are a few photographs from the shoot.
John Douglas Photography has had several recent inquiries asking whether we provide gift certificates. NOW WE DO! A gift certificate for photographic services is a wonderful gift for those persons who may be difficult to buy gifts for. The gift certificate may be used for any type of photography, whether it is a wedding, engagement, sporting event, birthday, high school senior, or any other special event. Please contact me for additional information.
We will be providing complimentary photo bucks to all prospective brides and the upcoming “Bridal Party” bridal show at the Kellog Center in East Lansing, Michigan on January 15, 2012.
