Kell and I, when we first met, lived 2 miles from each other. We rode to every event and wedding together, and still do, and I never get tired of being with her. She probably has a bit of a different perspective of me on those rides, as I am not the best of drivers, my four rotating songs on my i-pod have been known to get under her skin, and quite often I vent about my personal life as if she is my therapist, but I am pretty sure I return the favor. We have become best friends and I am so thankful to have had her join me on my journey through life and business. I truly have been blessed with a wonderful friend that I hope to have for a lifetime. We walk together, cook together, hang out together, get pedicures together, have beach days together, and shop together. There isn’t much we don’t do together.  We are quite the pair!

Kelley is the glue that holds me together at my weddings when I am in my zone and thinking more about ‘my’ light than I am thinking about stopping at the ‘red’ light ahead. {she is such a good backseat driver-thank the heavens} I honestly couldn’t photograph my couple’s weddings the way I do if she wasn’t there by my side taking care of all the little things that help the day run smoothly.

This is a shot I grabbed of Kelley, quickly, at a church ceremony over the weekend, as I was doing a little ISO/light test and I figured since I rarely mention her on the blog, that I am way past-due to get her in the spotlight. PLUS!!! She’s newly Engaged!!!!! Yay! I am so happy for her and her fiance’ Frank! I won’t be photographing her wedding because I am going to be in the wedding party !! Yipppeeeeee!!!! I can’t wait!

So here’s to Kelley, my beautiful friend and ‘perfect’ assistant, and to Frank for their happily ever after that is yet to come!

Love ya Kell!

xo

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I wanted them to remember the snow falling on their wedding day and was about to leave for the evening, when I stepped outside and had that gut instinct t that I NEEDED to grab this shot so they can always remember the snow. LOVED that they were up for it and LOVED the image even more! Thanks to Jen and Chris for taking the few minutes away from their guests to make it happen!

Here’s the article!

10 votes

Happy Tuesday All!

xo,

Meg

Gregg found his mom Sue on FaceBook of all places! Gosh, how much easier things have become to reconnect with people in our lives with modern technology at our fingertips. Sue traveled up from Florida a couple weeks ago to spend a long weekend with Gregg, Carrie and little Zoey! Must have been a blast!

Gregg made a really cute sign so his mom would know who he was! So perfect!

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Taking a quiet moment before his mom’s plane arrived…

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Their first time seeing each other ever…so overwhelming and beautiful!

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Gregg and his wife Carrie have a beautiful little baby girl, who Grandma got to meet for the first time! She bought her a cute little bunny!

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catching up…

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I can’t imagine the wave of emotions running through them both when finally presented with this moment in life together.

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I had to throw one creative one. Taken outside Bradley!

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Congrats to Sue and Gregg for such a beautiful gift to be reunited in life! So happy for you and wish you both many more memories shared together in the future!

xo-

MEG

Like I mentioned, this is just a VERY last minute and quick note for you in case you happen to headed to the Westchester area today and had the time to stop in and say hi to Alissa! Within the next couple weeks I will be heading back up to The King’s Scribe, as I will be hanging some of my newborn and wedding canvas prints on her walls, as well as leaving some of my smaller 5×5 books there for her clients to take a peek at while they design their invitations! I am so thankful for the opportunity and I can’t wait to do a little vendor spotlight feature on Alissa and The King’s Scribe, her new business venture in which I am positive will be a successful journey for her and bring her lots of fulfillment and good fortune!

Here’s the information:

The King’s Scribe  | 1 King Street, Chappaqua, New York | 914.861.2799 | FACEBOOK.COM/THEKINGSSCRIBE

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Happy Saturday! Off to shoot Lisa and Joe’s Engagement shoot today!!!

Meg

Time to switch to digital now. In 2004 (I shot my first weddings in film and sometimes miss it to this day!!!) I made the switch over to digital. In doing so I decided since all my lenses purchased not t0o long ago were compatible with the digital SLR’s I figured it would be silly to not stick with Nikon.  So I bought the Nikon D100 and then before even shooting a wedding with that camera, realized it wasn’t a good investment and was EXTREMELY limiting for me being a professional. I was VERY new to the digital world and honestly, hated the fact that I was making the change to digital at all.  I knew very little about what features I needed. JPG vs RAW???? Huh????? Other than making a great file and needing to know the basics of how to take great digital images, I wasn’t interested in the techy-gizmo geeky stuff that I would hear tossed around in conversations. When those conversations started up was usually when I left the room. That stuff never interested me much at all. I much rather thumb through Time Magazine and feel the images that helped tell the stories.  I was a die-hard film fan and was a victim of long hours spent in the darkroom. The only dark room I could spend hours on end in and not come out completely depressed.

After learning I made a poor $1000 investment in the D100, and that it wouldn’t handle a wedding the way I needed it to,  I ran out and bought the D2x ringing in at about $4995. Why not just say $5400? Really.  With batteries costing about a $100 a piece, it was more like a $5400 investment, (and then some because I sprang for the 5 year extended warranty…just in case). I shot the hell out of that camera and it shows. (it’s for sale by the way for a very cheap price with the same 4 batteries I originally purchased with it… $350…215,000 and some odd actuations). This was my workhorse for five whole seasons of shooting weddings. The D100 is in pristine condition because of the dependability of the D2x. I LOVED that camera and it treated me beyond good and is still a strong camera to this day. However, with the release of the D3 I knew I needed to start planning for the upgrade soon. Notice how I highlighted…PLANNING. I can’t stress enough, to any newbies out there, how important it is to plan for your investments. Write them in your goals list. Your business plan should also include a plan of attack for purchasing new gear, as well as the fact that writing it all down on paper helps you to weed out the needs vs. the wants. The wants fizzle in time and the needs still stand strong. I am positive you will find that to be true. I am much like my dad in the sense that I am self-employed, but also I am a single parent of two beautiful but expensive children. They needs things like food, a place to live, toys, clothes, medicine, activities, etc. Not all my money I make can be re-invested back into my business, so I have to be very careful with my purchases. Making a goals list that includes the gear purchases I need to make is one way I weed out the wants. I make much wiser investments this way. Investments that are sure to only benefit my business growth. Although it seemed everywhere I went people were shooting with the D3, I honestly knew that my plan of attack just wasn’t able to include the D3 in the list of necessary purchases, ringing in at $5100. Being newly single, having two children to parent on my own, and having other business purchases to make at that time, which were more important and beneficial to me, I knew the D700 was the smarter choice for me to invest in for the time being, although I knew I would consider this camera to be a transitional piece for me. It had the same ISO capabilities as the D3 and the same full frame sensor and those two things were what was most important to me. So why spend double the price on something when I had other areas to spend on in my business and personal life. I was gaining the same image results really. And besides, it’s the artist behind the camera, not the camera itself that makes great pictures. Right?!

So…this brings me to my most recent purchase…The BEAUTIFUL D3s. And yes, it is beautiful and deserves to be called beautiful. For this camera, I am SO happy I held off on the D3 and saved up for the D3s. Notice how I highlighted saved up. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I came home from networking events, hearing other’s talk about this camera and how it is already in their hands, and hated my photography life. Seriously. HATED my photography life. Because here I am, a woman who has other responsibilities in my life. I have children. I have car payments, I had personal debt from many things like equipment purchases, a house that I gutted and redid before I got divorced, and my son’s private school education tuition to pay for,etc. etc. However, I made the wise decision at the end of last year, after going through my business and personal expenses to give to my accountant, that I would make some very wise changes in my patterns of spending for both personal and business. “How many times did I eat out last month???? OMG!!!!!!” Sound familiar? Maybe not, but to me it was a real eye-opener. I needed to make financial adjustments in my life that were good for me and forget about what other people were buying and talking about. Who cares about Joe-Shmoe and how he purchased his gear. I needed to do this my way and my way was by going all cash for EVERYTHING . I wrote down what my income was, what was going out every month and what my major bills were that had to be taken care of BEFORE I purchased the D3s. I wrote down what I had in my bag. I made note of what I wasn’t shooting with anymore in my bag, and sold it. 16mm Fisheye??? Last time I used that was way back when…so BUH-BYE!!! I think sometimes you buy stuff because you think you need it and then as your career and talent develops, you realize what tools you gravitate towards. 16mm wasn’t it for me.  It’s just not a lens that I needed and liked shooting with when I switched to the full frame sensor camera.

So, I worked like a dog, and EVERYTHING I earned paid something off. I purchased a new (used) car so I didn’t get slapped with the depreciation factor of driving off the lot and poof, it’s now worth $4,000 less. I paid off 2 of my 3 credit cards and closed them. Then I paid off, entirely, my last and final credit card, which I will keep for business purchases. I am not a HUGE fan of debit cards. I don’t like the power they posses over me in malls, so I cut mine up and I use…get this…CHECKS. If I don’t have cash on me and a store doesn’t accept checks, I don’t buy it. I wait. By doing this I find out how bad I REALLY wanted whatever it was. Sometimes I go back and sometimes I forget about what it even was I was going to buy. In a nutshell, I told myself that I wasn’t buying this camera unless I changed. Changed my bank account to a certain number (to a positive number ;o) and started a second savings for business stuff like album purchases, quarterly taxes, etc. I paid off my final credit card COMPLETELY. I am at a whopping ZERO balance on my credit card and it feels wonderful. I made sure everything was a wise choice for me, my business, and my kids. I didn’t sell some gear for my business that I thought I would because I didn’t want to be too fast with selling and not have lens backups at weddings. I take that VERY seriously, so I withdrew from some offers on my gear.

So FINALLY, months later, the day has come for me to purchase this new D3s. I purchased it on a Sunday for $5600 and it was paid off this past Monday. I value it even more for this very reason. I am in love with this camera and it’s capabilities, but also because I earned every dollar spent on it, before I even purchased it. It ’s a great feeling! Now, please don’t fret. I am NOT going to start carrying this to all the PUG and CLASS meetings I go to and any other networking event I attend, flashing it around in people’s faces looking all cheesy and braggy ( I know ‘braggy ‘ isn’t a word mom…so please don’t call me from work telling me that word should be changed…this is how I talk at home, so this is how I am writing).  I will cherish every shutter click I make in the time I have to spend with this camera. I value it dearly….now, let’s move onto what it can do…

It is not as heavy as I remember my D2x to be, but maybe that is in my head. It’s ISO sensitivity is just phenomenal. I do like the dual card slot feature, which I thought before I could take or leave, but I now realize, I will take it!

I love the quiet feature for shooting inside the church. Sometimes shutter’s can be so loud in certain churches and I will do anything not to stand out like a sore thumb during the ceremony. However, all the little fun features that are great on this camera, aren’t what sold me. I bought the D3s, like many other wedding photographer’s, for one main reason, which is it’s low light capability and ISO sensitivity. Below is a shot from a wedding I helped my friend Tania Sones shoot at The Hartford Society Room on Saturday. As many of you know, the upstairs is usually where they hold the cocktail hour, and it’s dark. The lighting there provides a nice cozy feel, warm and golden, but still very dark, with dark ceilings, and below on the dance floor you have not much to bounce off of, so off camera lighting is a definite must have (in my book). So I shot this with the settings listed below using no flash, with very little LR adjustments, and a minor levels adjustment and sharpening in Photoshop CS4.

Camera: d3s on Manual mode

Lens: Nikon 70-200 VR 2.8 @ 180mm

1/80th sec @ f 2.8

ISO: 8,000

6 votes

Happy Monday!

MEG

Hope all is well with everyone! Have LOTS to share coming up on the blog including another newborn session, a handful of BEAUTIFUL weddings, and much more! ;o) Stay tuned!

Happy Tuesday!

Meg

If you have booked with Creative Image Collections and are either going to be ordering a custom bound wedding album or it is included in your collection you will be receiving a little note from me in the mail VERY soon! I have been working extra hard behind the scenes here to make sure you are very well taken care of, and in a sort-of pretty kind of way! I think of myself much like that of an Oompa Loompa. I often work when others think I am not! I stay hidden behind my little (big) computers most of the time working on keeping up with emails, album designs, and preparing for the next adventure. Often society doesn’t even know where I am! Heck, often I don’t know where myself is! It reminds me very much like working in a secret chocolate factory with secret orange elf helpers. It is very exciting except I really don’t have little elves helping me other then my 2 kids, and most times they are more work then help!

In a nutshell (I am addicted to that phrase lately) I have decided that the album process is most times overwhelming for my clients and at times mis-understood. Since all of the products I offer at the studio are custom designed products, these often take time and energy to create, from both myself as well as you! However, this is the very reason as to why I LOVE them so much. The albums are fun AND they are unique. Every single one of the albums I have designed with my clients is different from the other. Not one the same! I think that is the way it should be since you yourselves are very much unique. Not one of my clients are the same, so why should their albums be?

Well, often I am asked many of the same questions about the album design process. The major ones are answered on my website under the FAQ but I thought it would be convenient for you if I was to go the extra mile and put the information right into your fingertips so you have something tangible to revert back to when starting the book design. I know it can be overwhelming, much like a part-time job on top of your normal everyday priorities. I never once want you to feel as if it is homework. So because I care very much about my clients and their stress levels, I have given you a cheat sheet, or Cliff Notes so to speak, on what to expect from the process as well as giving you tips! I think the process should be a fun one, one maybe that you enjoy over a glass of wine (or two). The books that we create together will become a family heirloom in your lives and that in itself is pretty nifty I think. I want only the best of the best for you and so I have decided to make this a new thing for the studio and for you! Of course in addition to the information I send out to you I welcome ALL calls to the studio or emails about ANYTHING at ANYTIME! I seriously can’t stress that enough…so many times I have had email chats with my brides about their flowers or if the girl’s dresses have pockets or not. I seriously dig this kind of stuff!

On another note…I am so happy to have a wonderful wedding season coming up this year. Technically it has already started for me, but soon it will be in VERY full swing, including two destination weddings in the books! I am very excited to be creating everlasting memories for you that will become an heirloom in your family in the years to come! Such an honor. In other words…Wooohooo!

1 vote

Have a happy Wednesday!

I am off to see a beautiful new baby girl and hoping to steal a few pics of her!

MEG

Anyhoo…I headed in and the sales girl was just about the best salesperson I have ever encountered. In fact I was so blown away that I wished secretly I could hire her for my studio sales. I also took the time to fill out their questionnaire on line to comment on her wonderful sales skills. I was sold on their cute little green one-sie outfit (and I sprung for the hat to match) the second she started showing it to me. First off because it was quality and you could tell. Secondly, because she spoke about it so highly about it, but tactfully without letting me feel pressured into buying anything that wasn’t in my budget. Then she rang me up and asked if it was a gift and if it needed to be wrapped. I am ALWAYS pressed for time, and frankly not the best wrapper out there, I admit. So I agreed! It started with the most precious spring-like box, dainty and baby like. She placed the clothes inside the box ever-so-perfect and folded over the matching tissue paper. She secured the box with a mint green ribbon and a Janie and Jack sticker finished off the look, tying it all together. “Easy peezy nice and easy”, the sales girl stated, as she closed out the sale. She was right. What more did I have to do? My gift was already in a pretty little bag and I felt pretty darn excited and proud to show it to Jen. I have to add, Jen did take notice at her baby shower of how pretty the wrapping job was! I wish I could take credit for it, but as I mentioned before, my wrapping skills are just not up to par with Janie and Jack’s!

The real question here I think was…What more did Janie and Jack have to do? Their product was not only one of quality, but it was well thought out in it’s presentation too. They didn’t stop at the high quality of clothing that they offer or the personable sales person in the store. They took it a step beyond and branded and packaged their product with care and style. I did indeed spend a bit more shopping at their store then I would have if I bought from another less boutique-ish type store. However, in my book…you get what you pay for.

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Branding, branding and more BRANDING. Smart, smart, and more SMART!

Seriously, this is one major reason as to why I NEVER drop ship prints or books to clients. I want to present them with something special and put the thought and care into the presentation of the image as much as I put the thought and care into capturing their portrait or wedding.

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the mint green ribbon to tie it all together!

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a well crafted box…

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The sticker to bring closure to the packaging…not to mention BRANDING.

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Now to introduce this little guy! If you have ever gotten a gift card from Anthropologie before, you might have met him. This is the part two to my post. Jen and her husband Tim gave this gift to me just recently, and I can’t thank her enough for it because it was extremely generous of her AND it is my all time FAVORITE store! I can’t explain the feeling I get inside the Athropologie store. It is like no other. I of course am anything but a materialistic driven person BUT I do love me some Anthro! It is the girl in me you just can’t take out.

So here is what I was presented with…

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A rustic and not so perfect crafty frog that is too cute for words! I am thinking you will know what I am thinking about this sewn in tag. BRANDING.

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how perfectly the cards just slip right into his little pouch!

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and the gift card has little notations of positivity ALL over it! LOVE it!

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Buttons for eyes, and two little hands that don’t actually match in color. They don’t need to. They are imperfectly perfect. Am I making sense?

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However, this little guy has been caught sleeping in the editing room on MY presentation and branding materials…

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and has been caught chit-chatting on the phone during office hours…

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Brushing his hair (ehem…the little bit that he has).

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and trying to stay warm in my favorite pair of UGGS. How dare he?

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So in a nutshell, my point in sharing this with you is that I know by shopping at both of these stores, that I indeed will have spent a tad bit more then if I shopped elsewhere. However, I enjoy shopping at both stores fully and feel my money is well spent on items that I am proud to present and wear, ones that I know will be in my closet for long lengths of time and possibly my children’s clothes saved and preserved for memories sake. The experience in both stores are honestly just that, AN EXPERIENCE. From the time I peek into the store windows and open up those oversized wooden doors (Anthro), to when I am presented with a cute little crafty frog as gift card holder, I know that both stores have put their thought, care and creativity into their presentation and products. This makes me realize my purchase was more like an investment. So when wondering what type of products I would offer to my clients to preserve and present their wedding and portrait images in, I couldn’t see why it would be anything but the best in the industry. Yes, indeed, you may give a bit more on the products I have to offer, but the thought and care of yours truly is behind every product and image I create and present to my clients. Not to mention your images become a family heirloom.

Happy Friday!

MEG

I hope you all enjoy the weekend and Don’t forget to check out the Style Me Pretty blog!

Happy Friday!

Meg