One of the  people I came across needed a photo watermark removed from a photo. It seems the client was married 10 years ago and lost her disk. The only photo she had of them was a watermarked photo on social media. She said her photographer no longer knew where she had her files. What a heartbreak! One of the biggest life events in life and no one has  files.

There is no reason for this to ever happen to anyone! There are so many storage options today for both the client and the photographer. The world would have to end for this to happen with our technological advancements!

Before I go on with the easy steps to safe guarding your photos, if you have a disk with photos in it stop right now; gather them and transfer the files onto a stick drive (USB Flash Drive)... I'll wait!

Your photographer should ALWAYS:

    1. Provide you with an online gallery. Even if the session produced 5 photos you deserve a gallery. A professional has so many gallery creation options that do not cost them anymore money that this should not even be an issue. If they want to charge you for this, pay it! Many photographers require you to print from them, they can still provide you with an online gallery where you can purchase the photos from them. They can allow you to download low resolution photos at a reasonable cost. I provide my clients with not only a private gallery on my website, I create a gallery with a company that is very mobile friendly. Even with this protection there are drawbacks. The first being my clients know that the gallery on my website will be available to them until I am no longer here and paying for my website! That's a given! The secondary gallery has a shelf life of 10 years.

    2. Instruct you to download all your photos from the website gallery onto a stick drive. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ONTO A DISC. A disc drive needs to be replaced every 5 years. It could also warp in heat, get scratched, the list of disc perils goes on. 

As a client, you should ALWAYS:

   1. Take the necessary steps to have backups. Create the stick drive and here's an idea; take it out once in awhile to look at your photos. This benefits you in two ways! You can make sure the quality of your photos is still in tact. Second, life gets tough as the years pass. Looking at life event photos can make you stop and realize what you have! You can also store photos on cloud sites like Google Drive and Drop Box. There are companies who can custom make beautiful USB drives for special life events like weddings, you can have a drive for each child that holds the photos from birth on!

   2. Post as many photos, especially your favorites, on social media! They won't be high resolution and printable but you will still at least have the image!

The quality of image capture today is amazing! Don't get lazy and make sure you pick a photographer that not only can capture those special moments but one that helps you protect your investment for many years to come! 

Carpe diem! Nah! Carpe Vitae instead!

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*Make sure you read the whole article... there might be a surprise...  hehehe

What is fine art photography? It's WOW! Fine art photography is photography created in accordance with the vision of the artist as photographer. This enables me to offer you my creative abilities and my photographic abilities combined in a project created just for you! My fine art photography is for the discerning family who want to take family memories one step further; for the parent or grandparent who want a photo of their child that no one else has. This will be a planned process, a collaborative effort between myself and you the client.

Let's talk about the process I am planning.

1. You are excited and pick up the phone and share with me the great idea you have, or you call me and say "Hey Liz, this sounds great... give me some ideas! Maybe you have an old photo of a family member that you want to recreate? Let's do it!

2. I start envisioning my perception of your idea. I sketch out some ideas and share them with you.

3. We try to duplicate the idea in a real life photo session. Want water? No problem... even here in the desert! Want a night time photo? No problem, I add night time later!

4. We determine if there are special clothes we need to achieve the idea. Maybe you have it, maybe I have it, if we can't buy it we can rent it!  Elaborate dresses can be rented! I have a collection of props that can be used! Maybe you have the props. Price of package can fluctuate here.

5. We set the session date and have fun! With smaller kiddos we play pretend, or encourage (ahem, bribe) them to reach or look in a specific direction or pick up and object. I try to plan this out ahead of time so we don't stress your child out. This session is not limited to children, but we do have to take special care with them! We can even do a whole family in one fine art photo!

6. After the photo session I work my magic! When I'm done we go over the details of the photo. A limited number of edits will be included in the price. Anything over that will increase the price of the project.

7. We discuss "the" photo... the one that will hang in your home or office. Yes, a framed printed photo is part of this collaboration! This is also where price fluctuates, depending on your style and print choices. You will not get a digital file and you do not have print rights. Any prints must be ordered through me unless you buy the print rights for an outrageous price! I know this sounds harsh, but like I said, this is a one of a kind photo creation made especially for you!

For those of you who want fine art but not too keen on the price of  a one of a kind, or you want it for a holiday or special occasion and printed on metal? I will have certain styles that will not be one of a kind...more of an idea that is molded to fit your subject.

Below are some examples of before and afters!

I've got  bugs to work out and preparations to make, so hang in there for the announcement! Until I get the bugs worked out and preparations done I will be offering one of these sessions with print rights, but without the print for free to the first 5 families who contact me! Only one per family though.. sorry!

There certainly is nothing wrong with that, I understand and desire that for my own family. There is, however, photography outside the family timeline. Just as any other medium, it draws your attention and lets your mind run away with thoughts and questions, in an exaggerated way a regular photo might. The non-reality and fairy tale quality of the fine art I have been envisioning should have personal meaning for each person. For some it can remind them of starting in a new direction or path, or of hope and joy, dreams coming true each and everyday, and for some just the mere reminder that you never want to completely grow up. It could also be a reminder that stepping out of your comfort zone can be wonderful and beautiful. Lazy River Ride

I plan on offering fine art to my clients shortly. This won't be part of a 20 minute mini session, or a birthday newsletter. This will be for the client who has the desire to have a photo created just for them. These will be well thought out photos, with planning and creating involved, and reproduced in their favorite print medium. They can still get the digital files, but may not reproduce them unless printed through my printers. I thought long and hard about this, as I never really wanted to be part of the reproduction part. This is special. This is unique. This type of session is being created to make a statement, serve as inspiration and be truly fine. The thought of allowing someone to print it at a hit or miss type print facility is not acceptable to me. The colors and lines of each piece of art will be exact and purposeful.

The fine art difference will be between the first photo and the second!

Unedited photo The Search

As cute as this little pipsqueak is the first picture might get a viewer to stop for a second or two wondering why she has a lantern in the desert and during the day.

However, the second photo creates the feeling of a fairy tale, it creates warmth and coziness with the darkness combined with the warmth of the lantern light. We notice how adorable she is and what she is wearing. Then our hearts melt as we see she found baby bunnies whose tiny bodies are lit by the lantern. We also wonder where she might be, you can't tell that she is in the desert anymore. This let's the viewer's imagination take over.

Fine art turns a one or two second thought photo and creates a much longer interaction with the content. It can allow us to step outside our normal lives and be enchanted as we step into the fairy tale or love story!

Fine art turns wedding photos into a fairy tale princess wedding photos. The photos turn into enchantment for the little girl inside each bride!

These are two of my favorite wedding photos. Real life but not. Beauty accentuated, imagination sparked!

A high school senior is at a time in life when a reminder of the growth possible when stepping out of one's comfort zone! Having a small fine art piece in the dorm room can be that daily reminder to keep putting that one step in front of the other!

Fine art of small children just makes us all warm and fuzzy!

Then there's the fruit! Fruit photography can remind one of the Art Masters of times gone by.

Drop me a line, leave a comment. What do you think about Fine Art Photography? How would it fit into your life? Do you have a fairy tale or wish upon a star idea that would move you if it were to become a piece of art?

It's getting to be that time again, a new batch of seniors getting ready to take flight! Most of them not knowing how much their lives will be changing shortly! www.lizleestudios.com I think back to my graduation, um, a few years ago... and my children's graduations; full of excitement and yet a bit of uncertainty. It doesn't matter where they are going after as long as they  continue to grow and put one step in front of the other.

It seems to me that these young people certainly have things more together than I did at their age! Is that a sign of the times or is it my imagination?

I seem to think technology has helped them grow and have fewer fears than we did at that age. Through the lens of my camera I can see the change! We did formal portraits in a studio. We didn't go out to a park or school yard or downtown streets, we went to the same photo studio that occupied the same spot for more than 20 years. www.lizleestudios.com I sat on a stool and the photographer poked me in the back and said this is an imaginary string that is pulling your shoulders back. Tip your head up, now angle it down but keep it up! Today? Wow, today it's a different story! They book a minimum of an hour session and I consider the first 15 minutes the warm up. It's the time where we get comfortable with each other. We get to figure out how long it takes them to relax! Each student fills out a questionnaire about interests, family members, friends, pets, school stuff and we go from there! I find out what they want and hopefully am able to guide them so they can feel comfortable enough to achieve the types of poses they want. I make it a challenge for them, step out of your comfort zone. I know it feels weird but the  photos turn out great! We climb trees, sit on window sills; we even take photos on water falls that have no water, because I can add water! I have almost as much fun as they do! I'm creating in my head the things I have to do during editing to make this  just  perfect! I've also noticed that this is our way of life now... taking photos with people walking in and out of the shots! They don't care! It actually gives them a better, more relaxed smile! I love my work!