Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
What's in your camera bag?
this should also be subtitled what do you own. I'll start first with what I am using currently, what are my favorites. Then after that you'll find what all I've owned, in reverse chronology.
Under construction.
Seriously, I totally took pictures to go with this FAQ, I will upload them before Spring. . .hopefully.
Under construction.
Seriously, I totally took pictures to go with this FAQ, I will upload them before Spring. . .hopefully.
What are your print and product prices?
I prefer you get a first printing of at least a few photos through me so I can make sure they print off well and there are no errors. I get high quality lustre prints for you at wholesale prices. The prints are done locally and I can even accommodate rush ordering. Prices listed as follows:
4x6" 0.13 ea
5x7" 0.39 ea
8x10" 1.49 ea
11x14" 2.99 ea
wallets(set of 4) 0.39 ea
please take into account 7.25% sales tax when purchasing these prints.
I also order through Mpix to offer other products, you can find out more about these products which usually ship within a few days by clicking on the links below. There is no tax when ordering, but there will be a shipping and handling charge of $5.95 per order (S&H can be more if you want to ship faster than 3 days).
Double Sided Color Postcards for invitations and holiday cards, with envelopes. I usually work with the 5x7 size cards, they are sold in units of 24 cards, base price $19.20 per set.
Folded Greeting Cards with Envelopes, see link for pricing.
Custom Hard Cover Books, 20 pages (more pages can be added in pairs, $1 per addition), 5x5" $35; 8x8", 10x10", 8.5x11", and 11x8.5" $50. These are high quality books and a great for a session proof book to show all your family and friends.
Soft Cover Books, base pricing starting at $15, a great session souvenir or ready made finished mini scrapbook!
Enlargements greater than 8x10", see link for sizes and pricing, they've got a lot! I always recommend lustre coating, it really gives your prints that professional looking finish. Let me know if you are interested in these before your shoot if possible.
Print Mounting, this is a service and fee charged on top of ordering the Print through them, so you look first here at the cost of the print, and then add the mounting fee to it. Getting a print mounted keeps it from warping or wrinkling due to humidity or wear and tear. A mounted print can also be leaned against a wall or another object for a print that stands alone without a frame.
Canvas Gallery Wraps, you know those fancy canvas prints you've seen, the ones that look so sheek in a magazine. You too can have one! Not all images may be robust enough to look crisp at some of the larger sizes, but even a smaller gallery wrap will look so elegant on your walls. They are an investment, but the finished product is gorgeous and produced with an attention to detail.
Looking for something else? Stroll through Mpix's products and see what they have, and I'll get right on it.
4x6" 0.13 ea
5x7" 0.39 ea
8x10" 1.49 ea
11x14" 2.99 ea
wallets(set of 4) 0.39 ea
please take into account 7.25% sales tax when purchasing these prints.
I also order through Mpix to offer other products, you can find out more about these products which usually ship within a few days by clicking on the links below. There is no tax when ordering, but there will be a shipping and handling charge of $5.95 per order (S&H can be more if you want to ship faster than 3 days).
Double Sided Color Postcards for invitations and holiday cards, with envelopes. I usually work with the 5x7 size cards, they are sold in units of 24 cards, base price $19.20 per set.
Folded Greeting Cards with Envelopes, see link for pricing.
Custom Hard Cover Books, 20 pages (more pages can be added in pairs, $1 per addition), 5x5" $35; 8x8", 10x10", 8.5x11", and 11x8.5" $50. These are high quality books and a great for a session proof book to show all your family and friends.
Soft Cover Books, base pricing starting at $15, a great session souvenir or ready made finished mini scrapbook!
Enlargements greater than 8x10", see link for sizes and pricing, they've got a lot! I always recommend lustre coating, it really gives your prints that professional looking finish. Let me know if you are interested in these before your shoot if possible.
Print Mounting, this is a service and fee charged on top of ordering the Print through them, so you look first here at the cost of the print, and then add the mounting fee to it. Getting a print mounted keeps it from warping or wrinkling due to humidity or wear and tear. A mounted print can also be leaned against a wall or another object for a print that stands alone without a frame.
Canvas Gallery Wraps, you know those fancy canvas prints you've seen, the ones that look so sheek in a magazine. You too can have one! Not all images may be robust enough to look crisp at some of the larger sizes, but even a smaller gallery wrap will look so elegant on your walls. They are an investment, but the finished product is gorgeous and produced with an attention to detail.
Looking for something else? Stroll through Mpix's products and see what they have, and I'll get right on it.
Who are you?
Hi my name is Melissa. I was born the day after Thanksgiving 1976, got married labor day weekend 2002, had my daughter memorial day weekend 2005, had my son christmas weekend 2006. That makes my kids 19 months apart and for a whole lot of holidays that overlap with birthdays in this house.
I am a mother of 2 (currently ages 5 and 3.5), a self-taught photographer, and before all of that a naturalist and geneticist by training. I have always loved photography, I bought my first camera, a point and shoot pentax, with some of my high school graduation gift money, I wanted a camera, like that bad, totally. I purchased my first digital in graduate school, I took it everywhere. I took lots of pictures.
I got pregnant and talked my husband into an upgrade for my digital camera, you know, for the sake of the baby (I recently got my next upgrade, you know, for the sake of other people's babies). I had my daughter, I started a blog and taking lots of pictures for it. Then I had my son, and started doing some homecare, I was taking pictures of children every day. It was a natural progression to try and take portraits of them, because I've always loved fancy expensive custom photo shoots that I couldn't afford.
I believe in taking lots of pictures to get only 30 good ones. I believe if you see something special you take as many pictures of it from as many different angles as you can, as long as it lasts. I think everyone should have the choice to have photos that aren't some pre-designed pose or generic setting that a photographer or studio picks out for them. That's not to say you can't get awesome photos at a studio, but everyone feels awkward under those lights being told to turn their head "just a little more to the left." I want you to be where you can feel comfortable, feel relaxed, and be yourself, if that's on a backdrop, then rock on. I also love it if the photo shoot is an experience, a memory, for you and your family. That you can tell stories about it akin to remember when baby almost caught the butterfly or we all trudged through that stream. I want to follow you on an outing, one you'll have lots of pictures to remember it by. I let children lead the way, they come up with the best ideas. You can't get enough practice, or ever be done learning new things.
A camera makes you slow down and that smile, that pout, that sticky face devouring an apple, those are the moments I want to preserve for you. I want you to be able to look back on your photos and remember exactly what every person in the photo was like on that day, who they were, not just what they looked like.
Circle the Sun Photography is more than just some pictures to me, it is a journey.
Follow your passion, it’s the only way you can find yourself.
I am a mother of 2 (currently ages 5 and 3.5), a self-taught photographer, and before all of that a naturalist and geneticist by training. I have always loved photography, I bought my first camera, a point and shoot pentax, with some of my high school graduation gift money, I wanted a camera, like that bad, totally. I purchased my first digital in graduate school, I took it everywhere. I took lots of pictures.
I got pregnant and talked my husband into an upgrade for my digital camera, you know, for the sake of the baby (I recently got my next upgrade, you know, for the sake of other people's babies). I had my daughter, I started a blog and taking lots of pictures for it. Then I had my son, and started doing some homecare, I was taking pictures of children every day. It was a natural progression to try and take portraits of them, because I've always loved fancy expensive custom photo shoots that I couldn't afford.
I believe in taking lots of pictures to get only 30 good ones. I believe if you see something special you take as many pictures of it from as many different angles as you can, as long as it lasts. I think everyone should have the choice to have photos that aren't some pre-designed pose or generic setting that a photographer or studio picks out for them. That's not to say you can't get awesome photos at a studio, but everyone feels awkward under those lights being told to turn their head "just a little more to the left." I want you to be where you can feel comfortable, feel relaxed, and be yourself, if that's on a backdrop, then rock on. I also love it if the photo shoot is an experience, a memory, for you and your family. That you can tell stories about it akin to remember when baby almost caught the butterfly or we all trudged through that stream. I want to follow you on an outing, one you'll have lots of pictures to remember it by. I let children lead the way, they come up with the best ideas. You can't get enough practice, or ever be done learning new things.
A camera makes you slow down and that smile, that pout, that sticky face devouring an apple, those are the moments I want to preserve for you. I want you to be able to look back on your photos and remember exactly what every person in the photo was like on that day, who they were, not just what they looked like.
Circle the Sun Photography is more than just some pictures to me, it is a journey.
Follow your passion, it’s the only way you can find yourself.
What kind of work do you do?
The majority of my work is:
Photography: outdoor, candid, natural lighting, children and family portraits
Graphic design: invitations, thank you cards, and holiday cards
It is not to that I don't take pictures of adults or older children, just for now most of the clients who have contacted me are those with young children. But then I have young children, so most everyone I know has young children too. I would consider doing high school senior portraits, but only if there was a clear understanding that I am NOT a studio photographer. You need to be comfortable with my style, the lifestyle, candid style. I am not a posed studio, "glam" photographer.
I do have black and white backdrops, and I don't mind using them. They are not my forte and we need to discuss exactly what you are looking for with the backdrop session. I'm up for it if you are, we just need to hash out what you are looking for, where the backdrops will be set up at your location, and what light will be available. I do have some "studio" lights that provide constant boost lighting that is akin to natural sunlight. I really like to avoid using flashes, but do have them. I prefer backdrops with supplemented lighting with newborns or older subjects who can be counted on to be patient and more importantly stay on the backdrop.
I do not do wedding photography, but would love to do engagement sessions as that falls more under the family/lifestyle photography umbrella. I do not do wedding photography because photography has specialties just like any other field, you go to a pediatrician for your kids doctor, a child/family photographer for their portraits. I know nothing of wedding photography. If you know me personally and are doing some informal outdoor/destination wedding, I'll consider it, just know I have no idea what I am doing and can only promise to try my best. I would be lost in a church, I would have no idea how best to expose a shot in there.
I would be available for family event photography, birthday parties, reunions, anniversary parties, etc. Just know, for now, my experience in that is a bit limited to my own family, you would be an experiment, book at your own risk. :-)
I love to make cards and do graphic work. I am prefer to work with my own photos, because I took them and I usually give myself permission to use them. If you would like me to use another photographer's work you need to have their permission, and do realize they will probably want a copyright or credit for their work. I will not take a project without the name of the photographer who took the photos, because I will credit them unless they contact me and say they don't want to be credited.
If I haven't covered an idea you have, contact me, what's the worst I'll say? Probably, "um sure, but you don't mind being an experiment do you, because I've never done that before." I'm always up for a challenge, but I will be very upfront about my experience and skill set in regard to your idea. As long as we are all on the same page, why not?
Photography: outdoor, candid, natural lighting, children and family portraits
Graphic design: invitations, thank you cards, and holiday cards
It is not to that I don't take pictures of adults or older children, just for now most of the clients who have contacted me are those with young children. But then I have young children, so most everyone I know has young children too. I would consider doing high school senior portraits, but only if there was a clear understanding that I am NOT a studio photographer. You need to be comfortable with my style, the lifestyle, candid style. I am not a posed studio, "glam" photographer.
I do have black and white backdrops, and I don't mind using them. They are not my forte and we need to discuss exactly what you are looking for with the backdrop session. I'm up for it if you are, we just need to hash out what you are looking for, where the backdrops will be set up at your location, and what light will be available. I do have some "studio" lights that provide constant boost lighting that is akin to natural sunlight. I really like to avoid using flashes, but do have them. I prefer backdrops with supplemented lighting with newborns or older subjects who can be counted on to be patient and more importantly stay on the backdrop.
I do not do wedding photography, but would love to do engagement sessions as that falls more under the family/lifestyle photography umbrella. I do not do wedding photography because photography has specialties just like any other field, you go to a pediatrician for your kids doctor, a child/family photographer for their portraits. I know nothing of wedding photography. If you know me personally and are doing some informal outdoor/destination wedding, I'll consider it, just know I have no idea what I am doing and can only promise to try my best. I would be lost in a church, I would have no idea how best to expose a shot in there.
I would be available for family event photography, birthday parties, reunions, anniversary parties, etc. Just know, for now, my experience in that is a bit limited to my own family, you would be an experiment, book at your own risk. :-)
I love to make cards and do graphic work. I am prefer to work with my own photos, because I took them and I usually give myself permission to use them. If you would like me to use another photographer's work you need to have their permission, and do realize they will probably want a copyright or credit for their work. I will not take a project without the name of the photographer who took the photos, because I will credit them unless they contact me and say they don't want to be credited.
If I haven't covered an idea you have, contact me, what's the worst I'll say? Probably, "um sure, but you don't mind being an experiment do you, because I've never done that before." I'm always up for a challenge, but I will be very upfront about my experience and skill set in regard to your idea. As long as we are all on the same page, why not?
How do I book a session/contact you?
My contact info is on the business card above, hopefully embedded in a picture I won't get spammers, we'll see how this works.
It's best to contact me via email, I'm a little sporadic at times with phone calls, who knows when I'll go out back with my kids and not hear a phone for a few hours. Leave a voice mail though and I'll get back to you. My sweet husband recently got me a blackberry and I can check my email on there now, so you know, in theory I can be totally more efficient now. I'm also on facebook as Melissa Luker Riederer, and on twitter under the profile playdoh (guess what was sitting next to my computer when I made the account).
I try to make the rounds of my work email every Sunday night to make sure all the messages in the past week I haven't replied to yet get an answer.
To book a session contact me, we'll trade some information, then you'll give me a relative time frame, as in "early" or "late" of a month. I'll send you a paypal request for the non-refundable $20 booking fee. This can and will be applied to your session fee. I will contact you again within a month of your desired date to start picking possible calendar dates. Once we have a date, time, and location set aside, I will send you a paypal request for the balance of your session fee. You must pay that balance before 48 hours before your shoot or it will be canceled and your session fee lost. To book again you will have to pay another session fee and begin the process over. Once you have paid your session fee, if you have to reschedule for illness or a family emergency you will not be charged any new fees. I do ask that you try to reschedule promptly and that you understand the difficulties that may arise in rescheduling.
I prefer early morning or late afternoon/early evening shoots for lighting. Midday can provide some harsh lighting but is totally workable at many locations. For children who take naps and can be unpredictable, in some situations, we can even pick out a general time for the day and you can be in contact with me that day and let me know what time you think is going to work best. Well rested happy children are key. During hot summer months the bookends of the day can also be the most comfortable.
We can always shoot for after the rain, or snow, or some other condition if you want puddle stomping or snow play, just realize you'll need to be really flexible in scheduling. Autumn leaf color shoots are very popular and usually occur around mid to late october, but we won't know for sure till we get there.
Franklin Park Conservatory and some other locations can provide an indoor option that will be a little more flexible for rainy or cold weather. For those who would like to pick an exact date out in advance the conservatory is always an excellent back-up plan.
Newborn photo sessions are best taken when the baby is less than 10 days old. We'll loosely schedule around your due date. Then just message me when baby makes it's arrival and we'll figure out what will work best after that. If you want me at the hospital, for birth photography or new arrival photography, well then we're going to get friendly with the text messaging so I can know when to join you at the hospital.
All I need really is to know you want a shoot, what kind, and rough idea of when, we'll figure out the rest as we go along. I have no minimum time period till booking, assuming you and I both have the time and the weather/setting cooperates, I'll meet you tomorrow.
What will I get after my session?
You will get a posting to my site of usually 3-5 "sneak peeks" within 2 weekss of your photo shoot. I try to do it as soon as possible, but I do all of this in my spare time, so it's a gamble when I'll get it done some weeks. These photos are minimally edited and provided to tide you over with a first pass pick of some of the best shot from some of the different locations or settings we used during your session.
Hopefully within 4-6 weeks of your session you will get an online gallery of a minimum of 30 photos and/or storyboard collages from your session. I try to return shoots as quickly as I can, but I also want to provide you the highest quality processing I can and that takes time. Trust me, there's going to be more good shots than you'll think I got, I'm sneaky like that, and I usually take 300+ photos in an hour shoot. So 30 photos is a 10% success rate, the scary part is that is pretty standard for lifestyle or candid natural light photography. It's that the other 90% are all duds. With small children you have to take a lot to cpature that one photo with that expression that is pure them. I also often try several angles for a particular shot, and one usually appeals to me more than the others.
As far as products, at the minimum, you will get a disk that will contain two folders:
One named "Proofs" will include all the proofing files displayed in your online gallery. The files are usually sized 8x10, have my watermark, and are saved at a resolution such that the file is around 800KB. These files are perfect for posting to your blog or email to friends as they are smaller than the originals which often are 5MB or more. If you are publishing to a blog or other online medium like facebook, I prefer you use these files. You can also download these files straight from the gallery by clicking on the photo to view it in it's own window and then right clicking and saving it to your computer. I have no problem with this and encourage it as you won't get the disk until you order prints, which can be a week, sometimes two weeks after your gallery is posted and your order placed.
The other folder "Prints" includes every photo from the gallery pre-sized for you to 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 print sizes, as indicated in their names. These files are full resolution and quite large at times. Every photo at each size is included in this folder, whether you order it in that size or at all. They are provided for your archives and future ordering you may want to have doen on your own. I am always willing to order more photos for you in the future, but you are welcome to do it on your own.
I give you the disc because this is your family, these photos belong to you as much as they do to me. I believe you have the right to full resolution digital copies of these files. The disc is provided gratis, because that's how I roll, and because I've had the same stack of CD-Rs for 4+ years.
Other than the disc the prints or products are up to you and you can see what I have available here .
Hopefully within 4-6 weeks of your session you will get an online gallery of a minimum of 30 photos and/or storyboard collages from your session. I try to return shoots as quickly as I can, but I also want to provide you the highest quality processing I can and that takes time. Trust me, there's going to be more good shots than you'll think I got, I'm sneaky like that, and I usually take 300+ photos in an hour shoot. So 30 photos is a 10% success rate, the scary part is that is pretty standard for lifestyle or candid natural light photography. It's that the other 90% are all duds. With small children you have to take a lot to cpature that one photo with that expression that is pure them. I also often try several angles for a particular shot, and one usually appeals to me more than the others.
As far as products, at the minimum, you will get a disk that will contain two folders:
One named "Proofs" will include all the proofing files displayed in your online gallery. The files are usually sized 8x10, have my watermark, and are saved at a resolution such that the file is around 800KB. These files are perfect for posting to your blog or email to friends as they are smaller than the originals which often are 5MB or more. If you are publishing to a blog or other online medium like facebook, I prefer you use these files. You can also download these files straight from the gallery by clicking on the photo to view it in it's own window and then right clicking and saving it to your computer. I have no problem with this and encourage it as you won't get the disk until you order prints, which can be a week, sometimes two weeks after your gallery is posted and your order placed.
The other folder "Prints" includes every photo from the gallery pre-sized for you to 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 print sizes, as indicated in their names. These files are full resolution and quite large at times. Every photo at each size is included in this folder, whether you order it in that size or at all. They are provided for your archives and future ordering you may want to have doen on your own. I am always willing to order more photos for you in the future, but you are welcome to do it on your own.
I give you the disc because this is your family, these photos belong to you as much as they do to me. I believe you have the right to full resolution digital copies of these files. The disc is provided gratis, because that's how I roll, and because I've had the same stack of CD-Rs for 4+ years.
Other than the disc the prints or products are up to you and you can see what I have available here .
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