I had a great day with Lauren & Josh. Although it was late January, the temperatures were near 60 degrees on Long Island’s South Shore. The sun was shining and the wind was calm-let’s hope the weather is that lovely on their September wedding day!

Here are some of my favorites:

Rest assured this is only temporary. When we are finished, Vivid Visions Photo and Vivid Visions Pix will be better than ever!

Unfortunately, the baymen, who also must make a living I grant you, use this time to patrol the beaches and just fill their buckets with them. No, horseshoe crabs are not a delicacy in some far off nation’s cuisine. Instead, they are bait for a delicacy here on eastern Long Island-eels. It is the eggs of the horseshoe crabs that are most appealing, so the baymen gather up what they can. During spawning, it is like shooting ducks in a barrel.

So while it was heartbreaking to see the buckets full, it was wonderful to see the hundred or so crabs furiously working to continue the species. See the collage board below.

But first, let me also share with you the other life’s goal I accomplished this week-a ride in a helicopter. When I tell you that I have been trying to accomplish this since I was a teen, I am not exaggerating. But, for one reason or another-weather, timing, cost-I just never made it off the ground. Well this time around, my photographic skills were needed to assist in the Southold Relay for Life, by way of an aerial photo of the event. So, just before sunset, I climbed aboard a crop duster type chopper, strapped myself in, and got ready to shoot. It was one of the best 10 minutes I have ever been airborne! I have also included a collage board of some of that, too.

The reception was on March 12, but that allows me to reach only those of you who had time in your schedule to visit the library then. So many have expressed an interest in viewing the photos, so I have posted them to the online gallery where they are also for sale in various formats. These images are great for gifts, greeting cards, screensavers, and of course home decor, plus if you purchase one, 25% of your purchase will support the North Fork Audubon Society.

Visit the online gallery here

Here’s a sample:

First, let me be clear. Wedding photography is a very specialized field. In order to do it properly, a photographer needs at least one full set of back-up gear, and know how to use that gear with her eyes closed-literally! I don’t recommend asking a friend with a camera to capture your wedding photos, unless that friend is a wedding photographer.Your photos will be the only record you will have of this very important day. Do you really want to leave that job to an amateur or novice?

But that pro/amateur issue aside, a wedding photographer has to be ready to capture anything that is noteworthy. So, there is some photo-journalism-for the candids, portraiture for the formals, architectural for the church and reception, fine art for the details (rings, invitations, flowers, place settings, etc.), food photography for the banquet, and if there are kids and pets, well you get my drift.

On paper that seems like an  easy task. But bear in mind that each specialty requires a different skill set, and often different gear. The candids need someone who can capture motion-and emotion-that is properly exposed and isn’t blurry from a shutter speed that is too slow. The portraits needs someone who can pose a subject to make them look their best. The church and reception locations so carefully decorated need to be captured with the right perspsective and of course the right light–no flash glaring from the window or a mirror, please. The details such as the rings, the invitation, the lace on a gown, and other little details require an eye for composition and lighting that only a fine art photographer understands well.  And of course if there are energetic kids and pets-knowing the decisive moment to snap the shutter spells the difference between a great shot and none at all.

So, when you are considering a photographer, certainly seek out a specialist, but make sure that the one you choose can also deliver the other specialties, too.

Amelia in holiday dress-up. Does she know how precious she looks?

As lovely as the color version is, there is something so timeless about black and white photos.

Holiday photos are a perfect way to watch a family grow.

The whole gang-three generations of Breuers. What a challenge to get all the kids to smile at once!

Kids just look so natural and comfortable in poses on the floor.

Emmaline in her Christmas PJs--so cute!

We keep it fun and give the kids plenty of breaks-usually everyone is still smiling when we wrap it up too! Thank you, Ron & Eileen-it was wonderful see how everyone has grown! I hope we can make this an annual tradition!

Of course there are times when my expertise in all things weddings is helpful in keeping the day flowing smoothly, and I will of course assist if I can. Typically, I am assigned the task of securely pinning the boutonnieres on the gentlemen in the wedding party, and I gladly oblige to assure that the flower remains secured to the lapel through the day. 

But I prefer that to remain the extent of my involvement.

Apparently other photographers handle their event coverage differently. I safely assume this because since the first wedding I covered as a semi-pro photographer every officiant has made a point of discussing with me the rules regarding where the photography team is to be positioned during the ceremony. This is especially so for the religious ceremonies, whether in a house of worship or not.

I understand that my fellow pro photographers are just trying to capture the best images for their clients, and I assure you that is my goal as well. However, no matter how well-intentioned, these overly enthusiastic photogs do a great disservice to their clients and their fellow photographers by prompting officiants to limit us in our ability to cover as many angles and perspectives as possible.

The solution is simple, and one that I follow as often as possible and practical: First, have the photographer scout the location to determine the best places to set-up camp. Then contact the officiant and discuss your plans for the photographer to cover your event.  (The rehearsal is ideal for this) Usually, when you demonstrate the proper respect for the ceremony, the officiant will help you determine the best way for everyone to do their jobs so the special day can be captured in images without compromising the solemnity of the occasion.

As a photographer I can appreciate Uncle Bob’s perspective. Photographers are artists, and each one has a different creative vision. It is only natural to want to capture a special event like a wedding with your own style and vision. And perhaps Uncle Bob will have a perspective or vantage point to capture some great images.

Quite frankly, I welcome the participation of photographer guests at the weddings we cover at Vivid Visions Photo-Graphics. They are more familiar with the unique personalities and relationships among the guests, and will often recognize a once in a lifetime photo opportunity that the hired pro may miss. If they can capture such a moment in a photograph, I hope they will, and that they will share it with bridal couple.

However, I do hope, and if necessary will ask, the Uncle Bob of the day to respect my role as a fellow photographer, and more importantly, the hired pro, so I can do the job the bride and groom are expecting of me and my staff. We do our best to not interfere with the activities, but rather record them, and we ask Uncle Bob not to interfere with our work by jumping front of us to grab a shot or distracting the subjects while we are trying to work through the formal portrait session.

In the end, after all, we are all after the same thing-capturing images that reflect the emotion, style and beauty of this once in a lifetime event. If the hired pro and the photog guest worked together, the results can be wonderful.

Brides and grooms, do you have an Uncle Bob coming to your wedding? Tell us how you will prepare your hired photographer for him.

Beeb taught me how to be a bird-watcher. He showed me how to make our yard an environment that is welcoming to birds and wild life, and he taught me to enjoy the seashore without damaging the fragile eco-system it supports.

As an adult I can fully appreciate what I learned at Beeb’s knee, and I now understand how he marveled at the simple beauty of our natural world. From the sparrows at the feeder to the bluefish on the end of his fishing pole to the deer grazing in our flower garden, Beeb understood how they all had a role to play in this terrarium we know as planet Earth. To him, the opportunity to observe, and sometimes participate in, the activities of the wildlife surrounding us was a gift from God. A gift, he would remind us, that we must cherish so it will be here for the next generations to enjoy.

Taking care of a special gift is not a once a year endeavor. It is an everyday task, privilege even, to make sure that our human activities do not unnecessarily harm our natural resources. At Vivid Visions Photo-Graphics we take this privilege seriously, and are pleased to be certified as Premier level members of Greener Photography.

As a Greener Photography member, we seek every opportunity to conserve our natural resources while we undertake the just as important business of preserving our clients’ special memories. And you know what? It’s easy and it feels good.

I hope you, dear reader, will take a few moments today to think about how you can leave the world a better place. Then tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, please do just one thing to lessen your impact on this planet. Celebrate Earth Day every day.

Beeb would be so grateful.

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it many more times. The one wedding expense you should not cheap out on is your photographer. And now a survey by online photo lab Shutterfly has the results to prove my point:

“ Should’ve spent less on the dress; more on the memories. Of survey respondents married within 12 months prior to the survey, 28 percent felt they didn’t spend enough money on the honeymoon; 22 percent felt the same about the photographer. 19 percent of the same sample reported spending too much on the bridal gown and food.”

Your wedding day is one that you have carefully planned, with every detail carefully considered. Perhaps it is even the day you have dreamed of since you were old enough to dream. Why would you put the job of capturing those memories into the hands of an inexperienced amateur? Would you go to a butcher to have a cavity filled? Or to a seamstress for heart surgery?

With the dawn of digital photography, everyone who can afford an SLR thinks that wedding photography is an easy way to make some extra cash, but I assure you, of all the photography specialties, capturing weddings on film is one of the most difficult to master. We are capturing a once in a lifetime event while keeping track of exposure, depth of field, and a myriad of other factors. Our photos must come out right the first time, because with weddings, there are no “do-overs” (we hope!)

So maybe your Uncle Bob has a beautiful Nikon kit, and he has many gorgeous images of his vacation in Tuscany hanging on his wall, but those are not wedding photos. As the saying goes walk a mile in the wedding photographer’s shoes before you take on this very important task. It is a big job, and entails quite a bit more than it seems.

When you have spent the better part of a year or more planning everything from the color scheme to the flowers to the menu and seating arrangement, you want to make sure the images captured that day preserve the details and evoke the emotion of this day of days.

Skip the sushi bar and hire an experienced photographer. You won’t regret it.