The Beauty of Black and White

How many of you enjoy a great black and white photograph?  The rich blacks and the clean whites with all the shades of gray in between makes it pleasing to the eye.
Add a little color to it such as a sepia tone and it becomes a very warm delightful image.   You can almost feel the warmth as you scan the image with your eyes.

In portraits we use some of these warm colors to express warmth between two or more people.

The portrait on the right I used a warm color to emphasize the natural warmth these two people have for each other.

Also notice how the dark clothing allows the eye to focus on the two faces.  When you walk into the room where the portrait is displayed the first thing someone will notice is the beautiful faces of the people we know and love.

This is what I do with portraits in the Essential's Collection.

I also love to use black and white images for my high school seniors.  Although I don't use the warm colors as much with these portraits the high contrast helps to give the image drama.  A special lighting technique is used to achieve this look.

Black and white definitely has a beauty that many people enjoy.

A Kid Again Christmas Party

On Sunday December 5th the Columbus chapter of A Kid Again will have it's annual Christmas party for the children and their families.  The event will be held at the Reynoldsburg High School.
Santa, gifts, lunch, family portraits and fun activities will be enjoyed by hundreds of children.

You can help to make Christmas brighter for child with a life threatening illness by donating to A Kid Again.

Click Here If you would like to sponsor a child.  Any donation would be deeply appreciated.

Tim Walden Master Photographer Critiques

IC #6 from Tim Walden on Vimeo.

I am grateful to be part of the Coaching Community of Tim and Beverly Walden of Lexington, Kentucky.

Tim and Bev are both Master Photographers and in their coaching community they allow members to submit images for their critique.  Tim is a judge for the Professional Photographers of America and I highly respect him for his knowledge, teaching and critique of images.
Listen to what Tim has to say about one of my high school senior portraits of Alex from Marysville.

Right Place and Time

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Have you ever been in the right place at the right time to capture a precious moment?

While in the main foyer of the venue at the Miracles and Magic show in Dayton, Ohio I happen to notice this baby being cuddled by his grandmother.  He turned his head and then looked at his grandfather with bright eyes and a wonderful smile.

How precious is this?  This is why I love my job!

Your Deciding Factors

I am doing a study to find out what deciding factors people use when choosing a photographer.

You will find a poll at the top of this blog. You can vote for more than one answer and you can change your answer as well. You will also see the voting results after you vote.

Next week I will have another poll asking about photographic style.

Thank you for telling us how we can better serve you or our future clients.

Mark Williams

Connor

Connor from Marysville high school is just one of those people you can really like.  One down to earth guy with a passion for playing his guitar's.

He has three guitar's in his collection two beautiful electric and one classic looking acoustic.  I think he takes care of his collection like a man who takes care of his car.  Cleans, shines and keeps them in tune.

We wanted to find Connor a set of barns for his senior portraits and found them we did.  We were lucky enough to find a beautiful horse farm just outside of Marysville.  We need to thank the owners who allowed us to use the barns as a backdrop.

Hopefully Connor will compose a piece of music for his slide show which I feel will really make this guitar man stand out from the crowd.  Can't wait to hear what you record!!

Two New Books for A Kid Again

I was busy last month getting 2 new books ready for A Kid Again.

The Magic of A Kid Again - A 100 page color photograph book with images of the children and supporters of the charity.

Miracles and Magic - Where Hope Takes Center Stage - A 100 page color photograph book showing images from the  Las Vegas style comedy/magic show produced by Jon Petz and his wife Stacey.  Tells how the show started and where it is heading in the future.

All of the books can be ordered from blurb.com and all proceeds goes to A Kid Again.  To order a book from Blurb click on the link below the shown book. (ex. Miracles and Magic by Photographer Mark Williams)

Miracles and Magic by Photographer Mark Williams | Make Your Own Book

The Magic of A Kid Again by Photographer Mark Williams | Make Your Own Book

It's Never Too Late!

I am often asked is it too late to get portraits done for Christmas?  My answer is NO!

We are still taking appointments for Christmas and will determine when the cut off date is by how many people make appointments.
We work closely with our printer and try to get everything done by at least December 17 for this year.

If you are wanting to give family portraits as Christmas gifts please call our studio and make an design appointment first.
Then we will schedule your session appointment.
We offer evening as well as weekend appointments including Sunday's.

Why a design appointment?

In order to give you the best we can offer to any client we need to know what it is you are looking for in a portrait.  Background, clothing choices, the colors of the room where the portrait will hang and many more options we need to know about your portrait plus we get to know you and your family.

These are important factors to making a great portrait that you will cherish for a life time and want to give to your other family members as gifts.

Free Framing
For that special Christmas portrait we are giving you FREE framing for your wall portrait.  If you purchase an 16x20 size portrait or larger we will frame your image absolutely free!  There is no restrictions on how many enlargements you purchase.


Chrsitmas Cards

We offer Christmas cards as well in either 4x8 or 5x7 photographic cards or if you want something more elegant we offer custom made press printed cards.  These press printed cards look and feel like store bought cards and are especially designed for you.  There is a time cut off for the press printed cards.
All cards come with envelopes too.

Canvas Prints

Want a canvas print instead of a paper print for your enlargement there is no up charge for this service

So please do not wait till the last minute call us today to set an appointment for your portraits because it's never to late to get beautiful portraits!

Some restrictions apply.  Questions call the studio for details.  We work on an appointment only basis to give each of our customers the uninterrupted time especially set for them.  We hope you understand our policy.


614.832.6448

One Great Senior for a Great Cause

Ashley From Marysville High School

Ashley is doing something great for her sister, Rylee, and her hometown of Marysville.  She started a club at her high school called Nellie's Club which is a branch of Nellie's Catwalk for Kids.
Nellie's Club gets high school classmates involved in the fight against childhood cancer.  Her sister Rylee was diagnosed with bone cancer and had a bone transplant and so far is in remission.
The club raises funds and brings awareness not only the classmates but to the general public as well.
At one of the high school football games students showed support for her cause as they painted their bodies in yellow and added the letters to spell out "Beat Cancer".
We have to give Ashley a huge round of applause for helping her sister as well as her community.
Way to go Ashley!!  Click HERE to visit Nellie's Club Marysville

The Fight Goes On!

Meet Christina one of my high school senior clients who was diagnosed with bone cancer several years ago.  She doesn't allow this life threatening illness stop her from doing what she loves.  What is her love, playing sled hockey.
She was asked this year to play for the US Women's National Sled Hockey Team.  This month she traveled to Canada for a tournament and her team won several medals.
She also plays for the The Ohio Blades based in Columbus, Ohio.  Her team plays at the Chiller Ice Haus.
Click HERE for more information about her team and what Ohio Sled Hockey does for children with disabilities.