Refocusing

My photography skills were honed with the unexpected and varied assignments a newspaper photojournalist typically comes across. From photographing a group of award-winning students to documenting the scenes of just-happened car wrecks, to shooting a high school softball game to looking for a good angle to see flames shooting out of a house … being ready for everything made me think that I wanted to focus my own photography business on everything.

But that’s not the case.

I have been privileged to be part of some incredible weddings, as a primary photographer, second photographer and also an assistant. I’ve met some great couples to photograph engagement sessions, and have captured teens caught between childhood and adulthood for their senior portraits.

Now that I have a full-time job, one during which I have the chance to take a lot of journalistic-style photographs, it’s time to narrow down what I want to do in my own time. What is that? Family portraits! To me, they are an important record of a family captured at a particular moment in time. Anytime a family is together is important, because that time is so fleeting. When I say “family portraits,” this includes individual shots of each member – especially the children. There is no more incredible way to realize the passage of time than comparing a child NOW to what he or she used to look like in a portrait.

Those portraits can be traditionally posed, or can depict a favorite family activity. Biking in the park? Hiking in the woods? Wakeboarding at a nearby lake? Camping? Shopping? Cooking at home? Whatever it is, my more than 10 years of professional experience – being ready for anything – will help me figure out the best way to capture something special.

My style is pretty straightforward. To me, a technically perfect photo of a person is good enough and I don’t need to embellish it with too much computer work.

So for now, I’m not actively pursuing weddings, engagement sessions, senior portraits, maternity/infants or event coverage. It’s all about family, whichever form that family takes.

Let’s work together on an image that your family will treasure for generations! Contact me at todd@toddovermanphoto.com.

A day @ play

We didn't do anything fancy yesterday, just had a fun day around the house. Hard not to enjoy warmer weather, even if it means my allergies were acting up.






Max loves to catch and chase his favorite ball, even if it means he eats a little of the nature that ends up on it. Yuck!


My youngest pushing the oldest? Something doesn't look right here!

Keeping your vacation alive!

Going somewhere on Spring Break or later this summer? Taking photographs is a great way to document your trip, your family's growth and can serve as a visual reminder of all the fun long after it's over. At the end of this post are 10 tips for having fun while taking pictures on vacation.








Ten Vacation Photography Tips

1. Before you leave home, check that your camera is functioning and that you've got plenty of spare batteries/memory cards/film (if that's how you roll). Take any accessories you enjoy using, including a flash or tripod, different lenses if your camera takes more than one, and a comfortable way to carry it all on your travels.

2. Don't forget to use your camera, but don't let it spoil your fun. A vacation is about relaxing and interacting with your family or friends. Know when to put the thing down, too!

3. Take lots of photos! Just refer to No. 2 if you find yourself with a camera in your hand too often.

4. If you want to move beyond snapshots, buy a book on travel photography (or check one out from your library). Paying attention to backgrounds, composition and light will help you create images that stand out. Also, ensure you know how to operate the most important functions on your camera before your trip begins.

5. When taking photos of landmarks, include members of your traveling party. The porthole of the tall ship Elissa in Galveston, Texas, is an interesting photo subject. The historic ship came alive when my son poked his head through with a funny expression. The image is more meaningful because he's a part of it, too.

6. If you'll be at the beach, as we were for our trip last year to Surfside and Galveston, protect your gear from the elements as best as you can. If you have a camera with interchangeable lenses, I recommend NOT changing lenses outside. The slightest bit of sand on your digital sensor can spell disaster, as can saltwater.

7. Put your camera strap around your neck. Even if it's not something you normally do elsewhere, a strap is cheap insurance against dropping your rig in the water, on the beach, on the concrete, down a wishing well. You'll wish you'd been wearing your strap if that happens!

8. If you have a cell phone like an iPhone, you can actually get some decent snapshots with it in the right conditions. Consider downloading applications that aid you in the capture and editing of photos. Sometimes the right camera is the one you have with you.

9. Don't forget to include yourself in some of the photos, either by handing your camera to someone else for camera duty (someone you know, preferably), to using a tripod and employing the self-timer or a remote shutter release.

10. After all is said and done, view your photos, cull through the keepers and then pick your favorites. Do something with them rather than letting your images languish on your computer's hard drive or on DVDs/CDs. The point is enjoying your photos, right? Life was a little simpler when we shot a few rolls of film, had them processed and then got prints without having to do any extra work. With digital, the photos need a little push to paper to make them useful sometimes. If not printing your favorite images, load them onto a digital photo frame or mobile device for sharing. Viewing them, even on your phone was wallpaper, can take you back to that happy place.

Bluebonnets!

Bluebonnets are not only a harbinger of Spring, but also of Texas pride. They are the Texas state flower, and it's only natural that any native Texan (or "foreign"-born resident) should want to capture the blossoms along with their cute kids. I've photographed my niece around her birthday for the past two years in a secluded patch of the lovely flowers. See a few tips on capturing the moments at the end of this article.





Tips for photographing your family in bluebonnets:

• Safety first. Don't be tempted by patches of bluebonnets that are too close to roads and highways. If you can, find a more quiet area where there is no traffic. Also, be aware of fire ants, which come alive during wet spring weather and like bluebonnet fields, too.

• Wildflowers tend to grow best in bright, open fields where sunlight is abundant. If you come across a nice spot during mid-day, you're going to contend with bright sun. Bad thing: it can wash out the color of the flowers. If the light is bright, don't face your family into the sun, as the brightness will make them squint. Position your subjects so light falls to the side/slightly behind them. Focus on eyes and faces and fire away. The ultimate is to photograph in the early morning or early evening, when the sun is lower in the sky. This creates beautiful, directional light. But that's not always practical when you're traveling. Shooting directly into the sun will wash out the sky as well, so avoid that if you can. If your camera will allow you to use a flash in bright light, use it to add sparkle to the eyes and fill in some of the potential shadows.

• If a background is distracting or ugly, put the camera higher so you are photographing down onto the flowers. That way, you can hide the horizon if necessary. Your subjects, surrounded by flowers, will be the main subjects.

• Props can add a little punch to your photos. Above, my oldest son holds a picture frame. We were shooting at mid-day, and the colors aren't as rich as I'd like. The bluebonnet field was a little disappointing that year, too. Think about old chairs, or a special family blanket, etc. Adding an extra element can make your images that much more special and unique.

• Get into the flowers yourself. Invest in a cheap tripod, set up your camera (ensuring it's steady and won't tip in any wind) and use the self-timer (it delays the release of the shutter so that you can get into position).

For fellow Texans, the Texas Department of Transportation maintains a Web site this time of year that collects reports of wildflowers. You can find it here.

With lots of precipitation this winter, I'm hoping for a spectacular wildflower season. This is going to be the year I get some frame-worthy portraits of my sons – both of them native Texans – amid a field bursting with bluebonnets. I would love the opportunity to photograph your family among wildflowers this year. Give me a shout at todd@toddovermanphoto.com, and we'll keep an eye on the blooms and find the perfect time, date and place to create art worthy of your walls.

Snow going

I've been remiss in not posting some snow pics from Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2009. Here are the boys catching some flakes in our driveway.


Little Z hasn't seen much snow, and he was watching it fall outside a window and asked, "Are those cornflakes?"




The rare White Christmas for North Texas was nice and, as usual, mostly gone after Christmas Day. There were pockets of unmelted snow for most of the week where the sun didn't shine. We got another light dusting of snow before all of the first snow was gone. Except during the second round of powdery precipitation, we awoke to find all of it gone because of rain that fell overnight.

This week, we're going to see arctic cold and possible freezing rain. Snow? Probably not.

Portraits of a sweet family

I had the opportunity to photograph a wonderful family on Sunday. We chose Prairie Creek Park (shhhh, don't tell anyone about the waterfalls ... it was crowded enough!) and it ended up being a wonderful location.




The grandparents tagged along, too (see above and below images).

Another cool aspect of this shoot was that I went to high school with the mom. It was very nice to briefly reconnect with her and meet her beautiful children, too. I have more edits to do but am striving to complete them this week so the family can pick the ones they like best.

Live in DFW and love the location depicted here? Contact me to set up your family's portrait session soon! Eventually the trees won't have any leaves left at all. If possible, I'd recommend a weekday for the session. That's sometimes tough to do, but this particular Sunday wasn't even all that busy. Still, we had to dodge other families and photogs.

Luke's 4th birthday party!

Here are just a few images from my nephew's fourth birthday party today at a park in Plano. He's quite the character, as were most of the rest of the people there ... me included! Shooting photographs of kids isn't all that hard. The key is letting them be kids, just as that's the best way to let 'em eat cupcakes. Kids are washable, after all!

I shot all of these with a 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens, and I had a flash mounted on the camera to lift some of the highlights in the shade or balance the daytime sun elsewhere. The lens isn't cheap, but a good lens can make a difference more than a fancy camera. The digital SLR I used is a model released four years ago, but the older tech has held up very well.

Little Z

My business philosophy

My mission statement posted on my main Web site states that I will provide:

Professionalism
Honesty
Obsessive attention to detail
Tremendous customer service
Overall client satisfaction
Stellar images

Get it? It spells out P-H-O-T-O-S. Yeah, I know. Please don't roll your eyes like that!

To flesh out my mission, I figured I would share my business philosophy on customer service.

The ultimate customer service is:
1. Knowing your craft/business well.
2. Delivering a stellar final product/service every time.
3. Knowing how to treat people.

If someone can't perform the first and second items, they are failing on the third. If they fail on the third, then the first two don't matter as much. Doing right by customers has to include all three simultaneously. For my photography business, that means I know what I'm doing with my camera and my techniques and I understand beforehand what my clients' expectations are. It means always delivering on my word, no excuses, no matter the time, place, weather, lighting or drama. It means treating everyone with honesty, respect and professionalism, all the time.

But even more than that, I want my business to be fun for me and my clients. Currently I do my work on location, which lends a more natural, spontaneous look to the images.

Children's portrait sessions resemble a play date more than a typical "picture-taking session." This is done by the child being allowed to be a kid, in their own environment or one that feels comfortable and fosters fun. They can bring along toys, or I can supply a few fun props to use in the images.

Family portrait sessions are more like a fun outing rather than a chore. It's about the relationships and interactions, being natural and letting loose. Capturing who the family members are and how they shape the family as a whole.

Engagement portrait sessions are like a date, a stroll in the park ... a fun, relaxing time!

Weddings are a different animal altogether. My confidence and organization during the day is more important than having fun, although I find the pressure invigorating and fun anyway. Attending a couple's special day is like a pep rally for romance. Go marriage! Yay!

I want to learn more about you! Please leave a comment here or fill out a contact form here. Let's have some fun!

Field Day!

Today was Field Day at my son's elementary school. He and the other kids appeared to have a real blast. I thought it was a mild bummer that during the balloon-pop relay, the adults would secretly pop the balloons if the kids were having difficulty. Not to mention that everybody got the same ribbon. Back in "the day," we actually competed – maybe not in kindergarten – but the first, second and third placers got the corresponding ribbons and everyone else got the "participant" awards.

Memory Stimulus Package

The technical definitions of the word "investment" center on putting up an amount of money in anticipation of a future return. But there are many other things we invest in, such as our families, our hobbies and our quality of life, that yields no direct financial return. Sometimes the benefits exceed mere money. There are also times when the value of those kinds of investments gain value unrelated to our wallets.

Photographs are mile markers on our life's journey, bookmarks of a certain time, gateways to the past and unique treasures for the future. In our digital age, we've got cameras in our cell phones, most of us have cameras of some sort and we're bombarded with images all the time. Sometimes we forget to take photographs on purpose, much less have professional photographs crafted. During a time like now, many of us are more concerned with our daily needs. But time doesn't stand still ... our kids continue to grow up ... our families are changing ... now more than ever we need to carve out special memories and images to celebrate now for later. To help ease the financial strain many of us are going through, I've developed a special offer.

For those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I am offering a Memory Stimulus Package* from now until June 27, 2009. The Package includes:

• A one-hour, on-location portrait session
• A password-protected online photo gallery for sharing photos with others, and ordering prints and special gift items
• A CD featuring three edited, low-resolution images from the session for e-mailing or posting to a social networking site
• Bonus Card good for one lab-quality print up to 16x20 when you refer a friend who is successfully booked for a full-price portrait session ($250)
• Cost: $100

Give me a call today, at 817-675-1143, e-mail me at todd@toddovermanphoto.com, or visit my main Web site, www.toddovermanphoto.com, and fill out the contact form. I hope to work with you soon! We can get through these tough times together! Invest in memories that will gain value tomorrow.

Because I believe in full disclosure:
*The Fine Print: Package designed to create children's or family portraits, but not high school senior or engagement portraits. For locations with a use or entry fee, the cost of the session will rise accordingly. Online gallery will be available for about three months after the session. Images on the CD will not be suitable for printing, and client agrees to only e-mail or post images with photographer's watermark visible. Client may choose the three images to be placed on CD. Bonus Card referral session must be booked by July 1, 2009, but may occur afterward. Portrait session fee is due at time of booking (cash, check, credit card via PayPal). Each session will be booked at a time convenient to the client and photographer. Once booked, a session fee may not be refunded, however the photographer will accommodate rescheduling one time per session. Contract required to allow photographer to use images in future promotions. Limited service area within DFW.

Branching out

In the spring, summer and early fall, the trees in our back yard filter the sunlight to make the ideal spot for taking photographs of people. It wasn't until the boys showed an interest in climbing them that I realized they are also one of the best natural photo props I could ask for. The question is, though, do I want to let a client's child climb up there, risking life and limb, just for a good photo? That's a tough one!

Zoe in the bluebonnets

I photographed my niece last week in some bluebonnets in Wylie, the same field we used for her 1-year portraits last year (see post below), as well as a street just off of the main drag. Got lots of good shots, but here are a few of my favorites. Sometimes it's harder for me to be in the zone when I know the subjects well, and I didn't notice that my sister was holding her car keys in the third photo above until afterward. I took some where they weren't visible, but their expressions are best in this one.

Won't be long until the wildflower season is over and the heat is on! Always a little sad to see that happen, but my allergies are OK with summertime vs. spring.

No wonder we never have any food

I caught my youngest son in the refrigerator recently. He can now reach the top shelf. This is not good.

Two growing boys ... I think their Mom and Dad are gonna go hungry while they eat their way to adulthood.

It's wildflower season!

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, finding a nice field of bluebonnets is a real treat – and sometimes difficult. With our climate alternating between some rain to drought, we aren't always blessed with fields blanketed in bluebonnets and other colorful wildflowers. Head to the Texas Hill Country, and it's an astounding difference. But not all of us want to spend time in the car chasing after flowers.

Here are a few tips I used to photograph my niece last year (shown above) in a secluded little patch of bluebonnets:

• If you can, find flowers off the road. Unfortunately, you have to know they are there and you're most likely to see them along the highway. Just use common sense ... don't put your kids or yourself in danger near traffic.

• Wildflowers need sun to grow, so if you're taking photographs in the harsh sunlight of mid-day or early afternoon, you've got to work a little harder. Place your subjects with their backs to the sun as much as possible, and use a "reflector" or your camera's flash to brighten up their faces. Try to avoid having your subjects face into the sun, which can cause squinting and also harsh shadows in the eyes and under noses. If possible, take photos earlier in the morning or near sunset, when the angle of the sun is lower and the light is much more flattering. If you want to try using a reflector, any white surface (the photo above was taken with an unused 11x14 artist's canvas) or even dull silver object, such as some car windshield sun shades. In the photo above, the reflector was held by my sister at camera right, at about a 45-degree angle. There are still some areas of slight overexposure (too much light), but I think it works because her sweet face is in even shade.

• Normally, you don't want to shoot down on children to get the tops of their heads because that doesn't make for interesting pictures. We usually see kids that way! But for wildflower shots, to make it look like there are more flowers, shooting at a higher position will make the flowers and your kiddo(s) the focus instead of a bland horizon or highway or utility poles, etc. I got lucky with the photo above because the flower-covered kill sloped upward behind my niece. But having a stepladder can go a long way in a flat field.

• I prefer candid shots (like the one above) because the expressions are genuine. With two kids, I like to have them interact a little together rather than look into the camera. You can also introduce a prop for them to play with. If you'd rather have them looking at the camera, don't have them say "Cheese!" Whoever thought that was a word that created a natural-looking smile is crazy!

• To help active kids want to stay put, you can use an aforementioned prop or take a chair for them to sit in. Something rustic (maybe their size, maybe adult-size) can add a little something to the images. A blanket can make the ground more comfortable and make it easier to corral more than one kid.

• My kids have a camera pointed at them a lot. When they're not in the mood, I don't force the issue. Make it fun! For older kids, this might mean letting them grab your camera to take some shots of you. For wee ones who can't be trusted with delicate electronics, show them photos as you go along ... make goofy noises and faces. Never make photos a chore. Roll with the punches and let your kids be kids. Some kids of any age just don't like to pose, so don't make them. You'll end up with more natural-looking photos that will remind you exactly what your kids were like at that moment in time. For a photo-taking excursion, include activities your kids enjoy so that it's not a chore for them. Don't forget to have fun yourself!

If all this sounds like too much, you can always hire a pro! Call me at 817-675-1143 or e-mail todd@toddovermanphoto.com to set up a photo session before the wildflower season is over!

Our untrip to the Fort Worth Zoo

We should have known better: Spring Break, coupled with half-price admission day, mixed with a bad economy and the trend to "staycation" ... it's a recipe for disaster. We made it to the entrance of the Fort Worth Zoo* but could not justify turning in. Where would we park? How would we be able to see monkeys among the hordes of people? So we postponed our sojourn to the zoo until a date uncertain. Instead, we ate our picnic lunches at Trinity Park, played at one of the playgrounds, rode the very cool mini train and called it a day. The monkeys (mine and the zoo's) will have to wait a bit.

*Today set an attendance record at the zoo: 23,000 visitors. Yikes!