Anna is an artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She flew out and had a portrait session with me a couple weeks ago.

Yes, she’s gorgeous. Yes, she’s smart, and yes, I’m proud to say she’s also my sister

If you’d like to purchase some of her artwork for billions upon billions of dollars, or at least tens of dollars, then check out her Etsy Shop!

Can you believe it’s already September?!?! Time to start thinking about family portraits and Christmas card ideas!

Give me a call to schedule a free consultation and we’ll brainstorm some ideas together.

(360) 628-8815

I agree with this cartoon whole-heartedly! As far as I’m concerned, it’s HARD to take action shots with a point and shoot camera. If you want your camera to actually take the picture the second you push the button, make sure you buy a digital SLR camera, or go back to film. (I wouldn’t recommend the film option) What’s the difference between a point and shoot and an SLR you ask? Check out this previous post for the answer.

A common question I hear is “Can I scan my portraits?“

The short answer is: No, it’s a federal offense.

Although some may justify this action by saying they already paid for the portraits, this is equivalent to buying a movie and making several copies for your friends (which, by the way is illegal too). The same laws that protect musicians from having their music copied and directors from having their movies copied are the same copyright laws that protect photographers. These copyright laws are federal laws and breaking them is consequently a federal offense. Images don’t need to have a (C) logo on them to be protected by copyright either. They’re actually covered by federal copyright law as soon as they are created.

So next time you take a picture of your cute children playing at the park, you can say to yourself, “This picture is copyrighted by ME! WOOHOO!”

If you want to reproduce portraits for your website or any other use, Leavitt Photo offers a legal means for you to do so. Costs vary depending on the usage.

I’d like to introduce you to the future Sophomore Class President of Timberline High School.

**UPDATE **** HAYDEN WON THE ELECTION! WOOHOO! ****UPDATE*****

————————————-

Well, we hope he’ll win at least.

Being an accomplished student, violinist, triathlete, and great older brother, Hayden seems nothing short of super human.

If you’re a future Sophomore at Timberline, you would be wise to vote for this guy. He’s the man for the job!

For those who are interested, you can also follow Hayden’s campaign on Facebook.

Good luck on your campaign Hayden!

It’s that time of year again! The 2010 Baby & Child Portrait Contest has begun.

Categories for this year’s contest include: Color, Black & White/Sepia, Special Needs, and Humorous. The online contest will consist of four different qualifying rounds and one final round. Each round will last for one month.

First, Second, and Third places, as well as two Honorable Mentions, will be announced for each category!

Cash prizes for these winners include:

$5,000 for Grand Prize

$2,000 for First

$1,000 for Second

$750 for Third

$500 for each Honorable Mention.

All cash prizes will be given to the families of the winning portraits.

• All portraits taken by the Leavitt Photo Studio January 1- June 21, 2010 are eligible for entry into the 2010 Baby & Child Contest.
• Participants may post one image per child from each photography session.
• Children age 12 and under can be entered into the contest.

Don’t delay, call to book your child’s portrait session today! (360) 628-8815

Well, it’s that time of year again. Print competition entries will be due soon for the PPA International print competition and I don’t know what I’m going to submit yet. If you have a cool idea for a portrait you’d like to do with me just send me an e-mail and I might just take you up on it

For those of you who care, these are the elements the judges are supposed to consider when judging the prints:

• Impact
• Creativity
  
• Technical excellence
• Composition
  
• Lighting
• Style
• Print Presentation
  
• Center of Interest
• Subject Matter
• Color Balance
• Technique
  
• Story Telling

If I do really well, my prints will be on display in a traveling gallery and you’ll hear about it on the blog

If I do badly… it’ll be a sad sad day and heads will roll. jk

Wish me luck!

Click the following link for a more in-depth explanation of the 12 Elements of a Merit Image.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Thanks for the link Jeff!

Her album is recorded and produced by Jeremy Miller, owner of “Jeremy Miller Presents” in Olympia. (360) 456-3517

We jammed out to “She Wolf” on her iPhone for a lot of her session. After about 30 minutes of it we realized the song was repeating, oopsie! I still have that song stuck in my head. (S.O.S. she’s in distress)

When you come in for your own session be sure to bring in your iPod so we can have a super-fun session, just make sure you have more than 3 songs on it

Here’s a short music video/slide show of images from the photo session set to Laura’s first single, “Cover Girl.”

If you’ve been thinking about having a family portrait done, but just haven’t made the time to do it, give me a call. (360) 628-8815. We’ll have a planning session where we can talk about what you want, and how much you can afford etc. and I’ll tailor the session to fit you. There’s no better time than the present to record your family history.

If you’ve been thinking about getting family portraits done, now is as good a time as ever to schedule a session.

Call now to schedule your free planning session. (360)628-8815

Exhibit A: This is Jason, your standard high school senior who studies hard and ALWAYS obeys his parents… right Jason?

I must admit, we did this portrait for his mother so she could have the standard “nice” picture parents love so much.

Exhibit B: Jason wanted something a little edgier, so here’s what we did for his actual senior picture…

Exhibit C: During our planning session we came up with some really fun ideas for his portraits. Being a leading member of Lacey’s “Old Kidzz” crew, Jason decided to do some promotional portraits for their next album. Here are some shots we came up with…everyone, MEET J-DAWG!

The best part of this whole experience was we had WAYYY too much fun. We played some hip hop music to get J-Dawg in the zone and I think I laughed pretty much the whole time! Ironically enough, he’s as far from gangster as can be (and he knows it). In fact, he’s currently interested in politics. Hopefully these images won’t resurface during his campaign for president.

If you have a fun idea of what you’d like to do for a portrait, give me a call (360) 628-8815 and schedule your planning session.

I’m anxiously waiting by the phone.    “*please ring, please ring!*”

Everyone meet Catherine. Her session was quite an adventure. Based on ideas we came up with during the pre-consultation, we planned to shoot outdoor portraits. Well, the day of the session arrived and it was raining… a lot. As she arrived with her mother, the sky opened up and we had about 10 minutes of rain-free weather to shoot outdoors! YIPEEE!!!! We shot a bit more as it started to rain, but retreated once the lighting started to strike. As you can see, she rocked it in the studio too. Thanks for making me look so good Catherine Here are a few of my favorites:

When Awhina came in for her pre-consultation I learned a lot about her. One big part of her life is her culture. Being part Maori, she does Polynesian dancing . We brainstormed together and came up with the idea to take her picture in front of a lake wearing her polynesian dress. This is why it’s so important to have a pre-consultation with your photographer – if they don’t know who you are, how can they show it in a portrait?

Another good reason for a pre-consultation? If you can’t stand the photographer’s personality or work, you’ll know it before paying even one cent. With that said, no one has ever walked away from me after a consultation… at least not yet. 

Thanks again Awhina, you were way fun to photograph. I’m excited for our next session!

I love this family! Not only are they great friends, she’s an amazing pastry artist and he’s an amazing soldier. Their kids are super cute too (as you can see). We headed down to Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia for their family portraits. The weather was absolutely perfect that day and we had a great time. Thanks guys, for letting me be the one to capture this time in your family’s life!

Don’t you hate it when you try to take a picture  and 2 seconds after you’ve pressed the shutter button it finally takes a picture?

Don’t you hate having to lug around a big camera all the time just because you want high quality pictures?

When choosing a camera that’s right for you, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each kind of camera. The most common types of consumer-level cameras on the market today are Point and Shoot cameras and Digital SLRs (AKA Single Lens Reflex). Read the chart below to figure out which camera is right for you. If you still can’t decide, just do what I do… buy them both!

DSLR Pros Takes picture as soon as you push the shutter button Faster picture rate Looks impressive (if you’re in to that) Higher quality images Interchangeable Lenses Higher Quality Lenses Auto and Manual Controls Live LCD view on some models Video Capture on some models Larger Sensor=higher image quality Lower noise levels Easier Manual Controls DSLR Cons Cost (although used ones are quite affordable) Heavier Bulkier (can’t fit just anywhere) Video feature only available on newer models Live LCD View only available on newer models		Point and Shoot Pros Compact Cheaper Live LCD view on most models Video capture on most models Fully Automatic Light weight Easy to whip out for shooting Point and Shoot Cons Takes forever to take a picture after pushing the button No interchangeable lenses Lower quality lens Slower picture-taking rate Less manual control and versatility Smaller sensor=lower image quality higher noise levels

Of course, this information will probably be out of date in a matter of months, so do your research first. What it comes down to is balancing quality and convenience. An expensive DSLR won’t do you any good if you never have it with you, and a point and shoot will be worthless if you can never get it to perform the way you want it to. Whichever one you have, use it.

Above all else, the best camera you can have is the one you have with you.