Mark Stumpf Photography Blog

My blog has moved….

2011-10-06T20:38:00.001-04:00

I created a new blog that I am hosting from my site, so this one is being retired. You can find the new one right here. If you are reading this, thanks for following!

- Mark

Joanna & Xavier

2011-08-09T19:31:00.001-04:00

I met them when they contacted me earlier this year regarding their upcoming wedding. A beautiful couple who love spending time and exercising together. They were on vacation somewhere far away and met another couple from long island that were vacationing on their honeymoon, who’s wedding I had just photographed. The two couples became friendly during their time away. Joanna & Xavier were recently engaged at the time and were in the beginning stages of the wedding planning. I learned when I first met Joanna that this couple I mentioned had spoke so highly of my work while they were away, she felt she had to contact me…..and they did.

We had an awesome engagement session only a week before the wedding and displayed a beautiful 24x30 framed collage at the wedding reception showcasing some of the pictures. They were married in Elmont and the reception was at the beautiful Swan Club in Roslyn.

I’m not too good with the words. Let’s get to some of the pictures……..

Congratulations Joanna & Xavier. I had an awesome time shooting your wedding. You have a beautiful family.

- Mark

Kimberly & Mark

2011-07-26T18:36:00.001-04:00

Kimberly came to me over a year ago accompanied by her Mother and decided to book her future wedding with me. She was up from Texas where she lived at the time with her fiancé Mark, whom I had not met until a week before the wedding. They both moved to Maryland a month before their wedding date, as if the anticipation of the wedding was not stressful enough. It was because of that move closer to Long Island which is why I was able to meet Mark before the wedding date. This is important to me and the couple to know who they will be working with on this special day. With all that was going on with the two of them, I could not have met a more down to earth couple.

I was able to get some really nice preparation shots at Kimberly’s mother’s house where the bridal party was getting ready. Wedding party formals at Captree and Ceremony/Reception at Timber Point Country Club. It was hot, but at least it didn’t rain. Here are just a few of the highlights from this awesome day.

Congratulations Kimberly and Mark. It was an honor and a pleasure to document your special day.

- Mark

Romantic Workout

2011-07-02T23:35:00.001-04:00

Engagement shoots have to be the most fun part about shooting a wedding. They are usually scheduled during good weather. We had a very clear day for our shoot on Friday. The humidity was down and that was key because we did our share of walking.

Joanna & Xavier are full of life and energy. They enjoy spending time together and working out together. So we headed to Norm Levy Park in Merrick for a little exercise.

Aaaaaaaaah sun glare………love it!

We had a great day and I hope the weather for the wedding is as awesome as the engagement shoot. Congratulations Joanna & Xavier!

- Mark

Wedding Memories

2011-06-25T09:24:00.001-04:00

The wedding album is the icing on the cake. It’s the last time I touch the images from that shoot and move on to other shoots and projects. It’s the way it is. Which is why I prefer to design all albums myself instead of outsourcing to someone no matter how busy I am. They would probably do a good job, but do not know the images like I do. They don’t know why or how I took a particular image.

I’ve been the busiest I have ever been and I still manage to design all the albums for all my clients. This is another album I recently finished for a great couple.

Coming of Age

2011-03-19T21:14:00.001-04:00

I covered my first Mitzvah reception about 5 years ago. Before then, I had never even been to a Mitzvah and didn’t really know much about it. I was just starting out as a photographer and needed to get some event experience to test my skills. So I contacted the brother of a friend who owns a DJ company and he agreed to let me work to get some experience for almost no pay. I really just wanted the experience, because I wasn’t a photographer…….yet. I began working for him as a zap shooter. Those are the people that work for the DJ company and take pictures to put them up on the projection screen or plasma while the reception is in progress. They are not usually photographers, but someone using the DJ’s camera equipment to take still pictures.

Well, I learned more that day than any other time in my career. Event photography is not just walking around with a camera on auto and composing shots. I learned how to push my camera to its limits given the low light situation of a quite large, yet almost pitch dark catering room. A lot of my pictures in the beginning were blurry as a result, but they did get better. If it were me, I would not have hired me to shoot another day unless I was working for free and there were a more experienced shooter present. Well, the DJ dude didn’t actually look at the pictures I took and gave me several more jobs. I have to say, although he did not pay attention to the quality of the product he was delivering to his clients, it gave me an opportunity to grow with this craft and I knew I needed to do this exponentially with each assignment. I was reading everything I could get my hands on that spoke about photography, but nothing ever proves your understanding of it until your doing it yourself.

I have had the pleasure of covering quite a few Mitzvah ceremony’s and receptions in my career. I cover as many mitzvah events as I do weddings each year, and from my approach, they are almost no different. In fact, covering the mitzvah assignments is how I gained the experience and confidence to start shooting weddings. I keep a very similar mind set when covering these events. There are plenty of family present, a beautiful and structured ceremony and reception, lots of portraits and plenty of tender moments to find and capture.

My clients have been very good to me as my business has grown by word of mouth. I am thankful for the opportunity that my friends brother has given me to get started and for my wonderful clients that I have grown to know over the years. Here are some pictures from a recent mitzvah. I had a blast covering it and I look forward to many more this year.

My First Workshop

2011-02-26T10:15:00.001-05:00

I have attended many workshops in my years as a photographer. There are so many different styles and categories of a photographers profession and some are quite diverse from the others. I have always followed my favorites, but I am open to listen to anyone who is doing something interesting, whether they are wedding, portrait, editorial, photojournalist, or freelance shooters. Even as a professional, you can never acquire too much information in any profession. You simply take what you can use, and hopefully the rest is reassuring that you are still doing things right.

I was asked recently if I would actually lead and instruct a workshop on portrait lighting for a group of photographers. My immediate thought was, WOW, I am not even known as a portrait photographer, I‘m a wedding shooter. I worked with a few people some time ago on a portrait session for charity and they liked what they saw when I was working. I was honored that there are actually people out there that want to hear me speak and teach them what I do. I don’t even like to hear myself speak, imagine what they were in for.

I gladly accepted and began to feel real confident as I realized the message I was going to communicate. This can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. When you learn from celebrity portrait photographers, they teach you their way of doing things with all their expensive equipment. They will sett up 12 profoto strobe lights, softboxes, umbrellas, gobos, gels and snoots just to take a head shot. And you know what, that’s how things are done if you are shooting professional portraiture for an editorial shoot. There are also makeup artist and hair stylists and a team of people just sitting around directing stuff. That is not likely in most situations and if you want to take a really nice portrait of someone, you start simple and can expand on this if you wish.

Simple portrait lighting concepts begin with one main light. This light could be a studio strobe, the speedlite flash unit from your camera, a continuous light (lamp or flashlight) or even the sun. Whatever it is, the direction of the light is what is most important. As long as the light is not coming from the same axis as your cameral lens, it will be interesting. The intensity of the light can be controlled from the camera’s exposure settings and if you are using a studio strobe or speedlite, you have even more control to set the power so that it is balanced with the exposure and ambient light.

Well, the workshop was held last Saturday and was a really great experience for me. We did an actual portrait shoot and I walked through setting up the camera and the lights based on the ambient light settings from which I was working in. I used one main studio strobe with a large softbox, a background light gelled with an interesting color to change the color of the background and a reflector to fill light coming from the main (key) light on the opposite side of the face. While working through the existing conditions, I continued to stress that they not focus on the equipment as much, but on the concept in which I am demonstrating. This could all have been done without any auxiliary lights. The same concept applies for outdoor sun light and window light indoors. If you don’t have a photographic reflector, just use something with a white, silver or gray reflective surface to add some fill light. If you bounce light off of something with color in it, the color reflected back to the subject will be the same color as the reflective surface it is bouncing off of.

I did receive some great feedback from the attendees afterward and they were very thankful for sticking around to answer their questions and being very detailed in explaining exactly what I was doing while I was doing it. I realize it is rare that someone will just teach you what they know for free. Most people spend years learning this stuff and years perfecting it. I have paid a lot of $$ to learn from many different professionals. They will teach you how they do things and tell you afterward that every piece of equipment they just demonstrated is something they are selling on their website with an inflated price tag, but the workshop special is buy 2 and get 5% off. Some of this is bullshit and I have lost respect for a few professional photographers because they turn from professional photographer to professional salesman. One very important thing to keep in mind is this, when they were up and coming photogs with a camera and a dream, they were not using the equipment they are selling today, they started out basic just like everyone else. Always keep it as simple as the job allows.

Take care and happy shooting!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T16:43:00.001-05:00

Every few months, I try and run some type of seasonal promotions to give clients the chance to save a few bucks and book a few more shoots. The holiday season is probably the best time of year to do this as most of us can sure benefit from saving some money. I put together a variety of savings from my packages and products. Check out my promotions page as I am constantly updating it with deals.

Happy Holidays

Winter in Central Park

2010-12-30T10:43:00.002-05:00

Some people live in Long Island their entire lives and hardly ever or never visit Manhattan. With its amazing skyline, tall buildings, crowded streets and beautiful cityscapes, the city has plenty to offer those who simply wish to sight see during any season. Every time I visit Manhattan, I always say to myself, “I have to come back here more often”. However, I don’t know that I could ever live Manhattan. I love living in a suburban area. You have the best of both worlds. You can have a car and park it in your driveway and if you wish to visit the city, it’s as easy as hopping on a train. It’s not that simple the other way around.
I used to wonder what it would be like to live in Manhattan and be able to pretty much go anywhere without ever driving a car. Restaurants, bars, grocery stores, all within a few blocks walk. But what if I wanted to go for a jog or bike ride, play softball, let my dog run around, or have a picnic on the grass. Well, the answer is Central Park.
It’s pretty amazing to see the beautiful landscapes of Central Park with the NYC skyline in the background. The park is so big and it is packed with tons of stuff to see and do. There are beautiful bridges and buildings within the park, historical statues all over, and unbelievable landscapes. Just stand in any spot and take a 360° look around. There are too many photo opportunities to see in one visit, which is why I plan to go back several more times.
Every year, I take pictures for Christmas cards for clients and in some cases, I even design the Christmas cards for them. I was asked by the CEO of a company recently if I could take a photo of a winter scene of Central Park for the company Holiday card that they send out for next year. I was pretty excited about the task and gladly accepted. Now, I just had to wait for snow and we got some…..about two feet. When the snow storm hit, I planned to head into the city the next day. Unfortunately, the storm was so bad and the trains weren’t running so I didn’t make it. I was pretty disappointed, but I knew the snow would be around for a while, so I went a couple of days later.
I walked around for several hours and took lots of pictures, but I didn’t get everything I wished I had. I am definitely going back soon and I plan to start a Central Park collection of photos that I can offer for fine art prints. This place screams fine art. Here is the link to some of the photos of my first Central Park visit. I am excited to improve and expand on this idea.
MS

Help Portrait - St. Patrick's Parish

2010-12-05T20:44:00.001-05:00

The holidays are upon us and as long as they seem to last, they always come and go too fast. For some families, it is a difficult time of year. Every year, most of us think of ways to give back in appreciation of how lucky we all are to have what we do.

St. Patrick’s Parish in Bay Shore has put together a free evening for families to help spread the Christmas cheer. Families will share a holiday meal and afterwards, Santa will be arriving to hand out toys to the children and take holiday photos with the families.

As part of the Help Portrait Community, myself, and some of my photographer friends at Long Island Photo Gallery will donate their services on this evening to provide free family photos with Santa. Help Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate. I am not quite sure what to expect as far as a turn out of people, but I know it feels pretty good just thinking about it and I hope to make a difference. I will be bringing an arsenal of equipment to get some great pictures for all that show.

We are all looking forward to a nice evening and hope to meet some great families.

Event Details:

December 16th, 2010 ~ 5 PM
St. Patrick's Parish
9 N. Clinton Avenue
Bay Shore, NY 11706

Holiday Photos

2010-11-20T12:55:00.001-05:00

It’s that time again. Time to get the kids dressed up in their holiday outfits and bring them to target to get their portraits taken for the holidays. It’s the one time of year where we take pictures of our kids and send them out to friends and family (other than Facebook).

Some people spend a fortune on these pictures when it comes to getting professional studio pictures and holiday cards printed. The idea is nice, get the kids dressed to impress, go to the studio and ask them to smile. Sometimes, you can even find a studio that has a nice holiday muslin backdrop that makes it look as if you are taking the photo in the North Pole in front of Santa’s workshop. Hopefully this works, but it doesn’t always. It would be a shame to spend all that money on a professionally taken photo and not get the expressions you get from the kids you know they’re capable of. Try smiling in the mirror when you are not in a great mood. It just does not look right.

I do think these studio photos serve a purpose, perhaps an 8x10 and a couple of 5x7 prints or the grandparents. I personally prefer photos that are more natural. My son doesn’t provide a genuine expression when we get these photos taken, but my wife always insisted on getting them done. My daughter Mackenzie is only 11 months old and is the silliest person I know. I would hate not to capture her true expressions in a photo like this. I even thought about getting studio backdrops so that I could take them myself, but that would be a huge waste of money for me, because I would not market these types of photos and the equipment would never get used.

Even though we still get these photos taken, we never use them for the holiday cards and my family still prefers more natural images. Every year, we go through the process of electing a photo for holiday cards and we either go with a seasonal outdoor shot showing the autumn colors, or we will take a picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree that we all helped decorate and brightens up my living room with Christmas spirit. Who doesn’t feel great after putting up their Christmas tree.

Sometimes taking these pictures in the familiar surrounding of your own home is perfectly fine (and can save you a lot of money). I have quite a few clients that contacted me to come to their home or a familiar location to take photos of their children for Christmas cards. It is always better this way, because you can coach them and wait for the expressions you need, cause you don’t have a line of people behind you watching and waiting to get their photos taken. No pressure there….

I look forward to seeing all the updated pictures from the cards I receive this year and I plan to take plenty of photos between now and Christmas, so I will post more holiday photos soon.

Good Luck!

Don’t be caught by surprise….

2010-09-29T14:10:00.003-04:00

Getting married?
If so, congratulations to you both. Your wedding day is a day you should both look forward to. For most of us, it is the most important day we will be part of at that point in our lives. Tons of planning and anticipation leading up to one special day. In our minds we act out what the day might bring and it is always perfect, as it should be. Enjoy the anticipation and take time with your planning.
I have had the experience to shoot beside a wealth of different people in the wedding entertainment and service business and tend to be very careful as to who I would label a professional in their field. Every catering hall on and off Long Island have unique offerings and everyone does things their own way. Most of these people are business people and nothing more. The smile on their face when you meet them simply means “Can I have your money please?”. Unfortunately, some people feel that you are just another event and they do not care if you have been waiting your entire life for this one day. I speak from experience which I will not go into detail about here, but I will offer a few suggestions that I strongly feel are some of the most important questions people never ask?

Ask your limo company exactly how much time you have the car or cars for and what time the driver needs to leave. Most companies book their events and schedules back to back, so if you are running even a little off schedule, you do not even have the luxury of offering the driver extra money for sticking around an additional hour, because they need to be somewhere else. I’ve seen drivers get cursed out for being to pushy when trying to manage a tight schedule. You also need to consider your schedule. What time you should be ready by? Is the limo driver waiting for you after the ceremony? Do we have time for pictures after the ceremony? Is the driver taking you to a remote location to take pictures prior to the reception? Putting together a timeline and bringing it with you at the time of booking is not a bad idea. Give that timeline to someone or everyone in your wedding party to help manage your day.
Make sure you leave time between the ceremony and reception for pictures, or just so you are not rushing around too much on the day you are supposed to be enjoying. Some couples elect to take pictures before the ceremony. This is usually a good plan, as long as you don’t mind seeing each other before the ceremony, which for some couples is not an option. It is a result of the fast-paced New York style weddings that we can never get used to Have you ever been to a wedding outside New York……totally different.
Ask the manager at the catering venue how many events (at most) could be occurring at the time of your wedding. This is an extremely important question. If there are several parties going on the same time as your wedding, this may limit your use of the beautiful lobby or outdoor facility that they offer and assisted in your decision for selecting the venue. I’ve seen places that allow for 4 or more weddings overlapping time slots and has limited picture time considerably. And don’t think for a minute that they will not kick you out of a location because someone else wants to use it and they paid more than you for their room. Not an ideal way to spend your wedding day. They may never admit to this when you ask them, so be careful because at that point, it is way too late change your mind.

I hope there is someone out there that will benefit from this and assist in their decision making. For anyone currently planning a wedding, I wish you all the best and hope that you never have to experience this sort of thing or these types of people. More and more companies each year flood the entertainment and service world because they think it is easy money. Well, it is for those who don’t actually care about who they are entertaining or servicing. The best thing you can do is ask a lot of questions so you know exactly what you are paying for.
Good Luck!
- Mark

Long Island Landscapes

2010-09-18T22:38:00.001-04:00

I have been pretty busy over here getting things in order for an upcoming wedding and designing a few wedding albums that I haven’t had much time to get out and shoot any recent landscape images. I really love shooting weddings; and landscapes just as much. Even though the two are so different, I find common ground with my photojournalistic style, it is mostly about waiting for the right shot. Posing is fake, there is nothing more fulfilling for a photographer than being at the right place at the right time. You don’t have the choice with landscape images, you either get the shot….or you don’t

I’m looking forward to seeing some of my Long Island Photo Gallery friends at the Suffolk County Fair being held at the West Islip Library on Sunday September 26th. I will be shooting a wedding the night before, but I plan on making it out to the fair on Sunday and I may even bring some pictures. I’ve had some of my landscape pictures printed on paper and canvas and they look awesome. I have some of them hanging in my living room.

I hope to see you at the fair. Happy Shooting!!!

Long Island Photo Gallery

2010-07-25T14:14:00.001-04:00

I am happy to be one of the newest member of Long Island Photo Gallery. LIPG is a group of Long Island Photographers of all skill levels that come together to show off their different styles and offer insight and reasons for their own vision. They are currently 16 members strong and growing. The group gets together for photo expeditions and critique sessions which is a rewarding experience to hear other peoples opinion of your work.

All photos on Long Island Photo Gallery are available for sale to the public. LIPG gives Long Island Photographers the opportunity to sell their work along side other photographers and is a nice compliment when someone is interested enough to pay for your images. As an event photographer, I still enjoy taking landscape images that I can actually frame and hang in my own home.

LIPG will be present at the 35th Annual West Islip County Fair on September 26, 2010 located at West Islip Library Grounds, Corner of Higbie Lane and Montauk Hwy.

Here is the link to my artist gallery.

Check out the site, its worth the visit. Thanks for the support.

The Calm Before the Storm

2010-07-12T11:02:00.001-04:00

The title sounds a little over the top, but it’s not a terrible storm, it just feels like it sometimes if you have ever planned a wedding. It can be very stressful, time consuming and everyone wants to help which can sometimes make it worse.

I recently had the opportunity to shoot a relaxing engagement session for a couple of friends who are stressed with responsibilities of planning a wedding. I could easily tell that they had a lot on their minds and I knew that when I got them together, they would soon forget all about the wedding and focus on each other. Away we went, working our way around the park finally ending up on the east side of the park to shoot with the sunset as a backdrop. Because they are friends, when we finished up, we went back to my home to view the photos on the big screen while enjoying a cold beer. A perfect way to end an outdoor summer photo shoot.

It is not easy for some people to put aside their thoughts for an hour and get in front of a camera. Sometimes it requires a glass of wine before hand and for me to direct the conversation so they don’t think about what lies ahead. Whatever emotions are lingering will show in the photos.

I believe engagement sessions are important and the photos can even become a part of the wedding album. It is always my suggestion to go for an engagement session, especially if there is plenty of time before the actual wedding day.

Time to go, be back soon……

Scenes Over Long Island

2010-06-27T11:57:00.001-04:00

Living on Long Island can sometimes be frustrating. We drive to work every day and deal with vicious traffic on the roadways. Driving anywhere on Long Island at most times is not fun. I actually found myself considering the possibility of a move out of state if an opportunity presented itself. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed possible, but I didn’t want to be driven away from the place I grew up and leave my family and friends.

I felt the need to balance this frustration by considering all the high points about LI. Living in an over-populated place does have its benefits when you are a small business owner. More people equal more potential customers. I tried to transform my frustration into focus and directed it into my business ideas. I am not a marketing guru, I simply wanted to design the best store front I could so I could feel proud to be behind it.

My passion is not just in the picture taking, but also in the design aspect. I loved building my website. In fact I enjoyed it so much that shortly after completing the design, I felt something was missing. I had an idea to expand my photography to more than just photojournalism. I love shooting weddings and events, but these are not pictures to hang in my home, they are for other people to hang in their homes. By capturing some nice images worthy of framing and hanging, it would possibly fill that void. Getting up early for sunrise or driving to a scenic spot for sunset, I began taking some images that were just OK. At first they didn’t show up in camera the way I had envisioned them in my mind. I realized that landscape photography was much more than just framing a scene and snapping the shutter. This was something that required a lot of practice.

My Scenes Over Long Island gallery is a growing collection of images I have captured to photographically express the beauty of Long Island. I hope you visit and enjoy the images I have captured.

Technorati Tags: Landscape,Long Island,Fire Island,Lighthouse,Photography

The Blue Angels

2010-06-01T11:13:00.001-04:00

The Blue Angels were in town this weekend, along with several other air-filled entertainment acts who performed at the Jones Beach Air Show. I try to make it there every year to check out the awesome planes in action and hopefully get some great images. For the first time, I was able to take my son Christopher with me and he loved it.

We headed over to the beach on Friday to check out the planes at the practice session. The practice session is cool because you pretty much get the full air show without the weekend crowds and traffic. It really is awesome and Chris was loving it. Armed with headphones to protect his ears and sun block to protect his skin, he was ready to see some fast-flying jets and acrobatic prop planes. I love to photograph these air shows. Chris and I get to relive the experience when we get home and review the images.

This type of photography is very different from the event style photography I am used to. It brings a whole new set of challenges, but the fundamentals are very important. Just about every setting on my camera is different from how it is usually set. Metering mode, shutter speed, aperture, focus drive, focus points, and advanced picture settings are all critical to capturing good images and these settings all well thought out in advance.

These planes move a lot faster than the bride and groom coming down the aisle or people dancing at a wedding reception. They are moving anywhere from 300-800 mph. Focusing on these planes is tough if you plan on getting some close up shots. You can’t use the single shot mode because by the time you achieve focus lock on the subject, when the shutter opens, it is already out of focus. they’re that quick. I use a combination of manual focus and AI Servo. AI Servo is an auto focus mode that allows you to follow a moving subject and keep sharp focus on whatever subject is moving in the frame. Beware of birds flying around in your frame when shooting into the sky. This may throw off the focus. That’s why I choose manual focus most of the time.

Another obvious factor in which to give serious consideration is that you are shooting into the sky. If you do this while the camera is set on program mode or any type of creative mode where the camera chooses the aperture or shutter speed based on the metered scene, you will usually end up with an image that is seriously underexposed. This is because the sky is very bright. The camera will stop down the exposure so the sky is not too hot and this will in turn make the subject that much darker. You can still use creative modes (I prefer aperture priority). You just have to use exposure compensation. I actually used aperture priority mode for most of the shots I took, with +1 2/3 or +2 stops exposure compensation. The exposure changes slightly while moving around constantly, so the camera figures out the exposure and adds 2 stops to whatever it figures is correct. This works pretty well.

I also usually always use a center focus point and spot metering when shooting events if i’m using using auto focus. I focus lock on certain spots and adjust composition after I lock focus and exposure. While shooting these planes, I used a center-weighed metering mode with more focus points because I could not adjust composition and I did not always want the subject in the center of the frame.

It is fun to change things up a bit. Not to mention, enjoy a beautiful day with some great company. I hope whoever is reading this enjoys the pictures. Happy Summer!

Natural Portraiture

2010-05-08T11:46:00.004-04:00

I have never been a big portrait photog. However the past couple of years I have been testing my abilities as a portrait shooter. I have been taking pictures of my son (who is 4 now) for the last few years and I get comments from friends that see my images that are encouraging for me to consider extending my business offerings at some point. Professional portrait photography is not an easy business and the startup cost is quite discouraging. But, it occurred to me that there are different ways to go about it.
One being the typical studio portrait setup. A large white empty room with several backdrops, props, studio lighting equipment and all the things that make someone who is not a professional model feel a bit uncomfortable. This is not for me for the simple reason that it does not seem fun to me. Nobody looks forward to going to a studio and getting their photo taken.
The other, and my personal favorite is natural portraiture. This can be done anywhere, which allows me to offer a more comfortable and familiar setting for the client.
As a wedding photographer I am largely responsible to shoot wedding portraits. I do not bring a backdrop with me. We usually choose at least two locations, one outdoor if the weather allows and an alternate if the weather does not. Last year I was shooting a wedding, it was a beautiful day and before we began the wedding party portrait session, the groom tells me that he typically does not smile in photos so I am going to have to make him smile. I’m sorry, I am a photographer, not a comedian. You are an adult. If you do not know how to smile for the camera on your wedding day, you may have some explaining to do when your wife sees the photos. My job is to make sure the dress looks good, the flowers are straight and that everyone is positioned perfectly and looking where they should.
I have been getting more and more requests for portrait sessions, so I recently added a portrait section to my portfolio right here. I do not use a studio backdrop or props most of the time, but I do use lights to make these natural portraits more interesting. The challenge is a bit different, but simple in terms of equipment with this style. Take a well composed shot with a nice backdrop and do not make it look like someone just walked up and took it with a point and shoot pocket camera.
Another thing to note is that if you go to a studio (like target or Baby’s R Us), the lights and props are already set up. You never see the person that is taking the photo mess with the camera settings, and they probably don’t even know how to. All photos are taken with the same lighting and angle. Don’t get me wrong, I have gone to get these done myself. All I am saying is that if you do this every time you get portraits done and put all the portraits next to each other, at some point you will realize that you have the same photos, with simply a difference of age or subject.
I use this example with my wife. We have some pictures to compare from my son’s 3rd birthday. I got him a baseball tee and a bike as his birthday gifts. My wife took him to get a birthday portrait because she is fixated on the props which I don’t have. He is standing next to a big number 3 so that there is no mistake as to how old he is and his smile is clearly fake, but cute and it is still a good picture, because it is my son. The other two pictures are of him hitting the ball of his new tee with a huge smile on his face and riding his new bike with again another big smile. The indication of age is that I know these are his gifts from his 3rd birthday and I know I took them on his birthday. I look at the natural pictures way more than I look at the studio shots. It shows more of his personality and how it has developed over the years. My wife finally decided not to take the kids to get studio shots anymore.
Natural portraits are shot mainly outdoors, the setting in which we are shooting is my backdrop, wherever that may be. I have gone to Plantingfields Arboretum for a family portrait session, I have traveled out of state to shoot executive portraits, and I have even done paid sessions in my back yard. The point is that this can be done anywhere.
When you consider portraits, try and think outside the box and not always associate the studio with the portraits.

Engagement Sessions

2010-04-24T09:41:00.001-04:00

I have an engagement session to shoot tomorrow (weather pending of course) and I am really looking forward to it. We will be shooting around sunset to hopefully get some really great pictures of the future bride and groom just hanging out on a Sunday. Congratulations to Melissa and Teddy on their engagement.

These sessions benefit both the client and myself in many ways and I really think the engagement session photos add to the story of the wedding. For one, these images are going to look nothing like the wedding photos. They are natural, not posed and he bride and groom are not in costume. We also do not have the time constraints of the hectic wedding day and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we can always reschedule. I always urge the client to book the engagement session well in advance of the wedding just so weather and scheduling does not become an issue with either of us. The last thing anyone wants is to have the stress of wedding plans visible on their face while in these photos. That may actually tell a different story.

These sessions allow the client to get to know me a little better and visa versa. I walk away feeling even more comfortable that I know what the client is looking for.

I always love to present the clients with their engagement photos in person, just as I do for the wedding photos. When I did my first engagement session almost 4 years ago, I presented the client with their photos and they were floored. It was a great feeling. Their wedding was not for another 8 months at this time. After they left to go home, I felt that something was missing. OK, they got their photos and now they get to go home a look at them. Great, now what? I thought about it that evening and came up with the idea of displaying the photos at the wedding reception for all to see as a surprise to the couple. I did not charge them additional for this of course. I decided to assemble a poster-sized collage that I could display in a large frame just outside the entrance to the wedding reception ball room. I quickly realized I was going to need a very large professional and elegant wedding-style frame with a nice easel and a picture light because most of these places are very dark. Oh, and the picture light had to be battery powered so no wires. What was I getting myself into. By the time I was done spending money, I don't think I actually made much on the wedding. It's all good though.

When we arrived at the wedding reception venue, my assistant and I unloaded all the equipment and as we were bringing the frame into the lobby, the maître d’ approached us and asked if he could help with placing the picture in a safe spot. It was perfectly placed outside the entrance doors to the reception ball room while safely out of the way of harm. Everyone that entered the room saw the collage as they entered the room and most stopped and looked. I was fortunate enough to catch some really nice comments about the collage. It truly was an appropriate presentation for the wedding. The bride and groom saw the collage when they arrived at the reception and I received big hugs for the surprise. Oh, and I also got a ton of requests for my business card. My assistant handed out over 100 cards.

The client gets to take the collage home while I keep the frame and easel. I always include this display when a client books an engagement session with their wedding package. It is a huge hit for both the client and myself. It makes me feel pretty good too while I have to walk past it a few times during the event.

If you are getting married anytime soon or thinking about it, ask your photographer about an engagement session. It is the Icing on the Cake!

If you would like to check out some more engagement photos, click right here.

My Gear

2010-04-16T20:00:00.001-04:00

I have been meaning to post an article about what equipment I use when I shoot a wedding, so I actually created a page to my blog that shows just that. I feel it is important to let the clients know what equipment I will be using to shoot their event. Some may not worry about that stuff, unless if they were photographers themselves, but it speaks to the integrity when you have this information available for all to see.

You can see my new page right here.

Photoshop Is Fun!

2010-04-07T21:58:00.003-04:00

Photoshop is truly an incredible tool. There is some controversy as to how much it should be used in professional photography. I personally like to play with it a lot to stay sharp with it. If I do include an altered photo with the final images from a shoot, I usually include the original just in case the client doesn't take to well to it. I will often times create some really contrast-rich photos such as a color and black and white mix, or use it to soften skin or whiten eyes and teeth on a close up portrait shot. But the true magic lies in the effort where the client (or anyone else for that matter) doesn't even know you altered the photo.

Photoshop has really saved my butt a couple of times and has turned some OK pictures into some really great images. This is not something I rely on in my photography. I always try to get every image in camera, but sometimes reality is just not good enough. Take this image for instance. How much better does this look without that bed in the way. It was just not possible for me to move the bed this far out of the way, because it was already up against the wall. Let's face it, it was a nice idea, but that bed was ruining the shot. So I played around in photoshop and came up with something that I thought looked good and the client didn't even notice until I showed them the original. The bride was very happy that I took the time to create this shot.

This next image was fun. The couple really wanted a cool shot of them through the window from outside looking in. This is a nice picture to have and I try to include it whenever I can. Interesting enough, every time I went outside to snap a few frames, the couple were greeted by guests and really did not get good shot of the two of them. Well, the cake was right there in the window and so was this nice little statue of a bride and groom dancing and hugging. This could have easily been pulled of by simply asking the couple to dance a few steps in front of the window, but I don’t think a posed shot would have ended up looking that nice. Instead, I found a nice picture of the bride and groom dancing….on the dance floor and pulled this off.

Gotta go for now, my daughter is waking up and needs her Daddy.

Pricing Page Updated

2010-04-04T08:44:00.006-04:00

Same look....more information. I have recently updated my pricing page with the goal in mind to offer more to my clients for their money spent without sacrificing quality. I am proud to say that my packages are packed with products and services that are truly fulfilling.

I have always been into photography, but I got into shooting weddings when I realized there is a chance to tell a story with the photos. There are too many studios out there making way too much money without giving the client much more than an album to walk away with (particularly my wedding, for example). I saw this as an opportunity to offer a quality product without taking advantage of my clients, but building a relationship so they will want to come back and that they were happy with what I provided.

I would have to say that the most fulfilling part of the job for me is presenting the client with their images (which I usually do with a personal meeting) and all of the products that I include with my packages. I always think to myself, what would I want with a wedding package that I didn't get with my own? I include enlarged prints with most of my wedding packages, so I also include frames with certain packages, and offer frames with all prints. I'm not talking about your basic wooden/plastic frames you find at Michaels (which are still nice). These are custom frames you will only find at a professional frame shop.

Albums are included with most of my packages, even the less expensive packages. This was a result of heavy research on my part of using the right vendors that offer different materials, yet still very high quality products. Most traditional wedding albums can cost several thousand dollars and are truly a work of art. But for someone who just can't afford to spend that much on a book, they can still get a professional-grade photo book with a leather cover with inscription so they are still walking away with a nice album.

The materials used in some of these products are getting more advanced. Less expensive doesn't always mean less quality. In some cases, it can be better quality, it is simply cheaper for the manufacturer to make it, and therefore I can purchase it for a lesser price and offer it to my clients for a lesser price. Some photographers out there are making more and more money by doing things cheaper in the studio and perhaps even raising their prices to really take advantage (hopefully not that many). And the fact is, some people do not even know the difference. They may even believe that the price tag is a direct reflection of the quality of the product.

Check out my new pricing page and if you do, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks

I think winter is finally over....

2010-03-31T11:40:00.000-04:00

After making it through a snow-filled winter, I know I can't wait for spring. If last weekend did not get the spring fever juices flowing, then perhaps you should go live in Alaska. I actually found a kid who was playing with his snow sled while it was 70 degrees. I thought it actually made for a good photo op. He brought it out to pull his younger brother from his bicycle. The water was a result of him dumping the water (melted snow) from inside of it before his brother (and then my son) got in. It didn't work.

Shooting outside during late afternoon is awesome. Just go outside, no need for flash or assistants. Just shoot with natural light. The sun is your main light and it is coming in from a nice direction (any direction other than directly overhead is a nice direction). It's so nice to just go out and shoot without having to set up loads of equipment. Don't get me wrong, that equipment helps make for some great photos that would never be possible in natural light. Natural light is just nice because there is no setup and you are not carrying a bag of tricks.....just a camera without flash.

I don't know who's having more fun....him or me!

Just having some fun

2010-03-27T10:19:00.001-04:00

Every now and then, it's good to keep the creative juices flowing by messing around with some of the capabilities of your camera and trying some trick shots. Clients may not always like what you have done, so if you are going to include these shots into the final selections, try not to showcase them as if to say, "AND CHECK THIS ONE OUT". Let them stumble across these images and see if they comment on them. And make sure you have covered all the safe shots before trying these shots.

I was shooting a birthday party recently in a very small room and I didn't want every shot to look the same as there were only a few different positions I could take and was using up every possible camera angle I could think of. I began to play with a technique I learned from the master David Hobby, aka. "The Strobist ". It is actually not that difficult. The only things you need are a zoom lens and a slow shutter speed. It involves zooming the lens while the shutter is open. The results can sometimes look cool and sometimes not. It is personal preference really. The more you try it, the better the chance of getting a cool shot.

I thought this one came out pretty cool, but some people are just not into this type of stuff.

Gotta go for now, Peace!

Long Island Landscapes

2010-03-18T15:50:00.000-04:00

I don't have the luxury of traveling to exotic places to take landscape photos. Some people actually make a living from taking images of some of the most beautiful scenes in the world (Jealous). I do however, really enjoy landscape photography, so my goal is to test out my theories with the scenes that Long Island has to offer. I love beach scenes and we have plenty of those, so it's a good place to start.

There are a few things to think about before releasing that shutter of a landscape. The true challenge is in my opinion is how do I make this image look different from every other image out there. Now, I'm not totally concerned about this when taking the picture. My main goal is to try to make the scene look as close to how I see it through my eyes. When I look at a scene, I try to be aware of exactly where my eyes are focused throughout the scene and I then make sure I focus my lens on that same spot. It is easy to focus your lens to infinity every time you you take a landscape shot, but selective focus can play a large role in the mood of an image, no matter how simple or complex the composition.

Another thing to note is that our eyes see panoramic, and sometimes an image may not come to life unless it is a pano. This is not something you want to do too often however (in my opinion). It takes the novelty away if used too much. But when you stitch together a really nice panoramic image that you took yourself for the first time, you will give yourself a pat on the back. Some cameras these days (I have heard) actually have a pano setting and do the stitching for you in-camera. That takes most of the fun out of it. I guess some shooters want instant gratification by viewing the completed shot in the tiny viewfinder on their camera.

Another thing to consider is the tonal range of your camera. Our pro cameras are only capable of handling 5 sometimes 6 stops of tonal range. On days when the sun is high in the sky and it is really bright, and your subjects may also have some dark tones, your camera my not be able to handle capturing the photo the way you are seeing it through your eyes, HDR (High Dynamic Range) is the answer. How this works is you take more then one bracketed exposure capturing all the tones in the scene and blend them together in software. The result is really cool. Keep in mind that focus point and aperture can not change through the different bracketed exposures, so set the camera on manual and find the exposure bracketing setting on your camera.

HDR ROCKS!

Outdoor Events Cont'd

2010-03-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

Air Shows are obviously few and far between. Not a lot of opportunities to shoot them unless you have the time to follow them around the country. Car Shows on the other hand occur every weekend on Long Island. Just grab a copy of the local event newspaper and you will find tons of information on public events that you may never actually hear about because there is a very select crowd.

There are some really beautiful cars on Long Island. You have to appreciate the care that goes into keeping them looking so nice. I like the fact that it is also challenging to shoot on a very bright day when the subjects sometimes have some wild paint schemes and a lot of shine. It is a nice break from shooting people when you are an event photographer.

Most people like to take pictures and they leave their cameras on full auto. This means that they are fully reliant on the decisions that the camera is making to determine the exposure, but do not understand how it comes to make this decision. The fact is, the camera usually does a good job in determining the exposures correctly (or in the ballpark), but the camera can get fooled sometimes. If you do not care to find out and are happy with the cameras decision all of the time, then that's one less thing you need to learn. But if you would like to explore the cameras capabilities to take different types of images with the same light and subjects, then turn the camera on manual and explore.

The first place to start when shooting outdoors on a sunny day is to try the Sunny 16 Rule. Put the camera on manual exposure, set the aperture to f16, and set the shutter speed to whatever the ISO is set to. If your ISO is set to 100, then set the shutter speed to 100 (or 125; it doesn't have to be exact). Take some pictures with this setting and see how they look. Then, make some adjustments based on how the images look.

Next, I will post some landscape from around Long Island.

Peace!

Outdoor Events to Shoot

2010-03-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

There are so many reasons to get out there an shoot when the weather gets nice. People flock outdoors as soon as the sun comes back around for a visit and rightfully so. I mean, I do live on an island surrounded by water and have pretty much grown up at the beach.

One event I try to never miss is the Jones Beach Air Show. This event occurs every year during Memorial Day weekend and it gives the word traffic a whole new meaning. I was able to catch the Thunderbirds and Showbirds there last year, the Blue Angels the year before and many other acts to enjoy during the show. Most spectators bring cameras with them and do not have the focal length to get a close enough shot that doesn't just look like a black spec in the air followed by a lot of smoke. Others, I have seen with heavy-duty tripods with thousands of dollars worth of equipment mounted on as if they were shooting the event for a magazine cover. I like getting all different types of shots during these events. I am not getting paid to shoot, so I am pretty loose and it is out of pure enjoyment. I can then go home and look at the pictures with my kids and they can see close up what really was making all that noise.

In the end, this is really what it's all about.

The Groom is THE MAN!

2010-03-10T15:05:00.001-05:00

The groom always gets the back seat when it comes to wedding photos. The focus is usually on the Bride and the dress. Well, I try to give the groom a little spotlight of his own. I figure, it's only fair to make the man look like THE MAN!

Almost Engagement Season

2010-03-09T19:28:00.002-05:00

Wedding season is almost here. I am so looking forward to the nice weather. I love shooting outside and one of the things I look forward to when I book a wedding is I ask all my clients if they would be interested in an engagement session. Some of them have never even heard of an engagement session (usually the guys).

An engagement session is simply a 1-2 hour session where we go to the location the client selects (or I suggest) and I will follow them around and play paparazzi for a while. This type of session is a benefit to both me and the client. It gives us both the opportunity to test each other out. I get to see how the client looks in front of the camera in a more relaxed setting, no dress, bouquet, tux, limo, wedding party.....just each other.

Some shots will be set up and some are just the couple hanging out, talking, and having fun. Who gets to say they had the opportunity to have a professional photographer follow them around for an hour and get some great relaxed fun images that they can show off to their friends and family. Best of all.....they get to show them off at the wedding. I can design a poster-sized collage that includes several of the images from the engagement shoot and display it on an easel at the wedding reception in a beautiful frame and a light in case the venue is to dark. Every time I have done this, I always catch crowds of people staring at the collage whenever coming in or out of the wedding reception. It is always a big hit.

Looking forward to a great season. I will post images whenever I have the opportunity.

Mark

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-14T01:58:00.002-05:00

Snowstorms bring responsibilities to parents that are a blessing and you don’t realize it till you are in the moment. Bringing your kids sledding and building a snowman turn back time to when I was a kid and a snowstorm meant that you spent the entire day outside. My son now believes that a snowman should be no smaller than 8 feet tall. I almost broke my back building this guy, but man was it fun!

October 18th, 2009 (Part 2)

2009-11-04T11:43:00.002-05:00

In The Spotlight

October 18th was the first time I was double-booked in my career. Having to shoot one event while lugging all my equipment is tiring enough, but I challenged myself and the results were awesome. (I have to admit, I do have an assistant.) It was almost refreshing wrapping up one event and starting fresh on another.

October 18, 2009

2009-11-03T18:15:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of shooting a wedding for Mary Lou & Larry Merrill on October 18th. My goal when shooting an event of any nature is to capture all the emotion I can get my lens on. If you work the room properly, you will find things that nobody may notice, but are significant nontheless. I think in some way, these are the things that help put the mood into perspective.

I was double-booked that day having shot a Bar Mitzvah earlier that day and was exhausted, but I was happy to capture some great images for the couple. Congratulations to Mary Lou & Larry.

Susanne & Jeff Cortez

2009-10-06T19:08:00.003-04:00

Mark Stumpf Photgraphy Homepage

June 11th, 2009

2009-10-04T20:09:00.001-04:00

www.mstumpfphoto.com

Yet Another Sunrise

2009-08-30T10:34:00.002-04:00

Fire Island Sunrise

2009-07-26T12:23:00.001-04:00

I decided to drive to Robert Moses one morning very early to see if I could get a nice sunrise shot to compliment the sunset shot I took of the Robert Moses Bridge. It rained the entire night before and was very foggy driving over there, I wasn't sure if I would even be able to get a shot. I orinigally wanted a shot with the sun behind the lighthouse, but since I was there I snapped the shutter a few times and was pretty happy with what I saw. The clouds always help. Click here for more pictures.

Robert Moses Bridge Sunset

2009-07-19T10:46:00.001-04:00

Sunset at Robert Moses Beach State Park. I envisioned taking a panoramic shot of this setting when I was at the beach with my son. He was having so much fun, that we stayed late and I saw this scene before it actually happened. I went back the next day at the same time as the weather conditions were similar and waited for this shot. I also got an awesome pano too.

To see the rest of the Landscape shots and panoramics, click here.

Warm Blue

2009-06-06T16:42:00.003-04:00

It's a pretty cool effect to use color shifting in your images to give it just a bit more style. With the use of gels and playing with the white balance settings on the camera, you can really have a lot of fun. Here I made the sky look even more blue, while maintaining a nice warm light on my sons face from my off-camera flash. By controlling the shutter speed manually, I was able to darken down the ambient light a couple of stops to make it pop a bit more.

Thunderbirds

2009-05-22T21:28:00.000-04:00

I was fortunate to catch the Thunderbirds practicing over Jones Beach on Friday before the big air show Memorial Day weekend. I love watching these planes. The maneuvers and noise are so intense to say the least and getting a great shot of these guys in action can never capture the true feeling of seeing them live. All parking fields were full due to the air show practice session and the 80 degrees or sun. It felt like the official first day of summer. So I, like thousands of others, parked along side Ocean parkway with camera in hand and enjoyed the show. Click here to see the full gallery of images.

Platinum Fun

2009-05-20T10:16:00.001-04:00

Our new platinum series prints are a nice addition to my print offerings. These stunning prints are BW images printed on premium metallic paper stock that make the images jump right off the page. Check out the samples. Platinum Series Prints

His Favorite Birthday Gift

2009-04-25T19:24:00.000-04:00

The Big Three

2009-04-25T18:56:00.000-04:00

My son Christopher turned 3 years old on Monday, April 20th. What a little king. I am so proud. I love you buddy!

Susan Cwass

2009-04-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of shooting Susan Cwass' daughter Elana's Bat Mitzvah last year and who knew what would come of it. Since then, she has given my name and images to a number of friends and family which resulted in more business and some good relationships.

I was recently informed that Susan has passed away in a tragic accident. She was a loving wife to her husband Eric and mother of two beautiful girls. Her passing has affected many people as Susan had many friends.

I have shot quite a few events which Susan has attended that resulted in some nice images of her. I wanted to do something to show my respect and thank you, so I designed a memorial collage which I will pass to her family and friends.

I wish I could do more.....

Waiting To Go Home

2009-04-04T21:46:00.002-04:00

Always when shooting a high profile party for young adults, you can be sure to find one or two where you can almost hear them counting the seconds till it's time to leave and take those uncomfortable clothes off. Although not always a top choice for final print to the client, occasionally they make for a nice image.

Double Trouble

2009-04-04T11:55:00.000-04:00

Trying to get portraits during a Mitzvah is challenging, but I couldn't help but take advantage of this opportunity. Twins posing directly in front of twin swan statues at the Thatched Cottage.

My First Blog Post

2009-03-23T15:42:00.000-04:00

Look up in the sky.....It's a bird, it's a plane......no wait....it's a ripped 2 year old super munchkin.