You may or may not have noticed but we’ve closed our physical studio on Broadway. 15+ years in one spot is long enough don’t you think?!?!;-) I needed a new challenge, new inspiration – and I wanted to take advantage of new technology to better serve our client needs and the changing professional portrait market.

d. holmes meir studios is now The Portable Pro and I really think you’re going to love our new level of service. Exceptional service coupled with the quality, creative portraiture you’ve come to expect from d. holmes meir studios.

What Exactly Are You Paying For?

In the past photographers have earned their living by creating beautiful portraits and then selling the printed images. Often times clients were confused by the price of an 8″ x 10″ from our studio compared to one created by another studio or a chain studio. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that the “cost” of the 8″ x 10″ print doesn’t vary a great deal – no matter where it’s printed. The difference in “value” stems from the photographer’s skill in creating the image. An image that’s properly exposed with artistic composition, color harmony and a flattering pose.

Hard as it may be to believe, I’m not one for patting myself on the back. No one is as critical of my photography as I am. But the most frequent comment we receive is, “We’re not really sure what it is, but there’s just something different about your portraits.”

Over the years we’ve had many clients take their younger children to different photographers – even though we’d photographed their oldest – in an effort to save money.The interesting part of the equation is the number who then call us back because they aren’t satisfied with their “money saving” images. I even had one Mom tell me she went through the entire senior portrait process at another studio and actually say she was ashamed to display the younger child’s portrait next to the older child’s – from our studio. She didn’t do the entire session over with us – just her wall portrait.

Digital Changed Everything – Including our Perception of Quality Portraiture

“Digital means there are just that many more “photographers” out there taking bad pictures,” is a quote I read not long ago. Can’t remember who said it – only wishing I’d said it first. A digital camera does not a photographer make. Anyone – including a monkey – can hold up a digital camera, push the shutter button and capture an image. The fact someone owns the newest, biggest, baddest digital wonder camera has absolutely no bearing on their ability to create beautiful images.

I have a second business – The High School Senior Portrait Expert – a website where I teach other photographers – 3000 and growing – how to create beautiful senior portraits. The most frequently asked question I receive -  what equipment to buy!!! And my answer is always the same, “Doesn’t make a dang bit of difference unless you know how to use it. Unless you study composition and color harmony and proper exposure and artful posing. Until you know that – cold – the most expensive camera on the market will have zero effect on the quality of your portraits.”

You Own ALL Your Portraits

Since the inception of professional portraiture, photographers have maintained control of images they create. That control protected by Federal copyright law. When you purchase portraits created by a professional photographer you are actually purchasing the “right” to display the printed image – the photographer maintains all other rights – including duplication of that image.

The digital revolution has changed forever the way we view our images. More and more of our clients want the digital file for use on their phones, their personal websites and social media sites. While printed portraits are still important to many of our clients the desire for digital files indicated a need to change our business model.

One Price – ALL Your Portraits

We have one price for our portrait services – $700. With that one fee you receive the following;

- Up to 2-1/2 hours of photography session time. We’ll come to your home with studio lighting and backgrounds to create your more formal portraits. After that it’s on to any number of locations for your outdoor portraits. Your own backyard, the Plummer House, the streets and alleyways of downtown Rochester – it’s all included.

- All your images on your personal web gallery. Within 48 hours of your session we will upload all your images to your personal password protected web gallery. Show them to everyone you know or only your closest friends and family. You control the password so you control who sees your images.

- Two of our favorites posted to our studio Facebook page. You’ll be famous. Kinda.

- All of your high resolution images on CD. We will do complete color correction and exposure tweaking on ALL your images and burn them to CD – yours to keep and have printed where ever you wish.

- Your Favorite 15 Retouched and Enhanced. One of the benefits to you in working with our studio is the level of retouching and print enhancement you receive on your ordered images. When you’ve had a chance to view your on-line gallery simply email us the image numbers of your “Favorite 15″ and we’ll make them shine. Colors will pop, your eyes will be beautiful (or dashingly handsome) and your skin will be flawless. You’ll receive the high-resolution files of your “Favorite 15″ retouched and enhanced images on CD – ready to be printed where ever you desire.

- Access to Our Print Partner Program. Via a new system offered by our color lab you’ll have access to the same quality printed portraits you’ve come to expect from d. holmes meir studios. You’ll be able to log on and order your prints from the comfort of your own home – anytime you want – 24/7/365. Pay with a credit card and when your order is complete they’ll be hand delivered to your home.

- Virtual Sales Appointment. We understand many of our past clients are going to miss the ability to get our input on the images their considering. Not to worry. Again, from the comfort of your own home we can set up a virtual sales appointment. We’ll talk on the phone while you – though the wonder of technology – view MY computer screen live and in real time. We can discuss specific retouching requests, create wall collections, show you different cropping – all as though we were sitting across the table from one another. (Except we can both be in our PJ’s;-)

FREE Senior Portraits – REALLY!

Consider how most business’s run a referral program – we’ll use our studio as an example. In past years we would give our clients referral cards to hand out to their friends. If their friend used the card to book a session at our studio they saved 25% on their session fee and got eight wallet photos free with their order. The referring client received $25 credit towards their portrait order. We could only afford to give the referring client $25 credit – because we had no idea how much the referred senior would spend.

I’ll be totally transparent with you – I need to make $500 from every senior I photograph. I could go into all the reasons why; equipment, marketing, training, etc… but who cares – you certainly don’t. You want a good deal and great portraits – and that only makes sense. So, every senior that has their portraits created with us will receive 10 referral cards. Any individual can use one referral card for their senior portrait experience.

Each referral card will give your friends $100 off their senior portrait experience and for every senior that uses your referral card – you’ll receive $100 cash back. Not credit – CASH! With 10 referral cards to hand out you could actually MAKE MONEY having your portraits created at our studio.

That’s It In A Nutshell

Continue to watch this blog for our updated “Print Partner” portrait prices. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.When you’re ready to book your session just give us a call.

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The summer senior portrait season is approaching fast and we’re gearing up with lots of new stuff. If you’d like to get a FREE report we put together with tips for selecting your senior photographer – GO HERE – if you’re a current high school junior – someone graduating in 2011. If you’re the parent of a 2011 grad you can – GO HERE – and get some equally informative information.

If we’ve already done your senior portraits and you were overjoyed with your finished images (and overcome by my charm, wit and intelligence . . . but not necessarily both) – we’d love it if you’d send your friends to the above links. We really appreciate your referrals.

Here’s hoping your spring is wonderful – if the weather would only stay like this!!

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There is nothing quite like the look of a natural light portrait. The images we create outdoors, be it a high school senior, a family or child, are always some of my favorites.

Controlling natural light can be a bit more of a challenge than studio lights but once you learn a few tricks it can yield some beautiful results.

You may be thinking, “Hey cool Dave, but it’s the middle of January, what good is this article to me right now?” Well grasshopper, you can also utilize natural light indoors, and I’ll tell you how.

The key to good portrait lighting is to look for “light direction” and “light quality”. On a bright sunny day (if there ever is another one) look at the sunshine coming through the window (light direction) hitting the floor in your home—notice how defined the shadows are—it’s either light or dark with a very definite edge. Now lock that vision away (or better yet take a picture of the floor with your digital camera) and then on a cloudy day look at the light again and notice how soft the transition is between light and dark, no definite edge—compare that in your mind (or on your computer screen) to the sunny day image. Hard or soft—light quality.

Next you want to make yourself a simple light control device. You may recall, if I did outdoor portraits of you, my fancy-dancy foam-board reflector. I use 3/4” insulation board you can find at Home Depot—it’s covered in silver foil. Even easier would be a piece of white foam-core you can get at any office supply store. This is your reflector and you’ll use it to fill in or open up the shadows on your subject.

Now you need a subject. (If it was me I’d use a newly minted grandchild but not everyone is as lucky)

Move the clutter out of the background, sit your subject on the floor in front of the patio door and look at the light on their face. Now hold that reflector on the shadow side of their face and slowly move it closer and then farther away. What happens to the shadows? Cool huh?

Now take pictures. Experiment with reflector distance, with types of reflectors and with subjects. And no, you can’t borrow my granddaughter.;-)

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Ellen Paris Meir arrived at 1:30 am on Thursday December 31st. She weighs 8 pounds and 13 ounces, is 21.25 inches long and has a full head of dark hair. She is obviously the most beautiful baby in the country and I’m currently offering three to one odds for anyone who can find a more adorable newborn;-)

If anyone is looking for a special gift for that new grandparent I would highly recommend Ellen’s Christmas gift to Kate and I; a book titled “The Gift of Being Grand” by Marianne Richmond – a Minneapolis author. One of my favorite lines from the book reads; “Your house is for loving and cuddling and baking, stories and coloring and sweet memory making.” Just try not to cry after you read that.

Be sure to watch our Broadway windows over the next year for a glimpse of Ellen.

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If I haven’t told you already our son Ben and his wife Kelly are expecting a baby – literally any minute now. They live in St. Paul and have a full house with Kelly’s parents and sister and boyfriend there to celebrate . . . whatever happens first. We won’t celebrate our Christmas with the kids and new grandchild until after the first. We will of course be heading for St. Paul the second Kelly goes into labor – which will naturally occur at 6:09 pm this afternoon – just when the “real” snow starts falling!!

Apparently I’m somewhat more pragmatic that my wife would like. I do believe the baby will still be there on Saturday and Sunday and Monday. We could wait and go after the storm has passed but then of course the Vikings could win the Super Bowl as well. (oh wait they might this year – ’cause now they have a Green Bay Packer leading the way)( Sorry Vikings fans – we have become fans of sorts this year – but then we have good reason.)

So . . . keep us in your thoughts if you would. If you’re headed that way and see a little red Camry in the ditch – don’t forget to wave.

This wouldn’t be a photographers blog if I didn’t post a couple of pictures. My wife makes the best cut-out cookies on the face of the earth. She wasn’t going to this year but I guilted her into it. The deal is she makes the dough and the frosting, cuts out the cookies and bakes them – but I have to decorate (and eat them). Which – now that I’m 51 – requires the use of reading glasses just to see the cookie.

The other picture is one of our niece at a family Christmas celebration last weekend. Kate and I got her a “Fancy Nancy” book along with a tutu, a feather boa and a pair of furry high heels. She was a riot – thought my mother in-law was going to stroke out!!

That’s it for today. Kate and I wish you and yours a wonderfully joyous Christmas and all success in the new year.

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Enough philosophy;-) I have a little trick I’ve done for the last several years with my leaves I thought you might find useful. Kate and I came home last night – and since it wasn’t raining like every other day for the last month – figured we better rake leaves. One hour flat was all it took to rid the front yard of a virtual (actually actual not virtual) carpet of soggy brown maple leaves.

We rake and use the leaf blower (my old “hair blower” from the studio) to move all of the leaves onto the driveway. Then I fire up the Honda in mulching mode and grind all the leaves to dust. This is much easier and faster than bagging them as the bag always fills up in about two and half seconds and this way the leaves are much finer. (kind of like the freshest fish at Finney’s diner – if you read Dr. Suess)

After that we shovel them into the wheelbarrow and take them around back to mulch the garden. You don’t want to mulch with whole leaves because they trap water and can cause nasty mold junk in your garden.

My lawn care tip for the day! And you thought I was just a photographer.

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