Lovejoy Photography

Prints v. Digital Negatives/CDs

2009-10-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Will Your Grandchildren Be Upset With You? by Fred Molesworth
Imagine, 50 years from now, as your grandchildren or great grandchildren are going through the boxes in the attic. Finding all kinds of treasures and keepsakes, they are enthralled with what they are, and how they tie into the story of your life.

Amongst all the old items, they find a number of round silver objects. Some have writing on them, some are blank, but they resemble some kind of small platter about 4 inches across, with a hole in the middle. Puzzled, they take them to their parents. “What are these, mom?” they ask. “Oh, I think those are all of grandma’s photographs. Yep, here’s on labeled “My Wedding”. Here’s one labeled “Family Photos”, and some more labeled “Vacations”.” “How do we look at them?” they ask. ” Well, I’m not sure we can. First of all, no one has the device that reads these any more. And besides that, I doubt after all these years that they’re any good any more. Being stored in the attic, the heat and cold probably ruined them.”
The kids are very disappointed. Nowhere among all the treaures are an actual prints. All that history is lost. Their connection with the past, and all the wonderful stories that might have gone along with all those photographs are gone as well.

Along with all the wonders of our digital age come some significant problems that most people have never thought of.
Did you know that somewhere around 90% of all images taken on today’s digital cameras are NEVER PRINTED? I’m guilty or that myself. I have gigabytes of personal photographs that have never been seen other than on a computer screen.

In the old days, film went to the lab, and everything that was printable was printed. Even if it was a bad photograph, it still was a hard copy, a part of your family history, and it had permanence. Even if it never went in an album, it at least went into a box, to be discovered as treasures years later. I just came across some wonderful old prints of my mother’s childhood from back in the 1920’s. They’re TREASURES. They connect me with my past, and keep alive some of the memories of stories my mother told me about growing up. But that is not possible with images that never leave the hard drive, and are lost when the hard drive fails. Or with images that are placed on CD’s or DVD’s, because that chances of being able to read them in 50 years in just about zero. Try to find an 8 track tape player today, or one of those large 12? floppy drives, or even a 5? floppy. And those were popular less than 20 years ago.

The same problem exists in professional portrait studios today. Many people are simply asking for the images on CD. “I’ll print them later” or “I’ll design my own wedding album” are common phrases. Usually this is done with the thought that they will save some money by doing it themselves.
But you know what? Most never make it into any kind of album. Life gets busy, other things get in the way, and 5 years later, they’ll still only have a disk. Kids come along, and life gets insane, and 20 years later, they’ll be looking for some way to read those disks, if they even happen to think about it.

And then 50 years later, the grandkids are having the conversation with their parents.

I work with a wedding planner – a professional in the wedding business – who fits this description perfectly. Her photographer simply gave her images on a disc. Five years later, that’s all she has, and she admitted that it is likely that it’s all she’ll ever have. Now with a new baby, she’ll probably never get around to designing an album. Life now has other priorities.
We periodically get call from people in this situation, wondering if we would design an album for them, retouch images, or if we can fix the poor quality images that were taken by someone by who didn’t know how, or feel the need to provide a quality finished product.

I bring this up only to point out the importance of what we, as a professional studio, do. Our job is not just to create the images, to create wonderful story telling photographs about the people in front of our camera. It is to create a final product, whether it be a professionally retouched printed single image, a family heirloom wall portrait, or an incredible storybook album using a collection of the images that were created.

It doesn’t matter whether it is a wedding, a newborn baby, senior or a family. Having the final product created for you is important. To do less is to leave the job half done, and to short-change the customer.
You will have something wonderful to show, something your family will love for generations, and something your grandchildren can truly get excited about when they discover that box in the attic.

Nikki's Bridal Session

2009-05-28T11:09:00.004-04:00

2009-04-25T12:47:00.003-04:00

Nikki and Andy Parker

Been a long time...

2009-04-25T12:44:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I have blogged. Been on facebook a lot lately. Let start with an image I took of a team I sponsored at the North Forsyth Little League.

Pedals & Babies

2008-07-31T19:27:00.003-04:00

Jay designs new logo for Fabulous Finds

2008-07-22T23:59:00.002-04:00

Jay designs new logo for Fabulous Finds Consignments in Kernersville.
Visit their website at www.FabulousFindsConsignments.com

Gone Fishin'

2008-06-30T13:42:00.001-04:00

Who is your family Photographer?

Dance!

2008-05-28T15:12:00.003-04:00

Our daughter, Katie, completed her dance recital this year and is very excited to start back this fall! Katie participates in ballet, tap and jazz. Jazz being her favorite we thought we would share this image in her jazz outfit taken by our studio at Lovejoy Photography.

Gas prices got you down?

2008-05-22T10:41:00.004-04:00

Lovejoy Photography ~ Leader in Innovation

We have teamed up with a local lending broker to provide you with the credit you need to give you the Photography & Framing Services you deserve. Payments plans for qualified clients to put Professional Photography within reach:

Wedding Day Photography
Canvas Portraits & Framing
Albums: Baby, Child, High School Senior & Family

Call today for more information (336) 996-9800

Lindsay & Steven

2008-05-21T11:32:00.004-04:00

Lindsay & Steven, thank you so much for allowing Shelley and I to be a part of your wedding. Your wedding day was beautiful! We look forward to sharing the rest of your images with you very soon!

New Wedding Site launched!

2008-05-13T10:09:00.002-04:00

Our new website has been launched for weddings! Visit www.ncweddingphoto.com for more information about Lovejoy Photography's wedding day services!

Of course our portrait website www.lovejoyphoto.com is still there and also has information about weddings and our portrait work.

Take a look and let us know what you think!

Lindsay & Steven ~ Engagement

2008-05-09T14:56:00.004-04:00

Lindsay & Steven were married this past weekend at Tanglewood Manor House. Images from the wedding will be posted soon! Here are some images from their engagement session at Tanglewood.

Trash The Dress

2008-05-01T15:26:00.002-04:00

The newest trend for today's modern bride! Unconventional and not yet ready for most brides in North Carolina, but... for the bride willing to "Trash The Dress" she can get fabulous photographs! Take a look at "Trash The Dress" for samples of some creative images from a TTD session that can inspire you.

The Wedding Story Canvas

2008-04-30T06:48:00.002-04:00

Choose fourteen of your favorite images. Each image is enhanced and cropped to fit a 20x20 fine linen canvas! Call (336) 996-9800 for more details.

Hair Show 2008

2008-04-29T07:18:00.003-04:00

Formal Fun

This style is so great for a bride wanting fun, stylish hair. The modern swept fringe in the front plays up the full, shiny curls placed at the crown - guaranteed to be a fun style. Makeup is bold - eyes heavily smoky, lips a shiny sun kissed blend for an overall beautiful effect.

To see more hair styles visit www.triadbrides.com

What Interior Decor Does

2008-04-24T06:31:00.002-04:00

Interior decoration is the art of decorating a room in such a way as to be attractive, fulfill its function well, and make the best possible use of the available space and surroundings. It encompasses aspects of décor such as color schemes, paint, wallpaper and wall decorations, carpeting and flooring, and furniture, as well as curtains or other window coverings, light fittings, and so on. A good interior decorator will be able to decorate a home in such a way as to convey a definite and consistent “feel”.

WayFinding Town of Kernersville

2008-04-22T19:51:00.003-04:00

Recently, the Town of Kernersville adopted new signage for the town to help identify parking lots, municipal buildings and established business in the historic district. To read more visit their link at http://toknc.com/pl/documents/Plan-Wayfinding.pdf

Use Flash Outdoors

2008-04-22T08:43:00.001-04:00

Bright sun can create unattractive deep facial shadows. Eliminate the shadows by using your flash to lighten the face. When taking people pictures on sunny days, turn your flash on. You may have a choice of fill-flash mode or full-flash mode. If the person is within five feet, use the fill-flash mode; beyond five feet, the full-power mode may be required. With a digital camera, use the picture display panel to review the results.
On cloudy days, use the camera's fill-flash mode if it has one. The flash will brighten up people's faces and make them stand out. Also take a picture without the flash, because the soft light of overcast days sometimes gives quite pleasing results by itself.

Senior Ambassadors

2008-04-20T09:48:00.007-04:00

High School Seniors!

WANTED: Models from the Class of 2009 for a photography opportunity

How: Visit our Websi te for complete details

Cost: Sessions & photographic goodies available at Ambassador Only prices

Why: We're looking for Ambassadors to represent your school & Lovejoy Photography
What: A chance to win an iPod, Major Discounts on Senior Photography, Earn a Free Autograph Portfolio, and one Ambassador will win $250 cash!
More: It's your chance to show your potential, be yourself and have fun! Save big on Senior Portraits. Be the envy of your school.

Act Now! Limited Ambassador opportunities available. Call today!

Sidney's First Birthday!

2008-04-20T08:12:00.005-04:00

Sidney's First Milestone - Her First Birthday!

'Kids grow up so quickly...

...the smudges on the sliding glass door get higher and higher,

until one day you look and they are gone...

All that remains are the memories'

Red Eye

2008-04-19T20:18:00.003-04:00

This is a common problem resulting from on-camera flash. Move your flash off- axis. Use a flash bracket and connecting cord. You can also bounce the flash off a ceiling or wall. You can also use remote flash triggers to fire a flash that is mounted on a stand or anywhere else, as long as it is not on camera.

Blurry Pictures

2008-04-19T20:06:00.001-04:00

Blurry photos are usually the result of camera shake. The simplest way to remedy this problem is to buy and use a good, sturdy tripod. If you can't shoot with a tripod, remember to use a faster ISO on digital cameras or faster film on film cameras. This allows you to increase your shutter speed. The faster the shutter speed, the less likely you are to suffer from camera shake. A rule of thumb for handholding is to use a shutter speed that is 1/lens focal length or faster. In other words, if you're shooting a 200mm lens, you need 1/200th second or faster. Don't forget to compensate if you shoot digitally. If you use a 200mm lens on a Nikon D100, it is the equivalent focal length of 300mm, so you will need to shoot at 1/ 300th of a second if you want to handhold.