New Blog

Good Morning Readers,

I just wanted you to know that my blog has moved and will no longer be here. To see the new blog. click here and you will be forwarded. The new address is http://www.psquaredphotographicblog.com. See you there..

Amy & Wayne's Wedding

Hey There Friends,

On July 10, I started my wedding season off with a bang and an injury. That's right...I said injury. Two days before, I rolled my ankle and was on crutches. Luckily, I have great friends and Hadar Goren came out and shot with me. This was such a fun day with such a great couple. The wedding was in Oakton and the reception was in Clifton at the fabulous Trummer's on Main. This is a brand new restaurant and it is incredible. The food and the staff are fantastic!! You have to check it out. Here are some of my favorite images from the day. Thanks again to Hadar. I could not have done it without you!!

My wedding season has finally begun!!

I know that its been a while since my last post, but I'm so excited that my wedding season has begun. This past weekend, I kicked everything off with an E-Session with Kelly & Chris. These guys are so great to photograph and their wedding is September is going to be incredible. I'm also so pumped to shoot this wedding with my buddy Noah Hayes. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the session. Enjoy!!

20 Random Things about me that few know...

Ok, I know that this subject has been done before and sometimes I find out something interesting and funny about bloggers that I follow, but I have avoided "going there".....until now. Please sit back and enjoy...For I too, have at least 20 random things about me that few know about. Don't hate...Just Love...

1. I'm have a problem with iPhone Apps...I download too many
2. I'm a sushi FANATIC!!
3. I used to be a professional musician and I rocked the mullet!!
4. I've been playing drums for over 30 years
5. I've been singing for over 35 years
   
6. I DVR all bass fishing shows on Saturday and Sunday!!
7. I love bubble gum ice cream
8. I'm hooked on fishing
9. I prefer Van Halen to Van Hagar
10. I paid for every song on my iPod
11. If Apple computers didn't exist, I'd use an abacus!!
    
12. I've got two tickets to the gun show for sale to anyone that wants em;-)
13. I'm a band geek (I was in the drumline and I teach drumlines)
14. I hate celebrity...I would never ask anyone for an autograph...Its so rude!!
15. I get carded for beer and I'm 43 years old
16. I was a champion shepard....in another life;-)
17. I can do the humpty dance..
18. I have Bassitis
19. I wrote the 5 second rule
20. I get writer's block.......
    

Whats been happening?!!

Hey There Friends!!..Been a while hasn't it? Things have been crazy and I'm finding that there needs to be more hours in the day and more days in the week. So where to begin... Well, I'm pretty over the rain at this point. I've had to reschedule multiple engagement sessions because of this wonderful wetness, but the weather man is telling me that there might be a break on the horizon. Let's keep our fingers crossed. My couples ROCK and I really want to get out with them to capture some awesome moments. I also just received another wonderful album from my pals at KISS Wedding Books. These guys never cease to amaze me with their service and the quality of their product. My clients are gonna love this book! Stay tuned for a post about this album with some pictures soon. Also, if you Twitter, follow me by clicking here. I try to post little tid bits throughout the day. Who knows, you might catch something that makes you giggle!

In my personal life, things have been crazy and lots of fun. For those of you that don't know, I've been a musician(drummer) for a longer time that I care to admit (I don't want to give away how old I am!!;-) and I've started playing to large crowds again at McLean Bible Church. The folks that I play with are awesome and I get to wear my Chuck's and graphics tee's to church every Sunday. Really Cool!! My kids are begging me to let them sit in "grown up church" so they can see Daddy get his groove on!! Anyhow, that's all for now. Stay tuned for pics of the new KISS Wedding Book that just came in. That should be up soon. Until next time...

SmugMug & Bay Photo RULE!!

As some of you may have heard, I switched all of my online gallery and printing services over to SmugMug a couple of months ago. I had been happy using NextProof & White House Custom Color for the last year, but there were limitations to that combo and I switched based on the recommendation of another photographer in my area. Well, I can't tell you how glad I am that I made the switch. I use SmugMug's Pro service with Bay Photo as my printer and I recently placed a sample order so I could check their print quality with all of their papers. Well the order was printed and shipped within 2 days of my request and I recieved it yesterday. When I opened the package and checked out the prints, I was floored at how accurate they were and how consistent they were throught the different paper types. I've never seen anything so incredible. I'm so pumped to hear feedback from my clients!!

Favorites, Favorites!!

Ok Friends,

In the spirit of the blog and some of the trivial information that is out there on ALOT of blogs, I thought I would add my contribution to the pile. ;-) In the words of Julie Andrews and Von Trap family, here a few of my favorite things:

Fav Lunch- Sushi

Fav Pizza- Fireworks Pizza in Leesburg, VA. Try the Smokey Blue. It RULES!!

Fav Guilty Pleasure- Krispy Kreme Baby!!

Fav TV Show- No Reservations

Fav Company- Apple Computer..They RULE!!

Fav thing to do to release stress- BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF MY DRUMS!!

Fav Music- Everything on my iPod

Fav Movie- Breakfast Club

Fav thing that I can't do without- Hi-Def TV..Once you fly first class, coach SUCKS!!

Fav Sound- The laughter of my kids

Fav Camera- Canon 5D MkII

Fav Soda- Diet Dr. Pepper

Fav Gadget- my iPhone 3G

Fav iPhone App- Tweetie

Fav People- My sons Wesley & Bradley

Fav Person- The J-Man.. My Rock

Fav Band- Toto...Don't Hate on Me!!

Have you had enough? I have... Let me know what your fav's are if you want.

Workflow, Workflow

Ok...So this post isn't really geared for my clients and non-photographer friends, but sometimes one must indulge. I get asked alot about the gear that I use and my workflow from other photographers, students, and folks who hear that I'm a photographer and just wonder how things have changed since the days of film. Normally, I don't mind talking about gear, but lately I've changed the subject because in the end, the gear doesn't make the photographer. Even so, I promised a few friends and students that I would post something soon about all of that tech stuff that bores most people. So, for all of you that love the toys like I do, here goes:

Computers & Software-

17" MacBook Pro (Apple Rules!!)

Adobe Creative Suite CS4 (image editing)

Adobe Lightroom (image management)

Totally Rad Actions (Photoshop Actions)

Showit Sites (WebSite Design)

Photojunction (Album Design)

Storage & Back-Up- 3 Tier image Back-Up & Storage

LaCie 2Big Quadra 1TB RAID (Tier 1 Back-Up)

Drobo 4TB FW800 (Tier 2 Back-Up)*

SmugMug (Tier 3 Unlimited permanent image Back-Up)

Cameras & Lenses-

Canon 5D MkII *

Canon 40D

17-40 f4L Wide Angle Zoom Lens- I love this lens for catching everything!

24-105 f4L IS Zoom Lens- This is my "do everything" lens

50 f1.2L Prime Lens- This is my new "Fav"!! Buttery portrait lens.

70-200 f2.8L IS Zoom Lens- I can't live without this bad boy!! Tack sharp!!

Canon 580EX Flash

Canon 580 EXII Flash *

*- on order. Should have them in a couple of weeks.

I hope this answers any questions that my gear-head brethren have.

New Stuff for 2009

Good Morning Friends,

As a follow up to my last post, I wanted to take a quick moment to update everybody with information on whats new for 2009. Besides moving my business and my life, I have made some product line changes to my packages. This mainly applies to albums, but I have also changed my online gallery provider to SmugMug. I've been toying around with switching over to them since the summer, but some of the changes they have made to their service sealed the deal for me and these changes will help my clients in several ways. First, SmugMug now has a new lab and I couldn't be more happy. In the past I have been using White House Custom Color with no complaints, but my gallery provider didn't integrate with them and this increased order times substantially. But now, SmugMug integrates seamlessly with Bay Photo. Bay Photo is an incredible lab and they have won practically every shootout on print quality and service. I'm really excited about this change. Also, with SmugMug you can preview the cropping on all photos that you order before you finalize your order. This is key and I have been receiving alot of feedback in the past from my clients about this feature and how much they wanted it. Well now, you've got it.

As for albums, I have recently decided to stream down my album offerings to make things less confusing to my clients. My standard albums will still be KISS Wedding Books because they ROCK!! But now, I'm proud to offer PictoBooks. These premium albums are pretty incredible and offer more options than you can shake a stick at. If you want jewels on your album, they can do it. If you can think of it, they probably offer it. I will still be able to order Finao, La-Vie, and Asuka Books if you want them, but my mainstays will be KISS and PictoBooks. Until next time....

I'm back!!.......Again!!

Ok.....go ahead and say it, I'm a slacker. Its OK...I can take it. Yes, I said that I would be blogging about something every day and NO, I haven't blogged about something every day. But the truth is, I have been really, really busy over the past month. Probably the biggest thing going on is that I have moved myself and my business to Ashburn, VA. Getting settled has taken a while and I've been fighting an awful flu. Also, I quietly rebuilt my website and am getting good feedback on the new design. Feel free to stop by and send me feedback. Anyhow, I'm back and busier than I have been in a while. My calendar is filling up with weddings and engagement sessions and I couldn't be more pleased. OK....I could handle a little more business, but I'm not complaining. With all of the stuff thats happening in my life, I'm feeling truly blessed these days.

January Photographer Get Together

This past weekend, I attended a photographer get together hosted by Armin DeFiesta and Julia MacInnis. There were over 50 wedding and portrait photographers from the Mid-Atlantic. It was so awesome getting together with old friends and meeting some new ones. Enjoy these videos from the event. Thanks to Noah Hayes for the videos. Enjoy!!

Canon 5D MkII

Hey There Folks,

In my quest to live up to my New Year's Resolutions, I wanted to talk briefly a new camera on the market that is going to change the way that we(wedding photographers) work. That trend is combining still image capture with moving image capture. Traditionally, this meant hiring and paying for two people to document your wedding. Now, with the introduction of the Canon 5D MkII, we can offer both services in a very unique way. Everyone will offer different flavors, but the technology is there and the results are stunning. I'll save you the tech talk and let the image quality speak for itself. The Bebb's in Canada were the first folks of note to really talk about this camera and what it can do and its taking the world by storm. As a member of the [b]school, I have access to many wedding photographers from around the globe. Today I saw a video by a guy from Australia named Matt Ebenezer and it blew me away so much that I want to share it with you. I can't wait to get this camera for myself. Enjoy!!



Ben and Sally - a 5D Mark II wedding video - HD from Matt E on Vimeo.

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My beloved "Mama"

This past New Years Eve, I lost the only grandmother that I have ever really known. My father's mother died when I was in second grade so I don't really remember her. My "Mama" was incredible and she and I were extremely close. The last few years of her life were spent in bed, not knowing who we were, but we never forgot who she was. Since I am the oldest grandchild, I was given the responsibility of of representing the family with some words about her. This was very hard to do, but I made it through. Even though, none of you knew her , I wanted to share with you the words that I shared at her funeral. She was truly an example for us all and I want the world to know this. I love you Mama and I hope to see you again one day...........


Today has truly been a long time coming. 99 years to be exact...and while we were thinking that Mama could make it to 100, the Lord had other plans. He must have felt that he had too few angels that could critique Tiger Wood’s swing and make the best homemade bread in the world all at the same time. While we all have our own fond memories of Mama (I call her Mama, some called her Mother, some called her Nana and some called her Mrs. Goodwin), the one thing that we all have in common is that we were loved unconditionally by her. Mama loved us all with her whole heart and soul and we never wondered how she felt about us. Not only would she tell us how she felt about us, she showed us all in so many ways. Mama was a shining example of how we all should love each other...Unconditionally. One of the proudest parts of Mama’s life was her family. If you looked up the definition of “perfect grandmother” or “perfect mother” in the dictionary, there would most likely be a picture of Mama. Whether it was talking about “girly stuff” with Martha Hunter, Molly, or Camp or talking sports with Hunter, Matthew, Peter or me...Mama could do it all without missing a step. She was always eager to hear about what was going on in our lives and we always knew that if we were having a hard time with anything, we could always talk to Mama. If we were sad, she would wrap her arms around us and tell us that everything would be fine and would always give us guidance. The other thing that we all knew was that if we were acting up, we need an extra 3 feet of running room to get away from the yard stick that Mama kept around for such an occasion. For some of us, this was never an issue, but for the rest of us, we made sure to wear our “fast shoes” when we stayed with Mama! Honestly though, Mama adored us all and we always looked forward to seeing her. She was also so proud of her children Bill and Patricia. She was always eager to tell everyone of her children’s accomplishments and about how proud she was of them. More than telling how proud she was, she showed how proud she was. She would light up when her family was together for holidays and special occasions and was always eager to hear about everything that was going on in our lives. Lastly, Mama adored her husband. Mama & Pop were the perfect example of how a married couple should be. We should all aspire to live by their example. They complimented each other and were each other’s other half. They were each 50% of a perfect 100% equation. They cared for each other so deeply that when Pop went to be with the Lord, Mama felt as if she lost half of herself. Sure, she stilled loved us all the same, but she has always been longing for the love her life. Well, Mama is complete again. She is with Pop walking through heaven, looking down on us all, and loving us in the same unconditional fashion that we have known for so many years.

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Happy New Year

OK...I know that I said that I would be posting things here more often, but the truth is my life has been a zoo for the last month. The holidays happened, my 99 year old grandmother died New Years Eve, and school started back. Plus, I'm in the middle of changing all of my marketing stuff. Wish there were more hours in the day!! Anyhow, I really do hope to get back to a more active blog life. Maybe, I'll start talking about stuff that I think is cool. Maybe, I'll talk about American Idol. Maybe, I'll talk about my awesome friends and my two boys. Maybe, I'll talk about business. Hey...I've got an idea....How about I talk about it all. One of my New Years resolutions is to get back to the old me. I've had tons of crap happen to me over the last several months and I'm tired of using it as an excuse to not be me. I'm sure that some of you are tired of it as well. Life is too short to not get something great out of each day. Sometimes, its hard to see it, but we can always find something good out of every day.  So here is my promise to you... I WILL POST SOMETHING EVERY DAY!!! You may dig it...You might not. Either way...its time to get back to being me.

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Feeling like reflecting

Good Morning Friends,
Been a little bit since my last post, but things have actually been really busy. During the holiday season, I always seem to find myself looking back on the past year and summing up whether it was a good year or a not so good year. Either way, hopefully I learned something from it and can apply what I have learned to the next year. In my business life, this past year has been alot of things. Its been exciting, humbling, fun, enlightening. I love the business that I'm in and I can't wait for my business to develop into the business of my dreams, but with the state of the economy, we have all had to make changes in our business models to role with the punches. For some, its been easier, but for me its been humbling. I have had to take a step back and look at how I do things. Its easy sometimes to get over confident, but its also just as easy for you to get knocked down. One day its great....the next day....not so great. I see friends in other lines of work that appear to have everything going right, but the reality is that they are dying inside. I guess the thing that I have learned from this is that I really need to keep things in perspective. I can't beat myself up over things that I have no control over and I'm gonna make mistakes. Thats life. Everything happens for a reason.

In my personal life, the year has been equally humbling. I'm usually pretty private about my personal life and I don't see that changing much, but I will say that I have had the wind knocked out of me a little. I'm not going to go into detail, but you can read between the lines if you like. This rough time in my life has caused much pain, but has also enabled me to find the answers to many questions that I have had over the years. And that has been incredible!! I'm a true believer that through tough times, you are able to see things clearer and you can discover what is truly important. You also discover that no matter how bad things get, there are people that love you and have your back. These are the treasures of life and its so important to make sure that these treasures know how important they are. I'm sure that the year to come will be full of challenges, but its good to know that I have the support to weather the storm. I'm such a blessed guy to have what I have. I have great friends, two wonderful sons, and a wonderful family. But the most important thing that I have is unconditional love from those closest to me. That pumps me up....That sustains me!

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The Land Family

Hey Folks...Been a long time! Hopefully, it won't be so long next time. I recently had the pleasure of shooting a family portrait session with my best friend Geoffrey and his awesome family! I love these guys very much and its always fun to hang with them and take pictures. They were one of my first clients when I started my company a couple of years ago and I look forward to shooting them alot more. Here are some of my favorite images from the day. Enjoy!!

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I've been KISSED!!!

Hey Folks,

I just got my first KISS Wedding Book in and I have to say that it ROCKS!!! I ordered it for Mari & Jeff and we chose this sexy green leather to go along with their color scheme. I can't say enough good things about KISS. They are the best in every way and I can't wait until I order Kari & Jonathan's album. As I have said before, KISS has the best customer service, the coolest books and the greatest staff in the biz. Kevin Swan and crew will stop at nothing to help their customers and I'm proud to call them a vendor. I love these books so much that I have made them my standard offering for all of my packages! Here are a few pics that I took before I deliver the album to Mari & Jeff. Enjoy!!

Whats New w/PSQuared

Let me start by saying that I know its been a while since my last post, but there has been alot going on around here and I have been really busy with alot of stuff in my personal life and my business life. For those of you that have been asking about my posting activity, there you go;-) So on to business stuff. Over the past couple of months, I've been working steadily on rebuilding my website and I can finally say that version 2.1 is done. Since August, I moved my website from my previous provider over to ShowitSites and I can't tell you how happy I am to be there. Their product and service is second to none and the flexibility that I have to make changes on the fly is incredible. Plus, there are constant upgrades and add-on's that I can use at will. Pretty GREAT!! David Jay owns the company and he has been instrumental in many of us getting our businesses set up the right way. Plus, he's a heck of a nice guy. I got to attend his Free to Succeed Tour back in August and he shared a ton of info with us. You can read more about my thoughts on this in earlier posts. Also, as of September, I'm no longer with Pictage. No need to go into all of the reasons why I left, but I have found a better solution for my clients in NextProof. Their galleries are fantastic and they don't harass you with a bunch of emails trying to sell you their products. Oops...Now you know one of the reasons why I left Pictage! Anyhow, my clients will love NextProof and the lab that I now use is White House Custom Color. They are the best in the business and I guarantee you will love their prints!

Lastly, I want to say something about KISS Wedding Books. For those of you that have followed this blog, you have read posts about KISS before. Well, I have to let you know that I just ordered my first KISS album for a client a couple of weeks ago and I have experienced the best customer service from them that I have received from any merchant, anywhere. I immediately had an email letting me know the status of my order and when I called with a question, I got the owner of the company, Kevin Swan, on the phone. He was aware of my order and was eager to talk to me about it. Now, I know that lots of people have talked about KISS in this way, but I thought that I would share my firsthand experience with you. If you are a photographer and you haven't decided on which album products to offer your clients, you should really check them out. Kevin is a working wedding photographer and they understand our needs like nobody's business. Plus, their albums ROCK!! Really hip, simple, and handmande! Can't wait until mine gets to me in a few weeks. Until next time...

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Whats the deal with these Wedding Albums?

You know, every time that I talk to a client or a prospective client, I get asked about wedding albums. Either they want an explanation about my product offerings or they want to know why I offer them (Yes, I said they want know why I offer them). So, since I seem to field these questions pretty regularly, I figured I should blog about it to clear up these questions. (At least from my perspective;-D) When I first got into photography, I worked at a pro lab in Manassas, VA that catered to alot of wedding photographers from this region. Because of this, we offered wedding albums. Keep in mind that this was in 1993 and alot has changed with wedding albums since then. The funny thing is that even though the product has changed, folks still sometimes think of wedding albums as a book with a fancy cover and windowed openings to slide your prints into. Now, don't get me wrong, the demographic that thinks this of wedding albums usually isn't the bride, its Mom (said with love of course!) Today's bride either doesn't think that they need an album or they know exactly what they want. The truth is that wedding albums; in most cases, are the first family heirloom that you will have. They are something to be treasured! If done right, they should help you remember your day and the special moments of love that were shared with your friends and family. As for the products, wedding albums today are custom, highend, one of a kind pieces of art that are put together with much care by wedding photographers like me. We have them custom designed for you and we use only finest products. Something so valuable deserves that much care. While there are many album makers out there, PSQuared Photographic believes in only offering the best. We proudly offer KISS Wedding Books, Laguna Albums and Couture Books.

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Kari & Jonathan Married

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of of shooting Kari & Jonathan's wedding in Southern Maryland. You could not have asked for a more beautiful day or a more fantastic setting. What made it extra cool for me was that I got to have my buddy Armin DeFiesta shooting second. He and I shot a wedding together last March and it was so fun that we had to work together again. He captured some truly amazing details and moments. Looks like we will be working together next summer! It will be a blast! Kari & Jonathan were amazing to work with and their friends were amazing to hang with as well. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day. I will have a slideshow with many more images up within a week or so. Enjoy!!