Why I Love What I do | Boudoir Photography

Meet L. I had the opportunity to spend some time with L recently and what a time we had. L came in with a friend and they both took advantage of my Valentine’s Day Special so we had ourselves a party of sorts.

L was a gal after my own heart. She’s in that part of her life where she is completely fulfilled with her job, being a wife and a mommy with 2 kids. But….L wanted to take the pony tail out, put some makeup on and remember what it felt like to be sexy, sensual and look good doing it. As you can see, she was very successful. As a matter of fact, when L saw her photos this is the first sentence in her response to me:

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!! The photos are beautiful! I never thought I would feel this pretty again after having 2 kids, but you have made that a reality for me.”

And that, folks, is why I do what I do.

So as I bring my Valentine’s Day Special to a close I want to send out a little Thank You to all the women who took me up on my offer. It was wonderful meeting each and every one of you. Thanks for making another January so successful!

Look Mom! We’re famous!

We were so delighted to open up our Pittsburgh Weddings Magazine and see not only one wedding of ours featured but two! Yay for us!

I’m sure you remember Laura & Zack and also Lauren & Nick…both beautiful and awesome couples that we were so fortunate to spend the day with.

Pick up a copy and check us out…twice!

2012 Pittsburgh Photography Workshop | Beginner’s DSLR Workshop | WORKSHOP #3!

Well, I am so pleased to announce that not only has our 2/11/12 DSLR Workshop been…..

But I am also thrilled to tell you that our 2/25/12 DSLR workshop is also now….

And now I’m simply over the moon when I tell you that, due to popular demand, we are now opening a THIRD workshop! Same workshop, different date!

Come join us for workshop #3! Click HERE to register.

 

Weddings at the Priory | Katriona & Joe

I love putting collages together because very little needs to be said to describe what is going here. Obviously photographers are very visual people and it’s exciting to put my photographs together that tell a story that can be read just by looking at the photos.

One of my most favorite parts of a wedding day is the time when the bride is getting ready. There is so much excitement and energy. My favorite part is when the bride sees herself for the first time after putting her gown on. It’s a very special moment for her and a wonderful moment for me to document. I also love all the details sitting around like shoes, garters, makeup….one look at you can sum up that it is a very important day. Being a fly on a wall for this is the best job….ever.

This is our first wedding in 2012 and we are THRILLED to be starting our new season. Looking forward to a new year!

 

The Weight of the Issue

Lately, with the a few recent articles being released and with a new size being added to the “Plus Size” category (truly….this is just absolutely ludicrous) in the fashion world, there has been a mighty outburst crying warfare on weight and what it all means when trying to define beauty. So I thought it would be a great time to just rip the bandaid off and talk about it. And I mean it: let’s talk. See that little “comment cloud” in the upper right hand corner of this post? Go ahead, don’t be scared. Click it. Leave a comment, start a conversation, pipe in with your two cents. I’d love to hear you!

I’m fortunate in my line of work. I get to meet alllllllll kinds of lovely ladies from all walks of life, all fulfilling different roles, all searching for and living their dreams, all leaving an imprint of their energy and self on me. I love it. For me, when it all comes down to it, size really doesn’t have a role in what I do. Regardless of your size, if you can’t feel sexy, if you can’t conjure that vulnerable, sensual side of yourself when you walk into my studio, it makes no difference if you are a size 2 or a 22.

But let’s talk about the bigger issue here: does your size specify your state of health? I would think most of you will answer no. I know some size 0 gals that are truly unhealthy. Underweight, malnourished and salivating while watching a bird swoop down to swipe up a little crumb of someone’s left over breakfast on the ground. Just sad. But with Super (and I use that term very lightly) Models making quotes like “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” (God bless her poor daughter) it’s no wonder in the world of woman empowerment, where, even though we still have to fight a bit more for what we want, women who can truly have it all still list losing weight as one of their top priorities. And c’mon…for a lot of us it’s numero uno. On the other hand, this overwhelming movement for the acceptance of “Big is Beautiful” is just as disturbing. An obese, or truly overweight, person is no healthier than the 5’10″ size 0. Don’t kid yourself.

I get it though. It’s not easy being a woman. I struggle daily with what I’m supposed to be in this world. I don’t want to feel like I need to prove I have a feminine side when I change a flat tire on my car. I don’t want to feel like I have to prove my commitment to feminism when I want to wear lipstick and bake a pie. And I don’t want to have to apologize for being a feminist. I joke with my husband that I feel like I have to cook, keep house, do laundry, make money, raise a powerhouse for a daughter, fulfill myself, fulfill him and all while making the world a better place and, wait….I’m supposed to do all of this while looking like Angelina Jolie?? (and to be frankly honest here, John cleans the house, does most of the cooking, all the laundry, keeps us rock solid with his continuous brilliance on how to keep our business successful and make no mistake, he rocks an awesome tutu when playing with our daughter while teaching her to rock this world all on her own.)

But truly truly truly, the age-old, snicker-inspiring quote rings true: size doesn’t matter. It’s your health and feelings about yourself that matter. If you can get both of those on the same page in a positive way, you’re simply unstoppable.

Ok ladies, don’t hold back. Let’s talk.

Wedding Wire Bride’s Choice Award 2012 Winner!

So we were just WOWED when we got the news that we won The Knot Best of Weddings 2012 but imagine our surprise when we were notified that we are the honored recipients of a second award this year from Wedding Wire! GO US!

Thanks to all you fabulous and wonderful clients we get to enjoy another year of awards. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be here. So THANK YOU!

So if you’re a fan, don’t forge to “LIKE” us on Facebook. And if you’re a fan of Elizabeth Craig Intimates don’t forget to “LIKE” my Facebook page too!

Wedding Vendors: The Best Way to Get Photos of Your Work From the Wedding Photographer

So this is either going to be a very informative post for you or it’s going to be a touchy post for you. I have heard more stories from one end of the spectrum to the other regarding this subject and what I’m about to say below only speaks for us, Craig Photography. We do not speak for the whole industry because when it’s all said and done: the wedding photographer holds the copyrights to each image they take. They do not have to give anything to anyone except their contracted client. But I thought since the new season is on the horizon I’d take a moment to talk about some new ways and ideas on how to get those photos of those gorgeous flowers, or the cake, or that food you slaved over for…..ever. Historically we have been kinda bad with this so we’re hoping that these ideas will help us all to bridge the gap.

1. Touch base ahead of time. Establish a relationship with the photographer. Let them know you would love to have some images when it’s all said and done. You’d be surprised how many wedding vendors we work with that have absolutely no interest in obtaining any images of their work from a wedding. But telling us ahead of time strikes my memory when it’s over and I get another email from you reminding me.

2. Let’s make it easy. I can tell you that if you are a past wedding vendor and you have asked for images and it took me forever to get them to you, it’s because there wasn’t any super simple way to get them to you. Technology is making leaps and bounds but a few years ago, you had to email me the numbers of the images you wanted, I went in and searched for them, imported them, burned them to a CD and then snail mailed them to you. Hated every moment of it. Nowadays, I give vendors the link to my clients’ websites, have them create a folder on the site and name it for their business. I upload those photos to Dropbox (which is a free service) and “invite” them to that folder and they can instantly download all the images to their own computer. Life just got real simple.

3. Remind us. Lots of times when you ask for images we are in the thick of the busy season and we forget. If I say I will get you images, I will, but you might have to remind me. I know you may think you’re pestering us but for me, that’s not true. If I don’t want you to have images, I will tell you. If I say I do want you to have them then I mean it. With so much on my mind I easily forget things like that. So don’t hesitate to email me a reminder!

4. Be one with the quickness. I don’t know about any other wedding photographer, but John and I have a super-fast workflow for editing so most times that wedding we just shot on Saturday is already out of our computer by the following Saturday (I’m a purger. I can’t start something new until everything else is done and since we have a wedding just about every weekend we work fast). So if I pass that wedding website link on to you, make sure to get that folder of images done as quickly as you can. Once I get that wedding out of my computer, I now have to go digging around in my external hard drive to get your images, rather than just going right into my computer. It’s an extra step and it tends to keep me from getting your images to you fast.

5. Don’t compete with us. So here is the touchy part. Like I said, sometimes it takes time to get images from some photographers and some photographers just don’t want to give up the goods for one reason or another. Couple that with how inexpensive decent digital technology has become and we are now dealing with situations whereupon we show up to photograph our day and we find we are competing with other wedding vendors for our photographs. Lots of times this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (other times we realized too late that other wedding vendors were actually looking to open up a photography branch of their business and used our weddings to build their portfolios. BAD wedding vendor! BAD!!!). If you created those gorgeous flowers and you want a photo of them, fine by me! But what we’re now finding is that other wedding vendors are beginning to push that further and further. I’m not saying it’s intentional. It makes sense that if you created those gorgeous flowers, you might initially just want a photo of that bouquet. Then it’s “Well wait! Let me get that with the bride.” And then it’s all the bridesmaids, then you get the idea that you want a photo of the entire wedding party….then in a few different poses. And before we, as the wedding photographers, can turn around twice you have posted them to your blog and our contracted clients and all their families and friends are rushing to your blog to see the very first images of that special day and you’re getting emails asking where they can get a print of a few of them and emailing me asking why I didn’t take that same photo. See our issue here? Our photography is our livelihood. It’s special to us. We’re super siked to be the first to offer our clients the first glimpse of their photos. We’re super siked that they chose us to honor their day with our creative imagery. So when we have other vendors encroaching on our skill, our job, our creativity, our role for the day…well….it pinches a bit. I can’t speak for all wedding photographers, but I can say for us, you will always get your images and there will never be a need to bring along your own camera. I’m not saying I don’t understand why you do it. I have heard lots and lots of stories where some photographers won’t give up any image for anything (even money). So what’s a wedding vendor to do?? A-HA! Buy a DSLR for $400 and take photos of their own stuff. Brilliant! It makes sense. I get it. But all we ask is to think of us before you start shutterbugging away. I don’t bring my own bouquet just in case I don’t like yours. I don’t bring cupcakes to set up beside the cake you made and I certainly don’t bring an iPod filled with music I believe will get the dancefloor hopping just in case the DJ can’t do it on her own. For Craig Photography, if you respect our craft you can have just about anything you want. We have even had vendors seek us out to take very specific photos they want. GREAT! We want you to get what you want. The more specific, the better!

6. Give proper credit. There have been a lot of times where wedding photographers have given other vendors images only for it to be used all over the place with no credit to the photographer. Go thru that a few times and it’s easy to see why some photographers just don’t feel the need to share. Some photographers put watermarks on their photos but if you don’t want that on the photo, make sure to tell the photographer that you will put their name nearby the photo with a link back to their site. The most important thing to us is the link back to our site so if you can offer that and honor it, you will always get anything you want from me.

7. Be nice. I’ve never had anyone be rude but I have heard some nasty stories about some wedding vendors being pretty demanding of other wedding photographers and it makes me think of the age-old saying: you catch more bees with honey.

 

2012 Pittsburgh Photography Workshop | Beginner’s DSLR Workshop

Just thought you would all like to know that there are….

Click HERE to register!

Just Be You | Boudoir Photography

Just be you. That’s my advice for every client I have ever photographed, no matter what type of photography. So yeah, sometimes that’s easier said than done when you’re the only one in the room wearing a red lace bra and undies set from VS. But, nonetheless, you have to somehow conjure that side of yourself that just allows you to have fun and make your boudoir experience all that you want it to be. As you can see R did a great job with this. She laughed, she giggled, she rocked out some attitude, she was coy and shy…no matter what, she let her emotions rise to the top and flow right out. It was awesome. This is exactly what made her Intimates Session so successful. She’s not a model, she was very nervous and she had the same exact insecurities about her body that all women do. But she put all that aside and just had fun. We both had a blast.

So, two things to remember here: 1. Every woman that walks thru my door is nervous and insecure, but every woman walks out feeling confident and empowered. And 2. Allowing your guard to come down and giving yourself permission to relax and have fun can have a huge impact on your session. So make that decision before you walk thru the door and I think you might be surprised at how fun an Intimates Session can be.

Find out more about my sessions here and here. And don’t forget about my Valentine’s Day Special running this month only.

2012 Pittsburgh Photography Workshop | Beginner’s DSLR Workshop

Wow! I can’t believe the response we have had to these workshops! At this rate folks we will have to open a 3rd! Our first Beginner’s workshop on 2/11 is sold out (yay!) but there is still space in the 2/25 Beginner’s workshop.

So I thought I’d throw out another reminder just in case there are a few of you stragglers that are sitting on the fence about this workshop. I have gotten a few questions lately as to what it’s about and who this workshop is for. It is a Beginner’s Workshop for those who own a DSLR camera and want to know how to use it. It is for those that have this camera and when they look at it they’re not sure if it takes photos or cleans their floors. So if you’re looking at your camera and the first thing you do is scratch your head and poke at it with a stick to see what it does, this workshop is for you!

Some folks know a little more, some a little less. It is really for people that just want to learn the ins and outs of their camera so they can take better photos.

So if that’s you, click HERE and register. Hope to see you there!