David Burke & John Craig
How To Everything (& More): PHOTOGRAPHY

In your gut you want to be a PHOTOGRAPHER. Or maybe you just want to learn how to use that expensive camera you just bought but you’re not sure who to ask. You have a great eye for composition but you just need some guidance, an advisor to help YOU fulfill your dreams. Make the jump from thinking, daydreaming and create great photographs…

Is this you?
-You take great pictures
-Everybody tells you that you take great pictures
-Your friends and family always ask you to bring your camera
-You bought an expensive new DSLR camera
-You have no idea how to use to it, except on AUTO
-The camera’s manual scares the bajesus out of you
-You love photography and want to get better

Who should take this workshop?
-If the list above is YOU
-You love taking photographs
-ISO, F/stop, shutter speed, and aperture are words that means nothing to you
-You have no idea what DSLR means
-If you want to able to tell your camera what to do
-If you want the mysteries of the photo universe revealed to you

What you will learn:
-Understanding exposure
-How to use your camera in manual mode
-How to take a photo “correctly” in camera
-Natural light techniques
-Understanding your lens
-Understanding White Balance
-Flash Techniques

Date: January 23, 2010
Location: 502 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Time: 10 am-4pm
Cost: $175.00: includes boxed lunch
Class limited to 15 people
Contact Elizabeth Craig at 724.355.9079 or by email at craigphotography@mac.com for more information and to register.

Purposeful Blogging Workshop

Every photographer that I have ever met struggles with the same issues:

I am too busy running my business; I have no time for creative new work. How do I get more time?

Or

It’s too important for me to keep creating so I have no time to run my business. How do I get more time?

These questions will be answered at my Purposeful Blogging workshop.

“Purposeful Blogging is a marketing tool for photographers who want to grow their business by building an audience through the use of new communication models. Blogging for your business is a demonstration of your skill and representation of who you are. This workshop with Photographer will introduce you to techniques that can help you launch your business into the blogosphere.”

This is a workshop of must-have information on how to build your audience thru blogging and how to sustain you business.

Date: January 30, 2010
Location: 502 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Time: 1 – 4pm
Cost: $55. 00
Class: limited to 15 people
Contact Elizabeth Craig at 724.355.9079 or by email at craigphotography@mac.com for more information and to register.

AND DON’T FORGET:

Pittsburgh Light Up Night – Photo Walk
Friday November 20th 7pm
Meet up: West End Overlook
Cost: Free
What to bring: Camera, tripod and warm clothes ~ it will be very cold and crowed on the overlook.

Q&A Session & Meet-n-Greet
Thursday December 10th 7 to 9pm
Meet up: My house
Cost: Free
What to bring: Your questions, camera, good attitude and a friend. Let’s build the community.

E-Book released
January 2010
The Photographer’s Blog
Cost: $10.00 download

This is for all you Steelers fans out there that also just so happen to be getting married. This one’s for you…yes this really is their locker room…more to come!

Just a little reminder that I am now booking Intimates sessions for the Christmas holiday.  Don’t forget to visit my Intimates site for more details on pricing and a great new Glam Session Special.

Don’t ya just love the details??

Happy Tuesday Everyone!  So it’s that time of the week again to tell you how things are going. Happy to report things are going great!  We’re still in the throws of the busy season so we’re still keeping very busy but I’m so glad to say that John and I have finally found a rhythm that keeps us afloat. I even had time on Thursday to do whatever I wanted…still typing that out now makes me giggle.  Hee Hee.  So, when someone asked me what I did with myself here is what I told them:

“Shopped of course! And I didn’t even have to speed like a mad woman to get there, take any parking spot I could get my hands, run into the store pushing old ladies and small children out of my way while leaping over aisle displays, searching madly for anything that is even close to what I need and then hightailing it to the checkout counter knowing full well I have 15 items in the “10 items or less” checkout but not caring and running in traffic to get to my car, tossing everything in the trunk and slamming on the gas peddle cutting 3 people off and running 2 red lights just to get back home for the continued list of 3000 other things that need my attention that day. Aaaahhhh…*sigh* I went the speed limit, walked, said “pardon me, after you”, I strolled…even meandered, if you will. I browsed, compared, tried on, tried on again, even made extra stops just because I had the time. Hmmm…me likey.”

I think that says it all.

Just finished yet another Ken Follett book, Night Over Water. Great book. My favorite will always be Pillars of the Earth, followed by World Without End, and then A Dangerous Fortune. But right now I’m reading A Place Called Freedom. I’m so thrilled I have forgotten each of these stories. I have found other authors I really like but Ken Follett will always be my true love (sorry John).  I can also recommend Barbara Kingsolver. Her creative use of syntax is so poetic. Her sentences are like works of art. They are so creative and thought-provoking.  It’s like singing a song while reading her work.  I’m sure I have a ton of other authors I love as well but as of right now they seem to be escaping me.  For some reason I also seem to be drawn toward middle eastern fiction stories about women–and mostly the ones that revolve around the eventual strength and courage of the main characters (women). There’s just something abut a story of a woman kicking ass and taking names that draws me in. On a separate fictional note, I also recently finished The Historian and I LOVED IT. It kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire book.  Just now searching for Elizabeth Kostova’s writings I see she now has another book out as well called The Swan Thieves…I’ll be picking that up from the library this week.

Yes–the library. One of the main things John and I have really put a lot of emphasis on this year has been to simplify our lifestyles. I know I’ve said how crazy things are but I can’t imagine what it would be like if we didn’t attempt to keep it simple.  We have put an emphasis on using what community services are around us rather than just running out to the store and picking whatever it is up.  So the library has been a huge part of that.  We have also gone down to one car. I’m happy to say that it wasn’t nearly as tricky as I thought it was going to be (I tend to be a bit spontaneous–when I decide to do something I want to do it NOW) and we haven’t run into any major snags yet.  We have been trying for a while to get rid of cable (we never really had it until the last 2 yrs) but we’re in a rotten contract with Verizon (nazi bastards) so we have to wait another 6 months till we can tell them to go pound salt. We thought it would be a good idea to give Ella a little variety (with Noggin and PBS it’s like preschool on TV–as a matter of fact I think that’s their tagline) but it turns out there is NOTHING on.  400 channels and THERE IS NOTHING ON. I’m dumfounded. This is what I was “giving up” when I turned off my cable years ago?? If you don’t have cable take it from me, you aren’t missing a thing. Reality (and I use that term very lightly) TV has taken over and I am completely convinced it will melt your brain into a goo that will dissolve into nothingness if you watch these awful, dumbed-down, senseless, pointless shows.  How in the world a dancing goverment ex-con, a young girl surrounded by 20 horny men vying for her hand in marriage, or 2 wack jobs with too many kids has taken over our airwaves but it has happened. Just like an alien invasion. All these channels and we still watch our shows on HULU and download movies we can’t get from the library on ZML.  We also utilize the websites of the channels Ella watches (Nick Jr., PBS, Disney) to catch new episodes and give her games to play rather than buying new games at the store.  Simplify. Nice.

Update next Tuesday!

Craig Photography would like to announce that we are now offering 2 types of gift calendars you can purchase for your friends and family for this upcoming gift-giving season.  All proceeds will be donated to the Three Rivers Adoption Council, which is an organization that devotes its efforts to finding permanent homes for children of all ages.

These 12-page, 8.5 x 11 calendars are $30 and will include your choice of either John’s art photos from his Ambient collection or his Pittsburgh at Night series collection. See below for the photos included in each.

So help us raise money for a very special organization!  Contact us for more information.

Thank you to all who attended yesterday’s workshop. The questions asked were remarkable.

If you would like to download last night’s notes you can (HERE)

Upcoming Photo-Walk dates:

Photograph Pittsburgh at Night– Photo Walk
Monday November 9th 7pm
Meet up: West End Overlook
Cost: Free
What to bring: Camera, tripod and warm clothes ~ it will be cold on the overlook.

Pittsburgh Light Up Night – Photo Walk
Friday November 20th 7pm
Meet up: West End Overlook
Cost: Free
What to bring: Camera, tripod and warm clothes ~ it will be very cold and crowed on the overlook.

Q&A Session & Connect-n-Grow
Thursday December 10th 7 to 9pm
Meet up: My house
Cost: Free
What to bring: Your questions, camera, good attitude and a friend. Let’s build the community.

E-Book released
January 2010
The Photographer’s Blog
Cost: $10.00 download

Recommend blog reading,
Craig Photography by Elizabeth
David Burke Shoot N’ Learn

Happy Friday Everyone! Chat with you Monday.

Click HERE for more information…

What a terrifically intimate wedding this was.  There were maybe 70 guests and it was another first for us: we got the chance to photograph in the absolutely LOVELY First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh on Bellefield in Oakland. This church was truly majestic and the best part was that the pastor allowed us to do anything we wanted.  And there were FOUR separate balconies. FOUR.  One right on top looking down onto the wedding party, one on the left right up in the front of the church, one on the opposite side and one in the back. This is the first time we’ve actually been allowed to have photographic freedom in such a beautiful church and I sincerely could’ve kissed the pastor when he told us this.  It is what truly made Miranda & David’s church shots so complete.

Miranda & David’s reception was at the Soldiers & Sailors Military Museum, which was quite appropriate since David is in the military.  As a matter of fact, Miranda’s brother, the best man, is also in the military as well.  David has been deployed to Iraq EIGHT times and Miranda’s brother has been deployed TWELVE times.  The joy in the familie’s eyes to see everyone together celebrating this day was so emotional. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always something at all of our weddings that makes me tear up but this one….I know I have never shed so many tears.  Even though I was only on the sidelines, I felt very privileged to be a part of this day.

Thank you Miranda & David.  Deep bows of gratitude to you for letting us witness your day.

Click HERE for their slideshow.