See a need, Fill a need

This is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. 

A little history: About a year ago, I went on a search around Bangor to find advanced training on photography. My search came up with a possible course that was geared toward intermediate shooters so I plunked down some money and figured I'd give it a try. The images shown are from that class.

To give you a little background, the only "formal" training I've ever received was an introductory photography course at UMaine. That laid a great foundation but it wasn't enough. At the time I was searching, I was ready to take my skill to the next level and I now realize that what I really was looking for some guidance. So back to the class. It took place at a local photography establishment and lasted a couple of hours. My biggest frustration with the class was that it wasn't practical use information. Not to mention that their definition of intermediate was quite different from mine. The worst part about the class is that I was shot down several times from asking questions since it was beyond the scope of the material.

I left that day disappointed but I spoke with the employees at the store and asked if they knew of any professionals in the area that would be interested in mentoring or tutoring. I indeed received the contact info of a well known photography studio in the area. After contacting this person and waiting several weeks for a reply, I finally got a response. I received an e-mail from a secretary at Mr. So-and-So's studio that in fact he does offer classes at a $$$$$ price. Long story short, I felt my money would be better spent on books and equipment and that was that.

Fast forward to present day: I get so many questions from clients and new parents that I know that have recently purchased a DSLR and are struggling to get great pictures. It takes me back to my frustrations with trying to find someone that will speak to me at my skill level and really help me learn what I want to learn in a practical way.

Lightbulb! Wait a minute. No one around is offering mentoring/tutoring at a reasonable price so why can't I? After giving the whole idea some thought, I realized that I enjoy mentoring almost as much as I enjoy shooting. Just ask my protege Jay who now has a budding photography business of his own, Jay Preston Photography.

So here is what I'm offering, one or two hour on location sessions to show you once and for all, what the heck all those settings mean, why your images are blurry, why are they out of focus, what aperture REALLY means, what is raw and is it safe to eat......?

Best of all, it's learning photography in your environment, on your terms and about the things you want to photograph. You set the starting point and the pace so each session is truly customized and unique.

Who put the fast in the fast glass?

I often get the question from aspiring photographers, "Which lens should I buy?" This post is for you. If you never could quite understand why in the world I would ever recommend a lens that doesn't zoom, here it is. The fastest most expensive zooms have f/2.8 as their widest aperture. The fastest primes in production go down to f/1.2 What does aperture mean and why is it important? 

Well in layman's terms, it's the amount of light a lens allows into the sensor to capture an image. The best way I've ever heard it explained is picture a bucket and a faucet. The larger the faucet, the less amount of time it's going to take to fill the bucket. In the example below, the exposures are all the same but the amount of light required to properly expose the f/1.2 image is actually over 5 stops lower than the amount of light required to expose the f/8.0 image. That's 5 times less light at f/1.2!  Have you ever wondered why your images are blurry inside when you don't use a flash? This is why. It takes 5 times as long to get the same image. 

Do you notice anything else about the images? Does that f/1.2 image look strange? That's because of the VERY shallow depth of field. I'll let you judge for yourself which one you find most appealing and I'll leave that topic for another day! : )

Bring it!

So yesterday was Winter Carnival at the University of Maine and I had the wonderful opportunity of photographing the entire event. I packed everything I thought I would need for the day: 

This part can't be THAT important...right?

• Camera - check
• Batteries - check
• Memory Cards - check
• Flash - check
• Tripod for Fireworks - check

Hooray! I've got everything I need to have a wonderfully fun photo-filled day with the family at the U... or do I? Well it seems I forgot one important little piece of the tripod puzzle. Since I was using my backup camera, I forgot to check to see if I had a quick release plate, which is the part that actually attaches the camera body to the tripod head. I must have like seven of these things laying about in my office! Long story short, no fireworks pictures for me and tough lesson learned. : (  Check, double check and TRIPLE check that you have everything you need for your outing.

Would I hire me?

For those of you that want the short version, the answer is Yes.

Everyone else that would like to know why may continue reading.

Seeing as how I still consider myself a rookie at the professional side of photography, the question that you initially ask yourself is who wants to buy MY pictures? It's quite an obstacle getting over as this has more to do with confidence than reality. Once you get over the fear of being judged on something that you love and are passionate about comes the question of how much you should charge. Some people interpret this as how much am I worth or how much are people willing to pay but I would like to share my philosophy on business and pricing.

Is that a tripod sticking out of your back?

My entire approach to Tony Llerena Photography has been founded on three fundamental principles.

1. Quality - As my wife would gladly tell you, I love buying the absolute best equipment available. I shoot exclusively with professional level cameras and lenses. I make every effort to educate myself on the best techniques to process images and produce stunning final products. I shoot every session as if it were for my own family because I know these images will last a lifetime.

I've been photographing now for over 10 years and I can still look at an image and know exactly where I was and what was going on that day. Photography is the art of capturing light but for me it's a moment in time in someone's history. After having 3 children and watching them grow so fast, I know that youth is fleeting. This is why I truly believe you get what you pay for and why I don't skimp.

I have to pay HOW much just for one picture?

2. Fair and Reasonable - This brings me to my second principle of being fair and reasonable. I know how tough finances can be for a family. Both my wife and I are students working through school and balancing the checkbook can sometimes be challenging. From what I've seen, my prices are the lowest in the area for the quality of work. This may upset other photographers who may accuse me of undercutting them but I challenge that.

My goal is to be fair and reasonable with my pricing so that you get great memories at a reasonable investment and I feel I've achieved that. I certainly can't compete with the studios in the big box stores but have you ever really looked at what you actually get for the price? Often time you have to pay $100 for a cd with ONE image. I always include all of the images from the session. Not to mention that I shoot on location and in the environment of your choice.

3. Fun - If there's one thing I say at just about every shoot is "if it's not fun, I'm not doing it anymore." I chose photography because I love doing it and I feel that the camera looks both ways. My subject's expression is a reflection of me. Go ahead, take a look at my images. You see all of those people laughing and smiling? That was no accident. I can safely say that I have a great time when I shoot and there's nothing I would rather be doing.

So, why would I hire me? Because I produce high quality, reasonably priced, fun memories. That's why!

~Tony Llerena~

To blog or not to blog... just like everyone else.

I'm trying to revamp all of my photography business related multimedia and part of it entails revamping my blog. Every photographer worth their weight in salt has one so I guess I'd better have one too. : ) I'm just not sold on the blogger format yet though. I feel so limited by the stock themes that I'll probably be doing some research into a webhost where I can house a Wordpress blog. I'm also not thrilled about how statically the images are displayed but I'll have to decide if this works for my budding business, Tony Llerena Photography.

This was the group photo of the the peeps in charge for the Jackson Laboratory party at The Spectacular Events Center in Bangor.

Sweet base of a custom ice sculpture that was a double helix, whatever that is.

Weeee!!!