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!!!

Non-existent AT&T iPhone Service in Bangor, ME

Let me start off by saying that my iPhone 3GS is probably the best portable electronics device that I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of them. The 3GS is a dream come true in terms of functionality and productivity except that the AT&T service in the greater Bangor area renders its communication capabilities useless. There are as many dead spots on I-95 as there are good ones. The Edge network works slower than dial-up in most cases if at all. Basically, most of the time I feel like I grossly overpaid for an iPod Touch and I keep getting nailed $30 a month for a phantom 3G network that I'll never be able to use. Even if only the phone service worked well, I think I'd be happy with the service overall since I have plenty of access to wifi. Instead, I'll be eagerly awaiting the Verizon version of the iPhone this coming January so I can finally get some work done on the road.

Rant over.


- Posted from my iPad