Spilling my heart out... {Delaware Wedding and Family Photographer}

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.  I have had a lot of fabulous ladies in for portraits.  I have been inspired and creative. I have been loving it. I love what I do, I seriously do. Sure there were times when I felt like giving up.  I've had nights where I stayed up all night to finish editing a wedding, and days on end getting my finances straight.  Tax time is the craziest for me, but thank heavens I am organized enough to not lose my head.

I have shot weddings, and spent the day after laid in bed because I was so sore (I have fibromyalgia, which makes physically activities a bit complicated).  I've done back to back sessions and thought I was going to mess something up.  The anxiety and fear of not delivering an image my client won't love is always on my mind.

You would think that with all the stresses, I would just stop doing it.

But I haven't given up, and I don't plan to.  With every "oh my gosh!", and "I can't believe you made me look so amazing!", with every squeal of joy and hand clap, I know that I am doing something right. Life is but a series of moments, and I have the ability to capture those moments.  Sure, I break photography rules sometimes.  Some images may not be technically perfect. But my clients love their images, and that is all that matters.

I do this because I love it. I do this because it makes others happy. And I've always been the type of person that enjoyed making everyone around me smile.  I do it because it gives me a chance to stay at home and watch my daughter grow up. 

As long as there is love and happiness, I am there to photograph it. Pin It

Lifestyle vs. Contemporary and Glamour

If you have been following me, you know that I have released my boudoir/glamour brand: Be Boudoir by Marisa. It's been going great! I have had the opportunity to photograph some lovely ladies, change attitudes and increase confidence.  I made them feel beautiful, which ultimately is my goal. 

I've also been doing just straight contemporary portraits!  So, now we get to the lifestyle vs. contemporary/glamour.  When you visit my main website, it features weddings and lifestyle portraits. Well we all know what weddings are, so what the heck is lifestyle photography?  Basically it is as it sounds, I photograph your life as it unfolds.  Whether it be maternity, newborn, families and kids, I am there to capture it in its natural setting. Your home, your favorite park, wherever. Very little posing, and lots of candid images.

Now, what the heck is contemporary/glamour photography?  Well this is a bit different. Mainly portraits of 1-2 people. Focused directly on the persons face, and not about total scenery.  Think of a lifestyle portrait with a big of a fashion or editorial flair. More posed images and less candid images.

So what's the difference, and which session should you book?  To be honest it's all up to you.  With a lifestyle session, it costs more, but you do get more images. There are also different image collections you can choose.  With a glamour/contemporary session, I shoot out of my home (and soon will have hair and make-up available!), the session is shorter, and you get less images. 

But mainly, the two types each have different impacts and styles. And if you need help in choosing which session is best for you, I am glad to help!



For example. Here is a lifestyle family session:

And here is a contemporary family portrait session:

So one more time!

Lifestyle ($250):

• location of your choosing, typically outdoors, your favorite location, or in your home
• longer session, 1.5 hours
• more images, 10 final edited images
• 3 additional collections to choose from starting at $400
• mostly candid and less posed
• Perfect for: Engagements/Love session, Newborn/Family (more than 3 people)/Maternity sessions

Contemporary/Glamour ($125):

• session done in my home
• shorter session, 30 minutes
• less images, 5 final edited images
• mostly posed and not candid
• Perfect for: Styled and posed portraits typical 1-2 people)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And there ya go! See you in front of the lens soon!
  
  

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{Newborn Portrait-Erasmas} Delaware Newborn Photographer

I am "cursed". Every little newborn that I photograph stays awake during their session. I have yet to have a baby who has actually slept. I keep the place warm, they are well fed, but as soon as I take out my camera, they are wide awake and looking at me no matter how young they are. And little Erasmas was no different. A tiny little face, with the most adorable eyes equals for the most squealtastic baby expressions. Yes, I spent a lot of time just holding and talking to him because he was too adorable.

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Perfection.

Perfection.  Am I perfect? No, of course not. Are my images perfect?  Nope.  I tend to like slightly over exposed images.  Technically, I love a bit more contrast in my images.  I also break the rules on composition and cropping...A Lot.  If all of my images were technically perfect, I would be focusing more on that and less than the emotional impact of the image.

I admire a lot of photographers.  And it seriously makes me happy when my favorite photographers say that they love shooting in natural light, and that they KNOW that their images are not technically perfect.  It makes me even happier when those photographers say that they don't have studios, that they work out of their home, and that they are as frazzled as me most days.

Running a business is not easy. Especially when your business is based around being able to capture IT. 

Over the past two days I have been watching an online course delivered by the amazing Sue Bryce.  She is one of my favorite photographers.  She shoots in natural light, started her studio in her garage, and does things with such simplicity and still produces AMAZING images.  After watching her today, I decided to step out of my comfort zone. And here are the results...

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Being YOU...

Being a photographer is not all exotic vacations (I have yet to be on an exotic vacation), beautiful details, and days lounging about. It is a lot of hard work. I think the hardest thing for me, is finding a place where I am happy at.  It's very easy to fall into a cycle of self doubt. No matter how good you are, you are usually your toughest critic. No matter how many people love your work, or how many people book you, you will continuously find flaws in what you do. One of the hardest things is seeing others work, and wondering why you are not on their level yet.

But through my years as a photographer I have read a lot of articles and books pertaining to photography, and probably the most important thing I have learned is to be yourself.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?  Sure there are trends and ideas that we all love. I for one love photos with a vintage feel and detail shots. But the goal is to not fall into the trap of shooting things that are only the current trend.  Stay true to yourself, shoot what you want to shoot.  Basically be creative and be adventurous.  Your work does not have to look like everyone elses work.  Do something just a bit different that makes your work standout. Don't be afraid to step outside the box and be bold.

Now of course it is easy to say this, but it is a lot harder to do. With this being my 4th year of actively photographing weddings, I still struggle.  I look at others work for inspiration, and then find myself saying why my work isn't as good as theirs. Then of course my husband has to come in and be the voice of reason (which I love him so much for!).  Am I rich? No. Do I take exotic vacations? Heck no! Do I have a super awesome state of the art studio? No.  Do I have a talent at photographing people in pure emotion and love? Yes, yes I do. And that is what I always have to remember.  I have to remember the clients that book me, the ones that trust me with their wedding day, or capturing their pregnancy,the first few hours of birth, or the precious moments of childhood. 

So thank you to my husband for always being the voice of reason, my clients for trusting me and letting me be me (they know what I mean!). 

Random fact: Unless I am in costume (I love to sew), I am actually VERY camera shy! Pin It

{Newborn Portrait-Little Miss Aubrey} Delaware Newborn and Portrait Photographer

If you know me, you know how much I adore babies. Even before I had my daughter, I was baby crazy.  Everything from their tiny little eye lashes to their adorable little toes, I just can't get enough of it.  Being a mother now, I appreciate even more taking time to just dote on my little one.  Time truly does go by fast!  You would think that they would stay tiny forever, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. And that's why it is so important to capture those memories while you can. And that is why I totally love what I do, and completely put my heart and soul into it.

Little Miss Aubrey was just 8 days new when we did her session. She was the first newborn that I have photographed that stayed awake pretty much throughout the whole session! For such a little one, she definitely kept her eyes on me.  Of course, she didn't fall into a deep sleep until after the session was over and she was dressed again. But nonetheless, she is just too cute for words!

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Featured In: Vie D'Amour

Recently Heather and Mike's fabulous wedding was featured in Vie D'Amour.  Again, I cannot express how much I loved this couple and their wedding.  Even at 9 months pregnant, hot, tired, and thirsty beyond belief, I stuck it through and photographed their wedding. They are truly an amazing couple. So much fun and down to earth.

Please head on over and take a look!
http://www.vie-damour.com/2012/02/newark-delaware-wedding-marisa-taylor.html Pin It