Funky Friday Rocked!

On Friday night, Nick's band played at Vinyl and I went to shoot some pics of them. They competed in the Emergenza contest and sounded the best they've ever sounded. I've taken a lot of pictures of Nick before, (in fact that's how we met) but I think these are the best live shots I've ever taken. Nick has a ton of shows coming up, so check his schedule on Myspace and join us at his next show at Maddy's in Decatur on April 14th or at Black Bear Tavern this Saturday with the Kerry Hill Band.

Fascinating Article about Portraits

I was reading one my many photography magazines - Studio Photography - a couple nights ago. The pile of backlogged mag's that I haven't been able to keep up with has gotten out of hand since I moved. I'm sure you can relate to stacks of newspapers and magazines that you want to read but sometimes just can't find the time to read. Anyway, I came upon a really interesting article. It's called "The New Face of Advertising: Fed up with Scandals, Threats, Public Drawn to Real People" by Denise Waggoner. It talks about how advertising campaigns have used images of people to convince potential customers of the greatness of their products.

"We all remember the handsome and rugged Marlboro Man, who made the filtered cigarette a symbol of masculinity."

She goes on to describe why images of people are so descriptive.

"According to David B. Givens, Ph.D., director of the Center for Nonverbal Studies, the answer may be written all over their faces. Givens describes the face as every human’s visual trademark, a powerful expression of attitudes, opinions, and moods that defines our identity and enables us to communicate—and connect—without words."

Without any verbal communication, we are able to read the mood of others. I think we are so accustomed to doing this that we don't even think about it anymore. But think about it. You can always tell when that person in front of you in line at the grocery store is in a hurry without speaking to him. Or you can see when someone is having a great day because they smile or laugh for what seems like no reason. Something great must have happened, right? I think that is so powerful. We are so perceptive that we don't need language to understand others.

© © 200122768-001/Jack Louth/Getty Images

"This portrait’s calm, quiet confidence connects the viewer with an inner desire to possess the same qualities."

The article goes on to say that we are so inundated with advertising in all media, that we find ourselves trying to sift through it all to find truth. And that means that we trust product ads more when we see people using them that look like us. We don't beleive the supermodel perfection.

"... audiences had become skeptical about 'slicked up' advertising centered on artificial heroes. Consumers no longer wanted to see perfection; they wanted to see themselves."

© © 200283064-002/Sir Stafford/Getty Images
"Portraits can recognize diversity, while focusing on individual style rather than groupthink."

It's interesting that they were able to isolate this phenomenon in their study because I find myself doing this all the time. I know that the spectacle of perfection isn't real so whatever product is being advertised using this guise, I consider a lie. It's nice to know that I'm not the only skeptical one out there!

So, in the future, advertising will continue to move in this direction of showing real people to convey truth.

"We’ll also see a growing number of advertising concepts that rely on the appeal of authentic personal testimony. . . the new aesthetic will fuse both conceptual and documentary styles, forming a compelling visual based on abstract realism."

And you know I love that the future of advertising will be this "truth" aesthetic because that 's what I strive to do every day for my clients. Being able to reveal personality, mood and the essence of relationships is what makes photographs so meaningful.

Roulette, Blackjack and Dancing

Back in December, we photographed the annual holiday party for AutoTrader.com. I always have such a great time with the ATC crew. Everyone is so happy and welcoming and their events don't feel at all like work. :)

The big event was held at the Westin in Buckhead and drew about 2,000 people. While I don't usually enjoy photographing posed pictures, everyone there made it so fun. Barry, Connie and I must have laughed all night. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

The great view of Lenox Square from the private balcony.


The chef made me swear not to show this picture to his bosses. He was posing for me and didn't realize that his knife was in the wrong hand. "That'll make it tough to cut!"


Charlie's Angels


Adorable happy couple.


My friends, Michele & Hilly, who are always available for a picture.


Sha-zam!

Our Doors are Open

My first official client meeting in the new space was this morning and although the 5 of us were a little cramped, it went great. Monica and Morris are a fun artistic couple from San Francisco. And their amazing wedding coordinator, Margie Sikes of Affairs of Elegance, is full of energy. She and I worked together at Noelle and Nathan's wedding a few years ago at Park Tavern.

Being artists themselves, M&M (cute, huh?) really understand the importance of photography at their wedding. In fact, they had already decided that it would recieve the largest budget of all their vendors. They explained that they wanted to be able to enjoy captured moments as art in their home. They spoke about a photographer at a friend's wedding (and I've heard this so many times before!) who made the couple re-walk the isle and redo just about everything in order to photograph it. How frustrating would that be to have to stop your day just so that the photographer can take pictures?! The point is to document the day, to tell a story, the re-experience the day as it happened - bloopers and all - every time they look at their album or wall photographs.

I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding in the fall. So, it seems that the new space is good luck so far!

Our Move to Decatur

The last few weeks have been crazy, amazing, exhausting and rewarding. I moved my office (and home!) to Decatur and have been busy planning, painting, cleaning and reorganizing. During the pack up, I was so proud that I got rid of so many things that I no longer needed. You should have seen the amount of paper recycling I put out on the street. Four years in business can cause a huge amount of accumulation. The feeling of being rid of those things that weren't helping me or the business was so awesome. I felt cleansed and like I could breathe easier. I am now down to just a few packed boxes and it's coming along. Just wish I had had time to paint and get the new office furniture BEFORE I moved in, but oh well.

The new place is located just 1.5 miles south of downtown Decatur in the cute neighborhood of Forrest Hills. We will definitely have a party to celebrate the new place soon (well, as soon as we get a chance to paint and get the new furniture!)

Engaged, Me? What?!

Nick proposed on Thursday night!!! I am so excited and couldn't be happier. The whole experience was so surreal. If that's any indication of what our wedding will be like, my plan of being cool and collected will go completely out the window! I couldn't stop crying - I was so happy. In fact, I kept crying and hugging him until he asked, "So, is that a YES?"

Beautiful holidays lights, a warm rainy evening and a group of girls who started clapping and cheering for us combined to make the moment feel like we were in the middle of some Hollywood scripted scene.

You know, since the onset of reality tv, I've witnessed a few proposals and I always say to myself that it is so irritating when the woman doesn't answer immediately. What's with the tears? What is her problem? Why can't she answer her nervous boyfriend? BUT I had no idea what was really happening until it happened to me. It was like I lost the ability to speak. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't find the words, much less any words at all. So, no longer will I find fault with the bumbling women who just can't muster the words.

So, the next question of course is "Who will photograph the wedding?" It's a little early to make that decision, but I definitely have some ideas! But I'm not peeping.

I'll post some pictures soon of us and the adorable ring holder.

Special Thanks

It's been a long time since I last posted (ugh!) - all because we've been so busy. Lots of orders for the holidays from my super clients. I love to think about the moment these meaningful images are seen for the first time. My hope is that the most special moments last just a little longer with the help of my photographs.

I recently received a special thanks from one of my portrait clients. Marin and her parents, Bridgette and Will, were so great to get to know throughout the last 18 months or so. Bridgette and I have spent hours on the phone and in person chatting about everything from vacations to The Little Gym to Marin's new teeth. Hah! I photographed a series of three portraits of Marin for the Growing Baby Portrait Package. Marin is adorable and the pictures turned out so great that they are truly all over my website. They are also showcased in one of my sample albums at the studio. Check out some of my favorites below. I thought I'd share their comments with you.

Dear Sara,
Will and I would like to thank you for the beautiful photographs of our baby girl. We had a wonderful time with you, and we are so grateful we found a friendly, talented, and professional photographer. Each sitting went well (even though I somehow managed to be sick each time!) and the photos exceeded our expectations. You have given us the priceless gift of captruing beautiful moments in Marin's life, and we are truly grateful. We have great pictures to go with out memories, so we will never forget the fleeting moments of her infancy. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Will, Brigette, Marin & Cloe

How sweet is that! That is definitely the best part of my career - seeing how much the stories I tell with photographs mean to my clients and their friends & family. It was especially nice of them to take the time to send a hand-written note (how rare!). So thanks again Bridgette, Will and Marin! Look forward to seeing you again for Marin's 2 year old portrait if not before then.

Five Months

8 months

13 months

Cool Weather and Hot Drinks

I can't beleive it's already Thanksgiving. It feels like it was just hot August and I was buying popsicles at the grocery store to stay cool. Whenever the weather turns cool, I am always reminded of what life was like at college in Upstate NY at Univ. of Rochester. We used to deal with freezing cold temp's for 6-7 months a year. Every morning, I bundled up with a fleece jacket, a heavy duty windbreaker, hat, gloves and maybe even a scarf to battle the "lake-effect" snow. If you've never experienced winter near a Great Lake, you probably don't know what this is. Imagine snowflakes the size of your palm. No, I'm not kidding. Something about being close to the lake and the moisture just grabbing onto the snow flakes made them huge. Those incredible snows, sledding down the hills on campus and snuggling up with a huge mug of hot chocolate were the best parts of winter there. Since I moved to Atlanta, it's amazing how I get cold at the slightest drop in temperatures. I mean, this weekend it was in the low 60's. In Rochester, this is a warm day and I used to walk around campus like it was summer, but here? Here, I still refuse to wear a heavy jacket but I find myself shivering in the shade. What happened to me?! :) Still, I love the winters because no one looks at me funny when I drink hot chocolate every morning. It's the looks I get for drinking cold chocolate milk in the mornings all through the rest of the year that I just can't help. Yeah, so I'm a chocoholic, I admit it. I've never denied it and I never will. :)

Pumpkin Portrait

On Saturday, I went to Lindsay & Scott's home for a 7 month portrait of their adorable daughter Hadley. I arrived while Hadley was still napping and snuck into the nursery to photograph her sleeping peacefully. How precious!

I just love all the personalized things they added to her nursery. They make the room so warm and comfy.

The weather was perfect so after playing inside, we headed out to their front yard. The white blanket, a white pumpkin and playful Riley, their chocolate brown Labra-doodle, all combined for some really memorable images.


Click here to see Hadley's slideshow!

Newspaper print on my fingers

Ok, so I have to admit, when I found out I had won Best of Atlanta for Established Visual Artist, I just about ran out my door to find a kajillion (yes, that many) copies of the paper with my name printed in lights. Surprisingly, it took driving around for quite a bit to find a stocked newspaper stand. You would think that finding Creative Loafing in Little 5 Points, Candler Park and Virginia Highlands would be easier. But I did manage to find one. So cool! I still can't believe that I won.

Da-dada-dah! Here it is!

Beth & Tim's Wedding

Last Saturday, Beth & Tim's wedding was amazing. Beautiful venue, perfect weather and the most fun couple. Alecia and I had a great time documenting their day. My only complaint was that we couldn't stay longer. A week would do it next time. If you've never been to North Georgia and Neverland Farms, you've gotta go. Suzy and her staff were really great. Everything was taken care of, even to the horse-drawn carriage galloping to the reception!

Here are a few of my favorite images. Take a look at the slideshow to see some more.

Beth's gorgeous hand-made dress!

The perfect color shoes for that dress, after 4 dying attempts!

Beth & her sisters in their horse-drawn carriage en route to the ceremony.

. . . and the men anxiously wait . . .

Congratulations Beth & Tim!

View your Slideshow here.

BEST OF ATLANTA!

Today I was awarded the Best Established Visual Artist in Atlanta by Creative Loafing!


I am so honored (and psyched) to receive this award especially because it was voted on by the public. My clients and fans are the best! Thanks so much for voting for me. You just made my entire year! And how about timing?! Not only did I launch my brand new website last week, but it's also Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year. What better way to celebrate the new year than to get this kind of recognition?!

Click here to see the results.

Oooops, sorry about the bad link....

Just realized the link to Creative Loafing was bad in the e-newsletter I just sent out. Sorry about that. Here's the correct link.

Best of Atlanta

Brand New Website!

YEAH! The new website is here! It's sleek, elegant and easy to navigate. It took a long time to complete it, but I couldn't be happier with the results. I hope you enjoy looking through some of my favorite images and learning more about the studio. We've grown a lot in the last 3 1/2 years and it's so good to see the website reflect the caliber of photography and customer service we provide. Thanks to all our clients who graciously allowed us to use their photographs on the site.

Leave a message on the new message board at the right. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the site. (FYI, don't hit [Enter] until you're ready to post your comment.)

One-of-a-Kind Business Portraits

Last night I got together with one of my favorite people, Shellie, to create some portraits for her new business, Vonschmalhausen, an event planning business. Cool name, huh? We had a great time shooting Shellie in four completely different looks in and around Midtown. Shellie was looking for pictures that represent all the different types of parties and events she plans. Everything from corporate to blind date parties. Check these out! I call them, "All the Personalities of Shellie."

Chillin'

Workin'

Partyin'


Playin'

Jewish Festival Annual Report

Sunday's Atlanta Jewish Festival at the Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, GA was a blast! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello. And welcome all my new friends!

This is the third year I've set up a booth at the festival and it's always a fun (and hot!) day. I was especially excited about this year's festival because I was able to get my sample AsukaBook album printed and bound in time to put it out on display. And WOW, I got a great response from it!

My entire display turned out great too and I have to thank Nick for all his help. There's no way I could have carried that wall in and out of my house, in and out of the car and then set it up and take it down at the festival without his help. What a great boyfriend! Plus, Nick was selling his brand new CD, Ripple, at the festival. It was just released last week and it's amazing. (I took the pictures that are on the booklet and CD tray!) It's a great mix of blues, rock, a little country, and even some beautiful piano and sax love songs. Take a listen at his site and when you buy a copy, mention I sent you.

Anyway, congratulations to Kathy Raible who won the grand prize raffle of a FREE PORTRAIT! Thanks to everyone who entered and see you next year!

wishing & waiting....

The last two days have been really exhausting but extremely exciting. I am in the process of updating my website and I am so unbelievably anxious to see the final product!

You know the feeling of wanting something so much, but the process of completing it takes so long that you start to lose hope that it will ever be finished? Well that's me. And I hate to say how long it's actually been. Through a series of mishaps (wow those were some serious learning experiences), this new website has been really long in the making. But the end is finally in site (get it? - "site" HA!) I must be delirious with exhaustion. Sorry.

Anyway, I don't think that I'm alone in this feeling, so if you have any encouraging words of wisdom or funny stories, I'd love to hear them. Click "comments" at the end of any post to leave your message.

More next time....

One Year Old!

On Saturday, I had a great time when I photographed little Zoey Alexandra's one year portrait. This was a really special portrait for me because I photographed Zoey's mom's maternity pictures last year. This was the first time I was meeting Zoey and I was really excited.

Zoey and mom met me at the door with smiling faces and excitement in their eyes. The maternity pictures had turned out great and I was so flattered to see them all over their beautiful home. Zoey had a great time riding in her fire truck, playing hide-and-go-seek with mom in her room and snuggling up with dad. She couldn't be any cuter. .

Daddy's little girl!

She had a little meltdown towards the end of our shoot, but nothing a cozy nap couldn't take care of.Hope you had a great nap. Thanks Zoey! See you soon.