April Wise Photography

Kids Photography is Next Weekend at the SLO Children's Museum

2010-06-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

The kids' photography project is right around the corner, but I still need your help to get more participants! Please forward this message to family and friends with children ages 5-12, who would be interested in participating in this exciting project. Each child will have a portrait taken. They will then be given a 45 minute session with a digital camera to explore the area in and around the museum. Afterwards, the images will be displayed on my website where parents can order photos from the day. There is no additional fee for the program (regular admission is $8 for children and adults.)

Latest News and Photography by Children

2010-05-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! Has it really been almost 2 months since I posted on this blog. I have so much to tell you all about. Wedding season started a little early this year, so far I have 3 weddings to share with you...with a 4th coming very soon. I also did an engagement session and two portrait sessions with really great families. Of course, I am still doing Central Coast Songwriters photography and helping out a little with marketing. That project has led to some other opportunities with local musician and music festivals which I'm sure you'll hear about soon. I even started a blog to talk about music and photography.

We'll get to some of the photos from these session but what I really want to talk about is my Photography by Children project with SLO Children's Museum. For about 2 years I've wanted to do a photography project with children. It started when my neice got her first kid's camera. I walked around the neighborhood with her taking photos of plants, road signs, bugs, whatever she could find. Then I bought a batch of disposable cameras to give away at bridal fairs. The kids at bridal fair always look so bored but when you give them a camera they get excited. One boy came back to my booth 3 times for another camera. Two weeks ago I decided to take the leap on this project. I started researching cameras kids can use, writing a plan and I emailed the SLO Children's Museum about helping me recruit participants. Michelle at the museum emailed me back very quickly and said she loved the idea. I met with her and we discuss just doing it through the museum in conjunction with their summer program Dig In. So now I'm working on finding some funding to pay for cameras, prints and website hosting for the project. It's all very exciting! I've decided that all the donations for the music photography I do will go to this project, so keep donating people. Now it's going to a better cause than just feeding me ;) I'll be updating everyone when the project starts.

BRITTANY AND FELIPE AT THE UNIVERSITY CLUB IN SANTA BARBARA

HEATHER AND SHAWN AT CASS HOUSE IN CAYUCOS

JESSICA AND TAREK AT PEACHWOODS STEAKHOUSE IN SANTA CRUZ

KATIE AND RAVI'S ENGAGEMENT SESSION AT THE SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK

FAMILY PORTRAITS AT THE CLIFFS IN MORRO BAY

FAMILY PORTRAIT SESSION IN CARMEL

Looks like we are all caught up now. -April Wise

Central Coast Songwriters Showcase

2010-03-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

I love music! Almost every kind...rock, punk, reggea, folk, americana, jazz, rap, electronica, pop, country, blues. You name it and I can probably think of at least one song, musician or band I like from that genre. I listen to whatever suits my mood at the time. And I love musicians. Some of my best friends are amazing musicians. Who else would openly admit that I can make a full band with my ex-boyfriends? AND! It would be a pretty f@#$(%! awesome band. Even my brother is a working, touring musician. Unfortunately he got ALL of the musical talent in our family. Not that I'm complaining, I would never trade my camera for a guitar.

So...this rambling is going somewhere...when Casey McDonald asked me to photograph the Songwriters Showcase at The Clubhouse on Tuesday nights, well, how could I say no? I mean Hello! I get to combine two of my favorite things, music and photography, into a 3 hour event. No brainer! And I must say, the musicians this week did not disappoint. The line up was Matt Hattfield, Ricky Montijo, Bert Lev, Andrew Spearman Blake, Joe Koenig (featured), Indigo Out (Deborah Sykes and Jonathan Eister), and Michael Masterson. A full range of folk, rock, soul, bluegrass and jazz influences.

When I am photog'n I usually have to mentally block out all other distractions. I can almost never remember which songs were played at a wedding or the smell from candles etc. This time I did make a point to take breaks and listen to at least one song from each set. Everyone did an amazing job. This was my first chance to see Joe Koenig play and his "Texas-Soul" definitely did not disappoint. Chris Dennis' joined him on the box drum for a few song..very cool instrument. I was amazed to hear how much Bert Lev's voice sounds like John Denver. But I must admit my favorite of the night was Andrew Spearman Blake. John Turner joined him on the Cello which was a great compliment to Andrew's voice and acoustic style. I'm not a music critic, so I won't spend the next paragraph making comparisons and breaking down every aspect of a great song. I really have no technical knowledge but I know what I like. If you are interested in hearing any of the performers check them out for yourself. I linked the ones I could find. Also join us next Tuesday at The Clubhouse on Foothill! Here's a link to the Facebook Group for Central Coast Songwriters.

Ok enough of that and on to the goods...my favorites images from the night are below.

Casey McDonald

Ricky Montijo

Bert Lev

Andrew Spearman Blake

Andrew and John Turner on the Cello

Joe Koenig

Joe with Chris Dennis on the Drum

Indigo Out - Deb and John

Michael Masterson

Casey wrapping the night up

Me and Casey goofing off with the Fisheye

If you would like to see more of my favorites visit Facebook. Also the complete set from the night is available here. The next show is tomorrow night with Calloway Dreams, David Rousseve, Michael Annuzi (Avanti), Alex Davidson, Andrew Bettancourt and more...starts at 6:30.

-April Wise Photography

Tips For An Awesome Engagement Session

2010-02-22T14:53:00.001-08:00

With the wedding planning season in full swing I have found that almost everyone has the same questions about engagement session. I want to post some quick tips to ease the stress and make your engagement session fun.

Location: Choose a location that is meaningful and/or visually appealing to you. I will be happy to make suggestions but ultimately it is up to you. It is best if you think about what describes you as a couple. I recently had a session at a beach where the couple enjoy a wonderful day early in their relationship.

Clothing: Clothing should be something you feel comfortable and confident wearing. Busy patterns or tight strips because they can be distracting in photos. Bring a change of clothes, there should be plenty of time to change.

Relax: Engagement sessions are set up as 2 hour shoots. Usually the first 30 minutes to hour you are getting used to being in front of the camera. These sessions can be very intimate and most couples are not used to being photographed while kissing or showing affection. Just try to relax into the process and know that this is very common. Remember, if you don't like an image we can always delete it and shoot another one.

Prepare: Spend some time looking at other engagement portraits. I have quite a few available on both my website and Facebook page. However I also recommend looking as many options as you can, this way you have a solid idea of what you like and dislike before we start shooting.

Have Fun: Probably the most important advice I can give. If you are having a good time the photos will show it.

April Wise Photography

Wedding Photography: Investment not Expense!

2010-02-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Probably as most wedding photographers, I struggle with balancing the cost of my services with the value they provide. It's important to me to stay busy and make a profit without working myself to death. One of my principle goals as a wedding photographer has always been to provide a quality service at a fair and affordable price. I firmly believe that all couples should be able have a skilled and professional photographer at their wedding. Still people often wonder why wedding photography is so "expensive" and how one photographer can cost so much more than another.

Let's start at the beginning, getting a bride to call or email me. On average a photographer can spend up to 25% of their revenue on marketing and advertising. Bridal Fair, good online listing and print ads are not cheap. As a photographer with a strong marketing background I have spent the last 3 years optimizing my marketing programs but not all photographer have the background I have. Even with this said, when you call or email me I've still already spent a decent chunk of your fee just to get you to contact me.

The bulk of my wedding day work occurs between the ceremony and formals. This is the most stressful part of my job both during and after the wedding. Couples often want to squeeze a very large list of portraits into a small timeframe. They want get to the reception and also to save time (aka money.) I often have to work very quickly and be extremely precise to stay on schedule. Also I don't know if you've ever wrangled 30 people but it can be very difficult to keep everyone focused, on point and looking at the camera usually leading to more editing work in the following days. Realistically if I had to weigh the cost of a wedding by its parts I'd say ceremony =25%, formal portraits =50% and the pre-ceremony and reception combined =25%. Of course I can't really price a wedding this way, mostly because it is confusing. This is why most photographers have packages with a minimum. I have a 6 hour minimum on my wedding packages. Anything less than that makes the day too rushed.

I always work with a trained and experienced 2nd photographer, who is paid. (How do you think I get such lovely shots of me working?) Not only is it good to have a second point of view but I can't be in two places at once. Ultimately this policy saves you money. If I didn't include this on every wedding you would have to hire me for additional time to cover the day. I also consider this a good insurance policy because if I miss a shot my 2nd almost always got it. It's just not realistic to assume that I can capture every single moment at a wedding. If Aunt Betty is doing something funny while we are out taking sunset portraits, my other photographer is most likely going to catch it.

There is a misconception that once the wedding is over my job is done. Not only do I spend a decent amount of my week doing marketing but I spend at least 3 hour editing for every hour that I shoot on the wedding day. If you are having an indoor ceremony its more like 4 hours because I will have a third camera. The third camera allows us to cover the ceremony from multiple points with minimal movement, so we don't disturb the guests.

Considering there are only 52 weeks per year, I only have that many potential Saturdays and a few Fridays & Sundays to make income. December through March is considered the planning season so not a lot of weddings take place during this time. On average I do about 2 weddings per month. So my hourly rate, minus expenses, spread out over a regular 40 hour/52 week salary really isn't as glamorous as it might seem on your contract.

The digital age has changed the way many people think about photography. It has also change the way they want to receive their images. Photographers used to charge a fee for the wedding day coverage but also retain the negatives and print rights for their images. All of my client receive a print quality DVD of the images. Many of them opt to print their own images and make their own albums. If I didn't include this I just wouldn't sell weddings. Unfortunately the quality of prints from a professional lab is far superior to the prints that your desktop HP or local Rite Aid can provide. Also this takes a whole revenue stream out of play that used to be available to photographer, forcing us to increase the cost of our base service to balance.

You might be thinking, "Yes but you no longer have to pay for film and development." It can be argued that digital images are higher quality than film, so is it expected to receive a better and more convenient product at a lower price? Professional equipment is very expensive and technology is fast moving. In addition to a nice collection of lenses, I have a very advanced digital camera that allows me to shoot with minimal flash in low lighting. This allows me to better capture the ambiance of your indoor wedding and reception. However, it was a pricey investment that will likely be outdated in a year or two. I just met with a bride from several years ago to take her digitized copies of her film images. She said she really wished that her wedding had been shot in digital because film is such a pain and the quality isn't as nice.

"Why are portraits so much less?" Portrait sessions are priced differently because they are a totally different type of work. I am the only photographer so I don't have twice as many images to edit. I only have a few people to direct, photograph and edit blinks etc. The lighting conditions are usually similar over large groups of images, so I can apply changes to groups of photos as opposed to editing each image individually. Also portraits aren't my primary focus so I don't spend much on advertising. I consider engagement session to be an add-on to the wedding package, not a separate sale.

It's important to think of your wedding photography as an investment. Your memories are very valuable and these images should last several generations. Choose a professional photographer and leave hiring and training the students to us. You don't want to be the one training someone to be a wedding photographer on your wedding day. If you are thinking about it see Marisa and Mateo's Story.

I always say there are three P's to choosing a photographer: Photography, Personality, and Price. Obviously you want to like the photographic style but there are usually a few photographers in a local area with competing styles. Once you've found a style you like Personality and Price usually make the final decision. Your photographer is going to follow you around all day on one of the biggest days of your life. Make sure you like them! Also its common sense, "if I can get the same thing for less than why not." Just don't devalue the service you are receiving. Each photographer has their own specific values and formula to make their business work. A photographer that charges more can do less weddings, thereby offering more service to each couple. The service a professional will provide is worth the investment.

April Wise Photography

Custom Printed Stamps

2010-02-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

I found this great site for printed items through a link on The Knot website, http://www.zazzle.com/. I thought the custom printed stamps were a fun idea, so I order a test sheet. The stamp builder was pretty easy. My custom stamps have one of my images, my business name and phone number printed on them. One sheet cost around $23.69 with tax and shipping, so they're not for everything but the print quality is really nice for invitations or save-the-dates. Also I should mention they are pretty large for postage, 1.25"x2", so if you really like this idea make sure they will fit on your invitation envelopes or save-the-date postcards.

April Wise Photography

Opportunities - 2010 Youth Calendar

2010-02-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

In 2009 I was given the chance to volunteer my services to San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services for their 2010 Youth Calendar. Each youth was given the chance to have a photo shoot in a work environment of their choice.

First, I photographed Brittany, an aspiring Nurse, in the Bravo Pediatrics and Dr. Talieh's office. Brittany was outgoing and played along great with all of my ideas. We even made my assistant pose as a patient in a few shots that didn't get used in the final layout.

We had so much fun the first time! So when another photographer backed out I was invited to do a 2nd shot with William, a 16 year old interested in being a Police Officer. William was very shy but we managed to get some great shots of him before his ride along.

iii Design did an amazing job with the final layout. A different photographer was used for almost every youth's shoot but they used a strong layout and design elements to create consistency.

April Wise Photography

California Weds!

2010-02-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

This year I was thrilled to have one of my weddings choosen as a feature in our local publications, California Weds. Anyone who has seen my Website, Facebook or any of my print material in the last few months knows that I am TOTALLY in love with Rebecca & Kevin's wedding. I am thrilled that they were choosen. Special thanks to Josh Simas for being my #2 on this one...you rocked it with me!

California Weds is a bi-annual wedding planning magazine published by The Tribune. You can read the full article here.

In addition to the feature, two of my other weddings were choosen for the Wedding Album section of the publication, Fathema & Aaron and Marie & Chris.

April Wise Photography

Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery

2010-01-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

I recently noticed that a friend of mine has a Facebook friend with the exact same first, middle and last name. I thought "That's funny. I wonder if anyone else has the exact same name as me?"

So I typed April Marie Wise in the search bar and one result came up. Next I noticed she is also from AR and has a photography website. Now I'm interested, so I click over to her website. There were a few portraits and some basic landscapes but it said last updated 2006. Clicking back over to her facebook I decided to check out her photos (I know I update my facebook more than my website.)

To my surprise when I clicked into the 2nd page of the album titled "My Photography" I found 11 photographs copied from my business website. She even went as far as making up fake names for the people in some of the photos. I found this extremely infuriating!

I have reported this to Facebook and the photos should be removed. However, I think this should be publicly noted. I don't want an inexperienced person using my images to get photography jobs.

The imposters website is http://www.freewebs.com/awisephotography/

April Wise Photography

Marissa and Mateo's 2nd Chance for Great Photography

2010-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

As a wedding photographer I've heard a few campfire horror stories about bad photographer but I recently had a more firsthand experience. A bride contacted me to schedule a "redo session" because she didn't recieve most of her original wedding photos. She said it was a very "good deal" but she only recieved a small portion of the images and the photographer was giving her excuses and would no longer call her back.

With only one weekend available to shoot before she had to ship off her dresses (which sold on ebay) we were forced to do the session on a rainy day. We ended up using a covered section of the Carmel Mission and the lobby at The Pine Inn. (Actually I have to take a moment to mention that The Pine Inn was exceptional! I called a few days before and they said we could use their lobby. They let us move furniture and basically have the entire lobby.)

Here is what the bride had to say at OneWed.com about the experience:

"Due to our poor judgement, we never received our original wedding pictures from our original wedding photographer, so we had to "retake" our wedding photos. April was reccommended by our videographer. Due to our time constraints ( I sold my dresses on ebay) we needed our pictures taken ASAP. April was able to shoot us the weekend after we called her. She was very accomodating and professional. She researched the places that we wanted to shoot to ensure she was prepared and that we could actually take pictures in certain locations. We only expected to meet with April but we had two addtional photographers to assist her.

April was very laid back, not too overbearing and pushy. It was hard to take a natural picture when it is December, raining and cold outside, and not your actual wedding date. We felt that April was very creative given her circumstances and we liked the pictures very much. We would recommend her to anyone for their wedding as she is very reliable!"

So your probably wondering 'How do I know if my wedding photographer is reliable?' Well, for one, if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is. In the digital age it is easy for anyone to pick up a camera and book one or two weddings. Running a full wedding photography business, on the other hand, is quite expensive and there is a limit to how low a professional photographer can price weddings. Most of our pricing is built into advertising just to get you to call or email. If you found them on a free site like Craigslist, look around and see if they advertise with any wedding planning sites.

If in doubt ask for references. Ask them with which venues and wedding services they have worked then contact those companies. I would specifically ask for DJs, Videographers and Location Coordinators because they have the most interaction with photographers.

Make sure you get a contract, save email correspondence and make a copy of payments. If they don't already have a contract set up for their business they can find a template online. Although any company that does not already use a contract probably isn't worth your time.

Here is a link to Marissa and Mateo's Redo Wedding Portrait Session. You can also see my favorites on Facebook.

April Wise Photography

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

April Wise Photography

Referral Program

2009-12-10T16:22:00.001-08:00

I am now offering a referral incentive program. It's pretty simple, all you have to do is refer me to your friends and family. If they book any of my wedding or portrait service you get a free, 1 hour photography session with an 8x10 print and online viewing site. You can use this session for Family Portraits, Maternity Portraits, Headshots, an Event (i.e. Birthday Party or Shower) etc. Tell them to mention your name when the contact me. I really appreciate your referrals and I want to reward you for spreading the good word!

This isn't retroactive but if you email me about a recent referral I will consider your case. Offer value for as long as people aren't taking advantage or until I get bored and make something else up :)

April Wise Photography

Barbara & Michael

2009-08-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, one of my goal when I became a photographer was to give couples who have restricted budgets a chance to have great wedding photography. There are days that make it all worth it to be a less expensive wedding photographer. One of those days was Barbara and Michael's wedding. This couple was referred to me by Brian Owens. They came to him wanting video but said they couldn't afford photography. Their plan was to take stills from the video to make an album (cringe-video quality is not meant for print.) Brian convinced them that they could have both. Their wedding was very relaxed and really quite fun to shoot. Here are some of my favorites images from the day:

Barbara's Mother's Veil

Final Touches

Barbara's Shoes

Laughing about Michael's premature kiss

Now you may kiss the bride

Portrait of the couple with an old photo effect applied

On left me shooting image on right

Throwing the Bouquet

April Wise Photography

Kim & Bill (Special Editing)

2009-07-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Special editing is a service that I offer. Here are my favorite images and effects from Kim & Bill's May 22nd wedding at the Lion's Club in Cayucos. Enjoy!

Blue Toning with Enhanced Focus Area

Infrared Effect

Vivid Color Saturation

Luminousity with Slight Desaturation

Decreased Depth of Field to Enhance Focus

Soft Focus

Texture overlay and Frame Stamping

Color Enhancement

Selective focus

Design Stamping

Increased Contrast

Split Toning

Soft Lighting

Most of these images have a combination of effects. Wanna see more? Check out the album on facebook.

April Wise Photography

Picture Planet

2009-07-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

So I've had this 35 person family portrait shoot on the books for about a month. I've been wondering..."what in the heck should I do with that many people?" Well as I was researching some ideas for large groups I found the picture planet. It's probably easier if I just show you, so here:

Robin's Family Planet
2009 © April Wise

If you met this group you would know this was the perfect shot for them. They were so fun! It's super easy to make your own picture planet...here's a link to the step-by-step Photoshop instructions.

You just need a panoramic image. I took 7 individual shoots and stitched them together in Photoshop.

April Wise Photography

Art Installation at Solomon Porch (AKA The Porch) in Santa Margarita

2009-07-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

Starting August 1st I will have approximately 10 photos hanging at Solomon Porch in Santa Margarita for the entire month. Stop by and check them out if you are in the area. This is a great chance to see some of my non-wedding photography.

The Porch is located at 22322 El Camino Real, Santa Margarita, CA - (805) 438-3376

Cuervo, NM
2009 © April Wise
April Wise Photography

Facebook!

2009-07-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Our Facebook fan page is up and running. Please become a fan and check out the latest photo news and photo post.

April Wise Photography

New Website!

2009-03-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Finally after much blood, sweat and maybe a few tears, I have published the new website. Now before you get too critical, I am still testing it and working out a couple of bugs. Check it out at www.aprilwisephotography.com

June Weddings...

2008-08-17T19:46:00.000-07:00

As I am wrapping up my June wedding editing, I realize how incredibly lucky I have been so far to have the opportunity to work with such great couples.

Here are a couple of images from recent weddings:

HILLARY AND BILLY

This wedding took place at the Villa de Buena Vista Bed and Breakfast, located on the Vista Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day, the weather was surprisingly mild for a summer day in Paso Robles.

The couple as requested a private online viewing, for that reason I will not included any images of their face in this blog.

CRISTINA AND RICARDO

This wedding took place at the St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Santa Maria. We were very excited because this was our first ceremony performed completely in Spanish. It was surprisingly easier than I thought.

The couple rented a really fun classic Plymouth, instead of the traditional limo. Josh and I both had a fun time taking photos of this get away car.

More to come from this 2008 wedding season...

April Wise Photography

Last Day

2008-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today is my last full day in Groveland (Yosemite area). I just wanted to share some last minute photos with you before I go.

This is view of the Coffee Time coffee shop and Iron Door Saloon from across Main Street/Hwy 120. (I am actually sitting inside the window on the far right corner of the Coffee Time coffee shop as I type this.)

The inside of the Iron Door Saloon, the oldest Saloon in CA.

Well I guess I will see you back in reality...

April Wise Photography

Yes I know...I am a slacker

2008-07-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't been the best blogger in the past month but hopefully this post will make up for my inactivity. I am currently on my first trip to Yosemite with my good friend Eric. Today he decided to do the Half Dome hike, which I am in no shape for, so I stayed back to catch up on "work." Yosemite has been fantastic. It can be hard to balance fun time with photo time, especially when you are with non-photographers but I have managed to capture some good images. Here are my favorites so far:

At Rainbow Pool

This is one of the lower falls near Rainbow Pool.

This was a curb on the hike down that I though had an interesting texture.

Graffiti covered metal bridge near Rainbow Pool.

An interesting metal post near Rainbow Pool

Yosemite National Park

My friend Eric riding into Yosemite...and yes I did ride his motorcycle on this trip.

A view of Half Doom from the Yosemite Falls trail. Eric is climbing this trail as I type this...I couldn't hang.

A view of Yosemite Valley from the Yosemite Falls trail.

Lower view of Yosemite Falls...if you can belive it, I did make it to the top.

A sign directing us to the Overlook Point at the top of the Yosemite Falls trail.

Table Top Mountain

Eric walking along the cow trail on top of Table Top Mountain.

Self Portrait with the view from Table Top Mountain.

This Morning in Groveland

Flowers in the morning light.

Thistle on the roadside.

An old sign post in Groveland.

Old building with "No Parking" sign.

April Wise Photography

My new favorite effect

2008-06-17T21:57:00.001-07:00

When I say my new favorite, I don't mean this is new...it's just my favorite effect for now. It's called the soft focus effect. It's relatively simple, although I don't think I'll be doing it to every image in a wedding just yet ;) It basically involves duplicating the image layer and blurring it, then either making it an overlay or changing the opacity to 50% (below are examples of each technique.) Nice huh?

April Wise Photography

Here I am...

2008-06-17T11:01:00.001-07:00

Well it's Tuesday morning, 11 am and I am still in my PJs. It's official, April Wise is now technically self-employed and working full-time from home.

So what do I do with this abundance of "free" time you might ask? So far, in the past week and a half, I have worked two weddings and managed to keep myself quite busy with catch up work. It's amazing how much admin work goes into a photography business...sheesh, I just want to make pretty pictures!

Anyways, this blog has been a project I've been trying to get off the ground for several months. So rejoice with me..."it's alive."

April Wise Photography