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Fort Collins, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Fort Williams Park is huge at over 90 acres of natural space, including the most photographed lighthouse in America - Portland Head Light. If you’re visiting Maine for the first time, it’s a must-see spot. The adjacent park offers lush backgrounds of greenery, the fort, paths, and rocky shores. In the summer the park offers other activities including food vendors. Celebrate your sessions with a lobster roll! Beaches Southern Maine has some of the most beautiful beaches in the state. Each one is unique. Most beaches require passes or permits, We can help you with these when booking. Pine Point Beach, Scarborough, Maine Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, Maine Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine Ferry Beach, Scarborough, Maine Crescent Beach, Cape Elizabeth, Maine Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine Footbridge Beach, Ogunquit, Maine The Wiggly Bridge, York, Maine This location offers a more woodsy feel for your Maine photos. Lots of wonderful green spots and of course a bridge, Grisland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth, Maine Situated along the Presumpscot River estuary just five minutes from Portland, Maine Audubon’s headquarters features an environmental education center and a 65-acre sanctuary with more than two miles of trails winding along a pond and through forest, meadow, orchard, and salt marsh. Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, South Portland, Maine The lighthouse is at the end of a long tide breaker in the middle of Casco Bay. It's a stunning location any time of day. It is on the campus of SMCC so parking isn't always convenient. It's always open to enjoy and dogs are welcome too. Portland Old Part, Portland, Maine The old port offers so much for photos. Brick building, cobblestone streets, water views, and historic urban settings. Portland is the perfect location for those who don't want sand in their shoes. Enjoy shopping and dining after your session too! Library Park, Bath, Maine Bath may be a little out of the way but Library Park is stunning. The open green space with a footbridge makes the setting ideal for photos. Walk down the hill to the historic downtown for brick buildings, benches and water views. Your Own Back or Front Yard Whether you are a local or from away, your home may make the perfect location.
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Weddings sure have changed this year. From big weddings with 100 or more people to small intimate weddings with 10 people. Micro weddings are now the way many people are planning and having weddings. From backyards to parks to city hall, small weddings are happening a lot more than they used to.
Here are some tips to help you with your small wedding: 1. Be selective about your guest list. Due to things like Covid, some states are limiting gatherings to a maximum of 10 people. Consider the 10 people who should be there. Best friends, siblings, parents and grandparents (if they are able). Remember your Officiant and photographer will count in that number. 2. Set up a Zoom for guests who cannot attend. We have seen this work really well for several of the small weddings we have photographed. This will allow you to share you day with many people. 3. Skip the wedding party. It is hard to choose just one or two people to be your attendants during the wedding so why choose at all. It may be a long standing tradition but there isn't much traditional happening at the moment. 4. Have a small one now, have a big one later. We have worked with several couples that have had the smaller weddings and then a big one at a later date. This may relieve the pressure of deposits already made. Lots of venues are allowing people to reschedule, talk to yours first before giving up on that dream wedding. 5. Services are less expensive. Yup, I said it. Services will be more cost effective including your photographers. We have 3 micro wedding packages that are perfect for a small wedding. Venues will also be more cost effective and sometimes free. Small weddings will never feel small on love, laughter, and making special memories. There are certainties when you are a photographer and one of those is helping family and friends figure out what kind of camera to buy for their loved one as a holiday gift. Admittedly, we love shopping for gear (especially when we are spending someone else’s money so, here are some suggestions that we hope will help you navigate what may be unchartered waters.
Let’s agree that cameras do not take good pictures, people with camera do. Understanding that gear is only as good as the person using it. Do not run out and buy that Canon R5 ($3899 as of this writing) for a newbie - buy something less expensive and let them grow into it. If you have a basic understanding of composition and light, you can take great photos with an inexpensive camera. With that in mind set your budget, stick to it, and know that you are helping someone develop a talent. Once you set your budget do not fall into the brand trap. We shoot Canon thanks to the AE-1 that I learned on over 40 years ago, we stick with Canon because of the very significant investment we have in Canon glass. In spite of the good natured rubbing that we throw the direction of those that use something else; entry level cameras are all pretty balanced in what they can do. Unless you have access to a kindly photographer that will let you connect share glass, do not get sucked into the brand wars. Once you do pick a DSLR, if you have budget leftover, we like to encourage you to help your photographer invest in some glass. Sure, the body will likely have a lens on it and there is nothing wrong with what a kit lens can do. If you have the opportunity, then we suggest purchasing a “prime” lens. Unlike a zoom that covers a range of focal lengths (which lets you go from a wide through zoomed without the photographer having to move), these lenses are a fixed focal length. As my Dad used to say, “your feet are your zoom”. These also have a wide range of prices however, if there was one lens to rule them all, it would be our “nifty-fifty” (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 - currently $125). This is capable of delivering super sharp images and is small enough to stay on the camera all the time (useful if you didn’t get a kit lens). If we had to pick between good glass and a lower end body, we will always pick quality glass. Bottom line; don’t break your bank, don’t buy into brand hype, and invest in glass over a body. There are a myriad of choices but, we know you can get through it.  Here we are almost 6 months after we shut down and started obsessively binge watching Netflix. Covid for us started on March 18.
We were in Arkansas shooting an engagement session for our friends who were getting married in the coming months. We had been watching the news and knew that when we got home things were definitely going to change. And not just the difficulty we would have finding toilet paper. We had several weddings cancel. In fact, all but the wedding for our friends in Arkansas and the two weddings we had scheduled for October, either cancelled or rebooked. Grad sessions increased. Lots of parents had been waiting to book and were taking advantage of our daytime flexibility. We also knew families wanted photos but didn't want to do a longer session, so we created our Portraits on the Porch sessions. 15 minute sessions on your front porch or in your backyard. We did 8 on Mother's Day. The other big change for us was using and working with masks. Adjusting how we held our cameras and used our equipment was new and interesting. Making sure we didn't jump in to fix the errant hair or pulling a piece of lint off someone. Social distancing is the norm now. We are starting to see things pick up. We are booking some smaller weddings - see our new Micro wedding pricing on our new pricing page. We have several family photo sessions booked for fall. We are committed to following all CDC guidelines and those of professional photography organizations. We will be masked for your session. We will do our best to be 6 feet away from you (some photos require us to get a bit closer). We will make sure to sterilize any equipment that you come in contact. We are personally limiting our exposure by only going out for necessities and limiting social contact. We want to you and us to be safe. So we ask that you reschedule your shoot if you are sick. That you also arrive with a mask on and remove for the photos. And of course keeping that social distance. It is certainly a new and interesting time for us as photographers. We think this is a great time for those family photos you have been putting off. We hope we can be your photographers. |