June 2015 Published Videos Update

Every month I post a list of the videos I published and share my motivation/inspiration behind each video. 

Taylor'd Photography

I use this YouTube channel for professional projects using professional DSLR cameras (mostly). 

Adrian & Justine

Lovebirds. My favorite people to work with. I wanted to tell the story of how they overcame opposition together, how they made the best of bad situations, and how they have decided to continue choosing to be happy together. They tell their story so well, I decided to let them tell it themselves. I just tried my best to get out of the way with this one.

Melody's Dad Videos

I use this channel as an outlet for my personal videos. All videos are shot with point and shoot cameras to show you can make good videos without having great equipment.

Father’s Day Week Vlogs

During the week of Father’s day I made 6 Vlogs with my kids. From going to the mall, working in a lettuce greenhouse, testing out the video camera on a new cell phone, taking family pictures, going to the pool, to doing a service project. All kids have so much personality, I am glad I have my little girls to entertain me and keep me on my toes. We had a fun week and have the Vlogs to help us remember. These are the type of home videos I wish I had growing up. I know my kids will enjoy them as much as I do.  

The last Vlog, Maddy’s Mighty Minions, was played on the German RTL (basically the ABC of Germany) TV Show Best of. I was contacted and asked if they could use it which in full support to the family of #MaddyTheMighty I undoubtedly said yes.  

Why I hate Chik-fil-A

My favorite fast food restaurant by a landslide is Chik-fil-A. But how do you convince your five year-old to go to one fast food place over another when it doesn’t have a playground? When I was working for KPMG, I bumped into a Chik-fil-A big wig in Houston, TX. I asked him when they were going to open up another location in Las Cruces with a playground and a drive through, to which he stared up at the ceiling a moment and replied, we just opened one off of Mesa. I quickly shot back saying “yeah, that’s in El Paso, and is an hour away”. Needless to say, we are not getting another one in Las Cruces anytime soon. I should thank them for that really, they are saving me a bunch of money by not providing an easy air-conditioned option for our afternoons.

How to tie a tie (simple double Windsor mirror follow along)

There comes a time in every guy’s life when you have to tie a tie. Surprisingly, I know people that hadn’t ever needed to know how to tie a tie until they were interviewing out of college. This video I made simply to help those in the situation of needing to learn how to tie a tie. If it were me, I would want to lean my phone against a mirror and play a video where I could pause and play as needed every step of the way until I ended up with the knot in my tie I needed. This video does just that. It shows the exact same mirror image you would see and doesn’t show more or less than what someone would need to follow along the steps. There are plenty of similar type videos on YouTube, but I wanted to provide a short 1 minute video for those out there that learn like I do, by doing.

Are Pelican cases watertight?

I made this for my fellow photographers. Elise and I bought a Pelican case a while back to easily transport some of our photography equipment around in without it getting damaged in transit. When we purchased the case I remember reading somewhere that the case was waterproof and would float. My thought was as soon as it was summer, I was going to verify that in a pool for myself. The family and I took the case for a swim and made a quick video to show the results.

This video was featured in a PetaPixel blog post written by Michael Zhang.

Art projects for kids: Custom wall art

Melody draws all the time. She is great at it. Always wanting to support her at anything she is interested in I suggested to her she cover an open wall in her room with art she makes. We bought some canvases and let her go to town. I made this video to help other parents out there who are getting desperate for activities for their kids this summer.  

 I publish videos regularly to both YouTube Channels (Taylor'd Photography and Melody's Dad Videos). Subscribe to, comment on, and share both. 

April and May 2015 Image Round Up

As a part of our monthly newsletter I will be posting my favorite images from the month's sessions. Here goes!

This is my favorite image from this newborn-ish session (he was about a month old). I normally favor simple blankets and props for newborn sessions but I enjoy how the pattern of his quilt mimics his playful expression quite nicely in this image.

The best family photos show off the interactions and relationship of the family. That's exactly what this photograph depicts.

Besides the adorable expression on mom's face, I love how the backlighting is highlighting the subjects' forms in this image. The bokeh of the tree in the background is pretty dreamy too.

When I work with a family with young children I am always happy with an image that captures both children looking at the camera, at the same time. Yes! I love this photograph even more for the sweet moment between mom and dad.

It isn't often I get to pose my engaged couples on a log over a roaring river, well, roaring for New Mexico standards. I love the beautiful evening light through the trees, the sweet interaction between Justine and Adrian, and the fact that no one fell in the water in the making of this photograph.

I checked something off my photography bucket list this month. Birth photography. The whole experience was amazing. Rather than merely documenting the birth I was able to create storytelling images like this one.

Sometimes a photograph can captivate the viewer simply by not revealing an expected detail. In this photo I purposefully cropped the eyes out of the frame to draw attention to and accentuate her lips.

In this image I used the design element of line to guide the viewer's eye to the subject. I love the dramatic lighting of "golden hour" which is when this photograph was made.

One rule of composition is to not center subjects in the frame. Sometimes it is okay to break this rule in unique ways. In this photo I centered Debbie's engagement ring to be the focus of the image. The composition remains dynamic with the lines of Debbie and Zack's bodies pushing out of the frame.

May 2015 Published Videos Update

Every month I will post a list of the videos I published and will share my motivation/inspiration behind each video. This month I am including April since we transitioned from our blog to a monthly newsletter. 

Taylor'd Photography 

I use this YouTube channel for professional projects using professional DSLR cameras (mostly). 

Show your story through storytelling photography and videography

This promotional video is meant to stress the importance of capturing small moments. The most monumental moments in our lives happen in one quick instant and then fade as more time passes between us and that moment. I had many of these moments as I met and got to know my wife. From meeting her in her sexy long legs tube socks while playing ultimate Frisbee, to cooking chicken fettuccini alfredo for her on Valentine’s day, to helping her study for an exam she would miss since I distracted her with a tennis match. These moments were the stepping stones of our relationship, they developed our friendship, cumulated my love, and are responsible for the best decision I ever made; marrying my best friend.

Someday…Baby Birth Announcement: Anders

Anders is my new nephew. My brother James, has always been there for me; he comforted me when I was alone, he was my friend when it was hard to be, he was a role model and scholar, and he was even homecoming king. Based on how great of a brother he is to me, I can’t imagine how great of a father he will be. My inspiration for this video came 100% from Melody. I never understood how much my parents loved me until I had her. Not that I don’t love Skye the same, it’s just I had this epiphany when Melody was given to me. As parent, I am just clueless, and near reckless with my love for my kids. How do you explain this to your kids? I don’t think I can so the words in this video explain it all.

Melody's Dad Videos

I use this channel as an outlet for my personal videos. All videos are shot with a point and shoot camera (except for 2).

Promo Vlog

This vlog video was during the three days we filmed the promotional video and hopefully helps my friends and family understand that making a short film is a lot of work. The funny thing is that this video is just behind the scenes for the filming process. It doesn’t cover the week of post editing, the planning, finding the right music and obtaining a use license. Basically, it takes a crazy amount of time to make a video from scratch.

How to Stop Wind Noise on Video Cameras for $2

There are outdoor scenes in the Promo Vlog video that had tons of wind noise, which I find pretty annoying. So I decided to make a “deadcat” windscreen for my point and shoot camera (Canon S-110), and make a short video out of it since I figured this is a common problem. Turns out I was right. This video set records for me, it received 10,000 views in one day, and had over 15,000 views in one week. I was ecstatic to learn that PetaPixel also published a blog post about it. You can check out that blog post linked here.

Making a Leather Hand Strap for DSLR Camera

This video stemmed from my frustration with monopod screws. I had a nice write up here of my motivation in making this video but then decided to remove it and just provide you a link to the guest blog post that includes pictures that are not in the video as well as a description of how to make the strap yourself. Check it out here. 

I publish videos regularly to both YouTube Channels (Taylor'd Photography and Melody's Dad Videos). Please subscribe, comment, and share both. 

Recent Happenings

Here's a brief snippet of some fun things that happened over the last two months.

Cima Women's Healthcare

Earlier this month, Nate and I hung 8 black and white canvases in the new Cima Women's Healthcare office. The new office had no decor and the canvases now make the office so much more inviting. I collaborated with Dr. Hice-Garza and Dr. Crawford in selecting images that portrayed the many stages of womanhood that they care for. We selected images of mothers and daughters, babies and pregnant bellies, and happy families. We decided on a calming black and white image for each of the exam rooms and color images for the halls and lobby. The metallic canvases have just enough of a pearl finish to really stand out. This is how images were meant to live -- printed flawlessly and on the wall for enjoyment. I am so happy to have my artwork displayed throughout their office. You might want to stop by to check it out!

The Las Cruces Bulletin's Perfect Southwest Weddings Guide

Guess who is on the cover of the 2015 edition of The Bulletin's Perfect Southwest Weddings guide? Gabe and Vanessa! Flip through the issue and you will find several other Taylor'd Photography couples featured. Oscar and Rebecca, Koriel and Katelyn, Ivan and Laura, James and Erin, Travis and Kati, Joseph and Justina, Andrew and Cassandra, and Kevin and Diana can all be found in this special publication from the Bulletin.

David Salcido interviewed me and asked for my thoughts on the importance of hiring a professional photographer for your wedding. Here's one of my quotes from the article that sums up pretty much my whole philosophy behind wedding photography, "The cake will be eaten and forgotten. The flowers will die and be thrown away. The only thing that you will have after your wedding -- to remember it, to share with your children and grandchildren -- are your photos. That should be a priority and you wouldn't trust that to just anybody."

Besides the quality of images a professional photographer will create, another major advantage of hiring a professional photographer for your wedding are the photo products available to you through your photographer. As a consumer you have access to only a limited number of "consumer grade" products. It may be quick and easy to order a photo book from Shutterfly but it will never compare to the quality and longevity of a hand crafted professional album. I love seeing clients at my wedding consultations get giddy with excitement as they flip through the albums I offer and start to dream up what their wedding will look like on the pages of their own album. There really is no comparison to anything else available to nonprofessionals. I want my clients to cherish their wedding memories and the best way to do that is to print them artfully and not simply leave my care with JUST a USB of digital images.

You can read the whole article and flip through The Bulletin's wedding guide here.

3 Times When You Need to Make Videos

As of March 4, 2015, I stopped working as an accountant, and started working with Elise full time. Which is how we are able to offer video productions. There are several situations where you will find yourself questioning if you should hire a videographer but today I am going to discuss three situations when you don't need to think twice about it: 1. When you are about to get married, 2. You own a business, or 3. You are in a band.

Wedding Videography

According to a survey taken in 2006, "98% percent of surveyed newlyweds recommended that brides have their weddings videotaped".  Year after year you will find articles quoting that statistic while advising brides not to fall into the same trap. My favorite two examples,  are the The Huffington Post “Like most brides, I budgeted for photos, but not wedding video. Like 98 percent of brides who make that decision, I regretted not getting a wedding video.” And The Knot “You may be thinking wedding photos and a video are overkill, but trust us, you will want both”. Whether it is your proposal, your love story, your wedding day, or your happily ever after, we will capture the details for your video production, so you can just live in the moment.

Small Business Video Content

“Video marketing is a powerful tool for getting more visibility more quickly, so you can get your message out, attract your ideal clients, make more money, and have more impact”  (Entrepreneur.com). This powerful statement can be backed up by several studies that have been compiled in this article titled “37 reasons that video content is king”. Providing many insightful video marketing stats here are a few: "200% to 300% increase in click-through rate when marketers include video in an e-mail. 100% more time is spent on pages with videos on them. 85% of people more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video. 59% of senior executives would rather watch a video than read text. About 65% of those who view a video click through to visit the vendor website, 50% look for more information and 45% report that they contacted a vendor after seeing an online video ad. About 50% of those who viewed an online marketing video went on to make a purchase for their business". Video content for your small business is vital for your marketing strategy. Call me today so we can address your video content needs and develop a visual marketing plan that is right for your business.  

Music Videos

“Not only is YouTube THE most popular online tool for music discovery, but amongst the younger demographic (18-) it’s also become THE preferred platform for listening to music" (The DIY Musician). The Music channel on YouTube has over 89 million subscribers, but the founder of Chromatik, Matt Sandler, said it best. “One of the YouTube myths I hear all of the time is – “I just need ONE video to strike it big”. The unfortunate reality is that 100,000 views and a couple hundred subscribers doesn’t get you very far in the YouTube ecosystem. So let’s focus on starting small and building a community” (Hypebot.com). Maintaining that community is up to your band, but I can help you get your foot in the door. Everyone has watched a bad music video on YouTube and unless it was hysterically bad, we didn’t make it through the whole song. Music videos combine my two favorite components of filmmaking; music and storytelling. Contact me today to collaborate on video content that we can contribute to the community your band is building.