June 2015 Image Round Up

Here's a few of my favorite photos from this month's sessions!

Patrick and Lenisa blew me away during their engagement session. I love the backlighting in this image and the way the field is illuminated by sunset.

And just like that a mom and daddy are created. Hospital or "Fresh 48" sessions compliment maternity and newborn photographs perfectly. 

Austin's parents are big time Texas Longhorn fans. They made sure we incorporated a few Longhorn props into the newborn session. Austin seems to be already be cheering on mom and dad's team.

Only 81 days until Ryan and Melissa tie the knot! Posing these two was very organic. They seem to fit into each other's arms just right. 

It's Not About the Camera

This last month I went a little nuts to beef up my personal YouTube channel. In one week I filmed and published 10 videos. As a result, I have been asked what the theme of my YouTube channel is. The purpose of my personal YouTube channel is to show my clients three things: 1 – It doesn’t take great equipment to make a great video, 2 – You don’t always need to hire a videographer to make a good video, and 3 – The main reason you want to hire a videographer is for editing.

It’s not all about the camera

Just because I don’t use my cell phone to make client productions, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. All of the movies on the channel were shot with point and shoot cameras except for two and new videos are mainly shot on my cell phone. The equipment may help with the quality of the video, but the story is what engages viewers. A good video leaves the viewer thinking about the story, not wondering about the equipment used to make the video. On Melody’s Dad Videos, my record for the most views on a single video in one day is 10,000. That video was shot using a camera that can only shoot 720p. Another video I shot entirely on my cell phone just aired on German TV on RTL, the equivalent of ABC in Germany, and I have never been asked what I shot the video with.

You can make good enough videos

I am not saying you should never hire a videographer, there are going to be times you are going to want a professional video. Hire a videographer for the important projects or life events. For a business, this would be product/service and core business promo videos. For families, this would be weddings, new family members, and golden anniversaries. Businesses need to understand it doesn’t take a videographer to make relatable content for your audience, just as families need to know the difference between a home video and a professional family production.

Post production is the difference

I originally created Melody’s Dad Videos as a place to store home videos that my family could watch on demand anytime. Now I have repurposed this channel to be an example to my clients. The point of the channel is to show that anyone can make good video content without investing thousands of dollars on videography equipment or even hiring me. The difference is all in the editing. My record video I mentioned earlier that received 10,000 views in one day all shot on a 720p point and shoot camera could have been extremely boring. After I finished shooting the video I had 5.5GB, over an hour in 720p, worth of footage. In post-production I edited the video down to a 250MB 1 minute video. The reason why it engages viewers is because it is short, thorough, and doesn’t waste the viewer’s time with redundant or duplicate information.

The moral of the story is this, don’t hire a videographer for their equipment. Anyone can point a camera and capture a moment, the difficult part is taking that footage and turning it into a larger message. When you want to have a deeper response from a video, the art is in the editing that happens in post-production. Shooting the video with post production in mind is the difference between a professional and a bi-stander with a cell phone. Hire a videographer when you want to tell those important meaningful stories, and choose the videographer right for you based on how well they can tell a story.

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.