Sunday, August 9, 2015
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Sampling of my work
I went through various folders of work today and found some favorites. I tried to pick out the tops, but couldn't make decisions. Based on so many reasons, how can you truly pick? So I decided to get back into my blogging, post them all and get the writing juices flowing again. This is just the beginning. I love the work I do. It's profound and I find something special in each image. That's special and I hope meaningful to each family that receives their images.
#halltography #bytracyhall
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Laughter is the best medicine! 😂
I was reading this article, and fell apart laughing. I can't believe someone took these photos, but occasionally it's really good to laugh!! So...I thought this was a good post for today!
Friday, February 6, 2015
When I look at other photographers....I'm just in awe....
These images bring on a feeling of being awe stuck. I have no words for some of them. The scar...
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/02/the-2013-sony-world-photography-awards/100454/
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/02/the-2013-sony-world-photography-awards/100454/
Monday, January 26, 2015
I am truly impressed by this photographer!
I read this article, about a young woman, 27 years old, doing street photography for the last 10 years w/ a camera similar to my Nikon D80, but her's is a D90, a slight upgrade, and man, are these amazing photos. I am so impressed w/ her work. She deserves this award!
http://petapixel.com/2015/01/23/filipino-domestic-worker-earns-prestigious-magnum-fellowship-photography/
http://petapixel.com/2015/01/23/filipino-domestic-worker-earns-prestigious-magnum-fellowship-photography/
Friday, January 23, 2015
National Geographic - Fox Found!
Wow, was looking through National Geographic and found this image this morning. Isn't it just beautiful? The eyes and the autumn colors are just amazing! #bravo
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/fox-gran-paradiso-italy/
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/fox-gran-paradiso-italy/
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Creating GIFS
This is the great part about layers! Banner ads that appear to be moving, but they are static.
My husband knows how to create gifs if anyone needs them, FYI! He's an amazing graphic artist. And yes, I'm biased.
http://reframe.gizmodo.com/these-before-and-after-gifs-show-just-how-fake-ad-photo-1680872965
My husband knows how to create gifs if anyone needs them, FYI! He's an amazing graphic artist. And yes, I'm biased.
http://reframe.gizmodo.com/these-before-and-after-gifs-show-just-how-fake-ad-photo-1680872965
Better Business Bureau Call...
I recently had the same situation with an ex-client who asked me to shoot her wedding at the 11th hour because her photographer fell through. I normally don't do weddings. They are so stressful for me, making sure I get every shot!
I immediately went out and spent over $400 on lighting kits, extra batteries, 2 large flashes for 2 cameras and had an extra photographer to make sure I had 2, regardless that our agreement included ONE photographer and she told me it would be a 4 hour wedding. I also drove clear across town to drop my son off at my mothers house to stay the day and night, so that I'd have the entire day free to be available for her big day. I didn't bother her with these costs or details, as I consider myself a professional.
The day of the wedding, she texted me, asking if I could come get shots of her getting ready and I'm so nice, I went and ended up taking those photos & stayed w/ her 12 hours that day. I know...my bad. Please don't judge. I'm too nice...it's ridiculous My initial negotation included 15 hours total of work, at 1/2 of my rate, because I knew she couldn't afford me. This included editing hours...so 15 hours total. I'm now at 30+ hours of work, including editing, because she would ask me to edit photos each time I'd come in for a hair cut or color, and still owes me $435. We agreed on part $, part hair trade, which for a woman, I thought was a good deal.
Things didn't start off good. Twice, she asked me if I could pay for my own color, because she didn't have it in stock or couldn't afford it. I never knew which. She has since explained to me that it only costs $10 and that it shouldn't have been that big of a deal to me, but given the situation, and at the time she owed me $900 and $700 worth of hair trade, I found it be an insult I also thought it was very unprofessional.
Her mother & I agreed she was to pay me cash of $625 upfront, but again I was trying to be nice. I knew she had a ton of bills for the wedding, so I said pay me 1/2 the first of the month, 1/2 at the end of the month. Well.....I got 1/2 first of the month (July), then I got nothing for a while. I was paid $624 by December of that same year, and didn't communicate with me once to let me know when those payments would be coming, so I just took them when they came and realized they people were going to pay me at their own pace.
Over time I have delivered almost 400 edited images to the bride, even though I'm still not 100% paid, because she would ask me for new edited photos every time I went in to get my hair done. Yes, it was tough because it took that fun out of going in and relaxing and getting my hair done. Just facts.
So once we began to get towards the end of the trade, I thought I'd take in my paperwork to show you what I had kept in my worksheet. She kept our tally of hair trade on her phone and never showed it to me, I took in my excel worksheet w/ all of my paperwork and showed it to her and she said it was wrong, that those weren't her rates, but she had chaged her rates in Jan, but didn't explain anything to me, so what's wrong? And after already delivering almost 400 edited photos to her anyway, I split that cost and said, "You can just owe me $200 in hair trade," but after that she discontinued returning my text messages for hair cuts and colors. Or, oh yea...she didn't get those messages. Her phone didn't work. I basically had to figure out, on my own, that our business was clearly done.
That was until her husband told my husband they want more photos and he told him "your wife still owes my wife money." Well, that just began an avalanche of phone calls, text messages, Facebook messages, voicemails, messages from this woman to me in a row, one after the other after the other, stating that I'm unprofessional, rude, I could go on and on. And all of this while this woman has not completed paying me, and I've already delivered nearly 400 edited photos on a disc to her mother, since she has no way of using a computer, AND had to resize all of them since the actual client couldn't view them on her phone because her computer is broken. What? Extra editing hours, again.
Oh yea, and at the end of all this, I deliver a disc, that was stated at the beginning and how I run my business, but since her computer is broken, she was going to need my help printing them at no charge. I found that out midway and AFTER her wedding. ;) More probono work for me, I'm guessing.
However, here's the good part, I had a change of heart over the holidays, due to a really neat situation between myself and an amazing friend of mine, so I thought to myself, I'll just send her the remaining unedited photos and let her have the rest of them, unpaid...because it's her wedding day. I have a heart, you know.
Then 2 days later I get a call from the Better Business Bureau. LOL. What timing. This woman has turned me in with a complaint. Haha. For what? She has close to 400 edited photos. I've aleady given her twice the work we agreed upon. I've only been paid 2/3's of what we agreed to and she has told me that she will not pay me 1 penny more than $100 for the rest of it, when I've already cut the remaining balance in HALF, so what do you want me from me when I feel like I've alread over-delivered?
It was a total shock to me, the call from the www.BBB.org, but more than that, just so sad. People are this ugly and mean...I know. I'm not that naive. I know this happens and you can't please everyone, but when you try so hard, it makes you feel so down.
After I told the woman at the www.BBB.org that I knew what it was for and explained my side of the story, she felt so badly for me that she apologized. They've seen my posts of the wedding, photos and reassured me they do not post lies on their website, nor do they appreciate individuals attempting to use them to post incorrect information about others out of malice. They have been on all of my social media sites, seen all that I posted from that day on my blog, FB, Twitter for the wedding dating back and have basically found her statements to be untruthful.
When the woman at the BBB realized this woman was being vengeful, it took about an hour for me to get a response via email from this kind BBB spokesperson stating they will not be placing this complaint on my BBB page, that I do not have to state my counter information on my BBB Page, as it would have been live online for 36 months and would have clearly shown this woman was lying, and that she was very sorry for bothering me.
I now have access to this woman via email and she's at my disposal for any questions or comments moving forward. THANK YOU BBB!!!!! You are such reasonable human beings! I feel SO GRATEFUL for how you have treated me and my business practices!!!!
Just goes to show what happens when you lie and do the wrong thing and when you are honest and do the right thing. Be ethical! Be honest! And do what's right. This ex-client told me in her string of text messages that she "treats people how she wants to be treated" Is this how you want people to treat you? I can't imagine that it would be.
At the end of the day, I could be vengeful, I could try to pay her back, but I'm not that person. Do not pay an evil for an evil. It never pays off. Karma, as we all know, will pay itself back in some awful way, if it isn't already doing so. I feel really sorry for this woman. I know I could be mad or really angry, or want to be mean back, but my heart goes out to her and I think I'll just pray for her instead.
I was more hurt that someone would maliciously try to hurt my business that I'm trying to grow while they've already been delivered goods at a fraction of the cost. She was going to get what she wanted anyhow, and then she tried to cause my business further harm, so that gave me another change of heart. #peoplewillneverlearn #poortiming #baddecision
http://www.blogpolito.com/?p=5757
I immediately went out and spent over $400 on lighting kits, extra batteries, 2 large flashes for 2 cameras and had an extra photographer to make sure I had 2, regardless that our agreement included ONE photographer and she told me it would be a 4 hour wedding. I also drove clear across town to drop my son off at my mothers house to stay the day and night, so that I'd have the entire day free to be available for her big day. I didn't bother her with these costs or details, as I consider myself a professional.
The day of the wedding, she texted me, asking if I could come get shots of her getting ready and I'm so nice, I went and ended up taking those photos & stayed w/ her 12 hours that day. I know...my bad. Please don't judge. I'm too nice...it's ridiculous My initial negotation included 15 hours total of work, at 1/2 of my rate, because I knew she couldn't afford me. This included editing hours...so 15 hours total. I'm now at 30+ hours of work, including editing, because she would ask me to edit photos each time I'd come in for a hair cut or color, and still owes me $435. We agreed on part $, part hair trade, which for a woman, I thought was a good deal.
Things didn't start off good. Twice, she asked me if I could pay for my own color, because she didn't have it in stock or couldn't afford it. I never knew which. She has since explained to me that it only costs $10 and that it shouldn't have been that big of a deal to me, but given the situation, and at the time she owed me $900 and $700 worth of hair trade, I found it be an insult I also thought it was very unprofessional.
Her mother & I agreed she was to pay me cash of $625 upfront, but again I was trying to be nice. I knew she had a ton of bills for the wedding, so I said pay me 1/2 the first of the month, 1/2 at the end of the month. Well.....I got 1/2 first of the month (July), then I got nothing for a while. I was paid $624 by December of that same year, and didn't communicate with me once to let me know when those payments would be coming, so I just took them when they came and realized they people were going to pay me at their own pace.
Over time I have delivered almost 400 edited images to the bride, even though I'm still not 100% paid, because she would ask me for new edited photos every time I went in to get my hair done. Yes, it was tough because it took that fun out of going in and relaxing and getting my hair done. Just facts.
So once we began to get towards the end of the trade, I thought I'd take in my paperwork to show you what I had kept in my worksheet. She kept our tally of hair trade on her phone and never showed it to me, I took in my excel worksheet w/ all of my paperwork and showed it to her and she said it was wrong, that those weren't her rates, but she had chaged her rates in Jan, but didn't explain anything to me, so what's wrong? And after already delivering almost 400 edited photos to her anyway, I split that cost and said, "You can just owe me $200 in hair trade," but after that she discontinued returning my text messages for hair cuts and colors. Or, oh yea...she didn't get those messages. Her phone didn't work. I basically had to figure out, on my own, that our business was clearly done.
That was until her husband told my husband they want more photos and he told him "your wife still owes my wife money." Well, that just began an avalanche of phone calls, text messages, Facebook messages, voicemails, messages from this woman to me in a row, one after the other after the other, stating that I'm unprofessional, rude, I could go on and on. And all of this while this woman has not completed paying me, and I've already delivered nearly 400 edited photos on a disc to her mother, since she has no way of using a computer, AND had to resize all of them since the actual client couldn't view them on her phone because her computer is broken. What? Extra editing hours, again.
Oh yea, and at the end of all this, I deliver a disc, that was stated at the beginning and how I run my business, but since her computer is broken, she was going to need my help printing them at no charge. I found that out midway and AFTER her wedding. ;) More probono work for me, I'm guessing.
However, here's the good part, I had a change of heart over the holidays, due to a really neat situation between myself and an amazing friend of mine, so I thought to myself, I'll just send her the remaining unedited photos and let her have the rest of them, unpaid...because it's her wedding day. I have a heart, you know.
Then 2 days later I get a call from the Better Business Bureau. LOL. What timing. This woman has turned me in with a complaint. Haha. For what? She has close to 400 edited photos. I've aleady given her twice the work we agreed upon. I've only been paid 2/3's of what we agreed to and she has told me that she will not pay me 1 penny more than $100 for the rest of it, when I've already cut the remaining balance in HALF, so what do you want me from me when I feel like I've alread over-delivered?
It was a total shock to me, the call from the www.BBB.org, but more than that, just so sad. People are this ugly and mean...I know. I'm not that naive. I know this happens and you can't please everyone, but when you try so hard, it makes you feel so down.
After I told the woman at the www.BBB.org that I knew what it was for and explained my side of the story, she felt so badly for me that she apologized. They've seen my posts of the wedding, photos and reassured me they do not post lies on their website, nor do they appreciate individuals attempting to use them to post incorrect information about others out of malice. They have been on all of my social media sites, seen all that I posted from that day on my blog, FB, Twitter for the wedding dating back and have basically found her statements to be untruthful.
When the woman at the BBB realized this woman was being vengeful, it took about an hour for me to get a response via email from this kind BBB spokesperson stating they will not be placing this complaint on my BBB page, that I do not have to state my counter information on my BBB Page, as it would have been live online for 36 months and would have clearly shown this woman was lying, and that she was very sorry for bothering me.
I now have access to this woman via email and she's at my disposal for any questions or comments moving forward. THANK YOU BBB!!!!! You are such reasonable human beings! I feel SO GRATEFUL for how you have treated me and my business practices!!!!
Just goes to show what happens when you lie and do the wrong thing and when you are honest and do the right thing. Be ethical! Be honest! And do what's right. This ex-client told me in her string of text messages that she "treats people how she wants to be treated" Is this how you want people to treat you? I can't imagine that it would be.
At the end of the day, I could be vengeful, I could try to pay her back, but I'm not that person. Do not pay an evil for an evil. It never pays off. Karma, as we all know, will pay itself back in some awful way, if it isn't already doing so. I feel really sorry for this woman. I know I could be mad or really angry, or want to be mean back, but my heart goes out to her and I think I'll just pray for her instead.
I was more hurt that someone would maliciously try to hurt my business that I'm trying to grow while they've already been delivered goods at a fraction of the cost. She was going to get what she wanted anyhow, and then she tried to cause my business further harm, so that gave me another change of heart. #peoplewillneverlearn #poortiming #baddecision
http://www.blogpolito.com/?p=5757
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Texas Transportation Museum
Today we visited the Texas Transportation Museum. It is such a neat spot to hit up on a gorgeous day! The volunteers are simply AMAZING! I can't say enough about these men. They play with our son, show him the trains, explaining things...and let me tell you He LOVES it!!
If you're ever in San Antonio, I would highly suggest visiting this museum. It's the tops!!
www.txtransportationmuseum.org
Monday, January 19, 2015
Open Letter
This guy is a tad grumpy for my taste, but he's honest, and I like that! This is SO true for everyone that owns their own business! smile emoticon
http://www.diyphotography.net/open-letter-client-re-job-killer-quoted-rate/
http://www.diyphotography.net/open-letter-client-re-job-killer-quoted-rate/
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Wedding Crashers! Adam Levine
I WISH! If only...4 years ago he had done this, I would have fallen over and died!
What a beautiful video and sentiment to all of these beautiful and deserving Brides on their special days!!!
The power of Photography!
This is a great article that expresses the true power of photography and how far it's truly come.
Friday, January 16, 2015
The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers recently published a collection of 2014 award-winning photos
The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers recently published a collection of 2014 award-winning photos.
The ISPWP holds quarterly competitions and select winners from their members for 20 different categories, including "All about light," "Getting ready," and "Bridal party portrait."
Check out some of the winning photos:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/01/15/award-winning-wedding-photos-from-2014/21823131/
Monday, January 12, 2015
This is such a great article, I had to post
I read this article today and it renewed my faith in humanity! I love this!
http://petapixel.com/2015/01/07/urban-exploration-photographer-finds-stash-cash-abandoned-house/
http://petapixel.com/2015/01/07/urban-exploration-photographer-finds-stash-cash-abandoned-house/
Monday, November 17, 2014
The Hall Family
The Hall's came to San Antonio to visit us for mine and Mike's birthday and we scheduled photos for the whole family with Kristi Gerdes, a local photographer out of Uvalde, Texas. She was a friend of a very good high school friend of mine and I had really liked her images, so I thought, let's just go for it. That poor woman, dealing with all of us on this FREEZING morning in San Antonio, but we managed to pull it off at Bracken Village and the Hall men were crazy, as usual.
I love that Kristi caught them in their rare, funny moments, because it's those times that I enjoy watching these 4 brothers together. And to think that everyone flew in from different places....Salt Lake City, UT, Newport Beach, CA and Denver, CO. The fun never ends! Thank you, Kristi! Just goes to show that even photographers hire professional photographers, because you can't capture times like these on your own. You need professionals doing the job, and that's what we got. ;) Photo images by: Kristi Gerdes Photography http://www.kristigerdes.com/blog/
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