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An EDP tour

Posted on August 27, 2010

Ever wonder where the magic of Echo Day Photography happens? I’m now excited to show you!

A year ago, my husband and I started work on our laundry room to office conversion.

We moved into our house in November 2008. Our laundry room used to be this small closet under our stairs. It was great in theory, very accessible and the hot pink color I painted inside was motivational, but we had a small problem: we didn’t have a dryer vent.

Not having a vent meant that we had to run the dryer with the closet doors open for ventilation. We were afraid the heat would eventually warp the doors.* And the humidity fogged up all of our windows and made all of our non-porous surfaces wet and the lint drove our allergies nuts. Later, through a friend who knew the previous homeowner (gotta love a small town!), I found out that the builders originally forgot to put in a vent (which was corroborated with our septic guy a few months ago) and so the homeowners rigged one, then tiled over the rigged vent later.

I hate that and I also hate this tile. I want carpet or hardwood. But that’s another topic.

In February 2009 we initially discussed converting the laundry room to an office and it’s nice to see it finally finished. We moved our washer and dryer into our garage, a move that led to us having to replace the washer after the temperatures dropped to single digits and our pipes froze. Great decision, right?

I painted the office (and our little bathroom, but we’re not talking about that) a light blue, reupholstered and painted antique chairs and my husband installed a wood desk top with a plexiglass cover.

Like most wives, I’ve been nagging Darin about the shelves he promised for several months. Last week we finally got them in! I painted them white to go with the chairs (though the color on the chairs is a light, light blue) and Darin installed them.

And it’s done! Finally! After a year! (And I finally have a lens that can photograph this space – another reason to celebrate!)

How awesome does it look?!

We don’t have another office space (we have four children), so this small space has to function as a home office, home-based business office and kid office (storing their art supplies and such). Talk about multi-tasking! I have to store my cameras, lenses, tripod, flashes, etc. here in addition to all of the books and magazines I’m reading, my promotional products, blank DVDs and cases, backup discs, samples, forms and contracts, important documents, school picture day proofs, drawings, camcorder and all of the other menial things (like bills!).

I keep my camera bag in the spare chair to store all of my flashes, memory cards, lenses, batteries, chargers, etc. The rolling filing cabinet between the chairs holds important paperwork, Christmas stationery I didn’t use last year, construction paper and coloring books.

I really love this because I’ve incorporated many functions into this space, but also several things I love: photography and vintage cameras, the beach, books and my family.

The old Mason jar is recycled from our 2009 wedding, which was recycled from my grandmother’s basement, and contains shells I’ve picked up from the beaches of the Outer Banks. The other jars hold markers and crayons and give a little color. Along the top shelf are my books (including my Book of Common Prayer and New Testament), shell jar (we also have two of these in the living room and two in the master bath), boat I bought off of a friend for $4, a box of my promo items, pool blue stickers from Archivers (rectange and circle), blank DVDs and cases and magazine boxes for glossies as well as important stuff. The double horizontal boxes on the bottom shelf contain samples and user manuals, an old Yashica camera, photo of our family from our July 4 trip to the zoo, kids’ art supplies, a photo of my church family from our food packing event and some fun, pretty ceramic vases and a candle.

On the desk top: my external drive and card reader, a lamp I want to replace, of course the all-important MacBook, my calendar and catch-all center (pens, pencils, return address stamp, to-do list pad, CDs, thank you notes, etc.), my late grandmother’s hobnail container that is currently empty, my handheld scanner (muy importante for a reporter or anyone else who’s nosy), plus the mail (my new voter registration card came that day), my file folders and some junk I need to put away already.

You totally caught me on a clean day. Thank you!

I’m really in a sharing mood, so you get to see the inside of some of the boxes. Lucky you! This is the inside of the kids’ box: mini composition book, glue, scissors, stencils, colored pencils and regular-sized markers and whatever else may be lurking inside.

My samples from minted, WHCC and Miller’s. In the bottom drawer I have all of my user manuals, software, product keys, warranties. This is a fun box here, let me say.

As much as I love everything else, the desk top is my favorite part. I love being able to slip keepsakes between the wood and the plexi glass! I have envelopes decorated for me by two of the children, a little Post-It gallery my son Jaylen drew that night, a paper airplane he decorated for me (complete with “I [heart] you Mom” – aww!) and a few other things. It’s super sweet!

Each of our children has quite an imagination, but Jaylen is the one who most often translates it into drawing. The furthest left is “sun people”, then a monster truck, a house and pickles. lol. He’s so silly (but he LOVES pickles)!

This is one of my favorite things. Ever.

And of course, a little office nook this cute wouldn’t come without its issues, right? Of course not. I use an aircard from Verizon for Internet and, well, our service sucks. See, we live in a hollow (or holler, if you’re a Randy Travis fan) and we have very spotty service with both AT&T and Verizon (so much for more bars in more places and 97 percent coverage, right?).

It’s supposed to be akin to broadband, but it’s slower than dial-up in certain areas of the house. The office being one of those. In terms of bars, I have one bar in the office, two everywhere else. But if we go up to the lake, where you aren’t supposed to get service, I have four bars.

Go figure.

*When we converted to an office, we took the doors off and reused them. One was painted black, topped with plexi glass and is now the tabletop for my husband’s work bench; the other was used as a flat surface to hold items when they were being spray-painted.

Announcing: It’s all about FAMILY!

Posted on August 13, 2010

Fridays are great days for announcements, aren’t they?

If you’ve seen the new Macaroni Kid-Tipton newsletter or are an Echo Day Photography fan on Facebook, you may know that I am now accepting a limited number of family sessions!

Family sessions were not in my original plans, I admit, but the demand is there.

I use “it’s all about love” as one of my taglines and, as a mother of four, I know that celebrating the love of a family is one of the most important things you can do. Not only do I want to help you celebrate the love you have for your partner and your children, but I want to capture that love so you can always cherish these memories and these feelings.

The holidays are also approaching and what better time to have your family portraits taken?

I am currently booking family sessions for September, October and November. All you have to do is call for free consultation – 731.612.2723!

In Focus: Maricar Lianne Photography

Posted on August 12, 2010

It’s time to get back on track after a month of contest entries and voting! Today we have the second in the In Focus series, featuring Maricar of maricar lianne photography! I have known Maricar online since 2003 – wow, 7 years! – and she is one of the sweetest, selfless, most caring people out there.

Maricar is always there to support others, even when her own world may be dim. She is a beautiful wife and mother of two gorgeous little sweeties. I know her angels above are proud of the strong woman she is today! And not only is she a fantastic person, she is a very talented photographer. And, without further ado, let’s chat with Maricar …

Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Maricar Fernandez. I named my business maricar lianne photography because my last name is too long. The hubby and I agreed to use my middle name instead. I’m originally from Guam and now live in Oregon. I love it here. I adore the seasons and the opportunities seem endless here for me and my family.

How long have you been a photographer?
I’ve been a photographer since March of 2007. Wow, three years goes by fast!

What’s your target market?
I preferably like to do natural light portraiture. I’ve now started to get my feet wet with weddings.

What equipment do you use?
I currently have a Nikon D300 with a battery pack, which I love! My lenses are the 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, 28mm f/1.8 and 17-50mm f/2.8. A Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8 are on their way! Read more

It’s a Love Story: Raechyl & Keith

Posted on August 9, 2010

For week, you have voted and with more than 21,000 votes, the winners of the first-ever Love Story giveaway are Raechyl and Keith!

Their story:

Keith and I met in December 2004, when he started working at Naifeh’s grocery store in Munford, TN. What started out as co-workers, grew into friendship, and followed with a high school summer romance full of fireworks, long conversations on the trampoline in my parent’s backyard, and tons and tons of movie dates. Once football season started, I was sure that we would grow apart since I had to get to drum rehearsal, and he had to put on that gorgeously hot football uniform and get back into the game he had played since he was 5 years old. Lucky me, however, he asked me to be his girlfriend instead, and we officially became a couple on the first day of our senior year of high school.

Love has never meant as much to me as it has the past 6 years. Many people go their whole lives without feeling the way Keith makes me feel every single day, and I feel truly blessed to have met him so early in my life. Our relationship has only grown stronger through high school and going to college together, and I can’t wait to start spending forever with him when we get married next September. He truly makes me believe that there are millions of people in this world, but in the end, it all comes down to one….

This couple, set to marry in September 2011 at Davies Manor Plantation, has won a free session, $50 print credit, 10 web-sized photos for social networking and a soft-bound photo book containing 10-15 images from their session AND their detailed love story.

And because I’m a softie and I really wanted everyone to win, I’m also giving away more!

Our runners up, Maegan and Will, have received a free session, $50 print credit and 10 web-sized photos for social networking. Maegan worked so hard to get votes, pouring her heart and soul into driving her friends and family to the poll, that I couldn’t let this couple walk away empty-handed. (Plus, I want to find out the secret to not fighting! lol.)

As a thank-you to the other couples who entered, if you book a session with me by October 1, you will receive 10 percent off of your print order.

Thank you to EVERYONE who voted and made this giveaway a success!

Vote for your favorite couple!

Posted on August 1, 2010

It’s Election Week for many parts of the country, including right here in the Volunteer State. I could not be happier to see Election Day come and go myself, but in the spirit of things I’m having an election of sorts right here on the blog!

Are you ready to choose a couple to win the Love Story giveaway? I definitely am!

We have five couples who’ve entered, but only one wins! Each couple has sent in their love story and is relying on YOUR votes to win a $200 prize pack, which includes a free session, $50 print credit, 10 web-sized photos for social networking and best of all, a soft-bound photo book containing 10-15 images AND their detailed love story!

And, without further ado, our couples!

Maegan & Will

My name is Meagan and the love of my life is Will. I found him on Myspace and after chatting him up for a while we met on Christmas Eve morning in 2007. I knew right away that he was something special.

We began dating on February 3, 2008, a day I would later come to think as one of the best days of my life. He is the perfect other half of me, I love him with everything in me and it blows my mind that he feels the same.

Never did I believe in the fairytale “The One”, but now I know I have found mine. I know that in him I have found the perfect person for me who will always be by my side no matter what, the one person I can always turn to, who will love me unconditionally.

We’ve had our rough times, but have never fought, we have mastered the art of compromise. I love him with all my heart and soul and plan to spend the rest of my life with the man who makes me feel like the happiest woman in the world.

Ashley & Eddie

My mom always told me to not to talk to people I didn’t know online. However, I rarely listened. So in August 2007 when I received a friend request on Facebook from a good-looking guy, I let what my mom said to me slip out of my head as I clicked “accept”.

Over the next year, we talked every once in a while via comments, messages and texts. The following August we decided it was time to meet in person. We agreed to meet at a country bar where our friends usually hung out. The moment I met him, I knew I had to get to know him more. So that night, we talked, laughed and slow danced until 2 a.m.
Three months after that night, Eddie asked me to marry him. I, of course, said yes.

Almost ten months later and 6 months pregnant, we walked into the county clerk’s office to get our marriage license. The lady helping us asked when we would like to get married. We said “how about now?” (which was six days earlier than expected). So in a tank top, jeans, flip flops, no make up and my hair thrown up in a messy bun, I married my best friend.

In the almost two years that we’ve been together, we’ve been engaged, moved from Virginia Beach to Tipton County, gotten married and had a little girl. Most people would think we rushed but we felt it was right from the start.

Jenni & Jim

My name is Jenni and I met my husband, Jim a little over 10 years ago after both of us went through a divorce with 2 young children a piece from each marriage.  A close mutual friend of ours introduced us over the Internet in a chat room that we frequented to find things to do with other singles that also had children.  When we went on our first date I would have to say that he was like no other man I had ever met or went on a date with…the perfect gentleman.

We decided to take things slow and after 3 years of courting we found a house in the country and moved from Shelby County to Tipton County so that we could raise our kids together and so that my kids would be in a great school system.  I have always felt that Rascal Flatts “Bless the Broken Road” was always a great theme song for us!

After a month of being in our new home, he proposed and we were married on April 23, 2005.  We do civil war reenacting so we had a civil war wedding on the back side of our property.  In just a little over a year later we were blessed with our own baby boy.

We now lead a very busy life with 4 older children (16, 15, 12 and 12) and our boy who is now 4 years old.  We are very active with Brighton Baseball, the 4 older children are in band at three different schools, participating in plays at the Ruffin in Covington and just enjoying our life with family and friends!

Jennifer & Austin

We met on the Millington Naval Base both working at McDonalds in the summer of 2005. I remember he was standing against the wall staring at me, and I said “Um, hello?” wondering what kind of weirdo he was. Covered in tattoos, and a shaved head, he was certainly different from any guy I ever had a crush on.

In the beginning, he insisted we hang out, and I insisted it be on a friends basis only. That first night changed my mind instantly. I had a blast, and was so comfortable with him. Ever since, we’ve been inseparable.

We are best friends and lovers. We have a beautiful son, and August 17 will be our 3rd anniversary in marriage. The key to our relationship is support. We have been through so much together. I am in nursing school to become an RN, the past couple of years have been a long road with a lot of tears for me, and fear. My husband has stood beside me, praying with me and wiping my tears. I graduate in December with my Associate’s degree, and I couldn’t have made it without him and his support after all these long nights of no dinner cooked, unable to watch a movie, unable to go out because I’ve had to study.. he’s been understanding the entire time.

I’ve also supported him with all the struggles he has came across. He has been laid off of work twice in our marriage. The most recent lay off occurred in September of last year, he just landed a great job for RailServe and we are so very blessed. The financial burden falls on my husband as he is currently our sole provider, and he’s had many hard months of unemployment until now. I hope he knows how proud I am of him for not giving up. Our son is our joy, and is the brightest, happiest child we know. We are very close to our families and live within 10 minutes of both sides. With a lot of struggle and unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we made it. We can see it, and we did it together.

By the way, all those tattoos grew on me

Raechyl & Keith

Keith and I met in December 2004, when he started working at Naifeh’s grocery store in Munford, TN. What started out as co-workers, grew into friendship, and followed with a high school summer romance full of fireworks, long conversations on the trampoline in my parent’s backyard, and tons and tons of movie dates. Once football season started, I was sure that we would grow apart since I had to get to drum rehearsal, and he had to put on that gorgeously hot football uniform and get back into the game he had played since he was 5 years old. Lucky me, however, he asked me to be his girlfriend instead, and we officially became a couple on the first day of our senior year of high school.

Love has never meant as much to me as it has the past 6 years. Many people go their whole lives without feeling the way Keith makes me feel every single day, and I feel truly blessed to have met him so early in my life. Our relationship has only grown stronger through high school and going to college together, and I can’t wait to start spending forever with him when we get married next September. He truly makes me believe that there are millions of people in this world, but in the end, it all comes down to one….

Aren’t these couples fantastic?

Voting begins NOW and will continue until 11:59 p.m. CST on August 8! Vote as many times as you’d like here on the blog and hop on over to the EDP Facebook page to “like” your favorite couple’s photo and story; I will combine the two numbers (votes here plus Facebook “likes”) to determine the winning couple.

Good luck, everyone!

Behind the Lens

Posted on August 1, 2010

As a member of the media (my day job), I can certainly tell you it is competitive. We’re each trying to do the best job possible, get the best stories and think outside the box when brainstorming which stories to bring our readers/viewers. And when we have the same story – breaking news – we’re each trying to get the story out first, get it right and do better than the other guy.

It’s pretty stressful.

And then you have my part-time gig as a photographer. You’d think that wandering around with beautiful people, snapping photos along the way, was as stress-free as it could be, right? Ha. Having a photography business is completely stressful.

First you have the business side of things: Are my prices affordable? Am I making a profit? How do I market to my target client? Should I buy the new, top of the line camera or should I wait until I turn a profit? How do I pull in more business? Are my customers happy? What cool things can I offer them?

And you have the artsy, technical side: Should I use the 50mm? Smile or smirk? Two steps to the left makes SUCH a difference in lighting. The sun’s going down – open up the aperture. He’s running faster than I planned – increase the shutter speed. I hate manual focus – her ear’s in focus, her eyes aren’t (ugh!). Is that poison ivy?

But perhaps the most stressful thing is other photographers. Every single day there is drama between photographers. Every. Single. Day. And it’s unnecessary.

Photographers get mad if another photographer starts a business, even if they aren’t marketing to the same people or doing the same type of photography.

Photographers regularly insult one another regarding level of skill and equipment, often saying one photographer isn’t good enough because he or she still has things to learn or has an entry-level camera. They are quick to put one another down, quick to point out mistakes, quick to look down their noses because the other photographer may be doing something they don’t consider appealing.

One of the biggest insults hurled from photographer to photographer is calling someone a MWAC, especially if they’ve gone pro. MWAC means Mom with a Camera. It’s not meant as a compliment, usually.

They get mad when a newbie photographer hits the scene with lower prices, accusing them of trying to undercut the competition. Established photographers also get angry when another photographer advertises or tries to market their business.

It’s hard out here for a photographer. Especially if, like me, you’re new to the professional scene. Now, I’m not saying our local photographers have been ugly to me, but I see this behavior online quite a bit. Thankfully no one’s ever come out and said something inappropriate and unprofessional to me, but it happens to other people all the time. Actually, it happens behind their back all the time.

Once I was doing a business story with a local photographer and I asked about competition with her former mentor who is now her competitor; she told me that he once said there were thousands of people in this county and two of them, more than enough clients for both of them (I’m paraphrasing).

And this is the truth. Estimates put our county at 60,000 people. I counted 10-15 pro or semi-pro photographers a couple of weeks ago, which means we have more than enough people to photograph. Living in a bigger city, the numbers increase on both sides, but there are still thousands more clients than photographers.

If you shoot children and another photographer shoots weddings, you’re really not competitors. You should network and recommend one another. Do your thing, let her do hers. It’s really that simple.

And we all start somewhere, right? We aren’t born knowing when to choose which f-stop, when to change shutter speeds or how to make a difficult subject relax and enjoy his session. Some of us don’t know the trick to making a newborn sleep through a session, how to shoot modern photojournalistic weddings or even when to crop vertically instead of horizontally. Some photographers know all of these things and are flawless in their execution, but I guarantee not one person knows everything.

We’re artists. We see things differently. We’re not all going to have the same photos. Get over it.

Some of us – myself included – can’t afford $3,000 cameras. This is likely why we’re in business: to make money. When we begin to turn a profit, then we’ll be able to work up to the bigger purchases. It’s also not all about the equipment, it’s how you use what you have.

Price is a HUGE bone of contention with other photographers. When we set our prices we may not want to undercut other photographers, but since we aren’t established we probably cannot ask for a $100 session fee and still book enough clients to pay the bills. You have to start somewhere, then you can go up. But if I’m okay with making 10 percent profit, for instance, while you’re working hard to make 40, that’s my business, not yours. Literally and figuratively. It’s quite likely that pricing is nothing personal, it’s just business.

Maybe it’s because I’m still relatively wet behind the ears, but I don’t see a need for such drama. Competing is one thing; putting others down, making them feel inferior, is another. I think it’s time the photographers in this industry give up the insults and try to build each other up instead of tearing one another down.