John Huegel Photography

One Drop At A Time

Posted on February 11, 2012 by admin

I had a bit of time to kill today while my studio warmed up for a class. I tried the water drop experiment. I shot 40 frames and ended up with this keeper. This was in natural light. I’m interested to try some more with different lighting!

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Dance Photography in Erie: Meaghan

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

I’ve been photographing Meaghan and her family for many years. She asked for professional dance portraits to accompany her senior images. Here are a couple of neat images from our recent session.

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Erie Dance: Attack Theatre!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

Last week I photographed a unique event: The dance performance of Attack Theatre performing Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale”, accompanied by a small group from the Erie Philharmonic.

Photographing in a quiet yet packed Warner Theatre was an interesting challenge for me. I was photographing without flash of course, from the back of the theater. The sound of my camera’s shutter would have been distracting, so I muffled the clicks it by wrapping me and my camera in thick layers of black velvet. I was invisible in the dark!

I had nearly optimal settings on my camera for the conditions: Wide aperture, moderately high ISO, and a shutter speed sufficient to stop the motion of the dancers. I had my 70-200 IS lens set on f/2.8, and I switched to a 50mm f/1.8 for a couple of wide angle images.

Enjoy some of the images from this great performance. Erie does have a lot of cultural events!

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New Website for John Huegel Photography!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin

Today I updated my website to a new site. It has an integrated blog, shopping cart/gallery, and great support for iPads and mobile phones. It’s a very clean look, and I’m so far delighted with the customer service. With my blog and other documents integrated into the website, I am certain that it will reflect favorably in my SEO results. Have a look and let me know what you think!

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Erie Weddings: Kristen and Michael

Posted on January 15, 2012 by admin

Kristen and Michael had a wonderful wedding on New Year’s Eve. The weather was reasonably cooperative, allowing us to capture some very nice indoor and outdoor images.

What a lovely wedding. The reception was a hoot, complete with a band, DJ, party favors and a live broadcast of the ball in Times Square!

Congratulations Kristen and Michael! Best of luck to you both!

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Winter Senior Portraits: Danielle

Posted on December 12, 2011 by admin

December 11th is not too late for Senior Portraits in Erie. We proved that today!

Even though we had temperatures in the 30′s, the sun was out and the wind was cooperative. Danielle was a trooper, posing for many shots in a sweater.

Here’s a great image with one of my newest backdrops in our studio:

And the lovely glass block wall that I like to haunt:

We found some nice red brick for a few images as well:

The birds were a bit annoyed, but we had a nice few images down at the dock as well.

We finished at the beach. There weren’t too many others down there to get in our way. This looks just like summer…even though it was 50 degrees colder than summer beach weather!

Nice images, Danielle!

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Spot the Pro!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

These days, it’s hard to tell who is a real photographer and who has a Wal-Mart SLR and a Facebook page. Here are some questions you can ask a potential photographer to help you determine how “professional” a particular photographer is. If you ARE a photographer, this is a great way to see how you stack up to the real pros, who score in the high teens or 20.

1. How do you make prints for me?

Right Answer: I Edit, Retouch, resize, and use a high-end printer or lab. Then I carefully package and deliver your prints to you.

Wrong Answer: I don’t do prints. I give you a disc and you can go to Wal-Mart.

2. What types of artificial lighting do you routinely use?

Right: On camera flash with modifiers, off camera portable flashes, triggers, studio lighting, reflectors.

Wrong: “I’m a Natural Light Photgrapher”, I use the pop-up on my camera if it’s too dark.

3. How can you stay in business when you only charge $100/session?

Right: I’m super efficient and manage to grow and prosper on minimum wage, OR, I don’t charge $100/session. I charge far more, and here is why…

Wrong: I’m doing this as a hobby, I pass the value on to you!

4. How do you manage White Balance and Color Calibration?

Right: I use a white balance card, custom white balance in the camera, RAW exposure, and regular monitor and printer calibration

Wrong: What’s white balance?

5. What kind of backup cameras, lenses and storage do you have?

Right:I have a backup body, lenses and flashes in my car (or right here).

Wrong: Ahh, who needs that? I’ll just reschedule your wedding, or flee the scene.

6. How do you plan a session with your clients?

Right:I understand their motivations, discuss portrait needs, clothing, setting and other details.

Wrong: We meet at the park and we go from there.

7. Do you pay taxes on your income?

Right:Yes, I reserve 35% of my revenue and pay estimated federal and state taxes.

Wrong: Can we move on to the next question?

8. What types of insurance do you have?

Right:Liability for accidents, Equipment for my gear/studio, and Errors/Omissions insurance in case I have a client that is not completely satisfied.

Wrong: My car is insured!

9. Do you charge Sales Tax on your products and services?

Right:Yes I do, for in-state products and services. I report and pay it regularly.

Wrong: Nobody does this, plus then you would have to pay me $106 for a “shoot”

10. If I want reprints in 10 years, how will you support me?

Right: My images are archived in three places. I will retrieve and print your images, because I intend to be in business for the long haul.

Wrong: Hey, I gave you the CD of the images. That’s your problem.

11. Where is your website? Can I see it on my iPhone/iPad/Droid?

Right: Here’s the URL. It works on all tablets, phones and browsers.

Wrong: Um, here’s my FACEBOOK PAGE. Please LIKE ME!

12. What kind of training do you have? Do you attend seminars?

Right: I went to school for photography, OR I have attended these seminars/classes/workshops.

Wrong:I have a NATURAL TALENT. My friend/mother/cousin told me so!

13. What camera modes do you use most often?

Right: Manual, or Aperture/Shutter for changing conditions. I use a light meter.

Wrong: What’s a mode? Oh, It’s on P for Professional!

14. What is the fastest lens in your bag?

Right: f/2.8 or 1.8 or 1.4 or 1.2 lenses. And yes, I know what those numbers mean. Primes, and pro-level zoom lenses.

Wrong: Well, the lens that came with my camera lets me zoom REAL FAST!

15. What kinds of model releases and contracts do you use?

Right: My contracts and releases protect the subjects and spell out our mutual obligations.

Wrong:We don’t need that stuff!

16. Where is your studio or indoor working space? How do you deal with bad weather?

Right: Here is where we go, and what we do for indoor or inclement weather.

Wrong: We reschedule, because Mom said I can’t use her basement anymore.

17. How do you support your community through photography?

Right: I offer classes, donate sessions and prints, and network with vendors and my peers.

Wrong: I take pictures in the community, does that count?

18. What is your image processing work flow after your session?

Right: First I back up the images, then I select, global edit, final edit and provide proofing or review sessions for you.

Wrong: I take the chip and put the files on a CD. Then I give the CD to you.

19. What products do you offer in addition to prints and/or digital files?

Right: Canvas prints, mugs, totes, posters, collages, tiles, clothing, you name it!

Wrong: You can do that your self on MPIX or at the grocery store.

20. Do you belong to any professional organizations? Certifications or merits?

Right: I’m a PPA/WPPI member. I have CPP certification. I have these awards/merits, which indicate that I care about my craft and that I create work that my peers respect.

Wrong:Who needs that stuff? Let’s go do a shoot!

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Senior Photography: Karli

Posted on November 7, 2011 by admin

We had a great day for Senior Portraits on Saturday. The weather was clear and warm, and we had plenty of time to work outdoors with Karli before the sun set.

We stopped in at Frontier Park and captured some great fall images there.

Then we went to the beach – nearly abandoned at this time of the year. We had a very nice sunset.

Karli is a dancer, so we captured a couple of leaps against the dusk lake horizon.

And of course, we offer full indoor studio services as well. Here’s a great image of Karli against one of our many backdrops.

Great images, Karli!

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Erie Senior Portraits: Doug

Posted on November 7, 2011 by admin

Saturday was a perfect November day for senior portraits. Doug joined us for indoor and outdoor images.

These were all taken at Wintergreen Gorge, near the trailhead. We had great light and the temperature was just right.

Great images, Doug!

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Erie Weddings: Rachael and Justin

Posted on November 1, 2011 by admin

Saturday was another testy fall day. Though we didn’t get the snowstorm that gripped the northeast, we had a few flakes in the morning.

The ladies started out at Covington spa for hair and makeup.

The wedding ceremony was held at Saint Peter’s Cathedral, a beautiful church in downtown Erie.

After formals, we headed to Frontier Park for some lovely fall images. The rain stopped long enough for us to finish our outdoor portraits and head to the reception.