The classes I teach ended last week, so summer starts today for John Whitehead Images. I am offering a free 8X10 print with all summer portraits.
Why should you hire John Whitehead Images. I have a BFA from the #1 Art School in the Country. I have been a full-time photographer since 1994. I specialize in location/environmental portraiture. I teach photography and Adobe Photoshop. I am an expert in toning images. Free retouching and no time limits. Check out my portrait galleries. PORTRAITS / SENIOR PORTRAITS / KIDS PORTRAITS
Any questions feel free to call.
I saw my neighbor had taken to some photographs of baby praying mantis. I contacted her to see if they were still around. She had tons of them on some hosta plants but they were very small and were constantly moving. I was unable to use a tripod and couldn’t hold my camera still enough to take a photo. Of all the image I got one in focus. The next morning I received a call the pod or whatever you call it was hatching. I drove over again. It was amazing! I had never seen anything like this before. Hundreds of baby praying mantis crawling out of this cocoon like ball. The light was overcast and I didn’t have enough depth of field to photograph such a small object. Luckily, I had a shoot the day before and left my strobes in my car. Here are a few of the image I shot.
I love to make things, especially new items. I have made bed frames, furniture, motorcycles, jewelry and a variety of other stuff. In early the early 2000’s I expanded from photography because I needed a new outlet. I started to learn to weld and create simple metal furniture. Since then, I have completely filled up my house with tools and items I have created.
As I child I loved to watch cooking shows on PBS. Yes, the Food Channel didn’t exist at that time. I really started cooking and experimenting with food when I was in college. I remember telling people if I could do it again I would have gone to cooking school. One of my roommates in college went to cooking school and is one of the top chefs in Chicago. In high school, you took these stupid tests to find out a career path. Mine always was a business man. I hate offices, suits, and business in general. The problem with the test and high school, in general, is that it has not changed and has a very narrow focus.
Enough babble. Last year, I started Foods with Flavor. (A YouTube/Blog) I have always loved to create and cook and I already knew how to shoot and edit video. I moved to Central Pennsylvania in the mid 90’s. At that time the food scene was pretty non-existant and what was here was very bland. This is one reason, I really started cooking so much instead of dining out. I have created a series of YouTube videos to accompany my website recipes. I focus on food with heat and flavor but occasionally an item that is simple but tastes great. Take a look share with a friend. Foods with Flavor!
Usually, one of the first questions I get asked when I get hire for a location portrait is “What to Wear” I just added a basic overview to my website to help with this question. There is not a perfect answer because it really involves a combination of factors. Location, hair color, purpose and a variety of other factors. Most important is probably location. Color or patterns in clothing can make or break a photo. A general rule is patterns are very difficult in rural locations unless the background is very neutral. Patterns and bold color work best in urban or neutral location.
The best scenario is to consult with the photographer. They can give you suggestions on what to wear. A variety of clothing is best.
Click on any of the above links to go directly to my page with examples of how clothing can affect a portrait.
Did you know I make custom holiday cards, graduation cards etc. Check out my new page that shows some of the products I have available for purchase.
If you hire John Whitehead Images to shoot your portrait, I will design the card for free. All you have to pay for are the cards! If I don’t have a card you like, I will inquire and make or get something that fits your needs.
The page also has information on the most commonly ordered items. Not sure what a print wrap is, then check out the new products page for more information.
Blogs, SEO and social media are great ways to advertise or express yourself in this day and age. I teach college photography and 99.9% of all my students lack basic computer knowledge, or any clue of blogs, SEO (search engine optimization) and the use of social media.
I love to make things and started a site called Metal Design. I make custom furniture, jewelry and a variety of other stuff. Because I understand blogs and SEO, I get calls all the time from companies needing metal fabrication. Some of the work is over my skill set, or I just don’t have the time. Most work I accept is because it is something I will enjoy. Metal Design is more of a hobby than a job. It is something I want to enjoy. The reason I get so many calls is because my site is the one getting found on searches. Most metal fabricators in the area do not have a website or know anything about getting found on internet searches. Just one example of the power of SEO
I photographed someone from India who was working in IT in this country. I asked him when they start teaching computer programming in school. He said in 5th grade! My daughter is in 8th grade and knows nothing about the subject. However, she can tell you about the war of 1812. Not sure how that is going to help her in the future.
The real point of this blog is to promote my niece who started her own blog titled, “E.xploring L.ife H.appily” Personally, I don’t enjoy writing and partly because I am not that great at it. Take time, click the link and check out Ellie’s blog.
P.S. Backlinks and links within a post to your own blog are great for website analytics.
Image Ratios
Getting hired to shoot images for a website is pretty common now. A lot of small businesses decide to manage their own sites. This is not a big issue, as long as you have your template or site available before the shoot. A photographer really needs to know what size image needs to be in pixels before they shoot. This helps the photographer shoot each image in the correct ratio and avoids important information getting cropped. Not knowing image sizes or ratios can result in re-shoots and extra costs. It also benefits the client because I can size all images for the client and make them ready to use.
A quick note for clients. Color Management is very important for photography. It ensures color to be true to a viewer. Most photographers use the color space Adobe RGB or Adobe 1998. Any image used on the internet should be in sRGB. Make sure your photographer or webmaster converts files to the correct color space.
Below, I will post a new page I am devoting to Website Information. I show examples of how image ratios can affect your photograph.