Archive for April, 2007

Another product for our Finding Color Collection, I would like to officially introduce: Covered in Color, A Bridal Session. Roughly 30 mins of behind the scene video on how TriCoast captured the images during an actual session.

Special thanks to TriCoast’s Video Crew:
Inverted Pictures
and some of the most talented people I have ever meet in specialized clothing design and just about anything else you need/want
Get Siniched.com

Captured in HD Video you will see:
- Different Cameras and Lens, explaining why
- Using Video Lights
- Placing the subject in the right light
- Posing the bride
- How to get subjects to do what YOU want them to do
- How TriCoast uses the basics of wireless flash
- Detailed explanations while we are shooting
- Teamwork between everyone involved
- and Much, Much More!

A complete video session showing truly how TriCoast works and shoot during a session. All real photographic session with detailed explainations on what TriCoast is doing when they are doing it. If you ever wanted to come along on a TriCoast photo session and couldn’t well this is truly the next best thing.

Here are a few images from the session which you will see the very moment TriCoast captured them.



A few behind the scene images showing the video crew and TriCoast capturing the session

Price: $100.00
Please EMAIL us for more information for now. The Finding Colors Website will be active within a few weeks where you will be able to purchase items directly from the website at that time.

Here is a small video clip from that day as well, however this sample is not on the DVD.

Well today was Meghan’s Sixth Birthday party and just like her bigger cousin she wanted to have it at the local bowling alley. We had a great time with her few closest friends and of course Mommy and Daddy, Aunt Traci and Grandma and Granddad. While our bowling was not the best the Pizza party, free goodies in candy and soda (pop) and all the video game quarters a little kids heart could ever wish for made the 2 hour party quite fun to say the least. Got to love those Canon Point and Shoot camera, small and fast and very easy to take images. Its nice sometimes to just be a dad and not a professional photographer I must admit!

Anonymous: That looks like a fun b-day party Mike, and she is so cute!

-Naomi

shell: thanks for giving me an "awwwwww" moment this morning!!

Lisa Pflaum Photography: Mike, she is such a doll!

Had the chance to hang out with the founder of Trash The Dress website. Mark Eric. A popular new concept developed by several photographers originally using REAL clients who just enjoyed getting unique and one of a kind images which normally trashed their wedding gown. Sadly today many of the sessions are hired models and rented or bought for the session dresses, which was not the original concept but still make some very cool images. With that said our sexy beach images from one of our Day After Sessions found its way to Trash The Dress. If you get any images of this sort PLEASE submit them to these site, Mark has to be one of the best people I have meet in a very long time and well his blog ROCKS!

Chris Uglanica: Hey Mike and Cody,

I'm off to check out your submission to TTD, but wanted to say that I'll be submitting some shots from my own TTD last week.

It's odd that some are using models for the TTD sessions now. But, it definitely will help to spread the word. I've got several more clients for this year who are into doing it.

Well it is official TriCoast and our work will be in an soon to be released wedding book, which you can now PREORDER on Amazon.com along with amazing wedding photographer from Canada Mark Ridout.

Here is a little write up on the book which I got directly from the author today, James Karney.

More information on the publisher’s website can be found HERE
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Introduction

Why This Book

Welcome to Mastering Digital Wedding Photography, a practical guide to the art, craft, and business. Perhaps you are just beginning a photographic career, maybe a seasoned professional looking for new ideas, or a film photographer making the change to digital. This book was written with all of you in mind. This book covers the entire endeavor, from setting up shop and choosing gear, through the event, to keeping the client happy and referring new customers after the prints are delivered.

It goes beyond just the basics. I’ve had the help of some really outstanding wedding photographers who have contributed both images and insights into their style or work and photographic vision. These are examples, based on years of experience, on how to gauge exposure, see and use lighting, pose subjects, and play with the image once it is captured.

I’ve been covering weddings since my days as a studio apprentice in high school. For over 30 years as a professional, weddings have always been a part of my income and passion. When I made the transition from film in 2002, it seemed simple. Big name cameras worked with my film lenses and offered familiar controls, PhotoShop was already on my computer, and all the other required photographic equipment (strobes, meters, etc.) still worked the same. And I had the advantage of ready access to expert advice and software updates as a computer book author frequent writer for PC Magazine. How hard could it be?

Well… This new medium requires different shooting styles to get the most from the technology. The digital sensor is not film. It responds to light differently and are much more sensitive to white balance and color temperature variations. There may be magnification ratios due to a smaller image area compared to 35mm film, which turns a normal 50mm lens into a mild telephoto. The early cameras had small buffers that made timing a shot like the bouquet toss imperative.

The initial joy of instant feedback from the camera and the power of computer editing gave way to shock with the realization of the increased level of effort required by workflow issues and file management demands resulting from the mass of images taken at each wedding. In the days of roll film, we took perhaps 200 pictures; with digital a two-photographer wedding can easy result in five times the exposure. Multiply that by say, 20 weddings a year and you better have a system.

It’s one thing to take 15 or 20 minutes (maybe a day) editing a really fine image for fun, but multiply that by a hundred or so and a big wedding fee becomes slave wages fast. And that’s only one aspect of change. Printed proofs are becoming an endangered species, and the proof book album with them. That’s because it’s too easy for clients to scan and pirate the images. Enter online proofing and DVD-based slide shows. Masked albums have given way to digitally-creates flush mount designs and short run four-color press books.

The market is still shifting. We are in the third phase of a revolution. The technology is mature enough to rival film, and now the best photographers are raising client expectations with outstanding work. While much of the basic event coverage is the same, the style has shifted to a more fashion magazine style, accompanied by sophisticated DVD multimedia shows.

With all of this activity in the profession, the shelves in bookstores lacked a comprehensive guide. So, with a combination on my personal experience, and the help of several friends who are masters in their own right, the project was born. This book is a series of discussions and lesions that span the entire topic of wedding photography, from setting up the business, through covering the event, and on to processing the images, proofing, printing, and album design. And now a word…

About the Contributors

Four dedicated wedding photographers; Ontario-based Canadian Mark Ridout, TriCoast Photography Texans Mike Fulton and Cody Clinton, and Nikki McLeod of Scotland have joined with me to provide the photographs that brighten the pages. Mark, Mike, and Cody are also active on the photographic workshop circuits, and we are considering a combined short-course road show when our combined schedules permit. Here are short biographies on each of us…

-James Karney
James Karney has a unique viewpoint on wedding photography developed through many years as an award-winning professional photographer and teacher. He started his career as a wedding apprentice in high school and has covered weddings full and part-time for over three decades. He as also served as a Marine Corps photographer, newspaper photojournalist, medical photographer, and developed and taught the 18-month photography certificate program at South Georgia Tech.

He is an accomplished computer writer, whose work has appeared in PC Magazine, Windows Magazine, Computer Shopper and Internet World. His books include the Golden-Lee best-seller “Upgrade and Maintain Your PC”, “Discovering LightZone”, “The Power of CorelDRAW” and the Microsoft Press “Training Kit for A+ Certification”.

He is a graduate of the US Navy Photographic School, and holds a Bachelors Degree in Communications from Excelsior College as well as a Master of Science in Computer Technology from Nova Southeastern University.

-Mike Fulton
Born and raised just south of Houston in Brazoria County, Mike Fulton stared his career in photography as teenager with his father’s camera. The hobby continued through his high school years and on into college while studying Criminal Justice. The passion for the art of photography grew and he made the switch to professional shortly after graduating. Starting work fashion and glamour, Mike soon found his work being published publications ranging from art magazines to calendars.

After a short tour in the motion picture industry, he found his true passion in wedding photography. His work blends his love for fashion and glamour styles with a eye for capturing the beauty of the wedding day with an editorial flair. Mike is an instructor for Photography Allstars, a high quality one on one mentoring website as well is one of the instructors on his Illuminations Workshop which specializes in wireless flash and video light techniques and is taught around the United States. He is also offering a variety of editing tools and learning materials at his other website, FindingColor.com with his business partner…

Cody Clinton
Cody is another native of the Texas gulf coast. Like his TriCoast partner, his love for photography began at a young age and began developing his skills photographing friends and co-workers local sporting events, family reunions and weddings. By Cody found his true passion, the art of wedding photography, and uses his high natural energy, artistic personal style and uniqueness, as well as his one of a kind personality, these key aspects to create special moments for the brides, grooms and their family and friends.

Both Mike and Cody offer photographic workshops and a collection of learning materials and PhotoShop add-ons focused on the needs of the wedding photographer.

-Mark Ridout
Mark Ridout is a creative photographer whose expertise extends to a range of mediums and formats. He has worked as a photo journalist for major newspapers and magazines, with major advertising agencies on corporate accounts and on special assignment for corporate clients. Mark has been the principal photographer on contract shoots in the United States, France, England, Cuba the Dominican Republic, and locations throughout his native Canada.

He has an aptitude for staging exceptional posed compositions as well as putting people at ease for more informal style portraits. Mark has photographed Richard Petty for STP,Al Jarreau, Sheila E and sipped champagne from the Stanley Cup after photographing it for a New York Rangers hockey player. His wedding business started with a couple of weddings a year, and has now grown to over 20 weddings per year

While photographing an Sports Radio 610 Event a couple months ago I (Mike) had the luck to be introduced to one of the nicest people I have ever meet. Jordan with Bubbles Express Wash here in Houston is truly one of the kindest and best people on this earth. A great business man yes, but more importantly a person who actually cares about people, strong in his faith and honestly wants to help out people while doing his job. Bubble Express Wash hired TriCoast to capture some images of their H2 Hummer with their wild and crazy decal wraps and real bubbles flying out of the top of the H2 Hummer. We spent the better half of the day driving around Houston taking pictures on a beautiful day. These images will be used in thier advertisments in and around Houston so keep an eye out for them as they should be hitting the streets very, very soon!
TriCoast would like to officially welcome the newest member of the family, Cindy. Cindy will be wearing a lot of shoes for TriCoast, from office manager to assisting Cody and I on session in the lighting department, anwering telephone calls for our amazing clients and will be the backbone of our new senior marketing business. So with that said this very well might be my (Mike) last blog, which in reality is a good thing cause if you look at the entires I am not the best at keeping up on this stuff :) Needless to say Cindy has brought some baggage along with her to the family in the way of a four legged wild and crazy dog named Moose. So on behalf of myself and Cody we would like to officially welcome Cindy into the mix of the wild and crazy life of TriCoast. We are growing as a business and it is nice to have someone like Cindy whos personality and laughter seems to put everyone around her in a good mood. So if you see Cindy around at one of TriCoast’s National Speaking Engagements or assisting Cody and I at a session make sure you stop and say hello!

A new Wedding Album

April 17, 2007

Thought I would post one of our latest wedding albums. Captured down at The Biltmore at The Coral Gables just outside of Miami. Hope you enjoy!