perspective

Everybody has a different idea of what they want to get out of their senior photos, but in the end we all have the same goal; to create great images. To help make that easier I thought I would give you a few tips to think about before coming in.

1. Plan on spending some time here. Our standard package is a 2 hour session, and if you want to look your best you should plan on using most of it. The more photos we take the better the chance that we will get a few that you really fall in love with. Even if you only want one photo to use as your yearbook photo, you should still plan on taking some time and trying some different things.
2. Bring a couple of different outfits, but don’t expect to be photographed in all of them. This is and important one. The more clothes you bring the more variety you can have in your proofs, and variety is good. Even if you think you do not want or need variety you should still bring more than one outfit. Why? Because sometimes an outfit just doesn’t photograph well. Some fabrics look weird in photos and some colors that look great in person become distracting in a photograph.
3. Take a few minutes to think about what you want your photos to look like before you arrive. Do you want your photos to be edgy or relaxed? Dark and dramatic, or bright and beautiful? We can work with you to get exactly what you want, and we will always get there in the end, but if you have an idea of what that is before you arrive it just gives us more time to refine the photos instead of hunting around until we bump into it. You don’t have to have the whole thing planned out, and we might end up changing direction while we are shooting, but if you come in and say that you want your photos to look like the cover of GQ or Vogue, or that your really don’t want to have a big grin in every photo, or that you only want smiling photos, at least we have a defined place to start. Again, we will probably try lots of different things in the name of variety, but it is always best to have that starting point.
4. Try to have an open mind. I know it kinda sounds like the opposite of the one above, but it isn’t. Sometimes it is hard to relax when I am telling you to tilt you head back at some strange angle, but every time I ask you to tilt you head or exaggerate an expression you have to remember that it is to make the photograph better. My goal isn’t to make you look silly, actually quite the opposite. Sometimes we take photos at angles that people don’t usually look at you from, so we have to compensate by making you hold your head in a way you usually would not… but in the final result it will look natural even if it didn’t feel natural. And if it doesn’t look natural… we just wont use it! So, keep an open mind.
5. Ok… this one might be too much for some people, so it isn’t mandatory, but I think it could help some: try looking at yourself in the mirror. Models do it constantly. Just look in the mirror and make a few faces. Look at your simile, can you make it look relaxed? Or does it look forced? Can you do it another way (maybe with closed mouth) that does look relaxed? What do you look like not smiling? Can you make yourself look intense without a smile or do you just look bored? I am not saying you need to practice anything here, just take a look and get an idea. If nothing else this should get you in the mood to have some pictures taken and will hopefully help you relax.

All of c.m.h. imaging’s photo greeting cards are custom designed in house. But, to help people out with the design process I have come up with a few templates that I think look pretty good. When ordering cards you can refer to the template gallery (it will be updated sporadically when new templates are completed) for ideas or to decide on a design. As I said, all of the designs are done by hand so any modification you want is possible. So, if you like the layout of one template, the font of another and the color scheme from a third, that is not a problem. Just about anything about the design can be changed to meet your needs, including text. Just tell me what you want and I will do a proof for you to make sure that it meets your expectations.

Take a look at the gallery here: Holiday Card template gallery

When ordering cards also remember to choose between Smooth, Watercolor and Linen for the paper.

Thanks,

-Chad

c.m.h. imaging is gearing up for a major project. The final result of this project will be a 20 page book/portfolio. We are looking for a single female model, age 20-30, interested in working TFP. This portfolio will require 3-4 days of shooting, mostly at our Dexter studio. The portfolio will require great versatility from the model, but in turn the final result will showcase that same quality. Compensation will be a copy of the final book as well as select images as digital files for your online portfolio. This is a great opportunity for an aspiring model, at the end of the project you will have an entire portfolio ready to show clients. If you are interested please contact me at chad@cmhimaging.com.

-Chad

Everybody loves sending out Holiday Cards! If you come in for a portrait sitting anytime before 12/31/07 you will receive 25 custom designed holiday cards for free… a $75 value! Our cards are available in many sizes and finishes, and all come with envelopes. Each one can be customized from a number of pre-designed templates, or if you have your own ideas they can be designed from scratch. Custom text, multiple images and custom color schemes are all included. Turnaround is a very fast 1 week from shoot to finished cards, so no need to worry about being able to get them out in time. For information and prices on additional cards check here: Price List

For a few examples of greeting card designs check here: Holiday Card Templates

Hope to see you soon,

-Chad

If you are looking around and can not find the gallery you are looking for it may be because I am doing some re-organizing. Things were getting a little cluttered around here and I thought it was about time to streamline some things. From now on all proof galleries will only be posted for 6 weeks, except for weddings which will be up for 6 months. This is not meant as an inconvenience, it has just become necessary due to the number of files involved in each web gallery. If your gallery looks like it was removed and you still need to see the images to choose your prints just drop me an email and I will post the gallery back to the new archives section. I have also begun updating each individual gallery to the new template which is very cool. It has larger images, so you can see more detail; is easier to use and it looks better to boot! I am also working on creating a new product: permanent galleries. These will have cooler templates, custom text and your own url (something like “<a href=”http://jan.cmhimaging.com” title=”http://jan.cmhimaging.com” target=”_blank”>http://jan.cmhimaging.com</a>”) and can be purchased by the year.

So, if you are having trouble due to the changes just give me a call and I am sure we can solve any problems.

-Chad