We have teamed up with a one of a kind vendor that offers hand made, artistically crafted, jewelry pieces made from your photos.  These pieces really are stunning and very high quality.  More info and prices to come…

Landon | Winner Cute Kid Contest

Landon received 95 unique votes placing him in first place by a margin of about ten votes!  For coming out in the lead Landon and his parents win the following prize package valued well over $300:

THE PRIZE!!!

Landon and his parents receive a package valued at approximately $300 which includes a two hour photo session, DVD of best shots, two (2) 8″x10″ photographic prints, and one (1) small coffee table photo-book the exact type and size at the discretion of By the Light Photography.

Congrats!

Now here’s the problem… All of the entrants are cute kids and it breaks my heart to only recognize one!  So to all the entrants of the By The Light Photography Cute Kid Photo Contest I will extend the following:

A one hour photo session with your child or family for $60 and online proofing of lightly retouched images from the session.

This is a nearly $200 savings over my typical packages!  Don’t miss out on the special offer!  This offer must be reserved prior to April 15th by placing a deposit and must be scheduled prior to August 15 2010.  This offer is only valid for the entrants and immediate family of the photo contest, only one session per entry.  Not valid outside 25 miles of zip code 06611 unless travel paid by client and agreed upon by photographer.

• 10% off wedding packages $1,499 and up.
• A DVD of high resolution photos free with the stimulus package and the Penfield Light Package.
• Additional hour 50% off for elopement package.
• 15% off photo booth (mini-studio).

Any questions feel free to email me at Chris@bythelightphotography.com or call me at 203-816-0886

Remember these deals only last till the end of March so book now!

Newborn Sessions:

Book now for a $100 one-hour to two-hour newborn session at your home featuring new backgrounds, new props, and new techniques!  This type of newborn session is regularly $200 dollars and includes digital retouched proofs and free design for coffee table books and handcrafted albums.  We will also supply the images on DVD.  Prints and print packages can be purchased separately.  This shoot must take place prior to March 20^th to take advantage of the discount.

Child Photos: 

Get some great new shots of your kid(s)!!  This ia a one-hour session at 50% off!  Only $75!!  Free online proofing of your images and a DVD of the photos.

NEW!!  Playdate Cards!

Playdate cards are like a business card for parents and their children.  This is a great way to get yourself and your child out there and having fun!  For a limited time Mommy and Child photo sessions will be 50% off of the hourly rate!  Only $75/hour!  There will also be promotional discounts on printed Playdate Cards!

We have already made several changes and intend to make several more to make our business as green as possible. We love the trend of green weddings and we hope to do our part! This year we purchased an apple iMac 27″ Core i7 which is one of the most environmentally conscious desktops available!  Rather than trashing the old gear we have repurposed some of it and intend to recycle it when it reaches the end of its lifecycle.  We began offering our clients the option of a wedding mini-site which is a rich flash based site that allows them to disseminate information about their wedding without paper, even going so far as to collect RSVP’s online!  We discontinued proof products as an automatic inclusion in our packages as we found that their value to our clients was not enough to justify the use of the paper!  They are still available but only if ordered by a client.  We have thus shifted our proofing process to a completely digital endeavor which better serves our clients AND the environment.  A win for sure!  Our goal is to provide our clients and readers with updates, once a month or so, on our Green Wedding Photography Initiative.

Now for the good stuff:  To celebrate our spring ‘rebirth’ we will be looking to test some of our new stuff!!  We have bolstered our equipment for location lifestyle photography, more specifically newborns and kids.  We are running a promotion for a free child photography package to the winner of a cute kid photo contest.  We also have lots of new backgrounds and props to take some really memorable photos of your kids and family.  BIG SAVINGS are just a few hours away!

So what’s the big deal, she was affordable!

Wedding Photography is technically challenging as well as artistically challenging.  It pushes photographer and equipment to the very edge.  The photographer has to be equipped for every possible scenario.  This means at a minimum your photographer should have two high quality professional cameras if not a third as backup.  In addition a good assortment of lenses and lots of lighting options  is a must.  So called kit lenses can take nice photos but they lack several features that a professional needs namely water resistance and speed.  Speed refers to how much light the lens can take in and because this depends on size as everything gets bigger so does the price.  For comparison I have a photo comparing the 18-55mm lens to a 85mm professional lens.  Which one do you thing can take in more light?  As you noticed in the video the speed of the lens is vital in situations where flash is inappropriate or not allowed.

Kit Lens v. Pro Lens

Image on left via creative commons license http://www.flickr.com/photos/purplemattfish/

By the light photography shoots weddings on high end Canon cameras with canon and sigma professional series ‘L’ lenses.  We carry a redundant setup of lighting and cameras to ensure we can recover from any equipment failure.  Based on the venue and the number of photographers we will even supplement our kit with redundant rentals to be extra careful.  Your wedding only happens once!  During the event the photos are redundantly backed up then afterward they are stored on archival media and also stored off site just in case of fire or flood!!

So if you want that great feeling of success that the plaintiff in this case had after she got her money back, take your chance with an amateur.  If you want the satisfaction of beautiful wedding photos, go with By the Light Photography!

The Tide Is Changing

I am pleased to announce that CollinsPhotographer.com has restructured as a company and re-branded to better serve our clients and our photographers.  The tides are changing and a new wind is blowing.  These changes will help to provide our clients with a more recognizable and attractive brand and easier access to their photographer.  This blog will discuss and present the personal and professional work of our photographers.  Stay tuned for posts, specials, and fun!