Cliff Lee, great Pitcher, great smile, nice guy

Earlier this year we got the opportunity to do a photo/video session with Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Cliff Lee, for our new client Holman Automotive. Mary Ann Bryszewski, Creative Director for Holman Automotive needed photos and video of Cliff Lee, who had teamed up with Holman Automotive in an effort to raise money for CadeKids, an organization dedicated to teaching kids how to avoid violence and drugs.

On a Spring training day at Brighthouse Network Field in Clearwater, we met with Bill Cariss, VP of Dealership Operations for Holman Automotive, and Mindy Holman, President and CEO of Holman Automotive Group. Cliff Lee was more than accommodating in working with us, and he’s a great guy and a great pitcher.

Update: The “great pitcher” part has earned him 137 strikeouts as of 7/9/11 and has earned the CadeKids organization $20,000, with Holman Automotive donating $150 for every strike-out he throws during the 2011 season.

We were glad to have played a small part in this effort.

Visit Cliff’s K’s to learn more about CadeKids.

When I think of great actors, Ashton Kutcher is not at the top of my list, to be honest. But he’s not at the bottom either. And he is funny, he’s “The Man” when it comes to punking other celebrities and he’s married to the beautiful Demi Moore.

For what it’s worth, I think he does a good job of pitching Nikon cameras: Handsome Ashton is at a restaurant, a clothing store…a Wedding, that’s my fave. Bridesmaids scope him out from afar, flashing wry smiles and fluttery lashes. Ashton, apparently unaware that’s he’s an attractive actor, boyishly goes about his business, which seems to be Photography. When a soccer match suddenly breaks out at the reception Ashton is there to cover it before skipping over for some shots of champagne flutes before knocking the tray out of the waiter’s hands. Ashton and the giddy Bridesmaids are astonished upon seeing frame after perfect frame he was effortlessly able to capture. This makes for good marketing and an entertaining commercial that we’re more likely to watch than not, but…

I’d guess that Ashton might be able to take reasonably good photos, at least good enough to share on Facebook or whatever Ashton Kutcher does with his photos. But if you wave away the magic Hollywood fairy dust, and Ashton love-dart potion, you’ll remember that he’s an actor playing himself in a Nikon TV ad pitching cameras to consumers. Consumers who might believe that if they buy a Nikon camera, that Ashton himself might even use, they’ll be taking astonishing photos in no time. To be perfectly honest, Nikon makes good cameras. I use them myself. Mine are from Nikon’s line of Professional DSLRs and they cost around $3000, without a lens. The lenses cost another $2000.

Of course, I’ve never gone head to head with Ashton in a photo contest, but I’ll confidently say that regardless of what camera I use, I’ll always take better photos than Ashton. Why? Because I’m a Professional Photographer. Ashton is an actor playing a photographer, or at least someone who can take exceptional photos with a prosumer camera. The fact is, taking good photos has more to do with the person holding the camera than it does with the camera itself. It’s about creativity, composition and knowing how to use light. It’s about knowing your subject and coaxing their personality into the lens. It’s about knowing your camera and how to control it, not letting it control you by putting it in autopilot – more commonly known as Program mode – and firing away.

Answer this question: If you boarded a commercial airline jet, took your seat, and saw Ashton Kutcher in a Captain’s uniform, heading for the cockpit, what would be your first thought? “Uh, am I being Punked?” “Can’t be, I’m not famous.” Would you ask the flight attendant, “is Ashton Kutcher going to be flying this jet?” That would be crazy, right? Of course. Because Ashton is an actor, not an airline Pilot.

And he’s not a photographer either.

Ashton most likely doesn’t know any more than you do about the cameras he’s pitching or how to use them. Photography is a combination of artistry, skill and camera know-how that can take years of practice to master. Don’t just think that because Ashton is good in front of a camera that he’s just as good behind it.

The bottom line is that a no one is going to buy a Nikon, or any other camera, and start shooting Wedding photos like a Professional Photographer. Their photos will be good enough to remember the vibe from their Carnival cruise, but you certainly wouldn’t entrust one of these newbies with photographing your Wedding, would you? If your answer is yes, then jump on a plane with “Captain” Kutcher at the wheel and I’ll see you later, in the promised land. Just tell yourself, “Ashton isn’t a Pilot but he’s probably played one on TV.” Or was that a Photographer?

Several years ago I attended a Photographer’s seminar where Greg Gorman was speaking. Greg shoots celebrity portraits and photographs people like Johnny Depp for movie posters and ad campaigns. He shared some insight with those of us who don’t make $20,000 an hour. It was something like this: “when people see photos of themselves that they don’t like, they don’t think, bad hair, bad makeup, bad lighting”, “they just think, bad photos.” For this reason Greg includes hair, makeup and photo retouching in the price of his photo sessions. If you’re the average Bride, you won’t have $20,000 to spend for that type of treatment, but you should budget for it on a smaller scale. In particular, makeup, professional makeup.

Why?

A professional Photographer will use the best lenses, lighting and camera know-how to achieve the best photos possible of you. But he or she can’t tell the camera not to see your blemishes and dark eye circles, or to ignore your washed-out features when you have blond eyelashes and you skipped the mascara. And if you believe that a pro Photographer is going to apply digital makeup to 800 or so photos from your Wedding, well, you’re mistaken. Of course you “deserve” to look beautiful in your Wedding photos. But you have to share the responsibility by making yourself the best subject possible. That responsibility only begins with a bubbly attitude and well-fitting gown. It’s crucial that you hire a professional makeup artist who will prep your face to look good in photos. In every-day life you may be fine with a swipe of foundation and a stroke of mascara. But on your Wedding day you need makeup applied by a professional artist who knows how to prepare you for photos.

The truth is, people look at each other with eyes that are influenced by emotion. If they like you, they’ll see you as being attractive, if they don’t like you, you won’t seem as attractive to them, regardless of the reality. A camera, unlike a person, sees you through a lens made of glass, flips you upside down, breaks you up into dots of color, smashes you back together and shoves you into a memory card (sort of). It does this all without any emotion; it just records what it sees with its cold staring eye. And if what it sees is a Bride who tried to look “natural” on her Wedding day by passing up the makeup chair, then you might as well just wear a burka hood and sunglasses because what the camera will see just ain’t gonna by pretty.

If you want to have tears rolling down your washed-out face when you see your Wedding photos, just forego having makeup applied on your Wedding day. If you want to have proof of your “hot Bride self” then have makeup professionally applied so you can trick the camera into thinking it has emotion. It will like you, and see you as the beautiful Bride that you really are.

Obviously I wouldn’t bring this up if all Brides thought this way. Most Brides are unsure of what is typically even covered at a Wedding, though they usually have a vague idea. The answer is everything. But more specifically, I can list some of the things that this particular Bride told me she wanted captured at her Wedding, in both photo and video: her Mother helping her put on her veil and jewelry, the first time her Father sees her in her Wedding gown, her Groom’s face when he first sees her walking down the aisle, her first kiss with her new husband, her first dance with her Father at the reception, and her Grandparents enjoying her Wedding day. She told me that she had no way of knowing how long these people would be in her life and she didn’t want to forget their faces and the joy they brought her, in her life and on her Wedding day. She was echoing points that I often bring up to Brides went I meet with them.

The core message here is that on your Wedding day you’ll have both “motion” and “emotion”. Some things are easily captured in single frames and the impact is felt in a single expression on the faces of the people in the photo. Other moments unfold over time and need to be seen in their entirety to fully convey the emotions at play. The combination of excellent still photos and video footage will give continuity to all the important moments of your Wedding day and allow you to relive those memories completely.

Tampa Photo offers affordable Standard Photo/Video Collections as well as Photo/Video Lite versions that still have great features at a lower investment level.

The best way to ensure that your expectations are met is to make a schedule and stick to it. Remember, it’s difficult or impossible for us to get two hours worth of quality photos in a half hour. And this type of time erosion happens all too often because someone didn’t stick to the schedule, which triggers some sort of butterfly effect, creating waves of tardiness that seem to wash over the Wedding and swamp the entire day. Oh, we’re good at what we do, and we can work under pressure. But what we can’t do is magically expand time or somehow create a photo of a person who wasn’t there. And believe me, we’ve been asked “where is the photo of me with my brother by the piano?” The answer: your brother didn’t show up for family photos and you were too busy later to return to the piano with your brother to do a pick-up shot.

All of this broken schedule stuff is the most detrimental to the Bride and Groom, of course. And these days more couples are paying for their entire Wedding themselves. So the rub here is, don’t let someone’s tardiness to your Wedding ruin your chances of great photos. You shouldn’t be forced to be understanding when your Maid of Honor’s kids make her late to help you get ready; she should have planned better and you should have a stand-in to take her place so that you can stay on schedule. The same goes for the Groom: his hung-over Best Man sleeps in and runs late because he left his tux at some girl’s house and lost the directions to the venue – the butterfly effect. All of this is funny stuff if it’s in a movie, but in real life, not so much. Oh, and the Best Man also forgot the rings. In real life.

It boils down to this. If you don’t care about your Wedding day photos or the money you spent to get them, then don’t sweat the schedule, leave it all to chance. You can put on your dress and invite everyone back the next weekend and redo all the shots you missed, right?

Make a schedule, discuss it with your photographer and stick to it. A Wedding is not a race and if you treat it like one, at least keep in mind there ain’t no second lap.

It’s surprising how easily someone can be banished from our daily thoughts. I think that’s what happened for a lot of people in the case of Osama bin Laden, until May 1^st, when he was killed in Pakistan by Navy Seals and CIA operatives.

Before this event hit the news, Osama’s name had become a joke in late-night talk show monologues. But he never became a joke for the people in our Military who faced unimaginable dangers trying to track him down for what he had carried out on 9/11.

These people are those who defend our country, and we can’t forget them and what they do for us.

As individuals and as a business, we at Tampa Photo have always held our Military personnel in high regard and never forgotten the ongoing sacrifices they make for us on a daily basis.

We want to remind our Military folks that we do think of you. So when you contact us, ask about our Military discounts on our Wedding Photography and Video Services. It’s a small way that we can give back in appreciation for what you do for us. When you book with us your Military ID will get you a special discount.

Visit: TampaPhoto.com

Contact Kevin: 813.229.1800 -or- kevin@tampaphoto.com

My favorite country club is Countryside Country Club in Clearwater. Elizabeth Craig, Director of Catering, is super cool to work with and gives me golf carts for transportation. She also makes sure the Wedding party has a drink in their hands, which keeps them happy during the photo session.

Below, is a shot of Laura and Mark on the Countryside Country Club golf course near sunset, on their Wedding day.

Cliff Lee - Philadelphia Phillies starting Pitcher

On the day of the shoot, a Spring training day at Brighthouse Network Field in Clearwater, we met with Bill Cariss, VP of Dealership Operations for Holman Automotive, and Mindy Holman, President and CEO of Holman Automotive Group. The plan was to utilize a short window of opportunity, in Cliff Lee’s schedule, to get testimonial footage and photographs of Cliff, both posed and in action for Holman Automotive to use their website, print and billboard ads. Before the session with Cliff Lee, we grabbed a few shots of other Phillies players during warm up and practice.

Kyle Kendrick, Phillies starting Pitcher, warming up

Phillies warmed up and ready

More Phillies players

Then came the session with Cliff, which was a bit tense. Only because every few seconds we’d hear someone shouting “heads up!” as a fly ball came hissing across the third base line before slamming into the ground nearby. Despite this distraction, Cliff was very accommodating, and we soldiered on. While I concentrated on fulfilling the shot list, getting shots of Cliff in his Philadelphia Phillies uniform, Mj caught some great candid moments that were out of my frame.

Phillies Pitcher Cliff Lee with Mindy Holman and Bill Cariss of Holman Automotive Group

So it was a great day at Brighthouse Network Field: we got to meet and photograph Cliff Lee of the Phillies, we got to work with the great folks from Holman Automotive on their CadeKids project, and none of us caught a fly ball with our head. Bonus.

Here are some more of our favorite shots from the day. Enjoy.

Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher, Cliff Lee poses for a shot

Down the third base line

Philles Pitcher Cliff Lee with Mindy Holman, CEO of Holman Automotive Group

Cliff Lee and Mindy Holman

Cliff Lee, great Pitcher, great smile, nice guy

The recent launch of our new Tampa Photo website has brought us an influx of Brides excited about our New Engagement Shoot packages, special offers, custom designed Coffee Table Books and most of all our excellent photography. While we would love to blog about all the new features of the New Tampa Photo website, it’s better that we focus on our new Brides and let you check out the new website for yourself. We hope you will visit www.TampaPhoto.com and see why we’re Tampa Bay’s Premiere Photographers and why Brides choose to be Tampa Photo Brides.