Signature Session- Vivian Burch’s Newborn Portraits

Posted on February 23, 2010

Now that I have one of my own, I’ve found I really love working with babies and kids! Last week I had the opportunity to take newborn photos for one of my former wedding clients. Her daughter, Vivian, was two weeks old when we took her portraits and she’s absolutely beautiful! Newborns can be a challenge because if they’re not sleepy they can be quite squirmy and active. Well, Vivian was not sleepy but she did eventually cooperate (as much as a newborn can) and we got some very cute portraits. Here are some of my favorites!

Soooo cute.

My sister got us this box and I grabbed in on the way out for a prop.

How stinkin’ cute is she?!?

I think this one’s my fave.

Thanks for looking! If you feel like it, leave a little comment love!

Valentines Day Treat

Posted on February 14, 2010

Look what Kacie made me for Valentines Day! A Cupcake Box of Chocolates. How cool is that? Love you, babe!

Happy Valentines day, everyone!

Courtney and Drew’s Engagements

Posted on February 12, 2010

Courtney and Drew and I had a really great time taking their engagement portraits! We shot at Discovery Green, downtown, then grabbed some mexican food at the original Ninfas on Navigation. Here are some of my favorites from the shoot!

When we started, Drew said “I don’t know about all those intimate and kissing shots. I don’t think I can do that naturally for the camera.” I said, “Don’t worry, it’ll come to you.”

They figured it out.

Once I convinced them there were (probably) no snakes in the really tall grass, we got some killer shots in there.

Thanks for a great shoot guys!

Kim and Chris’s Wedding – The Woodlands, TX

Posted on February 12, 2010

Kim and Chris had a beautiful wedding at the Woodlands United Methodist Church and their reception was at the Waterway Marriott. This was my last wedding of 2009, and it was extra special because Chris, the groom, is the brother of one of my wife’s oldest friends, Michelle. It’s always great when you get to work with people you know and capture some great memories from one of the best days of their life. Below are a few of my favorite images from their wedding!

Suuuuunnnn flaaaarreee!

It’s a gorgeous chapel.

Kim’s friend from college promised her that if she ever got married she’d dance on a table at her reception. She made good on that promise

This was their getaway car.

And we’ll finish with a great shot from my friend Chip, who helped me cover the wedding.

Thanks for having me at your wedding, Kim and Chris!

This is why every parent should have a phone with video camera

Posted on February 8, 2010

As Chase Jarvis says, the best camera is the one you have with you. And this is never more true than when you’re a parent. Here’s a little video we got of Caden laughing at a paper towel roll with Grandpa Jeff. If you know Caden, he’s a fun-loving baby, but he’s stingy with the giggles. This is definitely the most, and the hardest, he’s ever laughed!

Thanks for letting me indulge with a little personal post. Look for more photography this week!

New Website!

Posted on February 8, 2010

In case you missed it, I have a new website! I launched it a couple weeks ago in time for the Weddings in Houston Bridal show. It took a few days to put together a new portfolio of images for the galleries, but was totally worth it! I really feel like this new site represents my style and personality. It has big, sexy, full-screen images, simple navigation, and great new music. Check it out! My new address is www.nyholt.com. My old address, whatsyourimage.com, will still get you there, but add the new address to your bookmarks! Thanks for looking!

Millions and Millions of Photos

Posted on February 3, 2010

This post is for photographers. It might apply to videographers, designers, and other creatives who deal in the digital realm.

Yesterday I spent 6 hours organizing images from 2008 (I’ll remind you- that was two years ago). This included restructuring my archival system for old images, moving around lots of images from this place to that, and tweaking the Lightroom catalog(s) all my work lives in. I am not typically a highly organized person, but I kind of have an obsession with the way I store, organize, and back up my photos. I spend lots of time thinking about it (hours a week; not kidding) and lots of time actually tweaking things. Why would I spend so much time organizing images from 2 years ago? I asked myself that same question as I finally finished yesterday’s project, and I think I found an answer that explains my instinctive need to organize data.

I end up with roughly 100,000 images from a years worth of work. This is after I delete rejects. These are 100,000 “keepers”. Family portraits, weddings, personal projects, vacation photos, family photos, and more. Let’s assume I have a modest-lengthed career of 20 years. At my current rate, I will end up with over 2,000,000 (two million!) photos in my library. That is a heck of a lot of photos. What if I add more photographers to my studio? That number could easily double or triple. We’re talking about millions and millions of photos.

Those photos will represent my life’s work. The best of the best of them will become my final portfolio– what my career has accumulated to. The rest of them will be a chronicle of my journey. Where I’ve been, where I end up, and everything in between. To say that I need to store all this data securely is a serious understatement. And what about being able to find photos? That client from 15 years ago that is now famous? That photo that won me an award and now a magazine wants to publish? What if a wedding client loses all their photos in some disaster, and contacts me 50 years later praying and hoping that I still have them. I can’t simply have photos lying around on hundreds of hard drives with no organization. I’d never find anything. Remember– more than two million photos!

I guess my only points in writing this are 1) to share my revelation about how many photos I’m going to end up with, and 2) to tell you that if you’re a professional photographer and don’t think seriously about the way you store and organize photos, you’re a crazy person. In the future I may write a more detailed post about DAM (digital asset management), and several people have even requested that I offer consulting services for this kind of thing, so maybe something like that will happen. In the meantime, do some research and get a plan in place so that you never have to worry about losing your life’s work.

Anna and Erik’s Wedding

Posted on February 1, 2010

Anna and Erik held their wedding at Memorial Drive Presbyterian church and their reception at River Oaks Country Club. Since they both live out of town, this was one of those times that I didn’t get to meet the groom until the day of the wedding. I’ve really enjoyed working with Anna and her family, but I didn’t really understand how fun the wedding would be until I saw everyone in action! Anna and Erik have very cool personalities. They’re laid back, but still have their own quirky brand of fun. Their wedding was sophisticated, but not stuffy. Everyone knew how to have a good time. All in all, it was a great day, and lots of fun! Here are a few of my favorites. Feel free to leave a comment if you like what you see!

One of my favorite make-up shots…

I love this picture of the groomsmen all praying for Erik.

And this one of the girls.

I always love it when we can grab a few intimate portraits after the ceremony.

I like this cake shot that blake grabbed.

Their first dance started all sweet….

And then turned funky

Props are the best! Dozens of pink boas and plastic sunglasses are the perfect way to keep the party rolling.

Oh yeah, the ring shot.

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