Most of you are past or are approaching the deadline to have your yearbook photos turned in.  A lot of you will have other portraits made and some of you will, sadly, wind up missing the deadline to get your photo in the yearbook.  Even if you’ve had someone take your yearbook photo already, you still have plenty of time to schedule some awesome senior portraits before it’s time to mail out your graduation announcements.

Most of the seniors I’m photographing have been asking for digital photos they can put on Myspace or Facebook so I came up with a great solution for them.  Every senior photo that gets ordered, I am also providing the same image in digital format that can be used on their digital web albums.  I can also provide digital only 5×7’s without having to buy paper prints.

The seniors these days are definitely out on the stuffy looking traditional poses.  Every single senior I’ve worked with in the last two years has considered “getting the digital images” for the online “digital photo album” a very important factor, so I’m giving them what they want.  A traditional professional photographer makes money by selling prints.  Most professional photographers know that seniors these days are looking for different posing styles but few have really grasped or embraced the idea that digital images are, in some cases, more meaningful.  It’s just something else my customers want so I give it to them.

If you need professional portraits and you’re looking for the ultimate experience, be it an “outside in the nature” look, an “urban” look, or a modern “studio look” with edgy lighting and glamorous poses, I’d be delighted to work with you!  Tell me what you want and I’ll see what I can come up with, you have my word.  To contact me, see my contact page on my main website at http://www.JohnBurchell.com

Wedding plans for 2009?  Book your professionals now to avoid last minute hastles.

If you’re getting married in 2009, you should be booking your photographers, florists, chapels and all the other services you’ll need.  Many professionals that are good at what they do, get very busy during the summer months and aren’t able to add more to their schedules at the last minute.  My schedule as a photographer is beginning to see several appointments for next year already.  This is just a friendly reminder that you shouldn’t put it off!  To see if I’m available or to book my services, contact me on my main website page at http://www.JohnBurchell.com

If you’re planning your own wedding, here is a helpful checklist I found on http://www.Todays-Weddings.com

I really love the conventions and schools in our area and the Fall convention is one I’m really looking forward to.  I wasn’t sure if we would be able to make it up there, because of my schedule, but it’s going to work out and I’m really glad!

For more information about it, make sure and check out the PPOK website at http://www.ppok.com

My favorite, John Woodward will be there along with many other wonderful speakers.  It’s sure to be a great experience!  The deadline for pre-registration is August

!Update! 

The convention starts this weekend!

Here is a more detailed list of the speakers.

Friday, Lewis Kemper is going to be there.  He has a two part program, one is outdoor photography and the other is Photoshop.  From what I understand, he’s been into Photoshop since it came into existance.

Saturday morning - John Woodward is putting together a food and product demonstration with food being provided by the chef at the Tulsa Radison.  Products will be photographed with a smoke box and other light modifiers that are cheap and easy to acquire, yet produce STUNNING results.

Saturday afternoon - Shelby Lane is going to be doing a program dedicated to photographing children, babies and maternity shots.  I’m definitely going to be there for that one.

Then on Sunday - Ron Nichols for both the morning and afternoon slots, will be talking about Digital portraiture, organization of files and workflow along with office management.

And for Monday - Jon Allyn will be talking about the subtle art of persuasion, selling and sales techniques.  He’s also a great photographer and I’ve heard many good things about him.

That’s the lineup for the for speakers doing presentations.  The real purpose of this get-together is for print judging at the state level.  If you’re a member of PPA and are interested in getting merits for prints, this is where we go, enter our prints or digital albums, and they get judged to go on to the regional and then national level.

There are also going to be several vendors who will be offering “special convention” rates or will be handing out food or candy.  The vendors range from across the state and across the country.

Show up and have fun.  I’ll be there so look me up and tell me you read about this thing on my blog.

If you haven’t gotten an email from me yet, call me so you can find out how to see all your images from the photo session last Tuesday.

We had a great time and I really enjoyed having you all in.  I really like the way they turned out and I’m excited to hear your comments!

Update!  If you’re having trouble loggin in, please check your emails as the passwords have all changed…

I’m looking forward to portrait day all day for an on-line based meet-up group here in Oklahoma City.  So far several have confirmed and it’s going to be a lot of fun!

My http://www.johnburchell.com website is just about ready for it’s debut launch and I’m working out client proofing solutions to allow everyone to view and order photos from our portrait sessions online!

I’m excited about photographing everyone’s children and having everyone come by.  I’ll be giving everyone an 8×10 that shows up and I will be giving everyone extra special pricing if they want extra prints or enlargements.

I’ve been long over-due for updating and adding to my equipment list and within the last several weeks I’ve made a huge investment in a lot of up-to-date and modern equipment.  I’m totally pumped!

Some of the great new equipment added to my arsenal:  An entire studio of equipment just ready for permanent space.  A set of 4) Alien Bees B800’s, light stands, softboxes, colored gels, barn doors, a background stand and two new cotton muslin backgrounds.  Plus, I’ve added a few new pieces of camera equipment that will no doubt be helpful in low light situations.

As an active wedding photographer, I regularly take time to see what other photographers are doing, in the Oklahoma City area and in other areas too. I would be irresponsible if I didn’t! In my recent web travels, I discovered a whole ring of Guides that are aimed at giving some kind of “free” information to brides. I can’t tell you how many of these articles are full of useless, sometimes hilarious information.

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