blogs of photogs

Came across this great Pay-It-Forward project today: Roadside Families and knew I had to share it with all my readers on Blogs of Photogs! I’ll excerpt the “rules” below from their website, but the basic premise is this; photographers taking photos of other photographers family and then paying it forward, all with no money exchanged~ a beautiful idea!

Rules for Paying-It-Forward (note from Mary, this is from their website)

1. Once you and your family has been photographed, you have 30 days to photograph another photographer’s family. Don’t be that person that holds up the line because you procrastinated!
2. A photographer and their family (defined) can be any family group that consists of a photographer and his/her family. This could be a regular nuclear family, distant cousins, twin siblings, or conjoined twins. Whatever.
3. Be creative. Let loose! Free your mind!

Rules for Submissions

• Nudity or vulgarity will not be acceptable. Keep it family-friendly.
• Images can be no more than 900 pixels wide (including your watermark).
• Yes, you may watermark your image.
• To keep the chain going, you need to link to your own family post here on roadsidefamilies.com. This is called a permalink, and the url is shown on each post. For example, if JMC shot Joe’s Family and Joe shoots Kelly’s family, then when Joe posts Kelly’s photo on RoadsideFamilies.com, he needs to link to the one JMC shot of him.
  Example (at the top of the post):  Photography by Joseph,     Click here for Joseph’s family photograph
• IMPORTANT! Follow the step by step instructions below for submissions.

So, check it out and find a photographer to photograph your family and then you get to go shoot another photographers family. Love to hear about those that have already done this! Great idea!

best,

Mary

Seshu Photography (blog here ) is based in Connecticut, New England, but Seshu travels extensively to capture lushly gorgeous wedding, engagement and portrait images that are a flawless mix of candid in-the-moment captures fused with beautifully posed images. Seshu was born in NY, but lived in India for 12 years before returning to the US. As he mentions in his bio, he straddles multiple cultures and comfortably immerses himself into their prized traditions. I know you will enjoy his work if you haven’t yet heard of Seshu. Make sure you follow him on twitter too, as he has lots to say and lots of great advice.

Enjoy!

Mary

Jodi Friedman of Multiple Choices Photography (MCP) has so many irons in the fire I get tired sometimes just attempting to keep track: MCP photography, workshops,  her blog where you can find lots of great information and resources for photography, and her actions which I’ve mentioned before on the blog. She even has guest bloggers, such as this post with beach posing tips! Just had to give a shout out to this great wealth of info. If you haven’t visited before, enjoy!

~Mary

Angie Baxter of Melbourne Australia, has such a fresh, fun, bright look to her work. As I was browsing I thought to myself, if this is her winter work, what is her summer work like? You know how sometimes you will hear a really great baby laugh? The kind that makes you think, I should record this, so if I’m ever having a bad day, I can listen to it and it will instantly cheer me up and brighten my day? That is what Angie’s work is like- colorful without being overdone, warm and delightful. Enjoy!

And, on a personal note, I will be out of the office for two well deserved and glorious weeks by the lake, without internet access, TV or much of anything except family, relaxation, swimming and fishing. Wish me well and check back mid August for lots more posts! Thanks so much to all my readers and sponsors!

best,
Mary

Leah Harb is located in Vancouver, WA, but works all around the Portland/Vancouver area, as well as in her studio which you can see in much of her lovely work. The current post on her blog is a beautiful tribute to her just turned 12 yr old son, which I really enjoyed, but make sure you move past that. My main reason for featuring her, {aside from her rocking engagement work, her striking commercial work, and her fab children’s images…} is her recent on location work with high school seniors/grads. Check it out here and enjoy. I’m just kicking into gear with seniors myself, and I know many of you are as well, so I know you are going to love her senior work for inspiration, it is divine!

Since Leah didn’t have a header image on her blog, I’m using her splash page for her post image up top, here on Blogs of Photogs.

And the winner of drawing for the soldered jewelry pendant from below is Karen McKinnon. Email me and we will work out the details. Congrats!

Mary

The Captured Life photography blog (blog is here) works out of both metro DC and Atlanta, (according to their website). The blog features a great mix of clients, from newborns and babies, to adorable toddlers and children, with some maternity, high school seniors and wedding/engagement mixed in. I know my readers will enjoy the beautiful range of work!

I have to admit, part of the reason I’m featuring The Captured Life is because it was so refreshing to see a little color and diversity in their clientele, after seeing dozens and dozens of blogs that have very little diversity. I welcome submissions from photographers who feature anything different, whether it is a gorgeous mix of lovely skin tones like today’s feature in Tosha’s blog, or different locations, styles or whatever. Email link is up top on the site.

Also, unrelated, I’d like to apologize for the infrequency of my posting. This spring has been insanely busy for me, and I can’t even keep up with my own photography blog-site, I have many sneak peeks I never even got to feature over there. I will do my best to feature 1-2 new sites a week on blogs of photogs, so if I slack, shoot me an email or prod me with a comment. It is good to know if anyone is out there reading and keeping me going. Have a wonderful spring Saturday everyone! Thanks!

Mary

Since I have so many new readers, wanted to re-iterate a few things I have not mentioned in a long while. First off, I want to remind everyone that the sponsors, with banners along both sides (more in depth info about them can be found by clicking the small “sponsors” link up top) help to support Blogs of Photogs so I can spend all this time checking out blogs, so please visit and support our wonderful sponsors! They are awesome and I’m a personal fan of all their wares.

Second, I get dozens and dozens of emails each week asking me to review photographers blogs, and also get lots from newer-just starting out photographers asking me for in depth feedback on their portfolio/style, etc. I wish I had 50 hours in a day to do all that, but I haven’t figured out how to stretch the day further. So just a note to let you know: if you send in your blog, I will look at it sometime, could be in 2 weeks, could be in 8 months, but I’ll get there someday I hope. Click the “about” link up top for more info on how to get reviewed. Other questions will be answered as time permits, which means, unfortunately, rarely. My 3 kids and hubby need to see me too!

And lastly: I’d really like to revive the “freebies” offerings. I’d love if some designers or (photographers who also dabble in design!) send in some templates, or blends, or textures or even business tips, and I will add them to the freebies page. It was lots of fun during the holiday rush, and I love the karma of sharing. So, send things in via blogsofphotogs@gmail.com and we will get the freebies going again!  Yes, you! You have something to share I’m sure!

Thanks everyone for all your support and kind emails and comments. I read every single one, and I appreciate so much the enjoyment other photographers get out of each other’s work. Thanks again!

Mary

I wanted to thank the guys over at Photoshop User TV,specifically Matt Kloskowski, for mentioning Blogs of Photogs on air, (as you can see in the screen capture above.)  Matt mentioned that he found lots of inspiration at Blogs of Photogs. I love hearing that! I saw several links coming in from them, and wanted to say thanks! If you haven’t checked out their show, you should! Click here to go to the website and view the clip, he mentions BOP around 27:10. You can even subscribe in iTunes. Great tips and info from the guys behind NAPP. Thanks! ~Mary

Amanda E’s blog has such stunning and soulful images. I love photographers who aren’t afraid to showcase pensive and thoughtful looks, rather than only the super smiley ones. Most of my favorite images of my own children, {and my own clients images too…}  are the ones with their faces in repose, showing a glimpse into their little souls.

Amanda works out of Peoria, Illinois, and her work is tremendously beautiful. I think the Feb 7 post of the twins is one of my favorite twins shots I’ve seen… just scrumptious! And I also love the newborn one from November 6, great perspective…definitely going to borrow that idea. The colors and textures that she pulls into her work, from baby wraps & cocoons, to blankets and more, really show her graphic design training. Her work is wonderful, and I know you will enjoy it. I’m amazed I’d never heard of her before stumbling upon her a few days ago. (And unrelated to Amanda, but sorry for the posting drought, I was having some mildly annoying computer issues! Ugh!)

~Mary

My three sweet kids, my wonderful husband & I are off to a Florida vacation in the morning. I am so seriously behind in proofing that I didn’t have time to blog here like I wanted to. I will be back with some great photographers blogs next week, so check back soon! In the meantime, I have to share the most amazing set of actions I have ever seen. If you take photos with cool urban backgrounds, etc, you will for sure want to check out MCP actions new set, All in the Details. Jodi’s actions are just stunning in all they can do. They could really jazz up just about any photo, or make a very good photo amazing. I was lucky enough to get to play with this action pack before its release, and I don’t have the photos I played with on this computer to share with you~ but the possibilities are endless. Make sure you visit her blog and see some of the stuff posted that people have done with this new set. Link is here. Her blog also is just a great wealth of info for photographers of all levels. Jodi seems to be such a giving person. Check it out!

best,
Mary