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1124 Riviera St. Jacksonville, FL 32207 (904) 398-7668
info@danharrisphotoart.com
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Jacksonville Professional Photographers BLOG
It's hard to believe in 1999 this website was state-of-the-art! The wordy ramblings below (some from the year 2000) were my initial attempts at blogging!
I was blogging on my website long before blogs were ever invented! In a true artist fashion, I am pleased to NOT conform to today's current Website vs. Blog format but continue to set my own standard with my weblogsite! (which really didn't catch on,) not that I don't appreciate the way today's blogs are well organized, searchable and in date/time order, maybe it's the principle, or perhaps I am just too busy working on my clients projects to re-work what's already been done. Yes, I could pay someone to do it for me but then it would have more of the personality of the designer than the artist behind it and isn't the real point of these things to get to know the real person you plan to work with rather than the fake persona they fabricated to impress you? Wrap your mind around this: the internet and websites are great communication tools and like the yellow-page ads of old, the biggest or fanciest isn't always the best.
What is the purpose of a blog? Many of jacksonville wedding photographers post 1% of their pictures from their latest photo shoot and then post a paragraph that includes specific key words and phrases for the purpose of getting higher rankings on the web. It seems most attended the same class that taught them their wedding phogographer blog is for PR and Advertising! I've even heard from instructors that you must spend an hour a day on social networking, blogs and tweeting. Being a practical person I ask, Who has time for all that? What will it really do for my customers? From where are the costs and resources of such an endeavor allocated? I refuse to post the top 1% of all my photo shoots on my blog because it creates unrealistic expectations and false advertising as 99% of the pictures taken won't be as good as the 1% posted! From what I've seen, most jacksonville photography blog postings are very sporadic, facebook is great for communicating with family and close friends (because I block the people who are bombarding me with advertising and PR BS.) and twitter is very interruptive and distracts me from my current assignment. For these reasons I have chosen to post sporadically to this blog any photography idea or thought I want to share. If my thinking changes, so will my postings and if you have a suggestion or counterpoints for me to consider, please feel free to share them with me via e-mail.
I have updated most all the information (but not the format) on this site. I have links to newer sites that are more modern and current. If I were selling websites, it would be critical that mine be over-the-top and super cool, but I'm not. Superficial people may not take the time to explore and learn what we really offer and who we really are but may be looking for a photographer who 'fits a certain mold' and isn't really unique but a copycat of many other photographers and that's ok, we like to work with people who appreciate being different and have their own ideas and appreciate that our website is an ever-changing dynamic communication tool that doesn't flash a lot of mirrors and blow a lot of smoke but is very honest and communicative. Enjoy-- and when you get bored of reading this drivel, just give us a call and we will answer all your jacksonville photography questions personally and help solve your imaging needs in the most professional manner possible with less hype and more substance! Right here in beautiful Jacksonville Florida!
Visit our frequently asked questions regarding wedding photography. Shopping for a modern wedding photographer? Here's some things to consider before hiring your friend with a nice camera.
Please be impressed and get excited that we received another one of those popularity awards!
(hey at least it shows we are still alive and breathing!)
~ Professional Imaging Consultants ~
(Home-studio located in the historic San Marco area -near downtown)
High Definition Photography
~ NOW WITH OUR NEWEST 64-MegaPixel, LARGE-FORMAT DIGITAL CAMERA ~
"When Quality Matters"
By International award winning wedding photojournalist Dan Harris
purchase GIFT CARDS online -click here
Check out our newest DVD Slideshows
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"There are two sides to every photograph, the image and the memory behind it, we insure both are pleasant."
Taking pictures is only a small part of what we do, We are: PhotoArt Consultants; Wall Decor Designers; Master Printmakers and Archival Album Craftsmen!
Quote of the day
"Professional photography is similar to cooking. Many of the processes, tools and recipes are accessible to anyone. The difference between the professional chef and the amateur cook is the consistency of great results; the high level of proficiency. The question then becomes whether the professional chef is worth the price or should one gamble with the amateur cook?" --Matt Culpepper, UNF Photography Student
To add to that: With the same ingredients one may make something delectable while the other may make you sick. The best professional chefs in town aren't selling ingredients, recipes and do-it-yourself homework assignments… and neither are the best photographers.
“Your image is your representation of you and should be impeccable!"
We take our photography business seriously, but not ourselves! We are storytellers and visual artists, we visually communicate in a universal language stories of; joy, love, quality, happiness, accomplishment, family, beauty, strength, teamwork, professionalism, elegance, fun & serenity. If a picture is worth a thousand words, it is our goal to make a picture for you that is worth 3,000! Professional photography is an Art, a Science and a Business. Sharing just the visual Art is only a part of our professional story. We have created this website not only to share thousands of our images (the Art), but also to explore and share our philosophy, personality and beliefs as it relates to the Science and the Business of photography.
There are twice as many Jacksonville photographers today than there were just a few years ago, sadly the increase in quantity hasn't translated into an increase in quality. Many can create nice looking 'web-quality' images (it takes 4 times more information to make a quality print and much more to make HD Heirloom PhotoArtTM) Our impeccable reputation of unsurpassed photographic quality and 12-years of being in the photography business at the same location insure your success. Dan is one of the best around and you will not be able to get the professional quality he offers anywhere else at any price! Call today for a free consultation.
We spend more time on our client’s projects than on our own self-promotional projects, that's why you won't see a lot of slick multi-media photographers presentations here, we believe our customers want honest, delivered results rather than multi-media hype. Everything on this website is the REAL DEAL from real client photography projects. Sit back, relax and enjoy (no need to fasten your seatbelts)... and let us know if you have any questions or we can help you with anything. Because everything we do is customized and not 'cookie-cutter', you may not find an exact sample on our website of what you are envisioning from your jacksonville florida photographer, but please don't hesitate to call and discuss your exact needs --we guarantee our results and your complete satisfaction!
(Mouse-over the image for more information - Click here for more bad photography examples)
"Unsurpassed quality because we own our own lab and do all of our own processing and much of our own printing!"
We are a FULL-time (you can even speak to us during regular business hours!), FULL-service consultants --here for YOU along every step of the way to insure your finished products are the best possible.We will meet with you as many times as it takes to insure you get exactly what you need! 
What's the latest in the world of Jacksonville Wedding Photography?
I always try to keep my customers (and potential customers) well even my friends (and competitors) updated on what I'm seeing in the world of Jacksonville wedding photographers. There seems to be a big influx of new album companies offering everything from cheap photobooks to fancy albums. Many of them are using untried and unproven methods. I just saw an album that uses a piece of dense foam-core for the cover of the album with a picture glued to it, if you set anything on the cover it will dent the soft material and the dent won't come out! It's obvious to me this album won't last long, but it does have 2 advantages: it's lightweight and it's cheap, so if your priorities in buying an album are 'lightweight and cheap' and NOT longevity I think you have a winner with this new design! We are also seeing a lot of imports making their way into the US market, many of these are odd European sizes. Some are gigantic, which look impressive at bridal shows, but sit on a couch and put the album on your lap and it becomes cumbersome like a large stiff newspaper, bulky and difficult to view. The most popular foreign models are the cheapest, when they start falling apart 2-3 years from now who will you contact for repairs? China? Italy? Mexico?
This just in --old news is new news; many businesses are scrambling to survive. It saddens me to hear about brides who can't get their albums, can't find their photographer, don't have their pictures and lost the money they spent. It's heart breaking to hear of fellow photographer's who have gone bankrupt and lost their homes during this economic slowdown. Many businesses are surviving by branching out into new fields and trying new things. Photographers are becoming caterers, caterers are becoming florists and florists are becoming photographers. The under-employed are making new starts in new business adventures. There's a lot of turmoil in the marketplace, we will continue to see more of the same, many of today's start-ups will be tomorrow’s heart breaks, a rare few will become success stories, the odds aren't promising. More jobs need to be created. Breaking into an industry by under-cutting prices or doing a job 'for free -for the experience' only adds to the problem by creating less jobs, not more.
Many companies today are getting back to their roots; money and greed, so now we are seeing more venues promoting only the vendors who pay the biggest 'kick-backs'. Some well-meaning employees are being forced to promote the services of inferior vendors by their bosses because of this policy. Several large hotel chains have 'partnered' with a 'national' wedding photography company who claims to be able to 'match you perfectly' with the right photographer from your area, when in reality they are matching you with the hungriest photographer who's hurting for business. We've seen this time and time again... they are a middle-man hiring mediocre talent at the lowest cost for a healthy markup and tacking on a fee to pay the venue. Don't be afraid to talk openly with your coordinator about kick-backs and vendor fees, because ultimately it's your money that pays such fees. If they avoid the discussion, you can guess the honest answers. The best vendors are the most honest and will treat you right!
Photography Art vs Photographic Science
When photography was invented it was very much a science. Photographers couldn't take pictures unless they understood chemistry, recipes, mathematical formulas, the properties of light and the mechanics of the camera, etc. Today's modern digital cameras have removed much of the science from the camera operator. You can give an automatic camera to a child and they may accidentally create some really cool art. You wouldn't expect this same child to fulfill a photography assignment with any degree of consistency.
The first lessons you learn in Photography 101 class are about light, exposure, focus, camera settings --much of the science behind the art of photography. You also learn the most common issues, problems and errors that create bad photography and how to avoid them. It takes years of practice to learn how to apply the principles to achieve a desired or repeatable result. Some people have a special gift for being able to bring together both the art and science. This basic scientific knowledge combined with years of experience gives a photographer the foundation they need to be able to accomplish their desired end result.
Many self-proclaimed 'professional photographers' today have skipped the foundational science classes and through self-experimentation have learned how to make and sell their photographic art. Nothing against their choice of career paths or the art they create but too often this type of photographer is a 'one-trick-pony', only able to create a few particular styles under certain set circumstances, without much reasoning or purpose. For example a photographer may use a high-contrast, over-exposed, bright 'sun-flare-in-the-background' look to create some artsy pictures, but what happens if you have an event at an impressive location and you really would like to see the building in background? Experienced professionals understand that it's really easy to blow-out backgrounds and with cheap lenses it's real easy to get lens flare, to properly expose and capture detail in a high-contrast lighting situation takes much more skill and is much more challenging. The best photography calls attention to the subject matter, not to the photography. A well experienced professional has the experience and skills to know how to work in any circumstance to get the shot, many amateurs take a lot of pictures in the hopes of accidentally getting a good one.
With the latest digital revolution (the world is once again flat) everyone everywhere is an 'expert'. In the wedding photography industry some untrained, self-appointed wedding photographer experts are teaching and promoting their artistic 'style' as though it is the newest, latest and greatest. Sadly it is based on exploiting the most common pitfalls of consumer-quality equipment these issues have been labeled by experts over the years as bad photography. The uneducated blindly follow with awe and admiration. To
the embarrassment of many, it doesn't take much education to realize that this 'new art' is some of the old 'most common problems' taught in photography 101 class that are now being glamorized as art. It is almost funny to watch this fad develop among amateur wedding photographers and then see some truly professional wedding photographers with expensive lenses (that are difficult to flare) now using 
photoshop to add flare, isn't that backwards? Should I mimic inferior-quality problems because inexperienced wedding photographers have tried to make it a popular wedding photography fad? It has been done before with such effects as adding blur, tinting or harsh-contrast to an image, if done judiciously to create a specific look or to achieve a neat effect is one thing, to be used to hide basic exposure or focus problems is another.
In advanced photography courses you learn the how’s and whys of good composition; lighting ratios, highlight, midtone and shadow relationships and how to manipulate light to your best advantage; how to make a 2-D photograph look 3-D; the advantages and best uses of; C-curves, S-curves, triangular poses; when to use selective or hyper focus; when, how and why to use a wide-angle or tele-photo lens, etc. Many of these fundamentals originated in the art world long before photography was invented and form the foundation for the world's best art. I think it's clever for the amateur wedding photographer to attempt to create a fad (and call it art) based on their lack of ability, poor techniques and inferior equipment. I guess everyone is doing the best they can to sell what they've got. Will it become a lasting trend or only a fleeting fad? Meaningful photography subtly stirs a deep and lasting emotional response to it's viewers that grows over time. Fad photography initially calls attention to itself but ultimately its superficiality will become offensive to its viewers.
Should you hire a Consumer, Amateur, Pro-sumer or Professional Jacksonville Wedding Photographer? Give us a call and we will help you with your decision, even if you don't hire us.
Dan can guarantee your success because he has successfully covered over 440 events in the past 12 years! Dan understands that your event isn't about him, it's about you!
He wants you to have 'Your Day, Your Way!' Hiring Dan and his staff will insure superior quality without compromise and is willing to travel.
Consider this:
DIGITAL IS DECEIVING!
Every picture can look good on a computer screen or on the back of a digital camera! You must look at LARGE prints or ALBUMS to reveal the true quality!
Don't settle for just a CD:
(Computer's Crash, CD's Deteriorate and Electronics Fail)
When ultimately what you really wanted was a Heirloom PhotoArtTM Storybook Wedding Album:
We are all enamored with digital files and we think they are our friends but please don't believe the hype, they give an intoxicating glow that makes them seem warm and cuddly but please be warned, they are really cold-hearted teases and are programmed to make you feel good at first and then disappoint you in the end! Please good people of the earth take heed: digital files are NOT your friends ~they live on the dark side! The 'Digital Graveyard' is an area located in the dark nether-regions of all electronic devices where digital files await their final corruption. Digital files, by their very nature, can't live by the light of day, but must be electro-tronicated into a fleeting view; this very process insures progressive damage, instability and ultimately a very untimely death, leaving you only with heartache! For the sake of your family, or at least the future generations and for the children, please heed this warning and don't be surprised when in the end, your digital files have ditched you.
On the other hand, Heirloom PhotoArtTM lasts for hundreds of years and will provide generations of enjoyment!
If you settle for a wedding photographer or family photographer who only gives you a CD/DVD you may be disappointed later when you discover that CD/DVD is incapable of giving you what you really wanted in the first place. Your CD/DVD is NOT a professionally finished, heirloom keepsake that will be passed down for generations! It probably won't last 5 years! Our archival LeatherArt wedding Albums and Heirloom PhotoArtTM Prints will outlast any digital file. In an emergency evacuation situation, when you grab the few items that are of the most value to you and your family, do you grab a CD/DVD or do you grab the family albums? Dan Harris PhotoArt is a full-service wedding and family portrait photographers studio that includes complete retouching and editing at no additional charge and guarantees the quality of ALL your finished products! Don't settle for disappointment. You deserve more from your once-in-a-lifetime event photography or family photo shoot than just a deteriorating, unreadable, shiny CD/DVD!
Amateur quality lenses and digital cameras vs professional quality photography
For years lens manufacturers have spent millions on research and development to create professional lenses that avoid problems of distortion, ghosting and lens flare. These lenses are very expensive and professional (and worth every penny) if your goal as a professional photographer is to achieve the best quality possible, especially in less than optimal conditions.
Consumer/ Pro-sumer lenses and cameras mimic many of the features of professional equipment but at a much lower cost. Manufactures understand that most consumers don't need the same quality as the professionals use so offer the lower cost 'amateur' products by not providing the superior optics or capabilities afforded in the professional 'top-of-the-line' quality ones.
So today we are seeing many uneducated amateurs with consumer-grade (inferior) equipment attempting to sell the weaknesses of their equipment as though it were pre-planned art, --the sad part-- the uneducated believe them. Although blurry, blown-out, over-saturated pictures may make cool art, that 'one-trick pony' will get old very quickly.
Amateurs don't have the quality equipment or know-how to give you the crisp, clear, properly-focused and color-corrected images. Most clients don't want every picture blown out or blurry (in fact that type of special effect can be easily done in Photoshop, after capture, to any picture!) These amateurs have got it backwards because you really can't un-due blurry or blown out later.
Don't be deceived by the unprofessional. Amateur equipment is easily recognizable by pop-up flashes, telescoping lenses and large lens flare!
Click here for more information for the beginning photographer.
Modern Jacksonville Wedding Photography and Photographers Fads and Fashion Trends
Wedding photography has always been about family relationships, happy times, intimate moments, fun, excitement, anticipation, love and joy. In the days of old, wedding photography formally captured the closest family relationships and very little of the spontaneous moments. When photojournalists began photographing weddings more of the candid, spontaneous moments were captured. The heartfelt and emotional relationship images, whether captured formally or spontaneously, will be cherished for generations. As time moves on, the best of these images will be the classic ones uninhibited by time and place. If a picture has a lot of 'dated' elements in it, the fashion trends of that period will eventually distract from the image and take it from being a really cool, 'I look like a model in a magazine' image to a totally humiliating 'what was I thinking' picture that people will laugh at.
Magazines have often influenced wedding trends. Wedding magazines used to pay the best professional wedding photographers for their publication pictures. Today they have reduced their photography budget (and publication standards) by soliciting and printing most anything from anyone. It is very prestigious for a professional photographer to be paid handsomely for an image that's published in a respectable magazine especially when a well-trained, photo-editorial staff selected your shot from hundreds of other top professional photographers images. The sad reality is that many magazines have down-sized and eliminated their experienced photo editors so today the untrained office assistant chooses the pictures for the magazine from the few free submissions they received. There was a time when I was totally enamored with being published in a magazine, now not so much. (remember the first time as a kid you saw yourself on --closed circuit-- TV... it was so exciting -you ran around telling everyone you were on TV and your dad had a hard time getting you to understand that you really weren't on TV, later when you realized the truth -you were a bit embarrassed.) Today's wedding magazine fashion photography trends of super saturation, funky colors, blown-out contrast, sun flare, the grunge look and fuzzy focus will probably not become classic styles and will ultimately be just another sad fad --hopefully not too embarrassing!
A few other notes regarding fashion photography images you see in magazines; professional models are easier to photograph and usually look better than regular people in photographs (silly, did you forget? That's why they are models! and if you were that 
photogenic you would be a model too!) Photographers who promote themselves because of their modeling images may be giving you a false sense of reality. The real question is what can they do with every-day normal people who aren't models? Well-trained photo editors print the images that are the most universally appealing, the pictures where the bride and groom are less identifiable. Have you noticed? Check it out! This common practice is based on the assumption that more brides will be able to relate to a picture if the details of the bride are more generic and less specific. Some Jacksonville wedding photographers are using this same psychological ploy on their websites posting mainly 'artsy' pictures depicting a generic bride and groom (blurry, face-in-the-shadows, backs to the camera, small head sizes, washed-out or sun-blown details, etc.). These types of pictures may be appealing from an outsider's perspective but if your wedding-day pictures were so artsy that you have difficulty identifying yourself in them, the reality of the final result may be major disappointment and dissatisfaction. Don't hire a photographer based on one thing hoping to get another, in the emotional frenzy of wedding planning, be sure to spend a little time to take a reality check.
Now let's talk about an even more bizarre modern wedding photography trend. Some people call it: modern, trendy, chic, high-fashion, with-attitude, trash-the-dress and sometimes even retro. The images I'm referring to portray a dark and sad, disconnected and aloof, under-fed model often in unnatural and unauthentic poses. (do real people spontaneously contort like that?) Sometimes they look arrogant, void-of-feeling, defiant, stuck-up, bitchy or superficial. You've seen the pictures I'm talking about where a lifeless bride and disconnected groom are separated by a piece of furniture or with their backs to each other and are cluelessly staring off into different directions or a haggard bride is bent into a funky masculine pose with the 'I don't give a care' attitude look with dark and moody lighting. (it would be the perfect lighting setup to photograph a fallen clown in a mental institution.) Although they are nicely photographed and look very 'modern fashion magazine' style, I'm not sure that these type of images depict the true feelings of the bride and groom or the attitude of the bride towards her wedding or her wedding dress. (Maybe it reflects her attitude towards her mother-in-law? sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Reminds me of the crack-whore fashion models of the '80's --modern then, embarrassing now!) I assume these images are being made in jest and are NOT a true reflection of their REAL feelings ...or are they? ...a Freudian slip? I guess time will tell whether the bride really has distain for the groom or really hates her wedding dress!). Sometime in the future the sad wake-up moment will come when the reality of the lie that is communicated in the picture is mistaken for the truth. (I guess at that time they will be getting a divorce and can cut the furniture in half and each person can take the picture of their disconnected self with them.) But on the other hand, if the bride and groom really dislike their faces they can cover them in lampshades and we will say the picture is modern art!
Should a wedding photographer force a bride and groom into a pose or picture that doesn't reflect their authentic feelings? I believe FAKE is a 4-letter word. If a bride and groom prefer not to perform public displays of affection, should a photographer force them into public 'sexy' or 'romantic' poses, portraying something completely false, for the sake of the photography? We all really want to look our best in pictures but do we really want to look fake, like something we're not? Do you want your photographer to create lies to mask the truth? (is the truth not pretty enough so it has to be superficially over coated?) Photojournalism photography works to document the real truth. Fashion photography works to artificially fake the non-existent. Will your wedding and photography be REAL or FAKE?
Two other bizarre trends worth mentioning (they are similar in nature); one is making the wedding day all about the wedding photography at the sacrifice of the guests and the other is making it all about the things and less about the people. I just went through the current issue of a national wedding magazine that just announced their 'best of weddings winners' popular voting contest (does the voting public ever get anything right?) and I was amazed to see that 90% of all editorial pictures were of things and not people! Is that really what weddings are about?... I guess they are if you are selling things! So my long-winded words of advice, don't buy into today's trendy hype that will be tomorrow’s disappointment. Hire a photographer whose pictures will capture your honest values because they will increase in value over time, not today's fleeting fads that will embarrass you tomorrow.
That's how I see it, feel free to share your comments VIA e-mail
Business Content: A quick note to the ORPHANED bride: If your wedding photographers left you out in the cold with only a CD of your hi-resolution images (or digital negatives) and you don't know where to turn or who to trust for professional help, we can provide complete design, editing, retouching, printing and album services. We can make the photos the best they can be (maybe not as good as if we took the pictures ourself, but we will try). Our complete album design service starts at $500. E-mail us for more information. Please note: all price quotes are non-binding until we see the actual files you will be providing to determine if a quality product is capable of being produced from the digital files you provide.
"We get the shots that others miss!"
~ "Capturing the distinctive moment . . . for a lifetime of memories" ~
"Everything we do is customized for YOU! -- Your Day, Your Way!"
"You won't find better quality at any price! You Deserve The Best!"
"Anyone can take pictures, we create Heirloom PhotoArtTM"
"Nobody tells your story better!"
"We provide enduring heirloom ART of a contemporary style, not fleeting fashions that fade!"
(Looks like I'm collecting tag lines ...maybe I should have been the tag-line writer for an ad agency. I can't decide which is my favorite.)
Modern Rock Star Photography
When I was 9 years old I dreamed of being a rock star just like Davey Jones, but I shortly grew out of it. After college, at the beginning of my career, I thought it would be really cool to be on the road and travel --until I did it! Now I am content traveling 3-4 times a year to exotic locations of my choosing (but not much more than that as my dog misses me). I encourage everyone to follow their passion and dreams, but I also suggest you 'test the water' before 'jumping off the cliff'. I know several wedding photographers who passionately (and with the encouragement of paid instructors), jumped off the cliff only to learn (after they booked 40 weddings and shot 15) that it wasn't what they thought it would be --so they skipped town. Not really a smart business move, but an incredible 'school of hard knocks' education!
If you have the dream of being a rock star and want to do a fantasy photo session and really glam it up, we can create some fantastic images that will give you the exact look of a super star, without any of the downside! It will be fun! But realize I'm not the rock star and won't be wearing the rock star jeans! Reality TV, the internet and social networking sites have instilled in today's youth the 'rock-star' dream of fame, hopefully your dream doesn't include long workdays, boring bus rides, difficult living and working conditions and too much time away from the people and places you love which drives you to drinking! We will capture you looking your best and will help you 
get your photographs published worldwide if that is what you want, or we can just publish them to the web for your close friends and family to enjoy --your choice!
The Jacksonville Wedding Photography Assistant Photographers of Dan Harris Photo Art are now available for hire!
Dan Harris Photo Art has 5 good assistant wedding photographers on staff but Dan usually only uses 1 or 2 of them per week. (Most of them have full-time weekday jobs and only shoot weddings part-time in the evening or on weekends.) Many of the images on this website were taken by Dan's assistants then edited and retouched by Dan. If you are on a tight budget, Dan's assistants have agreed to help you out by shooting your wedding for less than Dan's price. Dan and his staff will still provide all the pre- and post-wedding consultations, retouching, album design, etc.
Call or e-mail to set an appointment to go over all the details.
Check out one of our weddings featured in "Wedding & Reception Services" magazine
But don't be too impressed, the magazine didn't pay us for the spread ;- (
as featured in:
Click here for our frequently asked wedding photography questions.
Science Content: Professional Medium-Format true 16-bit images (at any size) have a clarity that even Full-Frame DSLR and Consumer Half-Frame Digital Cameras don't; Check it out:
The quality is in the details. Medium Format Digital has an unsurpassed clarity (at any size) that isn't found in any smaller camera.
Click on the images above to learn more.
"EVERYONE'S A PHOTOGRAPHER"
Isn't photography fun! Taking and sharing photos of your family and friends, with the internet and modern digital technology, has become faster and easier than ever before. The new age of instant gratification! Some of my best customers are photographers. Just about everyone today is a photographer, some for fun, some for hire, we are all just on different levels! To the 'mom-with-a-camera' don't let your 'one-shot-in-a-thousand' images stay trapped in the camera or computer (destined to die in the digital graveyard) bring them to us and we will pull out the best, bring it to life and produce an heirloom work of art for you to cherish for a lifetime!
Anyone can take pictures but that doesn't mean your important photography job should be left to just anyone. Not many jacksonville professional photographers can see your complete project through from beginning to the finished Heirloom PhotoArt-TM that will be passed down for generations. A less experienced photographer will take hundreds of pictures hoping to get a few good ones; an experienced professional photographer will take hundreds of images and deliver hundreds of good ones. A real professional is not just a picture taker but has the best experience, training, equipment, skill and talent to bring it all together! When you pay a professional you aren't just paying for someone to 'snap a picture', you are paying for expert consultation, valuable advice and creative input based on years of experience (including the best photo selection, digital re-mastering and image retouching) to insure 
your images are the best possible representation of you, your event, your family, your product or your company.
Everything we do not only insures exceptional heirloom quality but insures complete success at your event. Even the best jacksonville photographers will have equipment malfunctions; we have the experience and backup equipment to insure that your event photography won't suffer, no matter the circumstances.
Most everyone in photography has a strong passion for photography, but that doesn't insure success. The hobby of taking pictures isn't the same as the business of photography. One of the most difficult photography assignments (when done properly) is wedding photography, yet here in Jacksonville, Florida it seems to be where the inexperienced photographers want to start, I guess that's why so many brides are dissatisfied with their wedding photography. A smart photographer apprentice will properly educate themselves then work their first 3-5 years in photography under the protective wing of an experienced pro to 'learn the ropes' and insure career success with limited failures prior to breaking out on their own and then will 'break out' on photography assignments they can guarantee to be successful, like family portrait sessions in ponte vedra beach, not once-in-a-lifetime events. A true professional doesn't meet you at the local cafe or coffee shop, doesn't get photographic prints at the grocery or drug store and will know how to fully retouch and archivally store, preserve and reproduce your images so they will last multiple generations. Your image should be the best, don't pay for something less!
Consider this: The Bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten!
Photo Greeting Cards, Announcements and Invitations
Additional Holiday Card Design Options
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Professional Quality with Personalized Informal Service
manifests itself in the finished products. Taking the photos is only half of our service, we assist our clients along every step of the artistic process including choosing, editing, croping and designing their finished artwork, albums and frames --this enhances the final outcome and insures total satisfaction on your unique 'one-of-a-kind' project.
There are many occasions where consumer digital (or even a camera phone) does a nice enough job, easier, quicker and more convenient than ever before. But advanced computerized technical wizardry doesn't a professional photographer make! Anyone who has played extensively with their digital camera and had their work printed, published or enlarged realizes there is more to it than just pushing a button on a sophisticated box of electronics. If the photography is important, don't skimp or do-it-yourself, hire a professional!
