Blog | Patrick Rogers Photography

Feb 24
How I Protect Your Memories

Last night and this morning, I’ve been talking to some folks who had some unfortunate things happen to images of them and their family that a vendor had promised them.

Just to be clear, these were not clients of mine, but it made me think about how I should let y’all know how I handle the memories I capture for you and your family.

As soon as I get home from our photo shoot, and sometimes in the hotel room, if I am photographing your wedding weekend, I pull all my memory cards (which are all numbered to be sure I have all of them), and go about plugging them into my computer and dumping them to the hard drive. When this is done (sometimes it takes several hours), I run my SyncToy program and backup all of those images to a separate RAID system of external hard drives (specifically a 16 TB Drobo device). After that is done, I copy those files to another external hard drive and am currently looking into waterproof and fireproof safes to put that drive in to.

So, before I start editing your images, they exist on my memory cards (until I need to erase them–not long), on my computer, on my Drobo (plugged in to a separate outlet in case of a surge), and on an external hard drive kept safe and not plugged in.

I have never lost an image, but I rest easy knowing that if something does happen to my computer or my Drobo or my other external drive, your images are safe somewhere. If all three of these things fail, then I think we’re all in danger because it means the Zombie Apocalypse has finally happened (I actually have plans set in case of this eventuality, not for your images, but for survival, so in the words of the Terminator, “Come with me if you want to live.”).

Kidding aside, know that I take my job and my responsibility to preserve your images VERY seriously. Also, though I shudder to think about this, if something bad did happen, I explicitly state in my contract when your images are due, exactly what I promise, and what compensation you would get if the worse would happen. Setting aside legal considerations, I strive to be the best businessman I can, and taking care of you and preserving your memories is the best way I know how to stay in business and keep growing as a person and as a businessman.

So, that’s what I have to say about that. Who ever you hire to work with to preserve your memories, I urge you to read all of the contracts before you sign them, and ask your vendors what would happen if things went wrong, or how they protect your photos.

If you have any questions for me or with anyone you trust with your memories, please do not hesitate to ask. Contact me here if you’d like any more information on my backup plan.

Feb 15
Our Cloth Diaper Workshop Experience at Diaper Lab

For those of you that don’t know, my wife, Carrie, and I are expecting our first child (That’s not him in the picture, that’s just the creature we practiced diapering on)! His due date (April 27^th) is fast approaching, so, most of our recent conversations have been about baby stuff. We’ve looked at cribs, read a million reviews about different car seats, and found some ADORABLE clothes (it makes me sad that they done make some of these super comfy clothes in my size!). Besides all the stuff, though, we’ve looked into a few different classes and workshops.

Both of us are very conscientious about our impact on the planet, and we know how often a little one’s diaper has to get changed, so we started looking into the possibility of cloth diapers. Though my parents used cloth diapers on me and my two brothers decades ago, I don’t know anyone who uses them now. So, the picture I had in my head was one that involved me sticking myself with safety pins while I was trying to put on an ill-fitting cloth diaper on a wriggling baby. Not a fun prospect, but one I was willing to put up with to not have to contribute thousands of dirty diapers to the ever growing landfills.

Knowing my reservations, and wanting to understand better than the vast number of resources on the internet can seem to explain, Carrie found a cloth diaper workshop that was really close where we have our midwife appointments.

At 9:00 a.m. last Saturday, we headed to Diaper Lab in Somerville . We were surprised at how full the class was; clearly we’re not the only couple trying to navigate this tricky subject. Jennifer was the instructor on Saturday and was incredibly helpful and informative — and full of all kinds of poop-puns that brought laughs out of her half-awake attendees! My favorite of which came when she referred to their wide selection of diapers and accessories as their “poop platter”! HA! But eeewww!

She started with the variety of reasons to use cloth diapers (cost savings, reducing environmental impact, and the overall health of our son), then showed us the array of different options of diapers and diaper covers (pre-folds with covers, fitteds with covers, pockets, all-in-ones, and all-in-twos) — some of which are so adorable, it’s just ridiculous (again, why don’t these come in adult sizes?!?!). Then came the magic moment — technology has come a long way since my parents were using cloth, and now there are these Y shaped fasteners (snappies) instead of those scary safety pins! They work like ace bandage clips and are much less complicated and MUCH less sharp.

There are also a lot of different fabrics to choose from, like hemp and bamboo, which is so soft! I immediately put bamboo reusable wipes on our registry, saying that it would make our son’s tushy extra happy (psst! They are really for me! I’m going to make those full PJs with feet outta them—complete with a little turtle patch over my heart so you’ll know their mine!).

We learned a lot there, and not only about the diapers, but how to best wash them (not as difficult as I thought), that they have a program where you try a few different brands/styles for a short while so you know you got the right kind, etc. I’m really happy we went, and knowing that there are folks there who are incredibly helpful and supportive (and someone I can trade poop jokes with–I’m looking at you, Jennifer!), makes me confident that I can stare, unafraid, into the chasm that will be our dirty diaper pail knowing that I have the skill to provide clean and super soft diapers to our little boy!

Jan 31
My Job is to be Your Storyteller

Recently, I went to a photography seminar in Mystic, CT that gave me not only the push I needed to be a better photographer and better business owner, but provided me with the direction I needed by having some AMAZING photographers show off the gorgeous images they create, and how they made them. But, one of the phrases that stuck with me was said by Tony Corbell, which was “Find your voice, but use good grammar.”

I have found myself at the beginning of a new chapter in my photographic and business life, and I am invigorated by the potential that lies before me.

This is not to say that I am unhappy with the previous chapters. As in most books, there have to be those beginning chapters that lay the foundation of what is to come. They have to establish the tone of the author, and they have to be interesting to keep the reader interested. Each image that you have seen of mine is a different word to me, showing off my skill, my awareness of how to photograph in different (sometimes difficult) situations, and collectively, it shows off my vocabulary.

Mr. Corbell’s words have stayed with me and spurred me on. My goal whenever I photograph you is to tell your story. You have seen that I have the vocabulary to do it, but, to become a better author, I need to work on stringing those words/photos together to create a story that reflects who you are as a family, as a couple. I am the narrator of your story, and I need to use good grammar.

I took these photos just last week of my sister-in-law who has been gracious enough to let me hone my skills and try new things with her on several occasions. I have tried to lay these out in a way that it tells a story, each photo acting as a sentence or even a paragraph. I am curious to see what story you infer from them. So, look at the images, make up your own story, then compare it with the one I hoped to create, which I posted after the images.

Click on any image to see a larger version of all of them.

This was a fictional story of how this girl met you. Normally, I would have the story be played out in front of the camera, and the viewer (you) would be an observer. But, her husband was not able to join us. I feel like he was definitely there, though, as I kept asking her to think about when they first met, what she noticed about him, and so on. Anyway, I came up with a story of how you noticed this person in Davis Square (my neighborhood) and were taken with her beauty. You found it necessary to sit down for a moment because you were so taken with her. Then, you see that she notices you. This leads to an invitation to join her on the bench and you start chatting. Then, she has to go, but invites you to join her to walk her to her destination. Yep, it’s a short story, but I am happy with it for now.

Jan 27
All Dress, No Guests–Andrew and Michelle

Andrew and Michelle figured a classy theater in Boston’s Theater District would be the PERFECT setting for their “All Dress, No Guests” (commonly known as a Trash the Dress) photos. I just loved the idea, and agreed that it fit perfectly with their personalities.

I was a little daunted, though, as I figured it would be an expensive place to rent, or, like another theater in the area, they just wouldn’t let us do it. Well, I made a few calls, and things just fell into place! We were permitted to shoot there for a short period of time, and all of us are SO HAPPY with the result!!

Click on any image for a larger view

Nov 02
First Family To Take Advantage Of The Holiday Special!

I got an email from Aimee right as I was launching my holiday card special. Most of my clients have come from other clients referring them, but she found me after she “…spent sleepless hours online looking at pictures of families in tan pants and white button up shirts.” Knowing that she wanted something less posed, something more genuine, she sent me an email.

So, her family was the first to take advantage of the holiday card special! I have another shoot in a couple days, and more to come after that! There are only a few spaces left, so email me or call me today if you want some vibrant, fun holiday cards to send to your friends and family!

Below are just a few images from our shoot. If you want to see all of the photos from our one hour session, go here