Category Archives: Resources and Advice

Mar 28
What Should We Wear/Do, and Where Should We Do This?

So, you’ve booked a photo session with me, now what? You’ve likely never done this before. I have, and I really want you to get some awesome photos from our shoot! Here is some advice on how to prepare for our photos:

Where should we have our photo shoot?

We need to pick a place where you create memories with your family. It could be your home, the neighborhood park or playground, your parent’s house, wherever you want. It’s most important to choose a place where everyone is comfortable, in familiar surroundings, and a place that has some significance to your family. If you want to do these outside, have a backup location in mind in case of inclement weather.

What are we supposed to do?

It would be ideal if there was an activity planned. It could be as simple as taking a walk, going to the playground, or you could plan a more elaborate activity. One time, I showed up for a family photo session, and discovered that the mother planned a treasure hunt for her oldest of two boys who was just learning to read and basic math. It started just after I got there, and it worked out great! Very quickly, the boys, lost in the treasure hunt, forgot I was there, the mom was beaming with pride in her son’s accomplishments, and I got some wonderful shots!

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I’ve photographed pool parties, birthdays, family reunions, and parents playing with their kids. The best thing to do is just do what you normally do with your family. The point of these photos is to capture your personality and the times you share with your family. A relaxed, fun family doing something familiar leads to awesome photos!

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What should we wear?

I would start with what your child/children want to wear, then base your outfit on that (though I have no idea what would go best with a bunny suit!). Make sure patterns and colors do not clash. If your little one(s) don’t have a preference, make sure it’s not something that’s distracting (whenever I put my 11 month old in overalls, he can’t resist putting the metal closures in his mouth!).

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Try to avoid wearing all the same colors. For example, if you all wear blue shirts, you’ll kind of blend together.

Have your partner take a look. Is your shirt too sheer? Did you not see the stain that your little one got on you this morning? Do your socks match?

Are you wearing something significant? Did the onesie that your little one is wearing come from a great friend? Do they have a significant toy that you want to be sure to get a shot of? Did your partner give you a special watch or necklace or something for an anniversary or other special occasion? Let me know about it so I can be sure to feature it!

Above all else, wear comfortable clothes. If we’re planning on shooting at a family picnic, don’t wear dress pants. If we are going to shoot at your house and your little one likes to wrestle, don’t wear big earrings.

When should we do this?

The ideal time for photographing outdoors is either very early morning or later in the afternoon because of the light. To avoid the harsh shadows of noon, I recommend that you schedule pictures for within two to three hours of sunrise or sunset. The light at these specific times also fills in the shadows under eyes and adds highlights and dimension, and provides for much more natural shots (no squinting, no sunglasses, and fewer distractions).

But, it’s most important to have children who are well-rested so be sure to let me know what their ideal time is. I’d rather shoot at noon with a happy, rested child than at 6pm when they are cranky and want to get ready for bed.

I’m open to your ideas! Tell me what you hope to accomplish, let me know where you would LOVE to have your photo session, and ask any questions you’d like! The more we collaborate on these images, the better they will be!

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Jul 24
Carla and Jason: Waiting To Go Home

Going to and from jobs, school, and a little one in the hospital, Carla and Jason, and sometimes Phoenix, spent a lot of time riding the T.  More than that, they spent a lot of time waiting.  
Waiting at the station for the train to take them to another train to meet their other half.  Their “other half.”  I do not use that term lightly.  They complete each other in the silliest and most loving way.  
I wanted to show their story in my photos.  I had a pretty clear idea that I wanted to show him waiting for the train, then her and Phoenix waiting for Jason’s train, then them going somewhere together.  
After a short while, I got the sense that they were not just waiting for their other half to arrive; they were waiting to go home.  
By home, I don’t mean a house or an apartment or a trailer, or any other physical structure.  I mean home, where you feel safe from all the difficulties and troubles of the world, where you feel a sense of all encompassing love like a fuzzy blanket on a cold night, where nothing and no one can bother you.  When these three were together, they were home.  
This was a place they built together, and each day they improve it.  It was a place built to help each other through some difficult times, a place to be themselves, and it is always with them.  
Wow, I am getting all misty eyed just thinking about how that love feels, and how obvious it was with them.  I’m trying to express that sense of compassion and love, but words are failing me.  Take a look at the photos, I need to go get a tissue.

Apr 13
Going back to Bucksteep!


This weekend is going to be fantastic, I just know it!  Not only am I going back to the place where my wife and I got married in 2010 (Bucksteep Manor), but I am going there to meet around a dozen couples that are getting married there this year!


I photographed four weddings there last summer, and the type of folks that want to have a wedding there are laid back, are really excited about having a wedding weekend, not just a wedding few hours (we got there on a Thursday and left Sunday for our wedding weekend), they have fantastic friends and gracious families!  Working with more of these types of people is exactly what I want, and Bucksteep has some great locations to photograph people at!  


In addition to all of this, I get to see the fine staff at Bucksteep, and I heard DJ Chris (the fun, eager to pelase DJ from our wedding) will be there, too.  Being around people like this, and at Bucksteep, always charges my batteries!


But wait, there’s more!  I made an album (photos below) to show off to the couples there. It’s the first album I’ve ever designed and had printed myself.  I’m really happy with the layout, and with the images, and I hope the folks I meet this weekend are too!!  


Fingers crossed that I meet some compatible couples who need a photographer.  Wish me luck!


Mar 30
Repeat Press-Letterpress Printing in Somerville, MA

There are so many folks whose hard work makes your wedding day the best it can be.  From the folks you see like the wait staff and the band, to a whole gaggle of folks that are behind the scenes like the caterer, the florist, the wedding coordinator, etc.  All these folks are artists, and their goal is to help make your wedding day one that won’t soon be forgotten.


When I photograph a wedding, it’s a treat to walk in to the space and see that the couple chose true artists to work with.  People who take a great deal of pride in what they do; people who constantly try to do better with each project they get.  I’ve decided to seek out some of these folks and photograph what they do and how they do it.  



One of these artists is Mike Dacey at Repeat Press (or if you prefer to connect with them through Facebook, do it here).  His shop is located right here in Union Square in Somerville in the Fringe Union.  To be a letterpress printer is to be a craftsman.  I’m not implying craftsmen are not just males, here.  Check out my “The Craft of Rolling a Cigar” post.  The craftsman here is a woman.  The word craftsman to me carries a lot of weight, and I do not use it lightly.  To be a craftsman  is to understand your craft, to appreciate it, to respect it, and to constantly work at getting better.  Mike is most assuredly that.  



Mike has been dedicated to letterpress printing since 2003, and recently employed the services of Diana to help out around the shop.  The quality of their work speaks to the love of what they do, and I wish I had known more about them when we were printing the invitations and such for our wedding.  



Not only does he produce a finely crafted product, he has a group of a half a dozen designers/design firms to refer work to so that you can come away with a well designed and wonderfully printed product (typically, a wedding invitation takes about three weeks).  

Photographing craftsmen like them is an important thing to me.  To see (and share) how something is made helps me appreciate it on a whole new level.  Thanks so much for letting me watch y’all work, Mike and Diana!!


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. 


All Photos ©2013 Patrick Rogers Photography