The B Family 03.29.07

Yesterday the B family meet here in Brookings for their first extended family portrait. Nikki has been a client before, you might remember her family in a field with a leather chair. Nikki follows the blog, knows me well and knows what I like to do. So I agreed to do her extended family and when she asked if we could go to that place that that graduate was shot at I just smiled, OF COURSE WE CAN! Of course I also needed to double check which grad she meant and sure enough it was the junk yard.

I usually turn down extended family sessions. In fact I send them to a great photographer here in town, Stuart Melby. The reason I turn them down is most people want the images to be in studio on a backdrop. I used to have a few backdrops big enough, but I sold them so I wouldn't be tempted to do anymore of those images. Why don't I do them? Well they aren't my style, I like to be different and why do something that someone else right here in the same town is offering and doing well? Exactly, no reason at all. So if you are looking for a differnt type of extended family portrait then please by all means give me a call and we can do something fun and different just like this awesome family!

CASA Recap

Last Saturday Andy and I headed out for the evening to the CASA Fire and Ice Fundraiser. It was a successful event and we had a great time. Here are some images from the evening.

If your having an event and would like candid portraits with the setting as the backdrop give me a call. I'm not one for setting up lights and a backdrop, but this fun and more representative of the environment. I also enjoy doing the detail images.
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Julie and her hubby. Julie is the director of CASA here and did a lot of the work to put the event together.

Nikki and Darrilyn. Julie's two right hand women.

The CASA Board

Some guests:

Some entertainment

Toad

You almost can't see him. That's what I like.
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Newell Rubbermaid, Shur-Line Great Service

I got a package in the mail the other day. I wasn't expecting one. It said from Shur-Line, a painting product line from Newell Rubbermaid that I've used lately for the house and previously for the studio.

A while ago I bought a rubbermaid roller with edger tool. It didn't work at all. I was so disappointed in it. But it did have a satisfaction guarantee so I decided to ship it back. And what did I get. A check for the amount it cost and all these goodies. Plus a really nice letter from the company. I am so impressed! This was tremendous customer service and something I am going to strive for.
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The N Family 03.24.06

Erin our graphic designer finally found a time when we were both open to schedule her family photos. This was more of a mini session (more to come on this later) than my normal sessions as I don't typically pose and I spend about 2-3 hours with my clients on my other sessions. This took a whole 30 minutes and while not my passion I'm happy to provide them with some images to simply mark what they look like now.

The B Kids

And my second session yesterday - how did both of these families know it was going to be so beautiful out? Alysia brought the kids up for some images, goal the kids together. This isn't so easy with a 2 year old. Tate had his own take on how things should go. But we got a few anyway.

GQ Tate, I did not pose him, he did this all on his own.

Cora

And together

The D Family 03.23.07

Heidi won a mini session a while ago and gave the session to her sister Lisa. So today she brought the kids of for a little photo time. They were so incredibly well behaved! Here they are.
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Ok if I was 13 this is the boy I would be chasing after. Isn't he so cute. Lisa be prepared to beat the girls away! More people need to bring their teens in this is such a fun age to photograph.

The middle child.

And the baby.

And finally some fam images.

Red Barn

I would so love to shoot a wedding or reception in a barn. That would be cool. Someone around here should redo an old barn to rent out for receptions.

La Shane's Signature Book

I've shown some samples before, but here are the layouts from LaShane's signature book. I love these as they are an opportunity to get many images from your session in one place and all your friends can sign or leave you messages. We like our designs clean and simple more about the images rather than fancy dated stuff in photoshop. The white space is left for signing, but we like white space anyway.
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The entire digital layout

Remember AC Ellis Photography only accepts a very limited number of graduation clients each year.

Lindsey's Grad Announcement

The moment I took this image I knew it would be great for a card. And thankfully Lindsey and Nancy agreed. Once again, clean and simple, with a stylish font and a bit of wow factor.
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More to come as Erin is having fun designing. And remember we are booking 2008 seniors and only 5 from each school.

Kyrsten + Joey: 03.17.07

Saturday I had the first wedding of the year of the fabulous Joey and Kyrsten. We started with some getting ready images in the church followed by their first meeting and some couple time. After formals we hung out until the ceremony, but I managed to pull Kyrsten aside for some lovely images of just her.

The ceremony was amazing filled with wonderful music. Joey's band Snakebeard Jackson played, there was a great duet of "The Prayer" and another solo performance by one of the band members.

Following the ceremony we all loaded the Snakebeard Bus and headed to the reception. After the first dances, which we fun the band performed and the dance floor became crowded. I really love the sound of this band and I'm obviously not the only one as even the little flower girl knew all the words.

It was a great time. Here are some of my favorites.
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Exiting the ceremony.

Exiting the church.

First Dance.

Kyrsten looked amazing. All the details, the dress everything was perfect.

And Joey was just beaming all day. I love an expressive groom!

Vendors:

Music: Snakebeard Jackson
Floral: JMD Designs
Reception: Ramada Sioux Falls
Church: First United Methodist Church Sioux Falls

From Maria

I got another great note. From the fab Maria Rausch. She had all the best at her May wedding. And I saw her again at the Black Tie Bridal Show as her and Kris were models. So some of you may have seen her also. Anyway, I got a nice note from her.

Cory Ann,

A bunch of stuff about her order ... I also wanted thank you for the spectacular job you did at our wedding. Everyone kept commenting on how wonderfully they were taken. Plus Kris and I didn't even realize you were there half the time!

You are an amazing photographer - with a kick a** (she used astricks, he he) attitude! And you have been a great inspiration to me. You've shown me that when you are passionate about something even when it's not your Planned career, you can become successful!

I hope to be able to keep in touch with you, and as often as we can, use you for all our major events throughout our lives. A.K.A. CHILDREN : )

Thanks again for everything you have done for us and our families!
Maria and Kris Lavallee

Thanks guys, you know it's always good to suck up to your photographer, after all I do have the power of photoshop. Just kidding. Thank you and watch it or you'll make my head get too big. And Maria keep working on shooting I enjoy seeing what you post on facebook.
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Copyright vs. Reproduction Rights: Explained

This subject is a hard one to grasp both for photographers and for customers. Many photographers don't completely understand it and so I thought I would give an explanation for everyone. This is long and boring but READ IT!

Copyright and Reproduction Rights are different. All a client needs is a reproduction release and a photographer should be very leery about relinquishing their copyright but in my opinion release reproduction rights is no big deal. Read on to learn why I feel this way. Everyone should know that just because you purchase a print it does not give you any rights over the image, just the print.

COPYRIGHT:
According to the US Copyright website, "Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of "original works of authorship." including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works. This protection is for both published and unpublished works..."

Copyright is granted to the author the moment the work is created it does not need to be registered or bear a copyright symbol or notice. Ignorance on this is not a form of defense.

What this all comes down to is that for a photographer (the author of an image) you own your images. So while you may be hiring a photographer to create images for you, the actual image rights belong to the photog. Another context to put it in is painting. Let's say you purchase a lovely painting, it's even the original signed by the artist. You would in fact own the painting, but not the rights to it. The rights to the work maintain those of the author for a period of 70 years after their death or until the rights are sold.

The rights granted to the author (or purchaser) as protected by US Copyright law are:

- To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;

- To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;

- To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and

So those are the basics. For photographers it is wise to not release your copyright. If you do the person whom you released them to could not only reproduce them at will, but could sell them for money (ie stock images) and they could sue you for your reproduction of them. You wouldn't even be able to make them a print with out their written permission.

For the customer this means you may NOT scan them, photocopy them, or anything. You may not put them on your website, on your facebook or myspace, you may not produce your own cards, you may not ask another company to produce those cards with those images. What you may do is look at the beautiful products that you purchased. You paid your photographer for the image in that product form not the rights to the image.

REPRODUCTION RIGHTS:
I understand the desire to have rights to your images. Some want them more for safety and security, some because they like to scrap or want to do something themselves, and some to save money on prints, either way I get it. That is where reproduction rights come in. Every photographer has a different release, but you would receive a written release allowing you the rights to reproduce the images. This is all the typical client needs or really wants.

I offer my clients options and because of this I see absolutely no reason other than dishonesty for my clients to violate copyright laws and steal from me. I would love to simply charge enough for a portrait session to hand over the files, but most of you won't pay that much upfront so I don't. For weddings this is exactly what I do. You pay a premium for my time and you get a disk as part of the coverage. I don't like to nickel and dime on small prints, but do want you to purchase the large ones through me for quality purposes and I want you to have your images. And in reality I'm not that expensive and I don't use high-pressure sales so there is no reason to steal from me. I don’t go to your work and steal from you.

What is in my reproduction release: Well I'd link it, but I don't want dishonest people forging my signature. If your a photog and would like to see it e-mail and I'll send it to you so you can create your own. But basically it states that you are allowed to reproduce the images for personal use. I maintain the rights, and you are not allowed to sell the images. You can make cards, prints, books, slideshows or whatever you want as long as you are doing it. You cannot hand that release over to another professional and pay them to make/design products for you, you can pay a print to print your creations.

I will furnish you with the digital files of the images for different uses and a written release legally allowing you to reproduce them. I furnish you with digital files because scans are bad reproductions. DO NOT EVER SCAN A PRINT from me unless you want to make me mad!

Here are your options:

- proof disk of all images with a logo on them, this is for you to use to e-mail, post on your websites and slideshows.
- single image one-time use for things like cards and announcements.
- single image unlimited use for that image that you would like to print into 100 4x6's to distribute.
- small print disk of all images unlimited use. These images are printable to 4x6
- large print disk of all images unlimited use. These images are printable to 11x14

And until March 23 only I will offer 40% off either the small print or large print disk to all of my customers. This is a wonderful opportunity. Only valid as an a la carte product. E-mail or call if you are interested.

I do my best to educate my clients so that there is no reason to claim ignorance. Copyright and violation of it are addressed in my agreements, the terms and conditions you agree to on the shopping cart, there is a copyright sticker and it's printed on the reverse of each print or card, and in each product order there is a card informing you once again on copyright. The copyright site has always been linked from the blog and there has always been a copyright statement on the bottom of my website.

You will notice on my agreements that there is an area that covers all of this. You will also notice that you will be charged for each image I catch you reproducing/stealing. I protect myself not only by registering my images Federally, but by also making it a contractual agreement. I recommend you understand this and photogs I recommend you do this. I will also prosecute those businesses that illegally reproduce my images so word to you, do the honest legal thing and ask for a release. And a shout out to Paperwerks in Sioux Falls who recently required a release and I'm so glad they did or I would not have known of the reproduction of some of my images.

If you would like more information on this subject please go to the US Copyright website

Thanks for reading trying to learn and being well informed educated clients and photographers. I would love feedback from those that actually took the time to read this. Do you understand, think I'm nuts, more confused, etc. If any of you teach photography, art or design type courses at your local schools or colleges I would be happy to come and speak about this. I do have a background in education and value it greatly.
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Home Project 1 Complete: The Wash Room

The first completely finished home project. The wash room when we got here was a bit cramped, with old cabinets as the only storage. So we started by removing one set of cabinets so we could stack the washer and dryer. Then I ordered the shelving and selected the paint. When the shelving got here we removed the other cabinets and repaired the wall. Let that dry, primered since there was icky old stuff and the new paint color was light. Then I painted. Next we hung the shelving. I could have taken the shelving above the machines, but new machines are so big that I thought I'd leave it open for now.

All of the shelving is Elfa Shelving purchased at The Container Store. I have been very pleased with their on-line site and shopping experience as well as phone service and product delivery. They also offer free design services for your space. I'll be utilizing this when we tackle the walk-in closet.

I'm loving the new space. I've got way more shelving, a place to hang dry clothes and it's all so easily accessible. Organization makes me happy!

So here is the after:

And the before:

In between:

CASA Fundraiser 2007 - Fire and Ice

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. They train Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers to look out for the best interest of children in the courtroom.

I'm sure they hear and see things that would make me cringe and I am all about sticking up for those that can't stick up for themselves so when they asked if I could donate for the fundraiser this year I answered with a resounding YES.

The event is Fire and Ice
March 24th at 6:00pm at the Old Sanctuary.
Mardi Gras Celebration

I have donated two items.

The first is a session and a signature print valued at $500.

The second is a two piece art specifically grouped for this event. The name of the event is Fire and Ice and I'm sure the decorations will be along the same lines so I have donated two 20x20 pieces one of fire and one of ice. They are matted and framed ready for hanging, of course signed by yours truely.

So if your interested in acquiring a session or some fabulous AC Ellis Originals for your home or office while helping a good organization e-mail Julie Wermers for advance tickets. casadir@brookings.net

Hope to see some of you there.

Here are the two pieces. The lighter grey represents the frame.
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Amanda's Signature book

Well there was one little problem with Amanda's book, so we are reprinting it, but I had Kristina and her friends sign this one as a sample so you can see how it's used. Here are some actual images of the book and also the layout designs. We like to create clean and simple layouts. We feel that strong strokes (lines/borders), drop shadows and other photoshop techniques distract from the images and aren't as timeless as the clean designs.
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The entire digital layout
Cover of actual book.

inside layout of actual book.

panoramic two page spread of actual book.

Remember AC Ellis Photography only accepts a very limited number of graduate clients each year.

Isabelle 03.15.07

Yesterday Isabelle came over for her belated one-year portraits and we got to use the new house. I love both of these and the contrast between happy and sad. She is so cute in that if she gets upset her eyes and nose automatically turn red.

On a side note Isabelle will be moving along with her mommy, Ayden's awesome day care provider. Well so now we are left searching for some care for my little man while I produce these awesome images. If anyone in Brookings has someone they can recommend that would be great. No centers please, small in-home with not too many kids is what I would love.
Thanks,
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LaShane's Grad Announcement

It's that time of year so Erin has been designing some cards. This is LaShane's, we love to keep them simple especially designing with one image. It gives us more freedome to be creative as we aren't trying to cram too many images into a small space.

It is also time to start thinking about graduation portraits for 2008 graduates. We have started booking. We only accept 40 grads per year and only 5 per school. If you would like more information on our sessions please e-mail or send a form from the website which shows a lot of my work.
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Abstract Art: Part 5

Rules:
You must guess exactly what this is.
I will not be giving any hints or comments until someone guesses correctly.
Guesses must be submitted by commenting on the blog. (if you don't have a google account get one it's easy and you don't get spam or anything from it.)

What you can win:
Option 1: Mini Session
There is a little bit of small print. The session must be in Brookings area, will only last up to 30 minutes, and must be done between Jan 10, 2007 and April 1, 2007 upon my availability and not on weekends. I will send you a gift certificate, so if your not in this area, but know someone who is you can send it to them. What a great gift!

Option 2: Signed Print
Of any random image shown, 8x12 signed and mounted.

Envision Wedding Studio 03.13.07

Tuesday I traveled down to Sioux Falls to photograph some products for Leah at Envision Wedding Studio for her updated website. She opened up about a year ago and I was pleased to see someone in town offering some lovely custom fun invitations and accessiors to brides. She is a very talented graphic designer - Erin even says so, she went to college with her. I feel fortunate that she chose me to come and photograph her work, her art, she's been to the shows and I'm sure seen and met many photographers. Many of my couples have used her services, some I can remember are Amber and Spencer, Evan and Elizabeth, and Micah and Jaclyn.

Here she is and some of my favs.

Caught her laughing.

Loved the seascape details.

I love this image. Don't know who Sarah and Robert are, but they seem fun!

Love the bright colors.

Katie + Travis 03.12.07

Katie and Travis headed to Brookings while on Spring Break from college. We tried to find trees but the beautiful weather meant lots of melted snow and mushy ground. So we went urban instead. Around downtown Brookings, which I haven't been for a while, we had fun walking around and actually got kicked out of one place. Something mildly rebellious about that. Most businesses openly welcome me in, get blogged and become friends but not this one.

They are a great couple who are a referral from Sara and Jack. I'm getting quiet the Ivanhoe/Hendricks following and love it. I'm looking forward to the wedding in August.
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Wedding Tip #6 - The First Dance

Another Wedding Tip. I know a long time coming. I've been wanting to add this one for a while, I just needed a chance to get it done. Here are the previous 5 tips.

Wedding Tip #5 - Servers/Speeches
Wedding Tip #4 - Preparation/Hotels
Wedding Tip #3 - The DJ
Wedding Tip #2 - Talk to your officiant
Wedding Tip #1 - The head table

Last November I saw what had to be the best idea yet for a first dance. Nate and Megan entered the Washington Pavillion after the ceremony, all of their guests were there and waiting. The DJ announced them as usual, but instead of heading straight to their table to eat they went directly to the dance floor.

Typically the first dance is done after the meal. There are a couple of issues with this:
- many (about 1/2) of the guests typically leave right after the meal leaving very few left to watch your dance
- often the dance floor is set up or cleared off after the meal. By already having it out you are eliminating the extra moving of stuff, therefore not disturbing the flow of the night.
- People that are still there are often talking or eating desert and aren't paying attention.

So doing your first dance at the beginning of the reception really does wonders for your images. The place is still beautifully decorated, virtually untouched, the guests are still there and into you and watching you and this makes great background images and it's just a fun way to start your evening.

From Nate and Megan:

Look at how the tables are full and how attentive the guests are.

From Evan and Elizabeth, done after the meal, but in a small area and the guests lined the dance floor:

From Starr annd Matt, done after the meal, it's a lovely image of them, but look at the empty places and how many people aren't paying attention.

Other things to think of:
- Ask your DJ to not used colored lights. The reason is that it can cast a horrible light on you and it can hurt the image. Now they colored lights are great for the faster songs.

- Ask your DJ not to use crazy fast lights. It really is just to add to the mood. It doesn't hurt my images, it's just that these are typically nice calm moments and crazy lights like strobes don't go with the feel.

- Ok I'm not trying to pick on DJ's but one more: Ask your DJ not to announce that this is a good time for images. Because if they do you will get guests that will come up to take an image and they will get in the way. Not just mine but yours. Often I see a guest come up and demand that you look at them and smile for the camera and then finally leave. Well I'm already there getting the images and you should all know by looking at my work that you don't need to be smiling looking right at the camera for a good image. Sometimes this is a good break for you two to have time together and I have to see it interupted by prompting for images from me or anyone else.

- If you are moving chairs and tables after the meal for room, be sure that they are put in another room out of the background of the dance floor. They look icky in person and in the images.

- Don't be afraid to have your guests line the dance floor. They make a great backdrop.

Just some thoughts from me of course do whatever you like it is your day.
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Stuff for sale.

With the move we are cleaning up and cutting back, so I'm clearing out some equipment and educational materials. So I thought I'd offer some of it on here as I know there are some other photogs and aspiring photogs who read. If I find anymore while organizing I'll post.

You pay shipping on all items. I do accept Check, Visa and Mastercard
Please e-mail coryann@acellis.com with your requests. Those that are sold will be marked as such.
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Books:

SALE PENDING The Annbel Williams Book of Wedding and Portrait Photography New: $30 Used: $15
SALE PENDING Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Digital Photography New: $45 Used: $23
Studio Lighting Made Simple by Scott Simple New: $39 Used: $20
The Best of Digital Wedding Photography by Bill Hurter New: $30 Used: $15

All books: $ $60

Disks and Software (none of the disks have been duplicated or are saved with me, they are the originals and are not pirated):

Extensis Portfolio 7 (used to catalog images, video and other digital files) New: $199 Used: $50
Jeffrey and Julia Wood Portrait Life Products and Pricing New: $149 Used: $50
NoBS The Ultimate Lighting Tutorial: Studio and Natural Light New: ? Used: $25
SOLD Cantrell Weddings: The Definitive Guide to Contemporary Wedding Photography New: $129 Used: $50
SOLD Masters of Wedding Photography DVD: Featuring Denis Reggie, Joe Buissink, Martin Schembri, Jeff Ascough, and Yervant New: $195 Used: $75

Other:

Epson R200 with printable DVD's and CD's and some extra ink cartridges New over $100 with the disks Used: $40
Apple Airport Extreme Base Station $90

Megan + John 03.07.07

Megan and John got to be the first shot in my new house. It was a bit chilly outside and so we stayed in and found lots of options in the house.
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And baby makes 6.

The Sather household has now been expanded to 6. Gabriel is child number 4 and he is such a sweet mild baby. I of course had to hold him bunches and get my baby fix.
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Had to give Alex a little love since she is always so patient and her new room is so cute.

Intimates of P

I love that I get to photograph beautiful real women and help them to realize just how beautiful they are.
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South Dakota Boudoir Photographer

Colton

You'd think working for a photog would mean you take advantage and get images all the time. But really it means you take for granted all that there is a good photog near by and therefore procrastinate and reschedule.

Finally here is one of Coltons one year portrait. In my new house.
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Moved!

For the last 2.5 years I have been operating this business from a room in our small 3 bedroom apartment. Well as I have grown it has become an issue. I didn't have room for my assistants or myself to effectively work. The studio space has always only been big enough for shooting and meeting. And it's hardly large enough for that.

So after being utterly miserable, cramped, uninpired I finally buckled down over the last year and prepared us to be able to buy a home. It was tough, the market in Brookings typically didn't have anything nice in our price range. But my wonderful friend Kristi and her hubby decided to sell at the same time we were ready to buy. So with the help of Spencer Huggett, one of last years grooms and financial and mortgage guy extrodiannaire we moved in last Friday.

The office and internet were down while we tried to move during a blizzard - o so much fun. But we are in and loving it. The office is 3x the size as before. There is wonderful light that I can shoot with if anyone wants to use a home, I plan to get some great furniture for portraits here too. And well it's just huge compared to our little apartment. And now I'm inspired and ready to get busy.

Here are some images. I'll show you some of the progress as we go along, you will see we need furniture and wall coverings. I can't wait to put some large images on the wall!
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From walking into the house:

Down the hallway to Ayden's room first.

To the next room which is our closet, soon to be walk-in from the other room. We are handy and have big and small plans.

And our room. By the way Kristi did an amazing job painting the place!

Back on the hallway from our room. You can see the original ACE on the wall.

The upstairs/boys bathroom. Kristi just redid it and the toilet is the bomb with a lid that won't slam down!

The view from the corner of the dining room.

Then the living room from the dinning room.

Another living room view. I can't wait to put something cool on this wall.

This is our penninsula to the kitchen. We already took out the cabinets above. Nice lighting to follow.

Then from the corner of the kitchen. Stairs to lower level are on the left.

The basement hall.

Kaleb's/Spare Room at the bottom of the stairs. If anyone needs a place to stay I can actually give you a room. Yeah! Dad come visit. There will be a bed in here, it's still in storage since we keep getting all this beautiful snow.

And the all important office. Painted grey for color correcting. More shelving for organizing to come. But it's nice now. And we took out the ceiling tile - it did not inspire me. And I like the open ceiling much much better.

My bathroom, but I'll share with visitors, Ayden thinks the tub is his personal pool and is now too good to take a bath in the regular tub upstairs.

The big room/game room/fun room/lovesac room.

And our other renovation project:
The wash area. We removed cuboards so we could stack the washer and dryer. Which by the way I'm so glad to have. They have been in storage while we were in the apartment and I missed them so much. I have shelving on order. I'll show pics then. Ayden thought the washer was super cool and watched the first load.

And our big beautiful backyard, with Andy's fortrese of solitude aka shed.

I appreciate so much having this space. I feel so much better and want to get up and be in my home in the morning. And we have more room in the office to work and again this is so much better.

Ok happy me off to a shoot. Must get back to work.
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