Studio One to One Photography

On Location

2009-01-26T13:03:00.002-06:00

Having children of my own I know how difficult it can be to get several young children together for a trip to the mall. With that in mind, we have recently started to offer "On Location" photography in several of our cities.

This session is designed with your family's conveniance in mind. We will come to your home, a local park, or any other outdoor scenic area. Call your one of the numbers listed in this link for more information

"On Location" sessions are also great for families who want to include their pets in their photos (or who only want photos of their pets).

Click on the link below for more information:

http://s121.com/11years/default.asp

Grab a memory you will cherish forever!

2008-12-22T23:36:00.003-06:00

With Christmas and New Years coming in a few days, many of us will be getting together with family--some that we haven't seen in quite some time.

If you are fortunate to be able to visit with your grandparents or parents during the holidays, I encourage you to grab your camera and catch some video. Some day you will be thankful you did!

It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just grab your "point and shoot" camera (or cell phone), put it on video mode, and ask a couple of questions:

What is your favorite memory of Christmas?

What is your first memory of Christmas?

What was your favorite gift?

What was Christmas like when you were young?

After you grab this memory, make sure you back it up. You will want to save it for your children!

Happy Holidays!

Bob

Getting Ready for Christmas!

2008-12-20T18:05:00.004-06:00

Is it Christmas already?

Like everyone, we get so busy during the year, then BAM, Christmas is here! Thank goodness for our children who slow us down for a moment to show us how to enjoy the season. Of course, we are catching those memories with photos and videos.

Have you thought about combining your photos and short video clips into short movies? There are several very easy to use programs out there that can do this for you. It is an easy way to hold your memories!

Here is our family's latest--"Getting Ready for Christmas, 2008".

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Our Family Christmas Session

2008-10-27T13:47:00.012-05:00

It is that time of year! We brought the family in for our annual Holiday Photos. The kids are growing. We are very blessed. I wanted to take this opportunity to show off MY kids!

Click on the arrow to see our session and images:

The Hurricane

2008-10-03T13:07:00.002-05:00

Our lab and corporate offices are in Houston. We were very blessed to be spared the wrath of Hurricane Ike. We are in a new building that lost power for a few days, but that was about it.

Our Baybook studio associates seemed to be hit the hardest--along with some of our Baybrook clients. Sue, our manager at the Baybrook location, just sent me the email below--it is a reminder of how important photo/memories are to everyone.

>>>Pearline _____ and her family lost EVERYTHING in Galveston. She was so upset about her pictures. Cleaning through the muck, she found our CD still in its case, and floating in water. She brought it in last night and I was able to upload them again. She and her husband were so happy! We will redo them when they get settled, they are living at a Comfort Inn the next few months. <<<

We are happy that we could help Sue's client, and would be happy if there are any other clients that we can help with their images.

Meanwhile, we count our blessings. Although some of our friends, family, and associates were hit hard by the storm, everyone appeared to be safe.

Is it Christmas time already?

2008-09-30T08:45:00.003-05:00

I am sure you have noticed it. As we get older, Christmas just keeps coming faster!

With tomorrow being October 1st, we are in the home stretch for Christmas. Of course we will have lots of memories to collect and share during the holidays.

I wanted to share a "video Christmas card" that we sent out to some friends last year. Before we went to church I took out my "point and shoot" camera, put the kids in front of the Christmas tree, and asked them to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". I sent this to family and friends. It is a fun memory that my wife and I can look back on in ten or twenty years (when the kids are all grown).

As you go through the holidays there may be moments you want to catch, share, and review in years to come. Grab your "point and shoot camera", put it on video mode, and capture those memories!

Wiggly Teeth!

2008-09-02T16:56:00.006-05:00

If you have children, you know what it is like for them to lose that first tooth!

"Do you want me to pull it?"

"No Daddy"

"Can I just feel how loose it is?"

"If you promise not to pull it"

"It's pretty loose...are you sure you don't want me to pull it?"

"Will it hurt?"

The first tooth is special. Not just because they are losing it, but becuase it signals a change. For my daughter, it is the first visual cue that she is growing up. Once they lose that first tooth, their look changes. It seems they automatically age a year by losing that first tooth. Then, when the permanent tooth comes in, you can add antoher two years! Once you see that first tooth start to wiggle--grab your camera--take those still photos, take some video--take them to a studio! This is your last chance to catch that age! Of course, once they lose that first tooth, grab that camera and catch the moment--in pictures and in video! My daughter lost her first tooth at Christmas last year. Check out the next song that played (what a coincidence!)

Catch a Memory!

2008-08-20T10:02:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my youngest child had to make a trip to the hospital--it seems he had stuck a Leggo up his nose!

My wife had our point-and-shoot camera with her. She pulled it out, put it in video mode, and captured a few minutes of Jacob talking about his "event".

This is a memory that we will play back for him in the years ahead--and being as it is video, will be much more ""memorable" than my wife simply telling the story.

I share this because I encourage you to take not only photos, but short videos of your children. You don't have to use your old bulky videotape camera--use your point and shoot camera--or your cell phone--or something similar to the "Flip Video" I mentioned in aprevious post.

These memories are fleeting--catch them while you can!

Video

2008-08-04T09:40:00.005-05:00

I have been using our family’s “point and shoot” digital camera to take not only family photos, but also to take video. As I have mentioned in a previous post, the quality is exceptional, and I like not having to carry around the traditional video camera that requires tape.
When using the old video camera, I found that we rarely took that camera anywhere because it was just too big. Whenever we went somewhere the batteries were undoubtedly drained, or we were out of tape, or neither my wife nor I wanted to be “in charge” of the video camera.
Although our “point and shoot” camera works great, I have been looking for an even simpler solution. This weekend I purchased a “Flip” video camera—I love it! It is so simple to use, and will literally fit in my pocket. The quality is exceptional—as is the software. It comes with the cables to connect the camera directly to your television for viewing.

The model I got has a USB connector built in—so all I need to do is plug it directly into my computer. When I do this, it charges the camera, and shows you the video that you can upload or edit. The software is built into the camera—it just couldn’t be simpler! There is even software built in that will compress the video to use on websites (or in a blog!). When compressed for the Internet parts of the video may be pixelated, but that is a product of the compression for the Internet.
For those with young kids, I would highly recommend this camera. The most expensive model is about $179—and available at Best Buy. Go to http://www.theflip.com/ to get more info.
I came home from a trip last night—wanted to take some video of the kids with my new toy when I walked in the door. This is the greeting I got:

What a great way to hold a memory!

Looking for Moms (beta testers)

2008-07-25T15:39:00.003-05:00

At Studio One to One we are always looking for new ways to help our clients share their memories.

We are currently developing a new product that helps our clients hold, organize, and share their memories. We are looking for twenty five beta testers to use and give us feedback on this new product.

If you take alot of digital photos and are looking for ways to better organize and share those memories, you may be the perfect beta tester.

If interested, please email me at Bob.Eveleth@S121.com. In a short sentence, please let me konw what kinds of memories/photos/videos you take today, how you share them, and what is important to you in sharing memories.

Please also let me know if you use any online photo sharing or social networking sites, what is important to you in those sites, and what features you would add to the sites you use to make them better fit your needs.

Thank-you in advance for your time.

Bob

Photography Tip: Organizing photos

2008-07-16T09:43:00.002-05:00

Wow, it’s the middle of July, and we are half way to Christmas!

We are taking a lot of photos at our home this summer. It seems we want to capture every moment of our children’s lives.

Today’s tip is about how we organize our photos.

When I load my digital images into my computer, I do two things. First, I backup everything to a large hard drive that I take off site. This insures I have a copy of my images backed up safely.

When I send the images from my camera to my computer, I create a folder with today’s date in a directory called “My Pictures”. I copy all the images from my camera to that directory. In essence that is my archive of photos.

Then I look at all the photos I loaded, and grab JUST MY FAVORITES, and COPY them to another folder that I call “favorites”. This is the folder I use to play slideshows, print photo books, and share with friends. It doesn’t have all my photos, just all my favorite photos. Whenever I want to share an image with someone, I just go to my favorites folder—I don’t have to sort through hundreds of “ok” photos to find what I am looking for.

I also make sure that when I first use my camera, I have set it to the correct date and time. This insures the camera embeds the correct date in the photo file. I can later sort the images in the order they were taken.

The key is to do this quick step the moment you upload your images as it is difficult for us to find the time later to go back and pick out the favorites. This is a simple tip that works for our family, and makes sharing memories easier and less time consuming.

Cute Kids Contest, 2008

2008-07-08T11:23:00.002-05:00

Every summer we kick off our Cute Kids Contest at the studios. This is a fun contest--everyone likes to look at cute kids. Unfortunately for me, my kids aren't eligible to enter!

In addition to a prize package, contest winners are featured in Studio One to One advertisements, promotional pieces, and on our website. Click here to see previous Cute Kids (and "That's My Baby") contest winners.

This year we also have Studio Plus retouching available to entrants. Studio Plus is a light retouching process that softens blemishes and scratches. For babies, it dimishes dry skin, and helps to smooth blotches on the skin. This is not a heavy retouch--we still want our kids to look like kids! Click here to see an example of Studio Plus retouching.

Also--in addition to discounted portraits and no session fees, all our Club121 members receive Studio Plus retouching on EVERY image purchased--complimentary!

Online and in-studio voting begins in September. Please call a studio near you if you have any questions.

Children and Modeling

2008-07-01T10:17:00.005-05:00

I recieved a question from Martha last week--she wanted to know how to get her young child into modeling. Since I get asked that question quite a bit, I thought I would post my reply to her below:

My wife just happens to be a model agent (www.PageParkes.com) so I asked her this question. Her response was that it is difficult for small children and babies to break into the business because their looks change so frequently (having a 4,5,6 and 10 year old at home we can vouch for that!). Also at that young age children are so unpredictable that on a set they often need a couple of babies/toddlers just in case one is having a bad day.

Page recommends bringing your child into an audition when they are four or five years old—an age when more work is available to them.

You can also send in your babies photographs to local agencies. An agency like my wife’s will keep them on file, and should the need arise for a baby, they could give you a call.

You also need to be aware of “agencies” out there that purport that they want to represent your child, but are mainly attempting to sell you photo sessions or other “representation fees”. A reputable agency, while offering classes ranging from acting, to modeling, to self esteem, will not make promises that your child is going to be a star.

I hope that helps answer your question.

Good luck!

Thank-you,

Bob

Tip: Organizing Your Photos

2008-06-22T19:44:00.004-05:00

It is summer time, and the kids are out of school. We seem to take a lot more photos during the summer. We certainly take a lot more photos with our digital camera then we ever did with film.

I have found that the key to have great “photo records” of our memories is in how we sort and organize our images.

We use a “point and shoot” digital camera with a four gigabyte memory card. That card holds a lot of photos—but we also use it for video, which eats up a lot of memory quickly.

When I copy images from my still camera to my computer, I will stop and take a moment to grab my two or three (or four or five or six) favorite images from the hundred or so we took, and immediately copy them to a folder I have named “Photo Favorites”. This keeps all my favorite photos in one place, and is easy for me to share without going through the several hundred “ok” photos every time I want to send one to a relative. I do this right after I copy the photos to my computer as they are freshest in my mind.

I also have that “Photo Favorites” photo synchronized with my iPod. You can set up your iPod to do this automatically. This not only gives me a backup of my favorites, but now I also have my favorite photos in my iPod to share with family or friends when I am on the road. You can do the same thing with a lot of cell phones on the market today.

Finally, I have an external hard drive that copies all of my photo directories. I will occasionally take that hard drive to my office to keep a backup copy of all our priceless photos backed up at my office (I recommend having a backup and keeping it somewhere different than your main copies).

My suggestion: have a “favorites” folder that holds all your FAVORITE photos, and back up all your photos every time you copy new ones to your computer.

Feel free to email or comment with any questions I can help you with.

Bob

Studio Plus retouching (click here)

2008-06-19T09:23:00.005-05:00

Jennifer sent me a question yesterday (see comments) asking why she should choose Studio One to One for her portraits. In addition to the response I wrote yesterday, I would like to add that we do something at our studios that I am unaware of any other studios doing--we offer FREE Studio Plus retouching on all images purchased to our Club121 club members. Studio Plus is a light retouch that smooths the complexion and minimizes lines. Although it is very popular for our adult clients, it also is popular with children and babies. Click on the title of this post above (Studio Plus retouching) to see some Before and After examples of our Studio Plus retouching service. Rember, it is FREE to all Club121 members!

Photography Tip

2008-06-16T10:57:00.010-05:00

My family got together at my sister's house for Father's Day yesterday. Of course everyone pulled out their digital cameras to capture the moment.

I am not sure how many photos we took over the weekend, but it was a bunch! Certainly more than in the days of film.

Watching everyone take photos reminded me of one of the best photography tips I ever received. While employed as a "Party Pic" photographer back in my college days at the University of Texas I was taught to "fill the frame".

This is a simple tip that most people don't recognize as important until it is pointed out to them. When taking a photo, fill the frame with your subject, not the background. For example, if your child is playing in the pool, have them come close to the edge--and take a more closely cropped photo--you can still tell they are in the pool, and you will get what is important to you in the photo--your child.

Many times I will see people step back and try and get the entire pool in the photo--in this case their child can be just a spec. Have them come closer--you can still tell they are in the pool having fun.

Follow this same principal if you are trying to get a photo of several people in a group shot. For example, if there are three people in the pool, have them all three come close together at the edge. Fill the frame with those important to you--you will later appreciate the photo of those three personalities (as opposed to a photo of three specs in a pool!).

Have a photography question? Feel free to ask. Just hit the comment button below.

Have a great day!

Father's Day

2008-06-12T15:59:00.005-05:00

What does Dad want for Father's Day?

I am blessed to have four wonderful kids at home. Last year for Father's Day my wife took the kids to our Woodlands studio and had a portrait taken of our kids. Laura and her team did a great job! She had the studio turn this photo into a watercolor portrait that hangs above our fireplace.

It may be too late to have a watercolor portrait done for Father's Day this year--so what do you get Dad?

If he doesn't already have one, how about a "point and shoot" digital camera? I have found that the key to having a great digital camera is to get one that you will actually carry with you. I prefer the smaller models by Sony or Nikon--that will fit into your pocket. The quality is exceptional, and because it is so small, it is conveniant to take to our kid's events--which means we are taking more photos. Although I have larger "SLR" digital cameras, it is the small "point and shoot" camera that I almost always pick up when I head out the door.

One other GREAT use for today's "point and shoot" cameras--video! Instead of carrying around our old video camera, we use our "point and shoot" camera for all our family video. The quality is great. We play the video on our 42 inch television--I am impressed with how good it looks--and because it is digital, the quality will not deteriorate over time like our old VHS tapes. The upload is also easy--transferring the video to your home computer the same time you transfer your images.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

Happy Father's Day!

Bob

Studio One to One

2008-06-11T20:59:00.004-05:00

My name is Bob Eveleth, founder of Studio One to One Photography. We designed Studio One to One to be your family portrait studio--bringing you a private photography experience at affordable prices.

I am starting this blog to share our latest developments and products at the studio, and get feedback from you, our customer.

What is important to you in a studio? What is important to you in a session? What can we do better? What do we do well?

I also would be happy to answer your personal photography questions; what type of camera should you get for personal use? What do I look for in a digital camera? What online sites give you the best information? Just ask away.

Thank-you for stopping by. Please feel free to ask questions or leave a comment.

Thank-you,
Bob Eveleth
Bob.Eveleth@S121.com