It's September.  Wow.  I bet you all feel as I do, that this year is FLYING!

Well, I hope you've all had a wonderful summer, and if you are one of the fans of bstpierrestudiofanpage on FaceBook, you'll have seen the fun wildlife pics I've posted, to know that my summer's been great!

I wanted to share some insight with you today about how adults in general feel about being photographed.  This morning, I had in my studio, an accomplished and vibrant woman who walked in confessing that she was nearly sick to her stomach in fear of the portrait she was here for us to create for her business.  How awful!  And, no reflection on my abilities... no, I knew exactly what she was talking about... for I've heard something similar from many.  One earlier this year said that she would rather go to her annual physical than have her portrait taken.  Isn't this heartbreaking??!!??

The reason is this.  While the cameras have gotten better and they do a decent job taking pictures of what they see, they don't do the job of the professional. In life, we are most often photographed in snapshots, and sometimes, yes, there IS that time that the light was just right, and our head was tipped just right, and we were positioned just right, and WOW, was that a nice picture.  But that is rare, isn't it.  So over and over, to us gals, those snapshots confirm the fear in our heads... that we are getting older, maybe heavier, and we are just no beauty.  I know some guys have these concerns too.

To that, I say, NO!, NOT TRUE!

Here's why.  Do you know that digital cameras show EVERYTHING IN MINUTE DETAIL, as if under a microscope.  All those pores and blotches and shadows that happen naturally with the planes of our face, the effects of exposure to sun, those are presented to you tied up in a pretty pink bow called "digital".  When we look at you in person, we don't see all that.  We see energy, movement, expression.  The camera though, only sees details as they are put in front of it, good or bad.

A professional will pose and light you properly for presenting the 'best you' to that mean old camera.  Additionally, a professional knows how to provide subtle and effective retouching and artwork to show you at your best.  It's the same reason we put foundation, mascara and brow liners to our face, right ladies?  We want to look our best.

To that end, I sacrifice myself here and share a self-portrait.  I am just like all of you, in that fear that the portrait will show me the truth of my age.  I shudder at the snapshots that show my current overweight status by including way too much of me at a completely wrong angle.  I took this early this morning in the Studio, so you can imagine me running back and forth from the set to the camera on a tripod to do this before my first client arrived, and you get the idea.  It took oh, about 20 shots for me to get the angle and pose that I'd naturally get my clients to when I am directing them from the camera position.  I had to guess at what might be best for me.  I am showing you the issues that a straight shot out of a digital camera, even well lit and posed, can cause, and then, please hurry over to view the portrait on the right, where I've done my little bit of magic to present myself in a way that I'm comfortable with.  It's me, but without the intensification of those flaws that I see in myself.  I still have texture to my face.  I still have those character lines, and yes, I really do believe that's what they are... I laugh a lot and I've got the creases to show it, and in this portrait, I'm still me.

So don't be shy about having your portrait taken professionally.  Those of us that are dedicated to creating something that makes you see your beauty, that's what we do.  We are not just picture takers.  We are portrait makers.  Let us help you to celebrate YOU.

      Sincerely,  Bonnie

Twittering, tweeting... chirping... what?

I'm tweeting!   http://twitter.com/BStPierreStudio
Yikes!  Are you tweeting too?  I'd love to hear from you - when do you use Twitter vs. FaceBook, are you on your computer, phone, or other mobile device, and what do you look for on Twitter from the people that you follow?

Happy New Year, and a bit of a goodbye too.

I'm back! Happy New Year Everyone!

It's been a long, long, long time since my last Blog. A lot of water has run under the bridge in that time. I needed a little 'get my breath' time following the last year I had with my sister before her death, and during that time of recovery, turned my sadness towards a positive direction, completely renovating my studio into something that I feel confident in saying is absolutely "a studio like no other". It's true; it's even on my business card - in writing, so it IS SO! (LOL) If you haven't seen the new studio yet, please, just give me a call to come over and visit... I'd love to show it to you! The renovation was a labor of love, and I do mean a labor... lots of hard work in concept, planning and building. It's a really fun place to work! I am totally rejuvenated ... we had a hugely successful Grand Re-Opening and Ribbon Cutting, and I was off and running headlong towards the work that really excites me. I even was commissioned and completed a large project for St. Joseph Hospital, decor created and provided for the walls of their whole 2nd floor, OB/GYN and Pediatrics. You may have seen it there, and if you've been following, you've probably been seeing other pretty interesting photo posts on www.facebook.com/bstpierrestudiofanpage too.

All these years of honing my craft, perfecting my trade, building relationships in the area through the work we produced and the projects we worked on together, now coupled with the sense of adventure & creation that the new studio provides, has led me to this place where I am finely tuning and focusing (no pun intended!) on the clients I feel I am destined to serve. You know who you are... you want something memorable. Something that tells people that you are extraordinary. Something that will leave the footprint of your choice on this planet, even as it continues to revolve and change your life in so many ways over the years. If you are a business owner, you are seeking those images that will make a statement about your company and the services you offer, something that will set you ABOVE your competition.

I've never been a high volume, assembly line client business. Though I have the technical skills and ability to identify with the client, and could have been wildly successful in that venue, having more money than perhaps I'd have known what to do with, I shied away from that and continued to pursue what I felt in my heart was of great value to my client. I always wanted to create something that means even more than those quick head and body shots that commemorate how we looked that particular year. Because I have a good reputation for being fair, easy to work with and providing a good product, I naturally ended up with some of that more typical work requests arriving at my door, and I took it in and did it well. I did feel good that I was providing a good product to others, but it was a means to making money to pay the bills and satisfying that particular client need, in between the work that really inspired me.

Wow, this almost sounds like I'm leading to a goodbye, doesn't it. Well, it's a goodbye of sorts, to much of the work the general public thinks of when they consider using a photographer. From hereon, I am dedicating most of my working hours to the creation of the great works in portraiture that will move you to tears, smiles and a warm feeling in your heart. Work that will make you SEE the person, not just their smile. Work that will make this moment in their lives a celebration that they will enjoy for the rest of their lives. Work that will speak to you. I'm doing the same with the commercial end of my business too, making myself available for those clients that want to reach beyond the ordinary.

Technically, because I accomplish this with photographs, I am labeled a 'Photographer', making me look on the surface much like any other - all of us the same, though some likely more skilled than others. But I am realizing that what I do is much more of an art form than the word photographer describes. I will be showing you more of how it applies to the areas you think of using a photographer for... baby, children and immediate and extended family portraits, senior high school, pets, commercial web and brochure images, and so much more. Put on your creative hats people.

There's a time and place for those traditional shots, and many good photographers I can even suggest for you when that is what you want. I am not putting them down as having no value. I enjoy having them to look back upon too, for they are a documentation of our lives and families. But as I sorted through my sister's belongings, helping my nephew to decide what to keep, leave out or store away, seeing all the images I'd created for her over the years since the birth of her son, the ones that brought tears to my eyes were the ones that told her story, reminded me of who she was, by herself and in conjunction with the people she loved, not just what she looked like. When you desire images that will have this effect for you, let's meet and put our heads together. Let me create something truly great for you.