Robert Wheater Photography
Visalia Photographers
Scott | Business Portrait
Jun 11th
When I am commissioned to create a business portrait, I always aim to do something that represents a person and with different styles of images. Every single person is their own brand and while many people don’t really care about the picture they use, I am someone people come to when they care. First, I try and key in on who you are as a brand. What do you stand for? What values do you have and what do you do? I never just take a quick head shot.
In the images below, you will see Scott. He makes wine and loves it (thanks for the wine by the way) and we set off and decided to shoot in a vineyard. I advise to any professional that they update their business portrait once every 2-3 years and keep it current and do not use black and white.
I see these black and white business portraits on color business cards. Don’t do it, everyone does. Business portraits for office professionals are best photographed within the office or where people would meet – a further connection in the image that helps a professional stand out. I especially love working with business owners and showing their business within the images – in vibrant and powerful images. Business images should be power images. An image of the owner of a salon should be softer and more fashion forward. It is attention to these details that make a business portrait that will stand leagues above your competition and have an editorial/advertising feel to them. Remember you can click images on my blog to view a larger version full screen.
New Brochure [download here]
May 25th
This is my new brochure. There is a wedding version of the brochure coming soon. I have revised all of my wedding services and the new wedding photography one will be up in a week.
Natalie
May 23rd
Natalie is one of my favorite models to work with. She has pretty much been around from day one with her family. She has also seen my photography skill go from just taking pictures and refining a form to making art. Making the transition from art school to business has taken time. This was our fifth session. This is a prevalent style that you will see in my gallery wraps.
As an artist, the click of the camera is just a single step in the creation of my products. It starts with talking about your final product. What are we doing? In Natalie’s case, I was practicing a new style. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do with the images. They would be artistically edited to show my clients another product of mine and a style and product I offer.
Gallery wraps are for works of art, they are not for common photos. They are expensive and built to last generations. I believe that families should collect gallery wraps for their families at specific milestones in the road of life. To me, gallery wraps are the epitome of celebrating ourselves as a family. It, far more than a common 8×10, will celebrate the passage from high school to adulthood with our senior gallery wraps. Celebrate your family with a gallery wrap that will serve as an heirloom for generations.
I love these
My gallery wraps can be traditional but my art lies in a painted contemporary style. I can do traditional, but I don’t think it lends to the gallery wrap art piece as well as my painted style. There are other products like a traditional black and white image with deep blacks on metallic black and white paper wrapped around a floated frame that stands a few inches from the wall. In my gallery wraps, I prefer bright colors and paint-like canvases with beautiful photos. If you have a dream image, come to me with it and we can figure out how to create it together.
Fine Art vs. Photography
May 23rd
In the world today, photography is everywhere and everyone has a camera. Local photographers have multiplied and multiplied creating a minefield of photographers, which ones are good and the ones that aren’t are difficult to find.
In today’s photography world, my style of photography stands out because it is fine art. Fine art is much different in the fact that I create photographic art printed on canvas or fine art photographs. Real photographs are also something I provide, instead of inkjet prints. I am not one to look down on other art but the medium of our art is as important as the display itself. I would say that every photographer out there is using inkjet prints, if they are making real photographs they will let you know. You can’t print fine art on an inkjet. For one, it fades after a decade if it has UV protection less if it is not protected with a coating or UV glass frame. Two, fine art is not meant to fade, ever. Great precautions are made to protect fine art. I make real photographs created using light and a chemical process. The photograph alone will last your lifetime right out of the package. Oh and it will last for at least another generation. These photographs will last for 100 years, far longer if protected further behind museum glass (which we use in our frames).
So, the primary thing you need to ask yourself is this – do you want a picture or do you want art?
Fine Art Gallery Wraps
So just be sure what YOU want when you are talking to a photographer – photographic art from click to the display on your wall – or just the click. Contact me today with your art and display needs.
Military Wives and Girlfriends | Memorial Day
May 17th
I was thinking of something unique I could offer for Memorial Day aside from my normal 10% off for military and veterans. I thought about something that is very usable but really is exciting for me and my feeling of creating heirlooms. So, from now until Memorial Day (May 31) I am offering something unique. Contemporary Vintage Wallet Portraits.
Trying to embrace a classic portrait style mixed with my contemporary style, I wanted to create an image that could be used for portraits from wives and girlfriends to their husbands overseas. The portrait session is only $25 and I have a wide array of picture styles to send from portraits on archival art paper which gives the images tactile feeling also. This makes a great gift. I also offer a much more sexy maxim-magazine session starting at $100.
Your session must be scheduled prior to Memorial Day 2010 (May 31). I wish I could keep the offer up all year because these are truly fun.
Wallet style shots are edited to look similar to the image on the right. This is a before/after of original photo and then the contemporary vintage edit.
Some of the final product ideas for these sessions are:
Fine Art Archival Prints
Framed Desk Prints
4×6 Hard Print (the fine art print is bonded to a Masonite backing)
5×5 Gallery Wrap
It is a good idea that we talk about your final product before we actually have the session because we can have a general direction to go. If you want a 5×5 Metallic Gallery Wrap we are probably going to shoot a completely different way than a 20×30 fine art paper print. Yes, almost all my products are focused on creating an heirloom. I don’t print any inkjet prints, I still make real photographs and focus on the end product of my photography. They are not cheap and will last generations. 90% of photographers use inkjet prints, not me. Ask me why if you are interested in knowing the differences.
Glamor Photography
Apr 18th
The beautiful model is Sunni. This particular photo is from a photo shoot a few months ago but I am working on a new editing style that is one of my favorites currently being used by a few of my favorite photographers. Photography style changes over time and only through really doing different things does our art as a photographer stand out. Not only is a style important to a photographer, it is essential. I am chosen as a photographer because of my style capability. I can create images that are clean crisp traditional black and whites, edgier vibrant colors but now I am really falling into a style that has really only become possible with digital photography. Airbrushing aside (I post process every image I take, it is the new dark room) the image was beautiful but I am working on a style that both shows the real person with the art of glamor photography.
Glamor Style Photographs
Travis and Kira
Apr 12th
Visalia dad, Travis and daughter Kira were a lot of fun in this session. We shot in a pink dress and then her play clothes. Here are some shots from the session in her play clothes.
Services and Prices Brochure 2010
Mar 17th
Here is a download for my brochure for 2010. I prefer web brochures these days because I prefer a green manufacturing system. I am not going to tout that I am the greenest this or that… it is a way of life and nothing to advertise really. This web brochure is in .pdf format and if you need any assistance, email me and I can assist you.
Visalia Photographers
Feb 9th
A little over a year ago, while still in art school I was thinking of ways to gather with other photographers. There wasn’t one. So, I set out to creating one. In the beginning, I was a little frustrated and didn’t really think it would work. How many people in the area wanted to be a part of a photography group?
It was when we were almost at 100 members when I decided to add a fee of $10/year. This fee would serve to find the more active photographers and get more people involved… it worked. We had an average turn out of 5-6 members before the fee and around 10 people per meeting after the fee was added. Membership dropped but those that dropped had never attended a meetup. The active members paid the small dues and started coming to the meetups.
A lot of people don’t understand how competitive the photography industry is. Ten years ago, there were less than 10 photographers in the Visalia metro area. Today there are at least 30 that are listed on Myspace, Facebook or have their own websites. A lot of professionals are very secretive and choose to avoid socializing with other professionals because of how hard it is to compete these days. My photographer network in this group has only served to increase my business. I have learned a lot and others have learned from me. That’s what the group is for.
There are over 50 members of the Meetup group, most of these are active members. There are several professionals from photojournalists to wedding photographers. There are lots of amateurs and people that just want to meet other like-minded artists. This group will continue to grow and I really like the direction it is headed.
Photo Tip | Your Prints
Jan 31st
Prints really matter. A lot of people love printing their photos at home and I do myself sometimes, but I usually print something to hand to my sons. They love getting pictures of a bear that I photographed or a macro shot of a bee, my oldest is four and I just like handing him photographs even though they end up on the floor or in the hands of a one year old. These pictures are for that purpose. Any photograph you print on an inkjet, no matter how great they say the ink is, no matter how good your film paper is going to lose quality quicker than traditional photographs.
Traditional photographs are not printed, the photographs are created by exposing light on light sensitive paper. Make sure you get photographs not prints. Photographs will last longer because of the process. Inkjet papers can last longer through a light coating that is applied in some pro shops, especially UV coating. Most of us cannot do that. Well, that really is where the professional photographer comes in.
All those inkjet pictures you have printed over the last few years will be almost completely faded in 20 years in storage or half that on the wall in a home display. Well, over half of the local professionals use inkjet printers from the last few years. Odds are that if you have a photograph in the last few years they are digital prints to inkjets. Your pictures will not be around when your children are older, they will be faded. They might still be recognizable, maybe.
All those that have stuck with film have actual photographs, not prints. In my home, we have photographs, not prints. The entire purpose of the professional photographer is to give you photographs, make sure your photographer is getting photographs to you and not inkjet prints. If you are getting inkjet prints make sure they are coated. Even coated inkjet prints will not last as long as a photograph.
Robert Wheater can be contacted right now by clicking here.
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