Now that I’m officially back in season with the photography, I thought I’d let you know that over the winter office we secured some NEW OFFICE SPACE in Downtown Lancaster! We are located at 32 McGovern Ave Suite 1, right across the street from the Lancaster Train Station. As soon as the bridge construction is complete this summer it will be a breeze to get here. If you are familiar with looking at the building above, turn around and you’re at our office building. If you’re familiar with the Comic Store in Lancaster, (a Lancaster landmark), we are located right above them. It’s a small office space but it’s perfect for meeting clients, small commercial shoots, and simply getting out of the office to do work. Please feel free to stop on in anytime, would love some visitors!
I’m so excited to announce that we now offer a NO INTEREST + NO PAYMENTS FINANCING option through PayPal’s BillMeLater program. We know that times are tight for a lot of folks and we don’t want a tight budget standing in the way of capturing your wedding day or portrait session. The financing program applies to everything we offer from sitting fees to albums and canvases and everything in between!
Financing is available upon request, so make sure to inquire when you contact us to book! For more information on PayPal’s BillMeLater program, click on the banner above.
2012 was no easy year – it was a complicated one. For years I had dreamed and talked about being a full-time photographer but just couldn’t get around to pulling the trigger. Lots of things kept stopping me but mostly it was doubt. Doubt that I could ever really do it or “make it” and doubt that I would be able to provide through those means for my growing family. And to a large degree I still suffer from those doubts today. I think about them every day when I wake up and every night when I go to bed.
The transition came like a mighty hurricane – one I couldn’t stop and one I wasn’t ready for. In July I was laid-off from my full-time job. It was a messy lay-off that resulted in a lot of internal emotional and professional struggles, but in the end, it was the best possible thing for me. That job, not the work I was doing, but the company culture and poor leadership was like a cancer eating away at me. I needed to be set free. God knew I wasn’t going to break the shackles; so He did.
Since July I picked up the pieces and began the balancing act with my time, focus, and energies – working to find that comfortable rhythm of life – not only with photography, but also with our music and freelance print and web design. I’m not there yet and I dont know when I will be. It’s the best thing and the most difficult thing all at the same time. Every day is filled with it’s own set of challenges and joys and I’m constantly learning, failing, and fortunately – succeeding.
In all of it, I couldn’t have made it through such a difficult transition without the support and encouragement of my incredible wife, parents, siblings, friends, and especially – my clients. I made this video more for me than for anyone else. I wanted to stare back into the eyes of a year that presented me with a terrifying and stressful life-changing challenge…and I wanted to smile right back in it’s face.
I am blessed in so many ways – This video is for all of those blessings – it features every one of them.
I really love shooting weddings, don’t get me wrong. But what I typically dislike about wedding days are how time-crunched and quick you have to move on your feet with creativity. You really have to think on your feet fast and work with your surroundings. This is why weddings can be so stressful for the photographer. However, there are those bridal shoots I’m lucky to do a couple times per year where time is not an issue and I can be as creative as I want. The only time you’re racing against is light.
Mara is a friend of ours who we attended Eastern University with in St. Davids, PA. She since married her best friend, Shane, and they moved to downtown Lancaster, Pa and have two adorable sons. Mara was feeling like her wedding dress was collecting dust and didn’t have a use for it anymore. So she thought, “I don’t have any girls, so I’m not going to pass the dress on. Why don’t I wear it one last time, get all dolled up, and completely destroy it?” These are questions that more brides should ask themselves. We love Trash the Dress shoots and typically they end up being a cross between a Flaunt the Dress and Trash the Dress shoot which is even better. So Mara, who is a professional organizer, threw out her predicament on FB offering her services in exchange for a photo shoot. Naturally, the very disorganized and messy Smiths jumped right on this idea.
So we booked the shoot, and got a brand new organized basement out of the deal! Thanks for your awesome skills and time, Mara! Here are some of our favorites from your Trash the Dress/Flaunt the Dress shoot.
