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November 1, 2018

Choosing A Photographer

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With the availability of cameras on cell phones and inexpensive digital cameras, nearly anyone can take photos. But there are times you may want help in choosing a photographer for special occasions. What do you look for?

Here are a few factors to keep in mind when choosing a photographer.

Competition among photographers can be fierce. Almost anyone can hang out a sign and try to pass themselves off as a photographer. When choosing a photographer you want the best. Word of mouth is an excellent place to start.

Ask your friends if they know of an excellent photographer. Maybe you’ve seen a photo on one of their walls that really impressed you. Ask who took it for them. Don’t be afraid to ask for details, either. Find out how happy they were with the experience, if they think the cost was right, and if the photographer was good with kids if you have kids to be in the photo.

Once you have a couple, or more, names when you’re choosing a photographer, go their studios and look through their portfolios. Take enough time to look closely at their finished work.

What was the exposure like on the photos? Underexposed photos will contain overpowering dark spots and shadows. Tones will be muted and there will be no highlights to catch your eye. Over exposed photos will have significant white highlights where detail should be seen.

When choosing a photographer, check his or her conversions. Any good photographer should be able to convert photos into black and whites, sepias, and other conversions. How is the quality of your photographers’ conversions?

As you’re choosing a photographer, be sure to check the saturation and sharpness of the colors. Oversaturated or overly bright colors can overpower the photo. Too much sharpness will make the subjects look like they have outlines around them.

Skin color is another factor to consider when choosing a photographer. The colors should be natural and not over-produced.

When you’re choosing a photographer, be sure to dig deeper in their portfolios. Like everyone, photographers put their best work in the front. If you see the quality of the photos deteriorating, you may want to stay away from that photographer.

Even though everyone can call themselves photographers, you want the best available. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can even give you advice on choosing a photographer for yourself.

October 3, 2018

Choosing a Camera

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There a lot of options to consider when choosing a camera. Do you trust buying one on-line or do you go to a big-box store with clerks that can be less than helpful? Do you want a point and shoot model or one with all the bells and whistles?

Choosing a camera is clearly not a simple task.

You can start with a camera that costs $100 and go on up to one that can cost several thousand dollars. Even if you have a budget and stick to it, you’ll find several models at your price point that may be difficult to choose from.

Let’s consider several things when choosing a camera.

Point and shoot cameras. Many of these cameras are small, easy to use, and less expensive. Others, however, can be pro models with manual exposure controls, longer zooms, and better sensors. The less expensive models likely won’t give you any better pictures than you’ll get with the camera on your phone.

Pros to keep in mind when choosing a camera of this type are: Less expensive, easy to use, lightweight, easy to carry.

Cons to remember: Small buttons, probably no viewfinder on most of them.

Bridge style megazooms. When choosing a camera of this type, expect to spend anywhere from $200 to $500. These cameras have long zoom lenses that give you lots of shooting flexibility in a compact camera.

If you want to move on up in the camera world, pick an advanced compact camera. Choosing a camera of this type will cost you between $500 and $1500. They will produce higher-quality images, but also are larger.

Pros of choosing a camera of this type: Good for all-around use, has a lot of manual controls, usually has major zoom capability.

Cons of choosing a camera of this type: Fixed, not interchangeable lenses, compact sensor not as good as DSLR cameras.

Mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (ILC). The next type of camera of consider when choosing a camera is the ILC. Better than a point and shoot, usually less bulky than a DSLR. Five hundred to several thousand dollars, they offer more options for creativity and better images.

Pros for choosing a camera of this type: Faster speeds, lighter and more compact than a DSLR, quiet, better for video usage.

Cons for choosing a camera of this type: Fewer lenses and accessories compared to DSLR.

DSLR. Can go up to $5000 each, plus lenses. Can cover the range from consumer users to pros. Image quality and longevity can be better than a compact camera due to larger sensors.

Pros of choosing a camera of this type: Better details in photos, more manual controls, lots of lenses and accessories.

Cons of choosing a camera of this type: More expensive, bulky, hard to hold in one hand, steep learning curve.

Even though everyone can make photos with their cameras, you want the best photographers available. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can even give you advice on choosing a camera for yourself.

September 1, 2018

Taking Perfect Digital Photos

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Just about everyone has the ability to take perfect digital photos. Even most cell phones have the capability to make really good digital photos. But there are some things you need to know that will help you take even more perfect digital photos.

The first step is to become very familiar with your camera. It makes no difference whether the camera is on your cell phone or a good one you buy. You need to know all the features and how to work them. Read the manual, learn the basic actions. If necessary, find an online tutorial that will take you step-by-step through the process.

When using a camera that isn’t part of your phone, be sure to hold it properly. Holding your camera the right way will help tremendously in taking perfect digital photos. Use both hands. This gives you the best support to get the best quality photos. For most people, supporting the lens with your left hand and the body of the camera with your right is the best way. If you’re left-handed, you may want to try reversing the position of your hands.

Holding your elbows in close to your body will give you even more steadiness.

You might also want to invest in a tripod if you still have a hard time keeping the camera steady. Having a steady camera is important in taking perfect digital photos.

Some cameras will have automatic features that can come in handy when taking perfect digital photos. These cameras can sense when the light level is low and make adjustments automatically.

Always check where the light is coming from when taking photos. You want your subject to be in the best light available to give you perfect digital photos.

Most of the time, you want to take your photos at an angle to the light source. Shooting a photo with the light directly behind you leaves your photos flat. Check the angle and see which one is most flattering or dramatic for your subject.

Use your flash more often. Most people use it only at night or in low light conditions. But the flash can add light to your subject even in the daytime and give you more perfect digital photos.

Even though you may be able to take perfect digital photos with your camera, sometimes you want the best photographers available. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can also give you good information about storing your photos in the best way to preserve them.

August 1, 2018

The History of Photography

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Many people believe the history of photography to be a short one. They simply aren’t aware that people were taking photographs long before the invention of modern day cameras and smart phones.

In fact, when considering the history of photography, you have to go all the way back to 330 BC. That’s when Aristotle wrote about what was called the camera obscura. The actual use of this early camera didn’t come about until somewhere around 1000 AD.

In the beginning of the history of photography, the camera obscura was designed to study how we see. Alhazen, an Arab scholar, used the technique to show how light could be used to produce an image on a flat surface.

Around the middle of the 1600s, the history of photography took another step forward with the invention of well-crafted lenses. At this time, the forerunner of projectors called magic lanterns were able to project images onto larger surfaces. These images were typically painted on glass slides. These magic lanterns provided a great deal of entertainment to people in that time.

The history of photography took another great leap in 1827 when the first photographic image was taken with a camera obscura. These were called heliographs or sun prints and took up to eight hours of exposure to create an image. Even then, these images faded quickly.

In 1839, the process was finally shortened to only taking 30 minutes of exposure to create an image.

Tintypes were invented in 1856. This event in the history of photography was another great step forward but had some drawbacks. A major one had to do with the emulsion used drying very quickly. This meant developing the photograph quickly, requiring any photographer to carry a portable dark room complete with dangerous chemicals in fragile glass containers.

1879 was another milestone. This was the time of the invention of the dry plate process in photography. The plates used then were coated with a gelatin rather than liquid, allowing for storage of several weeks before developing.

The first film to be flexible and able to be rolled was another great event in the history of photography. This came about in 1889 and made the invention of the box camera possible.

The 35mm film used in early film-making was invented in 1913.

Instant photography came about in 1948 and marketed in the Land Camera 95.

By the mid-1980s, Canon marketed the first digital camera. From there, the history of photography comes to now. Everyone can take good photographs with their phones now. What an idea! Where the industry will go now is anyone’s guess.

Even though everyone can make photos with their cameras, you want the best photographers available. Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can also give you good information about storing your photos in the best way to preserve them.

July 1, 2018

Storing Your Photos

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While almost everyone has some type of digital camera or uses a phone for photos, you may have some photos that aren’t digital. Storing your photos is something you need to know about so that you can keep them for posterity.

First of all, make sure you have back-ups of some kind before storing your photos. These can be negatives or photocopies. You don’t want to lose the only copy you have of your favorite photo and not be able to recover it.

Low temperature and low humidity are key factors for storing your photos. In general, your color photos will fade more quickly with increasing heat. If you can keep the temperature in your house between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s probably safe for storing your photos.

If you want to keep your photos for decades, a temperature around 35 F and low humidity will be ideal. Storing your photos in a proper storage container will also be necessary.

For photos you want to have around for easy access, a cool and dry room in your house will be all right. There should be little light and little fluctuation in temperature and humidity. Basements are typically too humid for storing your photos and the attic is too dry. Varying temperature and humidity will curl, warp, or crack your photos. Sunlight will fade them quickly.

When storing your photos, don’t keep them with newspaper clippings. The acid in the newspaper will damage the photos. If you need to keep a clipping with your photos, copy the clipping onto acid-free paper.

If you need to write on your photos, write on them with a pencil. Don’t use pens or markers or adhesive labels. Paper clips and rubber bands will damage your photos.

When storing your photos, keep the negatives and copies of the photos separate. This way, they won’t all be damaged or ruined if something happens.

Cardboard, wood, and some plastics give off gasses that can damage your photos. When storing your photos, don’t keep them in these kinds of containers.

Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-579-0500 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can also give you good information about storing your photos in the best way to preserve them.

While almost everyone has some type of digital camera or uses a phone for photos, you may have some photos that aren’t digital. Storing your photos is something you need to know about so that you can keep them for posterity.

First of all, make sure you have back-ups of some kind before storing your photos. These can be negatives or photocopies. You don’t want to lose the only copy you have of your favorite photo and not be able to recover it.

Low temperature and low humidity are key factors for storing your photos. In general, your color photos will fade more quickly with increasing heat. If you can keep the temperature in your house between 50 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s probably safe for storing your photos.

If you want to keep your photos for decades, a temperature around 35 F and low humidity will be ideal. Storing your photos in a proper storage container will also be necessary.

For photos you want to have around for easy access, a cool and dry room in your house will be all right. There should be little light and little fluctuation in temperature and humidity. Basements are typically too humid for storing your photos and the attic is too dry. Varying temperature and humidity will curl, warp, or crack your photos. Sunlight will fade them quickly.

When storing your photos, don’t keep them with newspaper clippings. The acid in the newspaper will damage the photos. If you need to keep a clipping with your photos, copy the clipping onto acid-free paper.

If you need to write on your photos, write on them with a pencil. Don’t use pens or markers or adhesive labels. Paper clips and rubber bands will damage your photos.

When storing your photos, keep the negatives and copies of the photos separate. This way, they won’t all be damaged or ruined if something happens.

Cardboard, wood, and some plastics give off gasses that can damage your photos. When storing your photos, don’t keep them in these kinds of containers.

Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs. They can also give you good information about storing your photos in the best way to preserve them.

June 2, 2018

Why Is Photography Important?

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Why is photography important? Pictures you keep with you or hang in your home or office tell a lot about you. They tell what and who is most important to you.

Those who are important to you can be kept around for many years, even generations through photography. This is the way to keep family and cultural histories alive. Those people, those events that you preserve through photography will never be the same again, so capturing them at the important times in your life is important.

Why is photography important? Not only does it tell what and who is most important to you, it helps preserve history. It may be only your personal history, but it is yours. Once you’re gone, it will be your kids’ and your relatives’ history of your life, as well.

Why is photography important? It enables everyone to be an artist, to communicate something that words often can’t. Photography can move people in a way that words cannot.

Why is photography important? It is valuable to people. What is the first thing that most people would rescue from a house fire after all the people are safe? Most of them will grab the photo album or the device that has computer images of their family and events in their lives. This shows how powerful photos are to us.

Why is photography important? Photos connect us. Not just to each other, but to past generations and those who have gone before us. They allow you to help your kids connect with the family’s history and those who began it. This helps you and your kids develop an identity and increase self-esteem.

Why is photography important? It is memories. Memories tie us to each other. To our past. To the feelings that are connected to each person and event in our lives. These memories can form the basis for a productive future, as well.

Why is photography important? It tells a story. It tells YOUR story.

That’s why photography is important.

Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-672-8780 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.  

May 10, 2018

Why Use A Professional Photographer?

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Just about everybody loves to have photographs of special people, places, and events. Using a professional photographer to make these special occasions memorable is one of the best choices you can make.

Here are some of the major reasons why you should use a professional photographer for those pictures that need to make a statement.

Impact. Certainly, any one with a digital camera or even a phone can make a quick digital image of something or someone. But what does the end result look like? If all you want is to capture the moment, perhaps that kind of effort will be all that’s needed. But if you want to make an impact, a statement, you can’t beat a professional photographer. If you want the image to convey a “just right” message, a professional photographer is your best bet.

Image. A professional photographer knows how to set up the shoot to make things or people look their best. Whether it’s a wedding photo, a listing for a new house, a head shot for your advertising, or an action shot that requires timing, not everyone can do it and have the result come out excellent. One of the things a professional photographer does well is select the right angle, the right lighting, and the right setting.

Memories. At some time, all you or your family will have left of people, places, and events are the photos. You want those photos to be ones you treasure. You don’t want your only photo of a favorite relative to be marred by your finger on the lens or a flash that was too bright or catching only part of the person. A professional photographer will preserve your memories for generations to come.

Choices. When the event is a special one with lots of things going on at once, such as weddings, only a professional photographer will be able to set aside the excitement of the event and capture a lot of images so that you have choices. Imagine if you let Aunt Linda do the photography at your wedding and she got so involved in the magic of the moment that she completely forgot to make any photos! Be sure to catch the magic by using a professional photographer.

Pixel Perfect Photography in Amherst, NH, is the perfect place to capture the magic of your moments. Karen and Kiera are waiting to do their best for you. Call 603-579-0500 to schedule a time to get together and plan how they will meet your needs.  

February 6, 2018

Bunnies are Coming!

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Bunnies are Coming!

Mark your calendar! Bunnies are coming back to Gallery Portraits for two weekends only: March 10-11, and March 17-18. Call today to reserve a spot! 603-672-8780

bunnies2018_GP_Web-noclick

 

Stay tuned for more information on our sets this year!

 

Published: February 6th, 2018

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January 16, 2018

Bunny Photo session coming soon

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January 15, 2017

Exciting Gallery Portraits News! |NH|Photographer

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Exciting Gallery Portraits News! |NH|Photographer

Good Morning Everyone!

I have some exciting Gallery Portraits news!  It starts December 7th when WMUR ran a story about a local portrait studio closing its doors unexpectedly, leaving clients with prepaid baby plans and no way to fulfill them. This was more than a little unsettling for many of their clients, to say the least!  I had long admired the studio so I started following the story and decided that I could help.

The short story goes, the well loved and admired original owner retired last February and despite best efforts the new owner could not keep it going.

I am proud to say that after a month of working behinds the scenes, with both the current and original owner, our agreement was made official Monday January 9th!

Although I have not purchased the LLC, I have agreed to fulfill all the outstanding sessions and orders, in exchange for the studio’s many years of hard work, website, phone number, marketing materials, trade name and so on.  I have learned over the last month that Gail, the original Pixel Perfect owner, was so well loved, her blessing is going a long way to reassure her past clients they are in good hands.  So, an exciting new chapter is beginning! I will still be Gallery Portraits, I will still be in MY location, nothing Gallery Portraits will change, but I am excited to open the doors and the addition of a new Brand “Pixel Perfect Babies and Children”.

Karen Farren Gallery Portraits

Here is what Gail had to say:

I have to tell you all that Karen held her very first Pixel sessions today. I asked her if I could help and she graciously consented, so I was there.

First, I LOVE her studio. Absolutely adorable and very functional. She is more organized than I was, I love that you can tell where everything is at a moment’s notice.

Next, SO many of my props are at her studio. You might think I would feel a little weirded out that many of my ‘things’ are somewhere else, but the only thing I feel is comforted that those of you who like what we did will love the consistency that Karen can offer.

Karen is SO good at what she does. When you’re photographing babies, you have to be able to roll with the punches, switch things up quickly and make snap decisions – all the while juggling a camera, comforting a baby, directing a parent, and paying attention to all your equipment. Karen did all that and more. It’s so clear to me that she knows exactly what she is doing. I felt like I was watching me work (but younger ????). Love that.

Karen has been studying how we do things for weeks and is determined to offer a consistent type of photography to all the Pixel clients. But I think those of you who have chosen to go forward with Karen will get even more because Karen has been photographing for 24 years and also has her own style and additional things that she can ADD to your session. So you get everything I used to do and more, because Karen clearly has tricks of her own that work.

Published: January 15, 2017

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Gallery Portraits Photography is a boutique photography studio specializing in newborn, first year baby, family, location and cake smash portraits. Our studio is located in Salzburg Square Plaza (most people know it as “the plaza that looks like A German village”) located on Route 101 Amherst NH, just one mile over the Bedford line. Gallery Portraits is well known in Amherst, Bedford, Hollis, New Boston, Weare, Nashua, Manchester as well as serving many clients in the surroundingsouthern NH towns of Derry, Londonderry, Windham, Concord, Hooksett and Goffstown. Gallery Portraits has also been reaching clients in the surrounding Massachusetts towns such as Andover, Tyngborough, Dracut and Burlington.

Gallery Portraits has been a well-known newborn, family and child photographer having photographed thousands of children and families throughout her 18 years as a Photographer in Southern NH.

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