 |
|
|
Are you married?
Yes! Meg & Charles were married during May of 2003 in Tallahassee, FL. We both attended Florida State University, and no, neither of us studied photography. Life has a funny way of finding a path for you.
Would you be willing to travel to cover my wedding?
Yes, absolutely! We love to travel & look forward to the opportunity. We travel extensively for wedding day coverage: Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, St. Augustine, Hilton Head, Atlanta, Birmingham, Meridian, New Orleans...we've photographed weddings in almost every major city in the southeast. We've also photographed weddings in St. Lucia, the Bahamas, St. Thomas (USVI), Tortola (BVI), and Greece for wedding weekend coverage! Our passports are current & we're ready to go with a moment's notice!
What type of equipment do you use?
We use top of the line Canon digital cameras and accessories. In every wedding, we employ a variety of state of the art Canon professional lenses, both zoom and prime. We also bring professional lights that are used for formals (as needed). We also bring a complete set of backup cameras & lenses to each & every wedding.
Do you shoot in color or black & white?
Both! Technically, everything we shoot is in color. This allows us to offer every option possible for your final print. Our editing process is explained in detail on our Before & After page.
How many images will I receive from my wedding coverage?
This number will vary a bit based on length of coverage, but most of our clients receive somewhere between 700 and 900 images. We don’t have a set number that we try to reach for every wedding. Our focus is on getting the best coverage possible and never “counting” or conserving shots on your wedding day.
How much time should we allot for formals on the wedding day?
We are happy to help develop your wedding day timeline, and can offer advice on how much time will be necessary to schedule for family formals. We strive to move quickly during this time and promise to work in the most efficient manner possible. Often times, we are able to complete many of the must-take formals prior to the beginning of the ceremony, without the bride and groom seeing each other beforehand! Also, while we recognize the importance of these family heirlooms, we encourage our clientele to avoid elaborate shot lists, as we like to focus the unplanned, emotion-filled moments that will occur naturally throughout the day. But the short answer: anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours depending on YOUR tastes. Bear in mind that this includes the couples formals as well!
How long after the wedding will I be able to order prints online?
Your image gallery will remain online for three months following the wedding. If you find that you need additional time, gallery hosting extensions are available for a nominal fee. Of course, you do receive your digital files...our clients love being able to make their own prints!
How do we reserve our wedding date?
Contact the studio to set up a phone consultation or a meeting in person. We maintain flexible business hours, often meeting on weekday evenings to accommodate our client’s schedules. Meg Baisden Photography can only hold wedding dates after the receipt of a signed agreement and payment of a $1500 retainer. |
|
|
|
Consulting for Photographers
To be successful as a photographer you need a few critical ingredients. The first & most obvious (required in all professions & jobs), is that you will need some degree of talent to leave your mark on the world. To start & run a successful business, you'll also need a bit of luck...timing is everything. But beyond these somewhat obvious statements, there is the often overlooked ingredient - knowing the right road to take. Hard work can only take you so far, if you set out down the wrong path. We can help you find your way.
Each season, we receive numerous emails requesting information about our gear bag, our printing partner, our editing workflow, our proofbooks, our pricing, our travel fees, and will you be offering a seminar anytime soon.
For the consulting side of things, we've outlined five critical areas we can help with:
a. Business Model -- you might feel that you are trying to be all things to all people, and you need help focusing your business on a core competency.
b. Finances – you might feel that your business is out of control. Dollars are not accounted for, you’re having trouble keeping up with your invoices, and clients are not paying their bills on time (or not paying at all). Worse, you may feel that you are running out of money, and not turning a profit. You might not be able to pay YOUR bills for the business, and your credit cards are maxed out.
c. Branding/Marketing – you might feel that you have an identity crisis. Clients aren’t relating to your brand, your pricing seems off, you aren't winning the booking battles, and your advertising seems to be missing the mark.
d. Equipment – you feel unprepared heading into shoots. You own decent gear, but you don’t understand what to do with it. There are problems & shortcomings with your gear list, and you’re not sure where to start. You may also be struggling with lighting & lagging behind the competition in terms of creativity & style.
e. Workflow – you might feel that you are overwhelmed with your backlog, you aren’t able to keep up with your editing, your files aren’t secured, and you feel like your business could melt down at any moment on the editing side of things. Album design may be a big part of the problem here as well.
As you can see, the consulting that we offer is specifically focused on the BUSINESS...it's not a creative shooting workshop by any standard. Good, sound advice on business topics...that's all we're selling! But if you're looking for help in any of these areas, our expertise and experience will save you many hours of heartache & soul searching. We've learned by doing...let us help you find the shortcuts.
As far as the nuts & bolts of the actual consulting session go: we typically focus on ONE area per session. I always recommend starting with your biggest problem first, and then working your way down the list. We charge an hourly fee of $125. If you want us to travel to you, we can work out a fixed consulting fee + travel expenses.
---
Seminars for Amateurs
All of the above information is geared for professional photographers that need a little help knowing where to point their business. For those of you that need a little help knowing where to point the camera, this section is for you!
It's no secret that many of you out there (our lovely clients) are enamored with the idea of photography. There is a direct correlation between your passion for high-caliber images, and your decision to hire us. You appreciate the beauty of photography, and it is important to you to have your wedding documented in a classic, timeless way.
And many more of you are just totally into photography (which might be why you are reading this rather boring post that I've constructed). You love taking pictures, but you want them to do more.
So whether you're passionate about great images, or you just want to take better pictures at your child's ballet recital...we can help! We offer hands-on Pensacola photography classes that cover everything from the basics of a good & proper exposure, to selecting a D-SLR camera body, to actual shooting techniques (the basics of composition), and we even dabble in workflow a bit (the idea of editing your images after the shoot).
The seminars are open to families, kids, parents, past clients, and anybody who wants to learn. This is the perfect photography class for the budding photographer in your life! If you, or someone you know, are interested in attending a seminar, shoot us an email here at the studio: charles{at}megphoto.com should get the job done. Or if it is easier, call us directly at (850) 308-1605! No matter what, we hope to meet you at our next seminar! |
|
|
|
We get emails from time to time inquiring about our equipment list. We decided the best way to answer that question was with a little show & tell. In the image below, we've featured a few of our favorite tools from inside our gearbag. In addition to these gadgets, we carry a full arsenal of nifty lighting tools, even more lenses that we don't use too terribly often, and a variety of other flashes/lights/gear not pictured here. Expect to see all of this & more in action at your wedding!
Buying camera gear?
The argument is often submitted in popular culture that it is indeed the artist BEHIND the camera that makes the art, not the camera itself. True as this is, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a the best equipment money can buy at your disposal. Here at Meg Baisden Photography, we're a Canon house. If you're looking to make an investment in professional quality photographic equipment, feel free to try some of the tools that we use.
In our experience, the single best resource for purchasing photography gear is B&H Photo Video. Not only do they have a fantastic customer service department, their prices are consistently low.
A few quick tips for purchasing a D-SLR & associated lenses:
a) Avoid kit lenses. The kit lens seems to be a great deal. Truth be told, this is usually an inferior quality lens that isn't quite as sharp, and won't be quite as satisfying as a more specific counterpart. I generally recommend purchasing the "body only", and then buying ONLY the lens that you actually want.
b) If it seems to good to be true, it usually is. This refers to focal length. In general, it is rare that you are going to find a good quality lens that can do EVERYTHING. The better investment is two or three lenses that cover the ideal focal length you'll be shooting at. This may cost you a little more upfront, but you'll be much happier in the long run.
c) USA. When buying lenses, the general consensus is to buy the USA version as opposed to the imported version. This article accurately summarizes it: USA vs. Imported Lenses
---
Clients need to know...
For our clients, the most important concept to take away is that when you hire Meg Baisden Photography, you're hiring a team with the right equipment for the job. But more than that. You're hiring a team with backup equipment.
The test of a professional is not how well they perform when everything is working perfectly. The test is how well they perform when things are rough: a camera shutter blows out, a lens is dropped & breaks, or a flash overheats and has to sit on the sideline for 30 minutes. Rest assured that when we arrive at your wedding, we're bringing the most reliable equipment on the market...and we bring backups! |
|
|
|
We are the Baisden duo - the husband (Charles) and wife (Meg) team that make up the creative force behind Meg Baisden Photography. We've been married for six years, in a committed relationship for 10 (but who's counting?), and in a professional working relationship for the past five. We are each others very best friend. We each push the other forward, challenge one another creatively, and accelerate our mutual growth. We love our jobs and bring the same passion and commitment to our work that we have in our marriage. Together we have one small dog, Madison, who completes our little home in Pensacola. While we are based in the Florida Panhandle, we serve the entire Gulf Coast and beyond, accepting a limited number of non-US comissions each season.
We like to think of ourselves as fun people who promote laughter and love in all of our interactions with clients and often come away with new friends from the process. We take good care of the people who entrust their memories with us, never once forgetting that the photographs we take will become family heirlooms.
Our work centers on capturing and preserving real moments. We go beyond the fluff at the surface of the wedding industry and strive to create work that can be felt. We shoot with a documentary eye - always trying to tell a story - mixing truth with a little romanticism. Our work offers a sense of timelessness in hopes that the photographs we take today will be just as relevant twenty or more years from now. In post production, we work the image until the tones match our intention for the moment... again, careful to steer clear of anything terribly trendy, always opting to shoot for a balance between contemporary and classic.
At the core, we are less about 'look at me' and more about 'look at you' - we would rather a potential client fall in love with the people featured in our work first, and the work itself second. If that happens, then we are on the right track.
|
|
So you want to know a little more about us, huh? Since we're not much for writing at length about ourselves, we figured we would finally give in and answer a few of those email forwards we keep receiving. You know, the seemingly pointless questionnaires that you are supposed to forward along to 5 other suckers? Yeah, we never do them either... UNTIL NOW.
|
Describe the following:
Your full name
M: Meghan Nicole (Bolyard) Baisden
C: Charles Bradwell Baisden
Your birthday
M: August 21, 1981
C: December 24, 1980
Your birthplace
M: Pensacola, FL
C: Orlando, FL
Your guilty pleasures
M: Decorating anything, musical theater, and shopping
C: Poker and playstation
Your perfect pizza
M: White pizza with pesto and feta cheese on a thick crust
C: Pepperoni from Georgio's in Pensacola - check it out
Your favorite smells
M: Gardenia and Honeysuckle
C: My own essence :)
Your bedtime
M: Oh, this is funny...
C: Ideally around 11pm for me... My wife never sleeps
Your ideal 'day off'
M: Sleeping most of the day away in a sound and light-proof room on a pillowy mattress, followed by an in-room massage, then dinner out and a tickets to a Broadway show
C: Sleep in followed by web browsing at a quiet coffee shop, followed by winning a poker tournament, finished with dinner on the patio of some great seafood joint
Your handwriting
M: A little loopy, a little girly - a mix of print and script with uppercase letters mized in with lower ... I've seen worse
C: Super small and organized block printing ... looks as though I'm left-handed, though I'm not
Your most embarrassing CD purchase
M: A 'Dinner in Paris' CD I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond with a gift card after our wedding... everytime I see it, I stop and wonder what I was thinking
C: Meg says it would have to be Hanson's MMM-Bop | The Single - but I've been thinking about making this my new ringtone
Your favorite day of the week
M: Saturday, even if it is cliche (for a wedding photographer)
C: Sunday
Your favorite day of the year
M: Thanksgiving with loved ones
C: Christmas Day
Your favorite childhood memory
M: When the lightening knocked the power out and my parents would light a fire and we would roast marshmallows and talk for hours watching the lightening dancing outside safely from our cozy living room
C: Any summer day circa 1990 at my grandparents house - everybody was together and happy
Your favorite shows to Tivo
M: Law & Order, Lie to Me, The Mentalist, So You Think You Can Dance, Seinfeld, Family Guy, The Closer, Burn Notice, Grey's Anatomy, Food Network, HGTV, Project Runway, The Soup, and Chelsea Lately
C: Pretty much what she said (minus all the cooking, decorating, and talent competition shows) plus Dexter, some poker tournaments, and ESPN
Your favorite room in the house
M: Dining Room - because I love to host dinner parties
C: Does the yard count? That's my domain
Your strangest job
M: Wrapping packages at a kiosk in the mall as a sophomore in high school
C: Clerk at an Army Surplus Store in college ... that place was just weird. Or perhaps selling sweatshirts in a sorority house at FSU during homecoming weekend
Your dream job
M: Being Joan Marcus/Broadway Production Photographer
C: Selling sweatshirts in a sorority house at FSU during homecoming weekend :)
Your perfect vacation
M: This varies depending on the day, but today it would be a four month tour of all things Europe
C: Key West ... hammocks... deep sea fishing... seaplanes... card playing... beer drinking... Margaritaville lifestyle
|
Which do you prefer:
Pepsi or Coke
M: Neither... I'm more of a rootbeer girl
C: Coca Cola Classic
Chocolate or Vanilla
M: Swirled
C: Vanilla
Coffee or Tea
M: Hot Chocolate?
C: Tea
Comedy or Drama
M: It's 50/50 with me
C: Drama
Watch or Play
M: Play
C: Watch
Dine In or Dine Out
M: Carry out
C: Dine out, always
Driver or Passenger
M: Passenger
C: Driver
Phone or Email
M: Email
C: Email
|
Complete the following sentences:
I could easily max out my credit cards buying _____________.
M: Furniture, decor, and dishes
C: Poker rooms don't accept credit cards
I feel happiest when _____________.
M: I am snuggling up with my hubby
C: We've just finished shooting a big wedding and I can finally sit down in my hotel room and kick my shoes off
I get upset when _____________.
M: I see people treated unfairly
C: I have to wash dishes
When I grow up I want to be _____________.
M: Happy
C: Retired
When I fail at something, I generally feel _____________.
M: Discouraged... quickly followed by the determination to make it work
C: Angry
Before I die, I would like to _____________.
M: Travel more
C: Play in the World Series of Poker
I feel gratitude toward my parents for _____________.
M: Everything ... but practically, no student loan debt - which enabled me to start this business at such a young age
C: My education
I am most thankful to my spouse for _____________.
M: Supporting my dreams even when it's been a giant risk
C: My job security ;)
|
|
|
2013 Archives
|
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
2
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
|
|
|
|
