Andrea Brewster Photography: Events

Christmas Card Sessions

It's that time of year. The rush to get family pictures done for Christmas cards. This year I'm going to offer something a little different- the Christmas card session. Completely different from my regular sessions, these will be a 15 minute session to get just that one family picture you need for your Christmas cards at an affordable price. As long as you don't need a variety of poses, this is perfect for you.

Thursday, Nov 7th

Freestone Park, Gilbert

4:30
4:45
~~5:00~~ booked

~~5:15~~ booked

You will receive 1 edited, digital negative to do your own Christmas cards, via email. $49

Session fee must be paid at time of booking.

If you would like a variety of poses and combinations, then contact me for a regular session or click on 'Investment' above for more information.

AndreaBrewsterPhotography@gmail.com

480-332-9795

Prom 2013 [Gilbert, AZ High School Senior Photography]

These fun kids wanted to do something other than the typical prom pictures.

Landscapes in Prescott, Arizona [Mesa, Gilbert Professional Photographer]

I'll admit that there are some areas of photography that are not my strengths. Nature and landscapes went into that category. I've always attended the annual Fall Fest, but when I was put on a committee to help plan our annual AZPPA Fall Fest, I knew I was going to have to get a little out my element. Collen Miniuk_Sperry from Arizona Highways Magazine was the keynote. I've had other Arizona Highways experiences and have even attended one with Colleen before and knew the amazing teacher that she was! Each year the Fall Fest is held in another part of Arizona that as Phoenicians, we may not get to photograph. This year was Watson Lake in Prescott.

This is not dried out desert dirt. It is actually an inlet from the lake that gets no movement. This is water covered by who knows what and is still as can be. I loved the texture and strong light versus shadow.

Self- portrait.

Friday Files Vol 11 [Mesa, Gilbert Professional Photography]

He has hung up his lacrosse stick. Permanently. There are many layers to his decision... kind of like an onion... or a parfait. Moving on, before I start channeling Shrek. There's something amazing about watching your child transition past being 15. An awesome sense of humor, a great friend, an understated confidence, and completely comfortable in his own skin. But that's obvs from the picture right there! He's been working on a new form that has added 4 seconds to his time. Once he gets that down, it will swing back the other way and then some! In the meantime he was happy with the time he put up last week. Anyway, he has never been happier! Here's a few from last week's invitational:

Mesquite Homecoming 2012 [Mesa, Gilbert Professional Photography]

He. Made a t-shirt that said, "Maddy will you go to Homecoming with me?", and wore it to school all day! Gutsy. It's nice to see your son grow up with confidence minus cockiness. He gives me a million reasons to be proud of him.

Maddy. She said yeeeeees! But that was obvs!

They. Have known each other since Jr High. He was excited to go with a good friend. She was excited he was taller than her. So, these darling juniors did exactly what you're suppose to do: She gets the perfect dress and he dresses to compliment the ensemble, gold being the accent color.

The 'day date' started with ice skating with the 'getting ready' part following. The guys decided they would make dinner for the girls and then head to the dance afterwards. The night finished with an after-party at our house and some midnight swinging on the swings.

Well, world wide web, you should have known that I would micromanage the picture portion of the night!

Be Happy,
Andrea

Hello adorable!

How could he not ooze cool!

Equipment used:

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 70-200 2.8L USM IS

Canon 580EX II Speedlight

Tutorial Thursday Vol 2: Taking Care of Vendors [Mesa, Gilbert Professional Wedding Photography]

This may be a little lengthy, but hang in there with me. I believe in taking care of vendors. In case you missed it World Wide Web, I believe in taking care of vendors! Even I didn't quite get this early on. So let me help you out. Coordinating a wedding takes a village: Venue, Florist, Catering, Cake, Dress, Coordinator/Planner, and of course, yours truly, the wedding photographer. Sometimes a vendor will ask the photographer to grab some shots of their flowers, or their cake. Sometimes not. But I hereby declare I does not matter if they ask or not. I know other wedding photographers feel, "I'm hired and contracted by the bride, not the florist, I'm not shooting for them or I'm being paid by the bride, not the wedding coordinator or planner, why should I give them my images? Let's think of it this way. If you have the honor of being someone's wedding photographer, are you not going to be photographing those things anyway? And aren't you not going to be editing the images for the bride's wedding album anyway? So the only additional time it costs you is simply sending the vendor the images.

Let me give you some examples: At a bridal show recently, a wedding florist had a very unique bouquet that she designed. It's called an Heirloom Bouquet. She takes a collection of brooches, baubles, and buttons from the brides family and assembles them as a collection to create the wedding bouquet. Talk about 'something old'! And will stay with you forever! Anyway, she asked if I would take a quick picture of this design. Nope, I said. Not here. I suggested we set up a time when we can do some really nice images. That bouquet is deserving of it!

We chatted while I was doing my thing when she mentioned that she has only ever seen images of her work from a wedding by 1 other photographer!! I think I might have shook my head head back and forth with raised eyebrows in disbelief. On top of that I find out that she specializes in green weddings! Flowers that are succulents that can be planted and live on long after the wedding!

At that same show, I also had a wedding minister ask me to take a quick picture of her at her booth. When I had a few minutes I went over to her booth and asked her if she would like to set a time that we could do some head shots. But that was not what she was wanting. She really only wanted a single image of her at her booth. I obliged.

So let's get down to the why of this whole post, the benefits. Cultivating relationships with vendors takes time. The sooner you start the better. Eventually, they will lead to a relationship of trust, and ultimately, their recommendation. That's a huge one! Also, brides love it when they mention who they are using as their other vendors and you know who they are. On the flip side, I've had brides ask for recommendations and it's nice to be confident in giving that recommendation. After getting to know them and seeing their work, I could comfortably recommend Jack and Jills Flowers and Jessica from TLE Weddings. Ultimately it's up to you how you want to take care of the vendors or thank them. It's also up to you if you decide to include watermarked or non-watermarked images. But no matter what you decide is your protocol, take care of those vendors!

Wellspring of Gilbert [Mesa, Gilbert Professional Photography]

I was contacted by Wellspring Rehab of Gilbert. Their gorgeous facility just opened in January and they needed some shots of their indoor therapy pool. The super cool part is that the home office is in Houston. As in that Houston! I asked her how they possibly found me and she answered with a short and simple, "Google." I'm sure she heard the surprise in my, "really?" I've always worried about my Google ranking. But this just solidified that I'm not going to pay for one of those, "I can guarantee you first page ranking if you just pay us lots of money services." Disclaimer: I am NOT an architecture or commercial photographer. Seriously not. Those guys bring in the big gun lights and take hours to set up for those shots. Not my thing. But Lindsee assured me that they were not wanting nor looking for that. Okay then, I'm your girl.

They didn't ask for this shot, but I did it anyway.