Stanley Nov Photography

If you’ve been on the market for a professional photographer lately you probably came across a couple of shoot-N-burn guys as well as some photoshopographers.

Those of you that have booked me know where I stand on the subject and even thought I believe that a great photograph starts with the right basics (light, composition, lines of sight, patters, poses, etc) it’s also important to bring out the best in each person – that’s where photo enhancement comes in.

I shoot in RAW format and each photograph I bring back to the studio goes through post-processing. In addition, all printed photographs are digitally enhanced to take full advantage of printed media.

Below is a RAW photograph from one of my latest maternity sessions:

This is the client version of the same image (post-processed)

Let me know what you think at stanley@stanleynov.com

I’ve been asked many times what type of equipment I use and my preferred answer is that isn’t the lens that counts but the photographer, however, professional grade cameras and lenses helps a lot. Here’s what photo equipment I usually bring to client photo sessions.

• Cameras
• Canon 5D Body with Vertical Grip
• Canon 5D Body (2nd body is used as backup)
• Flashes
• Canon Speedlite 580EX
• Canon Speedlite 430EX 
• Lenses
• Canon 24-70 2.8 Lens
• Canon 70-200 2.8 IS Lens
• Canon 50 1.4 Lens
• Canon 15 2.8 Lens
• Canon 100 2.8 Macro Lens
• Canon 17-40  Lens
• Batteries, Cables, Chargers, Card Reader, External HD for backups  ….

What equipment do you use? What are you favorite lenses and why?

I’ve been looking forward to this photo session for a while. The inspiration has come upon me when I realized that how much fun we’re going to have documenting this very exciting time in Natalia’s life. I really enjoyed working with mommy and daddy and some of the photographs I’ll share with you really captured their beauty.

A while ago I was introduced to a beautiful couple who recently invited me to document a very special time in their relationship – the last trimester.

I advised the expecting mother to wait until 34th week to ensure the belly is in its optimal shape. I hired my assistant Inna to help mom-to-be with wardrobe selection and help with lights and we spent several hours shooting away.

For obvious reasons I can’t put most of the interesting photographs online but if you’re an expecting mother and would like to see my entire maternity portfolio feel free to request a quote at stanley@stanleynov.com and I’ll provide you with a password to my complete maternity portfolio.

Q. I am looking for a photographer to make creative portraits of my children, what are the questions to ask?

A. I’ve been asked this question more than once and it’s understandable that parents need more transparency while selecting a photographer.

My recommendation is to select 5-7 photographers in the area based on their portfolio and word-of-mouth feedback and call each of them to learn if they’ll provide you the value you’re expecting.

I would start with the following questions (notice how the price question is at the bottom of the list):

• Are there any hidden fees?
• Is there a mandatory minimum “Print Order”?
• Will I received a CD/DVD with the digital negatives?
• Will I be able to print these digital negatives
  • Free of watermarks?
  • Over 12MPixels?
  • Will I have the rights to reproduce these photographs?
• Does the photographer charge extra for on-location sessions?
• Does the photographer charge extra for weekend sessions?
• Does the photographer charge extra for other family members?
• Will the photographer retouch & enhance the images?
  • Does the photographer shoot in JPG (lower quality)
  • Does the photographer shoot in DNG (higher quality)
• Does the photographer have any formal education in arts?
• What is the bottom line for the whole package?

I would love to hear back from you on some of these ideas and questions. Let me know if I missed anything important to you.

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If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate an email to stanley@stanleynov.com

Dear readers. In the following series of articles I will attempt to answer most frequently asked questions about maternity, newborn and children photography.

Q. What are the advantages of environmental photography vs. studio setup?

A. Studio setup allows for more controlled environment but can severely hamper the creative process of capturing a meaningful portrait. Studio photo sessions usually work best for newborns but as the child gets older it becomes harder and harder on the parents and the photographer conduct a successful photo session.

By contrast, environmental photography ensures your child is relaxed and comfortable in familiar surroundings. In addition, every session is unique, these photographs will capture your family’s atmosphere – they will not be identical to those of your friend’s children – this type of experience is unachievable in a studio and requires a higher level of professionalism (technical and inter-personal) from the photographer.

If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate an email to stanley@stanleynov.com

Stanley Nov Photography

Over the last several weeks I’ve done a number of maternity photo sessions. Today I’d like to talk about an issue that I think is effecting all of us, especially my clients – security of our digital assets.

Maternity photo sessions can be as creative and intimate as the atmosphere allows. 10 years ago I would have used film and printed the photographs in a private lab but today I use digital cameras and provide my clients not only the prints but digital negatives as well – here’s where I’m starting to be concerned.

In my digital studio I take extra care to protect myself and my clients. All maternity sessions are clearly marked and stored separately from other jobs. My backups (yes, I back everything up in 2 places – on an external Hard Drive and Dual Layer DVDs) of maternity sessions are encrypted and protected .. but what happens to the photographs on the DVDs I deliver to my customers?

Imagine having a disk with a set of very intimate and romantic images that you had ordered at a very special time of your life disappear. What do you? Would you panic? I know my wife would. What happens if someone finds the disk and decides to post your private images on the internet? Or even worst, blackmail you?

This is where I set myself apart from the competition.

1. The DVDs I deliver to my customers are individually custom printed to mitigate a chance of leaving your house mistake. Below is a photograph of a DVD I will be delivering to a client this weekend.

2. All the folders and files on this DVD are encrypted with a AES encryption with 128-bit keys. This means that unless you know the password, there’s no way to see the images. This is the same type of encryption used in banks and while some may say this is an overkill, I think the privacy of my clients that put their trust in me must be protected with the best tools and methods available. Below is the contents of the DVD mentioned above.

I want to thank Jessica, a perspective client, who made me realize the value of sharing this information with my audience.

Yours truly,

Stanley Nov