Category: self-help

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The Newest Gift Shop in Nac

House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes}
House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes}
House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes}
House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes}

A Year of Change
We get a lot of questions these days about the changes we’ve made at the studio. One is, “Why would you want to change the name of your business from G Patterson Photography Studio to House of Photography?” and “What is this I hear about you selling gifts?” or “You can teach me photography?”

This year certainly has been a year of change with our small town business. For the past 25 years, we have been photographers. Pretty simple! Photography has changed dramatically the past 10 years. The idea of who and what a photographer has changed as well. But to answer the questions in very broad terms, the reason for this change is that we see Nacogdoches undergoing many positive changes and we wanted to be part of that effort, making this town we call home the best it can be.  Utilizing our talents as photographers, experience in graphic design plus the love and ability to create unique products has allowed us to “think outside the box!”

25 Years of Professional Photography
There’s many things we do right at House of Photography like capturing professional photographs, providing beautiful surroundings and backdrops for those photos, great customer service, and the ability to finish the art with professionally printed portraits worthy to hang on your wall. This is our passion and will continue to be our focus! We LOVE creating photos that make you love the way you look.

Learning Photography from a Pro
We’ve even put our expert knowledge of photography to work by teaching people of all ages the basics of photography in both our kids photography camps and adult photography classes. Just this year we have taught almost 100 people through our photography classes. Adult classes run throughout the year with new classes pretty much every month. If you want to know how to use your camera or how to see like a photographer, these classes were designed to get you started. They are FUN, FUN, FUN! You can see our current class offerings by visiting https://houseofphotography.as.me/learnphotography.

We ❤️  Nacogdoches and SFA! Introducing the Newest Gift Store in Nacogdoches
With our love for this town we proudly call home along with our favorite university-SFA, we embarked on a venture, an idea really to help promote what makes this place so unique. We want to highlight the history of Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas! We also want to shine a light on some of our local talent, artists, and makers. All of this wrapped up together led us to rename, rebrand, and build something totally unique.

With twenty-five years of experience in photography, you wouldn’t be surprised to find an overarching theme to just that.  Some of the photography related gifts include camera stickers, camera patches, camera straps, camera bags, etc. We have scenic Nacogdoches photographs for purchase by local photographer Wendy Floyd; also, some great photography including Big Bend and our local Goodman Bridge prior to being moved to Pecan Park.

House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes}
House of Photography {Gifts + Photos + Classes} Greg & Cindy Patterson with Haley Compton

Nacogdoches Gifts, SFA Gifts, Gifts for Men, Photography Gifts, etc…
Because our town boasts such diverse talent, we also have bath products, wood carvings, coffee mugs, drink coasters and jewelry made right here, all of which make great gifts! You’ll find whimsical products like camera purses, camera bubble blowers, t-shirts, hats and unique and award winning greeting cards, Nacogdoches post cards, SFA post cards, as well as other products devoted to SFA. All these together with a handful of supplies for the amateur photographer combine to create a collection of unique and fun gifts. 

When you leave House of Photography, we hope you’ll tell others of the unique experience you had here; but, also, a sense of deja vu as we’ve chosen black and white prints from the past 100 years to decorate our walls and help bring a little recognition and prestige to SFA and the beautiful town it which it calls home.

The quaintness and attention to personal detail you receive in shops like the ones in downtown Nacogdoches is a real appeal. So, we hope you’ll drop in and experience all the changes we’ve made. You can even leave with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee while the weather’s cold.

New Hours
One last note, from now until Christmas, we will be open Monday 11 am to 4 pm, Tuesday-Friday 10 am to 5:30 pm and Saturday 11 am to 4 pm.

 

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Blog Events Graduating Seniors Portrait Sessions self-help Tips & Tricks

8 Steps to Better Prom Pix

It’s that season, and though you might not have a high schooler destined for prom this year, these tips just might help with your next family gathering.

1. CHOOSE A CLEAN BACKGROUND

If possible, choose an outdoor setting with some greenery—trees, bushes, anything with green or flowers. Place the subjects several feet in front of the background.
If indoors, take a couple minutes to select a posing spot and clear any clutter out of the background.
Try to avoid direct sunlight. If you have no choice, place the sun behind your subject and off to one side and force the flash to fire.

2. FALL BACK AND ZOOM

To compose your image, you can either zoom out and get close or zoom in and step back. Try the latter.Jenkins_270 PT By stepping back, you shorten the facial features and create a more flattering image of the subjects’ faces.

3. STABILIZE THE CAMERA

If you have a tripod or monopod, use it. If not, set the camera on a stable object. The Faver_123smworst possible way to shoot is to hold your camera out in front of you with two hands.The camera will move and the image will be blurry.Faver_093sm

4. KNOW WHEN TO USE FLASH.

In general, don’t use on-camera flash indoors; it will create a very cheap look and very hard shadows. Find a room with the best light. If you have an DSLR camera with a separate flash, you can consider bouncing if off of the wall or ceiling. It’s better to use available light and shoot with a stable camera. Outdoors, a bit of fill flash may be good to minimize eye circles.

5. MIND THE WHITE BALANCE.

Most cameras have a white balance selection. Instead of auto, choose the white balance that is appropriate for the predominant light source. Outside in shade, choose Shade. It will have a great impact on your image colors.

6. COMPOSE THE GROUPS.

Take a few shots of each couple. Have one person place their arms around their date’s waist and you can show their flowers, as well. Then get all of the girls together and then all of the guys, and finally, one shot with all of the couples. Pose them with hands at sides, or partially in pockets, or holding flowers or each other. A few candids will mix it up, maybe using a sporty car or the family dog. You can shoot the guys roughhousing or the girls “getting ready” to go to prom. If multiple people are taking pictures, take turns. You want to avoid eyes going in all different directions.

7. MULTIPLE SHOTS FOR MULTIPLE PEOPLE.

The more people in an image, the greater the likelihood that someone will be blinking in any shot. For larger groups, take at least 5 images. One trick is to have everyone close their eyes, and on a count of three, open them and smile.

8. DO SOME QUICK EDITS.

Spend a couple of minutes to rotate the images so they all show up correctly, and consider a few basic edits: contrast, color saturation, exposure levels, cropping. These fundamental editing steps will take a good shot and make it great.

P.S. If any of this sounds like greek to you, consider calling a professional this prom season who takes all the guesswork out of creating beautiful images of an occasion worth remembering.

FIVE MISTAKES TO AVOID IN YOUR SENIOR PHOTOS

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Blog Rambling Running/Recreation Self-exploration self-help

For those of you who still think losing weight will make you happy

G Patterson Studio portrait garden. Nacogdoches Texas.

When Meghan Trainor came on the scene with her hit, “It’s All About the Bass,” denouncing those that would judge another because of their weight, we were all in enthusiastic agreement. To be honest, though, we size people up every day based on all kinds of things from how much money we make to where someone attends college. Retailers devote a lot of their budget to find out where you shop and what drives your shopping choices. We answer questions everyday about people using our inferential powers, so what can you do when someone labels you “fat” or “overweight”? There may not be anything you can do about how others treat you according to the way you look, but what if you could respond in a positive way?

Answer the following questions to find out if you’re affected by how others see you:

1. Have you ever tried on an outfit that you loved on the rack until you put it on and decided it’d look better on someone else?
2. Have you ever declined that first helping of dessert because everyone else at the table was thinner than you?
3. Have you ever thought about putting something important or fun off until you lose some weight?

If you answered “yes” to any or all of the questions, it might be time for a change, but not the kind you’re thinking about.

We’ve all heard stories of someone who lost the weight they’d been hoping to lose for a long time, only to find they were just as unhappy as they were before they lost the weight? How realistic is it to think that making a change on the outside could change how we feel on the inside that much? If you want to be truly happy, try making these changes instead.

Don’t look to others to make you happy; they’ll always let you down. Have you held onto resentment, anger, hurt and bitterness because of what another person said or did to you? Do forgive and forget, and you’ll begin to help you heal by replacing those feelings with something positive like treating others with kindness. By praising another person or just listening to them, you gain power, and you may gain another friend.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Most of what we worry about are either things that won’t matter in a day or next week, or they’re things we can’t change. Do give thanks. Keep a gratitude journal where you write down exactly what you’re grateful for each day. Doing so helps you maintain stress, gives you happier moods and greater optimism.

You may say, “You wouldn’t believe the problems I face.” But, you’ll always have failures in life, that’s a given. You can change the way you see them. Don’t make excuses by blaming others for your problems; doing so means you’ll unlikely be able to overcome them. Happy people take responsibility for their mistakes. Why not see your problem as a challenge to make a positive change in your life?

It’s true, there are some things out of your control. But, focus on the things you can. Waking up at the same time every morning enhances productivity and focus, especially if you’re taking the time to pray and meditate. Eating well by avoiding junk foods or processed foods can prime your body and brain to be in a focused, happy state. When I’m grocery shopping, I keep in mind that the healthier foods are found along the walls of the store. Shop for fruits and vegetables, dairy and cheese, and meats and seafood around the perimeter of the store. Exercising every day will enhance your frame of mind and reduce stress. By doing something you know makes you healthier, your can’t help by becoming happier!

G Patterson Studio portrait garden. Nacogdoches Texas.
G Patterson Studio portrait garden. Nacogdoches Texas.