montage of children, families, seniors, and weddings photos
montage of children, families, seniors, and weddings photos
As we continue to reflect upon and celebrate all that has happened in the past 10 years, we take a look at the numbers of unique moments we’ve captured.
Over 1000 Just4Fun Kid’s sessions with all the goofy grins, silly smiles and unexpected moments one can imagine…
Hundreds of furry friends and their owners, those that behaved and those that made attempts to chase the neighborhood cat…
Over 800 nervous, yet excited graduating seniors, each with their own brand of style and personality…
Nearly 1500 fun-filled, action packed family sessions with crazy kiddos running around being chased by each other while the parents stand back and laugh at the mayhem…
Several dozen voice quivering “I do” moments, decorated Just Married getaway vehicles, and teary dads that are reluctant to give away their baby girls…
You, our clients, have invited us to be a part of creating tens of thousands of special moments. It continues to be a blessing and honor.
A snapshot of our printed newsletter from 9 years ago.
A snapshot of our recent e-newsletter.
For the better part of 10 years, we’ve tried to stay connected with our clients through our studio newsletter “Coming Home.” It’s of great importance to us to remain engaged with our friends and family who continue to support our portrait studio. The newsletter often contains stories of recent family sessions, growing families, photography tips, upcoming specials, holiday recipes, and our thoughts on the day. We want to share our exciting stories with our community. We want to inspire and encourage families and children and graduating seniors. We want to enrich the lives of our readers if only by bringing a simple smile to their faces. Our newsletter has seen its fair share of changes, from originating as a print snail-mailer to the current instant email it is today. So please take the time to peruse and share our newsletter the next time you see it in your inbox. Thanks for reading… and remember to stay in touch.
The image above represents a very special story to me:
One day, a young woman, pregnant with a baby girl, buys a beautiful dress. The woman has a vision of her baby growing into a beautiful young lady that will fit into that dress for her fifth birthday. In her vision, she sees her precious daughter wearing the dress while riding a pony barefoot with wind in her hair. Before the baby is even born, her mother can see this idea as a portrait hanging in her home. For the next five years, the woman patiently waits until the day finally comes when that baby has grown into the beautiful girl she had imagined. This sweet story has a beautiful ending as the portrait of her dreams now hangs in the woman’s home.
This is the kind of story that makes photographers love their job. However, so much has changed in the field of photography over the past few years… for better or worse. Cameras have gotten faster and more powerful, as they simultaneously have gotten sleeker and less expensive. Today, even our phones have better digital cameras on them than existed ten years ago. Everyone has a camera at their fingertips. Sadly for some, the ubiquitous nature of the modern day camera has changed their expectation of professional photography. These families no longer expect a friendly, customized portrait session. Instead, they anticipate a dry, quick, cookie-cutter session with forced expressions. To these families, I encourage you to expect more from photography. Let the story of the young mother inspire you to dream bigger. Though much has changed, one very important thing has stayed the same. A well crafted photograph still has the ability to stop you in your tracks and make you FEEL… happy, nostalgic, hopeful, excited, or even in love.
At G. Patterson Photographic Studio & Gallery, taking a photograph is less about documenting what someone looks like and more about capturing the essence of that person in that moment in time. Anyone can snap a photo and have it resemble the person they were aiming at. But that’s not our goal here at the studio. Our goal is to create a work of art that evokes emotion… that sees personalities shine through… that captures the loving relationships families share. One of the first questions we ask our clients before ever taking the camera out is, “What is your vision for this photograph?” We want to know if they have thought about who will be in it, what they will wear, will it be posed or candid, what type of setting, where will it be displayed, and finally what should it be about. Anyone can point a camera at someone else and press a button. What sets us apart is our willingness and ability to cater a session to your particular needs thereby creating a piece of portrait art that represents what you had envisioned and ultimately tells your story.
Remember that it is still possible to create a photograph that captures the imagination. And that’s exactly what we strive to do each day at G. Patterson Studio. We would love the opportunity to turn your dreams into reality through our fine-art photography.
Three family photos depicting loving relationship.
The loving relationship within a family is easy to find, but often challenging to photograph. So when the moment comes, be ready!
When you have been around as long as G. Patterson Studio has, you think you have heard it all when it comes to doubts. Stressed out mothers will say, “There is just no way to get a good photo of my child.” Sarcastic dads will smirk, “Good luck with this family.” Nervous teenagers will say, “I don’t like pictures.” And even those parents, at the end of their portrait session, will sometimes ask, “Do you think we got anything at all?”
Yes, this kind of uncertainty and doubt can worry even the most experienced of photographers, but it always seems to turn out the same way (… at least at our studio.) When the client returns to view the images from their session, they are blown away. Tears immediately well up in the eyes. And then look out! Here come the ‘Thanks you’s!’ and ‘These are amazing’s!’ One recent client, who has been coming to us for years, said, “I sincerely wondered if you were able to capture anything with the way my kids ran around. But I don’t know why I ever doubt. The photos turned out beautifully, as they always do. Thank you!”
I can honestly say that the one complaint we get is NOT that the photos are bad, rather that there are too many good ones to choose from. But that’s what being a professional is all about. Capturing great tear-jerking moments through photography is not always easy. In fact, it is often hard. But it is so worth it when it is done right. And professionals are there to get it right every time. A professional understands that there will not be a second chance to capture that ‘I do’ wedding moment. A professional understands that children will not always cooperate, so you must be ready for the fraction of a second that they will. A professional can speak with a nervous teenager to make her feel at ease and actually laugh so her genuine smile shines through her senior portraits. A professional photographer should be ready for just about anything. After all, when working with people, you never know for certain what to expect.
Photography does not promise to get any easier in the future. Parents will still have their doubts. Teenagers will act shy. Children will go bonkers! But these are not meant to fuel the excuse train. These are exactly the reasons to seek out a professional who is completely capable of capturing the perfect portrait even when it seems challenging or impossible. G. Patterson Studio wants to photograph those once-in-a-lifetime moments of your family. We want to take away the stresses so that you can enjoy the fruits of our labor for many years to come. Your walls and shelves and coffee tables can be covered with priceless family memories. G. Patterson Studio is here to make that happen.
