Holiday pictures time!

  This holiday season I wanted to give you all some photo taking tip for all of those holiday parties and Christmas morning photo's you all plan on taking.
{ Before you push that button make sure you are focusing in on only one item at a time.  Do not take a photo of a room full of people it is boring, uninteresting and even you will never go back and look at it keep things simply }

1. Keep it to small groups and really fill the frame use the faces to block out distractions.
2. Go easy on the flash, try using the program icons on your camera to try and avoid photo ruining flash.
3. Don't forget to take pictures of the food, decorations.
4. Do be a nuisance, don't take aunt Jane's side profile, interrupt the conversation for a split second take the photo and she can get back to her story and egg nog.
5. last and usually most important get the subjects full attention, then just before you take the photo look around the subject(s) heads/bodies to make sure you haven't let anything grow out from behind them, this prevents the hard work of trying to edit things out or leaving them in and it will be the first thing everyone will mention about the photo.
6. When taking pictures of children get down to there level taking the shot looking down on them is boring and will not use it unless it was from an interesting angle.  {Make each shot interesting}
7. When you start to pick on people your own size, bend your knees a little before taking the shot.  It will help avoid red eye's and people look better shot from either a slightly lower or higher angle.

The act of taking photo's can come across as a real pain in the rear end to some people.  Lots of people hate getting there picture taken.  But the memories that a good photo will bring back for years to come are well worth taking the time to capture a great shot.  When people are gone the only things that are left of them are our memories, Photo's & Video's.  So the next time someone tells you to say cheese think to yourself this might be the only way my Great Great Great grandchildren will get to see/know me.


For me photo's are amazing they capture a moment in time that we can never get back.  We can try and duplicate a shot we have seen but the light will be different and sometimes the whole feel of the picture is missing.  I always try to take my time and setup the right shot and will take practice but for me that just means more time with the camera and I love Love that.

Next Top Model

So I got asked to take some modeling shots of my awesome nephew Bentley.  He was a excellent model giving me all kinds of poses and faces.  We did have the basketball game on so he was mostly watching the game but it worked out fine because I switched the lighting around and he stayed focused.  I love this kid.

Halloween edition

   Well the spooking is over and all we have to show for it is a bag full of candy none of us are going to eat.  Mostly because all of the really good stuff was eaten either that night or the next day.  We had a really great time, we trick or treated with my wife's family the Stay's & the Hudson's the kids all looked really cool.
 Our son was a monkey this year and what a great costume for him since he was into everything.  He wanted to touch every pumpkin and every creepy crawling thing and he was not scared I was a proud daddy.   We carved his little pumpkin that my parents had given him and he loved playing with the guts.

 All in all we had a great time and it was nice to visit with the Hudson's since they had to drive up from AZ. to see us and I thank them for inviting us up to there timeshare in P C I love swimming in the winter and M&L you have three cute little fish it is nice to have someone in the pool as long as I like to be usually I am the last one in.  Well gotta run enjoy the pics I have pictures to edit.

Photo Update

 So I am a lot behind on this blog and I am going to get better at this I promise.  So what I have done is uploaded some images of just some of the latest things I have had the privilege of capturing.

Let me start out with my very cute cousin Crue's birthday party, doesn't he make a a great cop?  We always enjoy going over for their parties thanks for inviting us Mark & Michelle.

Second was a personal shoot I went out to the Bonneville salt flats, which for those that have never been there or might have seen it on television it's closer to Wendover Nevada than Salt Lake.  I went out with a coworker & friend Austin it was is 300 and we shot these images well after the sun had set, we had a lot of fun doing this shoot even though I am still cleaning salt out of my car.  

 My little man is now the big 1 and this is biased but he is the cutest one year old ever.  He has now started to take a couple of steps on his own as long as its his idea.
  Bryson was extremely spoiled and had a lot of family and friends over and got more toys than he knew what to do with and he is very protective of all of them, just try to play with one and he will come to its rescue to take it back!
  He is also starting to have a strong dislike for baby food, he will still eat his dinner but then takes great interest in what we are having for dinner to add to his meal.  Bryson has started to say a few more words like Dog, Outside (pronounced "side") and then points to the door, mom & dadda of course and ball.  He also makes Elephant noises and then points at his "pillow pet" that Grandma Hyatt got him.
 Bryson is showing that he is really catching on to his small world he can't say the names of things but he knows what things are if you ask him to show you.  Things like where is his eyes, nose and belly are.  Our Fish tanks are always his favorites.  The sounds of the dishwasher & refrigerator doors opening will get him crawling to investigate every time.  He will flirt with any waitress to get them to get him crackers or to get them closer to him so he can still there pens.  He also loves kids no matter the age he wants to play with all of them and our neighbors kids thinks its awesome.
 Denise is excited for halloween she has his costume ready and he loves everything creepy or spooky this kid has no fear I love it!

 Over Labor day weekend my family final got a chance to get gathered around the campfire at the family property in Nine Mile Canyon.  Man I love this place.  The Sunsets & Sunrises were as good as I have ever seen them and I got to go clear up and over the top of Minnie Maud road something I have never been able to do in my entire life.
 I have to say that I have an amazing family and I love them all. We missed all of those that weren't able to make it you know who you are maybe next year we will all make it there together because that's when we have the most fun.  We had a good time, ate good food, got the place ready for winter and took some amazing photo's ( my opinion again) but judge for yourselves.

       A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of photographing a little wedding in Syracuse, UT., the happy couple had a small wedding at a local park, with a small gathering of friends and family.  The time of the wedding was amazingly lit with the sun setting I photographed the couple and there family and the ceremony.  Congrats to Heather and Ben may it be wedded bliss for many years to come!

 If you live in Utah you probably did not go a day with out hearing about the Herriman fires.  This fire started on Sunday September 19, 2010 from machine gun fire at the military base Camp Williams shooting range.  The photo's were taken from my front hard several blocks away, we were in no danger and lucky for us the smoke really did not effect us to bad.

Riverton Skaters

I got the chance to take pictures of some guys skating at the Riverton Utah skate park.  I got some great images and just wanted to show some of them off enjoy!

July is Busy

   I have had such a busy July but it has been fun.  The month started off with celebrating our anniversary which is actually on June 30 but we celebrated our honeymoon over the 4th and so we carry it on through the weekend .  We planned on staying home and swimming at our community pool, but my parents called to invite us to go camping up Diamond fork canyon in Spanish Fork UT.  We rode 4 wheelers, got dusty and saw some great scenery then we came home and the parents came over with ice cream and a big box of fireworks.  Bryson is a lot like me he watched the first two fountains go off  and then he was bored, but the whistlers and the crackling fountains he would watch, it was a Great Weekend!

  This weekend we are off to Duchesne Utah to join the Stay Family Reunion it should be alot of fun we are bringing up the 4 wheelers and the dutch ovens.  It is going to be a very hot weekend here now that we are getting into the 90's and up! I might even go for a ride to go see indian petroglyphs down 9 mile canyon if time allows. 
 The 24th is a state holiday here in Utah, we celebrate the pioneers settling in the Salt Lake Valley on that day.  We will probably be parting at our house like we had originally planned on the 4th.  Being lazy floating in the pool and doinging some bbqing. It will be another good weekend of doing nothing. :-)

 We have been slowly and secretly planning a great party for Bryson's first birthday so if you are planning out the month of August and will be in town on the weekend of the 21st plan on coming over to our house for a day of swimming and bbq and playing with the all grown up 1 year old.

  As far as photo's go it has been a slow go this year with people worried over the economy, so if you have friends that need photo's done please send them to me PLEASE!!! 
P.S.  I will be posting pics I have taken very soon!

Why Are Professional Photographers So Expensive?

Why Are Professional Photographers So Expensive?


       I found this on another great photographers blog SusieQ.blogspot.com and I think it is a great way to help others understand why does it cost so much.  Now my prices don't match what they talk about in this article but you will see why I charge what I do.  It has been 3 years for me now from when I started shooting professional. At this time I would like to thank my customers and let them know how much I appreciate their business and their friendship. Whether you have been with me from the beginning or recently became a fan on my Facebook page brandon hyatt photography (Please like the page if you like the photo's and become a member of the group), thank you so much for helping me do what I love to do!



I found this to be a good read and I hope it will help answer any questions you might have.

Why are professional photographers so expensive?

A good explanation for all those people who ask and complain about why professionals charge what they do for photos:

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

   In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

      Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:

- one hour of travel to and from the session

- two hours of shooting

- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.

- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)

- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive

 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs

 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.

- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

  I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

  Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

   Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Spring Time = Get in Shape

      Ok, so as everyone knows the weather outside is getting very nice and with it comes time to get the dust off of the workout shoes and clothes and get back into shape.   I have decided to finally climb out from behind the tv and out of my winter slumber den to start losing some lbs.  I started to take the HCG shots that I have done in the past to give me a little head start in the weight loss department.  No the shots don't hurt and it really isn't inconvenient, but the limit on choices of food get old real fast but its only 23 days and then you are off it.   I started on Monday the 3rd and lost 15 lbs. that first week and now I am rounding the bend on the end of this round just a few more days to go and I have lost about 20 lbs.

 
  We as a family have started to go on a nightly walk around our neighbor hood, we take the long route which is exactly 1.5 miles and by then Bryson is ready to get his last snack and then off to bed.  this is a picture of how he usually likes to ride in his stroller.  He likes his feet up on the tray and his golf ball in his hands it's the one he got from his Great Grandpa Stay while we were staying with them in St. George.

  I have been working out with my Dad and brother Bronson every other day and then working Denise out in our clubhouse on the other days, while I watch Bryson.  He loves to watch her run on the elliptical machine it is hilarious and loves the full length mirrors.  He has even started to work on his own workout for strengthening his biceps.  I never look this happy when I am in the middle of a workout I am told I look like I am really mean.

This is how I roll

    
First Friday without mom

  Bryson and I hung out at the house and had some breakfast he is now eating anything you put in front of his face.  Loves all the fruit and Vegetables and his slowly starting on the meats.   He just stares at everything on your plate and would like you to allow him just a small sample of everthing.  He makes the funniest noises when he eats.  He copies his mom because she tells him yummmm after ever bite so that his what he does after every single bite and he growls at you before every new bite because you are taking to long to get it into his mouth.

We then decide it was time to get some bath time in before we played and took some lunch down to Denise's office.   Bryson is so fun in his little tub he loves to splash in the water with these flashing lite ducks that his Grandma Hyatt game him they are his favorite toy in the tub.  Then because he seems to have no fear of the water he likes to lay down flat as possible to get his ears under the water then he smiles up at you while he just lay's there.

Unscheduled stop at Grandma Hyatt's

 I thought I would surprise my mother with a visit to her office I know how much she likes to show off the baby and how big he is getting.  To my surprise she had taken the day off to help out my younger brother Tyler and watch her other grand baby Bentley, so we drove to Grandma Hyatt's house and there we found her and Bentley playing in the backyard in the "secret garden" as she calls it.  There we stayed and played for way to long enjoying the warm spring day.  In fact it was a little to warm and I got in trouble I let the baby get a little pink on the nose, ears and arm.  We had a lot of fun, special thanks to my cute nephew Bentley & my great Mom for sharing the book reading marathon in the secret garden.

It  turned out to be a really great day and I got him home to a nap just before Denise got home, so I looked like I was being a responsible parent.   We then met my parents for dinner and then went home to watch a movie.  Perfect end to a great first Friday.

Back to Work :-(

        Well I am back again, a few things have occurred since I last wrote. First thing that has happened in our lives is Denise has been asked by her former boss "Carl" (Great guy by the way) asked her if she would please come back to work doing exactly what she was doing before she left to raise Bryson.

  This came as a shock for Denise and I as we have been asking in our prayers for a little help because of the slow economy the photography has not been quiet as busy so to help fill in the gaps that occur once in a while since usually that is what her check was used for. She took the opportunity and works on Fridays only! Now I know this is a good thing because it allows Denise aka"mom" time to get out of the house and talk to adults. I get some alone time with the kid and no I don't count as an adult just ask my family.
  I have gone two Fridays without her and I do miss the extra time it gave us together, however I have had a lot of fun just hanging out with Bryson, he is getting big and his personality is so much bigger than he is. So special thanks to my wife for going for it! I know its hard not being there with him even for one day.

Staying Busy!

Sorry to all of you who might have visited my blog in the last little bit and was sadly disappointed in the fact that I have been away,. I know, I know I have been saying it to myself you wanted this now stick with it.   Sorry!

  Now that is out of the way.  Welcome back to you all, whoever you might be I am glad to be back I have been to the warmer side of UTAH in the red rocks and early heat of the white sand dunes for easter with the family.  We had so much fun riding four wheelers and sitting around the campfire, my family is so much fun to hang out with.  We went the whole weekend without serious incident until my brother Tyler and his family tried to go home early ahead of us and ended up getting stuck in the sand.  Again, thanks to my family we rushed to help dig them out  and get them on there way home.  Unfortunately they ended up leaving their front bumper with us and my other brother Bronson was able to work is magic and fix/ save the bumper.










  Denise and I then traveled even further south to ST. George first to visit my wife's family that we have not seen in awhile  ( Many thanks again to Steve & Linda Stay and to Bill & Norma Stay)they were gracious enough to let us crash at their homes and second to take as many senior high school portraits as possible.  Oh and many thanks to the Desert Hills High School "Thunder" I had a great time taking pictures of their highly competitive games, last Friday against Hurricane High and Pine View last Tuesday, You guys Rock and I hope you all enjoy some of the great shots that were captured.  

    

 I am proud to announce that my happy smiling baby boy has now got his two front teeth and he swam in the pool for the first time ever and he is such a cute little fish he naturally took to the water kicking and swimming,  he floated on his back and kicked and loved it unless you tried to help him to keep his head up off the water it really made him nervous which is great and so I am now way excited for this summer it was a blast.


                                                                                                                                                                                                              I got the great honor of shooting the very important 1 year old portraits of Dallin B.  Kirsten your son is so busy and was a blast to photograph and your daughter Abby is always so fun to talk to what a great personality she has.  


 












     It's Wednesday and now I only have one more day to work this week but, after being at work after being off is always hard to go back to.  It is made a lot easier working with the guys I work with, "thank you" for covering for me while I was out you do make it easier to come back.  Even though the first call from a customer that is an idiot makes it all come back to you really quickly, so much for a vacation. 


It has been fun catching you all up with the craziness that is my life.  I hope to next post leave you all with some helpful photography tips that you can use to capture pics of your kids and family any where using any camera especially the point and shoot kind.  
  Thank you to all that support me and my photography and of course my "Family"  you are all wonderful.