Des Moines Iowa Midwest Photographer Nuzum Photo

DMJuice and IKONIX Studios Photo Contest

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:16:31 -0600

Be sure to check out all the entries in the DMJuice and IKONIX Studios photo contest. While there vote for your favorite.....of course I'm hoping that's mine.

You can check out my entry "Window of Oppurtunity" below. Click below to go vote.

We need you...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:33:52 -0600

Ashley and I are looking for an understudy....an intern...a second shooter...a colleague...you get the point. Ashley and I continue to grow as Nuzum Photo. Shooting 25 weddings in 2008, 36 in 2009, and scheduled to shoot 27 weddings this year. That's 88 weddings in the last three years. A rocket start to Nuzum Photo. This doesn't include any of the other kid, family, newborn, senior, sports, or any other shoots. Point.....we're busy.

What that means is we are looking for someone to help out this upcoming summer. Help will mostly be on weekends and predominately shooting with us at weddings. The time frame will be heavily from July on, but will have some early work as well. We are looking for someone that is willing to learn, listen, and work by our side. You have to buy into what Ashley and I do and how we do it. Believe me, it is a HUGE step for us to let anyone step into our little bubble. We love to have our hands around anything that has the name Nuzum on it.

The perfect candidate would be someone looking to get into wedding photography and willing to work as an understudy. The position will be unpaid. This would be great for someone looking to build their portfolio and get some experience working along side us. There are a lot of details to discuss that I won't get into here. But here comes the info you want. Please send an email to Intern@myfrozenmoment.com that has your name, email, phone number, and a link to some of your work. We've had many people contact us regarding a similar position in the past, but the help just wasn't needed yet. Well, today is the day. Look forward to hearing from you.

-Steve and Ashley Nuzum

Tiffany and Kevin

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:26:40 -0600

Last night Ashley and I had a fun and interesting engagement shoot with Tiffany and Kevin. With time of the most importance this was the ONE day that we could get the shots in as they are getting married tomorrow! These two were fun and up for whatever stupid idea we had at the time. We probably circled the botanical center 5 times. Luckily the skies were overcast as shooting inside the botanical center when it's sunny can be a challenge with hot spots. After making our laps and hanging out with the giant purple chair for a while we headed outside for a few quick shots. The temp gauge said 42, but it felt like 22....or just 2. Great time and looking forward to this weekend. Check out some of our favorites below!

Weston

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:30:24 -0600

Last night I photographed little Weston, who was all smiles to start off the session, but between outfit changes a missing a nap quickly lost his interest in cheesing it for the camera. Still we managed to get a few great shoots of Weston with mom and dad.

Carsen, Erin, and Evan

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:28:12 -0600

Erin, Evan and Carsen came in for a session late Friday evening. The twins recently turned 6 months old and Carsen just turned 4. Carsen was everything you would expect a 4 year old to be in a photo shoot...ultra posing and ready to be done. With those two things combined his part of the session was quickly completed. Happy 4th birthday Carsen.

Ethan

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:26:07 -0600

Mom and Dad always come prepared and this time was no exception. Once again we got some great shoots with little Ethan.

Presley

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:22:18 -0600

She is the second little girl I have photographed in the last month who turned 2 on the 29th of February. She was quite the little ballerina for me...once mom and dad offered her jelly beans. Happy 2nd birthday Presley.

Roadside Families

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:58:56 -0600

Ashley and I came across this site where photographers across America are paying it forward to other photographers. As photographers we all find it hard to get in front of the camera. We are always busy shooting photos of everyone else to find time for family photographs of our own. The Roadside Families project is working to help photographers get great family photos. So how does it work...well a photographer will go out and shoot family photos for another photographer. To pay that back, that photographer will go out and shoot family photos for another photographer and so on. This way photographers across the country are able to get family photos. No money is ever exchanged and it is all done by photographers for photographers. Be sure to check out the website and the page on how to join in with the project.

We thought it was a great idea. If there are any local Des Moines or Iowa photographers interested in getting involved, we'd love to get it started here in Iowa. Shoot us an email or give us a call. We'd love to shoot your family photos and give you a disc with all the images as well as a print for your home.

Family Photos - Melanie

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:35:32 -0600

On Saturday Ashley and I photographed family photos for Melanie. We started out at the Botanical Center in Des Moines. In the winter this can be a tough place to shoot photos. There are a lot of people in a small space and lots of photographers love to go there for photos, professional and amateur. We ran across at least 5 other photo sessions that were going on. After shooting what we could there, without getting too many people in the backgrounds of the photos, we headed to the studio where the two girls wore custom make tutus. Mom spent a lot of time putting them together and they looked great in the photos. Ashley selected a few of her favorites to share below.

Old Fashioned Photos

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:42:27 -0600

This is the first in a recurring set of blog posts where I'll be exploring out of date, old fashioned, and usually, just ugly photos. I'll be exploring what is trendy in photography today, mistakes new photographers make, and techniques that some photographers just can't let go of. This could get interesting.....

Today's first out of date technique is the Oval Office. It is a framing technique used to draw attention directly to the subject of the photo. It is out of date and makes your photos look like they are right out of the 70's. Newer techniques achieve a more subtle drawing of attention to the face. Some white vignette is acceptable, but over done is just plain ugly.

Below you see three different photos. All three of these are edits of the same photo. The photo was shot at IKONIX Studio with our Canon EOS 7D with our EF24-70 lens at 70mm, 1/200 at f/5.6. The edit on the left shows the extreme white vignette edit. Gives me the shivers. The second shows a lighter and less obtrusive edit. The third shows an edit we would do today to still draw attention to the subject, but not overwhelm it.

Stay tuned as next time I tackle.....dun dun dun.....selective color.

Jack

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:30:18 -0600

You have got to love the kids that come in to the studio and want to just go go go. That was definitely Jack. Once I mentioned doing a photo sicking his tongue out he was hooked on it, along with many other versions of his own made up funny faces. He loved having me take one and then running back to check it out on the camera. So here is Jack and a few of his funny faces.

Jennifer and Justin

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:28:26 -0600

On Sunday, Ashley and I got out for a chilly but fun engagement session with Jennifer and Justin. We did all we could to have a good time despite the cold temps. They said they were up for anything, which they probably quickly regretted as it lead to a snow fight and climbing through the snow to a bench in the middle of nowhere. Below are a few of our favorite shots.

Catch us in Juice Magazine

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:30:34 -0600

Ashley and I were asked to take part in Juice Magazine's photo issue on newsstands today. We listed out our top 5 locations to take wedding and engagement photos. You can see our list below and check out the article on Juice's website here. We had a fun time putting the list together and taking part. Thanks to Juice for letting us help out.

The Craig's List Conundrum

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:03:32 -0600

Ashley and I follow a lot of photography blogs. We follow the blogs of MANY local photographers from Des Moines, Ames, Omaha, Iowa City, Dubuque, Kansas City, Minneapolis and many other Midwest cities. We also follow the blogs of photographers from all around the United States and across the world. As photographers we are always striving to learn and grow. A good photographer gets better by looking at other's photos, thoughts, and wisdom as well as a LOT of trial and error on our own time with our own kids. They make excellent photo props.

As we follow all these blogs we have noticed a repeating and persistent topic as of late. A lot of photographers are concerned with effect of so called "Craig's List Photographers." Also known as $500 photographers or fly by their seat photographers, etc. We've heard them called many things. As photographers we also have an opinion on these "types" of photographers....beware that this post may contain many quotation marks. Feel free to do the air quotes along as you read.

So what have we seen most photographers saying? I am not directly quoting anyone but what I keep hearing and seeing is a constant push to keep these photographers down and degrade them in many different ways. A funny catch phrase is "We fix $500 weddings." Kind of like the commercial with the haircut place that fixes $6 haircuts. The effect on the high end photographers should remain minimal. Why some of them are threatened by $500 wedding photographers when they costs start at $3500 is beyond me. What bride and groom actually have a photographer budget between $500 and $3500?

While photographers operate at many different levels each tends to cater to a certain budget of bride and groom. Price ranges do not tend to be in such wide ranges that they are effected by changes in this area. If someone is looking for a $500 wedding photographer on Craig's List, the $3500 wedding photographer was never in the equation.

So what does it mean for you? The bride and groom searching for their wedding photographer. Should they avoid "Craig's List" photographers? No. Should you do your homework and a little research before making a decision? Yes. (As you should anyway) Photographers on Craig's List are typically just starting out. That is why their price is in the low range. Don't shy away from them just because they are on Craig's List as many photographers are now using Craig's List as a viable advertising solution. It's free isn't it. And who doesn't look at Craig's List these days.

So what can you do to help verify that the $500 photographer is worth a chance?

#1. See their photos. See as many of their photos as you can. Even someone shooting weddings on their own for the first time should have shot weddings as a second shooter for a more seasoned photographer. Things to look for with the photos:

Do any subjects look out of focus?
Do the people in the photos look bright compared to everything around them (they should not be very much brighter than their background)?
Do they stand out from the background (the photos should have a little "3D" effect to them), backgrounds should be soft?
Do they subjects have shadows behind them like someone has put them in a spotlight. This tends to happen when photographers use direct flash and shoot the flash right at the subject. Most photographers should be using some sort of diffuser or bouncing their flashes off of the ceiling to soften the light.

#2. Check references if available. Not have any references should tell you that they have a very limited work experience with weddings. Talk to at least 3 references and make sure you are not just getting close friends or family.

#3. Asks some questions about their cameras. Photographers demand a lot from their cameras. Knowing the tools and how to use them is vital. If a photographer puts the camera in Auto, the Canon green box, they are probably not getting the most from their camera and certainly not giving you the most with your photos.

#4. Have them tell you about a wedding they once shot. What challenges did they face? This shows growth. A $500 wedding photographer should be learning and growing. If they can identify challenges they have faced, they will learn from them and do better in the future. If they can not identify challenges, they probably are not working towards expanding their knowledge and growth.

#5. Ask them the rundown of ten questions from About.com's wedding planning section. You can find it here. There are many lists out there and all of them have good legitimate questions. Ask them in person and watch their reaction to each question to see how they respond. Do they look worried? Nervous?

So as a photographer I am not discouraging the use of $500 Craig's List photographers. I am simply saying do your homework. Everyone has to start somewhere. You have to get the first big opportunity and the advertising avenue that Craig's List provides is great.

Caleb

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:32:35 -0600

Ashley has photographed little Caleb several times now. Each time he gets more and more comfortable with the whole photo shoot idea. This time he really came out of his shell and had a great time. You can check out the photos below.