Monday, May 12, 2008

My New Bike!

We found the neatest little bike this weekend. It won the Oppenheim Toy of the Year Best Toy Award and I can see why. The amazing thing is that our two year old can navigate it perfectly.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Calling all Upcoming Seniors in the class of '09

We have a limited offer for all Class of 2009 Seniors out there! If you are a junior this year and would like to receive a FREE Senior Session and a beautiful folio of images (a $200 value), then contact us ASAP. You will also receive 1 5x7 for every senior you get to come to us for senior portraits, and there is no obligation to purchase anything whatsoever, this is how we market to seniors at your school. If you know someone that is a junior in high school then tell them about this special offer.

Calling all Upcoming Seniors!

Ott Photography, LLC currently has limited openings for Senior Models. Want to be a senior model and get a special Senior Folio for free? This folio includes up to eight of your favorite poses. Be one of the first 5 seniors to contact us and you will receive this special offer. Tell other seniors about us and for every referral, get a 5x7 of your favorite pose for free.

Happy Mother's Day...


To all the Mother's of the world! A special greeting to all of the mom's I know, especially mine! Without moms, where would we be?

Friday, May 9, 2008

This one's for Grandma!


Cool Tunes!


Last night we went to hear the oldest play a concert in his middle school band. It was a great concert! Our oldest is doing so well in band. He plays the trumpet, trombone and baritone. Last night he chose to play baritone. We are SO proud of him! He did a great job. Today he tells me that his baritone is not in "pitch". He can hear that it isn't. I think that's always a wonderful gift when people can hear whether or not something is in pitch. I am so glad he has an ear for music. I always wanted to play the piano, but so far haven't learned. I really like the fact that he is in to music. My littlest loves to hear him play. He went to the concert and sat up and listened the whole time to brother. When he practices he just sits at his feet and listens the entire time. They are so cute together. We always try to take their picture when they do that together. We've included a picture from the concert.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Love Your Wedding Photographer

gI found this super cool article about wedding photographers and it is so true. Please take the time to read it. It is VERY important to love your wedding photographer. We sure hope all of our clients and potential clients love us. Work with us and we will work for you!

Love Your Wedding Photographer
It’s the day you have been waiting your whole life for.It’s your day to indulge in everything you’ve ever wanted and look your most beautiful. It’s all about you. We get it. But there are certain things you can DO and DON’T to help enhance the relationship you have with your photographer on your big day. While you are the star of your day, we are the director coordinating the whole show, stressing behind the scenes not wanting to miss a single moment, yet keeping a smile on our face to provide you with amazing customer service like you deserve. However, we need you to help us help you. Here are a few tips to keep in mind to help your photographer pull off your day as nothing less than fabulous. 1. DO make photography a priority in your budget. Photography is an investment, and just like any investment, you get what you pay for. If you try to find someone cheap to save a few dollars, more than likely, you will be unhappy with the quality of your photos. Yes, in the digital day and age, anyone can whip out a point and shoot camera, as most of your guests will probably be doing, but true photography is an art and worth the little extra you pay for a rock star wedding photographer who delivers stunning and emotionally rich photos. If need be, pay by credit card and pay it off later. Or sacrifice the extra unnecessary frou frou decoration to pay for a few extra pages in your coffee table album. When your wedding day is over, your photos and album are the only things that remain and last forever. Remember, your grandkids will be looking at these photos one day. You want a photographer who can capture the true emotion of why their grandparents fell in love, not a photographer who can cut you the best deal right now. 2. DON’T just look for a photographer in your market. If you can’t find a photographer you like in your area, don’t settle for one just because they are close by. Most photographers love to travel and shoot destination weddings. Don’t be afraid to pay a little extra in travel fees to be able to hire a photographer who better fits your style. Plus, you are fabulous enough to fly in only the best, right? 3. DO your research, but DON’T compare photographers’ packages. Each photographer offers different packages to best showcase the art we create for you. Just as unique as your photos will be, a photographer’s packages are just as individualized. Photographers can be insulted when you try to insist our competitor offers A, B, and C in their package at X amount of price, and then ask us to do the same. If you want that A, B, and C package at X amount of price, then go with that photographer. We want brides who want us because they connect with our style of photography and appreciate our art, not brides shopping around for the best deal. 4. DON’T ask us to make an exception for you on the price of our packages. We don’t care what budget you have and if our price fits in your budget or not. Would you go into Louis Vitton, find the purse of your dreams, go up to the counter and ask the sales person to give a discount on the purse because it’s not in your budget? No! Please don’t do that to us either. Just because it is a service we provide, doesn’t mean the value is any less than a tangible good. 5. DO hire a wedding planner. While the photographer is responsible for how your day flows visually, a wedding planner is an expert in how to coordinate your day to flow with as less stress as possible. It helps us get the best photos when we can concentrate on simply being the photographer, not the director too. And you shouldn’t be worrying about all the details coming together either. It’s your day to be a princess and catered to, not stressing about if the bows are tied on the seat covers or having to track down the florist because the bouquets were the wrong shade of magenta. A general rule: Something will always go wrong, and these minuscule details are worth the stress you can save for the price you can hire a wedding planner to handle it for you. Photographers like brides who are relaxed, not stressed. Relaxed brides make for more beautiful photos. 6. DON’T plan your ceremony at sunset. A given on any wedding day is that things will always go behind no matter how much you try to plan ahead of time. Yes, sunset lighting is the most gorgeous for outdoor weddings, but set the ceremony time half an hour before in order to actually be walking down the aisle by the time it is actually starting to set. And if you can, start the ceremony an hour before in order to give your photographer enough day light after the ceremony for the required family formal photos that follow. 7. DO see your groom for a First Meet before the ceremony. Yes, it’s traditional to wait for the groom to see you walking down the aisle. And while photographers respect tradition if need be, from our perspective, we prefer you to see your groom beforehand. It will not only help the flow of your day, but also help you get the best photos possible with your groom if you allow time to meet him before the ceremony. Normally, by the time the ceremony is over, you are relieved it is over and ready to party, and it should be your time to relax and mingle with guests and soak in your congratulations. Don’t stress yourself out further by having to further squeeze in your photos with your groom after the formal family photos and before the DJ is ready to announce you. Your guests will be starving and ready for dinner. The more photos you can get out of the way before the ceremony, the more time you have to truly enjoy the experience of your day in the midst of the whirlwind that is swirling around you. 8. DON’T expect your photographer to tell you every which way to pose for your bridal photos and photos with your groom. Yes, your photographer will be happy to suggest poses, but you ultimately know what your best side is and how you feel most flattering. We love when you work it for the camera! The more fluid and into your photos you can be, the better it looks. This is probably the one time in your life you will have professional photos done, so live it up. Bring out your inner supermodel and pretend the photographer is your mirror that you secretly strut in front of when no one is looking. Watch shows like America’s Next Top Model to see what works and doesn’t work. Study fashion magazines to practice poses in front of the mirror before you are in front of the camera. In the shots with your groom, don’t be afraid to show passion with your man! So what if your grandma is a few feet away watching you make out with your new hubby in a few shots. You are in love, celebrate it! The more you can work it for the photographer, the more your photographer will be inspired creatively to provide you the best photos possible. Anyone can take a photo of you and your groom smiling at the camera. Your photographer wants to see the laugh you share, the sweetness in your eyes when you look at each other, the way you snuggle up together, the sassiness of knowing you look hot on your wedding day, the way your groom knows he’s with the hottest girl in the world, etc. 9. DO communicate with your photographer what photos are important for you to have, but DON’T give them a list of pre-planned unnatural photos (i.e.: Mom holding veil of bride and smiling at the camera). As artists who shoot from the heart, not by a list, we would rather capture the natural emotion of your mom crying as she’s putting on your veil, not the posey-stop-and-smile-at-camera-in-between-every-move shot. Especially to true photojournalists who capture the day as it unfolds naturally. If your photographer needs you to stop and smile at the camera, they’ll let you know. Trust me. 10. DON’T forget to feed your photographer. By the time your reception starts, your guests aren’t the only ones starving; we are too! Having been on our feet all day running around like crazy, we need a quick moment to rest and recharge before the party gets started. Please remember to include us in your budget for a regular meal when counting heads for the reception meal. Don’t provide us a lunch boxed “vendor meal”. We aren’t in kindergarten. But we will always save room for dessert, so reward your photographer for a hard day’s work with a piece of cake at the end of the night!


Contributor Details
Name: Scarlett Lillian
Article from photographik.org

Our First REAL Blog!


Ryan and I are sooo excited. This is our first blog and we finally have found some time to create one. Our hope in creating a blog is to visit it from time to time to keep you up to date on our company's events and to celebrate our successes. We have been extremely fortunate to work with the GREATEST clients in the whole world. We focus a lot on weddings and our brides and grooms have been PHENOMENAL to work with! They have all had beautiful weddings and have had wonderful families. We love taking photographs so it is always a treat for us to be a part of a couple's special day. We don't feel like vendors, we feel like friends. I hope potential clients who read this will take a little time to get to know us and see how fun we are when we take your pictures! We love working together and make a fantastic team. And, yes, we've been a bride and groom and are married to each other. It makes for a wonderful business and a great way to spend some time together doing something we both enjoy.I'm so excited! My first ever blog! I feel like a kid. Anyway, we got to enjoy a breather from working and some fresh air this weekend by going to the park. Check out a few of our pictures of one of our son's just hanging out. Yes, of course we took cameras. Are you kidding me? I think our kids think we take the cameras to bed with us at night. Needless to say, we are not picture poor. Anyone out there into scrapbooking? I wish we had time to do it. If you are, we'd love to hear from you. By the way, we have also started a wedding consulting business. If any brides out there are interested, check us out at creativeoccasionsplanners.com. It just seemed a natural fit that since we photograph weddings and know vendors and the ins and outs of the day that we bring in a partner and get in on helping to plan the day. We are really excited about our new venture. We've had a great response from the community so far too.

Wow! We're here!


Just a "starter" message to get our feet wet in blog land. Check out our website for our current special for couples who are booking weddings June - October on remaining dates that we have left in 2008!


Maybe next time, Ryan will post. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Let's not hold our breath, okay? Speaking of Ryan, here he is with one of our sons.