When to use a Professional Photographer

What’s the difference between hiring a professional photographer and taking your own photos?

Despite the advances in technology, there is still a significant gap between professional grade photographic equipment and what the average consumer can purchase.

That fact is evident by the large gap in prices; and if you want to convince yourself it’s okay to save a few dollars when recording the most special moments of your life, you probably will be able to turn a blind eye to the quality of photos you can get yourself.

We’ve heard how great the new cell phones are but they will never capture the level of detail that a professional portrait camera can record.  When you want to crop a portrait to focus on one or two people in a group shot.  Then you need that much detail to create a clear, stunning portrait.

Too often, we will listen to clients who tried to do their own photos at a wedding or family reunion, only to be disappointed in the quality.  The sadder stories contain a cautionary tale of treasuring moments in time because friends and family are no longer with us when the next big occasion rolls around.

Experience counts for a lot when actually snapping the portrait.  That images captures one specific moment in time and, frankly, a whole lot of emotion.  We’ve seen expressions that would be more appropriate in the booking room of a police station than a studio.  We know that’s not the time to take the photo.  Most people will be stiff and even wary when staring into a camera with a timer.  It’s a normal reaction, to be anxious while waiting for something to happen.  A professional portrait photographer can get one or more subjects to relax, be themselves, and let the beauty from inside show through.

We also have the equipment and experience to properly light a scene and create a portrait that tells a story well.  Poses are important.  You can pretty much date a portrait by how people were posed in the 70s and 80s.  It wasn’t pretty.

Now, photographic techniques have advanced to the level of magazine covers.  Skin tones are true and people look healthy and attractive in the right light.  It takes years to learn how to control the variables involved in light and shadow.

Post-processing is important, too.  Removing red-eye is pretty easy but there’s a lot more to it.  Sometimes, the perfect portrait has one flaw and a professional portrait photographer can take care of that.  We also whiten teeth better than a dentist.

At Premier Portraits, we love the fact that people are enjoying photography.  It’s a great way to spend your time and can be very, very rewarding.  It’s also got a lot of moving parts – don’t get us started on posing pets and little kids – so, when a picture is going to be very special, it pays to capitalize on the best equipment and experience possible to get a portrait that fills the heart with warmth instead of regret.

PremierPortraits Studio is locally owned and operated at 260 East St in Plainville, CT and is committed to supporting the community with quality service and portraits. 860.410.4303

Photo Restoration

Have you ever admired antique photographs in someone’s house until you asked about the identity of the people in the pictures?

Too often, the reply is, “Oh, I don’t know.  I just liked it.”

Few of us purchase new picture frames and leave in the flimsy image of two smiling models on their “wedding day.”  So, why do people hang strangers who lived long ago on their walls?

The answer is simple.  Antique photographs provide a sense of history and timeless beauty, which can enhance any décor.

As for the strangers part… few old photographs survive in good condition.  The same light that creates photographs destroys them.  Other enemies include moisture, temperature, and microscopic critters that literally eat the photographic paper.  That is, if the previous generation didn’t crush the picture in the back of the junk drawer.

What of negatives?  Those are no more indestructible than the pictures developed from them.  Too many people count on negatives never took care to protect them to find themselves heartbroken when precious memories are lost forever.

Part of the allure of old photographs is the patina they’ve acquired over the years.  Premier Portraits Studio can ensure the lifespan of old photographs and the memories they hold.  We restore faded photographs, often finding hidden details lost over the decades, or adjust the coloring of new portraits so older and newer generations can hand side by side in a way that focuses on family resemblances than the differences in photography over the past century.

Our quality photographic studio can restore old images, removing wrinkles, stains, or areas where the paper shows through as a white blotch.  Those areas can be dots or large areas and neither makes for an attractive piece of artwork on any wall.

Missing pieces of any picture can be a challenge to restore and it takes skill and experience to do it properly.

There’s an old joke, where a man brought in a photograph of his two uncles after they passed away.  He asked the studio to remove their hats, as the men were never seen during their lives without something covering their hair.

The photographer replied, “I can do that, but tell me which way they parted their hair.”

The man said, “Dunno.  I figure you’ll find out when you take off the hats.”

PremierPortraits Studio is locally owned and operated at 260 East St in Plainville, CT and is committed to supporting the community with quality service and portraits. 860.410.4303

The Name Says It All – Portraits Are Our Specialty

We want to remember and relive moments in our lives and the digital camera has made that easier than ever before.  We can capture every person, place, and thing, sharing images in real time and bringing together our family and friends across the globe.

However, those candid shots or even awkwardly posed group photos are rarely the images that you want to associate with very special moments in time – birth, graduation, engagement or wedding.

Everyone wants to have the perfect family, business, or even pet portrait and at Premier Portraits, we can give you what you want.

A good portrait is more than a clear photograph where the subject doesn’t look completely awful.  But, those are the standards by which each of us views ourselves in photographs.  In the studio, we hear people picking on the smallest of flaws without ever stepping back to take in the whole impression of the image.

A good professional photographer can balance the overall story in a picture.  There is truth to the phrase, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.”  The best portraits have a beginning, middle, and end to a tale.  More than just a face in a cap and gown, a senior portrait should convey the work behind that journey to graduation; a couple on their wedding day should speak of the promise of a happy future and love that will grow over time.

A good studio can remove tiny blemishes or fix minor flaws.  Never mind that a zit knows the date and time of your portrait sitting better than you do or that you are frustrated by the dental package that promised whiter than white teeth.  Forget about the backgrounds you remember from the 70s and 80s… our library contains over 3,000 portrait backgrounds.  We’re leaders in today’s portrait technology and can make every aspect of a portrait… well… picture perfect.

Take advantage of Premier Portraits’ years of experience and expertise with state of the art equipment to give you a portrait that will warm your heart every time you see it.

PremierPortraits Studio is locally owned and operated at 260 East St in Plainville, CT and is committed to supporting the community with quality service and portraits. 860.410.4303