Award winning Rochester Wedding Photographer, Heather McKay, celebrates McKay’s Photography‘s 10th Anniversary in 2012!
Please join us on Sunday, August 5, 2012 to help celebrate this path to self-employment.
* The party will be held at The Yards, at Rochester’s Public Market from 4-8 PM on Sunday August 5th. The address is 50-52 Public Market, Rochester, NY 14609.
* Delicious food by John’s Tex-Mex, funky desserts by Premier Pastry, signature cocktails by Marshall Street Bar & Grill, craft beer by Roc Brewing, hair & makeup & nails by Gallery Salon and Spa, Coffee by Joe Bean Coffee Roasters (Special NEW blend for the Roc City Skatepark!)
* Gifts for past wedding couples who RSVP before July 1, 2012
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Syracuse Birth Photography: one year later
Last Spring, I traveled to Syracuse to photograph the birth of baby Caprice for her first time parents. Elaine and Matt planned for a natural birth, however Capri decided to arrive via c-section instead. It was such an emotional day, that I haven’t been able to blog it until now.
Capri is a very healthy one year old today and is going to be a big sister by the end of the year!
This day was such an honor to be part of. For several reasons. One, it was a chance to be completely and totally a photo-journalist. Zero formal portraits means for exclusively documentary images. A challenge for me was also being very quiet and invisible (with only 4 people in the room!). Anyone who knows me is well aware of the amount of talking I provide, so staying silent and not a part of the unfolding events was as good of practice as being totally journalistic.
Since the birth was taking place in Syracuse, I had Matt call me as soon as they were headed to the hospital. Hoping that I would arrive in time! As you can probably imagine, most of the day was actually spent waiting. I brought my laptop and got some editing done in the lounge for a good chunk. Being sure to stay as out of the way as possible. When the time came for Elaine and Matt to decide to change to a c-section instead of a natural birth, emotions were intense.
At that point, I realized that I would not be able to photograph the birth after all.
Matt came to get me from the waiting room just as soon as the doctors would let him. It was AMAZING to photograph this minutes old family… still in the same location where the c-section took place. These images are the first moments that Elaine and Matt held their first child. I used to think that weddings were the most important job I could ever have. No longer. Photographing this for them, good and bad, was something I’m still having a hard time processing. I’ve photographed brand new babies before, but never as part of the entire process.
At some point, the Doctor was nervous about Elaine’s blood loss and she looked very pale. There was this distinct moment and look in Matt’s eyes where he was holding Caprice, yet needing to comfort and be with Elaine. This was the first defining moment of his new Fatherhood. I offered to hold the baby to relieve the situation in his mind. As I’m standing there, holding this precious new person, I was acutely aware that a Grandmother should be there. Not me. The Photographer was sidelined and the human took over.
As soon as Elaine was stable, Matt took their baby back and I went to grab Elaine’s Mom. If I were Elaine, I would have wanted my Mom at that moment. These few minutes were very stressful and emotional and a reminder that giving birth is still a dangerous task. When I went back into the waiting room to get Elaine’s Mom, it was very hard to keep silent on the unfolding drama back in the room as Matt’s Mom was feeling left out of the joy. I didn’t want to alarm the rest of the room with Elaine’s condition by telling her. Once things settled down, I filled her in. Elaine stabilized and quickly everyone else was allowed to visit in small numbers.
After 12+ hours, it was time for me to drive back to Rochester. Exhausted. Blessed. Pondering the delicate and joyful nature of life.
I photographed Elaine and Matt’s engagement photos, wedding in 2008, this pregnancy, the birth and several other first year baby sessions for Caprice. Next weekend, I photograph her one more time to celebrate her first birthday and we will create a special first year book of the images!
Stay tuned. And Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful women! Please share your birth story…
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Happy Earth Day from Rochester’s only Certified Green Photographer. Can you commit to doing just one thing less wasteful today? Reuse an old t-shirt as a rag? Buy food in glass instead of plastic? Stay home today? Unplug items not in use? Eat only vegetarian meals? Capture rain to water plants?
“Earth Day is a day early each year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth‘s natural environment. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network,[1] and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.[2] In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.[3] Earth Day is planned for April 22 in all years at least through 2015.” ~ Wikipedia
What does McKay’s Photography do to reduce environmental impact? A lot…
- Work from home
- Bike to most errands, or run them all on the same day
- Electricity is from Wind energy
- Buy only Energy Star appliances
- Repair instead of just buying new
- Rechargeable batteries
- Hard core recycling practices
- Email receipts and invoices to clients
- Only create samples of clients I’ll keep in touch with
- Photograph each album produced so I need less samples
- Rain barrel and composting
- Tank-less hot water heater
- Offer sustainable wedding albums and products
- Conduct most business via phone or video conferencing
- Web based information, policies, procedures and prices
- Drop ship most orders from lab
- MP Packaging is from post consumer or sustainably harvested sources
- MP Packaging is fully recyclable
- Shipping packaging is reused from vendors to customers
- All canvas wall prints are from a Green photo lab
- All framing is done locally and are from reclaimed wood sources
- Long time vegetarian
- Network with other Green Photographers at greenerphotography.org
- Actively market with Wedding Reception locations within 15 miles of my home
- Encourage clients to purchase heirloom wedding albums instead of buying the digital files
- Digital files delivered on reusable USB jump drive instead of short-term DVDs
- My Mom makes my proof-book bags out of extra cotton material on hand
- Encourage and offer handmade, USA created products and albums
- All vendors MP uses are located on the East coast
- Drive a 10 year old manual Honda Civic
- Co-working at The Yards. The space is created with all salvaged materials.
There is always room for improvement and keeping up with the American lifestyle is difficult at times.
Do you have any ideas on ways to reduce waste? Something you’ve done for your wedding or your kids that was simple and easy to implement?
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After 55 years in business, Capri Album Company is closing their doors for good. Since the very beginning of my wedding photography business, I’ve relied on Capri Album Co. to construct top quality heirloom wedding albums for 80% of my wedding couples. They were among the first to offer non-leather and metal album covers. Their matted wedding album was classic and inexpensive without looking dated. Their customer service was top notch. This is a sad day for me and for them.
Two factors probably contributed to their demise:
- They couldn’t keep up with modern changes in the album industry
- “Shoot and Burn” wedding ”photographers’ giving their customers the digital files on a disk hindered album creation.
The wedding album industry has been hit hard with the recession and the rise of digital photography. “Shoot and Burn” wedding photographers have done a disservice to the industry, their wedding couples and wedding album manufacturers. With couples only having their images on digital media, there is no motivation to print an album for their kids and grandkids. The industry has gone from wedding photographers being true professional business owners to fly by night people trying to make some extra cash. Many have little actual photography knowledge or skill. I started my career in much the same way, slowly quitting my day job. The difference is that I never gave away the negatives. And I always offered quality wedding albums for any budget. Turns out that this was vital to my success.
Producing a high quality wedding album takes a lot of research and a lot of expensive sample albums. Most wedding photographers simply throw up their hands in frustration. The easy answer is to just give the couple the digital negatives to create their own. If wedding photographers can’t figure it out, how on earth will their clients?? I spend 4 months of the year creating one-of-a-kind heirloom wedding albums for my couples. This accounts for 1/3 of my total income and also creates 95% of the tears I see from a Bride.
Read what one couple wrote about the album process:
http://www.mckaysphotography.com/blog/2011/03/digital-negatives-vs-wedding-album/
Did you purchase or create a wedding album from YOUR wedding? I’d love to hear your story.
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The YARDS Collaborative Art Space is just that. An uncommonly creative place to experience diverse, emerging art. Nestled between Java’s Cafe and Flour City Bread Co in the heart of Rochester’s Public Market. I am extremely excited to announce that I am part of the next big creative underground…
Rochester Artists, Sarah C. Rutherford and Lea Rizzo have opened a new art gallery and collaborative space at the Rochester’s Public Market, called The YARDS. Part art gallery/event space and part artist’s studio. They generously invited me into their world with a small part of the studio space. I’ll be moving most of the things out of my attic and over to The Yards in the hopes of getting back into sewing and other fun art projects. Including launching a new business venture: renting out my plethora of vintage clothing!
If you remember, back in January of ’11, I blogged about purchasing a piece of artwork by Sarah C. Rutherford and the impact it has on my creativity….
“One of the things I miss about art school and my youth is being surrounded by other artists and creatives. As I get deeper and deeper in the Photographic community in Rochester, as well as the wedding and portrait industry, I miss just simply being with art. Art for art’s sake and not just the business and marketing of art. I decided recently to start to pull back from the professional Photographers in Rochester and spend more time getting to know the local artists we have to offer. A way to hopefully reconnect with my roots.”
One of the newest additions will be to spice things up a bit with a recurring movie night; Under The Radar: Movies at The Yards. A hobby of mine, with pal, Dennis Allen, is spotting obscure movies with unique stories illustrating alternative lifestyles. These monthly movie nights are a way to be inspired and think outside the box as to how we live, explore, love. Or just to feel blessed that we have a roof over our heads and food and jobs. These are hard to find movies, not available on Netflix…
If you are interested in attending the movie nights, Gezelligs or other events at the Yards, ‘like’ The Yards on Facebook for up to date information. The Yards is also available for rent for small events and parties!
http://attheyards.com/
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