McKay's Photography

Heather McKay treats each wedding as a unique event and her photography allows your individuality to shine through. As a Photo Journalist, she stays hidden and unobtrusive during sentimental moments, while keeping the atmosphere fun and energetic. Heather captures the world with an artist’s eye and professional candor.

The mission of McKay's Photography is to better the lives of her clients by assisting in wedding planning, having excellent customer service, offering timeless products that are not based on trends and supporting the effort to reduce all possible waste. McKay's Photography is a full service Photography studio specializing in building famly histories. Heather is a Photo-Journalist and Environmentalist, first and foremost. By working with only a select number of clients per year, she builds strong relationships with her clients and their families. For years, the business was being run behind the scenes with Green practices in mind and offers a complete package of products to fit the Eco-friendly Bride and Groom.

Heather is also a memeber of many national photography organizations and is very active in the local chapter affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America. By continually attending conferences and networking events, she is always fine tuning her style and skill by embracing new technology and improving her craft.

McKay's Photography is a Green Vendor

I joined a Wind program the minute they offered it. All of my batteries are rechargeable and my computer is run on this wind energy since I work out of my home. Also, Consumer Reports rated my exact model of car as the most eco-friendly model on the market (manual Honda Civic coupe). I ride my bike or walk as much as possible (for the business, mostly just to the bank and post office). The Reception/Location vendors that I network with are all within Rochester city limits to reduce my drive time. I run all of my errands on one day of the week in order to maximize my driving. I have been a vegetarian for over 15 years (did you know that eating meat is 11x worse than the entire transportation sector combined!). I shop local, eat local/organic foods as much as possible. I buy in bulk. All of my marketing/office materials are made of post-consumer recycled product. When delivering products to clients, they receive a canvas tote. I always use canvas totes when shopping. All of my sample albums, frames, prints, etc. are made of customers that I know I will keep in touch with, so when I am no longer using the item I give it to them. I offer a complete Eco-Friendly wedding package (special guestbook, album, etc). I use NYS vendors (or East coast). Instead of printing brochures, mailers, etc. I have websites for my customers to refer to my policies, catalog, etc.... All of the work being done on my house is eco-friendly. The list goes on and on. Last Earth Day, I put a BLOG post on my website about it... Oh, and I just began offering all of my Framing in Eco-friendly moulding (and framing is done down the street).

Rochester Photographer

Tags: rochester, ny, wedding, photography, eco, green, unique, creative, Austin, photographer, fun, experienced, photojournalistic

McKay's Photography has 4 reviews on MomentVille.

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Reviewed by Stefani on May 25, 2010

Heather is an absolute dream to work with! We were married on Saturday and she had photos of our wedding on her blog by Monday afternoon! I honestly can't praise Heather enough! She even helped my mom bustle my dress! She captured images that I never even saw her take! She flowed seamlessly among the wedding guests. She made everyone comfortable and I heard praise throughout the night about how wonderful our photographer was and how friendly she was being to everyone. She captured special details that other photographers often overlook. She captured candid moments that are absolutely priceless! My husband and I recommend Heather with no reservations whatsoever! We look forward to having her photograph our family throughout the years! What an absolute pleasure!

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Reviewed by Alison J. on April 13, 2010

Loved working with Heather from start to finish. She's an artist and a businesswoman -- it was great partnering with someone that understands both sides.

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Reviewed by Cathie Coppola on January 9, 2010

My husband and I couldn't be happier with the pictures from our wedding. Everything from our initial consultations to the wedding day to the photos were better than we could have hoped for. I would recommend her to anyone, especially if you like candid shots. She did a wonderful job of capturing everyone in the moment. I can't wait to have kids so Heather can photograph them. I

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Reviewed by Paul Pakusch on January 5, 2010

Heather did an awesome job with my daughter's wedding. She took a lot of good candid shots and got some really nice poses in the formal shots.

McKay's Photography has 13 reviews elsewhere.

10 reviews at weddingwire.com

3 reviews at maps.google.com

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New Orleans for Imaging USA 2012-01-23

I just returned from a week in New Orleans for Imaging USA, the annual convention for the Professional Photographers of America. Several of my Rochester and PPSNYS colleagues attended and it was fun, warm and motivating.

The last time that I was in New Orleans was in 1997, for Mardi Gras, so this was quite a different trip. The days were sunny and a perfect 72 degrees. As you can imagine, we all walked a lot and photographed all of the little vignettes of the French Quarter, cemeteries, the trolley car and more.

Thanks to everyone who gave me great tips on where to eat and what to see while there. I even tried fried alligator! Thank you, Chris, for the extra photos of me….

The professional highlights of the trip were:
* Cheering as my good friends, Patrick Luke and Deb Woodard, received their Craftsman degrees. Many of you know Pat, as he is my super awesome Second Photographer/Assistant/Lighting Guru for some weddings.
* Cheering as friend, Dana Shaffer (of Fort Plain), received her Masters degree.
* Cheering as my biggest fan, Chris Kogut, received a Silver Grand Imaging Award for her International Print Competition successes.
* Attending classes about marketing my Certified Professional Photographer designation, and an intimate class by Allison Rodgers about running successful charity events.
* Mentoring several newly minted Professional Photographers.
* Finally figuring out how to make Twitter work for business/networking.
* Photographing the streets with other talented Photographers.
* Getting out of the trade show without buying ONE thing, yet made new connections for Greener Photography.

Congratulations to Chris, Pat, Deb & Dana on their hard work and recent awards! It was an honor to be there as your cheering section. Sitting in the awards ceremonies made me so proud to be a PPA member. Below right, we are using the Flashlight App on the iPhone to light Chris so I could take a picture! Fun!

Personal highlights of the trip:
* seeing a bicycle tricked out with Mardi Gras beads!
* strolling through an old cemetery near sunset
* walking every day
* having a latte and beignets at Cafe du Monde
* getting my Tarot cards read in Jackson Square
* making so many new friends
* walking around the streets with a beer!
* meeting a Photographer at the French Market who did a movie documentary about train hopping and their culture (Cure for the Crash). The soundtrack uses all hobo bands. I purchased the soundtrack and the movie and received a free photograph as a bonus! The soundtrack, “Listerine on Sundays” is amazingly good. Luckily, it is all music that I am really into right now.

Fun Fact: One of my past Portrait Clients, turned Professional Photographer…. Kiera Slye came to the convention with us to learn how to start and grow her business. She is sharp as a tack and will be very successful. We’ve met several times over the years, because I’ve known her Grandfather since I was 19 or 20. As I’ve been thankful for my early mentor, I’m happy to now be able to mentor someone else….

Cure for the Crash Trailer

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Skateboarding Art Opening 2012-01-15

A very special thank you to all who came out for the “Broken Lenses” art opening! The Owl House was PACKED from start to finish and it was wonderful to see so many families and familiar faces. My metal prints (of the Denver Skatepark and of snowboarding) were a big hit, it seems. The colors just pop on metal!

The images will be on display until January 30th, so head on down to the Owl House for a drink or meal to get a little better sense of what the skateboarding culture has to offer. Proceeds from the show will go to building the Rochester Skate Park.

* Fun Fact: The image of Vin skateboarding the Denver Skatepark only shows about a third of that skatepark and the Denver skatepark will be HALF of the size of the Rochester Skatepark…

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First snowboarding day of 2012 2012-01-04

Happy New Year!

Today was the first real day of winter in Upstate NY, so I finally grabbed my snowboard and headed to Bristol Mountain for some morning shredding…
Last year, I was able to ride a lot in December, so this was a much anticipated day for me. Also, I finally got to try out my new snowboard bindings that I scored for free!

This was the beautiful sky from my first run:

The image was from my brand new iPhone 4s, which I purchased this past Fall. Many more images and posts to come, I’m sure. I’m learning how to blog from the iPhone, using WordPress, so be patient with the quality or formatting. Hopefully the ability will help me keep the ‘ol blog more up to date!

Trisha, you were right! Having an iPhone is awesome! Maybe if I’d had an iPhone instead of a Blackberry, I would have never rebelled against cell phones last year.

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Broken Lenses Art Opening at the Owl House 2012-01-03

Monday January 9th there is a FREE photo show and Roc City Skate Park fundraiser at our neighborhood restaurant The Owl House. JANUARY 9th!

Help support the Roc City Skate Park Project, Local Businesses and Local Artists. Boris Sapozhnikov, Heather McKay, Michael Carnrike, Josh Saunders, Lea Rizzo, Erich Lehman, James Haschmann, Casey Haley, Alan Presutti, Alex Gagne

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The Webber’s Rustic Wedding at the Rabbit Room 2011-10-29

What a whirl wind week for me! With TONS of super old RIT friends in town for this most recent rustic Rabbit Room /Lower Mill wedding, I got a little behind on the ‘ole blog. My apologies!

This wedding was a long time coming. For several reasons…. For me, it was an absolute honor to photograph the wedding of someone that I met when I was 18! Ian and I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology together and we were in the same Photo I class freshman year! So, skip forward nearly 20 years (yikes!) and not only did I witness, but participate in, this amazing day. Truly an emotional experience. Add that to the fact that he was marrying Laura…and you have a recipe for bliss.

When Ian and Laura told me they were engaged, I was through the moon! Garrett (the officiant and good friend) summed it up best during the ceremony, so I won’t try here. What I will say is that they are both so busy enjoying life that I never get to see them. Whether it be running the Pikes Peak Marathon or Bristol Mountain’s Muddy Sneaker race, these two never stop their adventures. So, when Ian called to share the big news and hire my services, my response was “Yay! I get to see you this year!!”

All of our ‘wedding meetings’ have basically been Ian cooking for us, with Laura and I talking wedding. Ian and I would occasionally geek out over cameras and Laura would humor us. A great reason to catch up and hang out.

The wedding was about the same. Very low-key and relaxing. Ian and Laura had a ‘first look’ with a pint of beer, overlooking Honeoye Falls. It was a gorgeous Fall day, with only a hint of drizzle. It was just a bit too damp and chilly, so the wedding ceremony ended up being indoors (though both of them are so hardcore that they actually still wanted it outdoors).

The rest of the evening was really fun and full of love. And Apple iPads. Well, on Webber’s side. The best quote of the night was this: “iPad score: Webbers – 4, Williams – 0!”

Another notable awesomeness: the current gallery exhibit at the Rabbit Room was of vintage film cameras (Lori Horton: Gramma’s Cameras)! SO fitting for Ian and I… Ian even had his Kodak Brownie camera and took photos of Laura. We don’t fake our vintage wedding photos here at McKay’s Photography! If you see a cute vintage film camera…. it IS being used!

Well, I could go on and on about this wedding for weeks. I’ll stop here. Webber and Laura, it was an absolute pleasure and honor to be your wedding photographer! Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me be such a big part of your day. I hope your trip to Patagonia is fun and safe and you come back with tons of pictures. I can’t wait to hear all about it.