Matty Photography » Info/News Archives – Tacoma Photographer, Matt McDaniel – Matty Photography

Registration for February Photo Workshops

Matt — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:28:24 +0000

Another round of Matty Photography workshops are coming this February, both beginner and advanced workshops. More information and registration can be had at http://mattyworkshops.com

These workshops are great for just about anyone interested in photography, a little something for everyone. Learn how to master your camera in the beginner course, or take your existing photo skills to the next level with an advanced course with creative off-camera lighting.

http://mattyworkshops.com

New Website

Matt — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:30:50 +0000

A new wordpress theme, coding/format changes, portfolio integration, and the porting of 250 blog posts later… we have a new, all-in-one website presence. It had always bugged me that my portfolio and main website used two different technologies. The portfolio had to live outside of the wordpress environment, due to lack of functionality and overall presentation of wordpress back when I created the old site a couple years ago. That has all changed, and wordpress has come a long ways since then. A TON of people have hopped on the wordpress development wagon and we have thousands of amazing wordpress foundations to build-on. It took up until now to find a wordpress solution that fit both my portfolio and blogging presentation needs.

This new setup provides a very thorough porfolio page, allowing you click on any photo to reveal more photos from that shoot, should you be more interested in seeing more. There are a lot more bells and whistles that this wordpress template provides that I have not yet leveraged. Maybe some day down the road…

I’ve gotten the 50 or so most recent blog posts properly fitted to the new theme, with the remaining post getting polished-off in the next day or so.

Enjoy the new site. Happy viewing and reading.

Workshop Videos

Matt — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 05:08:31 +0000

Phew, just finished editing some videos to advertise the photography workshops. Next batch of workshops are in February. For more info on that, click the ‘workshops’ link at the top of the page.

Beginner Workshop Video

Advanced Workshop Video

Matty Blog Turns 3!

Matt — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:47:58 +0000

Wow… today the blog turns three years old. Im not going to lie, keeping up a blog that averages over two lengthy posts per week for three straight years, while in the midst of everything else going on is a lot of work, but its been a blast. The only thing I hate about blogging is the word blog. Its retarded. People couldnt have come up with a more ugly, meaningless sounding word to represent such a gigantic avenue on the web today. Every one from large businesses to grandmothers blog, most of the content we read everyday are blogs or powered by blog development platforms. Do you think that if they knew blogging was going to be such a staple of the interwebz that they would have better a better name? Ya gotta think so. I digress…

A lot of time spent on here, publishing my stories, thoughts, and images. Its like my public journal. Heck, even Ill dig into the blog archives and look back at the trail of information. Its a fun little refresher, sometimes even forgetting some of the shoots Ive done, and it all comes back after a cruise through the three years of content. Im really glad Ive taken the time to do the blog. Of course as a photographer, I am already actively documenting people, places, and events in time with photos, but the blog brings a whole extra dimension to that documentation process.

Im surprised Ive stuck with it, and so consistently, to be honest. Im sure we all know too many of our friends and family who have started a blog only for it to fizzle out after the third post. Of course their first post is full of all of the enthusiasm, talking about all the things they are going to talk about and do on their blog. Then after that third post, things get short, dates skip months at a time (usually a post talking about how they are going to start blogging again), then a year passes and they vow the same thing. Its quite entertaining really. After seeing so many blogs end up like that, I had the fear of mine doing the same thing when I started it. Ok, here we go, lets see how long this lasts. I have my photography to thank for it chuggin along, as Im excited to share my work with you guys. My work, the stories I hear from my followers about how they loved a certain post or the photos they saw, hearing an old friend has been following the blog for a long time and love my work… these things keep me inspired to continue to do it, and do it with gusto (and not lazily posting a couple pictures with a sentence or two). I try to make the blog entertaining and informational, tying my visual work to the thought process behind the photos.

Hopefully those of you who do follow me have found it a fun/interesting place to visit. I dont see any end in-sight, I think the Matty Photography blog will be here for good. I will continue to share my photos and thoughts, a frustration or two with the photographic field I work in, raise questions, try to provide some helpful insight for fresher photographer minds reading the posts, and have a blast while doing it.

Photo above of a third grade classroom. I came in and photographed all of the third graders at an elementary school so they could all surprise their Mom’s with a Mother’s Day portrait. That’s my own mom in the middle of the pack (their teacher). It was a fun day, kids are funny, they ask the most out-of-left-field questions.

2012 Smokin’ Hot Espresso Calendar Is Well Underway

Matt — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:18:10 +0000

The Smokin’ Hot Espresso calendar is going to make it’s return after missing this year. We are halfway through production, as we are spending a lot of time on each month’s shoot. It’s gonna blow the first calendar project we did out of the water. I get more and more excited about the calendar with every shoot we complete and I see the photos roll off the camera. These photos, of course, are about the girls, however, we’ve really done our homework this time around, and all of the themes and locations we are shooting in are so much fun. It’s not just about the girls, it’s the content matter they are involved in that makes it different. That’s what makes it fun for me, really integrating the subjects into the environment I’m capturing them, both being just as visually engaging. I’ve posted a few screenshots from some of the BTS video captured, I can’t post too much, as we want the calendar to be a pretty cool surprise. Be on the lookout for more info on this soon, the calendar is dropping late November.

A peak at some of the fun you'll be seeing soon.

Another Cover Of Cascadia Weekly

Matt — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:25:55 +0000

Spotted this the other day, I landed the cover of Cascadia Weekly again. I want to say it was a little over a year the last time my work was on the cover. Cascadia Weekly magazine that runs up in the Bellingham area. The Upfront Theatre is one of my commercial clients. They are keeping the people laughing, I keep capturing, and there you have it. The Upfront is fairly young, only been around for a handful of years, but they are without a doubt growing and growing in popularity. Like a snowball on a very gradual hill, you can see the growth in attendance from month-to-month. It’s so deserving too, they have some fantastic comedic talent there, and I’m just not saying that ’cause I take their photos. I’ve come walking out of their shows with my face hurting from a straight hour of laughing, and on more than one occasion. I don’t see that play slowing down any time soon. They have a great thing going, and that is clear, as you can see with them on the cover of Cascadia, again.

I’ve made sure to photograph the cast on white seamless during the last couple shoots, as it’s bulletproof, versatile marketing imagery. Ironically, it’s about the easiest setup to do once you get the process of balancing the lighting under your belt. I’ve seen this particular style of my work with them on just about everything – flyers, drink menus, and… magazines. It just works.

So here is the cover (a crop of it), as well as an image on the inside article. Always fun to see my stuff in print. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say some form of my photographic work is sent to the print shop for clients’ marketing material about once or twice a week, however, the cover of magazines are more rare, at least at this point in my career… More to come soon…

Chuggin’ Along

Matt — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:01:11 +0000

Commercial work, mini sessions, weddings, and more all in the same week. The last month has been a crazy mix of work, if it weren’t for iCal keeping my schedule and head together, I wouldn’t know what mode to wake up in. It’s an interesting thing, switching it up from shooting food products in the studio to children in the park the next day. Clientele interaction, lighting, and photographic approaches… the whole game changes with the wildly different jobs. One thing is for sure, all the variety keeps me on my toes, and… consequently keeping me away from the blog as of late.

Speaking of variety, the mini sessions have been bringing just that. From a single person to the full family shoots, I’ve been shooting it all and at a few different locations. The kids always bring unexpected surprises. They are definitely a challenge, but a welcome one, because they provide hilarious expressions when they come out of their shell. Couple goofy ones I’ve taken over the last week in the post, along with a young man I captured down at Ruston Way. Plenty of bloggin’ to come on that later down the road.

On the tech front (for you fellow photogs), I did some firmware updates on both my 5DmkII and 7D. Firmware updates are an important to do on your equipment to keep it current, fix issues with the camera, etc. I usually check Canon’s website every few months or so to see if they’ve released a new firmware version. Sometimes I’ll come across a funky issues with my camera from time to time, when I go to check Canon’s site, the newest update usually addresses the issue I’m having (thanks, Canon). This last weekend I was having major issues with my 7D, it would throw an error message while shooting repeatedly and require a restart to respond again. Not a good thing if it was going to serve as my second camera for tomorrow’s wedding. I have only get one chance to capture critical moments in a very important time for a couple, so I can’t have a camera on the fritz. Checked Canon’s site tonight, and what do ya know, the newest update addressed my exact issue. Yes! I can sleep easy tonight. Whether you are a casual shooter or working jobs, check your manufacturer’s site and see if your camera has been further tuned. Sometimes your camera has issues, maybe you are not even aware of the issues, and/or that they’re fixable. Over the last couple years, Canon has fixed a number of issues I personally experienced.

Wedding is on Whidbey Island tomorrow, so I’m doing the usual the night before – going over notes, schedules, cleaning memory cards, charging batteries, and going over the gear checklist. Should be a nice day for the lucky couple.

Living Social Deal – Matty Mini Sessions!

Matt — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:25:46 +0000

Yes, it’s true. I’m still not sure if I’m ok with the crazy deal I’m giving Tacoma the opportunity to snag, but I guess it can be summed up to I’m a nice guy. I will be featured on Tacoma’s Living Social Families Edition page for the next week (Aug 15th – 21st). In all seriousness, it’s a great deal, and I think if anyone out there is needing solid photography services, this is a no-brainer. You’ll have your pick of 5 locations where I’ll be holding mini sessions. Yep, that’s right, options! Hey, I’ve always loved having options, thought you guys should have them too. The first five dates have been chosen, each assigned to a location, and each date having roughly 10 slots available. I have no idea whether 50 or 1000 vouchers for this deal will be bought, and the last thing I wanted is to be caught off guard, so I built a site just for this deal! It’s your source for what’s going on with the mini sessions, the locations, the dates, a scheduler… pretty much everything to keep the tedious stuff to a minimum. Could you image 1ooo people calling me in one week, them all trying to figure out how this is going to work! Holy smokes, this is kinda scary. Hence the time I invested in standing up a site just for this, and I’m crossing my figures it elevates the traffic to my cell phone.

The Deal: 30-min photo session for $50! CLICK HERE

You can visit this dedicated site by clicking the “living social” button at the very top of this site. Stay tuned…

Matty Shirts!

Matt — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:11:01 +0000

So a few months ago, I was struck by an idea that quite honestly upset me because I hadn’t thought of it sooner. That idea? Shirts. Shirts with my logos on it. A vain idea? Maybe a little, but I work some pretty large events sometimes. It’s not like I sport my own shirt, strut up to a random person and go, “Yep, (sigh) I don’t know if you know this… but I’m kind of a big deal” (looking off into distance and thumb pointing to my own logo on chest). Sometimes I’m up working my lighting magic in front of crowds prior to said events starting, where I literally have 750 – 1,000 sets of eyes on me as they anxiously await the start of the event. Why would I be up in the lime light, doing lighting photography? My clients will be working/promoting themselves at events, they hire me to cover them working the events, and sometimes we get to have a bit of fun on the venue’s “stage.” This means me, lightings, lots of gear, and staged photo shoots upfront. I’m sure most of the people who are there are wondering what the hell is going on, maybe curious what and why I’m taking photos, and I bet some are wondering what these photos are turning out like. How would they ever get that chance when they don’t have a clue of who I am or where to look? It’s not like I grab I mic, turn the to crowd, “I’m Matty, that was my show, checkout my site, goodnight!” Shirts are a far classier approach, don’t cha think? Those whose interests are perked, can look closer and read my logo.

As of about a month ago, I got a handful of shirts produced for myself and crew. Wearing them at events gives my biz extra cred and visibility, not to mention a uniformity. That’s where I thought the idea would fade off into the sunset, serving it’s basic business function. To my surprise, there have been quite a few requests, people asking for their own piece of Matty fabric. I’d love to accommodate. I mean… you are wanting to buy a shirt to help further my business marketing? Ok, I think I can allow that. So, I’m in the process of figuring out how to get these out there and easy to order, so sit tight guys, and I’ll let you know what I know more on how I can make this happen. They have an athletic fit, solid material, comfy. I’m also going to mix up the placement of logos on the shirt, so if you have ideas, please comment below!

Trip Coming To An End

Matt — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:23:08 +0000

As fast as the trip arrived, it has gone just a quickly. The trip to Arizona for some work, some vaca time, and if other photo opportunities presented themselves I’d take them. But… when it’s 110 degrees out, you aren’t exactly hunting for them. Sitting inside of the hotel room, it’s easy to say, “yes, let’s go do a shoot!” The second you open the door of your A/C’d room, the heat smacks your body with the mind-changing power that takes photographic ambitions and melts them away, leaving the sole desire to jump in the pool. The heat consumes your mind just like when you have to go the bathroom really bad, with concentration lost, all you can think about is your body trying to escape it. That’s pretty much how my time in Phoenix has gone.

I’m guessing a lot of you heard or read about the haboob that blew through Phoenix. A haboob is a giant dust storm, and this one was a mile high and about 100 miles wide, so yeah… it was pretty crazy. People have lived here their whole lives and said they’ve never seen anything like it. I guess I’m just that lucky of a guy. We were out eating when it came in, and we and to try and drive home in it. The dust was so thick that I missed a couple turns back to the hotel.

I am going to make an effort and try to get outside during sunset today and try and photograph some of the unique desert plant life.

Start making my way back tomorrow, pulling back in Monday, and heading straight to a meeting with a client.

The photographs you see here are from the Grand Canyon. Really murky photos, as there was a really strong haze about. I think it is a result of all the fires going on.