“San Francisco is fine
You sure get lots of sun
But I’m used to four seasons
California’s got but one”

Bob Dylan, California. 

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We’re sharing a rare “gear review” today of what we like to use for close up detail shots- Hoya macro filters!

We can’t stress enough how much we worry about catching “G.A.S.” – gear acquirement syndrome, the bane of the photographer’s bank account. That said, we thought we’d share some helpful tools with you that we can’t imagine working without now. Better still, especially in terms of photography gear, these will not break the bank!

When we’re working, it’s important for us to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to gear. It helps us concentrate more on creating beautiful images and less on the equipment we’re using to create them. The Contax 645 is our go-to camera for most of our work, but like most people who shoot with a Contax, we almost never take off our 80mm f2 Zeiss lens.
This becomes a problem when wanting to photograph details of the wedding day up close. Not because detail pictures on film don’t work, but because the focusing distance on the lens is too short.

Enter the solution:

The Hoya 72mm 3x macro filter kit

These filters have helped us work quickly and efficiently while still keeping things “simple.” More importantly, while still enabling us to get up close to get the shots we need. We can’t recommend them enough!

Pssst… if you’re looking for an affordable alternative to a proper macro lens for your DSLR, such as Canon’s (excellent) 100mm L series lens, these are a great addition to your bag that won’t cost close to $1000. If your lens has a 72mm filter thread (such as the Canon 50mm 1.2 L, the 35mm 1.4 L, or the 135mm f2 L), these will work with it! Just remember, you don’t have to shoot wide open with these.

Go easy on yourself – we usually shoot rings at f4-f5.6. Stopping down your aperture will help make sure your image will stay sharp.

I took them out this morning to take some photos for this blog post on our 5D Mark III & 50mm 1.2 lens (with 72mm filter thread).

Here is the mistake most people make when using them, and what usually happens when trying to shoot wide open, using the +4 filter here:

Here is the result when stopped down to 5.6:

Again, this time at f2:

Again at f5.6:

The kit comes with a +1, +2, and +4 filter.
Here is a comparison, +4 left, +1 right:

And a comparison from a real wedding, +1 left, +4 right:

Here is a crop comparison:
100%

1:3 crop

And finally, two digital shots, both straight out of the camera, the 50mm 1.2 L with a +2 filter ($$) to the left, and a shot from the 100mm f2.8 L macro lens from Canon ($$$) on the right.

We hope this has helped you! Let us know how you like them if you decide to purchase them. Here’s the link again:

Hoya Macro Filters on Amazon

… and a few more photos using the macro filters. Enjoy!

xoxo Michael and Carina

Virginia wedding photographers | Destination wedding photographers | Fine art wedding photographers | film wedding photographers | Michael and Carina Photography

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A cellphone pic from our beach. #nofilter

Wow. Almost half of 2014 has just flown by.

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind of weddings, engagement sessions, and other photo projects.

Some of you might already know, but Carina (she wouldn’t write this but she’s not writing this, so I can say it) recently finished almost 2 years of college wrapped up in one, in addition to being a full time photographer, all the while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

You might say I’m a teeny bit proud of the woman I’m lucky enough to call my wife.

This past weekend, we had a chance to take a bit of a breather so we drove to “our secret beach.” It’s a beach near where I grew up, that’s all I’ll say. (The locals try and keep it a secret, so I wouldn’t want to spoil it for them).

We picnicked and sat out in the sun. We talked about a lot of things that had nothing to do with photography, such as the enigma that is a Japanese mochi.

Inevitably though, this isn’t just a job – it’s our passion. We sat down and looked back at where we were 6 months ago, and the goals we had then.

-To continue getting our work published. So far, so good!
- To do “more styled shoots.” Hmmm, this has definitely changed. I think we’re not as into doing “more,” we just want to do one or two really amazing ones!! And it’s happening!
- Our branding has gotten a little more ironed out, thanks to help from a designer!
- Do more things that cause us to get excited about our business. Does eating a whole box of Japanese mochi at the beach count? No? If not, maybe flying to California and doing a workshop with Erich McVey does? Or shooting like 90% of a wedding on film? #thathappened

These were our goals and so far, we can’t begin to express how thankful we are to be meeting them head on and accomplishing them. We’re living our dream and it’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it to us. Our biggest blessings have been our couples this year. You guys can’t imagine how thankful we are to know you.
It’s such an amazing feeling to meet someone and for them to say to you, in other words, “Yes, I’m going to trust you with the telling of the visual story of the most sacred, most important day of our lives to our children and grandchildren.” To the couples whose weddings we’ve photographed thus far in 2014- Xi and Wesley, Kim and Brian, Emily and Jason, Kelsi and Michael, and Joy and Brian – each of your weddings was such a joy to document and we can’t thank you enough for the opportunity.

That said, we have some mid-year goals we’d like to put out in the open for everyone to see. I guess putting it out there will give us less room to just “not” let it happen. We believe in prayer but love the old proverb, “Pray, but move your feet.” We’re putting it out there, too, because perhaps you might be just the one to help us achieve one of these goals! Okay, let’s be honest. None of our dreams would be possible without you guys. Every time someone asks us to take a photo of them, that’s them reaffirming our passion. We’ve limited this to “business goals,” just for the sake of keeping it short and sweet.

I have to thank Kat of Dear Sweetheart Events for putting her “DSE Bucket List” out for everyone to see, as it really inspired us to do the same.

1) We really want to shoot a wedding in Italy. Rome is the city where we honeymooned, and we loved it so much we went back the next year, and the year after that. Everything in the city practically glows; Roman photographers must not have an idea of what “bad light” is. Italy is the same way – it’s almost impossible to go wrong. Imagine a bride + groom being photographed in Italy… Now imagine a bride + groom on FILM in Italy… now we’re talking. Next year, we will be in Europe during the latter part of the summer. Like, it’s happening, no doubt about it. So if you’re planning a wedding in Rome or somewhere else in Italy for Summer 2015, please send us a message! Also places where we’d love to shoot a wedding: Germany (wir sprechen so wie so Deutsch, und ein bisschen Bayerisch auch), Greece, Austria, England, and France – we know with your help, we can make it happen! We actually just recently received an inquiry for Australia but were booked for another wedding. Still, what a great feeling just to be considered!!

2) There are still some amazing venues we’d love to shoot at in or near Virginia, too. We’d love to shoot a wedding at Pippin Hill, the Mill at Fine Creek, Keswick Hall, and the Clifton Inn. We’ve photographed at Keswick Vineyards, the Tide’s Inn, the Williamsburg Winery and the Inn at Warner Hall before, love all of these venues and would be absolutely thrilled to photograph more weddings there!

3) Get published in Southern Weddings. Hey, we can dream, right? We’d like to believe it’s going to happen someday.

4) Be featured on Style Me Pretty. This is happening!

5) Shoot more and more film. We love film so much that we don’t care that it costs an arm and a leg… it’s worth it. We’ve found it’s where our personalities, our style, and our photography skills just fit. Yes, it’s just a medium… but it’s our medium.

6) Attend a fine art wedding photography workshop. This is also happening!

7) Give back. We’d really like to be as much a blessing to others as so many are to us. Not only our clients, but other vendors, too. Almost every single person we’ve been blessed to work with leaves us feeling more blessed and better than before. We’d love to do and be the same way with other wedding professionals.
Also with photographers who might not be as far along in their journey – we love mentoring and offering opportunities for photographers to come learn whatever we can offer them. Their success becomes our success. We’ve been there before, ourselves, and know what it’s like… and we remember the people who helped us on our way.

We don’t expect all of these things to happen right away… or in 6 months… or even a year. Maybe some won’t happen at all. But none of these things are impossible. Now it’s out there for everyone to know and if it’s supposed to happen, it will. In the meantime, we will keep loving each other… keep living our dreams… and while we pray, we’ll move our feet.

xoxo Michael & Carina

PS. Thanks so much for reading. If you’re a photographer and this helped inspire you, please share one of your biggest goals or “the next big step” you’d like to take in your business in the comments below!

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Our lovely friends Alice and Theresa are just inspirational creatives.

This is what they also do in their downtime.

We were lucky enough to be called on to capture some of their work on film, as modeled by the gorgeous Fiona (who is getting married in just a few days!).

They are just amazing. Be sure to check them out here.

Theresa Little Makeup Artistry 

Hair by Alice 

Happy pinning!

Photographed on film, developed by Richard Photo Lab

The post Bridal Hairstyles | Hair by Alice | Michael and Carina Photography appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

To my dearest friend,

Hello Schatz. I just wanted to write you a short note, just like we used to do, to say Happy Birthday.

There are no words for how happy you make me, how entirely you complete me.

I can’t comprehend after over 10 years of a relationship and almost 6 years of being married what I could have ever done to deserve you.

But I won’t dare to question what ever brought us together. I love you, and you love me, and each day, each year that passes with you I am grateful for.

As much as I know you’re excited to be alive, and as much excited as we both are to be here, right now, living our dream in America…

…I also know that what used to be such a happy time of year for you is now bittersweet, missing your family.

Take comfort in knowing that this day, like any other day, is another milestone putting us closer to seeing them again!

Thank you for putting up with me the past year. In all my absent-mindedness (anyone who knows me know what I mean), you forgive me. You are patient with me.

Thank you for encouraging me to always do better and to never be satisfied with “normal.”

I could say, “Zhat’s zhe German way,” or that’s just your Bavarian Abitur talking, but what a disservice that would be.

Your character goes much deeper than that.

Your kindness, your loveliness, your humor, your generosity, your patience, your stubbornness… I am thankful for all of the wonderful things that make you who you are.

For your birthday, I’d like to make a wish for you.

Forgive me for being selfish, but it has to do with me.

For your birthday, I wish that I can be a better help to you, love you better and remember to tell you each and every day something that amazes me about you.

You deserve nothing less!

I am so happy you’re alive.

And I am so very, deeply, madly, truly in love with you.

Happy birthday.

Your Michael

The post To My Wife – On Your Birthday | Michael and Carina Photography appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

We love our clients and we really want to give them images that stand out, while at the same time offering an *experience* with us.

We’ve grown a lot in the past year and we’ve learned a lot too.

But as far as we’ve come, there is still much – so much – we want to learn.

That’s why this year, we decided to build on what we know. We want to really take things to the next level… whatever that means.
It sounds cliche’, but we mean it.

There were a couple of workshops we looked at, and thanks to the advice of a friend, we were finally able to decide on one!

This June we will be flying out to California to join the fantastic Erich and Amy McVey of Erich McVey Photography for a fine art photography workshop. We’re looking forward to meeting some of the nicest, most inspiring people… not just Amy and Erich… but top vendors from the wedding industry and some of the best up and coming photographers from across the country for what is sure to be an amazing experience. Also, a little vacation on the Pacific Coast of California sounds nice too.
A google search of “Elk, California,” (where we will be staying), yields these results…

Imagine the photoshoot possibilities!! *swooooooon…*

To say we’re excited is an understatement.

We can’t wait to get inspired, take amazing photographs, build relationships with wonderful people, and bring back all of what we learn to Virginia.

Thank you guys for encouraging us and believing in us… you know who you are.

xoxo Michael and Carina

Erich McVey Photography | Erich McVey Workshop

The post Furthering Our Education + Big Trip | Erich McVey Workshop appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

If you’d like to book us for a mentoring session, (where you can ask unlimited questions), we’re available in person or via Skype! Contact us for more info.

On average, how many images do you hand over for photo sessions and weddings?
Hi Kristen! It depends on the wedding, but an average amount is probably between 600-700 images for a full day wedding and about 100 for photo sessions.

I’d love to know more about your process regarding OCF during receptions? What’s your set up during that time? Do you use any diffusers on your off camera flash? Thanks!

Hello Lindsey! We love shooting with natural light, but unfortunately that isn’t always possible in receptions
(unless you’re comfortable with grainy/grainy black and white images – in which case go for it!). Flash to the rescue! We wrote a blog about how we utilize flash here. Sometimes we do use diffusors – we love our Wescott Rapidbox! It comes in handy especially when you cannot bounce the flash (like with dark ceilings) and is ridiculously easy to setup and break down. It depends on the situation. Personally, I (Mike) like the look of a bounced flash with a bare flash behind the subject as a rim light (as seen above, Canon 5d Mark III, 50mm 1.2 lens at f1.2, 2 Canon 600s, one on camera @1/32 bounced and one on a stand about 15 feet behind the subject @1/128). When we do use OCF we try to keep everything consistent by shooting “wide open” like we normally do.

I remember you sharing at the end of 2013 that one of your goals had been to “make it” as a photography team. I’d love to know how you jumped in and booked those first few weddings! Thanks – love your work!
Hi Allison, we kind of started from nothing in August 2012 when we moved to the USA. For a while, we didn’t get a single inquiry. To be completely honest, the first people who booked us found us on Craigslist. They didn’t pay a lot for us, but we did everything we could to make them feel that they did. Those first bookings yielded numerous referrals as a result, and so on, and so on… Over and over again, we’ve realized how important it is to treat your clients not just like “clients” but like people. We have paid for advertising and never received a single booking that way, except for one very small bridal show. Maybe it works better for other people. Most of our bookings come from either referrals or Google.
And thank you!

How did you begin with to get to know your cameras? I feel that there is so much I should know and try so that I lose my excitement soon. And there is a friends child I was asked to take photos from, but it feels a like a big task, although I know it is just for fun, can you give me some starter tips? =)
Sure thing, Maria! It’s important not to overwhelm yourself, and it’s easy to do – I know, I’ve been there. We’ve been there. Our solution was to give ourselves assignments with constraints (Tyler, if you’re reading this, this goes back to our conversation over dinner). Find something or someone you love shooting, take one camera, one lens, and take a series of portraits but limit yourself to 10 photos – that’s one example of a project where you’re limiting yourself and causing yourself to be more creative in the process. It causes you to think more about what you’re doing. You also usually end up discovering new ways of doing things that help you grow as a photographer. When it comes to shooting with people, if you need help, one of our favorite books might come in handy!

We don’t photograph children often, but we used to! (You probably know I (Mike) used to be a kindergarten teacher). One thing that is really important is to get on their level. Don’t just photograph them from above. Talk to them and get them comfortable on camera (if they are old enough to comprehend you), don’t feel like you have to jump into shooting. It helps if you try and see the world through their eyes and let them know you take them seriously. Be playful with them, especially younger children. Older children can be directed a bit more when it comes to posing, but it hardly ever works with younger children so why force it? Keep it light-hearted and easy-going and you should be fine!

hi michael & carina!! =) my question is: how did you start attracting brides in your business? what’s the best way to get WOM marketing going during slow spells if you shoot mostly portraits but would like to move to weddings? thanks so much!
Hi Paulina! There are a bunch of things you can do, but we’d say the first step is to figure out what type of client you’d like to attract. Who is your ideal client? Is your brand attractive to your ideal client? Once you figure that out, it’s easy to get in touch with a few clients by using social media – giveaways get a lot of attention. It doesn’t mean you have to give away a whole wedding- you could give away a “wedding planning kit” or a gift card to Starbucks. Once a client books you, just treat them like you’d want to be treated by your photographer. J

Hi friends! You knew this question would come from me : How do you get ALL of your images to look so consistent! No matter where the shoot is, what the subject looks like..it’s consistent! Your work is so beautiful!
Hello Katrina! Thanks so much – your feedback means the world to us! Shooting A LOT – even in “slow periods” helps you develop your own style. We have to remind ourselves of that just as much as anyone when we’re tempted to sit behind our computer all day answering emails or pinning on Pinterest boards. You should never be bored or complacent with your work, but even if you push yourself, shooting a lot just naturally helps you develop common threads of consistency in your work.
We also always look for the “perfect light” which helps our subjects glow.

Hey guys!! My dream is to shoot film and have it become part of my brand (still saving my pennies!). Hybrid shooting sounds really appealing to me and I love your work so much! Can you go over the benefits of being a hybrid shooter? I’m sure you’ve answered this before, but how often do you shoot film during a wedding and at what points throughout the day do you pull out your digital camera? One more!! How much extra are your expenses for one wedding since you’ve incorporated film vs. digital only…did you have to raise your prices? Thank y’all so much!
Shooting film can be expensive but it is SO worth it if it’s your passion. We just are happier and more satisfied with our work. Shooting a mix of film and digital naturally helps you save money, but that’s not the number one reason why we love it. Film is lovely, but that doesn’t mean “digital is dead.” Shooting digital in dark situations can really help where you’d be wringing your hands with most color films. That usually determines where we shoot film. If we want color images in dark situations, we use our digital cameras. In most situations where we can use natural light, we love shooting film. Our cost varies depending on how much film we shoot, but at the last wedding we photographed total film costs were well over $600 – and that’s nothing compared to some photographers we know. We shot film for a long time at a personal cost. We did this simply to become more experienced with it. If that’s really not an option for you, sometimes you might consider shooting with someone on a “test” basis, waiving the session fee and just charging the overhead for film instead. In September 2013 we changed our pricing structure to reflect the amount of film we shoot.

This is brilliant!!! First thank you sooo much for your time. Here’s my questions… What medium format film cameras would you recommend starting off with? What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started shooting film? Lastly what kind of scanner do you like best? XxX
Hi there! We love our Contax 645s but they are hard to come by and/or very expensive. We hear great things about the Mamiya 645 and have personally shot with a Pentax 6×7. I wish I had known more how badly sunflare can affect a film negative. We once shot a whole test session on three rolls of film (luckily, as I said, it was a test session) and basically destroyed 2 of the rolls with too much sunflare. I also wish we had reached out to our developers personally early on for feedback. Be sure to reach out to your lab when you start shooting film, explain to them where you’re coming from, what you’re looking for… usually they are FULL of information and love helping! As for scanners, it depends on the film. We love the soft contrasts you can get with Portra 800 inside on a Noritsu scanner but we also love the deep, three-dimensional effect Frontier scanners have on Fuji400h outside:

Thank you guys for all of your great questions! We love interacting with y’all! We have a few blog posts in mind for the immediate future, but if there’s anything you’d like to see in more detail feel free to make a suggestion in the comment box below!

xoxo Michael & Carina

The post Mentoring | Photography Questions Answered | Michael and Carina Photography appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

Back in August when we photographed our first all-film, Hochzeitswahn bridal boudoir editorial (link), Carina’s brother was visiting from Munich.
He came along on the shoot and helped document some behind-the-scenes footage on our DSLRs since they weren’t being used.
We were browsing our hard drives this past weekend and came across the folder.
Maybe he has a future as a cinematographer?
We thought we’d share because even though these are like our shaky-cam “home movies,” we know we LOVE behind-the-scenes videos from other photographers.
We also love how it shows some of the goings-on with our wonderful team, and <3
We have a few big projects coming up this year and we’ll be sure to incorporate some behind the scenes footage!
We cut this down from about 15 minutes of video. Enjoy!

The post Behind the Scenes | Virginia Contax 645 Photographers | Michael and Carina Photography appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

Last year was such a huge one for us. We met some amazing people, tackled some tough challenges, and grew closer together through all of it.

When we think about 2013, this shoot is one of the milestones that stands out.

When Patricia Hoffman, the editor of the German fine art wedding book Hochzeitswahn, contacted us and asked us to shoot this project, we were honored but a little overwhelmed.

We knew to get the right look we’d have to leave our digital cameras behind and shoot exclusively on film.

The concept for our shoot was a bride getting ready for her big day with a bridal boudoir session mixed in.

We have nothing against boudoir but wanted to make sure it fit our “style.” We wanted to keep it elegant & timeless.

With the help of an absolutely amazing team, we were able to do just that.  We can’t say thank you enough to the selfless people that helped make our vision a reality. Their credits are listed at the end of this blog.

It’s a testament to the beautiful power of film, to our lovely model, and our hair and makeup team that we can say these required no retouching.

Thank you again to Patricia Hoffman for inviting us to take part.

We’re so happy to be able to finally share, having photographed this back in August 2013. You can purchase Hochzeitswahn here.

“Getting Ready für den Großen Tag: Ein Moment der Ruhe”

Virginia Boudoir Photographers | Coastal Virginia Boudoir Photographers | Boudoir in Hampton Roads

Credits:

Hochzeitswahn Editorial “Getting Ready für den Großen Tag: Ein Moment der Ruhe”

Location: Bay Tree Manor

Styling, dress & lingerie: Shop Gossamer

Hair: Hair by Alice

Makeup: Theresa Little Makeup Artistry

Floral: Storybook Events

Vintage Rentals: Shelley’s Shabby Shack | Meghan Blair Vintage

Film developed by Richard Photo Lab

Assisted by: Jonas Mueller & Meagan Abell

Best bridal boudoir photographers in Virginia in Hampton Roads and Williamsburg. 

The post Bridal Boudoir Photographers in Virginia | Hochzeitswahn 2014 | Michael and Carina Photography appeared first on Virginia + Destination Fine Art Wedding Photographers.

It’s been a slower month for our photography, but it’s important to take the time to get out and shoot.

Now’s the perfect time to try new things – like new film stocks.

I had the pleasure of capturing some portraits on Fuji Reala 100 with my Contax 645 the other day in Yorktown with Rachel. Overexposed 1-2 stops.

<3 enjoy,

Mike

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