I’m taking back Joey Chandler from Joey and Chandler

Now I know most get excited when you see something familiar on t.v. Or on the movies. I love seeing San Francisco on film and I’m had roommates that herald from Georgetown who raved about the chase scenes accross d.c in “No Way Out.”  I think its only natural.

But I’ve been dealing with something a bit too close to home for the better part of 15 years. In that time, I’ve fielded thousands of questions along the lines of “do you know you are two of the guys in friends” and “is your middle name Ross?”

It was a bit annoying at first but I just laughed it off. I enjoyed tracking the show’s popularity by the number of questions I got. Quite a few in the mid 90’s, not so much in the late 90’s and then a big jump as the show wrapped up in the 2000’s. Now that the show has been in syndication for a good number of years, the recurrence has slowed to just a trickle.

But they are still running rough shot over my name. At this point if you google “Joey Chandler”, my facebook page, my linkedin page, and my photography business all appear below fan pages, photographs and wikipedia entries of said show.

Yes the show was friendly and it did make for a many good laughs but enough is enough.

I’m taking back my name – not only for myself but for all the other Joey Chandler’s out there and for anyone else whose name was hijacked by pop culture.

My understanding of the google system, is that my ranking is almost entirely based on the number of real sites that reference me, my photography business or this post and point towards my website (www.jchandlerphography.com). This isn’t 100% accurate but the general premise is close enough.

If you want take a stand for the common man against pop culture or to simply see something else besides two guys when Google-ing Joey Chandler, please link to this post, reference Joey Chandler Photography in your blog or include my info somewhere in your online activity. Even one link with a reference to this or any of my posts will make a difference.

Besides postings about my shoots I also have postings about other subjects – mostly photography related but not all. Referencing any of these would support this endeavor.

• Places to photograph children in San Francisco
• Hiring a photographer – you don’t need wedding bells
• Photographic Gift Ideas
• Similarities between documentary and family portrait Photography
• My number one wedding tip: time for yourself

And I’m adding more -  Use them as content or write how I am right on or way off in any of my opinions. Just include my name and point back at my site.

Additionally, there are a lot of potential blog topics that I could contribute to but probably won’t get around to writing. If you or someone you know is blogging about any of these topics let me know and I’ll contribute in any way I can:

• What you need to make a groupon deal successful?
• Is your marriage ready for a home business?
• How to turn detriments into wins in the seo game.
• How to connect with photographers in your area.
• What do photographs say about the photographer?
• Tools to help the unorganized person succeed in business?
• What to do if you are having those “if not now when?” thoughts?

Thanks in advance for reading this far.  If you have no blog to post to simply forward/re-tweet this post on to someone who can.

Sincerely,

Joey Chandler (since 1970)

Blog link:  http://jchandlerphotography.com/1152

Looking for Practice session families and coupled

Hello –

Hope you are well and staying dry. As many of you know I’ve been doing kids photography for the past few months. I’m fortunate to have a good supply of the work (a good thing of course). But the sessions have cut into my ability to just practice without the pressure of making clients happy. So in following the mantra of “if it isn’t scheduled it doesn’t happen”, I’m setting up Wednesday Afternoons as my practice days. I’ll be trying out different things in different places and somedays it would be nice to have test families or couples.

Practice sessions would only be for an hour or so and I’ll give you copies of any good shots that come out (no promises though since it is practice).

Lots of different things would influence the when and where’s for this so I imagine I’ll just sent out an email on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning saying “Hey I want to shoot in XYZ neighborhood – who is interested?”

If you are interested in receiving such an email, just let me know (Joey@jchandlerphotography.com).

Have a good one,

Joey

Wedding tip – a place just for you

This is my very best wedding tip. Somebody told us this and since I never read it in a wedding book, I feel compelled to share it with other couples.

Between your ceremony and reception, after all the photos and before the drinks, spend 15 or 20 minutes in a room that you have set aside just for you. Drink some water, have some wine, get bite to eat and generally take in what you just happened (Holy Blankity Blank was our reaction). Ladies (and some gents), you can take a moment to refresh your makeup and both of you can take a deep breath before heading back out.

The actual wedding day is so much about seeing your family and friends so that room is really one of the few places where you can relax and be together. Assuming you have drinks and appetizers for the adults and maybe something to distract the children, then your friends and family won’t miss you at all.

And the room set up makes a perfect assignment for the aunt, sister, or friend who really wants to help but you really don’t want to deal with on your wedding. Tell him/her how important this is and they will be on it for a good long time.

Trust me on this – having this time will be very much appreciated on your big day.

Test Smugmug Slide Show

The Beauty of Crying Babies

Inevitably in any family portrait session, the little ones will start crying.  The children will either get tired, stub a toe or just not get their way.  Most of the time, the parents get anxious or nervous and try to sooth the baby.  Usually, there is a “I can’t believe he/she is acting this way.”  That’s natural of course.  But as a photographer, I think those are some of the best opportunities for memorable photographs.  There is something so real, so gut wrenching about seeing a photo of a baby crying.  I don’t know about you, but when I look at these pictures, I can almost hear the cries and taste the tears.  I just react in a way I don’t normally do with your regular, amazingly beautiful photograph.  Maybe its because I’m a dad but I don’t think so.  I think there is something hardwired into our human nature that just compels us react to a crying baby.

With this in mind, I thought I would start a collection of crying babies.  Here are the few that I have so far.  I’m sure more will follow.

What’s the similarity between shooting kids and cows?

Yesterday I had coffee with Unnikrishnan Ravendranathan (Unni). A young photographer from India with an amazing eye for story telling.  His work is always beautiful and often disturbing.  His home page at http://www.unniphotography.com/ currently greets you with an image of a bloody cow from his series on underground butchers in India.  You want to look away but you really can’t.

Oddly enough, we spent a good portion of our time talking about the challenges of photographing children and families.  Unni is comfortable simply approaching heroin addicts in the Tenderloin and cancer patients in India to get their picture, so I chuckled a bit when he said “That was hard” and “man I was exhausted” in describing his first family session (which came out amazing BTW).

But what struck me is the underlying similarities between our work.  I shoot kids and families and he shoots cows, addicts and cancer patients – vastly different worlds but we both approach the subject in very similar ways.  If you listen to his interview on the Candid Frame, Unni describes how he finds many of his edgy projects by simply finding someone to talk to.  “People are people and they just want to talk” he says.  He gets to know them and then starts taking their photos.   Now he is also a well trained photographer so he is constantly looking for elements (light, shapes, lines, backgrounds, etc.) that enhance the drama and story of the pictures.

I believe good family photography requires the same thing – you get to know the kids and the family, see where they work and play, look for the best light and try to capture an image that says something about what makes the family special or unique.  And while like any “documentary” photographer, a family photographer ought to leave the viewer with a sense of the family’s story.  After all, one of the main reason’s to hire a family photographer is to document what the family is like in this moment.

Absorbing Faces by Unnikrishnan Ravendranathan

My Partners

With the new year, I thought it might be nice to give props out to the companies that I use to run my business.  I am a one man show so I rely heavily on these services.  I went with each of these because they offer simple, powerful solutions and they are backed by a community of users and developers.

My “team”:

• Wordpress based website:  I use the Kertez Theme by Marc Fuller.  Simple, easy to use and flexible.  Plus here are many thousands of people constantly developing new plug-ins for the Word Press Platform.
• Adobe Lightroom for processing photos – easy to use, huge community of users and brilliant presets.
• Smugmug.com and Bayphoto for my photo management and fulfillment – Many, many child and family portrait photographers and even more wedding photographers use the Smugmug system to manage their photos.  Their system is simple, constantly being updated and customizable.  Plus there are a network of smugmug user groups that give me access to the best in the business.  Bayphoto is the lab that prints my work.  Excellent quality and service and since they are in Santa Cruz, shipments to San Francisco where most my clients live, is practically overnight.
• ShootQ.com for booking sessions and managing the photography workflow – this is my newest addition to my structure team and it has been a life savor.  In just a few days, I implemented a system that allow me to book 70+ portraits sessions in less than a week.  No more hassles with billing, contracts or wondering what needs to be done for shoot or print job.

Check them out and let them know I sent you.

Gift ideas from a photographer and for a photographer

• A year in photos – hire a family photographer to meet you multuple times throughout the year.  Best way to create albums and calendars for gifts and keepsakes
• Grand Parents photo session – instead of just giving pictures to them, have the grandparents be part of the photographs.
• Photography lesson – lots of great online places or you can ask a photographer for a private lesson (I charge $175 for three hours).  Great idea for the parent with a new camera
• Large Canvas print – really want to blow your inlaw’s mind?  Get them a +24″ canvas print.  They will not stop talking about it.
• Card player in the family? Get a customized deck of cards
• Photo Apron – for the cook in the family
• Personal Paparazzi – set up a night complete with dinner and elegance.  Have a photographer follow you around to capture your version of celebrity.
• Guided Photo tours – part photo lesson and part tour of your area.  Learn where local pros get their shots.
• Boudoir session – not my specialty but there are a good number of photographers that can help you capture that special look for someone special

(Then there is the Bordeaux session – where we drink a lot of wine and take pictures that range from elegant to buzzed to silly.  That I can do.)

Happy Holidays

The Best Photo Gift Ever

I want to share with you the single best photographic gift I have ever given: the family calendar. Sounds cliche and a bit old school in the age of the smartphone but it works wonders. I make a version for my family and my wife’s family and then give as presents to every family member (1 per household). What started out as a simple gift is now actually anticipated by relatives. More than once this year I’ve heard “I’m so glad you are doing this again” and “it has a special place in our house.”

You can see a draft version of my family’s 2010 calendar here.

Putting these together is not as easy as you might think. The calendar should be of a certain photographic quality and be interesting to everyone in the family. The east coast family doesn’t want to see month after month of the west coast family no matter how good the pictures are and a simple collection of snap shots doesn’t attract anyone’s attention.

This all takes time and energy – two things that not everyone has this time of year.

Since I believe people will love this like my family has, I’m offering a calendar service.

I will:

* Collect birthday and anniversary dates
* Collect photos via secure email system
* Arrange monthly collages (more than just throwing pictures together)
* Set up an online review system
* Order and ship the calendars to whomever you like

You give me the emails of people that you would like included in the calendar and I will do the rest.

Price is $150 for the set up + $25 per calendar (11×17).

Typically these take about 15 business days to complete and deliver. (5 for assembly/proof, 5 for processing and 5 for shipping). Expiated shipping and processing is also available for additional fees.

The last day to order these is Dec 5th for standard rates and Dec 10th for the expiated processing.

If you have any questions or would like to place an order, please call me at 415-948-3959.

Happy Holidays,

Joey

Holiday Card Special

For anyone looking for a last minute gift or holiday card.

$175 for a half hour to an hour shoot anywhere in the city.

Includes 25 5×7 cards or 50 4×8 cards with envelopes.

Over two hundred card choices.  You can see a few samples here.

Call 415-948-3959 to set up a session.

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