Professional Wedding Photographer in Arizona | Larry Reeves 480.276.1127 » Photographers

WPPI 2010

Larry — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:51:01 +0000

Most of you know that I am a member of Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and went to the 2010 convention/tradeshow at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last week. I went for the second half of the convention to attend the tradeshow and see/meet many photographers that I know or have been wanting to meet. At the tradeshow I had the opportunity to listen to some great speakers, namely Joe Buissink and Still Motion at the Canon Booth. Both of their talks were very informative and inspiring. Joe is such a passionate guy, it’s hard not to get motivated and inspired while listening to him speak. I was super impressed with the folks from Still Motion…be sure to check out their work!

I got to hang out with 2 of my favorite people – Diana and Martin of Yan Photo

On Monday afternoon Becker did 100 headshots in 1 hour just right outside the MGM Grand. It was pretty awesome. Here he is shooting Dane Sanders…if you don’t have his book, get it!

On Monday night I went with Becker and a group of [b] school peeps to do a little lighting workshop on the strip. We got to learn from lighting experts like Nick Adams, JVS Pictures and Joe Photo. I met some awesome photographers who I’ve been in touch with online, but never met in person. It was awesome. Here are a couple shots I got that evening. The [b] school has been an integral part in my photography business. If you’re an aspiring photographer I highly recommend joining the [b] school…totally worth it! Our model was fellow photographer, Kelly Lane.

The highlight of my trip was when I won a VIP Pass to WPPI 2011. On Monday at the tradeshow I got a T-shirt from the people at Emerge Contest. They told me to wear my shirt the next day and I’d have the chance to win a prize. The next day I decided to wear the shirt and I just happened to run into J Sandifer at the ShootQ booth (thanks to Martin and Diana for taking me there). He noticed my shirt and told me to draw a poker ship out of the bag…I got #11–the winning number for the prize I mentioned above. I’m so excited about it! I definitely plan on entering the Emerge Contest.

I’m really glad I went to WPPI this year. I had so many opportunities to meet some really cool and talented photographers from around the world. I learned a lot and had a great time!

Snow, Skate, Races, Weddings, Family and WPPI

Larry — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:12:52 +0000

The above title describes my life this past week. I headed out to California to shoot Manny and Marissa’s wedding on the 6th. Since I was making the trip, I scheduled in a few extra shoots. The following are some previews from everything I’ve been shooting lately.

After the events in California, I headed up to Vegas for WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) at the MGM Grand hotel. It was my first year attending and I learned a lot, networked, met a bunch of people, re-connected with old friends and on and on…I even won a VIP registration for next year!

I plan on posting more about most of the below photos. If you’re looking for photos from auto racing, snow or skate boarding, click the link below the photo to be redirected to the galleries.

click HERE for snowboarding photos

click HERE for skateboarding photos

click HERE for racing photos

The Best Camera

Larry — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:49:07 +0000

is the one that’s with you. I learned this from Chase Jarvis, and through my own experience. Chase takes thousands of stunning photos with his iPhone and constantly posts them to his website. While I’m not an iPhone user (yet) I still use my super-sophisticated flip-phone camera to capture cool things that I see on a daily basis. Today, Chase launched a new iPhone app called Best Camera. I was able to look through quite a few new submissions of photos that came in to the Best Camera site today. Doing so inspired me to post some of my own phone photos, even though I can’t spruce them up with Chase’s fancy new app…remember, The best camera is the one that’s with you. ~Chase Jarvis

Apparently you can move a building this size…and even auction it off

Notice the gecko on the hood

This is when the Dodgers came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks

The $19 sandwich at the 4 Seasons

My favorite event this year!

Isn’t a double rainbow like good luck or something?

Utah Wedding Photographer, Will Duris

Larry — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:45:53 +0000

Just a quick Shout Out to my friend, Will Duris, a wedding photographer in Utah. Will and I have never met in person, but thanks to the [b] school we’ve become friends over the phone and online. I’ve referred work to Will that I wasn’t able to take myself…networking is awesome! Anyhoo, enjoy this image that from Will’s blog and click HERE to see more of Will’s awesome work.

Photo Credit: Will Duris

Sometimes I Get Asked…

Larry — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:44:00 +0000

what kind of camera I’m using to photograph a wedding, or a family shoot, etc. Okay…not sometimes, all the time. I think there’s a slight misconception that the camera makes the photographer and the photos great…this couldn’t be further from the truth. I mean, obviously, more advanced cameras make it easier to get more advanced images, but only if the user knows what he/she is doing. If I handed my camera to “joe shmoe” at the wedding reception and asked him to take some pictures for me it wouldn’t work…especially since I manually expose all of my images.

In 2002 my dad bought me my first SLR film camera. I was so stoked that I finally had a professional level camera so that I could take better pictures. When I developed my first roll of film I was extremely frustrated. The images didn’t turn out better than what I had previously been able to do with my point and shoot…this was because I knew NOTHING about proper exposure and composition. It took a lot of time and practice to learn how to expose an image properly.

The first digital camera I ever bought was a Nikon Coolpix something-or-other…it was a “point and shoot, and was for my wife…since I had my fancy film SLR. The Nikon was a 5 megapixel camera…top of the line for 2005! One of my favorite images of all time was taken with that little camera…not because it was the best high-end latest DSLR out there, but because I knew what I was doing with it. The photo now graces a hallway in my parents house as a 20×24 canvas print.

I guess my point is this: if you’re interested in photography and think that the camera will make you better, you’re wrong. Learn the basics of properly exposing photographs until the camera you currently own won’t allow you to use the skills you learned. Once you have to buy a new camera, it will allow you to advance your creativity and ability to properly expose a great image. If you don’t know how to do that before buying such a camera, a lot of frustration will follow.

Shout Out: Jayson Lecuyer

Larry — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Networking on the internet is one of the most powerful tools I have found over the past few years. It’s amazing how you can “meet” someone without ever talking with them in person, yet still build a strong friendship or professional relationship. I met Jayson Lecuyer through Facebook and we chat all the time! Jayson is a photographer in Boston, MA and also has an extensive background in web design and has been a huge help with the design of my website and blog. His photography is consistent, fresh and color-rich! I’ve decided to give a shout out to Jayson because he’s been so helpful to me and because he’s just cool. If you’re in the Boston area, or anywhere else, and like Jayson’s work then contact him via his website! Thanks Jayson for the help and keep up the awesome work!

Twitter…The Bird’s the Word!

Larry — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Hey everyone! In case you haven’t heard, Twitter is amazing! I can update my Twitter and have it update my Facebook at the sametime…all from a text message on my phone. For those of you with an iPhone or Blackberry there are some cool Twitter applications for updating your status, sharing links and photos! Be sure to sign up for Twitter if you haven’t already and then click on the tab that says Follow Me on the right-hand side of my blog to see what I’ve been up to! Have fun!

Coon’s Bluff Practice Group

Larry — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:16:00 +0000

I went up to Coon’s Bluff today to meet up with a lot of other photographers from the area to practice and teach different techniques. I had a great time socializing with them and I brought my lil’ sister, Lindsay with me to help her learn some more photography skills. It was a great turnout and a THANKS goes out to Darcy for putting it all together.

Before and After Photoshop CS3

Larry — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:50:00 +0000

Hey Everyone! This cutie is Isaac…he’s the son of my good friends Sam and Tiffany. While they were visiting us last week we decided to take a few photos of this little man and play around with the “post processing” that goes into a lot of photography. So, what did I do? We took this image with a one-light “Strobist” setup. For the editing, I started off by using the Healing Brush tool in Photoshop CS3 to get rid of the evidence that this toddler is male…I mean, the bruises on his forehead! Next I enhanced the eyes to lighten the iris, darken the pupil and bring out the “catch light.” I used an MCP action to soften his skin and give him that “new baby skin” look. After that I used a TRA action to bring out some more color. All of that produced the “first edit” that you see below. The other two edits are just additional actions from TRA. Sam and Tiffany were really happy with the results and I sent them home with a disc of the originals and edited photos we did. Enjoy the photos, guys!!

Deal of the Day – Memory Cards

Larry — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post about a sweet deal from Adorama. Do you need Compact Flash Memory cards? Here’s a great deal for a 5 pack! Enjoy!