A little about Norm Scott

Central, New Jersey, United States
"... because in life, there are no second takes" That is how I view all the details of my profession. I am fully committed to providing the finest photographs that are possible! For generations to come your photographs will be treasured and enjoyed. From the moment you decide I am the one to photograph the most important day of your lives, until long after the last guest has gone, my commitment to you and my craft never wavers! My wife and I have been happily married for almost 25 years, and believe it or not, we met on a blind date! We have 2 dogs with excellent taste and from time to time they might chime in with their thoughts. Check in every so often. Thanks for stopping by.

Windows on the Water at Frogbridge

Windows on the Water at Frogbridge
View over the lake

When a wedding Photographer gets carried away

When a wedding Photographer gets carried away
Bad Idea

Here he is again

Here he is again

Hello I m a photojournalist

Hello I m a photojournalist

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

You are going to have our photo done: Now what to wear?

A photograph is a magnificent thing. It creates feelings and emotions, most times happy sometimes sad. Their value increases as the years pass. They go from valuable to invaluable. As soon as your image is captured it becomes a vital part of your family's history. Photographic images give us the ability to look back into our past, remember it and  experience it again. Photographs give us the opportunity to meet relatives we have never seen.

Once you decide to have a portrait done here are a few tips  that I would like to share.

These tips will help you and the family look great.
But remember regardless of what choices you make, we will create great photos during our time together.
If there are any questions call or email I will very happy to go over your ideas.

My tips:
If the portrait is be be done in the studio bring a number of wardrobe selections. We can capture just the right look.
If we travel to a location other than the studio,  beach or park for instance it is usually impossible to change your wardrobe. It is prudent to choose your wardrobe wisely. Please no sneakers unless they are great. Please wear black socks. Plan on leaving your cell phones, purse, accessories, bags, makeup etc in your car. If your keys are bulky I will carry them for you. We don't want bulky things in your pockets. The one exception is a hair brush. I will carry it for you.
Please make sure your clothing is pressed. An insignificant wrinkle may detract from an otherwise magnificent photo.
Avoid clothing featuring strong patterns, busy prints or logos. These styles will most certainly draw attention from your face.
Multiple layers of clothing can add weight and bulk, this may cause you to look as if you have added pounds.
It is difficult to focus attention to the face when bare arms are competing for attention in the photograph, this applies to very slender people as well as a little endowed. Please avoid sleeveless blouses, sweaters, shirts.
Bras and bra straps often cause problems, please ensure that your undergarments are not visible through your clothing.
Unless we are creating a "rugged man" look, guys should have a relative fresh shave.
A manicure for both men and women a day or two before is a very good idea.
Get a good nights sleep and avoid alcohol.  This helps to limit bags under the eyes. 

Couples, Families, Groups
When your photograph includes more than one person there are a couple of additional pointers to consider.
Creating a portrait is the same as decorating a room in your home. It should be harmonious,  all of its elements should flow and blend. As such matching wardrobe colors would be perfect. Blue jeans and denim shirts, or khaki or softer pastels . It is very important that in choosing a matching color scheme all colors match exactly. A new red shirt and a well washed red shirt will not look the same the color difference will be most apparent.. Put simply, matching works, it is simple and makes for wonderful photographs.

If matching is not your thing you may want to choose clothing in the same color palette (the same hues and tones). As an example everyone in earth tones or the same pastel hue.
However, please avoid highly contrasting colors. If everyone chooses to wear black shirts and one person chooses a white shirt that person will stand out very badly and will very apparent in the finished photograph.
When wearing sneakers the same tips apply they should all be similar in color clean and neat.
The same concept applies to shoes.  Feet will not be all photos, but when the feet show they need to blend into the overall composition.


Friday, May 21, 2010

And here is Maxwell I hope he is looking out for us

Here is our much loved Bernese Mountain Dog.
He was ill for over a year and passed away peacefully in his sleep.
We did not have to choose to do this. It hurts terribly when your pet dies.

Here is Knickerbocker

Knickerbocker was rescued also.
He is much bigger than Callie.
He is also very agile loves to chase for things.

Here is my Precious Cocker Spaniel Callie

Judy and I rescued this beautiful Cocker Spaniel. She is the best.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

In this digital age where everyone has cameras, scanners, and home "photo printers," we hear this all the time: How do professional (or personal) photographers charge $X for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drugstore? Simply put, the customer is not just paying for the actual photograph; they're paying for time and expertise.
The average one-hour portrait session
First, let's look at the actual work involved:
    •    Travel to the session
    •    Setup, preparation, talking to the client, etc.
    •    Shoot the photos
    •    Travel from the session
    •    Load images onto a computer
    •    Back up the files on an external drive
    •    2 - 4 hours of Adobe® Photoshop® time, including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, and backing up edited photographs. Proof photos are also ordered.
    •    2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment, and ship.
    •    Possibly meet clients at the studio to review photos and place order. Meeting and travel time average 2 hours.
You can see how a one-hour session easily turns into an eight-hour day or more from start to finish. So when you see a personal photographer charging a $200 session fee for a one-hour photo shoot, the client is NOT paying them $200 per hour.
The eight-hour wedding
A wedding photographer typically meets with the bride and groom several times before and after the wedding. And it’s not uncommon to end up with 1,000 - 2,000 photos, much more than a portrait session. Many photographers spend 40-60 hours working on one eight-hour wedding if you look at the time that is truly involved. Again, when a wedding photographer charges $4,000 for eight hours of coverage, clients are NOT paying them $500 an hour!
(Don’t forget that the photographer runs the wedding day to some extent. A comfortable, confident wedding photographer can make a wedding day go more smoothly.)under $1,000, taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.
Most personal photographers take years to go from buying their first camera to making money with photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera, there is a mountain of other equipment and software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website, etc. And don’t forget backdrops, props, rent, utilities, insurance, etc!
In addition to the financial investment, photographers actually have to have people skills to make subjects comfortable in front of the camera. Posing people to look their best is a skill by itself. You could argue that posing is a more important skill than actually knowing how to use the camera. A poorly exposed photo can be saved, but a badly posed photo cannot.
The chain store photo studio
Chain stores do have their place. For a very cheap price you can run in, shoot some quick photos, and be done with it. But you get what you pay for.
Consider the time and effort that a personal photographer puts into photographs, compared to a chain store. Store sessions last just a few minutes, while a personal photographer takes the time to get to know the people, makes them comfortable, makes them laugh. If a baby is crying at a chain store, they often don’t have the time (or the patience) to wait because everyone is in a hurry.
The truth is that many chain store studios lose money. In fact, Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios in 2007 because of the financial drain. What the chain stores bank on is a client coming in for quick, cheap photos…and while there, spending $200 on other items. They are there to get you in the door.
The real deal
Professional, personal photographers are just that—professionals. No different than a mechanic, dentist, doctor, or electrician. But a personal photographer often becomes a friend, someone who documents a family for generations with professional, personal photographs of cherished memories.
Maybe we need to help clients look at it this way: A pair of scissors costs $1.50 at the drugstore. Still, most people will gladly pay a lot more to hire a professional hair dresser to cut their hair.
The added attention and quality that a personal photographer gives is worth every penny.

Windows on the Water at Frogbridge

I am so happy to say that I work with Scott a great guy and head man at Windows on the Water at Frogbridge in Millstone Township.
The main room was recently renovated and is very elegant and refined.
The view over the lake is magnificent.
The food is top notch with service that cannot be beat.
Windows on the Water is a one event at a time venue.
It will surpass your expectations!

A sales pitch from an amateur photographer

Hi,
Getting married is one of the most important days in your life, so why not trust it to someone who is willing to work from free to cheap?

I have had a slr digital camera for a few good years now and I can take great pictures of landscapes and flowers.

I am wiling to do a few free weddings then I will be charging only $250.00 to spend all day with you.

I do not have insurance or backup equipment.
I do not have many different lenses and lighting equipment like the professional photographers have so I can do your photography much cheaper.

I also have not paid lots of money for training courses so I do not have to make the money back on that (beware that most of these photographers take continuing education courses every year keeping there skills up to date and learning what is new and trendy, but it is you the customer that pays for it).

Most professional photographers have lenses that cost as much as $1500.00 or more, and they have more than one.
I know the lens that came free with my consumer camera and a couple of others purchased cheap from Ebay do just as good a job!

Anyway I have not photographed any weddings before but I have been to many of my friends weddings so I know how it works and I need photos for my portfolio so I can start charging.

If you are interested please email me at letmepracticeonyourbigday@hotmail.com

If this interests you you might try a high school student or someone who was just laid off from a long career having nothing to do with photography.

But it is true you most certainly get what you don't pay for.

Well it has been quite a while since I placed a scoop.

Hello everyone,

It was a crazy time for us. Judy and I moved our location from Willow Pointe to a wonderful new place at 800 Tennent Road in Manalapan. We are located on the second floor right above the Brace Place. This location is just at the intersection of Tennent Road, Gordons Corner Road, and Route 9.
Our new location has warm cozy feel and everything is neat and uncluttered.

Over the winter our beloved bernese mountain dog Maxwell passed away. He was ill for awhile.
He died peacefully in his sleep.
We still have our two cocker spaniels. Callie and Knickerbocker they are wonderful and great fun.