Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Well the day has finally come. May I please direct your attention to my new and improved website: www.SamuelSethPhotography.com
It will read the same over there, but it will look much better. Please head over and browse around, enter the contest, and share the page. You'll be glad you did.

My name is Samuel Seth, and many of you may know me from Slick Pix Photography.
When I started Slick Pix Photography several years ago, I wanted to cover it all: Weddings, People, Places, and Cars. As the years passed I found myself shooting mainly people: Weddings, Portraits, Seniors, Families, etc. Sure I’ve done some automotive and other work over the years, but I find myself wanting to focus mainly on people.
There’s something special about the human subject. Especially when that subject is engaged in an emotional, life-changing event. The shape of our face reveals how we are feeling at that precise moment more than any other bodily feature. With our eyes, the shape of our mouth, the tilt of our head- they all play a part in expressing our emotions in that moment in time. And I get to document it.
Weddings are one of the most challenging but rewarding events to document. During the entire day, there are so many nuances of emotion from every person in attendance. People laughing, some racked with nervousness, while others are crying, and still others (such as the little ones) are visually bored out of their minds, and everything in between. So I count it as quite a privilege to stop these moments in time and provide them to clients so that they can enjoy them throughout the years to come.
The image below is a prime example. The look they’re passing during this wedding ceremony conveys so many things and tells such a story, I could go on for pages about what they might be feeling in that moment in time. But this couple will remember exactly what they were thinking and feeling at this moment.

    But Weddings aren’t the only worthy subject in photographic documentation. I often look back at the old Polaroids my parents took of me and my siblings, and the only regret I have is that there weren’t more that were taken. I also wish we would have taken the time to have some professional photos done at least once a year. Time moves so fast and we keep meaning to get around to it, but before you know it, the kids are no longer kids anymore and the parents have become grandparents. So I also really enjoy providing families with high-quality portraits, whether it’s newborns, or High School Seniors. I know for a fact that ten years from now these very images I provide will be gazed upon with much appreciation.
The two images below, while different families, illustrates how quickly time flies. These images were taken about a year ago, and each of their families have changed much since then, with the kids getting taller, and the baby growing larger.

Houston Family Portraits

Here’s the Part you DON’T want to miss-

Recently on my Slick Pix Facebook fan-page I’ve been talking about a HUGE announcement in the works for the past month or so. Well you’ve found it! Not only is the announcement about a completely new site and new brand for myself, but I’m also running a CONTEST for the month of November.
    Seeing as how I’ve had to create a new Facebook Business page to represent myself on the largest social media network the world has ever seen, we’re going to have to get as many “Likes” to that page as possible. This is where YOU come in.
    To be eligible, of course, you are going to have to “Like” my Facebook business page. You can get to it by clicking the “Lets become Facebook Friends” button up top. But if you don’t want to go back up there, here’s a link: Like This Page to Win!
    The way it will work is this: After you “Like” the page, you’re going to refer all of your friends to my page and they’re going to “Like” the page too. But after they “Like” the page, they’re going to have to post on the wall who sent them- they’ll have to refer to you by name. For example: “Dwight Schrute Sent me…” I’ll be keeping tally’s of who has the most referrals and at the end of November, whoever has the most referrals wins. Here’s the fun part: The friends you refer will also be able to play. So you’ll have to keep up your game if you’re going to refer more than they do. I suggest using the “Share this on Facebook Button” below this post.

 This brings us to- “Win What?”

    The Grand Prize will be a full, Two-Hour Photo Session to be shot either here at my Home Studio, or at a place of your desire within 25-miles of the Studio. This generally covers most of Houston and up into The Woodlands, TX. Travel beyond 25-miles is subject to a small travel fee, but if you do live outside Houston, all you’ll have to pay is the travel fee. The photo session is ON ME.
    It won’t be just any photo session though. With this photo session, sure, you’ll get the standard adjustments and enhancements on select photos (which makes our photos look so great) as well as a personal online gallery for future print ordering and sharing with friends and family, but you’ll ALSO receive a set of 25 Custom Designed greeting cards, AND One Free 11″x14″ Fine Art Stretched Canvas Print that comes ready-to-hang. Images to be used on cards and Canvas print must be chosen within 30-days after image presentation. If you don’t choose what images you want printed within those 30-days, then I choose the best images to use and deliver the goods to you. (Actually you’d come pick them up but those are the restrictions)
Houston Wedding Photographer Canvas Print

  Second Place-

We don’t want all the hard work of the guy or gal in second place to come in unrewarded now do we?
Well for second place I’ll be offering a 1-hour mini-session to be held here at the Home Studio, along with Two 5×7 and one 8×10 professional quality photographic prints for you to take home, in addition to the standard image processing and online gallery that comes with the grand prize mentioned above. The restrictions are the same for this prize as well. Images to be delivered in the included prints must be chosen within 30-days that I send you the link to your personal online gallery. After 30-days, I’ll choose what I think are the best images and have them printed for you to pickup.
Either of these prizes may be used for any photo session you desire- Bridal, Engagement, Family, Maternity, Newborn, High-School Senior, or a photo shoot just because. I’ll also allow you to present either prize as a gift to a loved one, but will require some contract signings to ensure everyone is on the same page. I will also require that I be allowed to use the images on my blog, website, and other presentations representing Samuel Seth Photography.
One final restriction: Both the Grand Prize and Second Place prize must be redeemed in the month of December 2011, or January 2012. After January 2012 you will forfeit all the loot. Meaning: The Photo Sessions must be done either in December 2011, or January 2012.
So starting November 1, 2011 and ending November 30, 2011, let’s see who brings in the most “Likes” to my Facebook Fan page! We’re starting with just one like tonight. (Thanks Janet!)
So get to work! We only have 30 days left!

One more announcement:

That’s not all I wanted to announce though. I’m also planning a teaching workshop for the month of December. The date is still tentative, but it will probably be the first or second Saturday in December. I’m going to be teaching the Basics of Photography. For example, how to work your camera in Manual Mode, how to get the best out of your camera, Knowing that you’re smarter than your camera; What makes a good photograph, and how to execute a good photograph on the fly, and much more. It will probably be around 2-3 hours long and will consist of some classroom time and some hands-on actual shooting experience here at the Studio. It will be limited to 10-slots so that we can keep it small and effective. Professionals need not apply. This is a class on just the basics, but we’ll dip our toes into more advanced methods of shooting. You really don’t even need to have a camera, however you are urged to bring one to get the most out of the class. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, post a comment below or send me an email with the contact button and I’ll fill you in on more details.

Destination Photographer Mexico Photography Samuel Seth
If this workshop goes well, we may plan a more advanced workshop with studio lighting techniques, working with off-camera flash, image processing and more. We’ll have to wait and see.
I hope you spend some time browsing the new website. You may notice if you poke around enough that some of the areas aren’t quite finished yet, such as “about me” and “Rates and Packages”, but they’ll be up very soon. You also may notice if you flip back in posts far enough, that my old tag is on some photos. I’m slowly working through these to update them to the current brand. Feel free to post a comment and let me know how you like the new site!
Whew, that was quite a lot! Sorry for making such a long post, I hope you got a chance to read it all!
I’ll be updating shortly, so get to work on the Facebook Contest and we’ll be in touch soon!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Bobby and Em - Baby Bump Session

I just wanted to drop in a quick blog about a baby bump session I did a little bit ago. Had a great time with Bobby and Emily's Baby Bump Photo Session. In fact, they're now the proud parents of a baby girl! Congratulations you two, we have to get that kid back in the studio and do some more sessions :)
Here's a handful of fav's from the shoot. Enjoy.






 
  


I hope you guys enjoyed the session as much as I did. It was a blast.
 
I'd also like to take this opportunity to mention that there are some exciting new changes in store for Slick Pix Photography. It's under wraps for now but I'll spill the beans soon enough.
Also, I'm working on a learning workshop to be held in November, 2011. I'll write a blog post about the details of that. One thing is for certain: It will have limited space. But again, I'll fill in more details as we get closer. Stay tuned.
The Facebook Fan Page is where most of the latest news and info can be found, so if you're not a fan yet, click the box to the right of this blog post and join in.

Until next time,

Lates

Monday, July 25, 2011

Who has the coolest clients? Slick Pix does...

Just wanted to drop a quick post and mention how cool my clients are. I've received tips and other gratuities from clients in the past who were extremely pleased with the product delivered. But one recently gave me a gift that I think might be the coolest tip yet:


That's right. A bottle of 15-year old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. How cool is that? I shall be enjoying this particular gift in moderation with friends and family, and probably with the client who gave it to me, next time we hang out. I love my clients. Thanks again! (You know who you are)

We have quite a few blog posts lined up for the near future, so stay tuned!

Lates 



Thursday, June 9, 2011

Houston Senior Portraits - Savannah

Finally getting around to blogging this Senior Portrait session I did back in March. 
Savannah liked what she saw in Elysia's Galveston Senior Portraits, so we searched for something similar but closer to Houston. Savannah is actually from Dallas, but has family in the Houston area, so we set up a shoot during her visit here. For the location, we settled on Old Town Spring- a quaint little town a little bit outside of Houston.

We pretty much walked through the place and shot whatever caught our eye.
After we were finished with the shoot we were all hungry so we stopped off at a cafe called Puffabelly's. The food was good, although it was a little warm in there. I think the building is so old there's no central HVAC. But I had a 1/2 pound burger and ate until I was nice and fat. :)

I hope you enjoy the photos. We had a great time making them.

















Being Summer time now, Senior Portrait season is pretty much over. But if you haven't had yours done yet, there's still time. Give me a call or shoot me a message on email or Facebook

And it's never too early if you're class of 2012. If you get them done this year you'll have all year to show your awesome photos to your friends and pass out pics and cards to everyone.
As always we're looking for Senior Reps for Class of 2012 an 2013. There's lots in store for the select few we choose. So if you think you're up for it, let us know and we'll discuss it.

Lates

Friday, May 20, 2011

Houston Senior Portraits - Elysia

In my last post I mentioned that I would be getting around to blogging about a Class of 2011 Senior Portrait shoot I did in Galveston, TX. Well at long last, here it is.

Elysia wanted something different, and she loves hanging out at the beach. I love shooting at the beach. Put the two together and the following images is what you get. I had a ton of fun on this shoot, and although Galveston gets a bad rap for it's muddy water and less than fresh air, it is a lot nicer than many make it out to be.

We shot these back in March, so the weather was still kind of cool out. With the increased wind on the coast, it was cool enough to need a jacket. But Elysia soldiered on despite the discomfort. After we started the shoot on the beach, we moved inland to get some shots around town.

It was kind of interesting, and coincidental that Mardi Gras happened to be going on this particular weekend. We actually rolled into town just as it was over. So by the time we started shooting, the streets were pretty clear. There was a handful of random drunk revelers straggling behind, but there was no crowd, and no traffic since the streets had been blocked off for the parade. Great timing.

On the last shot of this set, if you look in the background to the left, you can see a bicycle and a guy in a gray shirt. Moments after this shot was taken, that guy in the gray shirt rode his bicycle over and said with an alcohol-induced slurred accent "eeeyyyyy...yyyouuu wwwwanaa take uh pickshurrrr un mah bike?" After a little more photo-bombing on his part he quietly moved on and we wrapped up the shoot not long after that. I couldn't help but chuckle, however he did make us miss a few great shots due to his intrusion.

Hope you like.


All in all, I had a blast doing this shoot. If you're a High School Senior and have a favorite place to go, lets talk about it and we'll make it happen.

Until next check in,

Lates

Thursday, May 5, 2011

First post in...Forever?

Wow. I don't know where to begin. I swear when I finished my last blog post of 2010 it was just last week. But alas, five whole months have passed since my last blog post! FIVE MONTHS! That's more than half the gestation period of a human baby!

Well the good news is I've been crazy busy with weddings, senior portraits and more. So busy that I haven't had time to sit down and make a blog post! But rest assured, the hiatus I was on left plenty of time to compile some great images that I can pour out in the coming weeks in blog posts. Most of my more recent stuff gets posted on Facebook, so I generally fail to blog about it since Facebook is THE social medium of choice these days.

Well I won't bore you too much with such drivel, so I'll post some pics here from a shoot I did for a friend of mine who owns a great Hair Salon in Midtown Houston. Michael SaldaƱa Salon. He's got a fun group of people on the staff, and they needed to do some profile portraits for the new website and informational media.

We set up the mobile studio in the Salon and shot on White Seamless, with multiple lights, a few cocktails, some rockin' music, and a lot of fun.

Here's what we got:







I'm well pleased with the results (I knew they'd come out great though) and the salon crew really likes them. That's the important part. Well hopefully I'll squeeze some time in soon to post a blog about a senior I shot earlier this year in Galveston. It was a great shoot and I look forward to blogging about it.

Lates