Kris is a triple threat in the business, she is an amazing mom and wife, an uber talented photographer and she also runs her own preset and design company. Feel like you’re an underachiever now?? Plus, all of this was just accomplished in the last four years.

KrisD is known for her fun and real moments between couples. I asked her what she loves to photograph and where she gets her inspiration from, she answered, “  I love capturing couples engaging with each other and being in the moment.  I am inspired by the real moments, their interaction with each other.  I deem my style as editorial journalism.  I am inspired by editorial photography and street photography.  With these inspirations, I feel I am able to capture work that is unique and powerful.”

KrisD started her photography business in 2008 and her design business this year.  Although she is still fairly new to the industry, I asked her if she could go back in time and give herself some advice what would it be? She said, “ Embrace your failures as the stepping stones towards success.”

Of course, as photographers we always want to know.. Hey what’s in your bag? KrisD replied, ” For every day 7D 50 1.4/, 20 2.8 LED Video light, batteries & cards, iphone. For weddings 7D, 5D MarkII, 35.14, 50 1,4, 135 2.0, lens baby composer, 60 2.8 macro, 580 ex II, 2 back up flashes, 2 led’s (of course card n batteries) h2o, energy bar, 5 hour energy, and iPhone.”

Thank you so much KrisD for sharing your beautiful imagery and your spunk with us.

As I mentioned before, not only is she a great photographer she also runs a successful preset and design company called KrashSets. Check out some of the before and afters using her presets.

KrisD is being very gracious and wants  to share her amazing presets and designs with us. Exclusively for Adoramapix members you, can save 25% off items from her store KrashSets through Sunday at  midnight.  To save 25% simply enter the code: adorama25 before checking out.  Also,  one lucky reader will receives 3 sets of KrashSets ($99) value — all you need to do is comment on this blog post and you’re entered to win! Winner will be announced next Wednesday.

If you would love to see more of her work you can check out her website at Krashing Motions. Also, feel free to stalk her on Twitter or simply stop by her Facebook page KrashingMotions and Like her.

But wait, there is more — don’t forget about her design services KrashSets.  You can also find KrashSets on Twitter and Facebook! Let her know Adoramapix sent you!

I asked John how long he had been a shutterbug.  He replied, “ I have been photographing for 12 years.  I have gotten more serious about my photography the last 4 years after my daughter was born.  I purchased my first DSLR and a pro lens to keep up with her.  My interest and love for college athletics led me to some freelance photography for the University of South Florida.  After a few years of shooting some basketball games I was finally issued a credential to photograph their football games in 2010.  The past two years has given me much needed experience. ”

I’m curious to know what John has in his photo bag. He answered, “ My bag has a Nikon D300 and a 70-200 2.8 attached to it the majority of the time.  I also shoot with a 35mm 1.8 that works very well around the house and everyday life. ”

I also had to know what shutter speed he uses to get such sharp action on the field, he said a lot of these images on the blog were shot at 1/2000.

John also said, besides his daughter, he loves to photograph beach volleyball the most.  “Living near Siesta Key Beach, FL has given me the opportunity to photograph some very passionate and incredible athletes competing at a sport that does not pay much at all unless you win.  These athletes are traveling all over and competing because they love beach volleyball, ” said John.

So I asked John if he could go back in time, what would he tell his younger self.  He replied, “I would definitely have asked my dad more questions about photography.  He enjoyed shooting a lot, but I never paid attention till much later in life. I would have taken some courses when I actually had time to do so, instead of trying to learn on the fly as I am now. ”

Now the most amazing thing about John, besides his sports photography,  is his personal project of photographing his daughter. So what you say? So he photographs her.every.single.day. That’s right every day he captures the giggles, the crying,  the love and the changes.  John said, “ My inspiration comes from my daughter.  I am in the middle of a special project for her when she gets older.  I have been taking an image of her everyday since she was born a little over 4 four years ago.  I have no intention of stopping or breaking the streak anytime soon.  She is growing up to be a very beautiful little girl and loves the camera 99 percent of the time.”

What an amazing project. Thank you for sharing.

Before I let John go, I did have to ask him his SuperBowl pick — he’s going with the NY Giants.  We’ll see this Sunday if he’s right! Again, thanks John for everything and if you would like to see more of his work, you can check out his flickr stream HERE or follow him on Twitter HERE.

In this special feature, called Pix Corner, we feature a photo book review by member Patrick Smith of Patrick Smith Photos. Here is his review of his first Adoramapix photo book.

“When looking to get a new photo book, I knew exactly where to go.

In the past, when I wanted a photo book, whether for myself or for a gift, I went with another company time and time again. However, I was never fully satisfied with how the book looked or felt and always struggled with the color of my photos looking off.

This time around, I thought I’d give AdoramaPix a chance. I’ve always gotten my prints from AdoramaPix, so when I read about their lay flat books, I know I needed to give them a try.I wasn’t concerned to begin with, but the ease of using the layout program was a breeze. I literally dragged and dropped my files as they were onto the pages and when I was finished, hit pay and waited patiently by my door.

To my surprise, the book was turned around and on my doorstep not even two days later. All I can say is that it’s basically prints in a book. Unlike other books, my book felt like a project taken on with care. Much like the cover, the pages are thick and durable. Not to mention, the pages could be taken out of the book (if you really wanted) and hung on a wall; they are that high quality. The colors are true, the contrast is perfect and I’ll have no problem showing this to other professionals.

With that in mind, since getting my book I’ve shown my book to other photographers and those with no knowledge of photography. The response is always the same: “Stunning!”

While there are some limitations regarding pages, it forces you to edit tightly to make an everlasting memory book.

I know where I’ll be getting my books in the future.” – Patrick Smith of Patrick Smith Photos.

Thank you Patrick! Your artistry is amazing. If you would like to Judge a Book by its Cover – let us know! We would love to feature your honest feedback and critique. You can email me at libby@adoramapix.com.

New York, NY, Jan 15, 2011 – AdoramaPix Inc, sellers of premium quality lay flat photo books have announced an unprecedented sale on their photo books. During their “Seeing is Believing” Sale, 8×8 – 14pg photo books can be purchased for only $11.95* simply by entering the code:BELIEVE at the checkout.

“It is impossible for sample photos on a website to properly convey the difference in quality between an AdoramaPix photo book and those of our competitors,” said Herman Klein, Director of AdoramaPix. “Quality is at the very heart of what we do at Adoramapix. Nowhere is this better displayed than in our photo books. With each turn of the page, you’ll see the craftsmanship and attention to detail. This sale allows customers who haven’t seen one of our photo books before to see firsthand the difference that real photo paper pages and lay flat binding can make.”

Unlike press-printed products, photo books from AdoramaPix use true archival photo paper for their pages, have lay-flat page spreads with no gutter between the pages, and one of the largest selections of shapes and sizes in the business. Superior quality and lasting durability make AdoramaPix books the perfect choice for preserving photographic memories. AdoramaPix also has their own PixPublisher photo book editor. This editor is free to use and includes a massive library of art resources, and hundreds of professionally designed book layouts that make book creation a snap.

Sean has been professionally photographing since 2005 and just recently picked up THE KNOT award for the Best of Weddings 2011.   Before he turned professional shutterbug, he was a graduate research assistant in electrical engineering working on robotics and circuit design.  He entered the field because of the technical challenges mixed with the psychological and artistic components. He says it’s the best of all worlds.

I asked Sean what his favorite subject to photograph was and he replied, “I enjoy photographing people and love. This could be two people  “in love” or family bonds. I use photography to express those connections.”

So Sean, knowing what you know today, if you could go back in time and give yourself some advice, what would it be?  He answered, “I would join more groups to learn from other peoples’ mistakes and triumphs. Peers also challenge and inspire me to innovate and be more creative. I’ve never been secretive about how I do my business. I think the artistry, personality and mastery of equipment is what distinguishes good from the not-so-good photographers.”

I was curious to know where Sean receives his inspiration from, he said, “Facebook is becoming huge and I follow a ton of photographers’ daily postings. I also take inspiration directly from my clients as they each have a unique story to tell. They’ve also likely done a bunch of fieldwork and bring ideas to the table. One of my favorite photographs from my portfolio is of a brial party in blue store windows. We did a bunch of prep work and bounced ideas off each other before the wedding so we could go into it and have fun. It worked out really well.”

When Sean first started out, he was toting around a D70 with a 70-200mm 2.8 lens. I asked him what he’s toting around today , he replied, “Nikon D3s, D3, D200 bodies. Nikon 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 50mm 1.4 and Tamron 11-18 DX lens that I use on the FX D3s. …I use SB-800s with Pocket Wizards and a portable beauty dish for engagement and family sessions, but have 500Ws Bowens monolights with batteries for bigger groups. Also, I  have 128GB of CF memory and a cool Custom Brackets C rotating bracket. It all goes in my ThinkTank Urban Disguise 70V2.0 bag which can hold a pro body and a telephoto lens upright in the center column. Best. Bag.  Ever.”

So what’s in the future for Sean, besides the Nikon D4? He said, “I am  actively transitioning into a hybrid “fusion” market where I will deliver both photographs and highlight films to my clients. If you thought stills photography was a challenge, try doing film. It’s immensely more difficult and rewarding.”

Thank you Sean for sharing, your work is both breath-taking and inspirational.  So if you would like to see more of his work on facebook you can click HERE.  If is your thing, feel free to follow him HERE.

First, did you get pictures of your children opening their presents? Or did you get a fantastic snapshot of  that great looking spread you put on for the whole family? You did ? Great! Now you need to preserve them with our beautiful, new photo book theme called Silent Night. You can find this template under holiday. With light and cool colors,  it’s sure to showcase your holiday memories beautifully and for a lifetime.

For those of you building wedding photo books — we have the tale of two very different weddings. First — are you a city bride? Great ,we have  perfect template for you. In our new city wedding template, you’ll find bold, dramatic graphics to compliment your urban wedding.

Not a city bride — but more of a beach bride? No problem we have you covered there too! Check out our new seashore wedding template. It features cool colors and pops of coral designs to give it a touch of color.  Both of these themes can be found under the wedding category.

Our unique binding system allows every page spread to lay flat without any gutter or unsightly seam to separate your pages. This means no cuts to your photographs! This system combines beautiful presentation with incredible durability. Ready to order? Perfect you can click HERE to begin the easy and intuitive process of building your beautiful, hand-crafted Adoramapix photo book that is designed to give you a lifetime of memories for you and future generations.

We wanted to know what it takes to be a successful Boudoir Photographer. So we asked an expert, Kim Mallory of The Beautiful Woman Project the secret to her success. She lives in a smaller town, but is able to make big sales.  She gave us 5 very helpful tips.

Top Five Tips for Shooting Boudoir:

1. PREPARE YOUR CLIENT: We send our clients information about what to expect and how to prepare. It lists some style icons that match various body types to look to for inspiration, we also list our favorite places to go for lingerie. We suggest that nails are manicured, unwanted facial hair is removed and tanning is kept to a minimum. We also ask our girls to bring a selection of lingerie, shoes and accessories, at least 3 outfits so we can pick and choose and match them to our sets.

2. CREATE AN EXPERIENCE: It’s all about the experience and being pampered is a huge part of the excitement! We have a private boudoir dressing room for our clients where we offer in studio make-overs. Wine and lattes are served and the environment is warm and inviting with soft music and a romantic scent in the air. Our studio is private and relaxing.

3. DURING THE SHOOT Keep it fresh! Stay inspired and be excited about every session you do. Let your client know that you are super stoked to be shooting her and as the ideas are popping into your head verbalize those to her. I have a selection of props and accessories at the studio & there is always an outfit that can be accessorized! I make a big deal out of this and start adding accessories & props to create my vision. You are an artist first and foremost so let that shine throughout your session.

4. SHOOT TO SELL When I’m shooting, I’m thinking about the poses that sell and the album that I’m going to create. I’m also preparing my client for her ordering session by asking her what she wants to do with her images and how she is going to freak out when she sees them. I also warn her that she is not going to be able to choose! She looks amazing and she’s going to want them all! I’ll show my client an image on the back of my camera that I love to prove my point and this is a great time to get that shot where she is smiling and laughing in disbelief when she sees herself through my lens.

5. CREATE QUALITY PRODUCTS Part of my job is ensuring that the experience lasts to the very end. They have had an amazing time up to this point so we are going to continue on with inviting our client back for a viewing session. Edit & show the best of the best and make sure you have some high end quality products to compliment her gorgeous images. Help your client through the ordering process by offering your expertise in wall displays and album images and make the process easy and stress free by giving your expert opinion.

Thank you Kim!

Kim lives and works in Chilliwack, British Columbia in Canada. She is married and raises 2 daughters along with a cat that thinks its is a monkey. You can see more of Kim’s beautiful work HERE.  

Again, feel free to join us for our FREE webinar this Sunday, January 15th at 9pm EST. You can register for the webinar HERE. If you are already to go with your boudoir photo book then you can just go HERE.

His work is breathtaking, and I asked him how he got started photographing horses. He replied, “ It all began in 2003 when a horse named Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and I thought he was just the coolest. I followed racing for many years before finally in 2008, I picked up a and decided I was going to start taking pictures of horses… knowing absolutely nothing about either. I showed up at our local race track and began taking “pictures.” After about three weeks of arguing with the , I began to figure out what I was doing. From there, I just kept learning what not to do to get the images I actually wanted!”

He has found his niche with photographing animals especially horses at the racetracks. This is where he gets his inspiration from..the horses themselves. He said, “They are such amazing animals with so much to offer. They are like humans, they have their own personalities and quirks. Some are goofy, some are shy, some love the , some love to stir up trouble. I mainly photograph thoroughbred racehorses. I often tell people I go to photograph the races but leave with a lesson. Some horses appear defeated, only to come back to win more determined than ever. Some appear so far out of it they have no shot only to win by a nose at the finish, and some are hard knocking and try hard but never get any credit or recognition. You can take a life lesson from them, if only you open yourself up to the idea of relating yourself to them!”

I asked him if he could give himself one piece of advice to himself when he was just starting out.. what would it be? He replied, “If I could give myself one piece of advice it would be not to get so down on myself about missing a shot or failing to capture it the way I wanted. At the time, it is a terrible feeling, but from it you learn how not to make the same mistake again. For every amazing shot you feel you may miss, think of the shot that you will get as a result of it. Failure is only true if you believe it!”

So Adam, What’s in your bag? He answered, “My camera bag has too much stuff in it. I often abandon it the first chance I get and travel around like a wild man with things hanging off of me. I have the standard, boring things that every photographer carries and a few little mementos that people have given me along the way. I carry a Koala Bear with a boomerang and take his picture wherever I go (a photographer I met from, you guessed it, Australia gave it to me. He is a traveling Koloa Bear!) I also have the first credential I was ever given three years ago to remind myself of where I came from. Hmm, what else… oh, cant forget the most important one… chocolate! When all else fails, chocolate is always the answer, don’t leave home without it. Yeah, I clearly have my priorities in order.”

Thank you Adam, your work is amazing and beautiful. You can see more of his work on his website www.adammoosh.com. (BTW if you are wondering, yes this young gun is only 25-years-old!)

First we asked her, How did you do it? She answered, “Easy answer, I love photography! So having a project365 based on photography was the easy part. I actually never got stuck this year. I looked forward to posting. My blog was not based on any one theme, so it made it easier. I didn’t do any set ups. I just did what I’ve always done and that was take photos.”

We then asked, Did you ever hit a wall with creativity? Her answer, “Did I ever get stuck? Nope, not at all because I found out that even though it began as a place to show my photography…. It was so much more than that – it was about my voice. I found a way to relate whatever photo I chose to an event, to a feeling, to a desire, to a dream and I shared it with whomever decided to read. So NO, I never got stuck.”

Pixel’s project started to get noticed when she started a blog. She then set up links to her @Dpixel account and that’s when she really started to get noticed. I asked her, How did it progress? He replied, “What I didn’t realise, was people were beginning to notice and to read what I wrote. Living in New York city, we take for granted our city and not realise how intriguing it is to the “outside world”. I also wrote about parenting and it surprised me by the inbox messages I received thank yous and asking for advice. I wrote about my everyday life – our amazing dinners, the wines we tried, the trips we took, being at the lake house. I photographed my cat. I tried different lenses and different perspective. It became a personal journal, but it was a relatable one.”

Any regrets Pixel? She answered, “Yes, that I didn’t organize my photos in such a way that I could have made a photo album at the end of the year. I would have to go through each post.” (I think Adoramapix can help with THIS!)

Any advice? She replied, ” Many people get stuck because they begin a Project365 and it becomes more of a chore. It may help that you DON’T stick to a theme, or that you must ONLY post your BEST photo. Quite a few of my photography friends fell into this. I remember saying to them to “own your photo”. Just remember, that Project365 are not only about photos, there’s many different things you can do. Think about end before beginning and guess what??? It’s OKAY to change themes or ideas in the middle of it all.. It is afterall YOUR PROJECT365, so own it. So that’s my story.. The world got to know Pixel through my 365.”

Thank you Pixel your work and dedication to the project are inspiring.