I’ve been meeting some wonderful professionals in the wedding industry this year. And I’m happy to be able introduce and recommend Jon Bartlett and the Remix DJs team. I’ve been able to work with Jon at a few wedding events and I’m impressed with the level of professionalism he brings to the table. I’ve been at too many receptions where the DJ didn’t really care to be there and his only job was to keep the music playing. This couldn’t be further from the truth about Jon. He’s been a professional entertainer for 12 years, knowing how to keep the room engaged and the party alive. Wether he’s spinning jazz from the streets of paris, club beats, or timeless dance favorites, Jon is in the zone and serves the reception with excellence. Jon offers many mix styles and some technology that allows people that can’t travel for your wedding event to view the reception online. Pretty awesome stuff. A great DJ can make the difference between a good night and an unforgettable and amazing wedding reception. Invest in your reception entertainment wisely and hire Jon from RemixDJs today.

Girls in Thailand forced into prostitution.

Why are so many in the photographic community starting to embrace the objectification and sexualization of women? I’ve been wanting to address this subject and express my concerns over the current and popular trend of boudoir photography sessions being offered around the nation by photo studios. If you don’t know what a boudoir session is, it’s when a woman does a photo shoot in her underwear, lingerie, or in the nude and the photos are meant to be a gift for the boyfriend, husband, or other personal use. I’ve seen the portfolios and to be honest, I believe that boudoir is just a crafty and deceptive way of saying pornography. Others even call it fine art. But I think there is something darker behind this and it’s fueling a greater evil that most are oblivious to. I’ll address this evil in more detail later.

I’m troubled by the direction that we are heading as a society as the objectification and sexualization of women becomes more and more mainstream. Advertising media is the giant miscreant in this issue. We’ve all heard the phrase “sex sells” and so for decades now advertising has gotten more and more decadent and bombarded us with enough images of sexualized and objectified women and men that we’ve become numb to it. They’ve traded in values and integrity and have bowed down to the dollar. But I’m not here to take on the advertising community. I’m here to challenge photographers to step back and rethink how you approach photography of women.

So the greater evil; Today we live in a world where millions of girls and boys are trafficked for sexual purposes. I’ve traveled though 11 nations connected to a documentary film on this and have seen the problem first hand. I’ve interviewed the girls, I’ve seen their tears, and I’ve heard their voices tremble. I can tell you that the stories are horrifying and have marked me for life. I must be an advocate. I must be a voice. And so I will issue this challenge to the creative photography community abroad. If you’re a boudoir photographer, you’re fueling a bigger problem that you are unaware of. Now I understand that none of you pursued boudoir photography with malicious intentions. Nobody signed up for this hoping to play a role in human trafficking. But every image like this that is taken distorts mens view of women. And as a result, more and more men of the earth are demanding an industry that enslaves women, girls and boys for sexual fulfillment. Don’t leave a legacy of images that have played a role in this. Let’s create photos that esteems women. Let’s create photos that portray women as smart, creative, fun, strong, and beautiful. Not as sexual objects. Think of them as mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends. They are to be cherished and protected.

Maybe you don’t offer boudoir photography; but senior portraits of high school girls with way to much cleavage and shorts that are way to short is feeding the same monster. Now I understand that many of these girls came to the photo shoot wearing that and maybe they even expressed that they wanted photos like that. But don’t we as adult photographers have a responsibility to draw a line. To say, ‘I won’t take a pay check and sexualize this young girl’. IT’S NOT WORTH IT! We should be disturbed by this. Have we really become so numb?

Call me old fashioned. Call me closed minded. I’ll stand my ground on this issue. To my photography friends that are doing this type of photography, I don’t mean for this to be a personal attack against you, I still desire your friendship. Some will be angry and others offended by what I’ve written here and I would ask that before you respond, you’ll consider doing 3 things. Read the book “The Natashas” see the movie “The Whistleblower” and make an effort to see the documentary that I helped film “Nefarious – Merchant of Souls”.

Many don’t know it, but I’ve been involved in the creative media industry for 20 years and having been a video editor and shooter for 5 of those years, it’s with great excitement that I get to introduce to you my friend Mike Varel. Let me be clear right from the start, Mike does not do wedding videos. He is a cinematographer that creates gorgeous wedding films. Of the many vendors that are available to tell the story of the wedding day through moving pictures, few accomplish this as uniquely and artistically as Mike. What makes his approach so original is his commitment to finding that story element that is unique to the couple and makes it a key component in his films. I believe this is his strength and something that sets him apart from the rest. But it’s also the pace that he set for the visuals, it’s the careful and well timed edits, it’s the way he weaves in and out of the day creating a story line, that as well as being awesome to behold, actually captures your heart. I believe he has a gift and we’re blessed to have him here in our city. If you’re ready to invest in the best there is to film your wedding day, I highly recommend Mike Varel. Check out amazing examples of his work at mikevarel.com and then give him a call and book him for your wedding day.

I was able to do this family photos session in their home on a grey overcast day. No flashes were used and I thought the results were awesome, but my job is easy when you have such delightful people to work with and the right light. These are just a few of my favorites from our time together.