Walck Portraits Blog

Meg's grandpa, Bob Pekarski, on our wedding day. Firemen have always held a special place in Meg's heart. Growing up, her hero was not only her grandpa, but he was a volunteer fireman too.  Her grandpa taught her many things about hard work, dedication, and being prepared. With Fire Prevention Week coming up, we thought it would be nice to do some throwbacks to some of our favorite firemen (and women) that have given us the honor of working with our studio throughout the years. Hannah & Dave Lacher Hannah & Dave are with the Roulette Volunteer Fire Company  and are some of the most wonderful people we know.  We've been blessed to celebrate their wedding, their pregnancy, and their precious, growing family.  Click to read all about their adorable firehall maternity shoot  and also their newborn portrait session  (and see some of their favorite images). Mr. & Mrs. Lacher with their wedding party and fabulous ride. Tadd ...

In many professional photography circles, the question about how to have a successful senior portrait session always seems to come up.  Well, at Walck Portraits , we've found that it's quite easy.  In fact, we've laid it out in a step-by-step list. Step One:  Find Some Awesome Seniors to Participate in a Senior Modeling Program In January, we start looking for seniors to participate in our senior modeling program.  It's easy:  they come in for a planning session, have their portraits taken, and then they are given our senior representative cards.  For every person that books a session from their representative cards, the seniors earn $100 in print credit. Step Two:  Have Fun Taking Beautiful Images that They (and their moms) Love Step Three:  Schedule & Shoot Their Summer/Fall (Traditionally-Timed) Senior Session Step Four:  Show Off Their Unique Styles & Personalities Shaylei is a sweet girl who is i...

Although the idea didn't originate here (see the attached youtube video), our quaint hometown has had something epic going on for most of the summer - a rock hunting/painting/adventure. Coudersport Rocks On Many, many families have participated by painting and hiding rocks; spent time in the outdoors; and more importantly , spent quality time together.   It's been a fabulous and beautiful thing to witness. Local businesses have also joined in on the fun offering prize rocks  to those that are the first to find them.  Our family's business, Walck Portraits , built and decorated a camera rock.  We wanted to build awareness of the online community, promote families spending time together, and get our names out there as we are celebrating the opening of our new studio. Cheri's "Rock Hunting" Rock Hunting Portrait Experience A local, extended family found our rock and allowed us to photograph their Portrait Experience.  We had so much fun sharing...

As an artist , I've learned and become experienced with using photographic tools to work in harmony with nature.  In most cases, what I "see" may not be what the average person "sees".  I'm instantly drawn to composition, color harmony, textures, leading lines, the way light is behaving (quality, quantity, color, direction, diffusion), and how I can use those elements with my equipment and subject to create a beautiful and meaningful portrait.   1st Week in August Early September All summer long our Potter County landscapes are full of beautiful colors, the days are long (so we can do more outside/natural light portrait sessions per day) and the weather is second to none.  Yet...  Somehow there is a perception that Fall is the best (or only) time to create portraits.  I'll admit, when I first started out a decade ago, I too had this believe.  However - experience, and education have opened my eyes to more possibilities. Mid Octob...

In late April, Walck Portraits advertised that we were looking for nominations for exceptionally deserving mommas.  We wanted to celebrate a few moms that deserved a special portrait session and some gift prints because of how hard they work to take care of their families. With over 25 applicants, it was so hard to choose, but one of the most endearing nominations was for Valerie Gaberseck .  Normally, women aren't keen on their mother-in-laws, but Valerie was nominated by her daughter-in-law Angelee Kamats .  There were many, many great things that Angelee stated about Valerie, but there were a few things that stood out the most: Again...the fact that she was nominated by her daughter-in-law.   This doesn't happen often. She's a mom of four:  two adult boys and two teenage daughters.  Phew.  That's some work. She has faced many personal issues within her family, and yet she still perseveres.  Everyday. She stays true to her faith in God....

Just a few short weeks ago we took a ride over to meet Hannah & Dave at the Roulette Pa fire hall to make some fun maternity images with the fire trucks.  Within a few days Louis made his grand entrance into the world!  He is a sweet, super easy to work with and 100% adorable little man. Hannah & Dave brought a bunch of fun props, like a fire hose, helmets, boots, fire coats - all the gear!  So we got creative and came up with some fun ways to use them and pose.  I had to do some improvising with the firehose - its much heavier than you may expect, and also not as squishy as a newborn may like.  For those reasons I used wood clamps to position the hose into a nest, then we used a warm comfy beanbag as a base for easy baby posing with a super soft blanket on top - finally we added in the superstar of the shoot! Once their session was over, we brought them back to the shop to check out all the images so they could place their order.  They en...

We had a great turnout last week for Easter Mini sessions!  SO much fun! To start with, we tested the setup with our favorite models, Rhiannon and Huckleberry.  So here are a few fun shots from those tests!  For the set design, Meg Walck sourced and put things together, while Tim worked the light & camera. We'd like to say a big thank you to Amy Burrous, owner of   Always In Bloom  for letting us borrow her chalk board! From the sessions, our packages included our prints, which are of the highest quality.  We calibrate our monitors to match the lab's color profile, then we select Kodak Endura Metallic paper, which we love for its remarkably beautiful shine and replication of colors. Can't wait for all the prints to come in! Would you like to know about more mini session dates & events at Walck Portraits?   Click Here to subscribe to our newsletter!

Photo Courtesy of Studio V. Photography Often, we are asked how we make our photography business thrive when there are so many competitors out there, especially in a rural and isolated location like ours.  Sure, there are mom-togs, those who do it for a hobby, those who undercut our prices, those that far out price us, those that offer downloads, free prints, etc., etc.  After all, in a boutique business like ours, people are going to either love our work or hate it.  They're either going to come to us or go somewhere else.  That's okay.  We're here to help those people that love our style, our personalities, and our art.  Sometimes what we offer doesn't fit the customer's choice.  That is okay. Hopefully we can help them out in some other way.  Perhaps we can give them guidance on what to wear , a checklist for wedding preparations , or even recommendations for a colleague that might suit them better. TOP: The Walck Family Captured by ...

As always, we had a blast with Liz!  Her fun, happy, energetic personality is SO contagious! Liz is the owner/operator of Studio V Media & Photography in Port Allegany, and we often work together, weather we are taking pictures for each other's families, talking "shop", or just hanging out for some fun. For this shoot, Liz has just become the proud new owner of a Cannon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.  If you don't know what that means - it is a REALLY BIG LENS that EVERY photographer wants, and once they have it... it becomes part of their family.  Its generally one of the most favorited pieces of glass ever created - so, yes, it is worth getting a photo shoot for yourself to celebrate the occasion!

We had a wonderful time working with Hannah & David again!  It has been a few years since their wedding, and now they are happily expanding their family :)  This session took place at the Roulette Fire Hall, where both Hannah & Dave are fire fighters (as you may have guessed).  We actually bumped the session up a few days because their baby started making some decisions to enter the world a little early! We are really looking forward to returning to the firehall to make a magical and totally unique set of newborn images! For the image above, I may have got a little bit nerdy with the camera skills.  I wanted to make a something extra special - and I always love a good opportunity to expand my own camera skills.  So - I used a technique that we've posted about before called "Light Painting".  This is where I mount the camera to a tripod, then create an image set, where each image is made with the flash highlighting specific objects, then...

Cold, Bone Chilling, Icy, Snowy - and BEAUTIFUL! It was in the teens outside last Saturday, but that didn't stop Deidra & Brian! These two somehow managed to look warm and comfortable even in the windy frosty winter wonderland! We kept the shoot upbeat & fast, which seems to have worked well.  We LOVE the image set! They even brought out these two adorable pugs to join in! Check out the bottom for a little slideshow with more of their images!

Boka family with newborn baby! We just had Wayne, Abby & Charlotte back in the studio for their 3 month old baby session!  It is part of their "Grow With Me" package, and already, we can see the amazing growth this precious little beauty has done! When we had the Boka family in for their newborn session, Charlotte was super easy going and made for one of the quickest newborn shoots we've ever had, and her 3 month appointment was just as much fun! Boka family with 3 month old baby! We love watching families grow!  There is a magical element of looking at your baby's images go on throughout the year.  As parents ourselves, we can truthfully say that being a new parent makes for the LONGEST days and nights, but SHORTEST years we have ever had! We are really excited for our next set of photos with the Boka family, which will be in June... which means.... outdoor fun! We'll stick with the classic look of the two images up top of this post, as that s...

There is something magical about black and white photography, espicially when the subject is a newborn! Abby and Wayne did a beautiful job at their portrait session.  Posing was a breeze, and we were lucky that Charolette was happy and sleeping the entire time!  We couldn't have asked for an easier newborn shoot :) The Boka family is signed up with our "Grow With Me" experience, which is a photography package designed to document a newborn's first year off life, starting with a maternity session.  It includes: Maternity, Newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 1 year sessions.  The big gem at the end of these packages is the art that comes with them.  With all of these photo sessions, we hand craft a "First Year Of Life" baby album, using hand crafted materials that are designed to last a lifetime.  We also include a crib display, which is a three piece collage designed to hang above the crib and then easily moveable to other parts of the home. ...

Recently we updated our website with a few "behind the scenes" images to show off a few things that happen during a photoshoot that you may not think about... lights/other family members acting silly/pets being ...pets...  children being... children...  -  you get the idea. But there is yet another aspect behind the scenes at a portrait studio that many people don't think much about.  What do photographers do BEFORE the session?  OH and another!  What do photographers do AFTER the session? WELL.  Let me show you! We've been doing this long enough that we know its best to have a checklist.  In the industry we call this a Workflow.  This ensures that we don't miss any step in the process, which means our customer service level will be high and consistent. I guess I could end with that and let you read the things on our workflow sheet... but where is the fun in that?  Lets see some pictures! BATTERIES.  Every flipping thing...