Walck Portraits Blog

Tim, why would I spend so much more money for you to make my family photos when I could go to a department store for so much less? Great question! Custom Jewelry, solid .925 silver  I am a boutique photography service, which means I spend as much time with you as possible, and I see through from start to finish that we create the perfect art piece(s) from your session for your home that "wows" your family and friends.  I offer high quality, unique and beautiful products, often that require hours of design time.  I pour my heart and soul into each piece that I make and pride myself with the end results.  The final products that I create for each client are as much for me as for them.   I care very much about my work, and that shines through to the end results. A department store photography shop is an assembly line designed to get you in an out as quickly as possible, offering low quality products that require little knowledge and experience to submit a...

Photo Dog? Yep.  I love going on hikes and making photos.  So I got a dog that likes to go on hikes too! Meet Remi! :) We plan on Remi eventually becoming the greeter at the shop!  I think she will be perfect... :)

"Tim, what is your favorite piece of gear?" AHH! I'm not really sure how to answer that!  Do I go with most useful?  Most used?  Most aesthetically pleasing? The tool that allows me be most creative?  The most durable? I think I'd have to go with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VRII lens.  I use it for nearly every shoot (outside, or inside a large hall).  It allows me to be super creative, and is a fantastic tool for making images.  I can certainly attest to it's durability as well...  On July 3rd 2014 I had the D300s with the 70-200mm on my sling strap, and the strap failed.  Yep.  FAILED.  The camera and lens combo hit the asphalt from a 2.5' drop.  No damage whatsoever to the lens - the lens hood was cracked, and the MB-D10 battery grip on the 300s was gouged, but otherwise this tank of a lens stood up like a trooper to some serious abuse. What I LOVE about the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII is the beautiful way it compresses a backgroun...

Posing a family may seem tough, but once you get a few basic ideas down it is super easy!  Here are a few ideas for you: 1) Never tell anyone to smile! 2) Never tell kids to smile! 3) Never tell adults to smile! 4) Never tell dads... especially dads "smile"! 5) Create an "Organic" scenario, and capture what unfolds.  Wait!  I thought you said this post was about posing!  Well yes.  Yes it is.  With out a good expression, a pose is useless.  So first, it is necessary to make everyone feel comfortable.  How often can you remember as a kid when mom and dad said "Smile for the camera", and then you put on your cheesy smile was nothing short of terrible?  Talk with the family, have fun, don't worry about making 8 million pictures during the session - worry about keeping everyone in a good mood! I like to create what I call "organic expressions".  My goal is for everyone to interact with each other with simple guidance fr...

First off - What the hey is a split tone neutral density filter? Simple.  It is a filter that is darker on one half than the other.  There are many versions available, but today we are only going to be talking about the split tone neutral density filter.  Neutral density means that the color pallet stays the same - we are only adjusting brightness.  Split tone means that half of the filter is darker than the other half.   Good times to use this?  When half of what you want in the frame is of a much brighter exposure than the other half.  The example below is of a beach scene.  The sky was much brighter than the foreground, and I knew that I wanted an exposure that allowed a slower shutter speed so I could show some motion in the water.  I chose to use the split tone neutral density filter to keep the sky darker, and the water a little brighter. And there we have it!  

Being a photographer, I'm usually not in front of the lens!  In fact, I really dislike being in front of the lens!  Today I sucked it up though, and I made a few self portraits for my music promotion page.

Good morning! Last night I created a new Facebook page!  Oooooh Aaaah     The purpose of the page is to separate another of my creative outlets from my personal life - music.  Often I plug my music endeavors on the photography page, and that just seems like it creates brand confusion, so hopefully this will do the trick. I will be posting recordings and videos, and overall having fun with the page.  This morning I got the first post up, which is a recording of me sight reading each line in a quintet arrangement of the Mozart K406 on the clarinet. Hope you get a chance to check it out -  https://www.facebook.com/timwalckmusic