Michael G. Abraham's [AGM|newyork] Photography Blog

2012 Is Upon Us!!

Mike — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:47:28 +0000

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

A few days late is better than not at all. I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season (which seemed to start after Columbus Day). Personally I’m glad all the hype is over. Especially the e-mail, sale after sale after sale.

Now, on to business…

I think I told a few people that I’d be making some changes about how I get down with my photography. If you didn’t know, now you’ll now.

Going forward, I plan to primarily focus on “event” photography, and taking photos in a crowded nightclub/lounge still…won’t…happen (no exceptions). I am talking about Weddings, Sweet 16′s, Baby Showers, Birthday parties; etc. - in a private setting. Businesses that may require shoots for their product(s), are okay.

So what does this mean exactly?

It means that there will be much less to no shooting in my living room that I convert to a studio when shoots need to be done. My 12′x20′ living room has served me well over the years, on many occasions with seamless paper backdrops, monolights, models, music, jokes & entertainment (MelMarNYC, Fashion Hurtz, Neveah Jeans, Phever, Eflat, Team 440, Boomn Productions to name a few). I may decide to set a up shoots in the future, maybe, but it will be done selectively.

With that said, I ask and urge that if you are going to refer someone to me for photography needs, it CANNOT be for: “my friend is interested in a shoot” / “I need a photo for my FB profile pic” / ”a birthday flyer that a friend is putting together for this party I’m having” / “head-shots” / “family portraits” / “I’m pursuing modeling” / “just because…I want to” etcetera etcetera.

Events and business-related only (might be a grey area there, but I’ll be the judge).
Is that my final answer? Yes, that is my final answer.

To all those that I have done shoots with, I appreciate you, and I thank you for your support. I wouldn’t be called the “Black Peter Parker” or Michael Parks (as in Gordon Parks), without you.

Regards,

Mike
www.michaelgabraham.com

Filed under: Events, General, Photography

Cinema EOS…Wow!

Mike — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:47:24 +0000

#MoreCanonDroolFactor . Canon debuted the C300 yesterday, and it’s a beauty!

PetaPixel, “Mobius”: A Short Film Shot with Canon’s New C300 Cinema Camera, 11/4/2011

Engadget Live Blog, 11/3/2011

Canon Rumors, 11/3/2011

Filed under: Events, General

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Gibson!

Mike — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:10:30 +0000

Weddings…they’re magical!

This was another beautiful wedding that I had the opportunity to shoot. It was held at Coral House in Baldwin, New York on Friday, October 21st, 2011 at 5:30pm.

Mr. & Mrs. Gibson, 10/21/2011

Filed under: Photography, Wedding

The Canon Drool Factor…

Mike — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:10:10 +0000

The CANON EOS-1D X…all I have to say is Wowwwwwwwww to the specs and another wowwwwww because I’ll only be holding it in Adorama or B&H Photo & Video when it is available, $$$$$, lol.

Filed under: Events, Photography

Countdown

Mike — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:11:42 +0000

Only a matter of days until Donna & Michael’s Wedding Day…it’s going downnnnnnnnnnn on October 21st in Baldwin, NY. There will be a rehearsal dinner during the week, then it’s a party! it’s a party! it’s a party! Cue the music! Congrats!

Donna & Michael

Filed under: Events, Photography, Wedding

Something Well-Written

Mike — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:57:38 +0000

I’m not a professional photographer, but I’d consider myself to be “semi-pro”…and this is just awesome!

Reasons Why Professional Photographers Cannot Work for Free by Tony Wu

Dear potential photo buyer,

If you have been directed to this page, it is likely that you have requested the use of an image or images for free or minimal compensation.

As professional photographers, we receive requests for free images on a regular basis. In a perfect world, each of us would love to be able to respond in a positive manner and assist, especially with projects or efforts related to areas such as education, social issues, and conservation of natural resources. It is fair to say that in many cases, we wish we had the time and resources to do more to assist than just send photographs.

Unfortunately, such are the practicalities of life that we are often unable to respond, or that when we do, our replies are brief and do not convey an adequate sense of the reasons underlying our response.

Circumstances vary for each situation, but we have found that there are a number of recurring themes, which we have set out below with the objective of communicating more clearly with you, and hopefully avoiding misunderstandings or unintentionally engendering ill will.

Please take the following points in the constructive manner in which they are intended. We certainly hope that after you have had a chance to read this, we will be able to talk again and establish a mutually beneficial working relationship.

More after the jump..

Photographs Are Our Livelihood
Creating compelling images is the way we make our living. If we give away our images for free, or spend too much time responding to requests for free images, we cannot make a living.

We Do Support Worthy Causes With Images
Most of us do contribute photographs, sometimes more, to support certain causes. In many cases, we may have participated directly in projects that we support with images, or we may have a pre-existing personal relationship with key people involved with the efforts concerned. In other words, each of us can and does provide images without compensation on a selective basis.

We Have Time Constraints
Making a leap from such selective support to responding positively to every request we get for free photographs, however, is impractical, if for no other reason than the substantial amount of time required to respond to requests, exchange correspondence, prepare and send files, and then follow-up to find out how our images were used and what objectives, if any, were achieved. It takes a lot of time to respond to requests, and time is always in short supply.

Pleas of “We Have No Money” Are Often Difficult to Fathom
The primary rationale provided in nearly all requests for free photographs is budgetary constraint, meaning that the requestor pleads a lack of funds.

Such requests frequently originate from organisations with a lot of cash on hand, whether they be publicly listed companies, government or quasi-government agencies, or even NGOs. Often, it is a simple matter of taking a look at a public filing or other similar disclosure document to see that the entity concerned has access to significant funding, certainly more than enough to pay photographers a reasonable fee should they choose to do so.

To make matters worse, it is apparent that all too often, of all the parties involved in a project or particular effort, photographers are the only ones being asked to work for free. Everyone else gets paid.

Given considerations like this, you can perhaps understand why we frequently feel slighted when we are told that: “We have no money.” Such claims can come across as a cynical ploy intended to take advantage of gullible individuals.

We Have Real Budget Constraints
With some exceptions, photography is not a highly remunerative profession. We have chosen this path in large part due to the passion we have for visual communication, visual art, and the subject matters in which we specialise.

The substantial increase in photographs available via the internet in recent years, coupled with reduced budgets of many photo buyers, means that our already meager incomes have come under additional strain.

Moreover, being a professional photographer involves significant monetary investment.

Our profession is by nature equipment-intensive. We need to buy cameras, lenses, computers, software, storage devices, and more on a regular basis. Things break and need to be repaired. We need back-ups of all our data, as one ill-placed cup of coffee could literally erase years of work. For all of us, investment in essential hardware and software entails thousands of dollars a year, as we need to stay current with new technology and best practices.

In addition, travel is a big part of many of our businesses. We must spend a lot of money on transportation, lodging and other travel-related costs.

And of course, perhaps most importantly, there is a substantial sum associated with the time and experience we have invested to become proficient at what we do, as well as the personal risks we often take. Taking snapshots may only involve pressing the camera shutter release, but creating images requires skill, experience and judgement.

So the bottom line is that although we certainly understand and can sympathise with budget constraints, from a practical point of view, we simply cannot afford to subsidise everyone who asks.

Getting “Credit” Doesn’t Mean Much
Part and parcel with requests for free images premised on budgetary constraints is often the promise of providing “credit” and “exposure”, in the form or a watermark, link, or perhaps even a specific mention, as a form of compensation in lieu of commercial remuneration.

There are two major problems with this.

First, getting credit isn’t compensation. We did, after all, create the images concerned, so credit is automatic. It is not something that we hope a third party will be kind enough to grant us.

Second, credit doesn’t pay bills. As we hopefully made clear above, we work hard to make the money required to reinvest in our photographic equipment and to cover related business expenses. On top of that, we need to make enough to pay for basic necessities like food, housing, transportation, etc.

In short, receiving credit for an image we created is a given, not compensation, and credit is not a substitute for payment.

“You Are The Only Photographer Being Unreasonable”
When we do have time to engage in correspondence with people and entities who request free photos, the dialogue sometimes degenerates into an agitated statement directed toward us, asserting in essence that all other photographers the person or entity has contacted are more than delighted to provide photos for free, and that somehow, we are “the only photographer being unreasonable”.

We know that is not true.

We also know that no reasonable and competent photographer would agree to unreasonable conditions. We do allow for the fact that some inexperienced photographers or people who happen to own cameras may indeed agree to work for free, but as the folk wisdom goes: “You get what you pay for.”

Please Follow-Up
One other experience we have in common is that when we do provide photographs for free, we often do not receive updates, feedback or any other form of follow-up letting us know how the event or project unfolded, what goals (if any) were achieved, and what good (if any) our photos did.

All too often, we don’t even get responses to emails we send to follow-up, until, of course, the next time that someone wants free photographs.

In instances where we do agree to work for free, please have the courtesy to follow-up and let us know how things went. A little consideration will go a long way in making us feel more inclined to take time to provide additional images in the future.

Wrap Up
We hope that the above points help elucidate why the relevant photographer listed below has sent you to this link. All of us are dedicated professionals, and we would be happy to work with you to move forward in a mutually beneficial manner.

Filed under: Photography

I’m Still Here!

Mike — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:36:40 +0000

It was a busy summer to say the least. We all know how it goes…always plenty to do, but never enough time. Let’s see, there was a wedding in June (the 10th), followed by another, exactly one month later in July, during which I was still in search of a new day-job. Then I got a call, had an interview, was offered the job, gave my two weeks notice and started a new gig on August 1. Yay Me! . There was also Hurricane Irene, and two weddings that I attended. Congratulations again to Trevor & Kira (9/4/11), andddddddd Curtis & Linda (9/10/11)!

So that’s what I’ve been up to, and look it’s already October. People have asked if I’ve quit photography. Answer: Quit? Me? Parting with photography? Never! I have photos posted of my own work at my desk, and a picture of a 5DMkII <— because I want one and will have one in 2012. It’s a visual motivator while I’m at the day job, plus I’m always checking out my photography info via my Google Reader subscriptions. There’s still so much I want to learn about photography, just not enough time in the day for it all. It’s already bad enough that I only sleep for 4-6 hours. (Partial blame goes to the Xbox).

Lastly, I have an upcoming wedding that I’ve been commissioned for…another one in Long Island, about one week away, so I’m already preparing, mentally, and checking all the camera gear and such. I’m really looking forward to being in photographer-mode again. So look out for those photos, but while you’re waiting, which I know you are, take a trip on over to www.michaelgabraham.com, check out my photos, and tell a friend. That’s all for now folks!

Mike

Filed under: Events, General, Photography, Wedding

Congrats Curtis & Linda

Mike — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:59:56 +0000

I realized that I did not make a post for them. What a great wedding! Congrats, congrats, congrats. Linda, welcome to the crew!!
September 10th, 2011

Reception, First Dance (Taken by me)

I "borrowed" this one photo from Facebook. I did not shoot this.

Filed under: Events, Photography, Wedding

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Neal!

Mike — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:18:45 +0000

They were married yesterday on September 4th, towards the end of Sunday service at Pilgrim Baptist Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Short & sweet ceremony for them!!

Great day for a wedding!!

www.michaelgabraham.com

Filed under: Events, Photography, Wedding

Congratulations Dafna & Gobinda!

Mike — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:52:34 +0000

Mazel tov!!!!!

…and I need new business cards because the remaining ones still have my [this] blog as the website.

My first Jewish wedding assignment, and what a beautiful day it was for a wedding! Held a Glen Terrace, Brooklyn, New York. Yep, Glen Terrace, I was there on June 10th for another wedding . Dafna, the bride, is Jewish, and Gobinda, the groom, is Nepalese. I learn about some tradition today, and I definitely will be doing a little reading up. Skimming through some photos now and they look good. Stay tuned here, and on www.michaelgabraham.com for photos!

[Update]
Also want to thank the videographer, Larry…coordinating our efforts to capture everyone, Rabbi Gloria Milner. and Billy Mann, the Entertainer & the DJ who, with ease, kept the guests quite entertained throughout the evening. Was unable get Larry’s contact information, but if you’re looking for an MC, here’s Billy Mann’s.

104-72nd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209
877-704-SHOW . 718-680-3793
www.billymannproductions.com

Filed under: Photography, Wedding

Another Great Wedding!

Mike — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:02:45 +0000

First of all, congratulations again to the bride & groom, the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Braswell, who are now enjoying their honeymoon!

Friday, June 10th was a great day for wedding, and the weather was perfect (a little humid for me, but no rain!). Held at Glen Terrace, Brooklyn, NY; I arrived early as usual to check things out, talk to the maître d’ & staff, test the camera gear and take some shots at the venue. To my surprise, the bride and her party were already downstairs in the bridal suite getting ready. WIN! The guys started arriving shortly after I did. ANOTHER WIN!

The ceremony was quick, as they always are, but at the end of this ceremony, the couple literally “jumped the broom”!! Then it was on to the cocktail hour, and the reception…which was epic! Kudos to the DJ! The music was great, the food was good, and the drinks were flowing for all. All were dressed nicely and I know everyone had a great time!

I met a few people, did a little networking, and hopefully another wedding assignment will come out of it! I’ll be back at Glen Terrace for another wedding on July 10th. This is a first…two weddings, at the same venue, one month apart!!

From a photography aspect, this was one of the easier assignments, and I feel that I’ve captured their day candidly (plus the posey formal shots lol). I’m looking forward to spending some time in my “editing booth” (aka Photoshop & LightRoom) to bring out the best of the photos, and to tell the story of their day. As I say to everyone else, if someone could not attend a/the wedding, one must be able to look at your photos and feel as if they were actually there! There lies the challenge.

Photos from this wedding to come soon. Will post a shot or three here, but they will be posted on MichaelGAbraham.com.

Filed under: Photography, Wedding

Gearing Up!! [Wedding]

Mike — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:17:25 +0000

I’m gearing up for a wedding today, well later this afternoon! It has been a few months since my last wedding photography assignment, but I am always ready to shoot and get the job done. I’ve been prepping, checking, and rechecking the camera gear, skimming through a few wedding photography books and photos for additional inspiration, and well, checking and rechecking the gear .

[would have inserted stolen Facebook couple photo here]

Photos will be posted on my official website: www.michaelgabraham.com, but until then, feel free to visit and check out some of my work!

Mike

Filed under: Photography, Wedding

My Daughter (Random)

Mike — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:59:40 +0000

Random shot taken today as we were walking back from the park. Just observing her as she walked while I held her scooter and helmet.

How times flies! It’s unbelievable…

Filed under: General, iPhonography

Clouds, Fun Stuff!

Mike — Sat, 07 May 2011 15:25:33 +0000

Clouds TEST.2, originally uploaded by agmnewyorkphoto.

Another short one here, same music, didn’t feel like searching for another track. This was made with 500 photos with the camera facing out my living room window. I can honestly say that this is fun, lots of fun! Whenever I master this and make some sort of video compilation, it will be a HUGE accomplishment! I can simply say that I’ve done it and pat myself on the back.

Learning is a continuous process.

Nerd out!

Filed under: Photography

Old Trusty Watch Motion

Mike — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:22:15 +0000

My first attempt at this and I’m sure I’ll do more..pretty cool stuff! (oh there’s a snippet of music, so turn your volume down)

Old Trusty Watch Motion, originally uploaded by agmnewyorkphoto.

I was inspired by this stunning video [below] that I viewed a number of times yesterday, and I’m sure you will too!! Of course my 30 second watch clip has NOTHING ON THIS VID. Breathtaking!!

Filed under: Photography

Updates

Mike — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:19:53 +0000

I haven’t updated the blog for about a month, but it’s all good. Okay, let’s see here…

1) I was recently booked to shoot a wedding in July (and it’s in Brooklyn)…YAY!
(I’ve been receiving inquiries here and there, but not all pan out, especially folks looking for “discounts”)

2) Some shoots continue to be postponed/rescheduled…it’s life, I’m definitely not complaining.

3) In early April, I did a quick shoot for some friends:

Well that’s all folks, for now at least. I have not been shooting much, but I expect this to change as the weather changes and warms up a bit, and I regain my mojo to do some casual shooting.

www.michaelgabraham.com

Filed under: Photography

Post: Test

Mike — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:52:45 +0000

Filed under: Photography

Andrea & Ezra’s Engagement Party

Mike — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:31:01 +0000

Here are some photos from the event that took place on March 26th in Brooklyn, New York at Two Steps Down.

Filed under: Events, Wedding

Maleeah’s First Birthday Party!

Mike — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:44:18 +0000

My friend Ashlee had a little birthday party for her daughter on Saturday, March 12th at a nice spot in Harlem, New York, NY. Lots of family and friends came, and lots of kids. I was armed with my camera for the festivities.

http://www.michaelgabraham.com

Filed under: Events, Photography

Stuyvesant Heights Christian Church

Mike — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:00:09 +0000

In Late February, I was asked to shoot in and around the church for an upcoming showcase event. If I recall correctly, these photos will be used at an event to attract potential couples to have their wedding at a venue/church of their choice. The pastor of this church and his wife printed 12 8×10′s and 1 16×20″. Here are a few of those photos:

Taken on February 26, 2011
http://www.michaelgabraham.com

Filed under: Photography, Wedding