Good Friends, Good People

I would like to introduce you to some good friends of mine who are really good people. You may already know them because they are really out in the community doing things to help others that may not be as fortunate as you and me. But I'll tell you more about that in a minute. First is Mitch Kloorfain, he's the man at the Hometown News who is the go to guy for anything and everything photographic and photojournalistic. He is everywhere at any given moment but lately he is helping me with my wedding contest. Next is Wendy Dwyer, and Wendy is a freelance journalist with a heart of gold. She is also a hard one to keep up with. Just recently she covered Cornholio, a tournement for cornholers. If you don't know what it is, Google it! Mitch and Wendy introduced my wife and me to Scott Van Duzer. A great guy who I think must give more away than he makes at his business, Big Apple Pizza and Pasta, in Ft Pierce. This team of philanthropists are always doing something else to help someone in need. I am proud to call them my friends and am blessed to know them. Thanks guys for all the work you do on behalf of others!

Jeff Lundy and Shannon Ross

Congratulations on winning our contest for FREE wedding photography valued at $2350.00. Their wedding is on March 20th 2010 and we can't wait to get started with your engagement shoot.


This is Jeffs letter to me.

Joseph,
My name is Jeff Lundy and I am writing on behalf of my beautiful fiancée Shannon Ross (who grew up in Jensen Beach) and me. We are getting married in Palm City on March 20th, 2010 and this is our story. From the day I met her, Shannon has been an unbelievable gift. She is a tough and funny woman who has always strengthened me and pushed me to be better. The best times in my life have been better with her; and no matter how difficult of a situation I have faced, I have always known that my luck in finding Shannon outweighs any bad circumstance. Shannon and I met in college in Sarasota when we were 21 years old, and have since been together for nearly six years. Early in our relationship we both faced the hard choice of what we wanted to do with our lives and our careers. Each of us searched for the best way to utilize our skills and abilities to contribute to society. Shannon started her career in non-profit, and she just completed her MBA from the University of Michigan. She hopes to work in non-profit/corporate partnerships to enhance social and environmental good. I have 1.5 more years in my PhD program, and I am researching the financial well-being of American households, particularly how we can help those who are not well off. Both of us questioned these decisions when we started, as they were neither the easiest nor most lucrative. Something I think we share is a belief that these are paths where our energies and passions are best applied to enhance our communities. Not surprisingly, as two graduate students, we have not had the easiest road. We have had to struggle to balance our educations and finances in order to get by. Shannon moved to California to help support me by working with Big Brothers Big Sisters while I was beginning my PhD. Recently, I have moved to Michigan to be with her, working part time while writing my dissertation. We will likely move again before the wedding, but we’re happy because we are building our lives and our careers together. Throughout our time as students we have been fortunate to have in our lives those rare people whose honest and generous help is nothing short of a gift of grace. Shannon’s aunt and uncle in Jensen Beach have looked after us with the zeal of loving parents. On my side, an uncle and aunt took us in last summer so Shannon could do her internship with Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta. Shannon’s father, who has worked for Publix Bakery for many years, has generously offered to pay for much of the wedding. As we go through these transitions, we are overjoyed to begin our wedding planning together. We were very pleased to meet you recently at the Port St. Lucie bridal show, and we would love for you to help us document this event.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JEFF AND SHANNON

Fathers Day Mini Sessions information 2009 and the winner of the full family session is.........

The way our mini sessions work:

1. You will get a 20-30 minute session at a predetermined location, the picture above is taken at Sheppards park just over the Roosevelt bridge on the right.
2. You should receive 10-20 images on a CD that you can print from( we will give you info on
who to get the best prints from).
3. You will have precious memories forever.
4. The mini sessions don't just have to be for Dad, it can be for a Mom too.



We have had such a great response for our 49.00 Fathers day special that we are going to be doing sessions on several days. The dates so far are June 14th and June 21st 2009.

Please either go to my website contact page and submit your info or call me at 772.408.7116 to schedule your mini session.

Thanks Joseph

Oh Yeah, I bet you are wondering if you won the 249.00 regular family session.
Well the winner of the session is Dawn Grasso of Port Saint Lucie.

Port Saint Lucie Civic Center Business Palooza June 2009

We went to the Port Saint Lucie Civic Center yesterday to participate in the Business Palooza. They had every kind of business there from attorneys Rosenthatl,Levy & Simon,PA (Marc E Golden was there), to decorative concrete coating companies like Sundek (owner Mike Widner).

It was a fantastic way for the city to promote the businesses in Port Saint Lucie and let the people know who they can go to locally to get all of your photographic needs done(just a little shameless plug) or to get your car repaired by Andrew Browne of Four Points Auto Repair.

Most of the vendors at the Palooza had some sort of prize that they were giving away.
I went around to check out the different businesses too and I put my name into a few reaffles myself and I won a wonderful gift basket from Riverside National Bank, and it was made by Amazing Creations By Kim, 772-460-0212.

June photography specials

Below are our June specials which includes our special family session for 249.00 where we go to wherever you would like have your family photographs done. It is quite a bit more in depth and there is no limit as to how many photographs I will take. A full family session usually lasts from 1 to 2 hours and includes a CD of the finished images.

I also have a family session that is 125.00 but they are put on our storefront for you to purchase.

Updated info on free wedding photography contest. How to win a FREE wedding photography package from Joseph Keith Photography.

Update on the Free wedding package contest. Since it is half way through 2009 we have decided to let couples getting married in 2010 to be able to submit as well.

First let me tell all of you future Brides and Grooms why I am doing this.
I really didn't know if photography was going to be my career choice or not, but Jason Groupp changed that when I met him about 1 1/2 years ago. Since that time I have been able to meet some of the best wedding photographers in the world through him. By meeting people like Yervant, Joe Buissink, Frank Dimeo, and so many others, I have realized that I do have a gift and it should be used photographing weddings and families. And since I have had so many give to me freely to help me with my career, I decided that I wanted to give back.

And the contest was born.
Now you may be wondering, how do I enter into this contest? What is the actual prize?
WHAT THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE :
Joseph the owner of Joseph Keith Photography will photograph your wedding , with unlimited coverage for the day and a DVD of all high resolution images.

The prize is valued at over $2000.00

This contest is for a couple who have a great story.
THE RULES:
1. You must be getting married in our local area (within 75 miles of Port Saint Lucie).

2. The couple must be getting married in 2009/2010 and I must be available for the date.

3. You must give us permission to post your story and you also must provide 2 pictures that are at least 900 pixels wide on the long side. (when you win your picture will be on the site too)

4. You have to either write your story (please keep it to a maximum of 500 words) or make a 4-5 minute video as to why you deserve a free wedding package from me. A friend or relative can also write to us on your behalf.

5. I have several people who will be judging this along with me so it will have at least three different opinions as to the winner.

6. The DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES is JUNE 1st, 2009.

7. The top 3 entries will be posted on the BLOG and we will be letting you help us with the final winner.

8. The Winner will be announced on Sunday June 14th, 2009.

Natalia and Christopher Pezon Wedding

Had a great time shooting a beautiful garden wedding this past weekend. You may remember Natalia and Chris from some of the engagement shots on my blog, website, and Facebook. They were so much fun and easy to work with. Everyone involved was a pleasure to be with. A big thanks to the father of the bride, Dr Enrique Borrego, who was the most calm father I have seen in a long time and was handling all the last minute details with amazing speed and grace, and his beautiful wife, Shannon, who was also amazingly calm and sweet. The bride and her bridesmaids looked beautiful and I must say the crew at Fusion in Port St Lucie West was easy to work with and very professional. Thanks, girls!

Our thanks also to Alishia Urba Parenteau, of Occasions by Design, the wedding planner extraordinaire, she was cool, calm and rolled with the punches! Great job Alishia! And a shout out to the DJ team of Traxx Entertainment, Vincent and Lynette Marraffa, they did a great job and kept the music going even under technical difficulty and everyone had a great time! Just wait until you see the shots of everyone dancing their hearts out! You can catch Vincent and Lynette coming up at D.A.R.E. Night Out, April 24th @ Tradition Square, 5p to 9p. We're looking forward to rocking out with them again!

The reception took place under the stars in a tent that looked like a fairy tale, set up by Event Makers, of Stuart.

The food was exceptional, cooked, served and beautifully presented by Christafaro's.

And I can't forget to mention the cake, I got such cool shots of it! It fit the garden theme perfectly with a bird on top for Natalia, done by Piece of Cake by Elena. Tasted great too!

Thanks to all who helped us make this a great day for Natalia and Christopher Pezon. Keep checking back for more shots.

Cheers,

Joseph Keith

Contest for free wedding photography

I have decided to put a contest together for Free wedding photography. I am putting the final details together for the contest. They will be available soon. So stay tuned.

Kim, Jessie and Jackie...... Sisters having fun!!!!

Kim , Jessie and Jackie were a fun bunch to photograph out at Tradition in Port Saint Lucie. We went to a few different places to see what kind of photos we could get of the girls. Tradition really has the old world charm with quite a few places to visit while your there. We started out at a park, and then we just walked "downtown" through the town square. It feels like you are back in the 50's (Back To The Future). Remember that movie? Anyhow we had a great time shooting and this is what we got......................


Jessie looking all that, isn't she just beautiful...





And her sister Kim was just having a great time on the swingset, well all of them had a great time on the swings.

Shoot and Burn?

The reason for this topic today is due to so many people wanting photographers to cut their prices. We are asked if we can do a shoot and burn for much less. Yes, it can be done, but things are sacrificed , like quality. The shoot and burn photographer will shoot your wedding and hand you the images right from the camera.

These images are not finished. They may look just fine but they are most likely not what you saw on their website that convinced you to use them. The finished artwork is why we have become photographers in the first place. Yervant, a fantastic photographer, says, "Straight from camera’ is not professional!!" Ever since professional photography has existed, FINISHING has also existed.

I have a vision of what I want the photograph to look like finished. When I am shooting I might be thinking that this photo should be Black and White, a vivid blue sky, or a cross processed image with sun flair in it. Photographers have changed their images from the original with film and now digital processing(or FINISHING) to make them perfect.
Today we have photoshop, lightroom, etc to make our images FINISHED.The individual decides whether they use the standard finishing like in the old FILM darkroom or to go much more with many of todays Artsy photoshop skills.

"I strongly believe that an image is not professional unless it is FINISHED! I am not talking about fixing a bad picture here, I am talking about FINISHING. A simple few steps to make a great image a perfect and professional image."says Yervant.

FINISHING is what makes us the professional photographer and helps clients understand our prices.
In todays world we are usually pretty picky when we buy things and want them to be perfect. So why would you want an unfinished photograph of the most important event in your life.
I have a few examples of before and after images to show exactly what I am talking about.

This first picture is right out of the camera.




This image is a finished image.






The same goes for this original image. It looks good but take a look at the one below it.








Chris and Natalia have made beautiful pictures with me. But once again the original image below is very nice but the final image (the second one down)is just that,FINISHED.

Comparing pics right from the camera

This picture is very acceptable right from the camera but when you look at the second one, which would you choose?

Chris and Natalia

Chris and Natalia Video

Natalia and Chris engagement shoot

This was our first meeting in person and the kickoff for 2009 engagement shoots. We decided to go downtown Stuart for their engagement shoot since there are so many wonderful places to go and explore.

They are a very fun couple so we were able to have fun and experiment a little too.

James Bond 007 Hibiscus Charity Ball

Beach shoot

Beach wedding shoot

Long Island Wedding 2008

Long Island Wedding 2008 Reception

A day at Bathtub Reef Beach

Bathtub Reef Beach is a great place to take the kids and just hang out. It really is a HUGE bathtub that the kids can go and find out about the Atlantic Oceans' Marine life firsthand.

We took Kieran (5 year old son) and Kaiden (4 year old son) to this beach for their first time. It had been closed since the last Hurricanes hit here from massive beach erosion.
When we got to the beach it was starting to rain , but as long time residents we knew that it would be a great day at the Bathtub Reef Beach.

Later that afternoon we were joined by one of our older sons Joshua, his girlfriend Kim and her sister Jesse. This just made the afternoon that much better.

I made one fatal mistake. Before I left the house I put sunscreen on both boys and I just figured I would put it on at the beach. It never happened. I was having such a great time relaxing in the shallow water with my kids that I never felt the SUNBURN and that I was cooking like a lobster.