Come Meet Videographer Photographer Chris McKenna at the South Sound Wedding Show – Tacoma

McKenna Video Services / MVS Wedding Productions (and Chris McKenna Photography) will be present at the South Sound Wedding Show – Tacoma. We cordially invite you to come and meet us, talk with us and look at samples of our work.

The South Sound Wedding Show – Tacoma is presented by the South Sound Wedding & Event Magazine and Brides Against Breast Cancer / Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation. It will be held between 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26 – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sunday, September 27, 2009 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. Free admission.

This show will feature:


• Fashion runway show featuring 2010 wedding dress styles.
• Ballroom dance demonstrations presented by Arthur Murray® School of Dance. Dances include bride and groom’s first dance, bride and groom dancing with parents, dancing at the reception, and more!
• Seminars presented by select wedding show vendors; advice, tips and tricks, and questions answered.
• Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation- Tour of Gowns. More than 2,000 bridal gowns and special occasion dresses on sale for up to 10 percent off regular price. Proceeds benefit the foundation.
• Prizes for engaged couples. Enter to win at the show. Drawings every hour.

For more information, please visit the South Sound Wedding and Event Magazine site.

We hope that you will be able to make it.

See you there,

Chris.

Become a fan of McKenna Video on Facebook

Click on the link below to become a fan of McKenna Video Services and Chris McKenna Photography on Facebook.

McKenna Video Services / Chris McKenna Photography on Facebook

God's blessings,

Chris.

Camcorder Formats

Remember when watching a video was as easy as popping a 1/2-inch tape into the VCR – and it actually played? Yes, back in “the day”, video choices were limited and life was so much simpler. Today, watching a video involves an array of complex choices that require you to know about various formats and the media players on which you plan to view them. If you’re looking to purchase a camcorder, you first need to consider the media format choices. The three most common video formats are:

Mini-DV Tapes: like a cassette tape, inserted into a camera. Standard record time is about 63 minutes (although 80 minute tapes can be found).

Mini-DVD: a 3-inch disc is inserted into the camera and the video is captured on a disc. Standard recording length is 30 minutes.

Hard-Drive Cameras: video is recorded onto a built-in hard-drive. The recording length varies depending on the size of the hard-drive.

With choice comes the need to weigh the pro's and con's of each in order to make an informed decisions. Each of these camera formats have numerous qualities and detractors, but the following are the factors that you should be primarily concerned with:

Mini-DV Tapes: tapes are relatively inexpensive compared to other media. If the tape breaks, it can generally be repaired (McKenna video will only splice two separated ends together and will not "crack the case" any longer). There are limited options for viewing, however. Buying a dedicated player is not cost effective for most people so they must be converted to DVD or the camera must be connected to a television set to view.

Mini-DVD: to view on a "normal" DVD player, the disc must be "finalized" in the camera-a step that most people forget to do. Once completed, it can generally be viewed on most DVD players and computers with DVD drives. The downside is that the storage capacity is very small and if the disc gets damaged it generally cannot be recovered without extreme expense.

Hard-Drive Cameras: the obvious benefit is the lack of tapes or discs to purchase. But with that comes the need to transfer any video off the camera in order to make room for new video. Computers need to be compatible with the camera in order for the video to be viewed and/or edited. And finally, as with any mechanical device, it can fail. When it does, any video that hasn't already been transferred off will in most cases be lost.

When it comes time to decide, you will need to weigh the factors based on your needs and what is most important to you at that time. There is no right or wrong. However, in my opinion, there is no substitute for good, old-fashioned tape.

Blessings to you,

Chris

Fixing Digital Photographs and Images

In my business, I work with a lot of digital photographs and images (some of them are mine, others are not). Of course, being a photographer I get a lot of questions regarding how to “fix” those digital photographs. My funny response is the best fix is to take a photograph that doesn’t need any fixing. But, even professionals like myself can’t help taking a photo that needs a tweak or two. So how do you do it?

Adobe Photoshop is absolutely the best software package out there to use to fix a photograph. It can do just about anything from retouching a skin blemish to changing a background. However, Photoshop is very expensive and can be quite intimidating for the non-professional. So what can I do, you ask?

Easy! Adobe recognizes that Photoshop is not for everyone so they have released a program called Adobe Photoshop Elements. Think of it like Photoshop’s little brother without the big expensive pricetag and without the intimidating interface and learning curve. You will be able to find about 90% of the “fixes” found in its big brother and it even contains tutorials and “recipes” for fixes and enhancements.

Download a free trial version at the following link:

http://www.download.com/Adobe-Photoshop-Elements/3000-2192_4-10057110.html

Best wishes in your efforts.

Chris.

Another website up and going: http://www.chrismckennaphoto.com

A few months back, I posted that we were moving our posts about our photography from this blog to another. However, that doesn't preclude me from posting any information relevant to my business here, does it? I don't think so.

So I am posting here that I have yet another photo website up and going. You can find it at:
http://www.chrismckennaphoto.com/.

Right now, although the look is different the content is almost a mirror image to http://www.chrismckennaphotography.com/. The goal with this site it to continue with my efforts to manage a website that google can actually find (I’m having all sorts of problems with the flash-driven, third-party site I currently use), to use as a proofing site for my clients, but eventually to serve as the site in which I can sell some of my work online.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

Enjoy the slideshows and new site.

Blessings,

Chris

Thank you to our fallen heros!

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

~ Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Seperate Photo Blog

Greetings faithful readers,

For a few different reasons, we have found it necessary to spin off the photo part of our blog. We hope that this might help you seperate the photography part of our business from the photo part without having to wade through the posts of the others.

We still plan to show photographs from our weddings, however, but probably more as video rather than just standalone photos. Of course, we reserve the right to change our mind on that. :-)

The new photo blog will be located at http://chrismckennaphotography.wordpress.com - so be sure to bookmark it and visit often.

Thank you for your continued support.

God's Blessings,

Chris.