Atlanta Wedding Photographer | Chris Walters Photography

Chris Walters Photography – 2011 Year in Review {Best of Mr. & Mrs.} | Wedding Photographer Woodstock

chriswphotography — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:43:31 +0000

Every time I look back on my previous year’s weddings, I’m reminded how lucky I am that I get to work with such amazing couples, doing what I love. In 2011, 7 couples honored me by choosing me as their wedding photographer, and that’s not something I take for granted! When the wedding day comes, I can’t WAIT for my time with just the bride and groom for portraits. Although the rest of the day may be a blur, I always try to give my couples 30 minutes alone together, to celebrate each other and the commitment that they just made to one another. Here is a look back on my favorite “Mr. & Mrs.” shots from 2011. Enjoy!

Christie & Joey

Emily & Patrick

Jennifer & Matt

Tiffany & Jermaine

Hillary & Scott

Ashley & JD

Reanna & Michael

Let me know which image is your favorite in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!

Chris Walters Photography | chris@chriswphotography.com | www.chriswphotography.com

Leah’s 1st Birthday Party | Acworth Birthday Party Photographer

chriswphotography — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:52:36 +0000

I cannot believe that my baby girl turned 1 on 1-22-12, but it’s true! It seems like only yesterday, when we were in the hospital meeting Leah Catherine for the first time. She has been the biggest blessing to Anna and me and I can’t imagine our lives without her. She is one of the happiest, prettiest and funniest babies I know, which is pretty cool since she’s ours. :) Here’s one of my favorite images of her when she was only minutes old:

We knew we wanted to do her 1st Birthday Party BIG and would need a special place to host it. We searched far and wide for the perfect place and fell in love with DoodleBugs Play in Acworth, GA. They have a TV with a Wii setup for the older kids, and an awesome playroom with bounce houses and toys for all ages. They also have a private party room available for birthday parties so we booked it on the spot! A LOT of TLC went into this party and most everything was handmade. My amazing wife, Anna, planned the entire party and has already been asked by a few people if she intends to get into the party planning business. That’s not her plan right now, but she certainly could! BIG thanks to our parents and our BFF, Angela Lyle, for all of their hard work! Here are my favorite images from Leah’s big day! (also a special thanks to Angela Lyle and Nikki Sims for taking some pictures when I wanted to be a Dad, instead of a photographer)

Happy Birthday Leah! We love you SO much! Now stop growing up so fast!

Chris Walters Photography | chris@chriswphotography.com | www.chriswphotography.com

Lindsay & Adam {Engaged} | Acworth Engagement Photographer

chriswphotography — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:01:48 +0000

I had so much fun getting to know Lindsay & Adam at their engagement session last weekend! After the session, Lindsay paid me one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had when she said “We had such a great time! Chris made us feel at ease. It was more like spending time with a good friend instead of a photo shoot !” It doesn’t get any better than that! That is my goal with every photo shoot, to build meaningful relationships with my clients. I am really looking forward to their wedding in September, but for now, here are my favorite images from their engagement session! Congrats Lindsay & Adam!

Just engaged and looking for an engagement or wedding photographer? I’d love to meet with you! Check out information on my wedding photography packages, which all include free engagement sessions, on my website - http://www.chriswphotography.com/ | chris@chriswphotography.com

Print Comparison – SmugMug vs. Other Leading Printers

chriswphotography — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:29:27 +0000

Hey everybody! Well I wanted to share with you my recent findings when I had several of my images printed through SmugMug (my print fulfillment company), Shutterfly, Costco and Walmart. I printed the exact same images through all of the companies for the most accurate results. I think many of you will be surprised with the results, just as I was. Here’s a little background before we begin.

Being an Atlanta area portrait and wedding photographer that gives away the print rights with every session has its pros and cons, and lack of print quality control is a MAJOR con. I realize that customers want to be able to post the images to Facebook, share them with friends and family (which both ultimately get more exposure for my work), and not pay and arm and a leg for a print, so I have always given away digital use rights and print permission from the disk. This comparison, however, has me rethinking the latter. I may do a great job capturing, editing, and delivering a digital image to a client, but if the client has a print made through an inferior print company, how does that reflect on my work? Not very favorably. Then if others see that inferior print, and ask who took the image, there’s more negative press for a product that isn’t quality controlled by me. SO, all of that being said, I’m still thinking about the print release issue, and ultimately I just want my clients to have the best possible experience from shoot to finished product. Enough Jibber-jabber, here are the results, in order of WORST quality to best:

4. Costco: Yep, that’s right, Costco comes in dead last for print quality based on my review. Surprised? Me too. The images are dark, dull and soft compared to all of the others, and compared to what I see on my screen when editing the images. The colors also appear to be shifted, resulting in unflattering skin tones. There is a definite loss in detail in the dark and light areas of the image. Overall, the images look soft (not sharp) like the digital files they were produced from. Based on all of this, I give Costco a grade of “F” for overall print quality. Great place to feed your face with free samples, but I would pass on the photo printing services.

3. Shutterfly: The prints from Shutterfly displayed much more accurate colors than those printed from Costco, but the loss of sharpness was almost as bad as those from Costco, landing Shutterfly in 2nd to last place for print quality with a grade of “D-”. The whites aren’t as white, and blacks aren’t as black as compared to the best print company reviewed (how’s that for a teaser?) Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE Shutterfly for printing photo books, and we have made one for every month of Leah’s life so far, but when it comes to prints, I’d pass.

2. Walmart: Walmart comes in 2nd, but not a very close 2nd, in my overall review. The range of tones is better than the previous 2 companies, but it still lacks that snap that you see in the winning company (I think I’ve given it away now ). Overall, the images also look significantly darker than they do on my screen. Still the number one issue, and thing that sets the winning company apart from the rest, is the issue of sharpness. Walmart’s prints still appear soft in comparison landing them with a grade of “C-.”

1. SmugMug: In 1st place, by a wide margin, SmugMug with a grade of “A+!” I just can’t tell you how much better these prints look than all of the rest. It’s night and day. The images look exactly like they do on my screen, properly exposed, SHARP, and the colors are spot on. It’s like comparing a High Def TV to a tube TV. The subjects absolutely leap off the print because of the sharpness of the subject, compared to the creative blur of the background. The colors are vibrant and rich with no noticeable loss in detail in the blacks and whites of the image. These are the only prints that do my 5D Mark II any justice in terms of print quality. I was going to scan in the prints and do a side by side comparison, but that doesn’t do it justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it, and I’ve provided an easy way for clients of mine to do just that below. :)

Summary:

Well I realize how this may look,”Of course he’ll say that his print company is the best because that’s where he makes his money.” But believe me when I say that this is not where I’m coming from. I want my client’s experience to my incredible, from the first email they receive to me, until the product is delivered (digitally and/or in print). From my review of these print companies, SmugMug provides the best quality hands down. And why would I not want the best for my clients?! SO, for clients of mine that want to see for yourselves, I am offering a 20% coupon code for print orders placed through my SmugMug proofing site. All you have to do to get the coupon code is opt-in to my email list (and no I won’t sell or spam your email address!) Here is a link to signup for my email list - http://eepurl.com/gSkq9 Once you complete the signup process, you will receive an email with a coupon code to use during checkout through my SmugMug site.

Well I hope this review has been helpful and informative, and I’d love to hear your comments and questions below! Thanks for stopping by (and stay classy)! (Bonus points if you recognize the movie reference).

Chris Walters | Chris Walters Photography | http://www.chriswphotography.com/ | chris@chriswphotography.com

Lilly {Newborn} | Canton Newborn Photographer

chriswphotography — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:31:37 +0000

Lilly was one of the most calm newborns we’ve worked with, but we learned quickly that calm does not equal sleepy. She only slept about 30 minutes the entire time we were there, but we still got some great shots of this precious little one. See a few of our favorites below!

For more information about my Newborn photo sessions or other photography services, please visit my Canton Newborn Photography website.

http://www.chriswphotography.com/ | chris@chriswphotography.com

Chris Walters Photography – 2011 Year in Review {Best of Bridal} | Kennesaw Wedding Photographer

chriswphotography — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end and 2011 was a GREAT year! I was fortunate enough to work with 7 amazing couples in 2011, photographing their engagement sessions and weddings. It was so fun reminiscing and pulling out my favorite bridal portraits from 2011 for this post. The below images were captured at the following venues:

Currahee Club in Toccoa, GA
Little Gardens in Lawrenceville, GA
First United Methodist Church in Marietta, GA
Atlanta Marriott Buckhead in Atlanta, GA
Featherstone’s at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club in Woodstock, GA
Dunaway Gardens in Newnan, GA
The Conservatory at Waterstone in Acworth, GA

Enjoy my favorite bridal portraits from 2011!

Christie Downes @ The Currahee Club

Emily Bobo @ Little Gardens

Jennifer Powell @ First United Methodist of Marietta

Tiffany Banks @ ATL Marriott Buckhead

Hillary Massey @ Towne Lake Hills Golf Club

Ashley Meyers @ Dunaway Gardens

Reanna Milligan @ The Conservatory at Waterstone

Thank you to all of the awesome brides that chose me as their wedding photographer in 2011 and I can’t wait to photograph my 2012 brides! Stay tuned for a 2011 Best of Mr. & Mrs. post! For more information on my wedding photography services, please visit my wedding photography website.

http://www.chriswphotography.com/ | chris@chriswphotography.com

Jackson {Newborn} | Acworth Newborn Photographer

chriswphotography — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:37:14 +0000

Anna and I have been so blessed to get to shoot SO many newborn sessions over the past couple of months. You might remember Jennifer and Jeremy from their Marietta Square Maternity shoot. Well meet their newest addition, Jackson. Enjoy a preview of his newborn shoot:

To see more of my newborn sessions or book a session, please visit my Acworth Newborn Photography site.

Lauren Kate {Newborn} | Kennesaw Newborn Photographer

chriswphotography — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:40:21 +0000

Meet precious Lauren Kate! She was 13 days old for her photo shoot. Once we got her asleep she was all ours for the posing! Enjoy a few of my favorites from the session. Another Christmas baby!

For more information on my portrait and wedding photography services, please visit my Kennesaw Newborn Photography site.

Hutcheson Family | Jasper Family Photographer

chriswphotography — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:42:26 +0000

The Hutcheson family was so fun to work with! They even sent me home with some of the BEST red velvet cake I’ve ever had! Here are a few favorites from the shoot:

To see my of my work or inquire about portrait or wedding photography services, please head over to my Atlanta Wedding Photographer website. Thanks for stopping by!

Kennedy Walker {Newborn} | Woodstock Newborn Photographer

chriswphotography — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:40:39 +0000

Amanda and Justin have been friends of mine for several years, so when I found out that they were expecting, I were SO happy for them! Then when they asked me to photograph their beautiful daughter, Kennedy, I was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to meet her. For those of you that don’t know, my amazing wife, Anna, is a nurse at Northside Hospital and she comes with me to all of my newborn sessions to handle and pose the babies. I can’t tell you how much help she is and how much I appreciate her! Here are some of our favorite images of precious Kennedy Walker that we created. Congratulations again to Amanda and Justin and hope you guys start getting some sleep soon!