Meet Lisa Becker, Our New Regional Sales Director at 5th Avenue Digital

June 14th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

A-B-C.  Always Be Closing. Who doesn’t remember that legendary line from the infamous film Glengarry Glen Ross?  

5^th Avenue Digital welcomes Lisa Becker as our new Regional Sales Director and we’re very confident she’ll be bringing a lot of ABC to our organization!  Lisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in marketing from the University of Arizona.  Her extensive sales career includes the selling of enterprise software to Fortune 500 companies. Lisa has held Account Executive and Sales Director positions at top companies including Netscape, AOL and Microsoft.

Articulate, persuasive and highly motivated, Lisa has a demonstrated ability to manage the sales process and develop new business.  Adept at analyzing people and situations, she’s a proven deal closer.  Although her prior sales experience has been concentrated in software solutions, her basic skill set is applicable across all businesses: uncover the customer’s problems and solve them.

“I understand how to decipher the needs of a client and meet them.  My responsibilities at FAD will require meeting and coordinating all the parties involved including the client, photographer, venue, etc.  I’m great with people and multi-tasking so this is a welcome challenge.  I’m looking forward to learning from Elizabeth and working by her side.”

Photography is a long way from software but  Lisa is excited about this new category.  “I’ve always enjoyed photography – my walls are covered with pictures of my family taken by professional photographers.  This is a service I can sell with a personal touch.”

When Lisa’s not working she has lots of personal interests to keep her busy.  Her Family, which includes her husband, Jed, and her two young children Adison and Jack, are a big part of her life.  Then she loves a good workout – yoga, tennis, spinning.  In particular, Lisa is a certified yoga teacher in adult, children’s and prenatal yoga.  And then there’s her passion for books – from classics to titillating romance.

We welcome Lisa Becker to 5^th Avenue Digital and wish her great success!

 

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: How Are Same Sex Weddings Different Than Traditional Weddings?

June 5th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

The relationship may be unconventional but the goal of same sex wedding photography is the same:  capturing the expression and celebration of love.  It may require a little out-of-the-box thinking but it’s also a creative opportunity to transform conventional wedding traditions to reflect the values of the couple.  Our professional wedding photographers at 5th Avenue Digital share their thougths. Read the rest of this entry »

Kari Otero Talks Boudoir

June 5th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Though wedding, portrait and event photography are a large part of Kari Otero’s business, a growing passion has been her work in boudoir photography. Here she shares some of her insights about that genre.

For those who don’t know you, can you explain what type of photography you do?

I’m a portrait, event and boudoir photographer. I take particular interest in making women feel beautiful and confident in my work and the boudoir style gives me the unique opportunity to work with women in a more intimate session and photograph them in a new light. It’s a particularly exciting time for Boudoir photography as more women are venturing into sessions.

How did you start doing boudoir photography?

My background is in dance and theater. I’ve always found myself surrounded by artists and I would take the opportunity to photograph them. I love creating storyboards and scenes for individual sessions based on the persons own history—a more dramatic version of themselves. Sensuality and heightened emotion are usually the result of individuals playing a more dramatic version of themselves. My style was developed through these initial sessions. I quickly learned that I could make individuals very comfortable in front of my lens.

In one sentence describe yourself and why you belong in boudoir photography.

I am drama without all the drama and women tend to gravitate towards that; I find you can make any woman feel sexy and great about themselves without focusing on their “shape.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Funniest Wedding Photos

May 29th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Ever notice how tense things can be at a wedding?  From the worried bride to the anxious parents to the nervous wedding planner, everyone’s on the quest for perfection.  But the more you want things to go perfect the more they don’t.  In the end we should all just have fun because the funniest moments are often the happiest ones we remember, like this candid moment of the bride and grooom captured by 5th Avenue Digital wedding photographer Tim Waltman.

“I just love the look on this groom’s face as he’s being lifted up for the hora” says BJ Enright, wedding photographer at 5th Avenue Digital.  “The bride and groom were a hilariously fun couple, and I found myself laughing a lot and really enjoying spending their wedding day with them.” Read the rest of this entry »

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: What’s the Funniest Thing That Happened to You on a Wedding Shoot?

May 22nd, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Photographing a once-in-a-lifetime wedding can be pretty serious business, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of the unexpected, the humorous and the totally hysterical. Our professional wedding photographers at 5th Avenue Digital share some of their funniest moments.

Stavros Panopoulos:  There have been many events that were funny, although the bride and groom’s opinion may differ, but one stands out that I think all can agree on. I was photographing a newlywed couple in Central Park after the wedding and Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith walks in to photo bomb the shot. Everyone was delighted. The bride gave him a kiss on the cheek and he went on his way. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet The 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Great Locations For Engagement Photography In NYC

May 15th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Location, Location, Location!  What’s the best location to capture those special engagement photographs?  Want to know what top NYC photographers think?  We asked our professional engagement  photographers at 5th Avenue Digital to share their favorite spots in New York City.  Here’s what they had to say. Read the rest of this entry »

5th Avenue Digital Welcomes Photographer Amy Etra

May 8th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

When Amy Etra was aspiring to be a cool hippie at her high school on Long Island, photography was the new cool art class so she signed right up, and got hooked.  Later she studied photojournalism at Boston University, moved to NYC and worked as a photo assistant in the exciting world of advertising.  In the 1980’s she moved to Los Angeles and became a national magazine portrait photographer, shooting celebrities and business leaders for Newsweek, Time, Forbes, USA Today and other top publications.  In 1999 she moved back east to Connecticut where she “fell” into the wedding biz when a photo editor at Business Week asked Amy to shoot her wedding on Block Island.  “Wow, it was the perfect  fit for me” Amy recalls. “Creative, fast paced, and all about photographing people and artsy details.”  Today Amy excels in wedding photography, engagement photography and bar mitzvah photography in addition to her corporate work.  Amy shares more of her thoughts with us.

How would you describe your signature style in five words?

My style is: artistic, fun, creative, spontaneous, photojournalism.  My favorite photography expression is:  “Fortune Favors the Prepared Mind”  which is perfectly illustrated in my photo of Alex and her veil blowing.  I set her up with her bridesmaids on her street and all of a sudden a strong wind came up and I clicked.  But everything was in place already, location, lighting….and I got lucky..because I was prepared!!  Call it photographer’s luck, whatever. Read the rest of this entry »

5th Avenue Digital Welcomes Photographer David Ducane

May 1st, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

David Ducane smiles when he thinks about how his passion for people and adventure turned into a career in photography.  Growing up in southern California, his many family camping trips spawned his initial love for adventure.  At 14 his family relocated to New Jersey where he met his great friend Jon who introduced him to photography.  From the moment he picked up the camera he knew he loved taking pictures.  “I love light, and locations with minimal settings or many lines and shapes” David reflects.  “Every event, every session is a new opportunity for me to push myself, to create images that impact the viewer but are still classic and timeless.”  David is equally fabulous as a wedding photographer as he is shooting bar mitzvahs. David shares more of his thougths with us.

What was the first event you photographed when you knew for sure: ‘This is what I want to do’?

The “This is what I want to do” moment for me was when I was traveling in Nepal 5 years ago. I got to meet many amazing people and take tons of photos while hiking in the mountains. One day it just hit me that I didn’t ever want to stop taking photos.

What job or person gave you your first “big break”?

My big break moment came when the salon where my sister works – Arrojo in Soho – asked me to photograph 25 fashion bloggers who came to get makeovers.   After that job I was asked by a big fashion designer to do her e-commerce and the ball has continued to roll.

How would you describe your signature style in five words?

The five words to describe my style are:  quite, moments, fun, classic, dynamic.

Who or what inspires you the most?

The person I work with, the location and the type of lighting I have to use inspire me in a new way at every shoot I’m part of. Read the rest of this entry »

A Perfect Match: Meet 5th Avenue Digital’s New Sales Associate

April 11th, 2013 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Please welcome Adrienne Hays, who joined 5th Avenue Digital this past February as a sales associate for our social photography division. Adrienne’s strong desire to work more directly with clients in a creative environment led her to us. We’re happy to have her on our team. A stint as a salesperson for one of Manhattan’s major storage companies taught her about sales, but it was “too restrictive” and didn’t take advantage of the people skills she’d honed from her years as a concierge in the hotel industry—where she was known as the “negotiator”—or offer much in the way of creativity. It’s second nature for Adrienne to make other people feel comfortable. However, she knows she has a long way to go before she catches up to Elizabeth Beskin and Beth Baynum, who she assists with sales, as she learns the business of event photography. The close relationships and loyalty they’ve built with 5th Avenue Digital’s clients impresses Adrienne. Bordering on awe, she states, “The same event planners, same hotel representatives, call again and again.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Bar Mitzvah Havdalah: Making an Old Tradition Fresh Again

December 21st, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

 

In its broadest sense, the Havdalah is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat (the Saturday Sabbath) and holidays.  Some branches of Judaism also include the Havdalah as part of the Bar Mitzvah celebration. It’s a traditional and beautiful service that seems to be growing in popularity, especially for Bar Mitzvah families  not wanting to do a morning service and an evening party.

Many families, not wanting to share the bema in the morning with another family, or those who are not closely associated with a temple, have been able to use their party location for the Havdalah service, much like we do for ceremonies in weddings.

A Bat Mitzvah we photographed recently for Jacqueline illustrates this beautifully.  Our photographer captured the most important elements of this service: the teacher, the torah and the family’s emotions.  Arlene Rosenthal of Party Ideas created a beautiful setting for the service and the party that followed.

Vendors:

Planner and Décor – Arlene Rosenthal at Party Ideas, Westport
CT arlene@partyideasct.com

DJ and Games – Hal Prince Music http://www.halprince.com/

Location – Shenorock Shore Club

Photographer- Jennifer DelCastillo for 5^th Avenue Digital