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 »

How to Maximize Your Event Photography

February 25th, 2013 by Beth Baynum | Share Blog

One of our most loyal and beloved clients, Consultants 2 Go, recently celebrated their 10^th anniversary in business, and we were there to capture the event.  Consultants2Go® is a management consulting company providing marketing and analytic consultants to Fortune 1000 companies.  Being experts at using PR to market their services, they had a specific plan in mind for using their event photos.

We asked Sandi Webster, one of the company owners, to re-cap their strategy for maximizing use of the event photos:

1.    All photos were posted to the company’s Facebook Page and website

2.    Individual photographs of clients, consultants and staff gave more ways to market:

• Sending individual emails to each attendee who was photographed, along with a Thank You for attending.  For clients, this individual email was a follow-up to any conversation had at the party, and was another client touch point.
• For some clients, including a photo of a consultant who can help their business.  Even if they didn’t speak at the party, it gave them an increased comfort level since they probably saw the person at the event.
• For consultants who attended, sending a link to the Facebook page so that they can see the album

3.    Emailing a newsletter including links to the pictures

4.    Sending a press release announcing the anniversary, with a photo

5.    Making commemorative photo albums for the staff

These are just a few ideas for extending the use of your event photos.  Including your event photos as part of your overall marketing efforts is strategic and smart – just like Sandi.  Thank you for sharing your marketing expertise, Sandi, and congratulations on 10 years in business!

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Best Locations to Photograph in New York City

November 30th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Scouting possible NYC locations for your wedding photographs and want to know what a professional photographer might say?  We asked some of the professionals at 5^th Avenue Digital to share quick thoughts on their favorite NYC locations in which to shoot. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Best Time of Day to Take Photographs

October 23rd, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Perhaps you are giving thought to what time of day might be best for your engagement or wedding photographs and are wondering what the professionals think. Of course, professional photographers are able to produce great shots at any time of day, indoors or out.
Even so, they do have their favorites, so we thought we would ask some of the professionals at 5^th Avenue Digital to share quick thoughts on the best time of day in which to shoot. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Camera Lens of Choice

October 8th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

Curious about the more technical aspects of photography, such as just how do the professionals get those amazing shots, and which camera lenses get the best results? We asked some of the photographers at 5^th Avenue Digital to name their favorite camera lens and share how it helps them deliver consistently beautiful images of such high quality. Read the rest of this entry »

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Photographers: Favorite Wedding Moments to Shoot

September 19th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

There are so many wonderful moments to capture in a wedding, from the bride and groom in their last “single” moments, to the ceremony, and on through the celebration with friends and family. It’s not surprising then that professional photographers, though adept at capturing stunning images from every part of the wedding, may feel a special thrill during a particular part of the Big Day. We asked some of the photographers at 5^th Avenue Digital to share their favorite part of the wedding to photograph. Read the rest of this entry »

The Social Media Portal Sweetens a Promotion for Hershey’s S’mores

August 21st, 2012 by Beth Baynum | Share Blog

At the recent BlogHer Conference at the New York Hilton, Hershey’s was looking for a way to draw attendees to their promotional suite for their eternally-popular S’mores treats.  They accomplished this by creating fantastic interactive sets, with the help of the top-notch team at Empire Force Events , masters at the art of event marketing.

The Hershey’s Suite gave everyone a chance to make – and EAT! – S’mores while relaxing in the created settings.  One set was a campfire, the other a backyard barbeque.  After getting their photos taken, everyone used our Social Media Portal to email the pictures to friends and family, Tweet them and post them on Facebook.  This created lots of buzz and drew more visitors to the S’mores Suite.  It’s another example of event marketing done right.  The client was thrilled with the results and the photos are – of course – SWEET!

Meet the 5th Avenue Digital Team: Dakota LeBoeuf, Digital Technician

August 10th, 2012 by Elizabeth Beskin | Share Blog

The Digital Technician is a team’s image specialist, and here at 5th Avenue Digital, Dakota LeBoeuf is the resident expert  in managing the digital image files from the moment they leave the photographer’s camera through delivery to the client, whether that be in the form of a DVD, Web Gallery, Download Link or set of Proof Prints. The process is complex, involving file type conversion, image selection, image reorganization and integration of multiple cameras’ or photographers’ work, color correction, image processing, storage and archiving and, finally, export in the client’s preferred delivery method.  Consequently, the Digital Tech must be well versed in photographic technology and current media platforms as well as have a sharp and artistic eye. Dakota is also the go-to maven for jobs that call for special retouching (anything from removing a blemish, to placing Elvis Presley’s hair on every head in the photo), the addition of logos or special branding elements and all other creative adjustments to the images. The result: gorgeous final images that can be accessed and shared in any desired format.