Peter DeMott Photography » Professional Photographer

Melissa had great fun at her senior portrait session in Dayton

Peter — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:08:42 +0000

I had done her older sisters senior portraits and Pegge called to say it was time for the younger daughter to have her senior pics made as well. My wife Patty and Melissa’s mom helped with the session carrying clothing and holding reflectors as we walked through the park looking for the ideal spots for Melissa’s portraits.

It was great fun and Melissa took instructions very well. She said after the session that it was great fun. As I was shooting, from time to time, I would give Pegge and my wife a sneak peek or two on the back of the camera. “Oh my gosh!” was usually the words that I heard as we progressed.

Melissa is a senior at Archbiship Alter High School. Her mom says she is a free spirit girl. She wants to go to a college of nursing and eventually become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She has applied at the Air Force ROTC and hope to get a scholarship for school. Her dream right now is to retire early and be a nurse in a 3rd world country. She is excited about getting married to the right person, but she wants to have some time in her career and save money so that when she does have children, she will be able to stay at home and raise them before going back to work.

Melissa would love to go to college in Colorado.

Melissa has been a very active high school student and before. She competed in gymnastics for 7 years. She runs track and has run cross-country as well. Have you seen Melissa climb before…she loves climbing walls, and she climbs lots of trees for fun. She also devours books and just loves to read, but she does not like smelly old books. She likes to buy new books to read.

She has been on 3 Mission Trips and loves being a part of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Youth Group. She is a leader too, being selected to be a leader on the Kairos religious retreat for her peers.

Melissa has worked at Miamisburg Parks and Recreation since she was 14 and has been a life guard for the past three years at the Sycamore Trails Aquatic Center. She also teaches swimming lessons and life guards at West Carrollton YMCA as well.

At one point, Pegge said she wanted a picture of her with her daughter similar to the one I had taken with her older daughter.

Casual business portraits – what does your Linked In or facebook profile image say?

Peter — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:37:30 +0000

Does your Linked In profile image say, boring, uninteresting, average or worse?

Every day I see stodgy and stiff portraits as well as just plain bad photos or snapshots of people on their Facebook profiles, on Linked-In profiles and on business websites. Everyone has heard the old saying that a picture can say a thousand words, but what words is your picture saying about you and your business?

Here are recent portraits taken for Danielle Deramo, the owner of Just Say It. She is a marketing and branding consultant here in the Dayton area. She has a great outgoing personality, but she has been using snapshots for her web site and other business networking websites. She almost canceled this session because she just does not like to have her picture taken. I encouraged her to go ahead with the session, which normally only takes about 30 minutes, because she needed some nicer pictures for her Linked-In profile and other internet business networking venues. These were taken conveniently at her home. She likes the middle image best because she says she looks happy. I am pleased with several of the portraits.

Upgrade your image on-line business networking sites

Is it time for you to upgrade your image on business social networking venues or even on your own website? Rather than a formal business portrait, would you like a casual setting and a more relaxed portrait? Maybe it is time to call Peter DeMott Photography.

Learn more about casual business portraits made here: Business Portrait Photography

Peter DeMott Photography • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Now go to my Facebook page. Click here to go to my Facebook page and join the conversation.

Or you can go to my Testimonials page and see what people have to say about their portraits and their session.

You can also join me on Linked In

Fall portraits with color for seniors and families and children

Peter — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 03:14:06 +0000

Gone are the days of 95 degree heat with 90 humidity here in the Dayton area. Suddenly the crops and the trees are showing us that fall is here with small bursts of color. Because of the heavy rains over the last two weeks, the grass is all greened up again too. Good grief, I had to mow my grass twice already even though its cool outside.

Time for fall portraits with horses

If you have a horse and you want fall portraits, act now before they start getting their heavy winter fur. Actually, I’ve seen many great portraits with horses and their human companions when they have their winter coats. Cool evenings make for some more interesting clothing choices like sweaters and scarfs and hats. Perfect weather for something different for senior portraits as well with furry hooded coats, scarfs, and long-sleeved sweaters.

Time for family group portraits

Cool evenings make for some good family group portraits. However, the days are shorter so scheduled times are more limited.

Like the slogan of a major manufacture of athletic shoes

I was just talking to a woman today about having some portraits done. She has seen my work and knows she will love her portraits, but she dreads having her picture taken. My job is going to be to get her to relax and enjoy herself so that I can capture, not the stiff and fearful person, but the wonderful outgoing person that I know her to be. She even was considering canceling her session, but with some gentle prodding, and the “JUST DO IT” attitude she is going forward with the session.

So many families have very few portraits of themselves in relaxing outdoor environments and enjoying each other. Is it time for you to “JUST DO IT!” ? Time moves so fast in families and in no time you kids are going to be going off to college and starting their own families.

Peter DeMott Photography • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Equine retail supply company buys photos with unique feel and style from Peter DeMott Photography

Peter — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:17:33 +0000

Capturing the emotion of the moment

When I do portrait sessions or take pictures of people with their horses I do my best to capture the emotion of the moment. If I can capture JOY or LOVE or COMPANIONSHIP in that photograph I consider that a win for everyone involved.

This week I sold images from a senior portrait session (with permission of the young lady who wants to become a model) to a large retail equine supply company to be used in consumer promotions in late 2011 and early 2012. Another image that was purchased was from a session that I did with Patty and her horses (Patty is my wife and we have 3 beautiful arabs). But, in both cases it was not just the image, but the emotion expressed in the image that caught the eye of the business.

I’m looking forward to sharing the images and where they will be published once I have samples from the promotion. That will be fun to show you.

In the mean time, fall portrait time is now. For seniors and for seniors with horses, this is a great time for those cozy outdoor portraits in sweaters, scarfs, jeans, etc. For the horses, there are fewer flies and everything has greened back up in pastures and farms again with all this rain in mid September in our area.

For seniors wanting to consider modeling, having a good mix of styles of images for your portfolio is important. As you can see from my news above, my style and photography capture attention and show personality a little differently than the glamour and glitz that some photographers are known for. I hope you will consider me in the coming days and months as you consider where you will have your horse and rider portraits made or your senior portraits. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about your portrait session.

Peter DeMott • Peter DeMott Photography • Seniors, families, equine, and children • Greater Dayton area and the region • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Royal K Horse Show Pictures September 11, 2011

Peter — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:12:32 +0000

Royal K Horse Show pictures are available for review here: Royal K Horse Show . There are over 1000 images and the gallery displays the pictures in order of go. Please order pictures within 30 days. Share this post and link using the buttons at the bottom of this page.

The Royal K Open Horse Show is a fun and well run one day show

This open show had classes for all ages and levels of experience. Each year The Tacky Horse is the major sponsor and puts together a charity horse show. The show had 45 classes and occurred on Sunday September 11, 2011. The address of the barn and The Tacky Horse is 185 N. Alpha Bellbrook Rd. in Beavercreek, Ohio.

The show lasted from about 10am to about 6pm and the last three classes had some rain to deal with.

After the show, I did some Mini Portrait Sessions with a couple of the participants and boarders at the barn.

I also do farm or barn calls to capture portraits of you with your horse, senior portraits with horse, or horses alone. If you are interested in a farm call session please call to schedule.

Peter DeMott • Peter DeMott Photography • 937-478-6222 • peter@photosbypdemott.com

Early Fall is another great time to have horse and rider portraits made in Ohio

Peter — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:37:27 +0000

This spring I mentioned when to have horse and rider portraits made in Ohio. That was when there was still lots of mud and I suggested two things. First that you wait for your horse to shed out his winter coat of fur, then to wait for the foliage to get green and the grass to look nice.

Well early and late fall can also be a great time for horse and rider portraits and senior portraits with horse as well. Evenings are cooler now and the flies are less of a problem. It is more comfortable for both horse and rider.

If you want color in your portraits, please call and schedule with me early as this is a fairly popular thing to do in the last week of September and the first couple weeks of October. Since it starts getting dark sooner in the evening we have to schedule a bit earlier in the evening than when I was taking portraits this summer. Sometimes if things get timed perfectly, there are colorful leaves in the trees and on the ground, but this can be difficult. One year I took some lovely fall portraits and there was a carpet of colorful leaves on the ground and still in the trees as well, but twenty minutes after the session it became blustery and the wind blew all the leaves from the ground and the trees became almost bare of any color.

In early fall, when there is color in the trees is easier to time than trying to plan for a carpet of leaves on the ground. Also, there are fall foliage color calculators on the internet which will tell you when to expect the most color in the trees.

If you want fall color in your horse and rider portraits or in your senior portraits call me now.

Peter DeMott Photography • 937-478-6222 • peter@photosbypdemott.com

This weekend (8/27-28, 2011) I am am at the Abi-Kahn Competitive Trail ride near Caesar’s Creek Park in Ohio

Peter — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:15:39 +0000

Flamingos are the theme of the Abi-Kahn Competitive trail ride at Caesar’s Creek Park in Southwestern Ohio. I am shooting on trail for the event, buy when everyone is finished riding I am taking mini portrait sessions for those who want portraits with their horse/s.

One of the girls that I photographed with her horse said, “Do you do senior portraits?”. My answer was, “Yes, I do on-location senior portraits in the Southwestern Ohio area, where do you live?” As it turns out she lives right near me in the Centerville area and she would love to have senior portraits with her horse. I gave her my business card and hope to hear from her soon.

More pictures from this event can be seen and purchased here: Abi-Kahn Competitive Trail Ride

Peter DeMott Photography in Southwest Ohio near Dayton • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Senior portraits in Wyoming a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio

Peter — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:00:43 +0000

Senior Portrait session in Wyoming Ohio

Paul DeMott is a senior student in the Wyoming suburb of Cincinnati Ohio. He is also my nephew. Paul D DeMott is my brother and called and asked if I could come down and take some senior portraits this past weekend. Paul (Jr) invited his good friend Scot to participate in the session.

At Wyoming high school in Cincinnati the boys graduate in white tuxedos and the girls in white dresses.

Big storms were rolling through when it was time for me to leave to go down to Cinncinnati for the session, but the storms seemed to be blowing through quickly lately so I told my brother I was going to come on down anyway. In the summer I can shoot till almost 9pm if the clouds move on through.

Looking for a break in the storms

Paul (Jr.) and his good friend Scot would only have their tuxedos from now to shortly after the graduation so if we were going to get some senior pics in tuxedo, we had to work around the bad weather. Paul’s mom was very worried about the boys going out in the rain in their tuxedos, but we headed on out for the portraits hoping it would clear by the time we reached the park.

As we arrived it started raining again and we had to stop under a park tent for a while until it stopped. The sun started poking out of the clouds and as you can see from some of these guy poses, some turned out quite strong. Paul (Jr.) explained to me that he was not to hot about the senior portrait photographers around town who over process the images so that the look of the skin is too smooth and unnatural. I explained to him that I felt the same way about too smooth skin. I use skin smoothing programs very sparingly and of course I remove blemishes in post processing of the portraits, but I leave enough so that the skin still looks real and natural.

We ran out of light and since they only had the tuxedos for that evening and the next day, I may come back to do some casual portraits as well at a later date.

Paul runs his own lawn care business and intends to go in the entrepreneur track of the University of Cincinnati.

If you would like senior portraits taken please visit my CONTACT/SHARE menu option above and tell me what you would like. If you don’t have ideas for where you would like your portraits taken, that is okay too. We can go with urban, metro park, home. After talking with you for a short amount of time, we should be able to come up with something.

Peter DeMott Photography • Dayton Ohio • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Lindsay Steiger senior at Bellbrook High School – great outdoor portrait session

Peter — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:52:13 +0000

Lindsay was concerned about getting some casual outdoor senior portraits that captured her. What we discovered when we were doing the session was that Lindsay had an fun, outgoing, and energetic personality that I was able to capture in beautiful senior portraits.

Lindsay’s mom Norma was there to watch and carry Lindsay’s clothing changes. When Lindsay was off changing clothes we found that Lindsay will be going to Wright State University and plans to study biology. Her mom is a nurse and we wondered out load if their close relationship might mean that Lindsay would be headed in the same direction for her career choice.

What ever Lindsay ends up doing with her life, it was a delight to be able to record this important times stamp in her life. She will be graduating shortly and we were able to schedule the session fairly quickly so that she would be able to place her orders and use express shipping to get them back quickly.

Best wishes to Lindsay as you goes forward with her life. She will definitely be going places.

If you would like to see other photographs from this session go the bottom of this post and click on the link to her gallery. Just for fun, if 15 of lindsay’s friends will post a comment on this page (Not facebook where this will link, but here on this post on my web site), I will give her a bonus credit to use for additional purchases. So go ahead, say something nice, tell he that she is going places or that you appreciate her in your life. Once you have made your comment, it will be approved and show up at the bottom so that she can see them.

Here are more portraits from her session. I hope you enjoyed these examples.

http://pdemott.smugmug.com/Portraits/Lindsay-Steiger

Spring is here and flowers and trees are blossoming. It’s a great time to schedule your senior portraits for 2012 seniors and for others who are in a hurry to get senior pictures that really capture your natural smile and personality.

Peter DeMott • Dayton and surrounding communities • Senior portraits, families, and children • Equine portraits • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222

Peter DeMott Photography top rated photographer in Dayton

Peter — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:24:47 +0000

It was a pleasant surprise to find Peter DeMott Photography on a web site called Thumbtack. The heading was Top Rated Photographers in Dayton and as of today it puts my listing as #5. This is just one place that brings together references for various types of businesses.

There are so many places that people can comment on your quality of work and service that it is easy for people to find out more about any business. But, as important as hearing good things is seeing good things. What I mean by that is when you are looking for a photographer it is very important that you connect with the style of work the photographer does.

http://www.thumbtack.com/oh/dayton/photographer/

Enjoying the style and work of a photographer is far more important than price or their rating on one web site or another. I don’t figure that my prices would be considered high for professional quality work, but you sometimes see people making choices purely based on price which I see as a grand mistake. Consider how long you will be enjoying or not enjoying a portrait on the wall of your home, or an coffee table book of portraits from your session.

How much difference does $100 or $200 difference in price make over 10-20 years. Let’s consider that. If you make a choice about a photographer based on a $200 difference in price divided by 20 years at 12 months per year that means you may have chosen a better photographer for about 80¢ per month or you may have chosen a photographer whose work you did not like and will be regretting your choice for 20 years for a difference of 80¢ per month.

Right here on the site you can also click on the menu item “Testimonials” for some ideas about how people feel about my work.

Testimonials can be found here

If you like my work and style, I encourage you to share my web site and also my facebook page with your friends. I frequently post images from sessions on my facebook business page Peter DeMott Photography and it is easy to LIKE the page and share what’s going on with your friends. Horse portraits and horse and rider portraits are also frequent on my site because of my specialty in that area.

If you do a search for Ohio Equine Photographer you will likely see my web site listed number one or two on the page. A friend, Sally Shaffer, and I toggle back and forth between the top two listings (that is something that can change from day to day). She does lovely work as do many other equine photographers listed on page one of the search results. Of course locality can also be important with Sally being in Columbus and with me being here in South West Ohio (near Dayton). It is easier for me to get to farms and stables around Dayton and Cincinnati for example. Also, some of the photographers listed specialize in stock photography, show photography and other areas whereas I enjoy my horse and rider portrait work the most.

Thanks Dayton for rating me as one of Dayton’s top photographers. I appreciate any comments and connections that come my way.

Peter DeMott Photography • Senior portrait photography • Equine photography • peter@photosbypdemott.com • 937-478-6222