Tag Archives: professional
Las Vegas Photographer in dark at Casino
At Costellophoto we’ve been very busy at Binions casino and the ‘Kings Ransom’ operating the new Elvis attraction Green Screen , the idea being to give you a nice souvenir to take home with you, and incase of accidents we email your piece of art . A slow start but as we grow and add costumes and wigs , I should also mention the Co stars to Elvis in various movies like Darlene Tompkins in Blue Hawaii who appear and will sign their pictures and have their pictures taken with you in front of our Green Screen. It’s all fun and I have learnt more about Elvis than I really need to know , but I have made a good friend in Ms. Tompkins and enjoyed her stories about her time in show biz. Last week as we set up for the days visitors we all witnessed a very rare occurrence, the lights went out in the Casino, not once but three times, thus the reference to Oceans 11, as we at ‘The kings Ransom’ are very close to the Million Dollars on display it did cross my mind that , well the lights are out and well with a little effort …. Well dear reader of course I’d never do such a thing, and you’d be hard pressed to be able to lift and carry that large display out, not to mention it’s pitch black in the casino so you’d be running into people and things like a black cat in a coal mine. 
In the coming weeks we shall be offering a dress up, as I type we’re getting an original Elvis Cape for you to wear , the obligatory Elvis Sun glasses and authentic Elvis belt to put on and be photographed in,oh and I must mention the wigs , so even if you’re not a huge Elvis fan you can have fun and actually get something for your money on Fremont Street in Down Town Las Vegas . Do call 702 459 3121 for more information on this or any other photographic need you might have in Las Vegas, be it Convention, Commercial or personal , Costellophoto can provide you excellent service …with a smile !
CES Las Vegas
CES Las Vegas Happy New Year 2014
CES Las Vegas Happy New Year!
So as 2013 rolls to a close ,and not too soon, in retrospect not a bad years compared to the last 4 or so , but as you must all ways do at this time of years is be optimistic for the following 12 months .
Now to prepare for CES and all the trappings of a New year here in Las Vegas I bought a Samsung Galaxy 4 , Samsung is a client of ours but I went through a local retailer (Supporting my fellow business owners) , and I have quickly found that I need a degree in computer science to run this thing.
Now I do know that it is not just a phone , it has as many pixels as some of my earlier cameras that cost me thousands of dollars a few years ago and can now connect to the internet and my newer cameras which makes me wonder what could be next, as most of you know you can get email , post to face book and as the phone is also a hot spot I can if I need to shoot with my Canon and connect to the phone , which can then post straight to the internet and a clients web site, very cool!
So as CES opens in the next few days here in Las Vegas Convention Center and most other hotels in the city we get quite busy, I just received a job from a Russian company and through the wonders of the internet and Google i was able to write emails in Russian, it did hit me that technology has come so far now that almost anything is possible , and to that end I can deliver those same photographs via Drop box© the same day.
So as you can imagine we’re busy but not too busy , and if you have a need for a great professional photographer for your CES event in any of the venues in Las Vegas do call Costellophoto 702 459 3121 or visiti one of our Web pagesCostellophoto.com orConventionphotographer.info and we’ll be happy to help you out and provide you iwth excellent service and photographs that are coloor correct and in focus, ready for your company news letter or promotion event.
Las Vegas Photographer’s getting hot…in Vegas
Last couple of weeks we’ve been busy in Las Vegas lots of people asking for our Corporate Head shots , it’s interesting what some clients expect, mostly pretty low expectations coupled with a low price, so it goes that you get what you pay for. well in most cases that may b e true but as a Photographer in Las vegas we do strive to hit a higher level, it’s part of our work ethic.
The biggest challenge is camera shy people, I get it I personally hate having my picture taken, as did my Father before me, he by the way was a Camera man for the BBC way back in the ’60’s so maybe it”s an inherited phobia ?
But I always find away to make my subject comfortable, in the days of film I would shoot dummy rolls , basically empty canisters of 35 mm film, the theory being that few people are at ease for the first 50 or so shots so why waste the film? Well as technology has done away with film that’s no longer an issue but it still takes a little time for our client feel comfortable, even the smallest line an make a difference or the angle of the head can send a completely different message and when it comes to head-shots , it’s the massage in that first second that can leave that lasting impression making you the next movie star or not , not an easy task .
Then you can get a subject that is incredibly diverse, from city slicker to pro boxer , these are the kind of shoots I like, sure they are more challenging lighting wise and on occasion location wise , not every one has a studio or can afford the extra cost, it is very worth while in my opinion.
But when the challenge arises great things can be done.
This image of Boxer Anthony Cox was just one of those events , very nice nice young man with a lot of talent, he knew pretty much what he wanted and needed for his Zed card and in the same session we shot some promotional images for his act and his Boxing career, not the easiest of shoots, limited in just about every aspect but the end result was well worth the effort photographically.
Point being I suppose that you don’t necessarily need a huge set up to get great shots , it helps sure but if you have an aspiring actor , or artist who needs help in this way, why not go out of your way to help make their dreams come true, good Karma on all levels .
Artistically speaking there are times when you have a vision and it just wont work, at least this
might be how you feel during the shoot, may be your subject just isn’t comfortable in front of the camera, yet you struggle through go back to the office load the images and get a little discouraged. I find by putting images away for a while and with less stress going back to re-evaluate you might find with a little cutting and cropping you really have a good looking picture , in this case the very image I was hoping for , or at least very close , for all kinds of reasons this shot was important and perhaps that’s why i found it more of a challenge than most, I hadn’t figured on the size of the Lion head and I particularly wanted a black back ground , that was fine un-till we bought out the black lions heads , Canon 5d .3 or not this just was not going to work, even the 10 ft back drop wasn’t enough in this case a real studio would have been so much easier , but that’s just not in the budget so we have to be inventive photographically and that is good exercise for your imagination and skill as a master photographer to get it to work regardless of the situations you find your self in.
By Costellophoto
Costellophoto.com
702 459 3121
5.27.2013
Photographers in Las Vegas : Convention | Warning |
March 5th 2013
As a Las Vegas Photographer we know that in the last couple of years we’ve seen an explosion of ‘Photographers’ and I think that you , the client deserve to get the very best service and quality, I doubt you or any one else would disagree with that .
Well as a cautionary tale I thought I would share a few of my experiences with other photographers in Las Vegas . We have some very qualified and talented photographers here in the valley , but as the DLSR has grown more popular now most people can take a decent picture under ‘normal’ conditions and that’s true but the word ‘normal’ is key here.
Today I witnessed a young man with a fairly decent camera but a lens bound up with gaffers tape attempt to shoot a large convention with out adequate light and from distances that will no-doubt result in fuzzy orange pictures that will be useless to the client. As with most thing you get what you pay for, I know this chap was an emergency hire and perhaps he got in over his head , I’d say that’s a given, but even so a basic knowledge of the principles of photography you would know better, and he had no back up gear, that it’s self is way too common. This event would not be so surprising if it were not for the fact he was the third photographer the client hired leading me to believe that this must be rampant in the convention photograph business. We here at Costellophoto have what I now realize extremely high standards, our photographers are trained and educated to deal with the ‘what if ‘ situation, back up gear is mandatory as is the knowledge of how to shoot in any situation, and it is true to say the Convention /Trade show industry is more complex that you might think with differing light sources, to complete changes in plan from minute to minute, as a trained news photographer I am now (after over ten years ! ) realizing the complexity and skill level we as a true professional Convention photographer possess.
One other instance I witnessed a few years ago now as I called on to along with several other photographers to photograph celebrities doing what we call a grip and grin , this one photographer hands his camera to the client and asks him to take a picture for his own collection , my jaw dropped and I was stunned. You could put that down to inexperience or just exuberance for the ‘star’ but that is probably the #1 rule broken, right up there with asking for an autograph.
So as a cautionary tale , I would say check websites and if it’s mainly weddings or baby pictures I’d say move on, but as you have found our page then you can see clearly our expertise and there will be only good surprises and our photographer wont eat your food, drink your beer or disappear for a smoke break, we even dress for the occasion !
So now you know , next step call Costellophoto 702 459 3121 and visit the rest of our ever changing web site at www.Costellophoto.com
By Costellophoto Las Vegas
Las Vegas Photographer Enlightened
Once in a great while you get an opportunity to be part of something very special, last Wednesday Dec 12th was the ordination of Joseph, now in my time I have shot weddings of most faiths or just the quick drive through type here in Las Vegas , and for the most part I try to be inconspicuous get great shots of the usual thing , rings, first kisses ect, these I don’t do too much these days by choice, but the ordination of a Buddhist priest was special and as I was invited I felt quite honored , and I found myself trying so hard to keep a low profile and yet getting completely caught up in the spirituality of the ceremony.
Here is the transmittance of wisdom (I hope I have the terminology right ) it rather speaks for its self , the thing is you can really feel the electricity in the room , almost like it’s crowded with spirits, now whether you believe in this or not there’s no doubt you’d feel the energy , a photographic moment that I ‘m glad I got and for Joseph the culmination of 4 years of hard study and devotion.
It makes me feel honored to have witnessed this ceremony and just how interesting photography can be and the powerful situations you can find your self in, for some this might well be life changing, I know I shall never forget this particular event, congratulations Joseph , you worked hard for this and I don’t think I’ve seen a bigger smile on one persons face in a long long time.
