Nice Article in JN

The Detroit Jewish News did a very nice article about the five studios this week.

We are a group of like minded professional photographers dedicated to the art of image making.

See it here
page 2

Studio Lighting in Small Spaces

Many of my students ask me about creating a camera room in their homes. It seems that the main concern is space, or more accurately, the lack thereof.

I was at Botsford Hospital this morning creating head and shoulder portraits for the incoming "First Year Residents"(Oh, side note... I have been told that if you get sick and need to go to the hospital, this may not be the best time to do it... see "first year" title.)

The space I set up my camera room in was a hallway just outside the meeting room. It was roughly 12 feet wide and I could back up about 10-12 feet. Even with the space limitations, I was still able to set up my Larson 4x6 soffbox. In my opinion, it's one of the finest light modifiers available.

Leila's Sr. Portraits

Ok, so I haven't written anything in ....well, forever ;). I'll try to make up for it now.

We decided to postpone Leila's portrait session from last Saturday to Sunday due to all the rain we had. I'm glad that we did!

We met Leila an Sonia (Her mom) at the Cranbrook House in Bloomfield Hills. We created a bunch of images on the grounds of the house as well as in the garden behind Kingswood school.

Now, mind you... I have been photographing Leila her whole life. When she was a year old she cried like a baby during the session (pun intended). Mom was sooooo happy that she didn't give us a repeat performance this time!! :)

Enjoy a few images from Leila's session.

Prepping

I just found out that our GLIP (Great Lakes Institute of Photography) is full. That's pretty awesome news considering some classes were cancelled due to lack of turn out.

So as the count down to school draws near, I find myself freaking out trying to get a whole load of work done before I leave for the week. Unfortunately my "studio" work screeches to a halt when I am away teaching.

So, today will be a day of production, new slide preparation, CD/DVD burning and getting equipment ready. And that's just this morning!! :)

Gotta go get to it!
See ya!

More Image Enhancing Techiniques

Check out this video to learn how simple it is to achieve the look in these images.

Making your pictures look like photographs

I came up with a set of actions for Photoshop to help speed up our production time by automating repetitive tasks.

One of the elements included in the action "set" is a method to quickly enhance an average looking capture ~ I'm talking about the image as it comes right out of the camera, not the subject matter.

Many of the actions included in the "Deutsch Production Actions" set deal with cropping and resizing images and preparing them for upload to your lab, while others focus on enhancing your portrait and wedding images.

Click on the image to see the larger resolution before and after image. Then watch he video to see how easily this picture was transformed in to a beautiful photograph.



So easy, even cave man.....ah never mind;) Enjoy! ~ Oh, by the way, see my signature at the bottom? That was created with another action that's included in the set :)

Economic Stimulus Plan

Are you tired of waiting for the economic stimulus plan to kick in? Well, we have the answer!!

Introducing the Deutsch "ESP" (Economic Stimulus Plan- You knew that, right?)for high school seniors.

Our Plan only costs $550.
Here's how it works:
You pay $100 to reserve your session.
We'll spend 45 minutes photographing you in up to 2 outfits.
You get 5 Gift Selections (8x10 or 2-5x7) and 48 wallets.
You'll see and order your portraits at "view and choose", image presentation appointment.

Give us a call for more details.

Creating a Legacy

When tragedy strikes a family, one of the first things people look for are photos of their loved ones.

Portraits capture the love, the relationships and the feelings that we share with one another. It is something that may seem costly at first but families that take the time and invest in professional portraits create a legacy for themselves and for future generations.

As time goes by and one year slips into the next, I realize how important it is to look back on old family portraits. I am comforted by seeing the beautiful images of my family members who are no longer with us. Fortunately for me, my family took the time to create that legacy... that memory.

You never can tell what the future holds. The time to create your family legacy is now.

We are offering specially priced portrait packages through the month of April for anyone who would like to create a legacy of their own.

~Yes. It's that important to me.

Mention this post to receive up to 50% off selected "Creating a Legacy" portrait collections.

Call now 248-560-3100 or email a note with Creating a Legacy in the subject line. Don't wait until it's too late.

Update on the copyright brush

Ok. I just learned something about Mac's today. Maybe that's why my brain hurts. In order to create the © symbol, you have to press option G while in the type (T) tool.

If you are working on a PC laptop that doesn't have a separate number pad on the right and you're forced to use those numbers at the top of the screen, it won't work either.

I will have to look at an old laptop to figure it out, but until then happy computing:)

Creating a custom brush in Photoshop

Spring Cleaning = SAVINGS

...and a rare opportunity for you!

Every year as we clean out our files, we gather all the previous year's negatives and digital materials and move them to our off site storage facility.

Needless to say, we are running out of space! So we have decided to offer them to you.

From now until April 1st you can purchase the digital files or negatives from any previously ordered session. A complete wedding is $300 and each portrait session is $75. Both include shipping. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please email us at info@davidmdeutsch.com.

Hurry, the month is almost half over!

Senior Models for the Class of 2010 = Free Money!

We are currently look for Senior spokesmodels for the Class of 2010.

If you are an outgoing Junior, we would like you to help us so we can show off all our crazy new ideas for next year. The ideal candidate is socially active, in and out of school... AND ON FACEBOOK!

Each model session will be created between March 1st and April 30th. We will create model cards with a few of the images from your session for you to pass out to your friends. The rest will be posted in your gallery on Facebook.

Every model selected will be eligible for a FREE regular Senior Session that MUST be used anytime June through July. Any other sessions during your Senior year are 50% off. PLUS you can earn up to $25 for every one of your friends that turn in your model card when they are photographed!

What a great way to make money this summer without really doing anything more than talking to your friends. How awesome is that?

Call 248-560-3100 or send me a message on Facebook for more details.

PPM Competition Results

Well, I'm back from Lansing and I'm happy to report that my images did pretty well in the Professional Photographers of Michigan print competition.

My combined score for my top 4 prints was 346. That was the fifth highest score in the state.

My image of Dario Faruggia from Wyandotte High School scored a whopping 95 points! A bridal portrait of Ann Marie (Bailey) Moran scored 80. The image that I created outside the Luxor Hotel for My friend Jim Churchill scored 81.

I entered a couple of images that I created a GLIP last summer too. The image of Justyn that was captured on the campus of the college scored 87 and my composite of Anna Marie scored 83 (I think it was under scored).

I was happy to receive the following awards:
~The Professional Photographers of America CPP Award for the highest scoring image submitted by a Certified Professional Photographer.
~The Kodak Gallery Award, for Photographic Excellence in the portrait category.
~Court of Honor in the wedding category.
~Michigan Top Seven Master Photographer.

The next step is to enter the images in PPA's annual print competition to see if any of them will be accepted into the traveling Loan Collection. -Wish me luck :)

Somerset Inn

Is the Media Fair and Balanced?

...An email that I just received. Is the media fair and balanced? You decide.



Another normal day in Southern Israel . . . .

Israeli family during a rocket alarm in Kfar Azza, Wednesday

Benjamin Netanyahu gave an interview and was asked about Israel's occupation of Arab lands.
His response was "It's our land". The reporter (CNN or the like) was stunned - read below "It's our land..." It's important information since we don't get fair and accurate reporting from the media and facts tend to get lost in the jumble of daily events.

"Crash Course on the Arab Israeli Conflict."

Here are overlooked facts in the current & past Middle East situation compiled by a Christian university professor:


BRIEF FACTS ON THE ISRAELI CONFLICT TODAY.

1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 BCE, two thousand years before the rise of Islam.

2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel.

3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BCE, the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.

4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 CE lasted no more than 22 years.

5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.

6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.

7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.

9. Arab and Jewish Refugees: in 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews. Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.

10 The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.

11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.

12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own people's lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey .

13. The Arab-Israeli Conflict: the Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.

14. The PLO's Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority.

15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.

16. The UN Record on Israel and the Arabs: of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.

17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.

18. The UN was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.

19. The UN was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.

20. The UN was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like a policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

These are incredible times. We have to ask what our role should be. What will we tell our grandchildren about what we did when there was a turning point in Jewish destiny, an opportunity to make a difference?

Contact your Government representatives and voice your support for Israel to defend itself from the constant barrage of missiles being launched from Gaza at civilians in Israel. Say prayers for Israel's survival. Suggested Psalm 120 & 121

START NOW- Send this to other people you know and ask them to send it to others, Jew and non-Jew--it doesn't really matter.

Olivia and John

We had a blast photographing Olivia and John's wedding.

They got married last year... OK, so it was week and a half ago on December 27th :).

It's hard to believe that it was 60 degrees in December! Anyway, Olivia was beautiful and John was a handsome groom. Together, they were stunning. Here are a few images from the day. The rest should be online shortly.

Enjoy.

Resolutions

Well, here it is, the fifth day of January 2009. Where does the time go?

You can tell you are getting older when the years do pass much more quickly than they did when you were younger.

I've been thinking about how people usaully wait until a new year to resolve to make changes in their lives. Usually weight loss, to quit smoking, to be a better person, etc. What's so special about January 1st that it magically makes people want to change their lives for the better?

Don't get me wrong. I think it's awesome that people want to make positive changes in their lives. I just think that once a year is too few and far between to do it. Why not make a new resolution once a month... or even better, once a week?

Today, I am implementing a new tradition. I am making a "New Day Resolution". That way, if I fall behind or need to tweek or change my resolutions, I don't feel like I've failed miserabley. I can just modify them the very next day!

Today's resolution is to keep this blog current. I hate looking at the blog and realizing that it's gone for months without any new information added to it. It took a bit of effort, but I was able to blow the dust off and make this post.

So there you have it. I have started 2009 with a new day resolution that I can stick to... and tomorrow, a new one. I would encourage you to do the same. Don't let the calendar dictate when you change your life.

What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Alexis and MacKenzie

Maribeth and Rob have given me the pleasure of photographing them for years. From the days of "Dr. Knight's" Intern and Residency portraits at Botsford Hosptial, to their wedding and family portraits and everything in between.

We had the the choice to photograph the girls in the studio or on location at Orchard Lake Country Club. We chose the club - and I'm glad we did.

The weather and lighting were awesome!

Here's the slideshow from the session.

Ashcraft Family

Fall in Michigan is a beautiful time for outdoor photography - provided, of course it doesn't rain... or snow for that matter.

Last weekend we had to gorgeous days for portraits, so we took advantage of them by photographing the Ashcraft family.

It's amazing how fast these kids are growing up! One day we're doing baby portraits, teh next the kids are both in schiool. Where does the time go?

Well, we had a great time photographing these guys and Birmingham Country Club made a great background!