Member of the Month
Alycia Alvarez:
Florida photographer connects best with youngest clients

By Christy Rippel

With the camera as her paintbrush, Alycia Alvarez aims to create works of art that are not only loved and cherished by her clients, but beckon strangers to stop and admire them as well. In the seven years since launching her business the Tampa, FL area photographer has often received praise from strangers, but one portrait she recently took so captivated a couple that they made a life-changing decision: They adopted the little girl in the picture.

Studio of the Month

Edmonson Weddings:
Three Generations of Excellence

By Linda L. May

David and Luke Edmonson enjoy a special relationship following in the footsteps of David and his father Red, who started Edmonson & Father Photography back in 1983 in Dallas, TX. This visionary father-and-son team photograph people and events with an original eye--producing spontaneous and powerful images that have made them internationally known. Edmonson & Father Photography specializes in commercial, editorial and wedding photography, especially Indian nuptials. They also shoot a limited number high school senior, baby and maternity portraits for their well-established clients.

In Studio & On Screen
Just Add Winter

By Anton Heiberg

Being more of a summer-type person, the only thing I like about winter are those cozy nights in front of the fireplace with a glass of good red wine. I tried to portray that feeling in a photograph and decided to try this with a wineglass and bottle of wine. First, you need to get the lighting on the glass correct. One needs a large soft light for photographing glassware (see the Pro Tip below on relative size of the light source), thus I used a large 1.3m Octa softbox and placed it close to my subject to make the relative size as large as possible. I then placed a large white reflector made from polystyrene on the other side of my subject.

Business Landscape
Owner Compensation: Too Much or Too Little?

By Mark E. Battersby

Few, if any, professional photographers believe that they are adequately compensated for the time and effort they contribute--or have contributed--to making their studio or business operation successful. How best to compensate yourself as the owner of a photography studio or business is a difficult question to answer, especially under the watchful eye of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Leave money in the business to avoid tax and the IRS often sees, and penalizes, "accumulated profits." Too much compensation for a business owner/shareholder may mean that dividends were ignored resulting in a distorted tax bill. Recently, the IRS has been directing its focus to the compensation of owner-employees of photography businesses operating as S-corporations.

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