brad smith photography

I was able to photograph a great event last week at a brand new restaurant in Providence called The American. The party was thrown by the website, Yelp.com – they’re an restaurant and local business review site – for their Elite Members. Yelp Elites are folks that contribute a TON to the site. In return for chatting up local places online, they have these fun parties thrown for them! Not a bad deal, if you ask me!

The American Restaurant has only been open about 6 weeks, but already I can tell that it’s going to be a great local destination for fantastic food and tasty drinks. The owner, Jerry, and the rest of his staff took care of the party-goers (and the help, as well!) by making sure their drinks were never empty and their plates were never bare. Food was coming out of the kitchen faster than it could be consumed – and good food, too – scallops wrapped in bacon, stuffed mushrooms, oysters rockefeller, and my favorite, barbecued pork ‘wings’. I’m already planning a return trip to try some more menu items!

It was truly a great night – those Yelpers (Yelps?) really know how to have a good time! Thanks for having me out – I look forward to working with you all again!

Brad Smith Photography is getting in on the Black Friday madness for the second year in a row!
Order any print, canvas, metal prints, or Bamboo mounted prints for 30% off our regular prices – without having to wait in a long line at 4am!

This will be the only time throughout the year that prices will be discounted across the board like this. It’s a great opportunity to order the prints, canvas gallery wraps, metal prints, or bamboo mounted prints that you may have been putting off ordering! This offer is valid for all clients, past & present; even future! (You may pre-order prints even before your wedding or portrait session for use later)

For example:
8×10 prints are now $17.50 (reg. $25.00)
11×14 prints are now $21.00 (reg. $30.00)
11×14 METAL prints $63.00 (reg.$90.00)
11×14 BAMBOO mounted prints $ 98.00 (reg. $140.00)
16×20 canvas gallery wraps are now $175.00 (reg. $250.00)
(Email me for full price list)

Prices are valid only through direct ordering via email, not through the website. If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, please email info@smithbrad.com to place your order. The 30% off Black Friday Sale prices are in effect November 24, 25, and 26 only. 30% off prices are valid only on 8×10″ prints and larger. Rhode Island 7% sales tax + shipping and handling apply. $50 minimum order.

Join me on facebook!

I know that a lot of you that read this blog also ‘like’ my business page on Facebook, but in the off chance that you do not, please take this opportunity to connect with me on facebook! It’s just another way to stay in touch in this crazy, interconnected world we live in. Facebook allows for easier discussion about the images you see here on the blog, which is nice. You’re also free to ask any questions you may have there too, between myself and the other people that view the page each day, you’re sure to get an answer!

Thanks for reading this blog – stay tuned for a lot of new images coming soon as the 2011 heats up!

(click the image below to jump over to facebook)

Here’s another image for the before & after series. This one was taken at Jenna & Brian’s Engagement Session this past summer. They’re getting married this coming June!

This image is one I liked right out of the camera, but I really felt like it could benefit from some added punch. I liked the quietness of the picture, I feel like it was really a moment between Jenna and Brian, where they forgot they were being photographed. The day was threatening rain, and the clouds were gearing up to produce a nice summer storm. The original image really didn’t convey the look and mood on the beach, so I started by punching up the contrast to bring out the detail in the clouds. I then cooled down the color balance of the image away from my usual warm tones, bringing in the mood even a little more.

I then took the image into Photoshop where I created a bit of blur on the left and right of the couple, to focus the eyes to where the couple is walking. Back in Lightroom, I crunched the blacks a little and added a slight coolish vignette to the entire image before exporting to a jpg. That day the clouds were ominous, and the wind was picking up. I like that the edited version of this image looks and feels like it did that day on the beach.

Brad Smith Photography is getting in on the Black Friday madness!
Order any print, canvas, NEW metal prints, or NEW Bamboo mounted prints for 30% off our regular prices!

This will be the only time throughout the year that prices will be discounted across the board like this. It’s a great opportunity to order the prints, canvas gallery wraps, metal prints, or bamboo mounted prints that you may have been putting off ordering! This offer is valid for all clients, past & present; even future! (You may pre-order prints even before your wedding or portrait session for use later)

For example:
8×10 prints are now $17.50 (reg. $25.00)
11×14 prints are now $21.00 (reg. $30.00)
11×14 METAL prints $63.00 (reg.$90.00)
11×14 BAMBOO mounted prints $ 98.00 (reg. $140.00)
16×20 canvas gallery wraps are now $175.00 (reg. $250.00)
(Email me for full price list)

There’s a blog post coming soon about exactly what the metal prints and bamboo mounted prints are – stay tuned! I’m very excited to offer these next year!

Prices are valid only through direct ordering via email, not through the website. If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, please email info at smithbrad dot com to place your order. The 30% off Black Friday Sale prices are in effect November 26, 27, and 28 only. 30% off prices are valid only on 8×10″ prints and larger. Rhode Island 7% sales tax + shipping and handling apply. $50 minimum order.

Here’s just a few images today of a little different subject matter. I’m normally posting engagement sessions and weddings all summer, but I wanted to post a few of the newest addition to the Brad Smith Photography family. Michael is home with us now after a lengthy stay in the NICU up in Providence. These are some images I snapped of him while playing earlier this week. Enjoy. More weddings and e-sessions to come!

(Sneeze!)

Joanna spent some time in front of my lens a few weeks ago in Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI. She was a great subject, and a lot of fun to work with. Above are just a few of my favorites from the afternoon.

I spent some time a few weeks ago at the southern tip of RI with model, Kate, and fellow photographer, James Hazelwood. We worked quickly because of the cold temperatures and the strong breeze off the water, but in that short time, we were able to make some great photographs. Using 1-2 off camera flashes, we were able to drop the ambient light down to really make Kate pop out of her surroundings.

If you’ve arrived at this page, you know you’ve got the correct link. I spent some time this Winter preforming a little housekeeping within my business, this blog being one of them. My old blogger blog was a freebie-template blog, and while it served it’s purpose for a long time, the images were small and needed to be clicked to get to full size. As a photographer, I (obviously) put great importance on having large images on display. This new blog here at blog.smithbrad.com is far superior with it’s larger images and brand consistency. Please update all your links to my blog to reflect the new address and remember to update your RSS feeds if you follow this blog via a RSS reader program.

I’m very excited for what is shaping up to be a very busy and productive year working with many fabulous brides and grooms. I’m photographing weddings this year throughout Rhode Island, with a few in Boston, and others from Maine to New Jersey. I’m looking forward to each one of them. I’m excited to be offering the beautiful KISS Wedding Books again this year, as well as the same museum-quality canvas gallery wraps and of course, gorgeous prints as well.

As with previous years, I’m looking to team up with a few outstanding and outgoing local High School Juniors (Class of 2011) who would like to serve as Senior Reps for Brad Smith Photography at their respective schools. In exchange for a free session and other perks, you’d return the favor by sending your friends and classmates our way. Senior Sessions are fun, unique, and totally different than the blue backdrop, tilt-your-head-this-way style of the past. Email info@smithbrad.com for more information about being a Senior Rep.

Thank you for following this blog – and stay tuned for more wedding, portrait and senior sessions in the very near future!

I spent some time last week at The Towers in Narragansett. It’s a beautiful venue for a wedding reception (I had mine there 5 years ago!) and an equally cool place to get some great model images. Kate at the Towers was very kind in letting fellow wedding photographer, Seth Jacobson and myself use the space for a few hours.

Brianna and Ashley were great models and a lot of fun to photograph. Thanks also to Samantha who did a great job with the hair design!

Be sure and check out my business page on Facebook for more images from this set!