Friday, July 18, 2014

Flashback Friday #29 - Mark Pariani - Productions

Hello readers! Today is Flashback Friday and I wanted to take a second to reflect on my personal photo and design brand Mark Pariani - Productions. It all started in high school when I first discovered an interest in photography and design. At that time I grabbed any camera I could get my hands on and constantly took images while out with friends, on family trips, or even just around my neighborhood. I never did it as a means to any end, I just wanted to have fun and document what was happening around me. As technology advanced I was able to pick up better cameras and I continued to always shoot anywhere I went. There were only a few times early on where I decided to try my hand at freelance and commission work. One of those early attempts was something I called "HouseBook." It started with my family wanting to document the current conditions of our house and it's contents for insurance purposes, so I photographed the entire house inside and out. It was my first venture into creating a real product and I ended up selling a few to friends and neighbors. I greatly enjoyed the process and I learned a lot, but I still enjoyed shooting for myself more. Thankfully I kept at it and even studied photography and design in college. I still to this day mainly shoot only for myself because that's how much I enjoy it, but I also love sharing my work with other people as well as helping them document their own special events. That's why I started Mark Pariani - Productions to share my work and put my name out there in case anyone needs a photographer. So, you might be saying to yourself "Mark, this is all just a shameless plug." And you would be right! Haha - But even so I hope you now have a better understanding of why I love photography so much and how that translates into what I shoot and how I shoot. If are interested in seeing more of my work you can check me out on all of my social media outlets! - Facebook - Twitter - Tumblr - Behance - Instagram - and never forget to Keep it REAL!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Picking the Right Camera

As a photographer I am always trying to stay current with technology and make sure I have all the up-to-date tech I need. As you can imagine that is very hard today with how fast technology is advancing and how constantly it is changing. Cameras are no exception. The envelop is constantly being pushed and new cameras come out every year. Luckily the job of testing and ranking new camera tech is often done for you as it is with this handy chart that I recently found in The Wall Street Journal. If you are looking to buy a new camera or wanting to get into photography for the first time then you should take a look at this chart and consider some really good current options. Feel free to ask questions too in the comments. Keep it REAL!