1. What is F.A.Q.?
    • It stands for “Frequently Asked Questions,” a.k.a. Eric being a smart ass with the F.A.Q.
  2. What does "Awen" mean?
    • According to Wikipedia, "Awen is a Welsh word for '(poetic) inspiration.' It is historically used to describe the divine inspiration of bards in the Welsh poetic tradition. Someone who is inspired, as a poet or a soothsayer, is an awenydd." Selecting the name "Awen" for our business then, we have really set for ourselves the goal to inspire you with our photography. But it's really so much more for us than that. What we want most of all is to everyday feel and satisfy the urge to create something fantastic.
  3. How long have you been doing photography?
    • Although we have only been officially in business since June 23rd, 2010, we have been taking photos for years. See our “From the Archives” posts to see just some of the photography we have done in the past.
  4. Who takes the photos?
    • We both take the photos, trading off or working side-by-side as our equipment permits. We each have our own strengths and therefore try to combine those strengths into a more concerted process.
  5. What kind of equipment do you use?
    • Right now, we are working with a Nikon D90. In time, we’ll probably upgrade, but we like the Nikon products and will probably stick to, at least, Nikon bodies. Lenses can vary depending on, of course, both pricing and lens specifications. Our favorite lens to work with right now is the Nikkor 50mm f1.4, an absolutely amazing lens for individual portraits in particular. But we also love and adore our Nikkor 28mm f2.8 lens which we find more appropriate for larger groups of people. We are always adding to our equipment and hope that, in time, we can add several more zoom lenses (different from the prime or fixed focal length lenses listed above) to our collection.
  6. Who edits the photos? 
    • Most of the time, Christine edits the photos. However, Eric has and sometimes does edit the photos as well. As mentioned above, we work together to combine our strengths and smooth out our weaknesses in order to be able to produce the kind of photography we both envision as the core of our aesthetic.
  7. What software do you use to edit the photos?
    • While we have experimented off and on with photo editing programs like iPhoto and Lightroom, we do the vast majority of our editing in Photoshop.
  8. How long does it take to edit the photos?
    • Depending on the amount of photos we have to sift through, it can take as little time as 2-3 days and as much time as 3-4 weeks. We spend the first part of our editing process sifting through the photos we have taken and developing an approach to the kind of edit we will do on the entire series. And then we proceed to edit all of the photos, very often honing our edits 2-3 times afterward.
  9. Do you have a studio?
    • Right now, we do not have a studio, however we would very much like to in the future. Studios are a great way to control the lighting, and it would be nice to have that option sometime in the near future.
  10. If the weather is bad on the day of the shoot, do you have a backup plan?
    • Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to control the weather, however Christine has a degree in Meteorology and does monitor the weather in advance of any of the photo shoots to determine if there will be any conflicts on the day of the shoot. If the weather looks like it will not be cooperative, we will personally work with you to come up with an alternate plan.
  11. What locations do you recommend for doing a shoot?
    • While we have done a number of shoots now at several different parks in the Salt Lake area, we really do encourage the exploration of all our surroundings. We like to try different things, different places. Sometimes even those places don't have to be anything overly spectacular. It's really the presence of a person in a picture that makes for an amazing photo and not so much the location. Location certainly helps, but if we're taking individual and/or family portraits, we think the most important thing to nail down is the experience of the place for you personally. 
  12. When is the best time of day to take photos?
    • What we normally consider a good day can sometimes be terrible for a photographer. Bright, sunny days tend to wash out the colors in a photo making it incredibly difficult to restore what color has been lost as a consequence of the lighting. But it is also a matter of creating a more dynamic photo. Cloudy skies create all kinds of shadows and highlights that add dimension to a photo. If cloudy skies are not an option, then either early morning after the sun has come up or evening just before the sun sets would be the best conditions for a shoot in which case you do not get the kind of overhead lighting that tends to flatten a photo. We do our best to compensate for the problems that arise as a consequence of bad lighting, but sometimes there's simply not much we can do. And, it's best to remember that it's not so much a consequence of the subject matter as it is a consequence of the circumstances of the photo.
  13. What kinds of photography do you do?
    • While professional experts have highly recommended sticking to a particular trademark, we like to try out all kinds of photography. Have an idea for a photo shoot? Write us an email or contact us by phone, and we will be more than happy to work with you to make it happen!
  14. How much do you charge for your services? 
    • Please see our “Pricing” page for more information.
  15. Do you retain copyright privileges after your images have been distributed to your customers?
    • No, we do not. We believe that, once handed over to our customers, the images are theirs to distribute and print at their own discretion. We do include stipulations about image modifications, but these are really just limited to preserving the artistic integrity of the images we have edited. With each photo disk, we will include a “Copyright/Print Release” form that will explain the rights that are being extended to the customer. And, only in the event that a customer authorizes the use of the images for portfolio and/or advertising purposes will we display these images on our web page or elsewhere.
  16.  Do you offer prints of your non-client-based work? 
    • We do offer prints of any of the photography that we do recreationally, and we will try to make those images available to you through our “Proofing and Prints” page.
  17. Can I use your photo in a publication?
    • We ask that you get permission from us first before using any of our non-client-based images and that you credit “Awen Photography” for any of the images used.
  18. I still have questions!
    • Always feel free to contact us by phone or by email, and we will be happy to answer any additional questions that you may have!