This year I wrote 3 photography learning apps for the iPad and want to share a little about the most recent one that was published! I started writing a few mini books awhile back to help educate photographers wanting to start shooting weddings or portraits. There are so many questions I get from people that normally are the same questions people have when getting into photography. I also see so many people starting out that lack a certain creative element in their photography. Normally some of the more advanced things like Lighting are missed by most people starting out. So over the past year I have been working on putting down on paper some of the many things in my head that I can share from my 11 years of shooting professionally and years of Art school before that.

I wanted to create some guides that were really easy to learn, easy to understand and covered the technical parts of photography but in a not so technical way. As a photographer I am visual, after college I would still keep up with my photo education and read books, attended seminars and workshops and usually was pretty uninspired by the way the information was presented. Normally it was so technical that it lost my attention after a few minutes and I put the book on the shelf never to be picked up again. So I set out to create some tools for people to learn and be inspired and also wanted to create them at a very good price, really a no brainer. When the iPad was released I was excited, it really is a perfect medium to learn on . You have a nice large screen as well as something that feels great in your hand like a book but can be so interactive. So far I have created a Portrait 101 and a Wedding Photography 101 guide that right now are only $1.99! I wanted to create some very useful guides to help people get more creative with their photography and also have them be so inexpensive anyone can buy them. These also are available as iPhone (or iPod touch) version and for those of you who don’t have an iPhone or iPad going to be available as eBooks coming out in the next few months.

Here is a excerpt from the Baby Photography 101 app coming this week. Watch Twitter for an announcement when it’s live @digitalphotobuz

Tips on keeping them sleeping

Nothing is more beautiful than a peaceful sleeping baby. But sometimes no matter how tired they are when you are ready to shoot them sleeping they just don’t want to stay asleep. I don’t know how many times a mom has fed, burped and changed a baby then rocked them to sleep and once I start clicking the shutter they start to wake right up. There are a few tips that I have found very useful to keep a baby sleeping.

1- Swaddle them up nice and tight. Especially for newborns up to 2 months old the swaddle can be your best friend.

2 – Pacifier. Although it might not look perfect in the image a pacifier can really help settle a baby down and get them to fall asleep. And I do think it’s cute to have a few images of them with the pacifier in their mouth. Normally after a few minutes they will let go of it anyway and it will fall out of their mouth or you can try to gently pop it out.

3- Make sure the room is warm. Babies are used to being in the womb where its nice and soft and warm. Make sure the room is very warm, especially if you want a shot of the baby sleeping without clothes. Keep them surrounded by lots of soft warm blankets and snuggled up.

4- Have some background noise playing. You can bring a small CD player or use your iPhone and play a CD of soothing sounds. There are tons of soothing type CD’s out there for babies and they can really help put the baby at ease.

Also check out all of the amazing apps that AppEzzy has been creating for the iPhone and iPad, AppEzzy – iPhone and iPad apps
For all of you non iPad people, sorry it’s only available for the iPad now but other versions may be coming next year… stay tuned.

– Mark

I was so excited awhile back when collages.net called me wanting to do an interview about me and my photography. When you put all of your heart into your work it feels so good to have it recognized by other people in your industry, although it does still feel a little bit strange. Over the last few years we have been featured on a few different industry vendors websites, have had images of ours used in their marketing and promo material and it’s always so exciting but still surreal. I remember last year the company that we do our slideshows through wanted to use a recent slideshow of ours as a demo and also a few photos from that on their postcards and marketing material. They did a huge marketing blitz and for a few months I kept seeing my photos every few days in emails or mailers, it was strange but definitely awesome.

So I was pretty stoked when collages.net called up and wanted to do a little feature of me on their blog. They wanted to know a little bit about my background and how I got started in photography, go and check out the full interview from their website at: http://blog.collages.net/?p=6700

With valentines day just passing, love is still in the air. When we first started Stagi Imagery 11 years ago and were trying to figure out what to do for a logo my wife and I decided to have a heart as the logo. It doesn’t have much to do with photography but at the same time has everything to do with OUR photography. When we started this business it was all about the heart, being passionate about what we were creating and putting everything we had into creating the best images in the world for our clients. We still have the same basic beliefs today, we want to create the most amazing images for you and capture a slice of your life. Years down the road when you are looking through your wedding album we want tears of joy to come back to you or if you are looking at photos of your newborn to feel that excitement you felt when holding them in your arms. Photography is such a powerful art form and we are so happy to be able to be a part of all our clients lives.

So this year for Valentines day we are going to do something crazy, we are going to share the love with all of you. Any portrait session from now until 3-15 we are discounting to just $50. This is a huge savings compared to our normal sesison fee’s and a great way to get an awesome portrait session. To see more of our portrait work visit our Bay Area Lifestyle Portrait site. If you don’t need a portrait session for yourself no problem, give one away to a friend. You can give away as many of these discounted sessions as you would like. The only restriction is the shoot must be scheduled before March 15th.

I am giving away an hour long mentoring session to help raise money for Thirst Relief. If you are going to be at WPPI it will include a lunch or dinner, and can be an hour one on one session about anything you need to know! You can bid online only today and tomorrow so get your bid in now: http://thirstrelief.shootq.com

Get mentored by mark

in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction!

Grow as a photographer while saving lives!

I’m participating in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction. Our mission is to save lives by tapping into the incredible talent and generosity of the photo industry.

Did you know that every 15 seconds someone dies of a waterborne illness? That’s 5760 people every day! You can help. Bid on a mentoring session with your favorite photographer!

100% of the proceeds directly benefit Thirst Relief. Add to that the incredible wisdom and talent that is being shared in the one-on-one mentor sessions and you have better and more
successful photographers! It’s truly a win win for everyone involved!

About me and my mentor auction

Here is a little bit more about my studio:

Passion is what its all about for us. True passion and love for photography drive our team every day (and a few Mocha’s along the way). Photography has been a love of ours since childhood and we shoot not only to provide our clients with the most awesome images they could ever image but to also fuel our creativity and need to capture compelling images.

We have been capturing weddings in the Bay Area for over 11 years. It all started with a passion by Award Winning wedding photographer Mark Stagi to create fresh, fun wedding images that reflect each brides unique day.

Mark has a degree in Fine Art along with a minor in photojournalism. This has given him a unique look into weddings, from focusing on capturing the emotion of the day along with getting creative with off camera lighting setups. Running a studio shooting over 50 weddings a year has given Mark many insights into what it takes to successfully market your company. He has learned how to keep a boutique style feel to his studio with a strong focus on his customers all while taking care of a good number of weddings each year.

Our mentor session will focus on finding your style and being true to that. We believe that the best long term way to run your business is to be true to your self and let your passion drive everything you create. We wear our passion for our work and our life with our clients and truly give them an experience they won’t forget. Mark will also focus on how to keep your marketing fresh and to keep buzz always around your studio.

My mentor session can take place at WPPI 2010 (Las Vegas), in my hometown of San Jose, ca OR on the phone.