10 Fun Facts about Dee and Shooting Star Photography in South Jersey

1. Dee is the talented and passionate owner of Shooting Star Photography, located in the beautiful South Jersey area.

2. Dee has been capturing timeless memories through her lens for over 15 years, making her a highly experienced photographer.

3. Shooting Star Photography specializes in capturing stunning family portraits, dreamy wedding moments, and adorable baby photographs.

4. Dee's love for photography started at a young age, and she has turned her passion into a successful business that brings joy to countless families.

5. South Jersey provides a picturesque backdrop for photoshoots, with its charming beaches, quaint towns, and lush landscapes. Shooting Star Photography takes full advantage of this natural beauty.

6. Dee has a unique ability to make her clients feel comfortable and relaxed, which results in genuine and authentic photographs.

7. Shooting Star Photography offers creative and personalized sessions, ensuring that each client's vision is brought to life.

8. Dee is not only an expert at capturing still moments, but she also has a keen eye for those candid, spontaneous shots that truly showcase the client's personality.

9. Shooting Star Photography is known for its attention to detail, ensuring that every photo is beautifully edited and ready to be displayed as a work of art.

10. Dee's dedication to her craft and love for South Jersey shines through in every photograph, making Shooting Star Photography a cherished and trusted choice for capturing life's most precious moments.

Experience the magic of Shooting Star Photography in South Jersey, where memories are brought to life through Dee's talent and expertise!

Here are some more cool facts you might want to know about Shooting Star Photography....  Or maybe not!

Fun Fact

1. I'm a MANUAL FOCUS nut

I shoot everything manually... I'm not talking manual settings on your camera (which if you consider yourself a pro... you should already be doing and know your camera and how to expose properly)....  I'm saying that I shoot EVERY single session manually... MANUAL FOCUS AND MANUAL SETTINGS.I like FULL CONTROL over my photographs and this is why I do this.  Yes, even working with children and families I shoot with manual focus.  People think I'm crazy... My Photographer friends definitely think I'm crazy.... but this is why my images are the way they are.It took awhile to get to this level and I just about nail focus every time (which is even more shocking to some).  I find manual focusing to actually be easier than automatic focus.

2. Bokeh

I'm a bokeh fanatic. For the none photographers out there, it means I enjoy the blurry background and a shallow depth of field.   If you were to look at my portfolio... it's plain as day. Practically, every photograph is this way.  I am always trying to push the limits in photography.  90% of the time I shoot wide open from 0.95 Mitakon (yup, I told you I'm nuts)  and up depending on how wide open my lens can go.

3.  My Business

I haven't been in business for even a year.  Yet, I have managed to do over 64 sessions thus far and 3 weddings.  I have grown so much from even a month ago. However, I am not new to photography.  I started out in landscape photography and have even published two books on history and places to see in South Jersey.  You can find my books in Barnes and Noble and through Amazon!

4. Location! Location! Location!

A lot of folks come to me for my unique locations!  Since I have written my books and even blog about places to see in South Jersey... I've seen some pretty interesting places!  I've been everywhere from the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean and everywhere in between.  No stone has been left upturned.  In fact, I receive messages from other local photographers about some of these places.  It's nice to help my fellow togs out!  Yet, I don't give my entire secrets away! Shhhhh... some of these spots are a secret!  My blog is southjerseyexplorer.com if anyone is interested to see where I've been!  You'll see I'm not lying about my travels!

5. Editing

Editing is what I struggle with on just time alone.  Editing is probably the most time consuming aspect of my photography business. I'm not going to lie! My problem is that I personally hand edit all of my images for clients and this takes up an incredible amount of my valuable time.  Most of my fellow photographer friends tell me I should try out presets or actions to help speed up my workflow. Don't get me wrong... I have in the past. I wasn't happy with the results. You still need to tweak these actions or presets to your liking.  Again,  I like the control. I've also invested hundreds of dollars in editing classes by some of the greats in our industry and I don't like putting my skills to waste by using an action!  Editing classes have probably been my biggest asset to this business.  Folks do come to me for my unique look and creativity and that's what I like to give them!

6. Posing

If you were to stroll along through my portfolio, you'll see that my posing is very natural.... and honestly that's what it is.  I do go in with a plan with certain poses I would like to try for my sessions and will do certain poses for a client if they wish, but the images that I turn out to love and what the client usually loves... are the photos with the natural expressions.  There is just something about them.. I do try for the cheesy smiles... but my goal is to get a natural smile and what I mean is the smile you have when you aren't posing... The REAL YOU smile. I usually use my bag of tricks to get it.

7.  I'm a SONY gal!

Yup! No Nikon or Canon gal here. Sony! Gasp! First off, I've always been a rebel.  Second, I LOVE SONY.  My equipment never lets me down.  Since I do manual focusing, my Sonys offer focus peaking which helps to aid me in my work. I probably wouldn't be shooting in manual, if I did not have this function. I have 4 cameras.  Two full frames and two crops...Sony A7RII, SONY A7S, Sony A6000 and the old school NEX 6 that I even believe has been discontinued, haha.

8.  Glass Envy

It's usually not about the camera, but the glass you have and I have a serious addiction! Especially glass with low f-stops.  I love primes. However, I do own the famous 24-70 Zeiss and the  other famous 70-200... but I have primes from 8mm going up to 300mm at this time.  Probably, by the time you are done reading this... I probably purchased new glass. I also have antique envy. What is great about my particular camera is that I can purchase vintage lenses and plop them on my camera with an adapter and they work beautifully!  I'm awaiting for an old minolta to arrive. The beer can lens!However, the two lenses I seem to always have on my camera are the 135mm f2 and the 85mm 1.4.

9. My Favorite Sessions

I work with a wide range of folks... from families, children, engaged couples, people with pets, brides... etc etc...My favorite thing to photograph out of everything I do is pregnant women! Yup, I said it... the cat is out of the bag!I absolutely ADORE and have a passion for Maternity photography.  Don't get me wrong... I love photography in general and working with a whole variety of clients, but I truly love maternity the best of them all!   I honestly don't know why.  I think it's because it's a very special time in a couple's life and especially the soon to be mama's life.  Some parents have struggled for so long just to get pregnant and being pregnant is something they have wished for well practically forever.  Others have struggled with miscarriages, some with infertility.  I feel so blessed when folks choose me to be their maternity photographer. I love telling their story of love and capturing the beautiful essence of motherhood.

10. My Skies

People love my skies!  A cool fact is 90% of the skies I use in editing are actually my skies!  They are not purchased like some other photographers do. If I see a pretty sky, while I'm out and about... I snap it!  I'll then upload and use for later in my work or photos!  As I mentioned above, I've gotten to travel all over South Jersey and some skies I use, are also from my past landscape work!  Also, if I am having a session and I see a pretty sky, I will take two photos... I'll expose for the pretty sky and then expose my subject and just merge them in post.  There is no other way to properly get your sky and subject exposed properly (this is why you see white skies in photos) Unless, you use flash for fill light. It's just not possible!Okay it's late and I'm starting to talk gibberish, but hopefully, you got a little fun insight in what I am all about!  Hopefully, you enjoyed getting to know some neat fun facts!

Happy Shooting, my friends!

Dee Giumetti