That's me over there, Stu Ireland. If you've come to this page, you're probably looking for some information about me. I've been happily married to my wife Shari since 1993 and we have three wonderful children. I graduated from Iowa State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Sciences. I work full time for the National Weather Service and have been at the La Crosse office since the fall of 2000.
My entry into portrait photography happened by chance. I had been doing landscape photography for personal pleasure and whenever my neighbors viewed my work, they really liked the photos. This led one of them to ask if I would be interested in doing a senior photo shoot of her son. I agreed to do the shoot and my neighbor was so pleased with the photos that just by word of mouth, I was able to do some more photo shoots the same year. That convinced me to start a business and the creation of this web site. While attending Iowa State, I took a semester long photography course. This was in the days before digital and auto-focus cameras. Because I had to make every setting on the camera manually, I have an excellent understanding of the basics of photography; lighting, depth of field, shutter speed, etc. In the past few years, I have done a considerable amount of self-study. I have read every issue of Popular Photography since 2008 to pick up numerous ideas on how to improve my photography. I have read photography books and numerous sites and blogs on the Internet related to posing, using a flash and marketing. I also like to examine other photographer's work to get an understanding of how they produce their shots. In starting a part-time photography business, my goal was to make the experience enjoyable and affordable. You won't find me imposing any time constraints or wardrobe change limits on a photo shoot. After the photo shoot, I won't make you buy a package of prints that you may not want, but will customize a package that meets your needs. This could be just the digital images, prints or a combination of the two. If this sounds like what you have been looking for, please drop me an email at [email protected]. |