michael b owns and operates michael b studios which is a highly successful wedding and childrens photography studio in Minneapolis, Minn.

What is your primary camera body?

Canon baby! I am shooting a couple 5D bodies now and have a 30D I give to my assistant

Two lenses you use the most?

I use them all for a wedding at some point, fisheye or tilt shift I may only use for a few shots and the workhorse lenses are the 85 1.2, 16-35, 24-70 or 70-200IS the 24 1.4 also gets a camera body of its own for most of the reception. Hmmm I guess that’s more than the two you asked for isn’t it.

Do you shoot RAW?

Absolutely

How would you describe your photography style?

If I had to describe my style in three words they would be clean fashion romance.

Do you normally employ assistants or 2nd shooters?

Yes, I always have an assistant at weddings that also does some shooting and am looking to add another that is a gear camel although the job title reads executive equipment manager. I typically don’t travel with much gear to a wedding but I shoot and move quickly and really just want to have the 2 camera bodies on my shoulder and leave the bags to the assistant.

What do you remember about your first (or one of your first) wedding?

I remember how excited I was when I got the film back from the lab looking over my images thinking that I might be able to make a living at this. back then I thought I knew it all and really knew nothing. I still have a 8x10 photo from that wedding in my meeting space.

If you were getting married this year, who would you want to shoot your wedding?

There are a ton of people I would choose for a variety of reasons and styles. I would be the oddball who would have more photographers at his wedding than guests.

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their career as a wedding photographer?

Learn the business side of things. Sure the image and processing seminars and workshops are fun and cool and help satisfy the creative side of your brain but the more mundane business aspect is what will help you to not only survive but thrive.

Since the iPhone is the hot topic we have decided to give one away. Anyone signing up for a Premium template between now and the end of the day on Saturday (30th) will be entered to win one 4gb iPhone.

Get signed up online here: BIG Folio

*note, this is a phone only promotion. winner is responsible to activate and pay for service on the phone.

Friday is the day we have all waited for (well, some of us). The iPhone will be released at MAC stores and Cingular stores.

There is a pretty good review of the phone here: The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype

I was amused when reading the review. The iPhone is a PHONE, but when reviewing the product the authors only comment on the PHONE capability was "Call quality is only average, and depends on the strength of your AT&T signal", as in 'who cares that the phone is mediocre when everything else about it is so cool'.

This past Sunday, the New York Times ran a great feature on Trashing the Dress.

Major congrats to some friends who received some much-deserved press: Jason Domingues, Heather Cole, and John Michael Cooper.

Keep trashing it.

A few customers had expressed interest in some actions for the Redmond Template. We've created 3 of them and you can download them from the BIG Folio Forum. If you're a customer and you haven't yet joined the forum, now's a great time.

The actions are pretty slick and one of them will even create a 3-image collage.

If you're using the Redmond template, definitely give them a try.

This weeks featured photographer is Kimberly Meserve owner of KLM Photography. KLM Photography is based in MA and serves the Boston and Cape Cod area.

What is your primary camera body?

Nikon D200

Two lenses you use the most?

50mm1.4 28-70 2.8

Do you shoot RAW?

Yes

How would you describe your photography style?

I really like to have a good mix, but it is very important to me to be unobtrusive.

Do you normally employ assistants or 2nd shooters?

Yes.

What do you remember about your first (or one of your first) wedding?

The first wedding I shot I was in college. I was basically taking any job that had anything to do with photography, and had worked a summer in Sears Portrait Studio.

I remember getting in my car at the end of the day and thinking to myself– "Thank God, I worked that dumb job in the portrait studio!"

If you were getting married this year, who would you want to shoot your wedding?

I am getting married this year! A good friend and colleague of mine, Charlie Dunn and his second shooter Kim Atkin will be photographing my wedding!

What advice would you give to someone just beginning their career as a wedding photographer?

Persistence!

My grandparents used to live on Century Drive in Anaheim, CA. We would sit on their roof and watch the fireworks from Disneyland. Ah, the good ol' days.

Century Drive is classic and timeless in style. Allowing for numerous navigation options in the gallery, unlimited galleries and images, a nice date selector on the contact page, and free blog make this for a good choice in designs.

Check it out here