The Economics of Love

I used to really dig my economics classes in college. The logic and theory behind it can be applicable in so many aspects of your life; not just as a business owner or investor. It's not completely boring! On the other hand, there is this thing called love. A topic that been a favorite discussion of mine to share with folks with some good chai. The ritual of falling in it, living it, and sadly, falling out of it. Everyone goes through it.

Well, what happens when you approach love with some economics? You get a very interesting article written by the infamous Ben Stein. So if you're in the neighborhood of love, looking for it, in it, out of it, whatever...Take a few minutes to check out this cool short article in the New York Times about some simple and valuable lessons in love. Economically speaking :)

$1.50 - Cheesecake Factory Celebrates 30th Anniversary

I love desserts & good food. If you're like me and need an excuse to go to your local Cheesecake Factory tonight, they're giving away slices of any cheesecake you desire for only $1.50. Pretty sweet.

The only catch is you have to dine-in. I think I might be in the mood for some Bang Bang Chicken & Shrimp:)

Washington Post Article Says Destination Weddings Save Money

I just read an article in the Washington Post that I wanted to share about how couples are saving money in these economic times, while making the most of their celebration on the big day.

You may remember my earlier post about destination weddings where I mentioned you can definetly save more money by going away. It's awesome to see Cecilia Kang's article support this by mentioning how more couples are still doing something very memorable and saving some money at the same time. The writer gives an example on how one couple saved "$10,000 compared with a reception for hundreds of family members and friends at home" by going to the Bahamas.

To help couples out, even I give an extra 15% off to all of my destination wedding clients. It works out great for everyone! Some photographers offer incentives like this, so make sure you ask.

My Niece & The Dora Addiction

This is my niece Feriyaal. She has been frozen like this for atleast 60 minutes now. She is visiting and there's one thing she is absolutely can't get enough of...And that's Dora the Explorer. Thanks to On Demand on comcast, we are on the third repeat of the same episode tonight. Her record is 6 of the same episode in one sitting.

I could recite the Dora theme if someone asked me to!

How does she request a showing you ask? "Asim mamoooooo...Do-Waah...Asim mamooo...Do-Waaah!" 'Mamoo' means uncle in Urdu. She then kisses my cheek (that's the bribe) and walks her tiny self, lays down, and waits. She's something else.

Broken Laptop Screen Replacement

Almost everyday, I get asked random questions about everything by someone; life, love, shoes, wedding stuff, places to eat, cars, cameras, paper or plastic, etc. Pretty awesome to be the go-to question guru. Its cool though because I love helping out if I can. Anyway, thought I'd share the latest question today. I may just start posting these random questions...Watch out now!

A friend broke her laptop screen and asked me if I could suggest a good place to get it fixed or help her find a deal on a new one (I'm a deal master btw). First off, a good laptop will set you back atleast $900 or more. I suggested she fix it herself since it's quite easy. I pointed her towards Screen Tek Inc, who specialize in Laptop LCD Screens. They even provide detailed instructions on how to replace your laptop LCD screen. Screens range from $295 for HP replacements to other popular models, such as the Apple MacBook Pro amongst us photographers, for around $425. When you're talking about replacing a $1900 laptop just because of a screen, this is great workaround. You can also find out the model of your particular screen and do a search on eBay to see if you can get it cheaper as well. Either way, you save money and you'll save yourself the headache of having to transfer all of your data from one machine to the new one.

Blackberry Bold PreOrder

I'm waiting to checkout the Verizon version, but it seems for all of you AT&T and T-Mobile folks, you can pick up one up on preorder. If you can't wait, you'll have to shell out about $700 bucks to be the first kid on the block. The price is high because this is an unlocked phone and not subsidized by a carrier yet. When they arrive to your local stores, they will have cost a lot less since the phone company helps pay the difference. You can preorder at Mobile City. They state that the phone will be released August 14th.

Oh, and I found my lost phone :)

Where's My Phone

I can't believe this. I've lost my phone. I don't know where it is. My life....is over. Geez. Talk about being dependant on staying connected! I am lost.

I've put my hands in my pockets more then 3 times either thinking I heard it ring or I need to make a call. I do have to mention that when I do have my phone, sometimes I know its about to ring 3 seconds BEFORE it actually rings. Some kind of weird radiation must be sending me signals. I feel my muscle twitch or something. Weird.

I hope I just left it in the car or dropped it behind my bed. Wait a minute...this is a great excuse for a new phone idinit?! Hmmm...

Dark Knight and Off

The Dark Knight! Finally an evening OFF after such a long time. Now just waiting outside for my brother and nephew. Have a great weekend!

FOLLOW UP: Great movie and worth checking it out in the theater or better yet, IMAX. Check here if you have an IMAX near you that's showing The Dark Knight. The Joker (Heath Ledger) is a great performance on it's own.

Rough Couple of Days

I've been a pretty bad couple of days this week. I got up Tuesday morning and felt n a sharp pain in my lower back. Next thing you know I'm stuck at home in bed. Even sitting was painful. After some good old Aleve every 6 hours for 2 days, I finally got out of the house. I even got a chance to go see my mom in the hospital, which I felt terrible about because she's been there by herself. She did have a steady stream of visitors though, but I'm still her favorite ;) j/k. My brother Abid, who's probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet in your life, has been staying with her every single night. He goes to school during the day, then goes straight to the hospital and just studies there as well (and he's still gets 100's on his tests!). Kudos to him and probably deserves the favorite son award.

Awesome News: Mommies & Babies Weekend

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I've been bombarded with performing magical post processing wizardry work, but I've been getting nothing but great news all weekend as well. (For all my brides, your pics are coming! Keep an eye on your emails.).

First, Nicole & Kyle, one of the sweetest and coolest couples who's wedding I had the pleasure to shoot, had their first baby over the weekend. Sloane was born July 18th 2008 at 12:58pm. She was 7 lbs, 3.5 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. Beautiful news for this happy couple. I loved their wedding because they had it in a ultra cool mansion with a live band and the most fun friends & family. Nicole is a talented artist who has her very own creative stationary business, the House of Hazelnut. She personally makes some awesome stationary & invitations for all kinds of events. Make sure you check out her website!

Now we just have to schedule a baby session because I promised Nicole I would. I'm so looking forward to the baby session because I'm a sucker for babies! In the meantime, here's a picture they sent me.



The great news doesn't stop there. My dearest mom just got out of surgery for her knee replacement. Luckily, the surgery went very well and she's recuperating. She sounded so weak on the phone and I can't wait to see her. I'm going to the hospital in just a bit. I thought I'd pick up some flowers on the way, but somehow my brother Abid read my mind. He texts me, "No flowers. Bring food." Apparently the hospital food really sucks.

So great news all around. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend as well. See ya!

Blackberry or iPhone

In my search for a wireless device that can do email, phone, web browsing, tether and occasionally give me a massage after a long shoot, I’ve decided I’m going to be taking the plunge and buying a brick to keep in my pocket. I've never been a fan of having something bulkier then my good old flip phone in my pocket, but with the amount of time I've been on the road to shoot weddings out of town, it's becoming a necessity.

So I've narrowed it down to two new devices: BlackBerry 9000 Series and iPhone 3G.

Many of my friends have the iPhone and they really like it. What's not to like? It's well designed and it puts hair on bald men. The last part hasn’t been proven yet though. It definitely has the cool factor with the easy finger gliding and smooth screen transitions. For me though, there's been a love/hate relationship with this feature packed and well marketed product. One of the shortcomings for me is that it does not tether, at least legally. Tethering is when you can use a phone device to act as a wireless modem to connect your laptop to get online. There are hacks to do this with the iPhone, but you risk getting penalized by AT&T when they see the spike of data traffic on your line. Also, the battery and speed are going to be compromised since the iPhone is not currently designed to support the tethering feature.

I really like the web browser and it’s the closest thing to a native desktop. However, Flash support would be nice. There’s many sites out there that are done in Flash, including mine and I’m sure the powers that be are looking into supporting this widely accepted web format. Regardless, lack of Flash support is not huge points lost. The browser is very easy to read and view with the different zoom in/out options with a few gentle swipes of the fingers. Visual Voicemail is also cool and makes things easier to jump to any message of your choice.

Many nice features all due to a great user interface. However, here are two things that are steering me away from the 3G iPhone: No Cut & Paste and bad battery performance.
I don't know about you, but many use cut & paste feature everyday without realizing how convenient it can be. I'm disappointed that the new 2.0 version still does not support this important feature.

The biggest issue though is the battery life. After reading many reviews and talking to users, some people claim that they are lucky if the battery isn't dead by the end of the day. One of my friends uses email, music, web browsing, a few calls, and his 3G iPhone is dead by 5 or 6 PM. He has a workaround though. He carries the wall charger in his pocket at all times. He said that when he gets in the car, he plugs it right into the car charger. I’d love to hear from anyone who didn’t have to charge their iPhone so much after normal, every day use.

InformationWeek reported that the 3G iPhone is actually worse than the original iPhone battery. Even then, Apple does have some recommendations for improving battery performance on the iPhone by turning off certain features. Unfortunately, this seems a bit counterproductive if you're afraid to use features you bought the phone for because you may not have enough juice, such as turning off 3G. Breaks my heart a bit, but I'm crossing my fingers to see if Apple addresses these issues on an otherwise great product.

On the other sideline is the new the BlackBerry Bold by RIM. It will be released in a couple of months, but there are lot of excited crackberries that are frothing at the mouth to get one. It tethers, emails, web, music, videos, 3G, iTunes syncing, turn-by-turn directions, built in Facebook and Flickr support, and it may be able to leap tall buildings. Here are a list of complete BlackBerry Bold features. Many of these features are similar to the iPhone, with a few extras.

Before, the BlackBerry wasn't exactly the most beautiful of gems to take home to mom; it seemed too bulky and the buttons a bit tiny and strange. I also couldn't get with the whole interface; it didn't seem too user friendly to me, but I kept hearing friends tell me they love theirs after getting used to it. With the Bold, RIM has gotten a much needed facelift, listening to the market and taking a page from the design team of the iPhone.

Even though the Blackberry Bold hasn't been released to the public yet, there's a guy over at CrackBerry that managed to buy one on eBay and do his own little review of it. Definitely worth reading if you're in the same boat as me or just curious to see it.

I'm going to have to wait just for a bit longer to see how the BlackBerry Bold holds up. It looks rather promising and their devices have a good performance history, especially when it comes to the battery life. If it doesn't impress me like it has so far, you will see me with an iPhone in one hand and a charger in the other :)

Keep in mind, according to early rumors the Bold is planned for AT&T only. Boy Genius Report is claiming September 2008 release for Verizon. If they don't release the Bold for Verizon, there will be a similar model to the Bold called the Niagra which will be released in May 2009. Also, there is a new model called the Thunder due out in September 2008, which is BlackBerry's touchscreen answer to the iPhone.

If you'd like to read some more, here's a review of the BlackBerry and the iPhone.

We sure do live in interesting times with all these nice toys.

MacBook Pro Screen Goes Bonkers

The weirdest thing happened to my MacBook Pro. The screen went 'color snow' on me. Luckily, I had to do a hard reset to restart, and all was back to normal. Really strange because it's the first time it ever happened. If you know what it is, definetly drop me a line.

Just Say "Yes!" to E-Sessions

First, what are they? Engagement Sessions are a couple's only shoot that usually takes place at a location that either has a special meaning to the engaged couple or just happens to be a fabulous location for the style or theme your going for. These usually take place a few months or weeks before the wedding.

Why are they important? Simply because you can't have as much fun with your photographer on the day of the wedding without getting your clothes dirty. At the E-Session, you and your photog can get as creative and crazy as you want. It's completely private and get a chance to cut loose, and your photographer gets a chance to really show you guys off having a ball with each other.

Personally, the most important reason for me is that these sessions give everyone a chance to build a relationship with each other. The photographer with the couple, and the couple with the photographer...AND the camera. Most people aren't comfortable in front of a camera, and this makes for a great introduction. Also, this is the time to talk about different ideas you might have and bounce them off with your photographer. Plus, your photog will also know what works best for both of you, the angles, what makes you laugh...everything important that will help him or her on the big day.

When everyone involved 'clicks' (pun totally intended!) and the ice is broken, everyone is more relaxed and begins to have fun. This is when the photos take a turn for the better and your photog captures it all. Every e-session gives us photographers and the couple a comfort zone that otherwise we wouldn't have. Then when it comes to the wedding, when we see other, it's like seeing a friend.

It's like, "Heyyy! Asim! You're here! Let's have fun!" rather then..."Oh, hey, you're Mr. Photographer? Okay, wow, your camera is huge...okay, what do I do?"

You get the idea, but here are some pointers I tell my couples before their e-session:
-Dress fabulous, yet casual; jeans are always perfect with nice solid tops.
-Take a couple of extra shirts to try different looks.
-Dress in layers to give some depth.
-Make sure both of your styles don't clash, but definetly should be fun.
-Don't show too much skin. Full-sleeves are good. Focus should be on both of your smiles and the eyes, not on the legs or arms.
-Big No-No on T-shirts, unless worn as a layer underneath.
-Schedule the shoot within four weeks of your wedding. You want to look the same in both sets of pictures.
-Keep the make-up simple as possible. You want to look as natural as possible because people are beautiful just the way they are.

Most imporant...Think of it as the second-date with your fiance...Laugh, smile, joke, hold hands, hug, blush, tease...and I promise you'll love the photos.

So if your photographer offers this service, and many do, don't pass up on it. You won't regret it because the photos are worth it.

If you have any questions or would like to share your experience at an e-session as the couple or the photographer, please drop me a comment anytime.

Best wishes!

/asim

Destination Weddings Are Hot!

It's one of the latest and greatest trends that has picked up speed and spread like hot fire. As a photographer, it's the most thrilling opportunity to do what you love and on top of it, to do it in the most gorgeous and exotic locations. I'm talking about Destination Weddings!

The traditional thing to do was to rent the most beautiful hall you could find and book months or even a year before someone else booked it. Arrange all the caterers, the flowers, and get all the guests into town. Now, things have taken a turn and for the better. Here's why...Who doesn't love a vacation? Beautiful beach, warm climates, white sands...I know I do!

Many couples do think it may be more expensive, however, it may actually be less. With fewer guests and sometimes everyone paying for their own way, you can come out ahead. You can even tell the guests to fore go the gifts and that you want them to just be there for to share in your happiness. Brides even skip the most expensive dress and select a more simple yet elegant option since it will such a loose and relaxed atmosphere. Many couples are realizing all these benefits and passing on the conventional thing to do.

For this reason, I always get excited when my clients are considering a destination wedding. So much so, I even give a great discount because I'd be crazy to pass up on an awesome location and a mini-vacation. Think of the Caribbean islands and other nearby exotic hot spots --- Bahamas, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Mexico ...the list is endless! Everybody gets to go somewhere completely different and they are not only part of one of the most important days of your life, but all of you will be sharing an experience that years from now will be priceless...And you'll have awesome photos to prove it!

So before you book the same hall that everyone in town has been going to for decades now, do something a little crazy and make it a little more memorable. You never know...Everyone might end up thanking you for the best wedding ever.

Recommendations:
If you'd like find trip deals for a destination wedding, a honeymoon, or just a getaway, I highly recommend Cheap Caribbean. I've used them myself and these guys have some of the best deals you'll find anywhere online.

Also, don't forget to use Trip Advisor in conjunction to research real reviews about all the hotels and locations.

Best wishes in your planning!

/asim

Gas, Consumption, Conservation

I wanted to just say something about the current gas prices crunch and share my approach to the so called problem. I'm a big supporter of reducing our consumption of gas, and I loathe wasting our resources in general, so I'm always trying to figure out a way to reduce my impact. Here's some ideas to help save money and lower our consumption for the all the good people out there trying to do the same. There aren't too many alternatives right now, so we have to work with what we've got.

1. Start Slow & Lose the Lead - This plays such a huge impact. How fast you accelerate really eats up more gas. It's basic physics. The larger the mass, the more energy is required to move and maintain it's speed/velocity/etc. Here's a basic rule of thumb I like to use. When starting from a complete stop, keep your foot on the pedal (throttle) at a set pressure. Meaning, push down just a bit and hold it there. I'm getting an extra 50-60 miles per tank. This translates to 2-3 gallons for some cars, which is $4.00/gallon x 2 = $8.00/savings per fill up. I fill up weekly, so that means $8.00 x 52 = $416 yearly I'm paying less for gas, but most importantly...I'm consuming less.

2. Drive the Speed Limit - How much faster can you realistically get somewhere by driving faster? You might save a few minutes if you're lucky and don't get a speeding ticket. I have done so many long distance trips, and I set my cruise whenever possible. This is one of the best tools in your car to help conserve even more and so many people don't use it. I set my speed at 55-60mph, and my car (Honda Accord EX 4-Cyclinder) has hit 35 MPG! Normal city and day to day driving has gotten me 29-31 MPG. This is all due to going the speed limit, combined with conservative acceleration. Those extra miles start to add up when you fill up every week and you're getting more miles for your money! Another plus I don't get speeding tickets.

3. Don't Use A Drive-Thru - Everytime you go to get a quick bite or stop at the bank for a quick deposit, you're car is idling. When you're sitting there for 3-4 minutes waiting, you're burning up energy. Multiply that by how many sit at a drive-thru everyday! All that gas just going up in smoke. Another plus is I don't make it a point to stop by fast food. But if you want some guilty pleasure, just park the car and stroll in. If you find yourself having to stop somewhere for more then 2 minutes, you could just shut the engine off.

4. Thursday 5-Cents Off Gas Sales & Lines - This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Every Thursday I drive by this one gas station and every Thursday, there's this huge line of cars that spill out to the main road waiting to get gas. All to save 5 cents a gallon. It takes about 5 minutes to fill up each car. You have, say, about 6 cars in front of you. That's a 15-20 minute wait. The worst part is that the cars that are waiting are actually standing there with their engines running, windows closed and the AC running. That's 15-20 minutes of 10-13 cars just idling to save 5 cents. If you do the math, they not only burned up their savings, but are actually wasting gas and money to save money. Simply an oxymoron. Also, if you think about it, most of us fill up about 15 gallons every week. If I were to do what these people are doing, I'm wasting 20 minutes of time and gas to save 75 cents! If I was a huge SUV requiring say about 30 gallons, that's a whole $1.50.

5. Combine Errands - This is another simple one. Make a list of things you have to do and do it on one trip out. From the dry cleaners to the groceries. For example, I know so many people that don't make grocery lists. When you get home, you forget you needed something, and there you are going to make another trip to the store. Combining errands and having a to do list will help you get everything done, conserve time and energy, and sane!

6. Shop Online - I do this not only because I can find awesome deals (Slickdeals, Fatwallet) on what I want, I don't have to drive around all day to get what I need. With the way gas prices are, it's cheaper to pay for shipping & handling anyway. And the convenience is great! Here's the math I figured: If a hundred people in a delivery area shop online, one UPS truck delivers all 100 things. If you break down the costs of to operate one truck, that's less consumption in my book. If it's feasible for you, I know some grocery chains are offering delivery as well. Again, a nominal fee compared to gas. Here's a few: Peapod, Safeway, and even Amazon! If you do live in walking distance of one, I would recommend a farmer's market though. Always try to support these local guys whenever possible.

7. Carpool - This is the oldest trick in the book, but hey, it works!

8. Maintain Your Car - From proper air pressure to keeping up with routine maintenance. If your car has to work harder, it'll be less effecient.

These are just some of the things I though we all could do to help conserve, but if you have any more, definetly share them by leaving a comment. I would love to hear them! All of us have to do our part and collectively make a difference.

Mini-Shot Out
A nice friend of mine and fellow local photographer Armin Defiesta has been on my case about getting a blog started, so I have to just say that I was thinking of him constantly pushing me and asking me what my major issue was, when I hit PUBLISH for the blog. So I have to give him a shout out.

Mini Biography

Good morning! So I was laying in bed last night, trying to go to sleep after shooting out a bunch of emails to clients and thinking about what to blog next...and I thought why not a little about myself. A proper introduction.

Here's the lowdown on me (if you don't know already!) My name is Asim Soofi and I am a professional photographer / IT professional / jack of all trades living in Baltimore, MD. I was originally born in Pakistan many many years ago...I'm at the point where I don't mention my age unless I'm bribed or it's my passport renewal application. Okay...fine...My birthdate is December 30, 1976. Interesting fact is one of my cousins was born 1 day after me...in the same house no less. And I was actually born at home...old school! Midwife and all.

My dad originally had gone off to Norway and had been there for a few years. He came back to Pakistan, married my lovely mother, had my older sister Ayesha, and then convinced my mother Norway was going to be kick-butt so they packed up and moved. Turns out it was a tad colder then the Pakistani climate my dear mother was used to. Then there was good news...mom was pregnant with yours truly. So a few months before I was to make my official arrival, she came back to Pakistan to have me. After a few months, we went back to Norway for a few more years, welcome my younger brother Abid. Then came back to Pakistan again! However, after a short while there, we made our final destination the U.S. We arrived to the states in June 1983 to my aunt's home in Triadelphia, West Virginia.

Fast forward to recent years. After moving from WV to California, PA, (yes, there's a town called California in PA --- one hour from Pittsburgh), then moving to Queens, NY (the last brother sibling Aamir was born here), my parents made the final decision to buy their first home in Fort Washington, Maryland. Fast forward again a few years, we arrived in Baltimore, MD in 1989. It's been home ever since.

I later graduated from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) with a B.S. in IT. I've been into photography for over 15 years now, but decided to pursue it professionally about 3 years back. It's been awesome ride ever since and I'm catching up on lost time.

I shoot primarily Indian weddings, Pakistani weddings, and American weddings. I'm looking forward to other cultural ceremonies as well, such as Chinese weddings and other cool and different ceremonies. Each one is unique in its own way and it's always a great way to learn about other cultures and how they do things. That's one of the things I love about shooting weddings in general. You get to meet such diverse people and share so many experiences with them in one of the most important days of their life. Pretty awesome IMO.

I've met some great couples and have had the best of times. It does get very hectic and stressful at times, but the end results make it worthwhile.

Hope you enjoyed my little history. Let me know if you'd like to know anything else about me.

/asim

The First Blog!

Wow. This is it. My very own blog and my first post. After so many times of being asked "Where's your blog?", here it is. It took longer then I promised and I hope I can keep up with it as much as possible. I'll be sharing all kinds of crazy thoughts and of course, photos! I like to keep the main site clean and simple, but hopefully this blog will let me go a little crazy.

Please bare with me as I learn the wild and wacky world of blogging. I promise to make it as enriching and entertaining as possible for all of you...my friends and all of my awesome clients!

So feel free to give me any advice...cause I'm going to need it!