I am a Professional Photographer!

I can use a hammer but it doesn’t make me a builder.
I can use a thread and needle but it doesn’t make me a seamstress.
I am able to take a pulse but it doesn’t make me a doctor.
I am able to listen but it doesn’t make me a psychologist.
I own scissors but it doesn’t make me a hairdresser.
I can help my kids with their homework but it doesn’t make me a teacher.
I can make my family dinner but it doesn’t make me a chef.
I can wrap an ankle but it doesn’t make me a athletic trainer.

Just because you own a camera, that doesn’t make you a photographer.
You can take a snapshot outside but you don’t understand lighting.
You can try and pose someone but find it’s harder than it looks.
You take hundreds of “pictures” only to get one or two good ones.
You own photoshop but can only use it to fix your mistakes.

We live in the greatest country in the world... America. Everyone has the right to own their own business and everyone is in control of their own destiny. However, do not
call yourself a photographer, or open a photography business, if you do not understand light control, posing, retouching, image enhancement, customer service, business laws, or your equipment. Using the “P” setting on the camera does not mean “professional”. Photographing your subject outdoors on vintage furniture does not make it cool. Lens flare, out of focus images, and blown out highlights does not make it art.

I receive calls frequently of regret.... regret that they went to a “photographer” to save a few dollars. I am saddened by the people who say, “I wish I would have went to a real professional studio and now its too late.

I can manipulate light, I am a photographer.
I can create sets and backgrounds, I am a photographer.
I understand color harmony, I am a photographer.
I can pose someone in flattering ways, I am a photographer.
I am able to use my manual settings on my camera, I am a photographer.
I can see lighting outside, I am a photographer.
I can use photoshop to enhance my images, I am a photographer.
I own a camera and I really am a Professional Photographer.

From my friend Melonie Walker of   Envisions Photography Studio, LLC in the Michigan Thumb.·

Ed Photographing on one of our urban shoots in Detroit.

Video - Julie and Ed's Wedding -

This is the first part of the video that our friend Andrea McKenzie made from the wedding in Florida. More is coming since there are still photos outstanding - but this is awesome!!! We played this at the small local reception we had Sunday at the Berkley Masonic Temple - so everyone can see it here now! Love it Andrea - THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you to all our many awesome photographer friends and thank to our great friend and wedding planner Andrea Solomon who joined us and was such a great help!

March Wedding Special

March Wedding Special -
$200 off any wedding package - OR a free Engagement session on any 2013 available dates...

Fill out the Contact Us form - including the date of your wedding - we'll check our availability and get back with an e-mail with some information.  We'd love to talk about what your plans are. Let's set up an appointment at the studio!!
We'd love to capture the memories of your special day for generations to come!

Me and my little brother - Gunther

These are 2 images taken of Gun and I at Kathy's pool in Florida - so glad he was able to come down and combine the wedding with another visit to a friend in Orlando - he  really is my little brother - Gunther - and I'm the big sis - Traudie!
He was one of our photographers too at the wedding..

Julie's 2 Great Trash the Dress sessions - On the beach and Underwater In the pool!!!

We had 2 great versions of the Trash the dress with Julie in Florida - and the dress is still where she will be able to wear it again to model for another photography class!

The first is the trash the dress on the beach at St Pete's - behind the Trade Wind's Hotel in St Pete's where the SYNC convention for high school seniors was taking place.  They walked along the beach in the sand and ended up lying at the edge of the sand as the water lapped over them>
The second was right in a pool completely underwater.  I really give her a lot of credit for doing this one.
We really thank our photography friends and instructors - Visualizations Photography Inc and Sacha Blue for photographing Julie and Ed!  Wally and Ed took some of these also.

Happy Valentines Day - Special!

Valentines Special - Feb 9 - 28, 2013  Free Engagement Session!

To celebrate the occasion, and to celebrate our newlyweds - Julie and Ed,  who just got married in Florida at the  end of January - we'll add an engagement portrait session to any new contracts written within this time frame -The session itself can take at any time before your wedding - in the studio or local destination areas.

Julie and Ed's engagement  session in Florida, photographed by our friend Steve White - 

Our beautiful stunning bride - that's our girl! Julie Proudfoot!

Travis Broxton is a fantastic photographer from Colorado .  He spoke at one of our DPPA meetings and Julie worked a wedding with him in Denver, He is one of the main photographers of the day of the wedding and this is one of them - more to come

Julie Proudfoot - Florida bride
Braxton Art - Travis Broaxton of Denver Colorado

First Sneak Peek Photos for Julie and Ed's Florida Wedding

Just got home from a fantastic time in Florida, in the St Pete area,  - for Julie and Ed's wedding!  We had such a great time - we appreciated the gracious hospitality of our friend Kathy who let us stay at her beautiful home and all the family and friends who could make it.  We had about 25-30 for the ceremony itself -  a breathtaking little alcove in the palm trees in Fort De Sota Park  - she wanted it right by the water but it was so cold and windy there that we moved in some -  THANK YOU to all the photographers there to help capture the moments.  There were about a dozen plus photographers - sometimes at different times who helped photograph the photographer's wedding!
Thank you also to our videographer Andrea McKenzier,  Wedding Planner Andrea Solomon and to Melonie Walker who was our officiant .

.There will be many more organized groups coming as we edit and work on them - they met at the house, we photographed at the Botanical Gardens close by,, the ceremony and park site at Fort De Soto park, the Hurricane Dinner location, and  the beach across the street - That was just the day of the wedding - on the days following we went into Ybor city, around Tampa, and a trash the dress shoot on the beach behind the Trade Winds Hotel - where the SYNC convention was taking place...another great dinner , and an under water shoot-in the pool by the convention..in her dress!

Here are a few more of the first ones that we have published and seen on Facebook

FEEL FREE TO CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT AND THEN USE THE ARROWS TO GO THROUGH THE REST....

Julie and Ed are getting married in Florida Thursday Jan-31

We are all very excited to be traveling to Florida for Julie and Ed's wedding - They are already there and are making sure all is finalized.  I am leaving with her  boys Steven and Aaron in the morning -  (Way too early - plane leaves at 6:30am!) 

We are staying in the St Pete area and the ceremony will be at a beach in the Ft De Soto park!  Just small and intimate -- here are a few images from the early photos - the Infra red and some of the others are taken by our friend Steve White - a great photographers from the west side of Michigan that is a master of the infra red. Others by Julie and Ed..  This will be very well documented with so many of our photography friends there.  Can't wait - Looking forward to the warm Florida sun!
Stay tuned!  WE have images on our FB profiles too and the main Wally Spice Photogrpahy fan page!
FEEL FREE TO CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT AND THEN USE THE ARROWS TO GO THROUGH THE REST....

A portrait session with our first wedding couple from 20 years ago

Happy Anniversary - to Lisa and Ron - our first wedding couple 20 years ago this February- They came in for a portrait session with their son Norm and we had such a great time. Congratulations Lisa and Ron and congratulations to Wally Spice Photography. So great to still be friends and still doing what we love...

Albums.. to Display and ENJOY... Priceless! .

I was photographing a 1 year old birthday party for Gretchen - one of our great clients for life  - their wedding was in 2008!  I was so thrilled to see their beautiful FINAO ONE album displayed in their dining room - still with the creative and protective art paper cover it came in - WOW!
A breathtaking album, that tells the story of your wedding day with your favorite photos, in a creative totally customized design - is priceless! This is something you can proudly display on your coffee table, book shelf, anywhere in your home and look back and ENJOY over the years!
A DVD just wouldn't look as nice on this beautiful coffee table , and wouldn't be as easy to look at and ENJOY.  We DO give you the DVD also, of all your edited wedding images, with a copyright release, You can have the best of both worlds!

Be sure to look at the new Album tab I have been working on under weddings  - we love to design stunning albums - from your chosen favorites - of the wedding or any portrait session.  Seniors love them also -

2013 is our year of the album for us - with new products in all price ranges  coming,  sales on new albums and on additional sides and cover upgrades... even if your album was already designed by us over the years
Did you just get the files from your wedding?? - release them from the DVD's and ENJOY a beautiful album that tells your personal love story!
Did you get a DVD from another photographer who does not specialize in albums, and you have the copyright release, give me a call, maybe we can work something out.!


Florida - Julie and Ed's Wedding - Coming up SOON!

We are all very excited about Julie and Ed's upcoming wedding at the end of this month on a beach in Florida - it will be very small and intimate but it will be so great to get away.  Her boys, Aaron and Steven will be walking her down the aisle! They have picked a setting in DeSoto Park  and we are staying with friends in St Pete.  A few days after the  wedding they are attending the SYNC convention for High School Seniors as they have in the past years. (Nothing like a honeymoon at an educational photography convention - but hey - that is what we do and like! - how great that they both great professional photographers)

Obviously there will be a gazillion photos and lots of photographers - there will even be a fun trash the dress shoot the day after! They will definitely be well documented and I'll be sure to feature them here!
If you need anything done at the studio - best to try to get in while they are still in town - they are the ones most familiar with everything there!
We are working hard to finish up as much as we can before of course - and I will not be gone as long as they are.

I found a few photos from a trip I took to Florida in 2005  - when I photographed a friend's daughter's wedding there !  Hope we can enjoy the same calmness.  Julie absolutely loves Palm trees - and I am sure she will have her share to ENJOY!

Review - "If you want the best...." Choose Wally Spice Photography.....

This is one of the great reviews that was posted on the Perfect Wedding guide site by Michelle -. about our wedding photography and working with us.

by M.Odoerfer

If you want the best, Wally Spice is the ONLY photography company worth choosing. Wally & Julie are extremely easy to work with - they have such an eye for placement, an abundance of creativity, and they made me and my groom and our entire wedding party feel at ease. With Wally and Julie by our sides the whole day was effortless. What about pictures? STUNNING! I've already seen a small portion of our wedding pictures and I am in awe at how incredible they are. Again, if you want the best - there is no other choice...Wally Spice Photography is a must.

Happy 20th Anniversary to Wally Spice Photography in 2013!

Happy NEW YEAR  to all our family, clients  and friends!!

2013 is going to be a fantastic year!  We celebrate our 20th year for Wally Spice Photography! We vow to show that we are just as vibrant and innovative as when we started and will work hard to keep growing and be the best we can be!
I have been working hard on this brand new Web re-design - it still is a work in progress (and probably always will be) but it is live! We hope you enjoy it and please give us your input!

We'll be having some great anniversary specials too throughout the year!

We have come a long way and have so much to be thankful for.  We love our new Studio Space (2 plus years now) and Julie and Ed especially are working so hard  to make that vibrant and successful. I am so proud of their hard work, talent and dedication!
Besides - we have a wedding this year as Julie and Ed get married  in Florida with a small intimate ceremony on the beach!

Little James Holiday Session

Wally Spice Photography Studio

Our favorite Little man, James, just loved our new Holiday set and  We had so much fun photographing him - take a look - and give us a call to schedule your session!

We photographed his mom and dad = Gretchen and Richard, when they were married and have been photographing him since he was born

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151132037185458.443544.109141840457&type=3

This is a link to the Facebook album of 13 photos

Happy Thanksgiving - Holiday Special

The studio

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a good Black Friday.  The following Sat - is small business Saturday which is a great way to shop small and shop local at the local businesses around you.  A great practice anytime!

We have a Holiday special going at our studio and would love to have you stop by and have a mini session for $49 which includes 24 free holiday cards.
Times are by appointment so please give us a call - we'll be there for you - just call ahead!

Holiday Special

We are transferring to a NEW WEB SITE !

Hello, Welcome to our new web site.  We are making the transfer to this new site to move us into the latest century of mobile computing.  As much as I loved the old site, the slideshows on top were all flash and did not show up on most of the mobile devices.

Let us know what you think -  we'd love your input!


This is a promotional piece we have to distribute to the local doctors offices.

This is a promotional piece we have to distribute to the local doctors offices.

Hello everyone! Fall update on our family and Business!

Time has flown by - and now the summer is over and fall is in full swing.I have not been as active here and  hope to rectify that.

I am pretty well settled in my new apartment and love being so close to the studio (I can walk the 1/4 mile or so) and to Julie. I do love it here- still more to organize and put away - but have been busy working and spending a lot of time on the computer.  Trying hard to work on some new promotions.

The summer has been busy! Julie is now president of the Detroit Professional Photographers Association and doing a great job.  So great to see her go this route as I was the president in 2008.   Ed and I are still on the board for the Professional Photographers of Michigan. Julie and ed are officially engaged - which we are all thrilled about - they are planning a small beach wedding in Florida in January before the SYNC  Senior convention she always goes to.

Aaron graduated with his class as a senior from Cousino high school.  He has one more year full time at Macomb Community College from the early college program in high school and will graduate with an Associates degree - on the state monies!  Julie had an open house for him in the summer. We also had a garage sale before I left at the house in Hazel Park and Julie had one this summer at her house.

We are working on another web site up grade - one that is a little more friendly to the mobile generation and is hopefully easy to keep up.  I wish I knew more about web design - I know what I want to do but can get in trouble when it does not turn out right (hope you didn't see the awful dark scroll background I ended up with earlier today for a short time)  The blog will hopefully be able to get fully moved over and the Animoto Videos will hopefully be able to play again.

We are loving the studio space - Julie is doing great with the High School Seniors there,  as well as other portraits like babies and families. It is so nice to meet with clients there - I can actually have the living room to myself here - without portfolio bridal photos on the wall!

The studio got a makeover - we pained the main wall facing the parking lot a bright blue - can't miss us now - and the parking lot is getting the asphalt resurfaced etc.  Looking good!