On December 18th I had the privilege of shooting some good friends of mine, Alexander and Erica. Alexander proposed to Erica about a month back and then approached me to do their engagement photos. This is a sample of the fun we had back on December 18th.

I knew that this was going to be a lot of fun and an easy shoot on my end because of how affectionate they both are in public. We’ll by “in public” I mean behind closed doors and between the two of them but I didn’t have to twist anyone’s hands to hard to get some great PDA’s and photo’s that captured some intimate moments. We had a blast on McMaster’s campus, rolling around and trying out a variety of different shots/locations. They both were all to willing to try out whatever I suggested and were a dream couple to shoot.

It’s so important for the photographer to make the couple comfortable and excited about the shoot. Once that trust and anticipation for the shots is encouraged by the couple, the best moments happen.
Thank you, Alexander and Erica for being a memorable couple to shoot and I’m excited for your wedding in July of 2012.

You two were awesome.

The Social Media Examiner

The Social Media Examiner is an amazing resource for all things related to social media. You don’t have to be a major media guru or marketing icon to see the value of Social Media Examiner’s content. I can’t say enough good things about the different blog posts, video posts and online content that is FREE, yes free for everyone to use and abuse.

A few months back,  I started doing some work on Redeemer University’s twitter page. I grew their twitter website from 100 followers to over 1500 followers in a matter of 4 months based on some of the FREE advice I received from the Social Media Examiner.

This is what they have to say: “Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest online social media magazine, is designed to help businesses discover how to best use social media tools like Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with customers, generate more brand awareness and increase sales. More than 450,000 people read Social Media Examiner each month. Technorati and AdAge rank Social Media Examiner as one of the world’s Top 10 business blogs.  Our more than 120,000 email subscribers look forward to our daily original content. Offering a unique single source of knowledge, the site contains comprehensive articles and videos on how to use the best social media tools, along with original case studies, reviews of the latest industry research and advice direct from the world’s leading experts.”  (Social Media Examiner)

This is a short clip from Social Media Examiners creative mind: Michael Stelzner about how he started the site.

I am a regular subscriber of their email list and I frequent the video files more often then not. If you are interested in learning more and have a specific goal to accomplish for your social media site, this is the place for you. Its only a click away to have your world rocked by the leading trends from the professionals.

If you visit this site and have used it in some way please comment and let me know.

     – Matt

Envato is the key to all of your online needs.

In the design industry it is so hard to find good resources that give you great information and leads. I have spent many hours researching websites for music, graphics, video footage and animations for the many different projects I have worked on. One day  I found “Envato” and my life changed. Envato is a resource site that has everything any designer, developer, editor, video specialist, photographer and everyone else needs.
From Envato themselves: “Envato is a startup based out of Australia with people around the world and sites serving pages every second. We started in a living room in 2006 and have been steadily working to build our company into a world-class contender. Our background is creative, we love open source, we believe that work is about way more than just making money, and we’re totally committed to making products that are awesome!”

One of the most valuable places is the “Envato Marketplace”, which is a series of online marketplaces such as: activeden for flash and 3d items, videohive for motion graphics, 3docean for 3D modeling and materials to tutorials and photodune for stock photography. This site has everything for everyone and its very very cost effective. I purchased my wordpress web template for about $35.00 (a standard license) and this website has saved me from hours of searching for the perfect song for a video or the ultimate template for a website.

I highly recommend Envato for a myriad of different things and the best way to know is for you to try is out yourself. If you are doing anything media based, this is the place for you.

– Matt Schonewille

I asked them to do an engagement photo shoot for my portfolio and this is the story of that day.  We met at Niagara-on-the-Lake (a charming community located just north of Niagara Falls) where we walked around and had some fun making them pose and be the center of attention for an hour or so; they were amazing to work with.  The pictures shown below are a reflection of the love that I saw through the lens of my camera.  Please take a few minutes to enjoy the pictures and the special love of this couple.

Kali and Justin – You two are awesome and I’m so excited for your wedding day next year.

This is a post on how to increase your facebook fans for your (personal, business, organization’s, foundations) fan page.

This information is based on an article that I came across while searching for more information about how to grow my social media channels. The following are the ten examples.

1. Post a link on your business website.
2. Invite contacts in email database.
3. Promote the Facebook Page with in-clinic signage.
4. Promote the Facebook Page at events.
5. Invite the community to “like” the fan page.
6. Have employees email friends and family to invite them to “like” the fan page
7. Ask the community and fans to share within their network.
8. Facebook targeted advertising.
9. Cross promote with other social media accounts.
10. Post relevant, engaging content.

For of an explanation on all of these ideas please download the PDF.

Designers need to know!!

An area of design that I really appreciate is the presence of a well designed logo. I have found myself many times looking at a creation and saying “What else can I do to make this logo stand out?”.
A little bit of background on myself: I am a photographer/videographer in my business currently but everyone once and a while I dabble in the logo design/branding world for some clients. During those projects I have had times of designers block where no fresh ideas are coming to mind.

In those cases I look to a website called Logo Pond for some inspiration and cleansing of my own design tendencies. Logo pond is a website devoted to providing people with a place both online and off line to connect and share their ideas. The site has roughly over 35,000 pieces of work that have been submitted and is continually growing. Once you submit a piece then you can have other review it, critique and draw inspiration from it.

That’s my two cents for today on the design world and I hope it can help you out.

Hello and welcome to my new blog.  My name is Matthew and I’m the one on the left in the top picture .  I’ve been blessed with many opportunities to pursue my passion in both photography and videography in a variety of areas.  Whether its photographing a newly engaged couple or developing a promotional video for a large company I am blessed to be in my element creating art.  God has been good to me and I love what I do.  I developed my business a few years ago on a full-time basis and am now doing it part time.  My girlfriend is very understanding with how much time I invest in both my full-time job and Eagleye – she’s pretty special!!  Recently I changed my website and now have the ability to blog and post some of my events/pictures.  Please stay connected and feel free to comment on any of my posts in the future.

-Matt Schonewille

I hope you can enjoy the photo’s.

What you need to know!

Every year hundreds of university and college coaches go searching for a new group of talented athletes to recruit. Hundreds of NCAA Schools award athletes over $1 billion in sports scholarships. The goal of this post is to help high school athletes find information and provide beneficial advice so they can increase their chances of getting noticed and playing at the next level. Many talented Canadian athletes get over looked and miss out on scholarships because they didn’t get noticed by universities and colleges.

Getting started:

Thousands of high school seniors are waiting for calls from college coaches. Some of those calls will be made, but many highly talented athletes will not get called. What went wrong? Why didn’t an All-league or All-state athlete get recruited? The answers can be complicated, but the most important reason is visibility. There are many things you can do to raise your visibility among college coaches and to improve your chances of being offered a college sports scholarship. Rule 1 is do not wait.                                            Quoted – www.athleticsaid.com

Be proactive and be realistic. Canadian athletes need to get their name out there and on the internet. Unless your a phenomenal athlete that has played in front of high level scouts, universities have not heard about you and you are missing out. The following is a list of some tools/things you need to know that will substantially increase your chances of a scholarship.

1. Research what program you want to play for. (It’s very important to know what the athletic program you are interested in provides when talking about: the kind of coaching, dedication, expectations, goals)
2. You need to get a video/highlight tape done. (A dvd or highlight tape is very important to have online because the video doesn’t lie and it provides you with a proactive way to get noticed)
   

   Saicha Grant-Allen: Athlete profile/highlights

3. Have a web page developed. (A web page provides the athlete with a place online where they can direct any scouts to see their videos/information. Part of the problem is that there are way more athletes then scouts, so you need to bring that information to them)
   
4. Call the Coach from the university or college that you are interested in. (Part of the problem is that they don’t know you exist. If you give them a call then it will at the very least put your name on their radar)
5. Be realistic when assessing your talents/expectations. (It’s important for an athlete to know their strengths and weaknesses. A coach can not measure heart or dedication but they can measure skills and abilities)

These are a few things that you need to think about when looking to prepare and get noticed by universities at the next level.