I participate in a weekly challenge on flickr with some incredibly gifted photographers and this was last week’s entry.
Haven’t heard of flickr? Go check it out–it’s a wonderful resource for inspiration, technical stuff, and exposure to all different types of photography.
Okay, so I know it’s really Wednesday. So I’m a few days behind. I blame this guy.
I just got a DSLR and am ready to purchase my first lens. Any suggestions?
Well, even though I don’t know which kind of body you have, I can still make a recommendation–Canon or Nikon (and I’m pretty sure Sony) have a cheap, lightweight little 50mm f/1.8 lens that is a fantastic starter lens.
Seriously, if you’ve just jumped on the DSLR train, ditch the kit lens and pick up this little prime. It should cost you around $100. It will enable you to shoot at wide apertures, getting that creamy, shallow depth of field, and it will also challenge you to think about your composition as you shoot with a lens that does not zoom. This is a fantastic lens that will broaden your capabilities (and enable you to shoot indoors more easily, as it is a good lens for low light).
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As always, send in your questions via email, twitter, or use the form above. I love chatting with my MWACs!
What a dorky thing to say. But seriously. I love albums.
This is from one of my favorite session albums of 2009:
Aside from big gallery prints for walls (which I also love, but that’s another post for another day), albums are my very favorite way to preserve photos. My albums specifically are perfect for this–as they are durable, sturdy, and archival, but guess what–even I use “consumer-level” albums from time to time. I wanted to share with you one of my favorite sites for creating inexpensive photobooks– blurb.com. It’s a great way to organize your photos and commemorate the passing years. I try to make a photobook at the end of each year–some years have totaled over 100 pages! (Currently I am about two years behind… shhhhhhh!) But check it out and see what you think. It’s another option for clients who purchase their digital files from their session–great for digital scrapbooking!
I am doing a bit of cleaning out space today and came across a few editorial images I wanted to share. For some reason they just struck me as spring-y. I am so craving spring.
That middle image is from Maddux Station. We haven’t been in quite awhile (what with getting a victim volunteer to wrangle our three boys while we go out solo) but we were able to go eat there the other night, and oh goodness. It was fantastic as always. It was great to chat with Matt, the owner and chef.
The thing I love about Maddux Station, besides the incredible food, is the atmosphere. I would feel comfortable there in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or a nice dress. Seriously though… we ordered a nice bottle of wine and I got a mushroom and swiss burger with fries. It is totally the best of both worlds.
If you’re ever in the Cookeville area, or even just passing through on I-40, you should go! Kids are welcome, too!
This is the sweetest baby girl of the sweetest little family in the world. Their household is a familiar one to me–baby paraphernalia + goldfish crackers + freshly scrubbed heads and diapers… the (joking-but-kind-of-serious) reminiscing about the good ol’ days of sitting down with a book in a coffee shop… But also the joy, the exuberance of two little ones running around, and the exhausted-but-loving-it attitude that you just kind of adopt as you grope your way through the first few weeks of brand-new baby.
And no kidding–Grayson’s mom is an expert at spinning plates–she is not only talented at mommy-ing, but she is very creative and a gifted entrepreneur! See for yourself : My Little Legacies on etsy.
Here are just a few images of little Grayson Elise, in her 8-day old splendor…
…and those exuberant little ones I was talking about? Here they are… the proud big brother and big sister!
It was such a pleasure getting a little peek inside the life of this brand-new family of 5!
I don’t know about y’all, but we are really really really hankering for some spring weather around here. I guess we have it better than you east coasters who are literally buried under feet of snow, but still. We gotta get creative around here just to not start poking each others’ eyes out from sheer boredom.
So. Today I started cataloging old magazines… I cut and filed articles and images that I wanted to save–ones that I thought I would want to refer to later, or images that inspired me, and the rest is going to the recycle bin. Or to Jack and his “kid-scissors.”
The dog. The poor dog. He is constantly bewildered by the weird flurry of activity that seems to crop up spontaneously out of nowhere. He often resorts to watching from a safe distance for a few moments and then retreating to his bed in my office. And there is Jack… again… wanting to pose with all the household critters.
…including this little critter. One surefire way to combat the gray, dreary outside world? Have a color explosion inside. We like our lightest and brightest to be sported by the smallest among us–he’s too young to care.
…and finally, a funny-face series by the master of hilarious faces himself. And yes, he did have to check the LCD screen after every shot to see how awesomely silly his face was.
and a shot of Isaac from the other day so he’s not left out… he looks almost… calm in this image. Don’t be fooled.
So… here we are, a mere three months after these photos were taken… that’s not so bad, right? Well, I just can’t believe I forgot to show you these. I’ll blame it on postpartum fog. This is my beautiful, spunky, and hilarious sister Natalie. She got married in November (her wedding date was four days after my due date! I know every pregnant woman secretly hopes she will have her baby a little early, but I was reeeeally hoping. Really really really. Thank goodness I got my wish.) Anyway, she is graduating from law school this May and is going to make a fantastic lawyer. We had so much fun shooting these photos even if it was soggy and wet outside–and I was 8 months pregnant. We shot at the DelMonaco Winery (where the reception was held) and even though it was less-than-optimal shooting conditions, we did it anyway!
It just goes to show… you can work with any lighting condition if you have to… just get creative!
Which brings me to this week’s installment of Mailbox Monday–where you ask and I answer. If you have a question–any question at all–just click on “ask me anything” up there in the menu and send it my way.
I’m thinking of attending a workshop–which would you recommend?
Honestly, I’m not very familiar with a lot of the workshops out there. I have heard wonderful things about Zack Arias’s One Light Workshop. I am a big fan of learning on your own as much as you can–especially with the wealth of information you can find on the internet. Workshops are a great way to learn specific skills, but I’d be wary of attending one as a shortcut to success… I think you might find yourself in the same spot afterward, only a few $K lighter. Check out the reviews of the workshop you want to attend and really research it. Ask yourself if it will really help you attain your goals, whether it be skill-related or business-related. I have heard many stories from photographers who felt that they really threw away money attending workshop after workshop. Don’t search around for someone else to hand you success. Get out there and track it down yourself.
I have been keeping up with and praying for a few fellow photographers from around the globe who have had heartbreakingly tragic events transpire in their lives… one of them with a tiny baby Jude’s age who contracted pertussis, one whose sweet sweet girl has been crippled by stomach issues that no one seems to know how to fix, and another whose darling baby boy went underwater in the bath in the few minutes mom stepped out to take care of her other babies. It just totally breaks my heart.
But at the same time, it’s a great reminder of what’s important in life. Not to sound cliche.
Legos all over the dining room table and floor… not important.
Jelly stains on the couch. Not important.
The things on my to-do list that seem like they’ve gotta be done right.this.second.can.i.please.have.a.minute.to.myself… no.
Baby coos.
An oral dissertation from a 4-year old on the merits of dinosaurs having toenails.
A squirrely grin from a 2-year old.
A family wrestling match (sans baby).
These are the things. These are the days. I don’t want to look back on this season of life and remember how much I complained, whined, wished away the hours. I want to treasure my babies every day, every minute, for who they are and what they can do in the here and now. It goes by so quickly as it is, and it can be taken away in a heartbeat.
So I remind myself of this… especially at those 2am wake-up calls by the fellow in the following photo… and I encourage myself, and all of you, to cover your families in love, love, love. You can never regret it.
I really don’t mind snow that much. I used to live in Indiana… in fact, that’s where I took drivers’ education and learned how to drive. So lots of my very first driving experiences took place in the snow. Ice, however, is another story. Not a big fan of ice.
Luckily, during this winter storm, we were able to huddle down and stay inside and enjoy all the beautiful frigidness from the delicious warmth of our nicely heated home. We did venture out to sled, of course, and I also wanted to document some of the really pretty effects of the freezing rain.
And because it is Monday, it’s time for another installment of Mailbox Monday.
Today’s question comes from a mom wanting to get more out of her DSLR :
How do I get the blurry backgrounds when I take pictures of my kids?
The main thing you need to get a blurred background is an aperture that goes as wide as possible… and a lot of your kit lenses won’t really give you a super wide aperture. Most of them will open up to about f/3.5 at their widest focal length, but if you zoom in you start to lose some of that. So my recommendation is to go to B&H and get yourself a nifty fifty–a 50mm f/1.8 lens that is ultra light, ultra cheap, and so much fun to learn on.
Shooting at wide apertures is tricky business, however. Your depth of field will decrease with wider apertures, but it will also decrease as your distance to your subject decreases. This may give you a razor-thin plane of focus, and you really have to pay attention and practice, practice, practice to nail your focus.
If all this language totally confused you, find out more about aperture and how your camera works here : The Pioneer Woman. Ree Drummond takes a fantastic look at aperture settings in this article, and it’s broken down really well.
That’s all for today, folks! I am diving back into my job for the day… the most wonderful time of the year… taxes! I should be surfacing soon!
See that little link up there that says “ask me anything?”
I mean it–ask me anything.
I get a lot of questions via email from other photographers (and moms too!) so I thought I’d start doing some public Q&A. Submit your question or questions and I will pull a few every Monday to answer on the blog.
For today I will answer two commonly asked questions via email.
I have been working on my photography as a hobby and now people have started asking me to take their family pictures. How should I do this? What should I charge?
I am a strong believer that photographers who charge money–no matter how little–should be professionals. That doesn’t mean you have to have a degree or have a bunch of formal education under your belt, but it does mean you should be not only completely competent with your equipment, but have a solid business base in place as well. And that will mean having a business plan which includes your goals and a very detailed workup of your pricing system. Too many photographers arbitrarily pick numbers of “what sounds good” to charge and when you sit down and actually do the math, they end up making less than what they could make working at McDonalds.
And until you’re ready to make the plunge and go into business… really, truly ready… then keep shooting for free and for fun. You don’t have to say yes to everyone who asks you–you can always just shoot what you want.
Most importantly, if you do go into business, be yourself. Don’t try to imitate other photographers–bring what’s uniquely you into your business, and shoot what you love. Everyone has something different to offer in this industry and I think that is a wonderful thing.
I struggle with skin, especially newborns. How do you keep the skin creamy and not blotchy?
Exposure is everything with skin. If you underexpose skin, when you bring it up in photoshop to where it should be, a lot of times the ruddiness and blotchiness in skin gets even worse. So be sure your exposure is correct in camera. (And keep in mind exposing for skin can be tricky–you have to tailor your exposure to the skin tone.)
In photoshop you should only need to do some minor tweaking–maybe some selective color adjustments if you have red blotches, and occasionally a little bit of gaussian blur on some uneven parts. But correcting your in-camera work should really make a huge difference.
Okay, so here goes my obligatory “welcome to the new year” post… only it’s not really obligatory because I want to do it. Mainly because I DO want to do some things differently this year on my blog (namely, uh… post) and well, while it’s convenient that this coincides with the beginning of a new year, what it really has more to do with is the fact that Jude is now almost 12 weeks old and my life is starting to slow down just ever. so. slightly.
So. No one really wants to read a post about how someone’s going to do more posts, but I do have to just say it so I will stick to it. I also want to share more pictures from my life, from my kids to other things I enjoy photographing. And lastly, I want to start sharing tips and tricks for the moms-with-a-camera and aspiring photographers out there. As you may or may not know, I have taught three workshops so far and love sharing photography tidbits with those inquiring minds who want to know.
Now, onto some pictures of what I’ve been up to for the last 12 weeks. Okay so this is just one of the things. But he does take up quite a bit of time.
Right now his hobbies are eating, sleeping, and…
staring at his fist. He logs a good 4 hours a day contemplating that thing.
…and now Jude has officially surpassed me in eyelash length. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am the only female in my household, and all four males have longer, more beautiful (can I say beautiful about a boy? Matt’s gonna kill me) eyelashes than me. Including Matt himself. It’s ridiculous.
(oh, and can you guess what he is doing in the above picture?)
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