Capturing Everyday Life...: Photography

Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts

Monday, March 12, 2012

Macro Monday: Cherry Blossom Sneak Peek...

We've been cooped up in the house, a bunch of sickies. Pink eye, flu, stomach bug, more pink eye... UGH. But today as I was driving home from the Dr's office (again) with Joshua, I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous it was outside! Glorious sunshine!!!! Trees blossoming! It was pure bliss!!! I took the boys outside to play in the warm sunshine and took my camera. We played and wandered and then I could not stand it anymore and had to start shooting! It was a bit breezy for delicate macro shots so I brought a small branch indoors and played a bit as I sat near the open door listening to my little guys enjoying a moment where they could forget they were sick.

I'm calling this a sneak peek because I need to post something today and I haven't gone through all the images. I just love this color blue for the background of this tiny little blossom, don't you?

xoxo

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Taylor: Class of 2012... {Owensboro, KY Senior Photographer}

I know I always say this but I have the most beautiful clients! Taylor is a gorgeous girl and my camera really loved her!

Taylor, Best wishes as you complete your final year of High School and head out to College next fall!

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Friday, September 16, 2011

Chris & Chelsie: Married! {Owensboro, KY Wedding Photographer}

They made their vows on a beautiful beach but continued the celebration upon their return from their honeymoon. We took a moment before the reception started to get some special images of just the two of them and then joined the party to celebrate their union with friends and family.

Chris & Chelsie are such a fun couple! So full of life and joy! Contagious laughter filled our gorgeous location as we walked around capturing the love that was growing by the minute between these two.

C&C, thanks so much for allowing me to be a part of your special celebration! It was a joy to get to know you two and spent time with your close friends and family! Congrats!

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Photography Fridays: Flashed!

I often get questions like this...

Why do my pictures look like the background is so dark? How can I take a better picture of my child indoors?

You know, like this...

The trick is a technique called dragging your shutter. Basically, you set your camera settings to properly expose the background and let your flash take care of your subject...

If I did not use my flash, that image would have shown a dark subject, hidden in the shadow as the lamp is behind him. But that little bit of pop from my flash lit him up perfectly to to create a more natural looking image.

I bounced my flash behind me where the ceiling meets the wall to create a huge softbox type of light in the room. Kind of like turning my wall/ceiling into a big light. This will light up your room and give you all the light you need. The very top image in this post, I had the flash aimed directly at my subject and so the area behind him did not get illuminated properly. This DIY softbox effect lights up the entire room and does the job nicely.

For a little more depth to your image, you can bounce it off the wall to your side as well as sligthly behind you and create a softbox off to your side that illuminates the room well and gives a little dimension to your subject by creating very faint/soft shadows...

Much nicer, don't you think? :)

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

50mmmmmmmm...

50 mm 1.8, I love your bokeh...

Mmm... yummy.

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Friday, July 8, 2011

Photography Fridays: Distortion...

It's something not everyone sees but once you do train your eye, it'll bug you like crazy when you do see it!

Today, I'm talking about distortion due to focal length. Basically, the shorter your focal length, the more distortion you'll get in your image. When I say distortion, I'm talking about the messed up proportions of an image. Sometimes it has a cool effect that you can use to create some fun images. But when shooting a portrait, you would want to avoid it as much as possible as it's not very flattering.

For example, I know my kids have big heads atop their long, skinny bodies but I don't always want to emphasize this...

(Shot with 50mm on a full frame sensor)

His neck and shoulders look extra scrawny! To capture him more proportionately, I would use a longer focal length...

(Shot at 200mm on same camera)

See? His ears are much more proportionate to his face - big. lol And as cute as it is to have such huge eyes on a little kid, it's still not proportionately accurate and there will be something about it that just doesn't seem right. This may be something you have to train your eye to see or you may see it right away in this example. The distortion will cause whatever is closer to the camera to appear huge and whatever is farther to seem much smaller.

I also had him sit down and take pics with his feet in view and one closer to the camera...

(shot at 50mm)

The red footprints I stamped on the image are the exact same size. If you don't believe me and have time to waste, get out your ruler and check. This is not the best example as 50mm is my shortest lens on stock today (2 lenses in the shop this week!) but I hope you can tell a difference in the distortion. Also, notice the tiles are dramatically angled to a point behind him. With a longer lens, they would look a bit straighter and the objects behind him will be more proportionate in size. I'll do that part of this another day. :)

Just for fun, here is a shot taken 2 ways. Can you tell which is the 50mm shot vs the 200mm shot?

If you're looking for some fun distorted images for a whimsical feel to your photojournalistic style, then this pose would work out and be fun! However, a longer lens will capture the scene as it is in real life and this pose is not very flattering as most people aren't looking to shorten their leg length!

Happy Shooting!

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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy 5th of July!

Why should we only celebrate our freedom on the 4th? :)

Actually, I'm just going to post this on the 5th because on the late eve of the 4th, I'm tired and need to go to bed. It's been a long few weeks and so busy busy full. Good and bad but full nonetheless... I hope to be posting regularly again as I have a lot of things to blog about! Thanks of being patient with me, blog stalkers!

Here is a shot of our crew the night of the 4th...

Tip:
* If you want to take pics of people when it's practically pitch black out, remember that your flash batteries are empty from the wedding you shot over the weekend and you should have brought some fresh ones along. Otherwise you have to chance it with a super slow shutter speed and some crazy wicked photoshopping skills.

We took a little walk down the street to the park where we met up with some friends to watch the Country Club's firework show. It was fun and I actually brought my camera this year. I don't know that I've ever attempted to photograph fireworks.

Tips:
*Bring a tripod.
*Don't sit on a rickety picnic table with a dad bouncing his baby son.
*Don't sit near wiggly kids.
*Don't try to get alone by sitting in the wagon, it only lasts for 2 seconds.
*Don't giggle at how cute three year old is when he says "ooh, ahh, wow!"

Following this advice will allow you to get some perfectly executed shots of beautiful fireworks. Not taking heed to these tips will get you this:

Which are still kind of cool in their own way. So if you like this then ignore all the tips posted above. :)

So as not to bore you with a continual stream of firework images, here is a random slideshow of the good, the bad, and the freaky:
Fourth of July: 2011

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!!!

John's Father's Day gift from the boys...

This is what it actual looks like as the end product (please excuse the wonky coloring from my kitchen!)...

Love the raised images!

And dang it, those are some cute kiddoes!

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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Ones They Didn't Get...

I know... it's not Macro Monday. But I was hoping you all wouldn't mind.

There is something so magical about these, especially up close like this. So dainty and delicate looking. Unfortunately, it's a weed that can destroy your perfectly manicured lawn. Hmmm... I think there's a sermon in that. But for now, let's just focus on the beauty of this tiny little thing...

Closer...

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Friday, June 10, 2011

Photography Fridays...

I did this for a while and it seemed to get a decent response so maybe I'll try to start it up again.

Anyone game?

Typically, I'd just do a little post on some basics of photography. You know, stuff like how to make your snapshots a little better and how to improve your memory capturing skills. I think I might also start incorporating some other things related to the photography industry. Leave a comment of some ideas you have that you'd like to see here, K?

I get inquiries all the time from people wanting to start a photography business and they are asking advice that requires more than a quick line in a text or email. Maybe I can spread some of that out through some Photography Friday posts.

I wish I had the time to help everyone get started but it's overwhelming sometimes! I have a life outside my business. Really, I do! I homeschool my crazy little guys and I have a house to maintain as well as love my kids, hubby and my church. Oh, yeah... and that photography business tends to take up some of my time. :)

One thing that has been fresh on my mind lately...

I recently read about some "newbies" getting upset about some professional photographers "bashing" them. Actually, the "newbies" were bashing the pros! It was quite ridiculous and wasn't going to help them, it only provided evidence of why pros are getting so frustrated with "newbies." They were comparing apples with oranges and blaming pros for their problems. Like I said, ridiculous.

If you know anything about me, you would know that I offer lots of free advice. I have been blessed to get to know some amazing photographers who have taught me some very valuable things and I pay it forward and give back where I can. I meet with people and do free mini workshops and all kinds of things. Some people take advantage of this and some people just take advantage of me.

I get frustrated when I hear about "newbies" (those new to photography) whining about pros not giving them the time of day when they ask for help. It's not that they don't want to give help. Well, maybe some don't. But not all so let's grow up and not generalize, okay?

Like I said, I give a LOT of my time to helping others. What's frustrating is the lack of respect for the industry. This is the bottom line for me. This is where the rubbing starts going the wrong way and I get highly annoyed. Not all, but many people that have come to me for advice have turned around and chosen to not listen. They are unwilling to learn from someone who has been there done that. Now I know that each person has their own path to take, but there are also some steps that you would be better off not taking and you would be wise to heed precious advice! I am NOT a guru on all things photography. By ANY stretch! Trust me, I have so much more to learn as well. But there have been some pitfalls where I wish I knew better and I have learned the hard way. I've also taken wise counsel to heart and avoided some situations much worse than I could have imagined. My heart wants to see you succeed, not to fall. So why would I lead you astray?

I am not one that feels threatened by newcomers to the industry. If you want your piece of the action, go for it! More power to you, good luck, best wishes, I'll celebrate with you! Unfortunately, not all have taken my help as encouragement. I've even had one person with no experience ask for help starting her business. I asked some probing questions about how she'd handle certain situations and she had no clue. I let her know these were important aspects of being a professional photographer and she needed to know them before starting a business. She left in a huff and badmouthed me to others saying I told her she shouldn't ever start a photography business. I have no idea where she is today and I hope that if she did start a business, it is doing well and that she did learn how to handle those kinds of situations because they will come up.

Another note... I don't mind people asking for help, but you have to understand that I can't do it all for everyone! I cannot hold your hand in every decision you need to make. And when I do answer a question you have, please listen and don't come back month after month with the same question. If you are not going to listen, why waste all the time asking the same question and having me answer the same answer?

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

- Albert Einstein

My point in all this rambling is that a poor attitude will make you an unsuccessful photographer. If you are unwilling to learn and take some criticism now and then, you will never grow. You will become stagnant. Starting out, you'll have your faithful followers, your cheerleaders - your family and friends. You will start out charging next to nothing and be only remembered as the cheap photographer. In the meantime you will ruin your business, cheapen the value of your work and bring down the industry. Please don't do this. The photography industry is an amazing thing to be a part of. If you love photography as much as you claim to, give it the respect it deserves. It's worth it, and so are you.

My desire of these posts is to help others that love photography to grow. To learn something new that will give them the skills they need to capture the moments of their lives with more meaning and purpose. If this is something you'd like to share with me, check in now and then and let's feed out passion for our love of the capture.

And since a post is not so much fun without a picture, I'll include a recent self portrait...