The Happenings

I've been slacking in the blogging department. And not that I don't have sessions to share. Not that I don't have stories to write about. Or upcoming photo ops. There are many I would like to share. But life has been busy. Leading up to Christmas was somewhat insane. Let's just say, our Christmas tree did not make an appearance into our home until December 23. We had painting going on in our home. Lot's of painting. Lot's of mess. A big job. And I am happy to say it is done. I will add that if you are planning on having your home painted, please do well in advance of any holiday. I am not complaining. I love our freshly painted walls. Love the color. Love how we de-cluttered our home and rearranged furniture and started from scratch hanging any decor. Our home feels fresh and kind of new. At least for a 1912 farmhouse.

In the midst of December I acquired a new computer. The other, old computer I had slaved over for hours to keep going and not fail me with the thousands of images filling it every month was slowly dying and not keeping up. But needless to say....long live the Dell.
I am loving my new computer. It is a complete necessity for any photographer running their own business. Time spent in front of a computer uploading, organizing, editing, ordering pictures is a huge part of my business. Certainly my computer is like my assistant!! And I could never do without!

I am truly excited for 2012! Last year was amazing for me. With all of the people I met and developed friendships through by being their photographer couldn't be more rewarding. Feedback from clients throughout last year helped my business grow. It helped me develop as a photographer. To keep developing and continue growing are so important to me. I don't want to become stagnant as a photographer. I only want to become better. Try new things. Stay in my comfort zone where I am at my best but yet willing to try new photo opportunities; like studio lighting!

2012 is already looking like a positive and growing year for me. I am booking weddings, high school senior portrait sessions and family sessions. Even though winter is truly upon us, these winter months still keep me busy. I am using this time to try out new print products. Learn new editing software. Attend photography conferences. Update my social media and website. Basically, just stay fresh and stay inspired. The photography world is amazing. There are SO many ways to go about this business. And for now, I am fairly content in how it is treating me.

Leading into a side door that enters the Duke University Chapel in Durham, North Carolina.

Oh Sweetness!

These little darlings are twin sisters. Unbelievably adorable and very much adored. This was one of those sessions when I love, love, love being a photographer.

Behind the Scenes...Photo Session With Mariah

I sense many people who get in touch with me to schedule a photography session are not real sure what to expect and how a whole photo shoot unravels. And I can't blame them for feeling that way either because until I get to know someone and learn their expectations I do not know which way a session will go. And many do not know who I am or what I am all about.

Honestly, there is no pulling teeth during a portrait session. No sound of a dentist's drill. It is all about you. Having fun. Capturing your personality. Being your true self. Living life as you are. Real. Life. Real. Fun.

Once you get to know me, you will soon learn I am probably one the biggest down to earth type of people you will ever meet. Any photo session should be fun and be relaxed and include fun memories not to mention developing a friendship with me as your photographer.

I am very fortunate to have a great friend named Delynn who has a real love of photography and also one of my greatest supporters of my photography passion. She has become very good behind her own camera's view finder and last night she offered to take pictures of me photographing her daughter and her high school senior portrait session.

I am very glad she took these pictures so I can share with you how a photo session happens. What to sort of expect. And how my job as a photographer goes to work.

After viewing these images, it is fun for me to see how I work and interact with my clients during a photo session. I try to make them feel comfortable in front of the camera and offer suggestions to help them throughout our time together. And of course my knowledge and love of horses is an added benefit to a photo shoot such as this one.

I wanted her and her horse "Buddy" to be in the shade to shield her from the sun and avoid squinting her eyes. Plus the tree added to the overall mood for these shots. Who wants pictures of themselves squinting? Yes! Me neither!

When I am photographing my subjects, I strive for all types of angles and positions. I look for the best possible light and how that will play in the overall outcome of each picture. And I also want for my subject to look their very best, so trying various angles gives so many more possibilities along with creativity for the images.

My gear I use is Nikon and I love my camera to pieces! Funny as that sounds, my camera has been my true partner throughout my photography journey. And the lenses I use are called prime lenses and they do their very best for portraits. I often will interchange them throughout a session for various moments and posing.

Like I mentioned before I move all over the place to find perfect light conditions. My subject's best pose, representing and creating an overall image that shows them in real life. So seeing me crouch down such as the above picture or laying on the ground is how I work. I could care less about getting dirty. I live on a farm after all! However avoiding snakes and poison ivy are high on my list when treading in new territories. Which makes me rethink my flip-flop attire entirely.

I am picky and can spot a "don't" moment quite often. I usually help my subjects with their attire or hair just before snapping pictures to make sure clothes, hair, etc. are in place and picture ready. My camera bag not only holds my gear but is stocked with safety pins, hair spray, tissues, lip gloss, bug spray, hair bands, barretts, lotion and gum for those "just in case" moments.

And being picky like that is a benefit to you! Trust me!

Playing with various locations and backgrounds are fun, fun, fun. What may seem rather boring to a bystander observing me taking pictures, really cannot benefit from what I am seeing in my mind in how I want an image to play out. And once I see that image on my camera I know I have found a really good spot and it is going to work for that subject and overall moment.

I will shoot from up high and down low to add more creativity and emotion to capture my subject. For this picture above I was photographing Mariah and her horse Buddy and was standing on a bench. I found this to be a fun perspective by looking down at her and Buddy's head.

I saw so many opportunities from this angle and really had fun with it although they were a bit worried I might topple over!

Working with animals are my favorite and of course equines rank right up there. Having had horses myself for nearly 30 years works in my favor because I know how horses behave, interact with humans and I am very comfortable around them. I absolutely love sessions with any animals! Except snakes of course.

"And that's a rap!"

After I shoot a photo session I am sort of on cloud nine as the picture above reveals. I feel a bit like a rock star in fact! I have created some awesome images for my client I know they will truly love and I will be so very proud of. It is an amazing feeling. I love it. I love being a photographer. I am so very lucky to be at this point in my life. This is truly where I am meant to be.

I hope you enjoyed this little behind the scenes entry and gain a better idea of how my photography sessions happen.

Thank you again Delynn for taking these pictures! You are the best!

Summertime

Looking to be a day at the beach kind of day!

Summer Sweets

"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold." ~Judith Olney

A Little Bit About Me....

I know there are a lot of people and friends who stop by my blog each day. That is true since I do check to see who is coming around thanks to statcounter.com. Yes, it is a great tool to find your audience and who is finding my blog and photography interesting.
If you are one of those who like to venture over here once in awhile, I have a bit to add about "Me". Short but sweet.

"What do your friends compliment you about?" Such a good question because it isn't very often a compliment is received. When was the last time you gave out a compliment? I know hearing it makes my day! I did just have a friend tell me how proud of me she is while we were talking about my photography. And that is always an awesome feeling! My daughter told me just the other day she likes my hair....right after I was whining about it. She is my best critic!

"What are you really, really good at?" If I had to narrow it down to one thing I would have to say organized and the person to count on for things to get done. But for fun I have a few recipes I make that bring rave reviews, can drive just about any tractor, and am good with navigating directions!

"What sets your business apart from the competition in a fun way?" I am so new to being in this photography business and I love what I am doing and oftentimes I feel so giddy because it has been so fun for me! If ever I lose those feelings I will have to sit down and re-group and find out how to be inspired, make goals and achieve them.

I hope to add a few random questions like these here and there so you, my audience, my clients and friends can learn more about me as a person and as a photographer.

Friends

If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me. ~Author Unknown

Before & Afters

Taking a picture and seeing it in camera are one thing but to finally see it up on your computer screen is another whole new outlook. On the back of my camera and all DSLRs, there is a viewing screen, the LCD, liquid crystal display. I use that ALOT. I also use the magnifier button to zoom into the picture to see if I am nailing my sharpness and detail, looking for any blur. If I see any amount of blur, I retake the image. We are very lucky in this day in age to have digital cameras that produce this image right away on our LCDs.

The above picture is after I edited it in Adobe Lightroom 3. I am a bit of a newby to Lightroom but I have used Photoshop Elements for several years now and many of the steps and processing are quite the same. I shot this image in JPEG Fine, not RAW and am still able to play with the exposure, brightness, temperature, blacks, contrast, etc. I know for many photographers RAW vs. JPEG is and will be an ongoing debate but for me it is a personal preference. For everyday shots, I shoot JPEG. For professional sessions, RAW.

Here is this same image SOOC, straight out of camera. Wow, what a difference. Even though I checked it over several times in camera after taking this picture, it seemed fine. However, once I saw it on my computer screen it was too dark for my satisfaction. We were inside a building with awful florescent lighting which I think created havoc with my eyes and viewing the back of my camera's LCD image. And just a note. I would rather fix a slightly over exposed image than a very underexposed one.

I raised the exposure, the brightness, upped the blacks and a tiny bit of contrast and I raised the temperature to warm it up a bit. I also sharpened this image too. You would be amazed at how sharpening an image just makes it pop out and look polished. Once I was happy with those adjustments, I then ran what is called a preset in Lightroom. In Photoshop they are called actions. Basically they are a post processing effect to enhance an image and leave out all the steps to actually get what would be a preset. I love these. They make my life so much easier.

The preset I used for the above image warmed up her face, made her eyes brighter, brought in a vintage coloring to it and also a vignetting around the edges. I love how it turned out.

For the image above, I did a few things differently.

I was outside taking pictures of "Jake" as he sat in the back of his truck watching his human dad cut lumber for my home's new stairway. I had lot's of natural light. It was fairly overcast but that works fine for me. Bright sunlight may have given this image a very different lighting look to it. I was fairly happy with my exposure and lightened it very little. I zoomed in and cropped the image a bit to remove the lettering on the truck which I found distracting to the image. After some sharpening and bringing up the blacks slider I ran a preset. I use the blacks slider alot because it can really bring out depth and detail to an image.

Photoshop and Lightroom are a photographer's best friend. They go hand in hand and being in this profession it is a must to create the very best photographs. These programs do not take the place of fixing an overall bad picture. They enhance. They make good, great. Awesome, outstanding!

She's My Inspiration

My daughter is clearly my favorite part of my photography journey because she continues to amaze me with her beauty which makes capturing images of her so wonderful. Not to mention her patience with me when I ask to take pictures of her. I am not sure if she realizes how much she has taught me about being a photographer but I would like to believe she has a little bit of an inclination of how taking pictures makes me so very happy. And how being in this spot in my life right now, this road I am traveling, finding my niche in life doing something I so enjoy; it's is an awesome feeling!

Thank you sweet daughter for your brilliant smiles and beautiful green eyes! ;)

Jake ~ My Willing Subject

I have to admit some of my favorite subjects to photograph are dogs. They are so patient. Well usually. As long as they are not too shy about my camera. Some dogs are. My own dog is but I think that is because she has had her picture taken so many times she has developed a complex.

Lot's of times dogs are very willing to be photographed. And of course love, love being the center of attention. Dog treats usually help. It draws their attention solely to you and your camera. Having experience with dogs is a biggy. Nothing bothers a dog more than someone who is not familiar with being around dogs. They sense a newbie. They know a stranger to the canine world. Having the dog language down and understanding dog personalities and expressions truly makes photographing them very entertaining!

This makes my job behind my camera so much easier. Less stressful. Can I add so much fun?

This is Jake. He is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. His human dad is currently building our stairway as part of our remodeling job we are having done to our home. So Jake sits patiently in either the back seat of his truck or yesterday was able to soak up some rays of sun and warmer temperatures all comfy in the bed of the truck.

I love his eyes and expression. So much patience. Completely content.

He didn't seem to mind me taking pictures of him either. I am pretty happy with how they turned out and think this handsome boy was a perfect model.

I recently acquired Adobe Lightroom 3. It is a wonderful and powerful editing tool for post processing your images. I have been playing around with it lately, navigating my way around and loving it so much. While I strive to get my pictures exposed properly, sharp and as I see them through my camera's viewfinder, a program such as Lightroom adds finishing touches and brilliance to final images I share here, my website and for my clients. Yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to photography!

Sometime I will share my before and after pictures. Those straight out of the camera images and then show how they look after some final post processing.

For now, I hope you enjoy these images of Jake!

"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose." - Garrison Keillor

An Announcement!

This idea to hold my own photography class has been popping up in my mind alot lately. I have so many moms who come up to me and ask me questions about how to capture better pictures of their kids, pets, flowers scenery and on and on. I always love these questions. I love to help them in hopes they will take better pictures. But there is more to just pressing the shutter button on your camera and hoping it will magically take a perfect picture. Ha! Been there. Done that. We don't live in a perfect world do we?



It takes practice. Lot's of practice. And patience. Tons of patience. Trial and error. Learning to take charge of that black box in your hands called a camera. And learning to move away from the green square otherwise known as Auto Mode.




Taking pictures is not rocket science. It is however about learning what I call photo recipes. Each particular photo situation involves a special recipe. Ingredients and skills. Lighting. Aperture. ISO. Shutter speed. Exposure.



With such an interest in photography all around me I have decided to share my talent. My passion for photography. With hopes to teach and guide others along so they can achieve more from their camera. Lose the red eye! The blasted whiteness of flash. Dark pictures. Blurry moments.

In April I have decided to hold my own photography class directed towards beginners with DSLR cameras(cameras with interchangeable lenses). This class will mainly be geared towards moms or dads who want to take better pictures and move outside of that green auto mode box!

More details will be announced soon with an exact date, time and location. I will be teaching about lighting, aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how all of these are used to create better pictures. I will share some of my photo recipes and how they worked for a particular picture. And this will be a fun time! Not complicated. A chance to develop your photography skills. Take your picture taking to a higher level. And feel more confident about that black box in your hands!

Keep checking back here or on Facebook for upcoming details!

"Basketball is like photography, if you don't focus, all you have is the negative."
-- Dan Frisby

Winter Season

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you.... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself." ~Ruth Stout

It's All In The Details

Photography isn't just about taking pictures of people and faces or catching that funny moment. While this is the most important part, and primarily what I achieve with each photo session, there are other ingredients to complete the experience. It is the details. The finer print. Objects. The little things that truly capture and cause you to feel like you were a part of what was happening. A birthday party. A wedding. A graduation. Catching the details on film to tell a story. Photojournalism. I love that part of photography. Because taking pictures is not only about faces but also about capturing the story behind those smiling faces.

I Made the Top 10!

http://www.iheartfaces.com/2011/01/peoples-choice-photo-contest-best-face-photo-winners/#more-3617

Thanks to all of you who voted for my pictured I entered over on the I Heart Faces website! I made the top 10 and 8th overall. Happy? Oh yes! Tickled! Giddy! There were so many wonderful face entries....nearly 840!

I am still doing the happy dance!

Meet Nick & Sarah

A few months ago I received a call from a lady inquiring about me doing a photo session with her niece and nephew. First thought that came to my mind was "Aww how fun! Two little kids!". Then she told me she wanted this to be a Christmas present for her sister. And keep it a secret. How fun! When I asked the ages of her niece and nephew, images of cute little brother and sister moments soon left my brain. Their ages are 15 and 18. Big brother and sister. Hmmm. A different approach for this photo session sent all kinds of thoughts through my mind. I agreed happily and excitedly to do the photo session and we set up a date, time and location. Except I soon began to wonder how I would create pictures without it looking like some sort of engagement session.

I pondered how I would pose these two for days before our scheduled session. I searched this site for inspiration. Glanced through my Eddie Bauer catalogues. And soon I had ideas. I was anxious to meet these two who wanted this to be a surprise for their parents on Christmas day. Immediately I knew these two teenagers would be a blast to work with. It isn't very often you have a teenage brother and sister duo willingly agree to have photos done of them, especially together. And I wanted to make their photos as special as possible. For them. For their mom and dad. For their entire family.

Meet Nick and Sarah. They rocked their photoshoot! So much fun to work with. Happy, polite, and friendly kids. We hit it off right away. For over an hour we laughed, talked, posed and searched for good light and pretty spots to take pictures. I really loved this photo session!

As for their parents reaction to this Christmas present?

"I just wanted to drop you a note to say that we loved the photos of Nick and Sarah! What a nice surprise!! It certainly was the highlight of our Christmas."

I love my photographic life!