All Natural

All natural photography is refreshing.  My friend Emily of Willa J. Photography wrote a nice post just about this, read it here.  She's a great photographer living just north of Pittsburgh.  If you need some family portraits, Christmas cards, wedding photography, etc, check her out.

Here are some of my all natural photography today.  It's freeing to put forward a photo that is full of emotion, full of a moment, and full of imperfections.

I'm also going to use this opportunity to teach about aperture.  If you can, shoot on manual, always.  It brings so much creativity to photography.  If you shoot with a very low aperture (f/1.4) it opens up your lens and light comes streaming in and you get all kinds of blur going on (bokeh--is that how you spell that word?)  A very small part of the photo is in focus and the rest out of focus.  (click on it to see it better)

And this photo shows it perfectly.  All natural.  

It is also all natural childhood.

Life this week

It's Spring break and we're having a solid week.  I'm having to sneak downstairs early this morning to write this, though.  That means I'm busy parenting.  Me + Girls = All Week Long.  And when the girls are playing during the day, I can't open the computer for long.  They come running....Eloise wants to type letters and spell words and Cordelia wants to destroy the keyboard, like any healthy 17 month old.

We are declaring this spring and summer the seasons of the bike.  The girls love the bike trailer, so Alex and I suit up and take the girls for a ride.  The only challenge is finding a route that is not too hilly (we're still biking wimps) or dangerous (I hate traffic in my car, definitely not braving it on my bike.)  I think our route to Dunkin Donuts is working out well for us.  :-)

It's Holy Week.  And we are preparing to celebrate the death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter) of Jesus.  This is the most important time of year for the church because this is what it's all about.  Jesus died for us.  For 3 days.  Then we rose again.  It is also a very full week and weekend for Alex.

So, to occupy my time in the evenings, I've started a photography blogsite trial.  Wow.  It is fun, tricky to learn, and full of choices.  But seeing my images full screen on a fading slideshow is pumpin' me up.  I'm eager to start my business but there is also still a lot to do before I can.  So I'm plugging away.  This week I hope to accomplish the following towards that goal-- buy a new computer screen, improve at another practice session, and open a business bank account.  I'm working hard but having fun and praying that I'm doing the right thing.

Here are 3 more from my last session.  I'm loving these sisters' eyes.

And one more.  Our favorite "woof woof" friend.  Cordelia hearts animals.  We are destined to get one in the future, and when we do, I want a Puggle.  Pug+Beagle=Puggle.

I took some shots of "woof woof" real fast one afternoon.  Uploaded them, edited my 4 favorite and emailed them to my neighbor.  They loved them.  My heart swelled.  Sharing beautiful images of a loved one is such a blessing to the receiver and the giver.  And that's why I'm enjoying my photography internship so much.

A Newborn Family Photoshoot

Yesterday I had my second photo shoot of my "internship."  (That's what Alex calls it.)  I'm not sure what I loved more about my visit with this family, capturing this special period in their lives or meeting them as people.  Both were wonderful!

They have a 1 week old baby boy and twin 3 year old girls.  It's truly a family full of love!  I came home from the shoot and quickly went to work editing them after my girls were in bed.  I was full of anticipation, like opening a present, uploading the images and seeing what I got.  I think I have some pretty ones to share and can't wait to finish going through them all.

Enjoy!

I Heart Faces

This is our little buddy N.  I just love how the sunburst is framing his sweet face!  It leaves a magical aura that is perfectly suited for a child.

To see other great sunburst photos, check out I HEART FACES today.

Always keep our camera handy

This is what happens in the span of a minute.

So I always have my camera ready for when the headband is actually on her head.

I Heart Faces

Fix It Friday at I Heart Faces.  Dana Suggs took this great photo.  I love the young man's connection with the camera.  It's not forced.  He looks comfortable.  The colors of the chairs are really cool.  And the lighting is beautiful.

I didn't do much to the photo.  Using PSE-8, I adjusted some lighting, contrast, luminance, white balance in the Camera Raw mode.  Then, I sharpened the photo and used the CoffeeShop "Color Pop" vignette at a 22% opacity.  That's it!

"When you take a great photo, it doesn't need a lot of editing."  I've been repeating this to myself lately.  If I find that I'm spending too much time editing, I'm usually forcing it and it won't look nice and natural.  I toss the photo and try another one.

Before

After

Bring on the children

I've been dreaming about starting a photography business.  And while I'm not close to opening my doors,  I'm ready to take the next step and start practicing.  Practicing on children who have a different last name as me.  :-)

I'm moving to the practice portfolio building stage of my dream and I need volunteers.  Guinea Pigs. I need little people models starting this Spring and Summer.

If you or a friend in the area would be interested in a photo shoot, contact me.  We can put something on the calendar and I can start clicking away.  And hopefully you'll get some great photographs in the process too.

Little Nicholas

Today I had a blast!  

I had the opportunity to take photos of my friend's little boy Nicholas.  An adorable little 1 year old who posed and smiled and made photographing him so very easy.

And now, instead of typing the preschool pageant programs that are due tomorrow, I'm editing his sweet photos.  And it's such a blast!

I feel like a college senior playing solitaire instead of writing a term paper.  Those were the days, weren't they?

So here's a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!

And my absolutely favorite.

Baby Paul, Reflections on Photography

If you haven't noticed, my daughter certainly has.  I'm obsessed with my camera.  Ever since I brought her home, I've been reading my manual, testing my techniques, and hunting for online tutorials, advice, and inspiration.  

It's really been a lot of fun.  It's really a fantastic hobby for a stay-at-home mom who has played a certain puzzle one too many times.  The kids play, I grab my camera and play too.  Win-Win.

And, I get some really adorable images.  Like this one.  I must introduce you to this little man.  Mr. Paul.  

He's my friend's little man, and he's very well loved by all who know him.  

His big sis was over playing this morning and as they were trying to leave (really bad timing), I grabbed my camera to get a few shots.  At the same time (like I said, really bad timing), Eloise starts grabbing puzzles away from her friend.  Not sharing.  Tears start flowing.  Hmmm... maybe I am spending a little too much time behind the lens.  But I digress...

So I took some more shots of this guy.

And I think they turned out pretty well.  Isn't he cute?

Which gets me thinking about my photography trek.  I'm loving it.  And I'm convinced that if you want to take great photos, you can.  It's amazing what kind of resources there are online.  

I'll leave you with the #1 easiest way of taking better photos: turn off the flash!

Oh, and one more of Mr. Paul.