Many times I take a photo, edit it, and it just isn’t giving me a wow factor. I can tell it looks promising but it just needs something MORE. Let’s look at these four examples and see why the black and white conversion made them stronger, more interesting photos. In this first image, the girl is…
My love for photos started long before I ever even owned a DSLR camera. I have always been a “memory keeper” of sorts, documenting special moments in pictures, and reveling in the memories long after the moment was gone. Now that I’m “a photographer,” I spend much of my time perfecting my craft as it…
Every year the holiday season brings a flurry of Christmas themed child portraits to the photography community. It’s easy to see why. Christmas is a magical time for children, and as photographers, we want to capture that magic in an image that will bring parents- whether they be clients or ourselves- right back to that…
If you’ve been around the photography community for long, you have probably seen a wide variety of photography projects out there. Photo projects range in structure from submitting images daily to weekly, or even just following a certain theme for a given time period. It can be easy to get overwhelmed, and even to wonder…
With winter upon many of us, questions are beginning to come about taking photos in the cold weather. While it’s true that for most of us, business slows down in the colder months and we find ourselves with less work than the rest of the year, winter can still be a great time to take photos….
Have you always admired those neat shots that usually appear at the holidays that give the pretty out of focus lights, referred to as BOKEH, fun shapes? If you have, I have a great, EASY tutorial for you that will send you on your way experimenting in no time! If you’ve wondered how to create shaped…
It happens to all of us. It can be painful. Maybe even embarrassing. It’s definitely not something we love to talk about… but we should. At some point, each of us will face some sort of failure as a photographer. It might be big, or it could be something relatively small, but what matters most…
Look at those windows right!? I know, I’m not going to lie – this is what sold us on this house last year. These are gorgeous windows and provide wonderful light! However, I quickly noticed after we moved and settled in, that because of the location of the house, the size of the rooms, and…
Today I’d like to address an ailment called ‘P.K.B’, or Photographer Kid Burnout. If you’ve ever tried to photograph your own kids, you may recognize the symptoms: Pouting. Screaming. Crying. Grumpy faces. Rolling eyes…. and that is just from us parents! The kids are at it too! Running away, hiding under the bed, making ridiculous…
Well hello there new aspiring photographer! So you want to make money with your photography? That’s great…as long as you’re prepared for the bumps, peaks and valleys along the way. In fact, did you know that 85% of photographers fail? According to Dane Sanders in his book Fast Track Photographer: In the 1st year, 60%…
I believe photographer self-doubt can cripple many of us. It’s always there, in the back of our minds. Am I good enough? Should I really call myself a photographer? Will anyone even hire me? Should I even charge for my work? Will this session go ok? Will I be able to handle the lighting, the…
A few weeks ago, my husband and I took our family to a local Fall Festival. What started out as a typical fun day with our family very quickly took shape as a huge lesson for me. As we strolled along with our shaved ice, corndogs and handfuls of tickets for all kinds of rickety…
I don’t know about you, but I still get butterflies before my photo sessions. Thankfully, the butterflies have become more from excitement than from nerves as they used to be, but they can still throw me “off” if I’m not careful. Like you, I want to go into each and every session fully prepared and…
This is my son. It was taken… a year or two ago? That’s right, off the top of my head I can’t tell. He still has his baby front teeth here, that helps narrow it a bit. It was taken in the fall… I can tell because I think this was Las Vegas and it’s…
Photography is art, like any painting or sculpture. Our photography is an expression of who we are. It is an intimate look into our vision & our emotions. With that understanding, it really isn’t any wonder that many of us feel insecure about putting our creations out there for the world to see. It’s a…
I’ll be honest, I love to take photos with that soft, golden light that is only found early in the morning or just before sunset. The golden hour has such a magical quality to it that if I’m not careful, I could find myself stuck there, lacking the flexibility to shoot in any other type…