Tack Sharp

I've been reading from "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby. I'm liking it a lot and would recommend anyone interested in SLR to read it. As I read the very first page, my heart sank and my stomach turned because I realized that a lot of my shots need to be sharper. I finally figured it out . . . too many times, so caught up with exposure, posing, composition, and framing, I just listen to my shutter, assuming it's fast enough because it sounds like it is, when in fact it isn't. 1/30 second, is way too slow for hand-holding your camera. So from here on out I will either use a tripod or shoot at 1/60 second, not any slower. PAY ATTENTION, Julianne! If anyone is reading this--you should know that I'm not charging anyone for my photography services. It is strictly for practice purposes. When I have perfected my photography to a comfortable level and don't make mistakes like this one, I will then begin to charge. Until then, anyone want some free shots? I will soon be shooting "tack sharp" photographs, as the pros call it. From here on out, you'll see the difference, as you compare with my older shots.

Another Senior!

Another exciting privilege of taking Senior portraits! It was a lot of fun shooting these pictures with lots of different aged textures around.

It's not a Portrait!

I found this mushroom in search for some good places to take pictures. Unfortunately, just prior I got pelted by a bee under my eye and got stung. Anyway, it was worth it. I like the bright color in this.

When a Photo Speaks to You

Ok this one really is my favorite. It speaks to me and is realistic. That's why I like it so much (not because my husband's head is 1/2 cut off), plus it's my 2 boys. This originally had some motion blur--my husband was patting my son's back. I felt it needed a still hand, so I replaced it, and it looks much more peaceful now, to me.

My Absolute Favorites

These are my favorites . . . cuz they are my kids!

The Dreaded Parallel Lines

I love lines and dimension in photography but this photo has proven to be hard . . . at least for me. I want everything to be straight and to line up. On this shot, when I'd get the stair straight the top railing wasn't straight. It also was very hard to know how to crop. I didn't want to crop too narrow and get rid of all the greenery, but I didn't want the subject to be too zoomed out. I didn't know if I should cut it at the stair or below, etc . . . I'm not sure there are any rules for this, just personal preference. I'm still not sure if I've got it right.

In Love . . .

Here are some recent pics of some couples I took.

The Beauty of the Outdoors

I love taking pictures outdoors and this is why . . . take a look at the intertwined branches here. I love it!

Cream of the Crop

I was just looking at this picture and decided it needed to be cropped differently. What do you think? Much better now (to me at least)!

one more . . .

Here's one last pic that it wouldn't let me add.

Family Photoshoot

A really good friend of mine asked me to take individual pics of her 5 kids. They were troopers and stayed smiling for a 2 hour photoshoot. Here are my favorites.

You Have to Start Somewhere!

I'm so grateful for friends who trust me and give me the opportunity to experiment and learn with photography. This was actually my very first photoshoot ever,this past summer, before I even knew anything about shutter speed and ISO. I just took the advice of my good friend and shot it at F8, the rest was pure luck and a lot of Photoshop. Five of the six faces here were taken from other photos.

Here Comes the Rain

It started to rain on this photoshoot, so we took it inside. All I have is an external on-camera flash. I pointed the flash towards the ceiling, a trick I learned from Rick Sammon's Exploring the Light-- as to not cast shadows on the back wall, a little Photoshop (ok, maybe a lot) and voila!

Ready or not--Senior portraits are here!

Here is my very first experience of capturing Senior portraits. A good friend of mine trusted me enough to let me take her daughter's Senior portraits. I was so excited and very nervous at the same time. I really didn't know how to have her pose. Prior to the shoot, I studied a lot of pro-photographers' websites and thank goodness she's photogenic . . . afterall, I feel I captured some nice shots. This last shot was taken with a flash. I like the intense color in it.