Homework assignment #4

I know we were supposed to not try to do trend and take pictures of what inspires us - but I was really just holding my breath all week waiting for my new prime lens....and I finally recieved it about 2 hours ago! SO, I shot my family AGAIN because I really wanted to use my new lens for the assignment and I ran out of time! But, I have 2 shoots lined up, one this weekend for maternity and one next week for a baby and her mom that are OUTSIDE of my family -gasp! -and I am in Brooke's lifestyle class that started today so I'm hoping for that class I will use pictures of people outside my little family.

So - I was really thinking all week about what inspires me and I think I was thinking too hard because I couldn't come up with anything! The only thing I can really focus on right now is that Spring is finally here - so I took our pictures on our lake as that is where we are most summer - and that is where I get a lot of inspiration and joy from.

I'll really miss this class - Love my new lens, my pictures arent great but I really was stressed as it came down to crunch time when I was finally able to get out and shoot.

Homework assignment #3

well i have come to the realization that this class is a little bit ahead of me - i'm just not quite ready to take pictures of other people's kids, etc - i'm not ready to really put myself out there as a "photographer" - i did have plans to shoot my good friends kids this week but came down with bronchitis and strep throat and then my daughter got sick and since she has a 3 year old and 5 month old, i just didnt want to bring my sickness to them - so again i settled with my daughter trying to work the shooting children's assignment in - so i interviewed myself :) - totally not what i was supposed to do and I'M SORRY -but this class is giving me GREAT tools to use when i am ready to get out there. i just feel that until i have my new lens (this week hopefully) and a little more practice i'm not ready to really show my work to others....but i feel like i'm making progress, i learned a little about lightroom this week, ordered a new lens and am learning tons from this class - so have no fear. i'm not a completely lost case yet! also i promised to do a shoot for a different friend this weekend so it looks like my time has run out in staying in the safety of my family...
so on to my "assignment" i know my daughter loves hats and shoes and dressing up - so i got out her favorite hat and prepared a shot list - i found a really cute picture of a little girl with an owl hat and they cut her off right under the eyes, so i had that picture in my head when i took these - couldn't decide if i prefered black & white to color.... then i tried to get a full face with her looking at the camera- i learned in my first lesson asking her to look at the camera and smile wasnt working - so i had some tricks, in these and the one's before i had dora fruitsnacks and would give her one and tell her to stand by the wall - which actually worked! and she'd look at me in anticipation of the next fruit snack - we are working on colors so i'd ask her what color the fruit snack was when i held it up by my lens -yay!

and i had a cute picture in my head of her in this fur vest trying on mommy's shoes -but she wasnt happy with the wardrobe and of all the shots - i liked this one best as it's authentic - this is my daughter - she is going through some tough times in her life and this is her most days at some point. i like how the shoes are in the corner forgotten because she is upset at what she's wearing - my caption to this one is - Future member of PETA.

so i apologize for not really doing the assignment. i really feel like getting my new lens and learning a bit more in lightroom will hopefully give me the courage to take my photography outside my little world -

the good the bad and the ugly

well to start i didnt get to put nearly enough time into shooting this week - i would love love love to spend my entire week shooting and learning but unfortunately it's not my day job - and wont be for awhile :( so i have to fit it in where i can and this week that was very hard to do. i did spend the majority of my time that i did however absorbing the lesson and coming up with poses and shot lists - i just love to look at images i have found - i really wanted to push myself to take pictures of people outside my family but due to not having any time to actually shoot and horrible horrible weather i decided to try to pose my husband and daughter - i found lots of cute photos to try but what i really wanted was a silhouette shot - i had never tried one...

so here are my 3 - i had BIG plans for some shots of him holding her in the sky etc. but alas some neighbors showed up and my husband was to embarrassed to continue to pose the way i wanted. however, i was excited to realize that i had tons of ideas and poses in my head and that's not what i orginally thought would happen. i'm not a creative person so these shot lists are like the best thing that has ever happened to me. now i just need to get my skill to match my ideas!

my problems this week - it was extremely bright by the water - i was metering off of the water and trying to get my subjects dark but my meter was going all wonky - and vice versa - when i would meter on the face it would look like my meter was right in the middle or slightly over exposed because i like a bit brighter of an image but was coming out darker than normal - and it was hard to see if my exposure was good on my screen because of the bright light - any suggestions? also, my husband was squinting and i tried moving so they were back lit but he still was squinting- or maybe it was a scowl?

but here is the good news i think - i ordered my prime lens finally, the 50mm f 1.4 - so excited - however it's backordered until the 10th so i'll have to wait a bit longer...

and a friend of mine with a 3 month old baby girl has been begging me to take pictures of her - so as scared as i am (as i am nowhere near the level i feel i need to be to take pictures for someone else) i will get outside of my comfort zone and try it - so i'm making progress....maybe??

Homework assignment one!

I have to say I had a lot of fun with this homework assignment UNTIL it came time for the actual shoot! I decided that I would do my daughter on Easter looking for easter eggs. I have yet to do photo shoots with people outside of my family (and I'm even hesitant to call them photo shoots ) I'm just afraid my skills are not up to par with actually thinking of myself as anything close to a photographer - hence why I'm taking this class - to get better!

To plan I first started at istockphoto.com and also looked for some images via a google search but I found my best poses and inspirational photos via pin-interest. I also found that creating an inspirational board on pin-interest was way faster and easier for me than keeping them on a blog - although people can see them. I quickly realized though I'm attracted to the same style of photography, soft lighting, lifestyle....but am frustrated I'll never be able to get my images to look anything like those I was pinning.

I did create a shot list for the Easter shot and also a list of props -easter basket, bunny ears, easter dress etc....but once I started shooting that all went out the window. -although I have to say I was extremely excited to know this trick that photographer's do - it helped me immensely with my lack of creativity and really got me dreaming :) so back to the shoot - I was trying to keep up with a daughter who WILL NOT sit still and WILL NOT look at the camera - I dont even think I was paying attention to focus, shutter speed (basics) very dissapointed in myself. Do you have suggestions on how to focus and make sure you are getting the shot when your subject is constantly in motion or does this just take time? also, she didnt want anything to do with any of the props. so here are my images - not at all happy but I'm hoping that you can give me some pointers on how to be better.


manual mode - 1/400, f/5, spot metering ISO 100
manual mode, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/125s, spot metering
manual mode, ISO 3200 f/4, 1/125s



manual mode, ISO 100, 1/200s, f/5.6, spot metering

manual, f/5.6, 1/125s, ISO 100

manual mode, 1/160s, f/5.6, spot metering, ISO 100

i'm also having a really hard time with editing - especially when trying to blur my background using layers - I submitted this question in the question section.
And one last thing - I'm feeling very limited by my camera and lens -I just have a kit lens but I'm trying to justify the cost of upgrading when I'm nowhere near actually taking pictures for money - any suggestions?
do a lot of photograher's start our frustrated? I'm wondering if maybe shooting kids is not my cup of tea - although these are the images I love to look at and long to create?