A Little Camera Practice

My sweet niece who is expecting a baby girl this month with her husband (yes, I am that old) was kind enough to let me practice taking some pictures of her and her gorgeous bump. It's been a pretty hot summer so I haven't had too many chances to get outside and practice the skills I learned at this photography workshop until now. I've got a long way to go but am having a blast with my new hobby and was thrilled to spend a late afternoon taking pictures of some of my favorite people. Thank you Brittney & Jeff for letting me play.

We can't wait to meet and love on the newest baby girl in the family!

Wildflowers Photography Workshop for Parents

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a beginning photography workshop for parents by Joy of Wildflowers Photography. I somehow stumbled upon Joy's website a few months back and literally spent hours pouring over her blog posts. Her photos are absolutely unbelievable - they are so rich and full of stories and emotions.

Joy happens to live in the town that I grew up in so I left the boys at home with my husband and made the drive out to California.

{These are some of the photos I took at the workshop}

If you want to know how to get into manual mode on your camera and you happen to live in Southern California, you should jump at the chance to attend if she offers this workshop again. I've been shooting in manual mode since I got the camera but I learned so many things that I need to work on.

For part of the workshop, we went into Joy's backyard where she has a zillion little areas that I'm sure are a photographer's dream. There were about 20 of us crammed in and shooting in this little corner of her backyard but the set up was so fun. Joy and her husband were on hand the entire time to help us with exposure issues and answer questions.

As if the day weren't perfect enough, they had baby chicks on hand for us to photograph! Perfect practice for our new little girls coming in a few weeks. The darling little models were so fun to watch with the chicks and they handled them remarkably well.

Clearly, I have a lot of work to do but this workshop gave me fabulous tools to help me get started as well as loads of inspiration and an important reminder as to why I want to document the special, fleeting moments in Finley and Oliver's lives.

If you have a chance, be sure to check out Wildflowers Photography. Give yourself plenty of time... you'll thank me, I promise.

Family Pictures...Only Better! {The Momtographers}

Adrienne Gray and Krista Njapa are equal parts talent, class, smarts, and style. When I first heard that they were collaborating on a project together, I knew it would be nothing short of amazing. They did not disappoint. Last year, they launched the hit website The Momtographers - a site dedicated to helping moms (and pops too) improve their photography skills to create beautiful lasting memories.  I recently had the opportunity to ask Adrienne some questions about The Momtographers and asked if she'd be willing to share a tip or two with my readers. 

Tell me a little bit about The Momtographers and how it came to be. The Momtographers is a community of moms who love to celebrate our kids’ lives through photography.  Our aim is to help inspire, instruct and encourage moms to take pictures as incredible as their kids.

Krista Njapa and I met online while expecting our first daughters (who were born three days apart!).  Both of us had professional backgrounds that involved visual arts, but neither of us truly understood the importance of a camera until we held our little ones.  Then it was all pictures all the time... Except for one picky thing.  The dark and out of focus snapshots we were taking looked nothing like the pictures we saw in our heads and on other mommy blogs.  “The Momtographers” came to be after a couple of years of trying to figure it out on our own – we really wanted to save other moms the time (and frustration!) by helping them figure out how to take pictures that are truly worthy of the memories they set out to capture.

How long have you and Krista been involved in professional photography and what motivated you to get serious about your snap? I’m a video producer, so I’ve been involved with image capture for a number of years – though I typically hired the folks that set up the lights and run the cameras, so I didn’t have a ton of experience since I was rarely the person behind the camera. So when my husband gave me my camera a few days before my daughter was born, I had decent instincts and a basic understanding of what made things work visually, I just didn’t understand how to translate that to my still camera.  As I started to get my feet under me, I had people offer to hire me professionally to take photos of their kids but it just never felt right.  I couldn’t bring myself to charge someone for something that I knew was so precious to them – I wanted to teach THEM how to take their own pictures.

Krista actually has more professional photography experience than I do.  Her background is in marketing, so she had good built-in instincts as well.  But after she had Chloe, she took the bull by the horns and started apprenticing for commercial shoots in New York City. Before long she was producing shoots as well. But we both recognize that most new mommies don’t have the professional opportunities or time otherwise to get serious about their hobby, so we want to help them with that!

What type of camera do you use? Lenses? I (Adrienne) use a DSLR camera – a Nikon D200.  I like to use prime lenses when I’m in a controlled environment like around the house or somewhere I’m familiar with. Prime lenses are great because they offer a wider aperture which works great with natural light indoors. I have Nikon 50mm 1.8 and an 85mm 1.4.  But the drawback to prime lenses is that your butt is the zoom – you have to physically move back and forth with the camera to frame your shot.  When we’re in an unfamiliar location when everything’s happening quickly or I need to be more concerned about everyone’s safety than backing my butt up to get the shot, I use a zoom lens.  It’s a Sigma 17-70mm  2.8-4.5.

I asked Krista about her most recent camera combo and found out she uses a Canon 40D and a 50 mm lens, a 1.4. “I love the combo and can't complain as it's given me some amazing shots, but I do realize more and more especially recently that my camera bag could use a little bit of variety. I am a minimalist when it comes to equipment. And I think at the heart of the Momtographers philosophy is a minimalist approach, kids (especially young ones) come with enough gear, LOL! I shot with my sony point and shoot in manual for a long time, until I was lucky enough to have a Canon Rebel loaned to me. I shot with just that and the kit lens for over a year, until I finally upgraded to a 50 mm 1.8 lens ($89!!!). Eventually I had to give that camera back, and now I have the 40D, I also upgraded slightly to the 1.4 when my other lens literally fell apart in my hands at Chloë's 3rd birthday. I definitely see a zoom lens in my future!” 

What is a common mistake that novice photographers seem to make most often? Over doing it!  We’re not huge fans of posing the kids (i.e. the baby in the teacup) or otherwise adding things to photos to make up the story. That’s not to say that we don’t ask the kids to look at the camera, but we’d prefer to focus on the nuances of what’s already happening, and letting that environment tell that story.  Are you outside with the muchkins?  Take a picture of their feet in the bright green blades of grass.  Or if you’re at the beach and you just HAVE to get that shot of the kidoo perfectly posed in the sand, that’s great – just make sure to get some of them running in the tide afterwards!  In the end, it’s the authentic moments you’ll treasure most!

If you could give one crucial piece of advice to someone who is looking to sharpen their photography skills, what would it be? Learn all about natural light.  In our “Brand Spankin’ New” tips we advise that you find the pockets of light in your home that work consistently.  Once you practice there, you’ll begin to recognize other places that work too.  Find your safety zone and then experiment –it’s the best way to learn!

Also – TURN OFF YOUR FLASH!  

Any fun and exciting things we can be looking for at The Momtographers in the coming year? Yes!  We’re launching our Digital Darkroom soon for tips and tricks on digital editing.  We’re very excited about that!  We’re also appearing in some fun publications soon. Since our launch in January, we’ve been taking our time to make sure we listen to what our community members really need, so hopefully we’ll keep growing in ways that stick to our motto – Family Pictures... Only Better!

Thanks so much to you Adrienne for sharing with us! If you all haven't checked out The Momtographers yet, head on over there now. It is exploding with practical, easy to understand information and tips for novices to the more experienced photographer.

www.themomtographers.com

All photos in this post are property of The Momtographers.

National Park Week

This week (April 17th-25th) is National Park Week. The cool thing about National Park Week is that entrance to all 392 national parks in the United States is FREE! So now is a great time to take that day trip or weekend trip that you've been putting off.

 

If you are lucky enough to live near the Grand Canyon like me, it's the perfect time to visit. The weather is gorgeous, the Canyon is breathtaking, and it's free!

This stunning photo of the Grand Canyon is by LD Photography. To see more fine art photographs by LD Photography, click here.