Photo-Recipes

October 6th, 2011

Photo Tip: Parking Lot Magic for Photo Shoots! (and step-by-step post process!)

Why do I love shooting in parking lots over parks? I know not everyone can come to a CONFIDENCE Workshop (although I hope you ALL can at some point! ). So how about if I show you why I love shooting in parking lots!

Last weekend, we had our Sacramento CONFIDENCE Workshop (with the most lovely ladies!). During the model shoot, I noticed one group was photographing their mom and baby in the grass. Perfect time to demonstrate why I love parking lots over parks!

Grass eats up the light! When the sun hits the grass, the light is sucked up instead of bouncing back up in to the person’s face. Sometimes the light will even have a green hue to it. Anyone ever experience this? This doesn’t mean you can’t ever photograph people in grass, BUT if there is a big parking lot with lots of cement, even an alleyway, I may consider going there.

Here is an “unedited” example of how the light isn’t bouncing back up into baby’s face. Instead, you can almost see the shadows on baby’s face around the eyebrows, cheeks and chin. Does everyone see what I’m talking about?

But look what happens when we move mom and baby into the alleyway and have them sit down on the concrete! The concrete is white/gray and the sunlight bounces off the concrete and illuminates their faces–no shadows anywhere! Just gorgeous light! This photo is straight out of the camera with no editing.

Can you see the difference? It’s your own Fill Light happening without needing a flash or reflector!

During Day 2 of the workshop, we walk the ladies through our system or organizing images and post process. I show the ladies how I edit my images and talk about my reasoning behind the editing choices I make. You could take this image into Lightroom, and accentuate the colors just a bit. (Isn’t this mama gorgeous?!)

But I like it in Black and White too!

This is one of my favorite tricks that we teach at the CONFIDENCE Workshop. The weekend gives you a bag full of tricks so you can walk away from the workshop in confidence, both inside and out! Some secret confidence stuff happening in the p.s. below for those of you thinking about making 2012 your year for confidence!

We just got in to DC late last night! I’m so excited to meet all the DC CONFIDENCE women this weekend! But first, we are headed with the kids to do some sight seeing today! And over to Ali’s for dinner, one of our awesome SOAR! Recipients!

But Ali and I will both be online tonight at 5pm PST to kick off a rare Ask & Learn with Brian Smith! It’s not every day that you have a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who is super excited to answer all and any questions! Get your questions ready ladies!

xoxo,

p.s. There have been some exciting changes to our next set of CONFIDENCE workshops! I’m not going to make it official until early next week, but you could look at this page and take a peak (new city added and date changes per your request!).

p.s.s. Okay, I have to do this too! I was editing Mini Session photos on the plane today, and I have to show you a couple sneak peaks!

ANNIE!!! I was FREAKING OUT on the plane when I got to this series from our Mini!!

And the Sossaman Clan of SEVEN singing their hearts out!! SO MUCH FUN!!! I first met Sharon when she came to our Sonoma CONFIDENCE Workshop FOUR YEARS ago. Now she is this AWESOME Photographer! Check out her beautiful new website! And their family has become the dearest friends. (love you guys!)

So for real?! We have one Mini open for tomorrow at 3:45pm from a last minute cancellation! No one wants it?! If you do, just email Genie and show up (genie@merakoh.com or info@merakoh.com)! Woo-hoo! (More Mini Photos coming! Never fear Tresha and Carrie! Going to be worth the wait, promise!)

p.s.s.s. Is a third p.s. against the law?

My dad is feeling great since surgery on Tuesday! Thank you again and again! Can you hear how light my heart is! Okay, that’s it. I promise!

10 Comments »

October 5th, 2011

Meet Pulitzer Prize Winner and SONY Artisan…Brian Smith!

Meet Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and SONY Artisan, Brian Smith!

I know what you are thinking…”wait a minute…he’s not an Amazing Mom!” Yep, your right. But…Brian is freaking AMAZING! And somehow, he has graciously made time in his busy schedule and accepted the invitation to be here today to talk about shooting celebrity portraits, his new book Art & Soul, and how to win the Pulitzer Prize. But that’s not all! Brian Smith is ALSO going to be with us tomorrow night on the forum for our 2 hour Ask & Learn! I personally promised him you would ALL come with questions, small and big ones, so mark your calendars ladies for this awesome treat!

CLICK HERE to register yourself on the SOARORITY Forum!

For those of you who feel intimidated to ask Brian a question, keep reading this fantastic interview we had. Brian is completely approachable, super giving and just all around FUNNY! I first met him through SONY three years ago, and he has a heart of gold. I am truly honored to be a SONY Artisan alongside someone like Brian. If you ever wanted to connect with a celebrity photographer, today and tomorrow night is your chance!

This is what I mean by funny! Check out the opening to his bio!
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith is the luckiest guy on the planet. He’s told Bill Gates exactly what to do for an entire hour, had an exhibit at the Library of Congress, dined with the President and 3,000 of their closest friends, had cupcakes with Anne Hathaway, gotten drunk with George Clooney and married the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on…

His bio goes on and blows my mind!

For the past 30 years, his bold, iconic portraits of famous celebrities, athletes and executives have been used in advertising, by corporations and have graced the covers and pages of hundreds of magazines including Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Time, Forbes, New York Times Magazine and British GQ.

His first magazine photograph appeared in LIFE Magazine when Smith was a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of Missouri. Five years later, Smith won the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography for his photographs of the Los Angelas Olympic Games. He was again a finalist for the Pulitzer for his photographs of Haiti in Turmoil. His photograph of Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board at the Seoul Olympics won first place in both World Press Photo and the Pictures of the Year competition. His work has been exhibited at the Library of Congress and the Aperture Gallery.

Smith’s book ART & SOUL: STARS UNITE TO CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT THE ARTS was done in cooperation with The Creative Coalition and support from Sony pairs his portraits of 123 celebrities with their personal messages about the importance of funding the arts.

Smith is a Sony Artisan of Imagery and he’s been featured in Photo District News, Communication Arts Photography Annual, American PHOTO, Popular Photography, Professional Photographer, Digital Photo Pro, Rangefinder, After/Capture magazines. He appeared on Fine Living Channel teaching a Little League Mom how to become a Big League Sports Photographer.

He’s the President of Editorial Photographers, an organization of over 1500 of the top magazine photographers and newspaper photojournalists from around the world and frequently a speaker at photography seminars and to photo students at colleges, universities and art institutes. After more than three million air miles, his career has taken him on assignment to six continents his home in Miami Beach.

These are a few of the photos he won the Pulitzer Prize for! I’m sure some of you will remember them!

And now, on to our interview!

Q: What’s your first memory of photography? Or being enthralled with picture taking?
I think everybody from my era remembers the magic the first time they watched a print develop in the darkroom. It’s kind of sad that many people starting out now will never have that experience. The real magic came when I had my first photo published in the local newspaper when I was in high school. I shot sports for my hometown newspaper and still remember the first time I went out to the doorstep and picked up a paper with one of my photographs. It was a bit surreal. A few years later I had my first magazine photo in LIFE and I was absolutely and totally hooked.

Q: What was the biggest obstacle for you overcome in building your business?
Patience. Patience. Patience.

Sometimes it feels like you are rolling a boulder up a hill. You just take it one step at a time and hope the thing doesn’t flatten you when it slips. It seems like you are barely moving and every step is a huge effort. Then all of a sudden you get over a ridge and that damn rock starts to roll and pick up momentum. Well you know what? There are more hills ahead of you, but you’ll get over those too. Don’t give up. A lot of people before you had to push that same rock. Enjoy the journey…

Q: What’s the best advice you have about running a business?
Surround yourself with people far smarter that you. In my case that’s my wife Fazia, so I should also add more talented…and way better looking…

Q: What’s the best advice you ever received, in regards to shooting?
The best advice I ever got was when I had just started and applied for an internship at a newspaper. Their chief photographer looked at my photos and said “all this shows me is that you know how to focus a telephoto lens. Go out and shoot portraits of 50 strangers that reveal something about who they are.” There is no better exercise to make you comfortable with the people you photograph. I never got that job – but I got much more than I could have asked for.

Q: What is a common mistake you see many new photographers make? How would you advise them differently?
This is a great question, I would love to dive into this during the Ask and Learn Session tomorrow evening!

Q: You’ve created a whole book around Arts Education support, such an important issue. What got you interested in this topic to go to this length of supporting it?

I suppose I should say something profound, but to be honest it was a just a great project dropped in my lap by a lovely lady – Kayla Lindquist who runs Sony’s Artisans of Imagery program. It was supposed to be a quick three-day portrait shoot of celebrities with The Creative Coalitions during Oscars Week 2009. We asked each celebrity to write what the arts means to them. Tim Daly was the first person I shot and on my 10th frame we stopped to look at the shot. We both knew we’d hit on something great. So like any photographer, I turned a quick 3-day shoot into 20 days of shooting 25,000 photographs around the country over the next 15 months to produce the 256-page over-sized coffee table book ART & SOUL.

The moral of this story is don’t ever let a photographer paint your house, they’ll still be getting it “just right” decades from now when you pull up to your house in your Jetsons’ rocket car… (hilarious Brian!)

Q: What was your first celebrity shoot like? Were you nervous?
I still get nervous. I can’t tell you how many times I haven’t slept a wink the night before a big shoot – just going over every detail to make certain everything is taken care of and I know what I’m going to do. But one of the great things I’ve learned from the ART & SOUL project is not to over-think things. We shot 250 people over the course of 20 days and you quickly realize it’s all going to work out if you just chill out a bit and let things unfold. Celebrities are so used to being directed that it can be an incredibly freeing experience when they ask what you want them to do and you say, “you can do anything you want – let’s just have some fun.”

Here are a few samples from the Art & Soul book!

Q: What is your top marketing advice for photographers wanting to build their business?
The first thing to remember about marketing is that it all begins around content. But there is so much to talk about. Let’s talk about all of this at the Ask & Learn tomorrow night on the forum.

Q: What equipment do you shoot with?
My workhorse cameras are a pair of Sony a900 DSLR cameras. But I also love the Sony NEX-5 for travel, and I’ve got a Cyber-shot WX9 that I slip in my pocket for those times when you never know where a great shot my pop up in front of you.

Q: What is your favorite lens and why?
If you held a gun to my head…not that MeRa has ever done this…and told me I could only shoot with one lens, it would be Sony’s CZ 24-70/2.8. It’s insanely sharp for a zoom lens and just the perfect range for portraits from shooting wide environmental portraits at 24mm to 3/4 body shots around 45mm and for tightly framed portraits. I like to be in close at 70mm where you can whisper to your subject instead of shouting from across the room like you would if you were shooting with a long telephoto lens.

Q: What is the process of entering your photos for a Pulitzer Prize?

I’m saving this answer and more for tomorrow night’s Ask&Learn!

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Meet us tomorrow night on the SOARORITY Forum from 5pm PST to 7pm PST! Bring all your questions for Brian! As you can see, he’s an AMAZING photographer but also a generous heart!

And Brian, thank you SO MUCH for being here!! You are the BEST! (There is just something about men named “Brian”.

)

xoxo,

p.s. You can see Brian Smith and I both speak at Photo Plus this month in NY! We’ll be rocking the SONY stage during the tradeshow with the other AMAZING SONY Artisans, but also giving two hour presentations! CLICK HERE for more details!

15 Comments »

September 28th, 2011

Four “aha’s” from Shooting w/ Me Ra! from Natalia Dotto, Seattle Photographer

You never know when I may do a shout out for a second shooter on my FB page! Be sure to Like It, so you have a chance at coming, no matter what city you live in! Below is what happened to Natalia Dotto when she responded to a last minute shout out! (be sure to check out her BEAUTIFUL website!) And Early Bird Special starts tomorrow with the announcement of our Winter CONFIDENCE Cities! xo, m

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A Behind-the-Scenes look from Natalia Dotto, Seattle Photographer (all photos by Natalia)

Last Friday afternoon was supposed to be routine: picking up a 5 year old from Kindergarten, collecting my 14-year old from JV soccer practice and going to my 17 year old’s Varsity soccer game. But sometimes plans change and chances have to be grabbed.

Me Ra Koh had put out a spontaneous call for a second shooter on her FB page, someone to go on a funky photo journey with her. I jumped at the chance and an hour and a half later, I was in Tacoma outside an antique store with THE Me Ra Koh!

She greeted me with a big hug and that smile that just draws you in. We chatted a bit and she immediately put me at ease. Did I mention I was really nervous?! Then she started to tell me about her vision for this family session; A vintage sofa placed in the middle of the street. A parking garage peppered with graffiti.

And the family was bringing some serious props … a deer head, a stuffed fish, also skateboards, hockey sticks, helmets, a homemade sword, shield and quiver, a surfboard. My mind was racing at the possibilities.

Me Ra handed me one of her SONY cameras, popped on a 70-200 lens, gave me a quick run through of the Sony … seemed simple enough. The family arrived with matching blue blazers, and we were off.

Over the next 90 minutes I watched. I shot. And I absorbed it all. There was a ton of laughing and some shooting and some learning and quite a bit more laughter, but here are my four biggest “aha’s” that I took away from that afternoon:

1. You don’t have to get every shot. This was big for me since after every session I walk away with the same thought — why didn’t I get this or why didn’t I do that, or say this or ask that? When we talked before the session Me Ra said think about a session this way: if you only had 3 rolls of film, 36 exposures, 108 images which ones would you get. Be thoughtful about when you push that shutter-release. Pause … breathe … think.

2. Don’t be afraid of the opportunity. Me Ra found a vintage/antique store in Tacoma that was willing to let her use their orange sofa in the session. Better yet the shop owners were willing to let her put it in the middle of the street. Even better … two burly guys spent a few minutes with us moving it in and out of the street when the cars came by.

My takeaway: See something you like … ask. What’s the worst that can happen?

3. Collaboration can be key. This was a seriously fun, good-looking family. How often do you get clients wanting a stuffed fish in their family portraits? This family was anything but stuffy. And while Me Ra had a definite idea of how she wanted this session to go, when the boys had an idea she went with it. If she wasn’t feeling it she told them and started over. Here’s Me Ra showing one of the boys how she wants him to pose with his mum. This one just wasn’t working (think mum’s head squashed between her lovely high-spirited boys).

No problem, Me Ra moved them in front of a vintage doorway.

I saw a melding of ideas between photographer and the clients. Granted not every client is going to be like this. But asking for feedback, for what the client wants to do, can go a long way. The boys were totally engaged in the photographic process and likely more comfortable in front of the camera because of it all.

4. Perhaps my biggest takeaway was this: Start from where you are. Me Ra’s words of advice she picked up in the loo. I’m serious. If you ever meet her ask her about this one. But anyway … I worked for years as a television news producer; I still pick up a freelance job now and then. Over the last few months I have been wondering why I’ve not embraced that side of me more when it comes to my photography. The couple of hours I spent with Me Ra reinforced that this is how I need to approach my craft, starting from where I am and what I know.

Oh and make sure you laugh … a lot!

As I got in my car for the drive back to Seattle, Me Ra jumped into her grandpa’s old jeep truck, honked, and waved as she drove away. My mind was swirling. It actually still is. Were there images I wished I had taken, questions I wish I had asked? Of course. But the couple of hours on Friday afternoon were a thrill for me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet and shoot with the photographer who helped get me started on my own photography journey.

Thank you Me Ra!

Oh and a huge thank you to my husband who jumped in and took care of the kid-wrangling for me.

-Natalia Dotto

P.S. Part of this journey for me was making a video for Me Ra’s SOAR scholarship. (Yes, I actually got in front of the lens). I had taken a few tentative steps towards starting a photography business when I heard about SOAR. Through the SOAR scholarship three women receive mentoring and coaching from Me Ra and several other sponsors and partners in all aspects of starting their own photography business. But it’s so much bigger than that. Anyone and everyone who wants to can participate. While I didn’t win the scholarship I made some amazing BPF’s (Best Photography Friends) who I likely would never have met if it weren’t for SOAR. The SOAR community is spread across the country. And these women support and encourage each other as they build their businesses. And for those who want to enter in 2012 the contest is going to gear up again! Get those videos ready, I’ll be watching! For more info on the SOAR! Scholarship, CLICK HERE!

14 Comments »

September 20th, 2011

10 Ways to Gain Confidence with a Camera!

A few weeks ago, I participated in the craziest thing I’ve ever done online—a TWITTER PARTY! It was insane, like one of our SOARORITY forum Ask & Learn nights but on CRACK! But it was sooo much fun! For those of you who joined in, we had over 11 million impressions–ELEVEN MILLION PLUS! Craziness! The awesome ladies at Mom It Forward compiled the top 10 Ways to Gain Confidence with a Camera from all the tweeting we did. Below is their post! To see 4-10, CLICK HERE!

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by Jamie Moesser on September 13th, 2011

By now, we all know that blogging and involvement in various social media outlets has become a new, fascinating, and powerful means of self-expression. Hand-in-hand with blogging is the subject of photography as a means of enriching your written content and garnering interest. Blog photography as a means of self-expression in and of itself is a topic deserving of it’s own “face time,” however. As one of our tweeters put it, “social media + photography = a powerful new form of personal narrative.”

Last week, our #gno tweeters had the opportunity to learn some valuable photography tips from Me Ra Koh, key note speaker at Evo ’11 , a regular photo expert contributor for The Nate Berkus Show on NBC, author, and host of the sold-out CONFIDENCE workshops. Her work and photo-recipes have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifetime Television, and VH1. She and other panelists shared ideas on how to gain confidence both behind and in front of the camera. Here are the top 10 tips, in no particular order:

Top 10 Tweet Tips for Camera Confidence

Decide what story to tell before you shoot. Get in closer, frame the picture tighter. If the background doesn’t add to the story of the photo, get it out. In other words, look for background that accentuates the story.
Don’t be afraid to shoot from unconventional angles, whether that means standing on a picnic table or bed looking down at your subject, or lying on the floor looking up. Take lots of shots to find out what works best.
Know that it’s not necessarily what camera you use, but how you use it. @chookooloonks says, “I’ve seen great cameras take crappy shots, and crappy cameras take great shots. It’s all in how you use the tool.”

To see 4-10 Tweet Tips, CLICK HERE!

A big, (actually GIGANTIC) thank you to the awesome ladies at Mom It Forward for walking me through my first Twitter Party! And a HUGE thank you to my amazing panelists and all of you who tuned in!

xoxo,

p.s. What’s Left: CONFIDENCE Workshops!

Just ONE spot left in Sacramento CONFIDENCE Workshop this weekend! CLICK HERE to take it!

FOUR SPOTS left in Dallas, TX for November! Other cities SOLD OUT! CLICK HERE for Dallas Details!

p.s.s. See the newest Weekly Pick at Critique at the New Beginnings Photo Contest! Have you entered the New Beginnings Photo Contest?! It’s not to late, and there is a Kid’s Click section too!!!

1 Comment »

September 15th, 2011

SOAR! Photo Assignment–Working with a Bride, Groom and Pro!

I’ve been fighting the worst fever since Sunday night–after the most WONDERFUL weekend with the Seattle CONFIDENCE ladies (inspiring photos from the weekend to come!). My head is finally feeling like the fog is rolling away, and just in time because I’m so excited to write today’s post!

This month’s SOAR! Photography exercise was a BIG one! The gals had the choice of either second shooting/shadowing a pro wedding photographer or setting up their ideal setting for a mock shoot with a bride and groom. If you are thinking of shooting weddings, I strongly encourage you to shadow a wedding photographer. As Charisse put so well in her blog post yesterday, it’s one thing to be a guest or participant but a whole different dynamic to be the photographer all day long. From shadowing a pro, you learn so much–even if you don’t take a single photo and just carry bags. That’s what I did when I first started, I carried bags from one shooting spot to another, but believe me, my brain was BUZZING after!

I invite you to go check out the SOAR! blog today! Ali created a video of her experience. Charisse shared a ton of powerful tips that she learned, and a handful of gorgeous photos like this one!

And Rachel, who started SOAR! with ZERO photography/camera experience, set up her ideal shoot in the dessert and captured the most FABULOUS moments!!

I am super proud of all three of these girls!

But that’s not all! I want to give Linda Baylis, one of the SOAR! Recipients from last year, the BIGGEST HIGH FIVE! She relocated to New Zealand this year, and she emailed a few days ago to say she booked her first wedding in New Zealand! Woo-hoo!! We are so happy for you Linda!! We can’t wait to see what you capture! In Linda’s email she wrote the most inspiring words, I hope they infuse you with hope for your dreams too!

“It was just over a year ago that you challenged us to blog about our

dreams… While the clock may have struck midnight December 31st 2010 many

months ago the dream is still becoming more and more real…

Here I am back in New Zealand, living in the lifestyle location we’d dreamed

of, and in case I forgot to say before I’VE BOOKED MY FIRST WEDDING!!!”

With intense programs like the SOAR! Scholarship, you get out of it what you put into it. I can’t be more proud of how MUCH these ladies have put into their SOAR! experience and work. Head over to the SOAR! blog, and be inspired today!

A very special thanks to two wedding photographers, Peter Bang in Washington DC and Susan Sparks in Sacramento, CA for allowing two of our SOAR! Recipients to shadow you. You are both so amazing and generous! If you haven’t checked out Peter and Susan’s websites, make sure you do!

xoxo,

p.s. I’ve got a couple Mini Session spots left in Sacramento–coming at you this month! And you may get more than 30 photos b/c I’ll have Charisse second shooting with me! Woo-hoo! Book your time slot HERE!

3 Comments »

August 8th, 2011

SOAR! Photography Exercise for August! Playing with Textures!

The second Monday of the month is here! This means a new SOAR! Photography Exercise! The assignment was to do a Senior Portrait Session with Textures in mind. I asked the ladies to go out into their local area and find places that have diverse textures for a possible photo shoot. We did this exercise last year, and the results were AWESOME! To see the whole exercise so you can do it too, CLICK HERE!

Linda Baylis, one of our three SOAR! Recipients from last year, knocked this exercise out of the park in sharing her journey and discoveries! In fact, our Linda is now settled in New Zealand!!! She recently launched her photography business and is gearing up to SOAR! in the beautiful area called Hawke’s Bay!!! I know she will do so well! Linda’s got so much spunk, power, confidence and passion! I am…no, actually WE ALL ARE, so PROUD OF HER!!! CLICK HERE to see Linda’s new website! Below is the post that she wrote last year for Seniors and Textures. May this exercise inspire you to see textures in a whole new light!

xoxo,

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I’m not sure that any of our three SOAR! Recipients have considered Senior Portraits as their main photography focus, but I’m wondering if tackling a senior shoot with textures in mind…may just open up a new love or disdain.

Let me just say is it was LOVE at first CLICK! This week’s photo exercise left me brimming with confidence, inspiration, and excitement. For the first time ever I walked away from the shoot knowing I had some great stuff and the added bonus… we had so much fun!

The day before the session I set out to scout some locations. I already knew where to find some great brick walls and red doors in Old Sacramento Town but I wanted to investigate a mid-town area my photographer friend Bree Hester had taken me to once. I never thought the urban grunge look would fit with my emerging style so it’s not a location I’d considered before. Oh what I was missing out on!!!

Here’s what I found… two whole blocks of amazing textures, colors, open shade and a world of shooting possibilities. Seriously – I was practically bouncing off the walls I was so excited!

R Street Plaza - Texture Heaven

Looks can be deceiving… luckily my senior’s Mom who joined us on the shoot trusted me on that!

location2 location3 location4

location5 location6

location grey

location

And here are the results…

What did I learn?

1. Looks can be deceiving – the grungiest wall can make a beautiful backdrop!
2. Seniors ROCK. Christian was the nicest young man – so relaxed, so photogenic and so open to direction! And patience… this guy was a trooper!
3. Mom’s are a great asset to have on a shoot – the picture above with him sitting on top of the rust covered wall was taken in full sun. I had Mum hold up the screen from my 5 in 1 reflector kit to block the sun.
4. It doesn’t matter how many times I fold up my reflector kit with ease and grace in the privacy of my own home – I will never master it during a public photo session.
5. I am no longer concerned with the technical details. I shoot in raw for the added insurance but feel I’ve finally crossed that line that allows me now to concentrate on the other aspects of good photography.
6. Despite having my most unusual problem to date… not knowing how to cull down the images – I still see so many things I wish I had tried, could have done differently….
7. Last but not least, there is nothing more rewarding than the excitement of a client who LOVES your images as well as the experience of the actual session. Seriously.

After reading Me Ra’s blog post yesterday I realized there are many more ideas and techniques I’d like to explore. For example, while I shot in manual during this session, I never changed my aperture from f.2.8. I’d never thought of a wheat field as ‘texture’ and I’m eager to find out if any of our museums have fabulous pillars. As well as exploring how textures can enhance senior images I had another goal for this session. I really wanted to shoot for an album and come up with a fantastic studio sample album featuring my very own images. This is something I said I aspired to way back in my SOAR application. I’m so excited with how the album came out and had so much fun with the textures and colors. Quite a change from my classic wedding album designs! You can check it out here.

I really hope you have as much as fun and get as much inspiration from this exercise as I did. I look forward to seeing your results. Keep it coming Me Ra!

Take care,
Linda

(We love you Linda!!! xoxo, m)

8 Comments »

July 26th, 2011

Guess Who Got an iPhone? (and is going CRAZY w/ Photo Apps!)

Yes, Brian and I finally entered the 21st century and got iPhones. As a photographer, I almost feel embarrassed on how long it has taken us to get one. I feel like I have to justify myself and tell all my photo friends that AT&T didn’t have coverage in our home so we had no choice but to wait for Verizon. But I don’t really have to share all that, right?!

But SERIOUSLY…I am going CRAZY over the photo apps. I mean CRAZY!!! I LOVE THEM!!

Blaze had his last baseball game last Saturday, and I was so giddy about taking photos with my iPhone that one of the moms asked if I had just bought it that morning. To funny! I won’t bombard you with ALL the photos I took, but here are my top three!

I am so crazy about this kid!

And my FAVORITE!

It’s kind of fun to not have to think about camera settings and just play with composition! I was thinking about the Third’s Principle a lot, and seeing how far I could push the envelope. It was also fun having the space of a square for composition. Just those two factors, the Third’s Principle and having a square image to work with, got my creative juices going. Sometimes it’s the simplest of things that recharges our creative energy. Not to mention all those filters!

On our drive home, I took this little gem! I love that the shutter dragged on this enough to blur the tree in the foreground.

And one little MISSY snuck in the car with mom’s iPhone and took this self portrait (so classic!).

Just Hilarious. She doesn’t know that I found this yet.

So TELL ME, what are your favorite Photo Apps!!

xoxo,

23 Comments »

July 18th, 2011

#photorecipes: Six Tips for Your Family Photo Shoot!

Have you ever booked a family photo shoot and then hung up the phone with a knot in your stomach because although the photographer might be a pro, you are NOT a pro at having your picture taken? Switch the tables. Have you ever booked a photo shoot and hung up with a knot in YOUR stomach because you want a game plan for your shoot? If you answered yes to either side of the scenario, today’s post is for YOU!

Many of the people who book my Mini Sessions or Portrait Shoots are photographers themselves. They have tons of photos they’ve taken of their kids and spouse, but they want to be in the photo too! Below are six fun tips for the family being photographed AND the photographer shooting! All of these were inspired from my recent Seattle Mini Sessions. You’ll notice the same setting in a few to get your creative juices flowing on how I mixed up the family’s set up depending on kids, their age, how many, etc.

Enjoy!

Tip 1: Wear Complimentary COLORS.

If your family is going to be photographed, go for color! Look for colors that can compliment each other well. If there is a mother and daughter, find a way for them to both wear the same color but in different ways. Notice how mom has the lilac cardigan and her daughter has almost the same color scarf. This strengthens the presence of the ladies in the family. Don’t be afraid of patterns, as long as there isn’t a distracting logo, your good! Golden Rule that I always have Genie tell our clients “Where what you feel most BEAUTIFUL in.”

Tip 2: Scout Out a Fun, Creative Location

Before the shoot, scout out an interesting location. Look for fun textures, old barns, wheat fields, abandoned buildings, brick, ivy, cement steps, etc. It’s always fun to mix up your family photo shoot with unique backgrounds and locations!

Tip 3: Share the Spotlight!

Take turns focusing everyone’s attention on each person in the family. The simple act of everyone turning and giving the youngest daughter a BIG smile brings out the best reactions!

And when the middle one, who is a little more shy, is authentic to herself when it’s her turn…what more could you ask for! This is the story of their family.

Tip 4: Toddler Calls the Shots (in the beginning)

There is nothing I love more when I start a family photo shoot, and the toddler wants to sit by himself off to the side! It’s the BEST!!! I encourage the mom and dad to let me take a handful of shots because this way the toddler feels like I’m on his side, but it’s also the sweetest season to photograph. We take a few with the toddler calling the shots on where he is going to sit and not sit, and then he’s usually up for my ideas after that. (But I have to admit, I think his ideas win every time! )

Funny little story with this next photo….Isn’t it sweet! Doesn’t that little guy look like the perfect subject for photos?!

In truth, we did the toddler’s idea and now it was Ms. Me Ra’s turn. I asked the mom to gently rest her head on her husband’s shoulder for a peaceful look, and she looked at me like “What?!” with a big smile! But she tried it, and we got to laughing so hard we almost wet our pants! She was trying to rest her head on hubby’s shoulder, but the toddler wanted down which caused her husband to have to readjust constantly which sometimes bumped her head, and then I kept asking her to try “resting” her head again as the toddler tried to climb out of dad’s arms while the baby is starting to fidget in mom’s arms–OH, if you could only see the outtakes! BUT, you only need the stars to align for a split second to get the shot where everyone looks peaceful, joyful and content! Love it! One of my favorite memories from the day! (love you Linnea!)

Tip 5: Give ‘Em a SQUEEZE!

Touch, hugs, the “BIG SQUEEZES”, the BIG–Wrap-My-Arms-Around-Mom and Dad, is a great activity for a family photo shoot! Pre-tweens that may be a little unsure of the shoot, don’t hold an ounce back if they are asked to SQUEEZE dad with all they’ve got! Don’t worry about focus being sharp. The story of this photo is all about content. I LOVE that this little guy is looking right at the camera, but he isn’t sharp. It gives me a sense of feeling how wrapped up and safe he is in dad’s arms.

Have mom squat down to her child’s height and go for the same BIG SQUEEZE! Get in tight for a more intimate feeling. Frame out whatever isn’t necessary. We don’t need all of mom’s arm to know she’s holding her little one. We don’t need much background or anything to the sides of them. We want the whole story to revolve around this SQUEEZE!

Tip 6: Finish Where Love Began!

End your photo shoot with mom and dad, where all the love in the family first began! Off center mom and dad and let the kids be in the background. This is when I have mom and dad do a big “FAKE LAUGH” for me (that feels absolutely awkward! but the more they do it, the funnier and authentic it becomes!). Let the kids just stand in the background. Their confused or bored little faces adds the perfect contrast to make mom and dad’s connection of laughter that much stronger in the story of your photo! And I guarantee that mom and dad will have a BLAST doing this set up which is a GREAT way to end the photo shoot!

Now your turn! What are you favorite family photo tips?!

Big thanks to the most wonderful subjects! Thank you for the honor of capturing your families!

Happy Monday!

Me Ra

p.s. For Real This Time!

Okay, we said we were going to extend the Early Bird Discount a little longer, and a BUNCH of you jumped on that and registered. With EVO just ending, we decided to keep the Early Bird Discount going until the end of this week. And then the CONFIDENCE Workshop price will go up to the regular rate of $999 per person. But we did want to give EVO ladies a chance to get the Early Bird ($799)! So GRAB your CONFIDENCE spot before the end of this week!

Brian, Genie and I are so excited about this Fall! We released 100 CONFIDENCE Workshop seats for this Fall between four cities, and 71 have SOLD! It’s going to be an AMAZING Fall that is FULL of CONFIDENCE! Woo-hoo!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

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July 11th, 2011

Photo Tips on The Nate Berkus Show TODAY!

Me Ra is back on the The Nate Berkus Show…TODAY! (CLICK HERE to find what time it airs in your city!)

Today’s show is all about telling your family’s story throughout your home. If you are a lover of family photos, you will love the storytelling photo tips we discuss!

Catch a clip of the show here, but tune in to your local listing to watch the whole enchilada!

Happy Monday!

Genie

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July 1st, 2011

Firework and Sparkler Photo Tips!

Can you believe the fourth of July is this Monday?! How is this possible! Time to break out the lemonade stand, bbq, strawberry shortcake, lawn chairs, blankets, sparklers and CAMERA!

Today’s blog is packed with inspiration for your 4th of July!

(Photo by Crystal Garcia from Ashland, OR / Crystal, this photo is PRECIOUS! Amazing lighting and such a wonderful way to show the red, white and blue!)

If you want a fun photo challenge this fourth of July, try out any one of the three Photo-Recipes below. I think the most fun Photo-Recipe is the last one because it’s all about how to capture your kids playing with sparklers!

Photo-Recipe for Capturing Fireworks!

1. Set your camera on AV or A mode. This means aperture priority, where you decide how blurry your background is. Since we’re wanting fireworks, we want more detail than any thing else. So bump up your aperture to somewhere between an F11 to F16.

2. A while back I did a tips post on ISO. The lower your ISO (or what we once knew as film speed), the richer your color. We want deep, rich colors for this shot, so bring your ISO down to 100.

3. If you have a tripod great, set it up! If you don’t have a tripod or have little ones to manage use a table top or put the camera between your knees. Since you set your camera in AV or A mode, your camera will determine how long your shutter needs to stay open to record the light from the fireworks.

4. When you see the fireworks go off, push your shutter release button (the button you push when you’re taking photos), gently let go, and let the shutter stay open as long as it needs too. When you hear the click, that means the shutter closed. It may take a few long seconds for the image to record before you can view it in on the back of your camera.

5. Is the image dark? Look at your image, click your info button and see what the camera decided the shutter speed should be. Switch from AV mode to Manuel (M). (you can do this! stick with me!) Set your aperture at the f-stop you chose (somewhere between F11 to F16), and then adjust your shutter speed so it stays open longer than what the camera had decided. Example, you took the photo in AV mode. The camera decided to stay open for 4 seconds. But it wasn’t long enough because the image is to dark. Move to Manuel, set your aperture back, set the shutter to stay open for 6 seconds (two seconds longer) and try again.

6. Is the image to bright? You basically do what we did in step 5, except this time you adjust your shutter so it DOESN’T stay open as long. If your photo was to bright or overexposed, the shutter stayed open to long and let to much light in. We just need to speed that shutter speed up a bit. Maybe have it stay open for 1 second instead of 4 seconds.

(I hope this makes sense, and isn’t to confusing! Brian dresses up as Professor T in DVD 2, and does a great skit on understanding shutter speed. I almost pee my pants, every time I watch it or see him reenact it in our kitchen. Check out our DVD series for more help with camera settings!)

(photo by Gina Maxine from California / Gina, I LOVE the look on his face and how it’s only lit by the sparkler’s light!)

Second Photo-Recipe for Fireworks!

1. Set your ISO to 100.

2. Set your camera on Manuel mode.

3. Set your aperture to F11 or F16. Remember, the higher the number in our aperture, the more detail we have.

4. Set your shutter speed to 4 seconds long.

5. When the fireworks go off, click your button, wait for the shutter to close.

6. Check to see if it’s to bright or to dark and then just adjust your shutter speed accordingly.

Photo-Recipe for kids (AND adults) playing with sparklers!

Whether you want to capture a photo of a favorite word spelled with sparklers

(photo by Jasmine Taylor from Washington / Jasmine, what a FANTASTIC IDEA!)

or simple capture the sparkling joy in your kid’s face as they play with sparklers, try this fun photo-recipe out!

(photo by Natalie Teabo in Georgia / Their beautiful, adopted daughter from Ghana West Africa, one month after coming home!)

1. Set your ISO to 100.

2. Set your camera in Manuel mode.

3. Set your aperture to F8.

4. Set your shutter speed to 1 second.

5. Have your little one twirl their sparkler in front of your camera while the shutter is open (make sure the camera is on a table or something that isn’t going to move).

You should see a trail of light for every direction they twirled their sparkler. If not, slow your shutter speed down even more. This can be a ton of fun!

MORE GREAT RESOURCES!!

Check out any one of these websites for more fun photo tips!

11 Tips for Sparkling Fireworks Photos from Photojojo

How to Photograph Fireworks from the New York Institute of Photography

Tips for Getting Spectacular Firework Photos from Salisbury Post!

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about camera settings for today’s photos, make sure you post them in the comments! I’m sure these lovely ladies would love to help!

Okay, you are set for photos on the 4th! You seriously better send me what you get!

A big thanks to all of you who saw my FB call-out for photos and responded so fast! I love showing off your work! It is always so inspiring!

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

xoxo,

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Last Week for the Early Bird Discount!

If you are planning to join us this Fall for our CONFIDENCE Workshops, make sure you register this week to get the Early Bird Discount Price of $799 vs. $999. If you’d like, you can also break up the amount into payments. Click on one of the four Fall CONFIDENCE Cities for more details!

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