Photography Tips

I get so many questions each week about my photography, so I thought I would try and fit a bit of everything into one post......a little crash course. I am so lucky to be able to do what I love, and hope I can share some good basic information with you!


Equipment:
I shoot with the Canon 5d Mark II. My favorite lens right now is the 35 mm f 1.4. I LOVE my setup! But I also shoot several weddings and portrait sessions each year--so this camera is perfect for me. There are some amazing (and more affordable!) choices out there for every different level.

I highly recommend the Canon XTi. It is such a good little camera, and a great way to explore the world of DSLRs. It's an older model, which makes it very affordable if you are in the market for a good beginner camera.
The next upgrade would be the newer rebel, the T2i. A great camera + it shoots HD video! I LOVE having my camera and video all in one!

I say start with a more affordable camera, and work on getting nicer lenses. If you are new to DSLR cameras, you will love the kit lens that your camera comes with. When you are ready to branch out a bit more, I think the Canon 50mm 1.8 is a great little lens, with an awesome $80 pricetag!

Processing:
I use Lightroom and Photoshop CS3. I am NOT a photoshop whiz by any means....I just like a little tweak here and there. I think my best advice for processing would just be to STOP! really. There is such a thing as too much, and I think it's so important not to get too caught up in processing fads (over-saturation, crazy sharpened eyes, fake plastic skin....and on and on).

Actions:
I do use actions....kinda. Over the years I've played around with various free actions I've found--and sets I've purchased. I've loved a few of them, but found a good portion of them that I've never used. I'm now down to a small handful that I use just to speed up my work flow....and they are actions I've created on my own! I'm going to show you how to make a very simple action!

When shooting children (does that sound right?):
Let kids be themselves. Ask them how they want their picture taken. Have them make silly faces for you. Make sure you're both having fun! If you need a good giggle, just say "who tooted!?".....it works like a charm!! (on some adults too:)

This picture was shot in late morning, in open shade. ISO 200, 35mm, f/1.4, 1/1000 sec. I shoot in RAW, which leaves my images a bit on the dull side--it just needs a little pop.....so let's make an action!
On the right-hand side, in your action window, at the bottom you'll see a little post-it-note looking button. This will start recording your new action. Click it, and name your action (I just named it "My Action" for this tutorial, because I am creative like that)


To brighten the brights, and darken the darks, we're going to give it just a teeny little "S" shaped curve layer. (layers button, curves) Curves is a powerful tool--play around with it a lot to get different results.


Color varies from camera to camera, and for my my camera's color is just a little too saturated for my liking . I create a new hue/saturation layer, and take down the saturation just a bit.


That's it! My photo is done! Push the "stop" button at the bottom of the actions window to stop recording. Flatten the layers of your image (layer, flatten image). Open up another image, and test out your new action by pressing the "play" button.


You can create actions for small tweaks, black and whites, or resizing your images!

And just keep practicing. Take pictures of EVERYTHING. Try out what I did for yesterdays post--look around for the pretty things in your day-to-day life, and photograph them. Have fun!

--
sheena

Little Things

I love blogs....don't you? I have been blogging now for over three years, and I feel as though it just keeps getting better! But how easy is it to get sucked into someone's blog....all the highlights of their life laid out so nicely, and wish that pieces of it were yours? Other's lives look so beautiful up on your computer screen.....don't they? I think it's so important that we all look for the little things that make our own lives so interesting each day. And I do mean little, teeny tiny things. I have two little ones at home and there are days were we just stay home. No big adventures. No grand excursions. But there are still little things that mean so much to me, and I try every day to look for them.












I promise that if you adjust your eyes a bit, there are pretty little things all around us, if we only remember to look.

--
sheena

My Favorite Summertime Photos

If you could only describe summer through photographs, what would they be? Watermelon? A pool party? The beach? Here's a few of my favorite photos from this summer, as seen through the view finder of my cute little 1950's camera!










These are all true ttv photos. Through the Viewfinder photography (TtV) is defined as taking a picture of any subject "through the viewfinder" of any camera with another camera. I love the results I get, a digital image with the look of a vintage photo. I use an Anscoflex and sometimes a Duraflex camera. It's definitely become one of my favorite hobbies!!

Guest Blogger- Photos feeling blue? Add some color!

I have a little motto I stick to when I create pages – the pictures are the focus! I know most of us aren’t professional photographers and our pictures don’t always look perfect, but I believe cropping and some small effects will help your ordinary photos look top notch!

1. Cropping can do wonders to an average photo. First you need to decide what you want in the photo. Most the time you are going to zoom way in – there always seems to be a lot of empty space. Do you want a horizontal or vertical photo? Get creative.

2. Brightness/Contrast Most photos need some brightening and I like to use extra contrast. Do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and then adjust to your liking.

3. Effects Lets look at some basic effects to ensure that your photo tells a story. Here are three different simple effects and the directions for using Photoshop (there are much more complicated ways of adjusting color in Photoshop, but I wanted to just stick with a couple easy ones).
• SEPIA FILTER – this does not necessarily change the color of your photo to shades of brown and tan, it just gives your photo an older, dreamy sort of feel. Go to Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter choose sepia filter and play with the density (I used 49% density on this photo).
• ENHANCE COLOR – this brightens all the colors in the photo and gives a more intense feel. Go to Image > Adjustments > Selective Color, here you should choose the colors in your photo from the drop down list and adjust each line to get a bold effect.
• BLACK & WHITE – I love black and white photos - they have such a timeless look and feel. The key to making B&W photos look amazing is to play with the color contrast. In this case you will change your photo to B&W before you change the brightness and contrast. Go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White, then use your brightness/contrast tool generously.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Inspired by Photographers

I'm not a professional photographer, but I do like to take pictures! Every once and a while, I can think of a creative way to take a picture on my own, but most of the time I'm inspired by photographers on the internet, books and magazines. Whenever I see a photo that I like, I keep it. I like the everyday photos, but I really like photos that are interesting to look at even when you don't know the person.


These photographs are part of a book I'm working on about my baby's first year. The idea is to capture moments and details of her life in a more artistic sort of way. I've been taking photos of her clothes, her favorite toys, the nursery, special events and her of course! I've been posting my ideas for her book on my blog. See them here.

* inspired by Flora and Henri
When my photos need a little boost, I edit them. I know... I'm a cheater! Like I said, I'm not a pro. If you don't have Photoshop, there are some really great online photo editing sites. My favorite is Picnik. It's very simple to use and it can make any photo look great!

Here is a before...

and after...

Spicing Things Up

The baby tie tutorial was so much fun that I almost feel bad posting something new today. Trust me though, I think this tutorial from Heather is worth it. Maybe we can all become fabulous photographers... or at least improve. Thanks Heather! (P.S. Visit Heather's blog to see what else she's been up to this week.)

I've compiled some easy ways to get fun, candid, unique photos! I'll just jump right into them:

Capturing Their Personality:
The BEST way to get great photos of your child is to just let them be themselves! I think that candid photos are the best! Try to pick out their happiest time of day to bring the camera out. Try not to get too pose-y with them because most likely they'll get bored and not cooperate with you. Try to capture you child expressing their unique personality. Follow them around the yard, or put a fun toy by a window inside, let them go at it, and shoot away (with your camera, of course).




What To Wear:
I'm always a big fan of color! Bright, bold colors are always great, especially on kids! If you want to go for a print, choose a large print. Sometime small, detailed prints are too busy and don't look the best in photos. Accessories and layers add a lot to a photo, too. Scarves, fun shoes, hats, and bracelets are just a few ideas.





Props:
A great way to get fun photos is spice things up a bit! I always encourage clients to bring props to use in their shoots. I think it adds dimension and zest to the photo and just brings in the "wow" factor. I've used couches, a big sucker, picture frames, brightly colored chairs...the options are endless!

For the Love of Light

I believe, actually I know that it's possible to take a great photo with a point and shoot camera. You don't have to have a big, fancy professional camera to achieve great composition and lighting. When I'm about to take a photo, the first thing I do is turn off the flash. When it's the middle of the day and there's pretty sunlight coming through your window, that's the best time to take photos!
I have a mini photo shoot with my 5 month old son every Tuesday to document his growth. I open all of the windows in the room so it's nice and bright, turn off my flash and snap away! Here's a checklist of reminders for taking pictures with window light:

*Don't use direct, harsh sunlight, just the pretty luminosity from the afternoon sun
*Make sure your flash is off
*Hold your camera as still as possible when you're snapping the shot
*Make sure your subject (or your child's face) is facing the light to avoid shadows

Although there are circumstances where flash is necessary (night time, dark rooms, etc.) I try to avoid it at all possible so that faces don't look too washed out and colors are more natural. Experiment with it! Have fun!

(I didn't edit or change anything about these photos. They're straight out of the camera)

Getting Acquainted

Hi friends! I was so excited when I was asked to be a guest blogger at SEI! This week I'm going to touch on some simple tricks to boost your photography skills and also throw in a little craftiness here and there! Before I get into all of that though, here's a little bio to help us get more acquainted.


I grew up in a small town in the mountains of San Diego. I love the outdoors and started taking pictures of nature when I was very young. I have a passion for landscape photography, although I enjoy taking photos of children and babies as well. In high school I took my first photography class and ended up becoming the photographer for the school newspaper.



In college I started taking engagement pictures for friends and my photography business took off from there. Now I shoot everything from headshots to family portraits, to tabletop photos. I thrive on beautiful lighting and love a good sunset. Although I have a passion for photography, I love cooking goodies and getting my craft on!


I'm married to a wonderful man named Matt and together we have a beautiful baby boy, a dog named Wanda and a fish named Tuesdee. We have a simple, yet wonderful life together.

Heather's beautiful family portrait and bio photo were taken by Nicole Christensen. Watch for Heather's lighting tutorial coming later this afternoon.

Guest Blogger- Heather Mildenstein

Next Monday May 11th, Heather Mildenstein will be guest blogging with us. Heather is an awesome photographer and has a blog that is one of our daily inspirations. Visit thecoterieblog.com to get to know Heather a little better. Here is what she had to say about herself.

Heather said,
"I'm so excited to be the guest blogger at SEI this month! Here are some tid-bits about me:
•I'm a full-time mom, part-time photographer, and on Saturday mornings I'm a massage therapist
•I've had an interest in photography my entire life and inherited the love from my mom
•My favorite subjects to photograph are babies, still-life, and landscape
•I really enjoy creating new things and sharing ideas
•I love life!"

Go to's...

I thought I'd share with you some of favorite 'go to' sites when I need a little jump start to get my creative juices flowing (from left to right, top to bottom).


• Design*Sponge
• The Crafty Crow, millions of great crafty ideas for your kids - there's seriously nothing like watching your kids go crazy with paint, scissors & glue - how can you not pick up your own crafty supplies and start playing?
• Small Space Style, total eye candy!
• Anthropologie I know we all love the store, but even just playing around on the website makes me excited to take chances with different color combinations, create little collages, cover up some old frames with funky patterned paper ...
• Absolutely Beautiful Things, the name says it all

It just doesn't feel right to not post a photo, so ...



These are from a mini photoshoot I did with my youngest daughter hanging out in our front room (throw in a few jelly beans for bribery and we're good to go!)

My biggest source of inspiration ...



My girls :-)