5.31.2009

i love my family


My mom could not work my camera at all and it was hilarious to watch. I'm surprised I'm even smiling...I was giving her directions on how to use the thing. The picture is random and it pretty much gives you the personality of the six of us. Except...the last little one down in the right corner had a tummy ache (too much superman ice cream), otherwise, she is normally bubbly and ready to smile :)
l-r: me, jason, josh, katie, lizzy and laney

katie

this is my sister, katie. she is hands down one of the most photogenic people I know. everything she does is camera worthy :) enjoy!





5.30.2009

plymouth


sometimes I feel like Manet. He was often asked to portray "his city" (Paris) and instead of painting the vibrant gardens and palaces, he paints the shady areas of the city. now, I'm not saying that my town has any shady areas, but I do like portraying a different side that people aren't too familiar with :)

katie


this is just a preview for what's to come :)

weeds

From misc
From misc

chocolate

From misc
the cure for every pain...the solution to every problem :)

The Evolution of my Photography (or, a confession)

I am going to admit this right now since I have been going through some old posts on this blog. All of my point-and-shoot work is okay (not the greatest, but considering the quality of the camera...), but I have to be honest. When I first started using my SLR camera, my pictures stunk. Let me repeat myself - they s.t.u.n.k. Seriously. I had no clue what I was doing and it is so darn obvious. This post is a great illustration. Laugh with me, please? It'll make me feel better! I'm ashamed to admit that I even took those. What was I doing?

But enough about that. I have learned some serious stuff since then and I wanted to share:
  • Never use the Manual setting until you know exactly what you're doing. Just...forget about it until you've read the manual ten thousand times and know what each meter means or have a vague idea. Honestly. Experimenting is just fine, but at least be familiar with the terms. Don't just turn the camera on and flip things around because it'll be a guaranteed disaster (don't ask me how I know). This is where the bulk of my problem was when I first got my camera. I always confused the ISO with the shutter speed and then there was the aperture and so many pictures were mostly dark! Unfortunately, I didn't realize my problem was because of the camera setting. Thank God for photo editing software!
  • Do NOT compare your work to professionals. I love blogs, specifically photography blogs and many of the sites include great tips and ideas. However, it's easy to get sucked into looking at their images and then looking at yours. You get discouraged, depressed and I'll be honest, I wanted to quit sometimes. I'm not saying my images are brilliant (because they're not), but I thought my pictures would always be dark. That they wouldn't be natural. That nobody would hire me. The list could go on...just be prepared to spend time getting to know your camera and don't expect brilliant the moment you pull the camera out of the box.
  • Be teachable. The first couple of times I posted pictures, I received some critique from some photographer friends. Sometimes it hurt, but it was good. Honest (thanks Lydia!). Initially I wanted to retort back with something, but I held my tongue and took their advice. Their kind yet firm words have only improved my work. So, listen to those who know what they're doing :) It'll only help you down the road!
I know this isn't professional advice, but I did want to share it. I have learned the hard way with some photography stuff, but I'm getting there. Slowly but surely!

I also wanted to thank my friend Lydia from Lydia Photography. Lydia lives in California (I am so jealous) and we have never met. Yet she has answered millions of my silly questions, IMed tips, links and encouragement. I would never have purchased a camera without her support. Thank you and I hope we can meet up soon :)

eye

From misc

Hello again :)

Yes, I have a bad habit of creating new blogs, ditching those and then returning to old ones. It's a bad habit and if someone knows the cure, please share!

So yes, I have decided to bring this bloggity blog back. I don't know why. Maybe someday I'll eventually just get my own domain. Business is going well and hopefully soon I'll have a wonderful announcement to make about that. All of my blog readers (hi Mom, you were always my biggest fan and yes, I guess my only reader...) will be thrilled and I can't wait to tell!

In other news....
  • I like my Canon 30D in case you didn't know that.
  • I like my 50mm lens. It is getting a tad old and I'm itching for another, but hopefully I'll add another lens to the collection shortly.
  • I bought a flash. As one friend said recently, "wow, you have the real deal..." (apparently cameras aren't the "real deal" unless they have flashes. Photographers, take note of that). It's interesting though. I hate using the flash. Seriously. It adds artificial lighting sometimes and I like my photos to be as natural as possible. Anyways, I'll get off my soap box now.
  • I'm getting a tripod and camera remote for my 21st bday, thanks to my grandparents. And I know what you are ALL thinking right now. Kristin, your birthday isn't for another nine months... yes, yes, I know...but my grandparents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in a few weeks and they hired me to be the photographer. I didn't want to be paid because that's just....awful. So they offered to buy that stuff for me in lieu of my birthday. They are too kind and to be honest, I've always wanted a summer birthday. I'll just make a cake with candles and wrap everything and...yeah. We'll just stop right there.
I think that's pretty much it. I better sign off before this whole post is full of dumb, corny jokes that only I find humor in. Oh, but before I do. I just HAVE to say this because I'm a photographer, so pardon me for a moment. I live in Michigan and tonight the sunset was just gorgeous and the lighting. Oh, I wanted to get out of the car and take my sister's pictures because the lighting was amazing and to good to be true. It was stunning. Majestic. Pretty. I don't even know how to describe it. I just hope we get a few more sunsets like that and I hope I get more business...because these are evenings I live for. (And in case you're wondering, my sisters refused to budge out of their seats. They are so ornery. I mean, who in their right minds passes up on a photoshoot??? I know...)

Anyways, I've added some new photos from some shoots I've done over the last couple of months. I'll be adding more shortly!

PS - Here's a great link about exposure. Very helpful!

gardens



From Meijer Gardens

Harper Girls

From Harper Girls
From Harper Girls
From Harper Girls
From Harper Girls

5.29.2009

jones soda

From jones soda bottles
From jones soda bottles

From jones soda bottles

photo of the month

From band teaser

gavin

From Gavin
From Gavin
From Gavin

baby ella

From Ella
From Ella
From Ella