Limited Edition Sessions are here!!

Hey guys, I have added limited edition sessions this year. What they are are "themed" mini sessions done on one Saturday each month. It's a great way to get some pictures when your running short on time. Be sure to check back each month for a new "theme." Also, keep checking back for lots of new services and products I'll be adding this year!! HAPPY 2011!

The Carrillo Boys-Denver City, TX Children's Photographer

These are the sweetest, cutest and easiest boys ever!! I had such a great time working with them!

All about lighting Thursday

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First of all SO SORRY I don't have pictures for this- I fully intended to but my picture computer got a virus so it is in the shop! I will post pictures as soon as I get my computer, with all of my pictures on it, back.

So this week I am going to tell you all about how to find good lighting in your house or really anywhere you go and how to set your camera, if you have a DSLR, to use that light.

First of all there is natural light or God's light (sunlight.) Then there is man-made light which includes any light that comes from a light bulb. I am going to focus on natural light which I think is always best. When you start dealing with man-made light you get a lot of wierd coloring like florescent bulbs cast an orange color, incandescent bulbs- blue color and so forth. So when looking for good natural light you of course want a semi-large window or a door to be your main source preferably north facing (it's the least harsh of all the directions). If you don't have a north facing window south would be the next best option then of course east and west but remember the light will be pretty harsh with east and west. A great source of light would be like a front door. You know when you open up the front door and all that beautiful light pours in. That would be best especially again north or south facing. When getting ready to shoot in my house I usually turn off all man-made lights also because again if you don't you might get some color casting from them. You want to place your subject facing the light and then you are going to shoot with your back facing the light so the light will "light" the subjects face. You can also put the subject to the side of the light to "light" the side of the face but remember you will have shadows on the opposite side of the face, this will be a more dramatic look. To create a neat effect you can get either a reflector or a piece of foil to create "fill" light on the opposite side of the face. However, don't place the foil too close to the subject or you will get really harsh light because it really reflects. You would most likely have to have an assistant for this technique also, so keep that in mind.
Ok, now for camera settings. If you own a DSLR then first of all you want to start with setting your ISO. By the way, I will not go into detail about how to set your camera for these settings because I don't know what kind of camera you have so go get your camera manual and look it up. Your manual is a highly useful tool in learning your settings so use it! When shooting indoors I usually set my ISO to around 400. This should be a good setting if you have adequate light. I also usually shoot on aperture priority so I next set my aperture to 1.8. That is because I usually shoot a 50mm fixed f1.8 lens. However I recommend you setting your apeture as low as it will go if only shooting one subject and you want your background to be a bit out of focus. If you want everything in focus then you will want to set your apeture much higher. But also remember the lower your aperture the more light the camera is taking in. Ok, so now since I shoot on aperture priority my camera will then take my ISO setting, my aperture setting and meter the light to find the shutter speed all on it's own. I don't have to set that, it will do it for me. Now we are ready to shoot. I know this sounds like a lot to do but once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty fast. So, now that you have found a good spot and have set your camera have your subject face the light and with your back to the light shoot away!!
Hope this will help you to take better pictures of your kiddos, family or even pets! Photos preserve a specific time that you can't go back to. You have no idea how many opportunities I have missed that I wish I had photos. So go get your camera and carry it around with you everywhere you go and shoot, shoot!!

A little about me Thursday

So I decided to do a little segment every Thursday, althought I know today is Friday, to let you know something about me that you might want to know, or not. Feel free to email me or post comments with questions. They can be related to anything such as my life, photography, etc. If you would like to know how I do a certain technique or about lighting and so forth. You get the idea. Since it's the first week I decided to invite you into my world for a little bit and tell you all about, well ME.

I have two precious baby girls that I adore. Ella is 22 months and Sadie is 5 months. Ella is named after her great-great grandmother and Sadie is named after her great grandmother. I have been married to my wonderful husband for almost 5 years in September. Besides photography my hobbies include scrapbooking, being a computer nerd, reading and listening to music. My favorite food is chocolate ice cream, although I never met anything sweet that I didn't like. I love to travel but don't get to too often due to the little ones but have great plans for the future such as St. Lucia next summer. CANNOT WAIT, I need a vacation! I got into photography about 2 years ago when I shot a wedding of my husband's cousin. After that people started asking me to do their families, kids and really whatever you can think of, I've had it requested of me. Although, not all jobs have been taken! I am currently focusing more on maternity, babies and children. This not only gives me a focus but it allows me more time as a stay at home mommy with little ones.
Well, that is me in a nutshell. So, let the questions begin. You can post them in the comment section below or by emailing them to me and I'll answer them next week.
P.S.- this is a family site so please keep all questions clean or they will be deleted!!!

Landry

I had the priviledge to photograph one of my best friends from high school's little girls. She was just precious, as you can see!

Sneak Peak

So yeah, it's been forever since I have blogged. We'll today I did a lovely family, the Cargills. They have 2 of the cutest kids Julia and Jarod. Here's a few from that session.

So this has been a really, really long week. I am so ready to out all my Christmas Decorations and just enjoy the time of year. About the only thing I would change right now is the weather. How come it snows on Thanksgiving and then in December when your trying to have a Christmas parade people come in shorts? I guess this is just the part of the country we live in. However, I am so thankful for Christmas. No matter what anyone says or tries to tell us, we as Christians know what this time of year symbolizes. Well, not only us Christians, everyone around the world knows this holiday and no matter what religion you practice Christmas has a deep meaning and we all know what that is, Jesus Christ. Whether you celebrate His berth at this time of year of just His coming or don't even acknowledge Him, know that this holiday is about Him and what He has done for us. I am SO thankful!!

WOW!!

So today I get an email from Simply Canvas, the company that prints my canvases, asking me if they can use one of my images for display at Imaging 2008. That is the largest Professional Photographers Convention that is held each year. That's phenomenal! I was shocked but so flattered. Here is the image that will be displayed. I'm so thrilled!!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Leave a comment and tell me 5 things you are thankful for. Here are mine:
1. A Wonderful Husband
2. My Loving Parents
3. A Free Country
4. My Photography Business
5. Ice Cream!

So, I recently got back from Brianna Graham Workshop and have not had time to slow down. We had Jim's family Thanksgiving today and Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, I can't believe it! Then, I had a family shoot yesterday so be sure to stay tuned to see some pics from that. Sorry I have not posted in a while. Here is a pic of my favorite model at BG, Cade. He was the best. He was such a poser and just did everything I asked. Wonderful kid and the cutest ever!

Brianna Graham

Well, next week I will be attending a workshop in Dallas with the fabulous Brianna Graham. She is an amazing children/family/senior photographer with great style! I know that she will be able to teach me a whole lot. So excited! Be sure to check out her website at www.briannagraham.com.

Personal Thoughts

I am obviously not the best at blogging everyday however, this is going to change. I know that I am not the most eloquent with words and I hope you don't mind but even though I don't have just a whole lot to say I am going to try to share more of my personal thoughts. I have struggled for many years to open up to people but I am hoping through this blog I will be able to share my thoughts and feelings more freely. I have always been so concerned about who I share what with or who will read this but through this I hope that I will be able to overcome this fear. Thanks for reading an please leave comments! I love comments!!

It's been a great week and weekend. I did two wonderful, although very different, sessions this past weekend. The first is of a toddler named JB. He is the cutest and sweetest thing ever. The second is of a senior Tyler. Both were very fun and as always a new adventure.

Photo of the Day

Think Pink

Since October, although it's almost over, is breast cancer awareness month, I signed on to be a part of this wonderful organization that helps breast cancer patients/survivors to document their journey through the process. "Think Pink Photography was founded in October 2007 to support individuals and their families who have been touched by breast cancer. We are a non-profit organization that serves two main purposes - celebrating life and supporting the cause.
Through our photography network, we are helping breast cancer survivors and their supporters to celebrate life with charitable photography sessions. Sessions are available to document the fight before or during treatment or to celebrate the victory when treatment is completed." If you know of anyone who is currently battling breast cancer or who has completed treatment in the last 12 months they qualify for a think pink session. Being a participating photographer anyone who qualifies will recieve a complementary session, 20 small prints, and 10% off any additional prints. The best part is for each session that I do I will make a donation to the Beverly Family Foundation, www.beverlyfamilyfoundation.org. The Foundation focuses on providing financial support for the chemotherapy and mammography needs of the uninsured and underinsured individuals; establishing social and psychological support programs for individuals facing breast cancer, their caregivers and children; and fostering opportunities for individuals to educate themselves and others about the life and death importance of early detection. I would appreciate you all passing the word along and be sure to check out their website at www.thinkpinkphotography.org.

WOW! so, i had a shoot tonight with a wonderful girl from church, candice. here are a few of her awesome pics. i really had a hard time picking just a few favorites there were so many great ones!

so I got my brand new D200 last night. i am so stoked to try it out. i have a senior shoot with a really cool girl from church tomorrow, candice. be sure to check back for pics from that shoot. with my new camera of course!!

so here are some really great shots that i took at the summer revival seminar with jim and lara davis-hicks. hope you enjoy! also, i don't think i mentioned this but jim has this great program called action runner for all of those who use photoshop and actions. it is a really simple program that you upload your photos to and organize them right in the program. then you just drag and drop your photos onto the action that you want to run and it does all the work for you. it also has this really great and easy quick way to create slideshows. be sure to check it out at www.davistools.com.

so i am sitting at the airport literally coming back from this crazy awesome seminar in columbus, ohio that I had to tell you about. it was put on by jim and lara davis-hicks of davis photography. they are a really great couple with huge hearts and such a passion for Christ and did i mention incredible photographers. be sure to check out their website and some other great photographers that were at the seminar under the links. we learned everything from lighting at night and in the studio to their personal expertise on the photography industry. we meet a lot of great people and really just had a awesome time. be sure to check back soon with some of the shots we took. thanks tons to jim and lara!