Birthday Portraits

 Happy 15th!

Happy 75th!

Beach Portraits

Selfie

I'm having trouble taking other people's portraits, so I learned how to use the tripod and  the timer on my camera

Cousin Portrait

 My cousin had previously told me he was going to invent a restaurant that turns vegetables into yummy food that was still healthy and I was going to run it for him while he was off inventing solutions to world problems like pollution. He was asking why I was learning photography and right as I took this photo he was asking how I was going to be a photographer and run his restaurant.

5 Going On 15

I think I just got a glimpse of what my life is going to look like in 10 years. 

Portrait

I only had a minute to take a few photos of my grandmother so in hindsight I wish that I had positioned myself differently such as gotten lower and moved closer to the window.

Maternity Portraits

These are some of my favorites from a photo shoot I did last weekend.  It was an overcast day and actually started to rain at the end.  It worked out perfectly for me; I never had to worry about where to position them.

Preschool Portrait

This is what a preschool portrait looks like.  Nontraditional and messy.

Story of my life.

Delights of Spring

 The snow  is still here and I wanted to catch the moon.  It was still light out, but I used a lower ISO to give the feeling that it was darker than it really was.


The raindrops on the branches were lovely this morning, even though it is a grey day.

This crocus caught me off guard when I was walking in town.  Luckily I had my camera and took a snapshot to underline that Spring is on its way.

Teenager Portraits

 Thoughtful musician...

and tired homework guy.

Practice

I'm doing a newborn shoot on Wednesday and the mom wants a shot like this with big sister and the new baby.  Since this is not something I usually do, I practiced with my big kids today.  It's not my normal style--it's too posed for my taste--but at least I know I can do it for others!  It's always good to give these less traditional shots a test drive before doing it with unpredictable children (especially when getting paid)!

Most of my attempts look more like this, but really, I like this one better!

More true to life!

Animal Portrait

So far the cat (named Fluffy) is the most cooperative subject I have had for a portrait.

Pet Portraits

See The Light

This is just an illustration of what I discussed in the meeting earlier this week.  No matter how perfect your photo is, how much you love it, if your subject isn't facing the light source you run the risk of ruining your portrait because there is just no light in your subject's eyes.

Although I love both of these photos, I'm frustrated because I had no alternative to turn her toward the light and the lack of catch light in her eyes and blown out highlights in the background frustrates me.  Beware of overexposed photos with all this snow; even though my subject is properly exposed, there isn't enough contrast in the photo because the darks were just too dark and the background is too bright.  I did turn her toward the window but those photos just weren't as good.  Ah, well.  I'll just keep these as a memory even without the perfect "portrait"!

April 1st Meeting Recap

Last night the camera club got together to finish our discussion on the exposure triangle and ISO particularly.  We went over some very helpful links and discussed some metaphors that can make exposure (hopefully!) easier to understand.

We went over the outstanding shape and shutter speed photos that the camera club members contributed this past month.  From Tara's waterfall to Mackenzie's night photo to Helen's amazing portraits in Cuba, the photography club is full of some very talented ladies!

April's assignment is photographing PORTRAITS.  In preparation for this topic, Becky shared some tips on how to take a successful portrait.  We will hopefully work on this at our photo walk April 15th at 6 pm at Artistree (weather permitting).  We will confirm via email beforehand.

Looking forward to seeing all your portraits!  Enjoy the weather as it warms up!

Understanding ISO

Understanding ISO is the last step in our journey to understanding exposure (we discussed aperture and shutter speed here and here).  ISO can be either the first, second, or last thing you do to ensure a properly exposed photograph, but I feel it is the easiest to grasp.

ISO refers to your camera's sensitivity to light.  Here are a few eloquent explanations found from some of my favorite photography sites.

How To Choose The Right ISO For My Digital Photography

Controlling the Faucet--Learning ISO

Understanding Exposure In Under 10 Minutes

The way I used to remember this was ISO 100 outside on a sunny day, ISO 1600 inside.  I had a cheat sheet similar to this (handwritten on a post-it) in my camera bag.  That way when I needed to make an adjustment to my exposure but wasn't able to sacrifice certain elements of my photograph (depth of field, shutter speed), I knew what else I could change to take a proper photograph.

So the question becomes, where do you start, what can you change, what are you willing to sacrifice?