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No worries!! The Light Workshop is about to begin and YOU could win a spot in this awesome online Natural Ligth Workshop!
Head on over to the blog and check it out!! It’s a super fun contest and one lucky entrant will win a FREE spot in the class and 2 more winners will receive some HUGE discounts on the class!!
Don’t miss out!! Enter today!!
Embrace Workshop by Sydney Australia photographer Amanda Keeys, and Utah’s own photographer, Kara Elmore.
*check out a discount for Amandas actions below*
A workshop centered around bringing out your own inner creative soul, getting inspired, and STAYING inspired for each and every shoot. This workshop is PERFECT for the momtogs, advanced amateurs, and any professional photographer who wants to be both challenged and inspired.
Although pettiskirts and tea sets and perfect locations are nice, we know it’s not ALL about the IN clothes, the IN “props” OR the location. We’ll show you how to bring out the beauty in using what is available to you, AS well as having some fun with a dream shoot and fun props. There will be several chances to shoot photographs for your portfolio, fun “surprise” challenges, and the opportunity to ask Amanda and Kara anything you like.
Both Amanda and Kara are skilled with photoshop, and the workshop includes a post processing tutorial, with both Amanda and Kara giving a walk-through of their personal processing techniques.
After the workshop, stay inspired with a 12 month membership to the Embrace forum, and with the workshop PDF workbook!
The Embrace Workshop takes place on April 30 – May 1st 2010 in Ogden, Utah. Spots are limited to 20 participants and registration is open NOW.
For more information, see the Embrace Workshop blog (http://www.amandakeeysphotography.com.au/embraceworkshop) or email embraceworkshop@gmail.com
Amanda & Kara
DISCOUNT ALERT!
Amanda Keeys is not only an amazing photographer… but also a graphic delight!
Check out her FALLING INTO BLUE Actions (click here) and get a 20% discount!!!!
Use discount code is “proprocks” and it’s good for 20% until friday the 30th of Jan.
By popular demand, today’s post is all about the bump.
Maternity session can be as beautiful as they are fun. Mom’s are really good listeners and very good posers. Let’s go over some important tips about shooting a maternity session.
1. Making mom feel “sexy”. Let’s face it. 30-40lbs of weight gain is not something that most women would consider a plus. But when its a full belly of baby, there is nothing more sweet. Tell he she’s glowing (though it may just be a hot flash). Tell those moms-to-be to hit the salon before the shoot. Nothing makes a lady, prego or not, feel sexier than a mani, pedi and a blow out. (If you happen to know Dad-to-Be, drop the hint to him, he’ll get props for the day of beauty too!)
2. I always send mom-to-be’s to view some of my work BEFORE the session. This way they feel a bit more comfortable showing off that belly. Explain to them that all the imperfections, stretch marks, the “belly button line” will all disappear, at least after the post process. This will make mom feel 190% more comfortable showing off that big old bump.
3. Use props. Props are SUPER distracting! Hand mom a pair of itty bitty booties and she will be so taken by their sweetness she will forget she is getting photographed. (It works, I promise) (We’ve listed some suggested prop picks for maternity shots below!)
(Don’t forget to bring those booties back to the babies newborn session! It’s like a little before and after that will make any heart melt!)
4. Break Out the Wind. Fans, blow dryers what ever you have is a great way to add movement to any photograph and works especially well with Moms-to-Be. It cools off the hot flashes too. I like to get dad involved by being my “windman”. It leads to a TON of laughs and once mom is laughing, its a breeze from there.
5. Get Dad involved. Having a hubby close by and in the shots makes for a more comfortable mom. Alot of times Mom’s will find it hard to be a “serious” poser with hubs watching, so get him in there!
This works with Mom’s other children too!
Let’s recap:
Make mom cozy, comfortable and embracing of that belly
Bring Props! Some of our favorites are baby booties, scarfs (works well in soo many ways, use it as a wrap on top or hanging for some wind flow), wardrobe pieces for mom for a not so serious session (hats, jackets and shirts that easily open to show off the belly, long flowing dresses), some sort of “wind” machine, and most importantly, a BELLY (that thing will work as a prop within itself! Whether your shooting a silhouette in front of a sun filled window or wrapping it with ribbon, let it be the “subject”)
Get dad, and siblings involved.
Have fun!
W ehave had some inquires for maternity ideas, share your cool maternity session idea with Mr. Linky and help out a reader or two!
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Now that we have Aperture all covered (big number, big focus/little number, little focus) lets move onto Shutter Speed.
This one is a little more obvious and not as tricky on the brainy as understanding aperture, but there are a couple tips and tricks you should know BEFORE setting that shutter speed.
Shutter Speed is the amount of time the shutter is open. Duh , right? You may be thinking, “K, I want that baby to stay open for a whole lot of time, I’ll dial to a big giant number”. Not so easy. Your shutter measures in seconds so when you dial to 125 you are setting your shutter to 1/125 of a second versus 50, or 1/50 of a second, the latter being a longer amount of time. The higher your number the faster your shutter. To make things easier, forget the whole parts of a second and just think…125 is faster then 20 (1/20) and so on.
You will probably adjust your Shutter Speed based on the subject you are trying to capture. If you are shooting a grown adult who understands the words “Stay still” you can go with a smaller Shutter Speed number. A running tot will require a much higher speed. Jumping kids, racing bikes, birds in flight will require even higher speeds (unless of course you are going for the look of moving subjects and moving light).
As with all other points of the Exposure triangle, each of these, whether it be Aperture, ISO or Shutter Speed measure light. The wider or longer open the more light will come in. There may be times when you have to lower that Shutter Speed just for better lighting, not necessarily to “freeze” your subject.
Example: Your shooting a little tot in a house with bad natural light. You want some blur to keep your focus on the child and not on the pile of laundry behind him. You set your Aperture to 2.8. Your already at 600 ISO and your shuttering (no pun intended) at that thought of going higher and getting nothing but LOUD noise and your shutter speed is set to 400. Many would be quick to up that ISO and hope for the best. Set your Shutter Speed to 125. You might even be able to lower that ISO now that you are letting in some more light by way of your shutter staying open longer.
There are a couple rules to live by when playing with Shutter Speed:
1. Do you want to “freeze” your subject? The higher you go, the better freeze. But you don’t necessarily have to be at 1/1000 to get them frozen. Test it out…You may find that you are “assuming” your shutter has to be as high as you have it, but in fact you may be able to dial down a bit and lower that ISO.
2. Camera Shake. Did you just take a picture of a still object and its still looks like it is on the move? It is way too blurry and you just don’t know why? Meet camera shake. We are all human. We need to breathe. Breathing will cause blur. How you hold your camera, if not steady, will cause blur. The general rule is this. Your Shutter Speed should not be less than your focal length. Example: Your shooting with your nifty 50, your shutter speed should not be less than 1/50. You change over to your 135mm, get that shutter speed up to 1/135 or higher. When using low Shutter Speeds. Take a big old deep breath, bring your elbows in close to your body, hold still and snap. Then breathe. Please remember to go back to breathing.
Of course lenses with Image Stabilization will handle much better than those without, keep that in mind when purchasing your next piece of glass.
3. Get out the tripod! Or at least place your camera on something steady. It is sometimes inevitable and something we can not avoid at times. Try it out at the next birthday party. Just as little Johnny is blowing out those candles. You’ll be glad you did!
4. Find a stable focus point and get creative. When photographing water or even a bicycle, heck any moving object. Set your focal point on a “still” object in frame. Set that shutter speed down low and click away. There is nothing like being able to capture movement, being able to almost feel the movement in a still photograph.
5. Use BULB mode and have some fun. What is BULB? The bulb function on your camera allows YOU to open and close the shutter at your liking. You can leave that bad boy open for 10 minutes if you would like. Check it out and see what happens.
I apologize fr the lack of photo examples in this post. We are getting ready for some new things coming to PI and there just wasn’t enough time! Head over the the PI group and share your Shutter Speed examples, whether they are high or low. As always, if you have some good tips and tricks on using and Shutter Speed, share them here…you might be helping someone just “get it”.
So… when I found out about On Gossamer Wings and their amazing lil’ Etsy shop..
I feel freely in LOVE!
and once you visit their shop… you’ll easily see why!
As a fairy artist for the past 12 years, On Gossamer Wings has provided fairy wings for Disney’s Pixar Parade at Disney’s California Adventure Park, Faerie Magazine, and recently her first European
fashion show at the 3 Wishes Faery Festival,
the Avalon Faery Ball in Glastonbury.
On Gossamer Wings has also been featured in the Winter 2009 Issue of
FAE Magazine on both the front cover as well as in an article!
Why you ask…well check out these beauties…
On Gossamer Wings is simply fantasy brought to life…
not only are their wings beautiful to the eye, but they are gorgeously and exquisely created as well.
When I opened the box from On Gossamer Wings , I was in prop AWE. Each delicate part is beautifuly handcrafted, and you can see the love and time that is put into each and every part of these tiny jewels.
Honestly… I’m addicted, and I can just envision my studio with a wall of wings in a rainbow of color from On Gossamer Wings.
This is a 100% best buy, 100% worthy, 100% UNIQUE prop… and we’re so excited
to be featuring On Gossamer Wings and..
OFFERING A FREE PAIR OF SMALL FAIRY WINGS (your color choice of course!)
to one (1) lucky PI reader.
HOW TO WIN these fabulous wings…
Visit On Gossamer Wings (click here)
And come back here to PI, leave a comment on your favorite item(s) in her shop
The visit to her shop alone will leave you filled with fairy dust, lol
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