These two are two of the most amazing people in the world. They are parents to these two tough little guys, this sweetheart, and the cutest little red headed baby boy around! Needless to say, Natalie is one busy mama!! We couldn't ask for better family to live an hour away from! (That's close for us!!) Love you guys!
Wear it Wednesdays! {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
I have decided that I need to start posting outfit options for my seniors. They always end up looking SOOO darling but I know it's a stressful process; especially since they wear between 3 and 5 outfits. (Although this year I will be aiming for at least 4!) So, every now and then I will be posting some cute outfit options I find on line… none of these images are mine. I also mention where I find everything along with the link to that store's website. Enjoy! (and please excuse the pixelation… It's just the size that they website posts the image on their end…)
Top O' the Mornin' to Ya! {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
This little leprechaun is the cutest little red head around. I posted about his two brothers and his sister over the past few weeks. We are all curious as to whether or not he will keep his red hair. All of his siblings are blond so who knows!
Little Sister {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
I will say that I love all of my nieces and nephews equally… that being said… *sigh"… I've got a crush on this one! This little girl… oh boy. She is going to be a little heart breaker. Lucky for her, (at least I think…) she's got three brothers to make sure the boys stay away. AND, she's got THE cutest voice EVA! I just wanna eat her up!!
Brothers! {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
We don't really live by any family. We have Bryan's sister and her family that live about an hour away. We don't see nearly enough of them but when we DO see them we live it up. And I absolutely LOVE getting to take pictures of the kiddos. These are the two oldest. Their REALLY close in age. Which one do you think is older?
Alex & Sydney {Colorado Springs Engagement Photographer}
This couple is just so darling. They are high school sweet hearts and have survived college (in different states for a lot of it!) and post grad. I'm so happy for them that they have found each other! And he's getting one amazing sister-in-law!
Jaden {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
Gabby {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
I loved photographing this girl. She was so sweet and willing to do anything I asked her to. She reminds me a lot of her beautiful older sister!
Chelsea {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
Working with Chelsea was such a treat. She models and has a part time job all while going to high school. The weather was… less than ideal but she rolled with it! It was actually a lot of fun. We made it into a little game… try to get a decent shop in between the gusts of 50mph winds. It was seriously insane. I haven't ever shot in that kind of wind before… and hopefully I won't make a habit of it. :) Thanks, Chelsea! It was a pleasure!!
Kyle {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
Normally I photograph senior girls. Every now and then I'm lucky enough to photograph a senior boy. This guy… such a sweet kid. He's a fabulous tennis player and just couldn't be sweeter. Thanks for letting me take your pictures, Kyle!!
Riley {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
Riley's pictures were an absolute blast. She found an amazing field that we were able to finish up at. The sun was beautiful. The balloons were a little nuts but we managed a few good pictures from them. And Riley... Riley is so very beautiful. She's got amazing eyes and a perfect smile. I loved taking pictures of her! (And hanging out with her super fun mama!)
The Importance of Packaging {Colorado Springs Photographer}
I am a firm believer in spoiling. Raise your hand if you DON'T like to be spoiled from time to time. (Those of you with your hands up are lying! We ALL love it!!) For this reason I always give my clients a gift of sorts. I usually ask them to make a wish list. If they don't have anything on it (meaning they got everything they could ever ask for with the session) I will do a beautiful Christmas Ornament with their favorite senior image in it or something along those lines. I also have beautiful packaging. I have stickers with my logo on it that I slap all over everything (don't want them to forget you!) as well as boxes and bags for all of their images to go in. This is nice for a few reasons: 1) Keeps everything safe; and 2) who doesn't love to open a present?! Even if you know what it is, it's still fun to rip something open when a fun gift is inside! I mean, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't wrapped my own gifts for Christmas a time or two. :) (All us moms are guilty of it!)
The last thing I always make sure I do is to write my clients a thank you card to my client. Choosing a photographer is just that. They. Pick. You. Keep them happy and guess what? They will tell their friends!
The three best feelings as a photographer are:
1.) Knowing that your clients love their images.
2. ) Knowing that they love the prints they have purchased.
3.) Getting a call/shout out on Facebook saying how much they loved an unexpected gift.
Amazing Stacia {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
I absolutely LOVED this shoot. Stacia is beautiful inside and out. (I really had some outstanding seniors this year!!) She comes from a pretty cool mom, too! We were fast friends. Stacia was up for anything and was a champ about hiking through really tall grass in sandals. She kept the squeals to a minimum. ;) Stay posted for an additional shoot we did with her SUPER cute little brother and sister!!
Beautiful Anna {Black Forest High School Photographer}
When I initially met Anna she seemed quiet... reserved. But then, oh then... Then we had our session together. She. Is. DARLING! She's fun. She's outgoing. She was really comfortable in front of the camera, as well. We had lots of laughs and I'm fairly sure she was nice and warn out by the time she went home that evening. Thanks for the fun shoot, Anna!!
Aperture! {Colorado Springs Photographer}
As I mentioned previously (ages and AGES ago), three things are involved in learning how to take pictures with your camera in manual... which in my opinion is the ONLY way to get a picture to look the way you want it to look. One of those key ingredients is aperture. Aperture (commonly seen as "f/" or "F Stop") is basically what is in and out of focus. So, if you like the look of the background being out of focus, you will want to shoot "wipe open" as they say, or in other words, with a low aperture number. What that will do is help you create an image with the subject in focus and the background out of focus. You need to make sure you are focusing on the subject, of course. :) Something else you must remember is that aperture is just one corner of the "triangle". If you are properly exposed (you have the right amount of light coming into your camera so that your SUBJECT is lit nicely) and you mess with the aperture, it will "pull", so to speak, on one corner of the triangle. If you change your aperture, you will need to adjust your shutter speed and/or ISO to keep your triangle balanced.
- Camera settings: Aperture: f/1.4; Shutter speed: 1/250; ISO: 250
In the picture above my aperture was set at 1.4 (you will often see it like this: f/1.4). That is as wide open as that particular lens will go. Aperture is based on the lens, NOT the camera. (Shutter speed and ISO are dependant on your camera, unlike aperture). If you look closely, you can tell that I focused on the subject's right eye (my left). It is clear and crisp. Because I shot so wide open, even his left eye and ear are slightly out of focus. You also can't tell what is in the background (which in this case is a good thing :)). The red arrow is pointing to the arm of the couch that is he sitting on. You can't even really tell that's what it is.
Shooting wide open is a great thing... as long as you aren't shooting TOO wide open. People seem to think "the wider, the better". Not always. In fact, for me, rarely is wider better. You have to think of what you want in focus. I like my entire subject's face in focus. Both eyes. Mouth. Stuff like that. So, I generally stick around 2.8 or tighter. I DO like the background out of focus. Especially if you have nice pretty light back there. Bokeh is a beautiful thing.
You have to think about pictures you are taking of two or more people as well. If someone is standing slightly in front of the other person, you need to take that into account when setting your aperture. If I'm taking family pictures I NEVER shoot wider than 5.6. (Only made that mistake once.) So, my aperture number will be 5.6 or higher. You want to make sure that everyone is in focus. (there are, of course, exceptions.) I know if I was a client there's no way I would pay big bucks to have a fancy picture of my family if two of my kids were slightly blurry.
- Camera Settings: Aperture: f/13.0; shutter speed: 1/160; ISO: 4000
Ok, in this picture I focused on the same spot (can you tell he was annoyed that I was taking time away from the Wii?) The difference in this picture than the previous one is that I changed my aperture to f/13. That's much tighter therefore much more will be in focus and there is not nearly the amount of light coming into my camera as when I was shooting wide open. Because I tightened my aperture, I had to adjust my other settings to make sure he was still properly exposed. I changed my shutter speed slightly but most of the change came from the ISO. It went from 250 in the first picture to 4000. BIG change. But, that's what I had to do to make sure he wasn't nearly black. You can also tell much better what is in the back ground since I shot tighter (remember, more in focus). Obviously, both eyes are not in focus. There's a wadded up purple Tinkerbell blanket just past the arm of the couch. And who can miss the hubby's drying hoody? (laundry day.) Big difference from the first picture, right? In this case, I like the wide open shot better. :)
At the end of the day, aperture is a powerful tool. It is so much fun to play with and can completely change the mood of your image. Play around with it. You'll be shocked at how much more you'll like your images once you have a better understanding of it. Good luck and here are some more examples of shooting with a wide versus tight aperture. Notice the arrows showing you where the big changes are when the aperture is changed.
Sassy Sara {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
This girl was a BALL to photograph. It took us a while to acutally get the shoot done between her crazy school and work schedule and then her home Black Forest Fire burning down in the fire this summer. Her family has the most amazing attitudes. I went up to their amazingly beautiful 10 acres of burned land and took some pictures of it. I was so impressed with all of the laughing, smiling, and love they had for each other. They were doing nothing but looking ahead at the possibilities of things to come.
Stunning Taylor {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
This shoot. Oh goodness. Ya know when you have one of those shoots that is just magical... where every time you look at the back of the camera you get giddy? That was this one. Taylor is just beautiful. She's amazing. She's talented. She's humble. She's single. ;)I was so excited that the weather mostly cooperated and even when it was drizzling, we still got some amazing images!!
Professional Hair and Make Up {Colorado Springs Senior Photographer}
With my sitting fee comes professional hair and make up. It's hard to find someone you like in both of the categories but once you do, it's amazing. I've heard placing an ad on Craiglist works. I just asked around. I have found some really talented girls just out of Cosmotology School do help me out with hair. They go to my clients home and use enough product so that, even at the end of the shoot, their hair looks amazing! For make up, I have settled on the Clinique counter at Dillards Department Store. I think a lot of different places would work but we are a little limited down here in Colorado Springs. Because I use the Clinique counter (FREE!!) I am able to give the girls a $25 gift card to spend while they are there. That one seems to be a home run every time with the Senior girls!I have been very lucky to work with some naturally beautiful girls. However, the camera eats make up for lunch! You need to go a little heavy on the make up to really notice it. I have done it both ways, (with/without hair and make up), and let me tell you, I will NEVER go back. I am also one of those photographers that believes that Seniors should look 18... not 25. They can look 25 in their engagement pictures! ;)
Check out these "before" and "after" pictures. These girls go from natural beauties to complete knock outs! (Thank you Facebook- - and my beautiful seniors- for the "before" images!)
The Teen, the Tween, and the Puppy {Colorado Springs Teen Photographer}
I had a lot of fun shooting these guys. Their mom is amazing. She's one of my sweet, sweet friends. She'll never be able to get rid of me, the poor thing! She was Carter's Kindergarten teacher when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. She was one of the very first people who knew he was sick. She noticed things that maybe a normal teacher wouldn't have.
She has taught my middle child as well and we can't wait until it's Preslee's turn! Her kids were so sweet and put up with my turning, shifting, adjusting during the entire shoot!
The Big FOUR! {Colorado Springs Children Photographer}
I'm sure I'm not the first mom out there that has nearly gone gray looking at what should be a toddling, drooling baby and realizing that said baby is now running, talking up a storm, has opinions (more than you care to hear), and is turning 4 years old. My baby just turned 4. And, yes, I know that I'll blink and she will be getting married. So, I've chosen not to blink. :)
