From "Photographer" to Photographer

Random Updat

2012-08-04T01:17:00.000-05:00

So it's been forever. I have been doing somethings, but not a lot. I am working in a doctors office and going to school and that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for photography.I have done quite a few sessions, a coming of age party, birthday, family session for a co worker and birthday parties for my nieces. I also did a free session that was sold at a charity silent auction. Not very much but it's better than nothing. This weekend I have a baby shower that I was able to book through a Craigslist ad. Whatever works. I promise to start updating more... hopefully...

For now here is some of the work I have done over the last few months.

A few from a family trip to go strawberry picking.

Birthday Parties

Coming of Age Party

My friends horse

Birthday Party

Family Session

Free Charity Session

My Tree

2012-03-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

So as we all know I like to shoot people. I have been working on trying other things, but I don't enjoy it as much. There is this giant tree in my front yard. When we moved in last summer we thought it was just a regular 'ol tree. Last week we went out for the day and came home to our huge tree with new white flowers on it! It was amazing. It looks like a cloud. I took my camera outside and got what I think is at least a few good ones.

Growing and New Things

2012-03-12T15:09:00.000-05:00

So the 365 Project has kind of gone away. I tried, lol. On the business front I have some interviews in the next few weeks and one big session. I'm meeting with a local wedding photographer about maybe being her second shooter/ assistant. I am also interviewing to do graduations. The shoot I have booked is a party that is expanding from a party to pictures in the morning too. Awesome. I'm super excited about it.

My brother in law got married over the weekend. I did bring my camera but took very few pictures. My husband was in the wedding so it was hard to watch the kids and snap decent pics. Here are the few I did take!

Woah, They posted way out of order, oh well!

Making this Business a Business

2012-02-20T13:49:00.000-06:00

So I've been working a lot lately on trying to actually make my business a job, with income... I am going to registrar the business soon so I can add tax to my sittings. I put a Craigslist ad up and got a small event booking out of it! I was SO excited! I also have a family session that I am doing next Saturday.

Most exciting I think is the fact that I have hooked up with a local wedding photographer and was her second shooter last weekend. I think it turned out great, I just hope she like me and my pictures enough to keep me on for future weddings. I can't show the pictures here though : (

I ordered some things through Shutterfly today too. Some business info picture cards and some thank you note cards. Just trying to make it all seem put together.

3x5 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I we took my son to the zoo this weekend along with my brother and his family. I got some really good pictures, which is not usually the case on zoo trips. (I get distracted or the kids don't want to cooperate) Jus thought that I would share some of my favorites!

Weeks 5 & 6

2012-02-14T21:40:00.000-06:00

I've been slacking quite a bit on the 365 project. I have a few days I didn't take pictures, but I don't want to let a few missed days spoil the whole thing. Here is the last two weeks!

Day 29

day 30

day 31

day 33 option 1

day 33 option 2

day 34

day 35

day 36

day 37

day 39

day 41

day 42

day 43

Getting More Clients

2012-02-06T20:10:00.001-06:00

So I added my self to something called thumbtack.com I'm not sure if it will accomplish anything yet, but I want to start making a bigger push for business. I already have one session booked and I'm offering a Valentine's Day special too in hopes to build a bigger client base.

We'll see we'll have to see!

I Heart Faces- Oh So Silly

2012-01-28T22:42:00.000-06:00

I was really excited to see this weeks theme. I had just been out and taken this picture last week. I love this picture because of how absolutely natural it is. I captured my friend during a photo outing when she wasn't paying attention. We weren't there to take pictures of her, it just kind of happened. I think it really shows her outgoing, and silly personality.

Go over to I Heart Faces to check out more awesome pictures!

Out of My Comfort Zone

2012-01-28T22:32:00.000-06:00

I take pictures of people. That's what I do. That's what I feel I have an eye for, it just clicks. I've never been a big fan of taking pictures of stuff. It always looks a little random to me. But my friend asked me to go out to a really old local cemetery to take pictures and I said yes.

First off, I don't like cemeteries. I just don't. They give me the creeps. So I started out just standing around and looking. I just didn't see it. It didn't help that there was no sun. No cool shadows. I had this picture in my mind of some sun flare over an old headstone. I have trouble with sun flare and I thought it would be good practice on a tecnique I could use in my normal photography. Well, that didn't happen.

I ended up with a couple cool ones, I honestly didn't take a lot. I enjoyed walking around, talking with my friend. Here are the ones I ended up liking.

And of course, my favorite picture I took is of my friend when she wasn't looking. Figures.

365 Project Week 4

2012-01-28T22:15:00.000-06:00

day 22

day 23

day 24

day 25

day 26

day 27

day 28

I just realized that I took a lot of pictures of food this week. Opps.

Chess

2012-01-26T14:35:00.000-06:00

My husband is a big chess nerd. He played on a team in high school and collects different sets now. So for Christmas he got our oldest son a learning chess set. Last weekend was their first lesson. I thought it would make a really good picture of the day for my 365 project. Little did I know how well they would turn out. I think these are some of my favorite pictures ever.

365 Project Week 3

2012-01-22T19:39:00.000-06:00

day 15

day 16 option 1

day 16 option 2

day 17

day 18

day 19

day 20

day 21

365 Project Week 2

2012-01-15T23:16:00.001-06:00

day 8

day 9

day 10

day 11

day 12

day 13 option 1

(I like this one better but it was taken really light and now its REALLY grainy)

day 13 option 2

day 14

An Update

2012-01-09T19:51:00.000-06:00

Things are still about the same. I'm still unemployed. I worked for a couple weeks at a Star Trek exhibit taking fan pictures, but it was so mind numbingly boring and the pay was so bad that it didn't last very long. I am going to school for nursing, I have a blog for that too btw. (http://makinganurse.blogspot.com/)

I'm going to do a 365 photo project. Although someone recently pointed out it's a leap year so...

I thought that for now, in lieu of real photography, I would post my 365 pictures every week. Better than nothing right?

Now these won't all be winners, I'm using my D90, my new Nikon Coolpix (yeah Christmas), and even my cell phone.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7

I Heart Faces- Best of 2011

2012-01-09T14:17:00.002-06:00

It has been a REALLY long time since the I have submitted a picture, but I thought of this photo of my dad right away for best of 2011.

If you want to vote for me I'm #356!

(black and white conversion by Jaime Baldwin)

Elf on the Shelf

2011-11-28T12:14:00.000-06:00

Check out the adventures of our elf on the shelf, Phil!

ourelfontheshelf.blogspot.com

And Oh Yeah!

2011-10-18T00:52:00.001-05:00

I got some business cards too! Check 'em out

Holy Wow, My Bad

2011-10-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

So it been quite a while huh. My bad. Not that anyone REALLY reads this, but still.

A lot has happened sence April. I quit my job at the photography studio, which I will now say was Portrait Innovations. I quit with the intent of working for BellaBaby taking newborn pictures in hospitals. That didn't happen. Insted I got a job working in admissions at a career college. I got fired, long story, and now I'm unemployed.

On the photography front, its not going so good. I've had a job. Just so this isn't a compleatly boring blog, here are some pics from that.

I think they turned out pretty good! I did a second shooter job for a wedding photographer. I thought it went well, but after several emails with no feedback, I gave up. I never even got to see the pictures from that :( I did a porfollio building shoot with a couple that turned out relly good too. (BTW, these events are in no order at all) Here's some pics from that.
So as of right now I'm unemployed with no photography work on the side either. I've had a couple of interviews over the last couple days, but all with retail sales. I know I'll get something, just not something I'll love. I'm also going to start working for a nursing degree, but that is going to take 5 years. I'm thinking about starting a blog for that too. So just one last pic. I actually took this of my son while at a fair type thing. Didn't think it would be anything special but it turned out to be one of my all time favs. Enjoy :)

Check Out That Blur Baby!

2011-04-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

WooHoo! I got my Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens yesterday! I really went back and forth on if I should go with the 35mm or the 50mm. On my D90 the 35 is like a 50 and the 50 is like a 75. I really couldn't decide. It was a toss up. I ended up with the 50mm for two main reasons. First, the 35mm is kinda hard to find! I think they might not make it right now? I'm not sure. Second the 50mm was only $130. I know, I know, that is a really crappy reason to decide on one over the other but I didn't know what to choose so there you go.

I've only had a few hours this morning to play with it but man is it different than my zoom! First of all it is a lot more work! Because of the 1.8 aperture its tricky to get the exact DOF that I want. To much, to little. And a lot more walking back a forth! The one thing that's effecting me the most is to zoom level. I look at something, think "Oh! I want to take that picture!" Then I have to take four big steps back. It's great for close ups but kinda sucks for full lengths.

But man oh man, how I do love the sweet, sweet blur. I've always been a huge fan of a narrow depth of field and was really missing that with my zoom. Its taking some time to get use to it though. I have a couple of pictures that would be awesome if the focus hadn't been a little off.

Anywho, here are a few shots from this morning!

I Heart Faces: Best Face of March

2011-04-03T19:25:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a I Heart Faces in a couple weeks but I knew exactly what picture I wanted to use this week! This is from a session of my niece Ivy. I mean, how can you not love that face! Any way make sure to click the box at the bottom to see more awesome entries and vote for mine, #196!

My first maternity session... part two!

2011-03-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

So I did my maternity session on Monday and I think it went really good! I'm a little over half way done with the edits and I say not to bad. :)

I really learned a lot from doing this. First thing, next time I do maternity session with a small child I need there to be a helper! It was really hard to get anything of just mom and dad together because we had to chase the little girl around! And as for the idea of the ultrasounds on the string. Nope. Didn't work. The wind and the flimsy nature of the paper made it fly up. I'll try to attach them to some stock cards next time for some weight.

Now to the pictures! Here are some of the ones that I'm done with so far.

Getting ready for my first Maternity Shoot...

2011-03-21T12:36:00.000-05:00

Bad blogger, bad. I know its been a while. (Again, not like a whole lot of people are watching, but whatever) I actually have done a lot recently, and learned a lot too. I had successes, and total mental meltdowns. About a week ago I did 3 sessions. All people I konw, but still. It went ok. Some stuff better than others but I learned from the not so good stuff.

But lets not dwell in the past. Today I am doing my first maternity session. And unlike the other families I've done, I have never meet this woman. She is the sister-in-law of a co-worker. It will be herself (8 months along) her husband and 1 and a half year old daughter. I've been doing a lot of research, and by research I mean stalking blogs on line :) I've got a million ideas in my head. We are going to the City Garden, which is the same place I went with Katie on my very first trial run. I love this place. I did go out and buy some props. I don't want to become a big prop person, but I have some simple stuff in my head.

Here is what I got:


I started out with the simple and obvious, some ribbon to tie in a bow around her stomach. Honestly I don't even know if I like this shot, but she had it done with other child so I wanted to do it again for her. I did spend about 20 minutes staring at all the ribbon trying to decide on which one!

This is for a really cool shot I saw and wanted to try. You have mom hold one side of the string, hand ultrasound pics across it and you hold the other side. Add some DOF and bam! Stunning!

I've always been a fan of the little chalk board. I'm doing this instead of blocks for the name!


And this last thing I bought I'm most excited about. The plan is, at the end of the session, have here daughter but her hand prints in washable paint on moms belly! I came up with this all on my own too :) (not to say no one has ever done it, I'm sure plenty of people have, I just didn't see it in my "research")

So that's the stuff that I bought. I asked mom to bring some baby shoes, ones with laces if she has them so I can tie their wedding rings to them. Also asked her to bring the ultrasounds for the string pic and anything else she wants!

I'm so super excited to do this, wish me luck, I'll post pics later this week!

I Heart Faces: Sun Flare

2011-03-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

Sun flare is an effect I've been trying to work on here and there I know this isn't the best one out there, but its my best one so far! I did a quick mini session for my best friends yesterday and this is one of my favorites. They just look so happy!

Just a Quick Update

2011-03-07T12:30:00.000-06:00

I realized while posting the latest I Heart Faces entry that I haven't posted a real blog in a while. Things have been going ok I guess. I got real discouraged last week and was ready to quit. Not really I guess but ya know. I did have lunch with a photographer friend of mine and got some advice. She looked at my work and I looked at hers. She didn't imminently start saying what was wrong with all my stuff so that made me happy. I've been working on some stuff on the business side of things. I started working on a website, although I think it will take a few months to really be ready. A girl I work with is going to school for graffic design. She is helping me work on a logo. This is what we have so far. She make the actually logo and I put the frame and green together.

Not bad right?

I think the most interesting thing is that I actually have four sessions scheduled for next weekend. None of them paying mind you, but enough to hopfully start a better portfolio. I have my friend Stephanie and her kids (ages 7 and 2) Saturday morning and my 10 month old neice Ivy in the afternoon. Then on Sunday a family with a 3 year old and a couple in the morning. Then my son/s 8th birthday party in the afternoon. I'm hoping to even use the party as an example. I want to offer "small event photography". For about $150 I will come to your birthday party, baby shower, bridal shower or whatever and take pictures. Then you get a photo book and a low res CD. So I'm hoping to use the party as a test for that.

And because you can never have to many pictures, here are some good ones from our visit to Laumeier Sculpture Park. We mostly walked through the woods so I didn't get a whole lot but I like these ones!

I Heart Faces: Best Face of February

2011-03-07T11:33:00.001-06:00

This weeks I Heart Faces is a peoples choice. This is my first people choice! This picture was taken at the Missouri Botanical Garden and is probably one of my favorites ever. (it was taken on February 19th) There was a big tower and my son climbed to the top. He was having such fun all day making goofy faces at the camera.

Edit indecision

2011-03-01T20:50:00.000-06:00

What is wrong with me? Why can't I just make a decision? I do my editing, make it look good. I'm happy with the result. Then I start playing around. *sigh* I just can't decide. I know there is something to having a well exposed and corectly edited photo. But look how cool the one on the right looks! What to do, what to do...