Meter Maid!

I read a lot of blogs. Between my love of photography, my hobby of scrapbooking, my experiences as a mom, my quest for meal ideas, I have a lot of "stuff" in poor Google Reader.

The majority of blogs I read are photographically rich. Several of them are blogs of photogs (and I seem to add a new one every few days) but many are hobbyists who happen to take a great photo. It's on the latter, interestingly enough, that I find the best tips to improve my photography. We hobbyists are excited to learn and everything is new, so we like to share it with others.

Unfortunately, I tend to forget a great tip as soon as I move on to the next blog.

Or do I?

A couple of weeks ago at a birthday party, I was having trouble photographing one of the young guests as he sat with the patio doors at his back. For once my blog reading came to save me, and I remembered a tip shared on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog* aaaaaaaaaaaaages ago. Here's the video she linked to (by the delightful Candice Stringham):



Now I'm still figuring out all the ins and outs of my camera, but for the quick fix what you're looking for is that little star button. I have a Canon and mine's on the right side beside the button for selecting focus points.

Honestly, I was skeptical, but I gave it a whir. Here are both photos, SOOC:




By George it worked! Give praise for the magical star button! (and to my brain for somehow retaining that one).

Just in case it was a fluke, I decided to try it yesterday in the snow when a couple of my photos came out extra dark.




And yes, for those who are doubtless wondering, I did move afterwards so I'd have better light, but I wanted to try it--and it worked wonderfully!

If you'd like more of Candice's tips, you can find them at Creating Keepsakes (They're the series called behind the scenes). If you'd like a treasure trove, YouTube has all kinds of helpful videos. If your brain is like mine, you may want to watch one and IMMEDIATELY try it out so you're less likely to forget.

*Come for the scrapbooking/photos, stay for the playlist. Elizabeth's blog is usually playing in the background while I edit photos. I've found a lot of new favouite artists through her.

Well if that's all...

Thanks to the team at DPS (if you've never been there, and you're into photography, run!) I was lead to Chase Jarvis' amazing blog. He really seems dedicated to helping the aspiring photographer "make it"; in whatever way they define making it.

Anyway, working my way through the archives, I find that he has posted the Secret to Success in Photography. That's right, it's no longer a secret!

So I'm well on my way to number 2, it's just a matter of figuring out number 1.

How about you?

Portrait Practice

I've been booked for sure as the second shooter at my very first wedding this summer, and of course I'm nervous. I'm making lists and checking them twice and I'm spending hours on flickr and various blogs and photography sites gathering info and ideas.

Most importantly though, I'm conscious of the fact that what I need most is practice, practice, practice! So yesterday while the kids were lounging on the couch I pulled out the camera. I sat on the floor in front of them so they could still see and started shooting. Here are a couple of favourites:

I had on my 50mm 1.8 for all of my shots, as I'm still getting to know it better. I did my favourite lens exercise: set your camera to AV, choose a pretty stationary subject, and then open your aperature. Wide open! Take your shot. Move your dial one stop, shoot again. Do this for every single f-stop. You'll get a real quick feel for what the lens can do and what settings you're going to like. Of course, you should do it again and again at different distances, but it's a great exercise and you'll really know your lens when you're done.

Anyway, both of the above shots were taken at f/2.3, so I guess I know what makes me happy.

Guess what I'm practicing for here?

(Don't you love how she's willing to hold out her hands for me but not take her eyes off of the television?)

So while I'm practicing and playing, I'd love to know a couple of things:

1) Who's your favourite wedding photographer? Why do you love them? Link me up!

2) What editing software do you use and why? I'm still trying to choose. I downloaded the trial version of PSE7 before Christmas and played with it a bit but really spent most of my time weeping and wailing and knashing my teeth. I'm going to download Lightroom today and see if it annoys me less. I can't afford the full version of Photoshop. I'm even considering Gimp because--FREE! Of course I prefer to get the shot as perfect as possible in camera, but everyone needs a little buff and polish, right? I want to be comfortable with whatever software I choose long before the wedding so I can edit quickly but carefully, so I'm going to have to decide and buy in the next month. (I just don't think Picasa can handle it.)

Thanks everyone! Have a happy weekend!

Snow Exposure

Yesterday was our first snow day of 2009. It was actually a wimpy sort of a snow day, Hubby made it into work just fine and the kids spent lots of time outside playing. Of course I had to get photos of the kids outside! It was my first time bravely taking the Canon out in the winter instead of the old P&S, and I'm really glad I had read a lot of articles about shooting in the winter first.

First shot, I left the camera on the settings I had been using indoors:

Yikes! What a mess! Obviously my settings are so very,very wrong. Let's start with White Balance, shall we?

Oops, had it set on cloudy. It's definitely not cloudy out! In fact, with the sun hitting the fresh snow, it's the exact opposite of cloudy. The world is one giant reflector!

This is going to be an example of making adjustments on the run. I'm walking and adjusting...

So much better! Wow, that WB sure makes a difference, doesnt' it? A simple switch from Cloudy to Auto makes a world of difference.

Now we're still a little blown out. Does it seem bright to you? It seems bright to me! You know what's a quick fix? I'm going to dial down my Exposure Compensation, see what that does for me...

Much better! And just in time, since now I'm nice and close to the kids!

These photos are SOOC just for you (and me), to illustrate the differences and the adjustment process I made. Learning to think on my feet has been one of the biggest parts of understanding my camera and getting great photos. All photos shot using the 50mm, AV setting, f/4....ISO 800? Is that right?

Oops! Guess I should have checked ISO before worrying about Exposure Compensation. Yikes again! That's what I get for going from shooting indoors at night to outdoors in sun and snow. Now we've really learned something--check all your settings before shooting! If I had realized I would have changed that first thing!

Next lesson to learn: spot metering. Because my closeups turned out great, but backing off a bit....

Oh, how that 800 ISO is messing me up! Fortunately I shoot in RAW, and just dialing back the Exposure Compensation a couple more stops in the software that came with the camera....

Saves that one from the dreaded delete key. They're right you know, once you go RAW, you'll never go back! It can allow you to save yourself from even the most boneheaded mistakes...like shooting on ISO 800 on a sunny day.

Thanks for learning along with me! For those of you wondering where my HSMSHS is, well, so am I! Yesterday's prompt was "Homemade" and I was determined to get a scrapbook page done to share with you, but never quite got there. I'm going to see if I can do it today and post a double, otherwise I'll just do today's prompt and post later.

PS: shot of the day:

Towel, I am so tempted to throw you...

I just had the BEST two days. A really wonderful, fun, relaxing New Year's Eve bash, followed by a really wonderful, fun, relaxing New Year's Breakfast hosted by my church. Breakfast turned into a mini piano recital, then a mad volleyball game, then lunch at McDonald's before we all finally parted ways.

Of course, I took a ton of photos.

That I'm very unhappy with.

I can't say I'm all that excited about the photos I took over Christmas either, and that's just sad.

I'm sorry, but since I first picked up a camera I have been unable to figure out how to take photos in low light settings or gymnasiums. It is my giant Achilles heel of photography. I keep trying, I keep experimenting with lenses and settings, but I have yet to hit upon that magic formula that will get me great photos.

The fact that the teenagers with cheap point and shoots who were also snapping photos like mad have already posted their photos to Facebook...photos that are WAY BETTER THAN MINE is just salt in the wound. When the camera phone photos are better, it's probably time to throw in the towel.

I've read books, I've practiced and practiced, I've listened to friends (the suggestion at the party was that I turn my ISO all the way up, and it helped a bit, but the noise is still gastly), but unless I drag my subject outdoors it seems I am a very incompetent photographer indeed.

Can you help me? What do you do to get great party photos? Be specific, what settings do you actually use? Or do you leave the dSLR at home and just take the point and shoot?

I'll be anxiously awaiting your ideas. In the meantime, I'll keep dragging my kids outside if I want a photo. Who cares if it's winter? Oh, and I think I'll be saving my pennies for an external flash. And maybe converting some of my photos to black and white.

Oh, and seeking therapy.