Friday, April 15, 2011

A girl with her camera

Our last DLS workshop was photographing people... Families with children to be exact! I am struggling with this one and it has taken me this long to post this only because I have been struggling... Usually I find myself overwhelmed with busy, but this time I find myself overwhelmed with the inside need to do it to perfection...
Honestly I have sat down to edit through these pictures on two other occasions... My 50 ml brought a variety of struggles with lighting and what would fit in the frame and then depth of field and focus... I am probably my own worst critic and I do have a style in mind that I am trying to achieve but it's coming to me slowly...

My other struggle I am finding is getting in there and getting personal... I am a personal person but I also have these fears of stepping into someone elses comfort zone... It's something I will definitely have to work on...

Thank You to the families for coming down and giving us a full day of your time... I know for the children it was overwhelming having so many people with cameras in their faces... There were definitely some tears and some giggles... For me, it was a great experience that really helped me to narrow down some key things I need to work on!






















And here are some sneak peeks of what it's like without all the editing... :)














































Wednesday, April 6, 2011

DLS April Exercise....

Welcome to April... This is month 4 of my DLS workshop... On Sunday we photographed people! This exercise proved to be challenging and fun! First of all, anyone who says photographing children is easy, is crazy! Although they all posess a photogenic appeal, they move quickly, tire easily, and aren't always cooperative of the vision you have in mind as the photographer. "Their vision" is the only thing important!

Secondly... Trying to photograph children with 9 other photographers trying to get "their" shot proved to add to the challenge! It all comes with experience and practise I've been told... Making mistakes allow for growth! My mistakes for this day was that I used a 50 ml lens which for me is already a challenge. I needed the practise and love what this lens offers when you do nail the shot.
I have learned that my 50 ml is unforgiving in dimly lit areas, it is sensitive to movement, and has restrictions to what you can get in the frame! So if your in a crowded space with moving children, excited photographers and just learning to use this lens, it's likely that you will end up with what I did... Some out of focus grainy shots that don't have everything in the frame that I envisioned with a couple of great shots... LOL

Fortunately I managed to get some shots that I actually am quite proud of... We had 3 families to photograph. This first family is actually a friend of mine who just had a set of twins... I have known Christine for aproximately 4 years now and was excited to hear she was pregnant and ecstatic to hear she was pregnant with two babies! We have a playful friendship which means I spent alot of time laughing with a pointed finger at her while she was pregnant. Christine has a fun, crazy, wild personality and is always on the go so the thought of her having twins was mildly amusing to me... (insert giggle and finger point here)

On March 8th, 2011 Christine, Jimmy, and Brianna were blessed with one girl who they named Madison Ireland McCauley born @ 6:10 weighing 4 lbs 11 oz and one boy who they named Mason Johnnie Douglas McCauley born @ 6:20 weighing 5 lbs 15 oz... They call them the M&M's.

FYI Christine is my hero!!! She delivered both twins within 10 minutes of each other and I believe she said, only 6 pushes... FREAKING AMAZING... I personally love these pictures because I have a little peice of my heart with them! Beautiful family and these two lucky babies also have one amazing big sister!

So my workshop had a baby cancelation and I called Christine last minute and asked if she wanted in on this opportunity... 9 Blossoming photographers and her kidlets... Christine is the ONLY human being alive that can get to a photography location with newborn twins, a 10 yr old pre teen, and be ready to be photographed with only an hour to get there... This also gave me the opportunity to meet them finally since my kids have been sick with flu and I wasn't able to get out to meet them. Thank you Christine for being so spontaneous and bringing your family in!



                                                                  
                                                                 Meet the M&M's


              The two settle for long enough for me to get one shot... This is it! The one and only!
                                                                  Simply adorable...


Meet Madisson ~ She is a mama's girl through and through... Definitely knows what she wants and is persistent about getting it. I think she got that from her Mama. :) Although Madisson wasn't as easy to photograph on her own, I did manage to get some nice shots of her getting snuggles. What a petite beauty...






Meet Mason ~ What a little charmer with such a laid back go with the flow personality which I believe is also a personality trait he inherited from his Mama...  Mason is definitely more independent and not quite as demanding as his sister. What a handsome little fella...







This photo actually chokes me up... Mason holding his big sisters finger...





                              Big sister Brianna with her new sister and brother... She is a natural...