Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke
Capturing the Joy in Life
I got to photograph 3 gorgeous sisters last week, and the evening light was just as breathtaking. I thought it was a great time to share images I took, and at the same time give some tips on how to shoot beautiful back-lit images. The hour before the sun goes down each evening is often referred to by photographers as the Golden Hour. When the light is shining brightly, it gives the most lovely… Continue Reading
Happy New Year’s Eve Eve, friends, It’s been a fabulous year! I got to travel from New York City to Alaska, and a few other places in between. I connected with other bloggers at a few conferences, and crossed some things off my bucket list. I got to delight in the joy of my children, and have some quality time with my husband. I started painting rooms in my house, lost 25 pounds, and continue… Continue Reading
I’m so excited to kick off this week of planning for family portraits with Laura from Laura Winslow Photography! She’s on my list of people I’d love to meet up with the next time I go to Arizona. I love her style, and excited for what she has to say about selecting a photographer just right for you. Hello lovelies! I’m so happy to have been asked by the sweet Kristen to guest post and… Continue Reading
There are SO many things about photoshop that I am trying to learn. I don’t know everything! I enlisted the help of Rebecca at Zion’s Studio Photography to teach me a step by step of how to make a translucent bar across an image like the example below, so it would be harder to erase a logo (as I referred to in THIS post). She typed out the directions and I tested it out with my screen shots and added… Continue Reading
Long before everyone had a blog, there were photographer’s sharing their images on their websites. We’d share them on those flash sites that were right click protected, and assume they were mostly safe there. I eventually learned how to get around all that (if I wanted to save an image for inspiration purposes–kindof like a digital “pin board”). I was on a forum where I heard about other photographers images being “stolen” and not just by clients… Continue Reading
Alright, here is a photography tip someone was asking me, about my workflow with a client from start to finish. Oh my, I try…try to be organized. It all comes together…eventually, but I am often leaving myself with hand written chicken scratch like this craziness in the month of November: (pic taken with my phone) November was crazy, I had 23 different clients I was juggling at once with taking, editing, blogging, ordering, or something… Continue Reading
Wow, this was so fun! On the blog there were 647 votes total, and no idea on facebook. I took the top 5 votes on the blog and the top 5 on facebook and added them up. First place winner of $100 in prints and a mini accordian album is: Kelsi & Westin’s Engagement Session (click here to see the rest of their fun session). I loved so much about their session (and especially fun… Continue Reading
I originally posted this over a year ago at The Idea Room. In photography, a good photo is often determined by perfect sharpness. However, blurring the subject is a fun way to convey emotion. You can achieve this by slowing down your camera’s shutter speed (a.k.a. dragging the shutter). With a slowed down shutter, any movement will cause a blur in the final image. Make sure that something is stationary so that your photo will have both sharpness… Continue Reading
Originally posted on The Idea Room Have you said “no” to Auto? If not, these tips might not be so helpful, or maybe it will help you get off of that little green box;) {Source} Fireworks with reflection in the water These images were not taken by me. When I first wrote this post, we were under a burn ban in Texas. I’m not sure if our rain lately will allow us to do fireworks… Continue Reading
*The term bokeh comes from the Japense word boke, which means “blur” or “haze” -wikipedia ISO 1000 SS 1/250 f 1.8 I love to see holiday photography with a little bokeh in the background. The lights all a-blur and sparkling up the image. Here are a few tips for capturing that beauty, but first you must Say NO to Auto, my friends. 1. Wide aperture (low number)–I shot on 1.8 with my 85mm lens 2. Place a… Continue Reading
I love to bring my camera along to the birthday parties and special events of my good friends. I figure if I am there enjoying the party with my child, I might as well snap some shots and send it to them later as a part of my gift. This past week, I went to 2 such parties and got these shots… Below…she touched the flame on the candle and got an owie–I love the… Continue Reading
Today, I’ve got for you a quick photo tip. When having YOUR picture taken, always remember to do 3 things: 1) Turn the hips 2) Pop the knee 3) Bend the arms Straight on, the hips look so much wider than when I turn to the side. Also, to have a separation of the legs by lifting one heel and popping the knee, helps slim as well. Lastly, giving the arms something to do besides just… Continue Reading
I thought I’d share some ways to get creative with photography, and talk about unique ways to frame your shot. To add a little interest in your photography. Using angles and depth of field to our advantage can make a shot go from great to WOW. When I took my daughter out for her one year pics, I posted a bunch on my blog and asked to hear favorites (because she is my child, they are all my… Continue Reading
This is a re-post that I wrote at The Idea Room last week;) {Source} Fireworks with reflection in the water Unfortunately, I won’t be photographing any fireworks in Texas, because we have a burn ban in our area due to extreme drought conditions. But I can still offer you tips with images I found online with their sources. #1 Use a tripod. To capture evening light, you need to leave your camera shutter open for… Continue Reading
My friend Maren asked me to do this a long time ago. I’ve planned to do it, its just been on the back burner because I knew it’d take some time to go back and find untouched files. I’ll do a 2 part/2post for this because I have a few things to show. First I’ll show a before and after of pictures taken for sessions. That means I use Manual mode, look for the best… Continue Reading
