Candlelight

I can't remember when this photo was taken, but I like the way it turned out. I've been going through my photos and there are only a handful that I think are exceptional. This being one of them.

The Christmas decorations are all packed away, but I still have my winter snowmen out. Here in Minnesota it's suppose to be 3° this Tuesday. Well hey now I wouldn't mind a bit if Spring time came the day after Christmas:)

Peace to my visitors, I appreciate you stopping in!

Sonya

Senior portraits

A few weeks back I took my neices senior pics. I shot about 110 and out of them there were only a few that were exceptional.

One thing I need to look into is the focal length, and the how far I'm standing from my subject when I shoot. So here is what I will be reading  Focal Length .

Focal Length 112, cropped, cloned in scene above head.

I'm not quite sure what I was framing in this shot...I thought the bench might add something to the photo but I was dead wrong. Benches are for a two person shot in my eyes. Wouldn't you agree? It looks like something is missing.

Focal length 75mm Post crop

Engagement photos

I was flattered when my Nephews Fiancee asked me to take their engagement photos. It's hard for me to believe that someone had the confidence in me when I lack experience in photography.

Having a good camera doesn't mean that you'll get good photos. Having a photographer that knows what they're doing does. I'm still learning and I hoped they would like at least three of the 50 photos I took.

It's hard to tell how the photos will turn out when you don't know what your doing. Given the fact that I should know what my in camera settings are for some reason I wait until I upload to lightroom to study the settings. Not a good thing to do!

With that said here is how the photo shoot went....I kept switching the mode from Auto to P on my Nikon D40. I should have taken the safe route by keeping it on auto, at least that way the shots would be consistant at least as far as the auto setting goes.

Skin tones changed in different lighting situations. Would have been more consistent if I wouldn't have changed the modes between shots.

1/80 sec at f/5.3, ISO 200, Exposure program: Normal, metering mode:pattern

1/125 sec at f/4.8, ISO 400, metering mode: pattern, no exposure program

1/125 sec at f/4.5, ISO 500, metering mode:pattern, no exposure program .
I love this shot! Very fun!Edited in lightroom screen capture below. Gotta love them presets:)
Note: study EXPOSURE!

Thanks for stopping by! Now I need to get off my butt and print out this entry just in case the lawn mower man decides to pay a visit!

Photo equipment

I think I'm all set for the photo equipment for now. I got what I thought was important for an amateur. Here they are...

The Camera Nikon D40. An Entry level camera. If I was to give advice to anyone buying a new camera, I would say read all you can about it before purchasing. Seriously.. find out what kind of lenses you can use, how they mount, what kind of metering system it has and how does that meter compare to other cameras you may be interested in, how many focus points does it have, and what are they.

I find myself reading the reviews on my Nikon D40 now. Quite honestly if I had to do it all over again I would have bought the Nikon D300. However I do think this camera will be a good learning tool for me, and I'm going to try to get the best shots I can from my Nikon D40:)

Nikon SB-800 speed light.
Sekonic L-308S Light Meter, and gray card.
Sunpak 800I UT tripod. Regularly $75.00 on sale for $49.00!

The backdrop. I went to Jo-ann fabrics and bought 8X10 peice of cotton fabric and tye dyed it with Navy and black Rit. I like the way it turned out...and at only $17.00! Now I just need to work on the light and camera settings to get the right exposure.

Thanks for stopping by!
Sonya

You want how much for a backdrop?

I searched the internet for backdrops and couldn't believe some of the outrageous prices. Most places charge 100 to 125 for a 10X20 Muslin and up to 450 for an artistic Background! So I went searching for backdrops for free. This paticular one was from my mom. It was a sheer curtain she had hanging in her living room. To dark for my subject as his hair blends in with the background. I'm thinking Home Depot for a canvas drop cloth, and some rit dye, or JoAnn Fabrics for Muslin.

No catch light in these eyes, and that shadow!:(

Spring snow

I was thinking spring was in the air when I heard the Robins chirping Saturday morning. It was a lovely day and it gave Brian a chance to clean up the yard. But then wham!!!...We get socked with another 6 inches Sunday morning, and it kept on snowing throughout Monday. Hey at least it gave me a photo op.

Peace, Love, and all the good stuff!

Sonya

Photo of the week-2

Photo of the week