Why I love photography

1. I need time to slow down.  I honestly think this is the reason everyone initially gets into photography. Photographers have a compulsive need to preserve time.  We feel it slipping away and life is like a vapor.  Here one minute and gone the next.  Time only keeps speeding up and I want to remember, document and cherish every detail.  Time is precious, and it feels like the older I get the more quickly time passes by.  Things change and happen so fast!  Sometimes I feel like I’m hurtling through life.  I love the slow days.  I love time to think and create.  Photography helps me to do that.   

2. I love the technical and artistic challenge.  Guys, you have no idea how short my attention span is.  I love art, and have always loved art.  But I get tired of different mediums rather quickly.  I have plowed my way through learning ink, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, oil paint, oil and chalk pastels, sculpting, woodburning, hand lettering, calligraphy, acrylic paint, marblizing and making paper, collage, cooking, sewing, poetry- you name it! Photography has kept my focus for soooo long.  And that is because the possibilities are endless!  From editing, to film, to getting things technically right straight out of camera, from learning my settings and gear.  It is a gold mine of endless learning!!!!! Photography is such a good fit for me.  Since I have an automotive background, I love the technical aspect of photography.  Since I am an artist, I also love the control and artistic view you can infuse into every photograph.  Since I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I can work hard to achieve a perfectly exposed photo in camera every time.  I love learning and trying new things, and I have yet to reach any exhaustive point with photography and I have been actively absorbing everything I can for at least five years.    

 3.  I love observing people.  Photography has helped me to become more thoughtful and observant.  It has also helped me to consider how I can become a better visual storyteller.  I love unique quirks and small ticks.  I love seeing different personalities. I love expressing myself through photography in a way that will honor the person I am photographing, and best tell their story. 

 4. I feel that it is an important craft to learn.  Photography has been around and changed a lot in its lifetime.  There are skills to be learned from photography.  I think it is important to see beauty in the mundane.  I think it’s important to study the masters.  Learning photography has improved my ability to see light.  It has improved my ability to capture dynamic skin tones when I paint. It has taught me to look for design and composition in everything.  I can see things in a new way, and it has sparked my curiosity about the world.    

 Thanks for reading!!!

What to photograph (other than your children)

So many children, including my own, get tired of participating in pictures.  I always want to practice on my own kids, but I know they get tired of having a camera in their face.  I’ll admit this has been a struggle for me.  My kids are great sports!  Not to mention they will not object to a chocolate bribe now and then! But lately I have been wondering what I can photograph besides portraits.  I love portraiture. It is so fun, but sometimes I just want some creative alone time.  So, here are some ideas that I go to for pictures other than children.

Flowers:

Setting up a still life is an excellent idea.  Perhaps just walking around your yard will give you some inspiration.  I love flowers, and I have a decent flower garden in my own back yard.  So sometimes, I just like to walk around there and see if I can find bugs or butterflies, or interesting flowers.  Then I try to compose a shot in the best way I can imagine.  Sometimes still life is so much easier than a fast-moving child.  It is also a great way to learn how to free lens!  

Cars:

I have an automotive background, so I love to photograph cars! I know, it’s kind of a weird background for an artsy girl.  But combining my love of cars and art is so fun for me. Once again, it is so much easier than trying to get a genuine reaction from a child! There are so many possibilities with cars from light painting to panning! Cars are a great way to experiment.  If you have a fisheye lens this might be a good time to use it!

Landscapes:

Landscapes aren’t something that I am used to doing.  Maybe that’s because I’m in Indiana and it’s pretty flat around here! Ha! However, I think that no matter where you live you can make a beautiful landscape picture.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of beautiful light! I find what helps me with landscapes are layering and making sure that you have a subject.  Whether it’s beautiful light through a tree, or a mountain or a barn. 

Details:

Sometimes it’s best to just give your children something to do or play and then capture all those little details.  Think of your composition and light. Hands and feet tell part of the story! Dirty bare feet, hands full of frogs or mud.  There are many possibilities!

Hope you enjoy these ideas! Thanks for reading!

How to Add Fireflies to A Photo

Fireflies, lightning bugs, bioluminescent creatures of the night, (whatever you call them): they are fascinating creatures to catch and watch. Not to mention it is a staple of childhood! I remember staying up late and catching them as a child, and I love to watch my kids as they chase them all over the yard.  We used a pickle jar, and punched holes in the top of the lid.  It is easiest to catch them when they land on the ground!  They are hard to see, which is also part of the fun of catching them.  If you live in the Midwest, this is a MUST!  

However, in pictures they just don’t show up so well.  Not to mention it is not that easy to snap a shot when they are all lighting up.  In order to make that picture as magical as it is for your child you will need an overlay! That is how I have created these pictures. I used an overlay in photoshop and set the layer to SCREEN.

Then I hit ctrl/j to duplicate the layer as much as I want.  I use the shortcut ctrl/t to transform and adjust the size. Then I place them in varying areas and sizes to add depth and atmosphere. The closer they are to your camera the bigger and blurrier you will need to make them.  I have created my own shortcut in photoshop to add a Gaussian blur.  But you can get there by going to filter>blur> Gaussian blur, and then blur to your taste.  I also lowered the opacity on some to make them blend better.

Remember the rule of odds if you place them close together or in the jar. To read more about the rule of odds, go here. This adds visual interest and helps to move your eyes throughout the picture. 

I have made this overlay available for download for free! I added some noise to the overlay, because chances are if you are out catching lightning bugs it is going to be very low light. I had to increase my ISO to a very high number in order to capture anything and keep my shutter speed reasonable. Make sure to set the overlay to SCREEN. I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know if you do! Please share your pictures with me!  I would love to see what everyone comes up with!

Download the Firefly overlay here.

Thanks for reading!

---