We have entered the new year, 2015! It sounds fairly futuristic to me, I'm sure a sci-fi movie was set during this time. And yet here it is. I am excited for this year. What am I going to learn and experience next?
Already I have learned so much since stepping out into this whole new photography dream. I have taken pictures of children, multigenerational families, a model, and just recently, I was the photographer at my first wedding. I have enjoyed meeting each family, enjoyed reconnecting with friends, and learning each of their stories. And the value to of what I have learned so far in taking pictures and post processing, learning about new gear and technology, learning about what it takes to launch a business, all this is invaluable and if my dream goes no further than this, I have been successful my friends. This is a good start to my 2015. Here's hoping yours is even better than that! I have been in research mode for the past few months. My mind's capacity for such a high functioning threshold is being stretched to it's limits. It can't be long now before it crashes and burns. But I can't seem to stop, though I am trying to slow down.
What am I researching? Well, it starts with one thing and then rabbit trails to another, though the rabbit trails are important too. I've been researching computers, researching webhosts, researching how to start a small business, VGA to HDMI adaptors, should I invest in a SSD? How do I get my email to work on this new computer? How do I set my screen back to vertical view after my dog did something to change it to horizontal? How do I install Photoshop actions and use them? How do I create a watermark? How much does it cost to rent a 35mm Nikon lens? What is a good wide-angle lens and will it cost an arm and a leg {probably - I have a fingertip budget}. There are more - so many more - topics of information to learn. My strength is not in the technical world, yet I must know some of it because I do so much work through the computer. I know almost nothing about the legalities of starting a business. My mind is spinning. Though I know it shouldn't be front and foremost on my mind as often as it is, I sometimes can't help it. This is my passion. This photography thing. I'm not too bad at it. I'm improving with each shoot. And I want to continue, I want to invest my time and energy into it. I have the audacity to believe that God has stamped his approval on this new journey. The balancing act continues. Balancing my God/work/family/photography passion. Trying to stay sensitive to God's voice, calling me back from one thing to focus on another. A constant flux between them. It's the reality for us all - we are multidimensional with multi-responsibilities. How do we navigate through it all? It's exciting. A little scary. And a good thing, this learning and stretching my mind, meeting new people, taking pictures. My family has not had a change of heart - they still hate when I get my camera out. I am so thankful that ever since stepping out and asking for new faces to photograph, I have had a steady flow of opportunities. God has been good. Thank you to all who have allowed me to snap a few pics! Your willingness has blessed me - I have learned so much. Already my photography has improved noticeably. And I encourage anybody who is thinking about investing about an hour to have your pictures taken - do it! Whether it's through me or somebody else. You will be happy you did so. Depth of Field.
I know what it is. I know how to manipulate my settings to obtain the desired DOF. So why my rookie mistake? I was taking pictures of a family a couple of weeks ago. The setting was beautiful - large mature trees, an expanse of land shot during the golden hour of the evening. Perfect. The 4 boys were as cute as could be. Even the dog! My only challenge was to to take pictures fast - it was cold and though everyone was good picture-taking sports, I didn't want to press my luck. So I set my camera for the correct exposure for the light. And that was my mistake. It didn't help that my little LCD screen is limited in showing sharpness (but I didn't take the time to study each picture anyway). The pictures of only one child in them turned out sharp. It was the pictures with group shots that turned out soft. Here's the reason why: I opened up my 50mm prime lens aperture wide in order to let a lot of light in. For the single boy shots, this created a nice bokeh to the background while keeping their faces sharp. What I failed to do was dial down the aperture (increasing the number) to create a deeper depth of field. In order for all the faces in the picture to be sharp, the aperture needs to be closed in more. I should have aimed my focus point on the middle guy in the group while keeping my aperture smaller. This might mean that I would have had to change the shutter speed or raised the ISO (camera's sensitivity to light) in order to keep my exposure for the light correct. Lesson learned: take my time and evaluate not only exposure for the light, but exposure for the desired depth of field. #iamstillarookie The day I "went public" with my dream, I was blessed with an overwhelming response. It has done my heart good! When my husband came home from work that day, I told him about it. He, in his protective mode to keep our family time a priority, responded less than enthusiastic about the succsess of the day, warning me against becoming too busy with photography, especially since I am not getting paid. I was a little disheartend for a few moments.
And then God spoke to my heart. He reminded me that my family is one of my first priorities. I am also a part-time medical assistant. My husband is a police officer, working all kinds of schedules with varying days off. We are protective of our time together as it tends to be unorthodoxed. His first response to me was out of love. And he is right, I need to be aware of how much time I'm putting into this project. I want to say, "yes" to everyone, fitting my time to make it work for them, working on this website, editing pictures (which takes me hours for each shoot). But I need to make sure I'm not doing that at the detriment to my own family. It was a good reminder and a lesson learned. Everything I read, every tuturial I watch, photography-wise, encourages me to shoot in RAW. I haven't been able to do so before purchasing Photoshop. I set my camera setting to RAW a couple of days ago. Today, I downloaded the pictures into Photoshop. I didn't realize how much better editing the exposure would be! Once I figured out how to save the RAW file to my regular computer's picture folder (in JPEG format), I was quite pleased and will definately be shooting in RAW for good.
I was talking on the phone with a bride the other day who expressed frustration over a photography session she had. The photographer failed to give clear instruction on how to position this bride and left it up to the bride to figure things out. The resulting images were less than satisfactory.
How valuable this conversation was! I need to make sure that when I meet with people, I do my homework first. I need to make sure I have a few ideas on how to position them. I need to visually see in my head what I want. Then, just as important, I need to communicate that well to my "clients". This will help in reducing awkwardness and will help them have some confidence in me, as a photographer. It will save on time. Preparation, vision, and communication are key. Knowledge of the camera settings, being able to correctly achieve the desired exposure, are only a part of a picture. If I want to tell a story, I need to have the other three elements as well. Thank you, Karie, for this lesson! Saturday was the beginning of action. It's not a huge dream, I'm not winning the pulitzer prize or researching a cure for ebola. But it took some positive self talk to put myself out here. I'm not sure I even want to post this, to make this public! Well hidden seems safe.
But boring. So I posted an introduction to my dream on my regular blog, Rambler Girl. And my mom shared it on her Facebook page. And right away there was interest. I was shocked. Thank you mom! I might be busier than I expected. Lessons learned: stick to my guns, this part of the dream was meant to be. And people can be kind. |