So apparently my being off to a good start on this blog was short-lived. I do hope to remedy that and although ideally I would like to post once a week, I certainly am not making any promises. I don't want to say that I was being too ambitious, because really there is nothing wrong with that, and there have been plenty of people who have accomplished a much more involved multi-tasking lifestyle than the one I currently live.. but perhaps I bit off a little more than I could chew, lol. Don't get me wrong though, I think it is just par for the course. Life is busy right now, but couldn't be more amazing. I have my boys, I have my kitties, I have a roof over my head, aaand I'm embarking on a new path which is very daunting and often stressful, no matter how excited, passionate or eager I am. Maybe I am making it more complicated than it needs to be or maybe I'm just doing everything by the book and making absolutely sure I am ready to start this business before I actually start it. Having the proper forms, having all the equipment (which will never be fulfilled for a photographer is always upgrading and improving their 'bag'), having a business plan, a financial plan, a business name and logo, a website, advertising, and a portfolio...and this is not everything by any means. And then you have a darling little attention-craving boy (who you are also trying to start potty training and teach early preschool skills to) who completely pulls you away from all those pesky tasks on the business to-do list and you are perfectly happy to do so. And then there's the cooking and the cleaning and the bills and all the usual errands and such. Mix in a few photo shoots for friends and family for experience and portfolio material, and some new equipment I have just barely begun to use, and you have a very exhausted and overwhelmed mama. Did I mention I have to begin planning the little munchkin's 2nd birthday party?! Yeaa..there is that, too. So let's just say I've been busy as a bee, being a good mama and trying to be a good photographer and well, the blog...is a bit farther down on the priority list. I am going to try harder though.
So for a quick update, during the last 2 months, Amazon and myself have developed quite the relationship. I have soo many new toys! I spent what seemed like eons researching all kinds of equipment and really tried to narrow it down to the things I thought I'd get the most use out of, mind you I do not have a bottomless pocket so I definitely had to weigh my options. I settled on a new lens (50mm 1.4!) and have been trying to shoot as often as I can with it. As some of you may know, it is not a zoom, but a prime lens and thus it is much different to shoot with. I would very much like a macro lens but that may have to wait a year. Also, after a series of awkward exchanges with the UPS dude, I finally got a beautiful computer monitor (with no dead pixels or bad backlight bleeding, what a nightmare!) and a handy little calibration tool to keep those gorgeous true colors. I also got a backdrop with a black and white muslin (also a nightmare).
Quick note on muslins: I know they will be wonderful for those artsy shots, but what a pain in the butt to handle. They are massive, and the sharp creases from being packaged are a real pain to get out. After a lot of research, I chose to use a damp lint-free shirt of the same color as the muslin and put them in the dryer together for 20 minutes as per what I read online...it needed to be done twice for each and they still had a good deal of wrinkles but the sharp creases were gone. I had to repeat this endeavor after a newborn shoot in which a wee bit of poop leaked onto the white one (gasp! on my first use, what luck I have!). But a spot treatment of Shout and liquid detergent (I let it sit for hours) and a scrub and rinse in the sink, and then back in the dryer (depending on how big your spot is, a wet shirt may still be necessary) and Presto! Good as new and the extra dryer cycle (used a full cycle) really helped with those wrinkles. :-)
I also picked up an external flash (Canon Speedlite 430EX II) and some diffusers for it. I do believe this is going to take some time to get to know better but I have had some good experiences already when using it in some low-light situations. I prefer to use natural light but there are simply situations that do not allow for it. Looking forward to using this a lot more and getting a natural effect with it (meaning it doesn't look like a flash was used). I got a bunch of random little things and tools, and a good deal of newborn (as well as older baby) photography props. I did this because 1) I love newborn photography. I fell in love with it after watching and being a part of my son's newborn session. I thought, what an amazing job to have. And I also thought it was incredible seeing how magically they were able to soothe him and pose him and keep him sleepy and content. I wanted to be able to do that. 2) After learning I would be doing at least 2 newborn shoots in the near future, I scoured the internet and looked at countless newborn photography and websites and I was hooked. There is nothing more precious than capturing that undeniably sweet innocence. I absolutely adore our son's professional newborn pictures, they are just priceless to us, and I want to be able to give that to others. 3) The combination of 1 and 2 really has me leaning towards specializing in this area, as well as maternity which I also find incredibly beautiful, so I'm hoping that spending a little extra for this will also help me pursue that wish.
All in all, it definitely feels a little like Christmas 'round here with all these new goodies floating around to play with or rather hide from my son, lol. Now the biggest problem is where to keep all this stuff. Might just have to get a studio :-P (hey I can dream, can't I).
As for other news, as was mentioned earlier, I did my first newborn shoot!! That however, I will save for another post...or two. But let me just say briefly, what a darling little girl...and I just <3 babies, and it's going to be really hard to not have another baby if I keep doing newborn photography, lol. How can you not want to just cuddle with those little bundles all day? They just make all your worries go away (fraggles flashback? :-p), and bring out all the hope and love and peace that the world needs. I just love it. And I'm very excited to be doing another maternity session for a family member and of course, soon after, another newborn session! Can't wait to meet my new little nephew in late September/early October! <3
Until next time...I shall leave you with a few shots taken with the new lens. Oh and as a side note, all of the photos are unedited, straight out of the camera (with exception to the asparagus which I adjusted the white balance setting and entered into the weekly photo challenge I participate in at http://www.photo-challenge.co.uk/).
Was very impressed with the low-light shooting ability of this lens without a flash. The first 4 shots here were all taken indoors, at night, in mostly dim and muted dinner lighting. You can see that there is a distinct focus and the rest of the frame blurs out beautifully. Loving the d.o.f.! And the color is gorgeous as well as the awesome display of bokeh in the 2 shots below of my son in his pool.
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...and 2 more examples of the 50mm in action at the playground. With the close-up you can see an example of the range of focus. The eye on the left is crystal clear while the one on the right is blurring out. Although not a problem per say, you have to be very careful and precise about your shots and your focus, as well as your distance. I love these shots though, and I think a sliver of blur to the edge of a face can also look very nice depending on the look you are going for.
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