Sound of It

This made me think of the last time I lived in Cali and I was in grade school. I had teachers that forced me to learn how to sound out all the letters. I remember thinking what is the point to sound it out if i know the word. Guess I was a little slow at reading. Still am so it all makes sense now LOL.

Back to the point. Here it is sounding out a or AAAAAAAHHH! with a variety of meanings
1) aaaahhh satisfaction 2) aaaahhh overspent the bank account and 3) aaahhh my belly is hanging over my belt!

Abandoning Tradition

Some of you know that today was my first wedding and it was so Amazing, Alive, and several more A words, I'm sure. One thing I really tried hard to do was to Abandon the traditional, tired shots. This one of the girls jumping was one of my very favorites of the 900 or so I took. Wow, I'm tired. It was a fantastic day! :)

All America Apple Pie

I had a rough day with pictures today, nothing turned out how I wanted it, so I stopped and went home and made and apple pie for our Sunday dinner tomorrow night, and when it was done it looked very pretty so I snapped away, it fit the subject perfectly!

Away

I feel like I'm cheating using two sessions in a row (and similar pics at that) but I wanted to post Something so this is what ya'll get! Once I'm caught up on my editing/sessions I promise to try and get more creative. I hope I can be forgiven ;) CC always appreciated. If anyone wants specs I can post those.

A is for Art Festival

Today the City of Columbus was having is annual art festival at the Columbus College of Art and Design. I drug the girls along with me for the ride. (Who knew everything was going to be cash only.... with no ATM in site!?!)
This is a monster of a sculpture (probably over 4-5 stories tall) is the school's trademark installation piece. There was a lot of fun artsy things to take pictures of, but I thought this sculpture was the epitome of "ART"
(P.S. My husband who has a Masters of Fine Art emphasis in painting and drawing, but also does plenty of sculptures- HATES, HATES, HATES this sculpture... I think it's pretty funny that he has such strong feelings on this piece~ haha.)

CHALLENGE: The letter A

I didn't see a post yet today, so I am popping in quick to put a challenge up.

Let's do something different....The letter A.

What starts with the letter A? What does the letter A make you think of?

Eh, get creative with this one! There are endless possibilities!

Winners: Emotion

Good morning everyone! Great entries and great voting this time around.

Congratulations to Katy, who won best photo overall with her sunset silhouettes.

Congrats also to Dave and Brittney, who tied for second place, with the smokin' hot guitar player and skateboard girl, respectively.

Stick around for a new challenge word later this morning!

Voting: Emotion

Here's the part where you let your voice be heard! Go ahead and vote for your TOP TWO favorites.

The winners of the last challenge were Erin and Erica (way to go girls!!!) so they are out of the running this time around. Shoutouts are still welcome though!

Speaking of shoutouts, let's try to be generous with them. I know it always gives me warm fuzzies inside when I get some ;).

Emotion

I've been MIA the past few weeks. Life has just been busy. The kids softball, school being over, camping trips... We've finally settled for awhile.

The emotion of a song. Songs can have lots of emotions in them from angry, sadness, love, happiness. I love the emotions of my husband when he plays his guitar, and the emotions it gives me to see him play.

This picture was taken in auto mode due to the fact that I waited till 10:00 to take it. The specs are....F5, 1/60, ISO 400.

Severe Emotion

My son was so freaked out when all the channel's on the TV flashed "severe thunderstorms and a tornado watch"

He was so scared, yes I took advantage of such a scary time for him but he was so sincere in his emotions.

I did cuddle him when i was done torturing him.

Nikon D60, 55mm, 4.5, ISO auto, lighting was natural, Picasa sepia

CC always welcome

Emotion Runs Dry???

The only emotions I have right now are my strong desires for an Apple computer and an SLR camera. I finally got a medocer result with water, so hey proof that M24 is pushing me. Taken full sun with my POS I mean point and shoot Cannon SD1100 Si. Edited obviously.
is always welcome. PS FIXED IT SO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CLICK IT NOW!

Emotion(al) eating.

I was originally going to do a facial expression. I got some good ones today while my kiddos cried and whined. :) But as I was listening to them cry themselves to sleep and sat there feeling overwhelmed by bedtime in general, I reached for a piece of dessert...and then it hit me. When emotions are surface bound, I eat. So, though I know this is a little long, I thought it fitting to share with my little picture. You can skip it if you want...

Info on the pic was: ISO 200, 50mm, f1.8, 1/125th second


Self Medicating

Ice cream, cookies, pies and cakes
How many goodies can I make?
Donuts, pudding, popcorn treats,
Give me something good to eat.

I’m not hungry, but give me more;
Bread and meat and foods galore.
I’ve eaten til I think I’ll burst,
Now I need to quench my thirst.

I’m stuffed, I can’t eat one more bite
Unzip these pants they’re way too tight!
But wait! I’ll take that pudding cup;
OHHH, if I could just throw up.

The pounds pack on, I feel so big
I’m just a chunky little pig.
My clothes don’t fit I feel depressed;
What kind of cake would you suggest?

Low carb, Low Fat, Dr. Phil,
Don’t forget the diet pill.
Slim fast, Atkins, and South Beach,
Most of these seem out of reach.

I eat so much I have to wonder
If I could resolve world hunger.
I know this behavior is self defeating,
But prop me up, I’ll keep on eating.

--Annette Hiatt (my mom)

Pure Happiness

This is my cousin Carrie's little boy, Aidan, he's always such a happy little boy. Just makes you want to kiss him all the time. :)

ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/1000

After a long day

(50mm, iso800, 1/20 sec, f/1.4, spot metering)

After a long day with two crazy, crazy kids this is how my wife unwinds and vents all her emotions. I wanted this to be more of a dark, artistic shot so I experimented a little bit.

This was actually one of Britt's ideas. But I stole it. I'm like that.

Britt wants me to note that I made her wear the hat. She doesn't want to come across as weird.

Mutual Admiration Society

There's no doubt this daddy loves to spend time with his little boy -- it's written all over his face!

-CC-

Silly!

I'm back! It's been a while because I was out of town for almost a month and then I've had computer problems since I've been back. But I'm excited to get back into all of the fun. This is my silly little boy. He is always doing something to make me smile. I love capturing happy moments like this.

CC is always welcome. Hopefully I'll get my camera settings up next time.

Plethora of mixed emotions

Today was my VERY FIRST photo shoot. I was so full of mixed emotions, that I could hardly contain myself. I was so excited, yet so unsure of myself, apprehensive, anxious, nervous, and giddy all at once.

Luckily, the little boy I shot was pure delight...and let me take picture after picture as I adjusted lighting, settings, and positions. The only emotion i have right now....RELIEF that I made it through AND that I managed to get quite a few good shots! (to be posted on my blog later tonight!)

CC PLEASE!!!

Pensive

Though, why she should be pensive on a GORGEOUS day like this is beyond me. (But thanks for the cute face, Babykins!) I loved her eyes and her precious lips...so full!

Nothing special: basic natural light, some cropping. I tried it in b/w, but like this better.

Sunset Beauty

This is Jennifer, from a photo shoot we did yesterday. I think that there are several different types of "good" pictures, but the great ones are where you can feel the emotions and the warmth. This made me smile and giggle to myself a little...

Emotion: Fear/Excitement

I really tried to "think outside of the box" for this challenge and took quite a few different pictures, anything from my guitar (expressing emotion) to some fresh-baked cookies (emotional eater) but, this one of my daughter on the skateboard ended up being my fav. I wish I had an unbiased judge to review my pictures before I post because I think I am naturally drawn to the pictures with my sweet little ones in them. Ya know how that goes?! ;)

50mm, f/2, 1/2500, iso100

CC welcome

Despair

(50 mm, ISO 100, 1/15, f 1.8, window light)

I love that his face tells a story. You can tell that there is something very heavy weighing on his mind. This is my shot for "Emotion."

The window light that I used for this shot made for a really great dramatic look. All of the vignetting was done in camera so the only real post-processing that I had to do was switch it to black and white.

CC Welcome.

Sweet tenderness

My emotions run pretty high when I see these two playing together. I'm not sure how well this FITS the challenge, but I really liked how you can't SEE any emotion... but if can imagine your loved ones or even yourself in this photo... this should invoke some tender emotions in you. (if not, you've got a stone cold heart of a ruthless soul!! hahah just messin!)

Emotion Expressed

nikon d90, f3.2, 1/500, iso200, 50mm

I'm gonna break the trend here and post something that's not a face. ;) When I think of expressing my emotions, I think of my violin. I have played the violin for 28 years, and it is part of me. I can express sadness, joy, love, anguish, despair, happiness, playfulness, sensuality, anger... any emotion...with my fingers, my arms, my body, my heart. I've even cried while performing. (I know, I'm a nerd.)

Curious Emotions

We are getting ready for our vacation and set up our tent outside to make sure it was in working order. My son was so excited to help set up and then play in the tent. Here he is watching his dad put the tent together.

Little Miss Mags

Today was Kindergarten graduation for my sweet Alli. I brought Maggie with me so we could have lunch with Alli and play with her on the playground after wards. Maggie was the delight of everyone. She got chased around and around the play ground, with every child wanting to play with the 'baby'.
Maggie got a kick out of it!

Can you guess my attitude?

Can you guess what this little girls emotion is? Ha ha (she is my friends daughter)

Window Light

Iso 100

F 8

200
canon rebel xti

cc

Beaner

She was actually really happy here, she was just bitting her top lip. I wanted a close up of her eyes, but this was all that she would let me have. I think eyes show the most emotion. instead of getting what I wanted, I got a sad looking girl. But she is really happy!

(ISO 125, F5.6, 1/400sec)

I'll Cry if I Want to

Just wondering if anyone can tell me at what age boys stop crying everyday...?

Enough Is Enough

Enough is Enough

This is how you know your photography session is OVER:)

Emotion in the Details

It's amazing the emotion that can be conveyed even when half the picture is gone. The little details like those sparkling eyes and slightly upturned lips are all you really need.

CC

Jennifer Kamp (Jenn)

Hello Everyone. Rachel said to post a little introduction and a photo. My name is Jennifer Kamp. I live in West Jordan, Utah and have a SMALL studio in my basement. I am a mother of four beautiful daughters and my passion is photography as ,I'm sure, is shared by everyone here. I shoot mainly children and newborns, but love it all. I have always wanted a little spot to receive good feedback on my photography. I am excited to join you and look forward to posting a photo each challenge. Thanks!

~Jenn

http://www.jenniferkampphotography.blogspot.com/

Challenge: EMOTION

Alright y'all, the challenge word is...EMOTION. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! Happy snapping! And remember, don't be afraid to think outside the box.

Studio Lighting

I love Studio Lighting, so I thought I'd put a little tutorial I found helpful on for anyone interested in it. Hope it is helpful. (Sorry I'm posting a little early...I wanted to be sure to get this on since I won't be here tomorrow)



Studio Lighting Techniques by Chuck McKern



Most photographers are interested in portrait lighting but most seem not to understand how to do it. The techniques that we are going to discuss can be used with either hot lights or studio strobes. You can use these same concepts with flash units, however you will not be able to see the effect until after you shoot. With practice you will be able to control the harshness of the light as well as being able to de-emphasize problem areas, such as a narrow face or a round face. The wrong lighting will emphasize these features and will not be flattering to your subject. The right lighting will make your subject happy indeed.

There are four main styles of lighting that we need to describe. The first is Broad Lighting. Broad lighting is when the main light is positioned in such a way that it illuminates the side of the face that is turned toward the camera. This technique is used mainly for corrective purposes. It will de-emphasize facial features and is used mostly to make thin, narrow faces appear wider.

Short Lighting is when the main light illuminates the side of the face that is turned away from the camera. This technique is used when the subject has an average oval face. Short lighting emphasizes facial contours more than broad lighting. This style can be adapted for a “strong” or “weak” look by using a weaker fill light. This narrow lighting (as it is sometimes called) is especially good for use in low-key portraiture. Because short lighting has a narrowing effect, it is great for use with subjects that have particularly round or plump faces.

Butterfly Lighting is achieved by positioning the main light directly in front of the subjects face and adjusting the height to create a shadow directly under, and in line with, the nose. This style is best suited for subjects with a normal oval face and is considered to be a glamour style of lighting best suited for women. It is not recommended for use with men because it has a tendency to highlight the ears – crating an undesirable effect.

The fourth style of lighting is Rembrandt Lighting. Rembrandt lighting is obtained by combining short lighting and butterfly lighting. The main light is positioned high and on the side of the face that is away from the camera. This technique produces an illuminated triangle on the cheek closest to the camera. The triangle will illuminate just under the eye and not below the nose.

The positioning of the main light is usually about 45 degrees from the camera-subject axis and should be slightly higher than the subject. A good method to determine proper placement of the main light is to look at the catchlights in the subject’s eyes. The catchlights should be at either the one o’clock or eleven o’clock position. Depending on your subject, the height of the light may need to raised or lowered to get the catchlights in the eyes. This is fine.


Without catchlights the eyes look too dark and recessed; giving the eyes a lifeless look.

You normally place the fill light on the opposite side of the camera from the main light. The fill light also needs to be a much lower power unit than the main light. If you use too much fill you’ll loose the effect of the lighting style. The purpose of the fill light is to add just enough light to soften the shadows created by the main light.

The fill light is used to control contrast. By increasing the power of the fill you reduce the contrast in the photo. By decreasing the amount of light from the fill, you will increase contrast. When setting the distance of your fill light watch how noticeable the shadow from the main light is. This will be your guide to how noticeable it will be in the final image. The fill light will almost always add a second lower pair of catchlights. This is usually objectionable because it gives the impression that the subject has a directionless stare. This second pair of catchlights should be retouched from the final photo. Also watch for reflections if your subject wears glasses. You may have to reposition the fill light slightly to eliminate eyeglass reflections.

Once the lights are in position, you can now play with the accessories we talked about in March to add the touch or feel that you are looking for. Bare light sources usually have a harsh effect and drown out details. Using umbrellas will soften the light and help maintain details. Barndoors or gobos can be used to control how much light, if any, is allowed to spill onto your background. An umbrella was used for this shot.

If you get daring enough to use a hair light cones and snoots will allow you to control the light so that it only illuminates the hair and doesn’t spill onto the shoulders and face of your subject. The hair light is a lower power light that illuminates the subjects hair providing separation from the background. This is especially important when photographing a subject with dark hair against a dark background. To properly place a hair light, you should bring the light forward enough to let the light spill onto the subjects face, then slowly move it back until the light disappears from the subjects skin.

Background lights can be used to illuminate the background, gaining more depth or separation in your image. This light is usually placed low to the ground on a small stand about half way between your subject and the background. A low power light is generally used. You can dramatically change the look of the shot by adding a gel to background light. Just remember when using gels you have to use a stronger light to compensate for the illumination being lost through the gel.

Once you have placed all your lights in their proper locations, added the needed accessories to them, and have gotten a general feel for the way the shot looks, you can use a reflector card to add a soft, supplemental light to areas that may still appear too dark. Some of these cards have a gold side that you can use to add a warm glow to the photograph. Others, like the one used in this shot, have a silver side to provide more neutral fill light.
The reflector cards do not need another light source, as they will reflect the light that is already there. To find the proper location for the card, just move it in and out from a spot to see the effect. It will be noticeable to the naked eye.

It is not necessary to use all of these accessories and techniques together. For the most part they can be mixed and matched to get whatever result you’re after. Although it sounds complicated with a little practice light placement becomes second nature and you’ll develop a setup that you’re comfortable with. It’s when you need an effect you can’t get with your normal set-up that you’ll need some of these additional lights and accessories.

WINNERS: Portrait

Good morning everyone!

Not only did we have great submissions this time around, and an increase in comments again, but we also had great voting. There were tons of shout-outs, and so many people were recognized, but there were two very clear favorites.

First place goes to Erin, with In the Moment, her daughter playing in the sprinkler.

Second place goes to Erica, with her debut photo on Mission 24, Portrait of my KyKy, the baby in the bikini.

Well done ladies (and everyone who participated)!

(Click here to see all winning photos from all challenges!)

Voting: Portrait

Wow! There were some great submissions this time! We almost made it to 30!! It was good to see some long lost photographers reappear, and to see the great photos from the regulars too!


Vote for your TWO favorites (with so many awesome portraits, how can we pick just one??), and don't forget to give shoutouts to your runners-up!

Crys and Teri won the last challenge, so try to find someone else to vote for. ;)


Let's see LOTS of votes this time... our voting has dwindled too, and we want some opinions here! ;) Even if you didn't post, please vote!

Portrait

This was the only willing family member left to ask today. So here in all his glory is Mr Manny. He is my favorite Guinea pig.
cut and cropped using picasa

f5.3, iso auto=10, D60 nikon, 55mm

CC always welcome :)

Portrait of Puppy Happiness

I'm on the road right now, so this is about as good as it got in terms of getting a "portrait". My friends got this Mastif and St. Bernard mix...this adorable puppy is someday going to be almost two hundred pounds!!! This was his second day with his new parents and he was finally relaxing enough to play.


Sorry about being a bit MIA these days, our twins were sick for almost two weeks and now I'm on an 8 day trip through Oregon and Washington for job interviews and testing...which finally ends tomorrow. SO really to be home.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In the moment

I'm really not late on this. I'm in Washington so I still have a few good hours! Or are we going by a specific time zone? Either way... My daughter Kennen... She cracks me up! All the portraits that I have of her are like this. She is completely in her element, always making a face or doing somthing funny. I love it anyway!

Pretty Portrait

This challenge was the perfect opportunity to take more pictures of our pretty girl (as if we needed an excuse!). It was SUPER hard to pick just one to post, but this one felt the most "portraity," so this one it was. Taken with a Nikon D-40, automatic setting, no flash. CC welcome, as always.

Sharee

This is my girl friend Sharee Wise, she is in my ward and I just think she is so beautiful, and I tell her every Sunday when I see her, she is a mother to 5 children and a dancer who comes from a dancing family, if she looks a little familiar she is the older sister to Derek and Julianne Hough ( Dancing with The Stars). When I saw the topic yesterday I just knew it was Sharee's picture I wanted to take and she was so gracious to let me come to her house and photograph her. I have many more of her soon to be on my blog. ( www.clanofcunningham.blogspot.com)

Baby Cakes

Meet Ella. She is my best friend's little one. I adore her. I snapped this picture of her last night at a weenie roast. My only peeve with the pictures is all the noise in it. It was getting dark when I shot this so I had to bump up the ISOs to 400 (I usually shoot at 100).

CC welcome.

50mm, f/2.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 400

Portrait: Portrait of holiness

I am generally not great at taking picture of people, and I don't particularly enjoy it, because I'm not great at it. You would think that I would take advantage of this opportunity, but with a tension migraine all day yesterday, I didn't really feel like pushing my own limits. My in-laws were visiting all weekend, and after church today, we drove out to Kirtland to tour the temple. For those of you who are not LDS (Mormon), Kirtland is a town in northeast Ohio that has an important place in our church's history. Having visited out here before (the same time last year), I didn't want to take all the same pictures again, but I did take a few. Here is my portrait of holiness.

About the photo: mid-afternoon natural light, slight adjustment to lighting and exposure, warmified slightly, added three layers of film grain for the vintage look. My husband liked the un-vintageified one better.

CC

Post Camp Face

f/5.3 shutter1/60sec ISO200- cropped and boosted w/slight edge burn
As sad as it might seem, I really wanted to capture this face in all of it's spottiness today. I love his expession and those precious blue eyes. I promise it's not chickenpox! Here's WHY my son's face is all covered in red bumps... It was his very first camp out! (except the one where he was snug in mom's tummy). It was quite the adventure in more ways than one. I was slathering bug spray on him nonstop but for some reason those darn bugs just could not leave him alone. I guess it could have been worse... though I'm not exactly sure how. :) Really, we had a great time and I look forward to many more camping trips to come. (I'll post the story on my blog as soon as I have a minute)

CC ALWAYS WELCOME!