As I said in an earlier post, I recently attended a great photography conference in New Orleans. During each day of the conference they had several different classes to choose from… Some were designed to help improve the business side of your… er… business. Others were more focussed on technique. And they had others that were focussed on creativity and inspiration.
One of the classes I was able to attend was led by a fantastic photographer from Cleaveland, Mississippi, Will Jacks. Besides obviously being a very talented photographer, he seemed to be a pretty cool guy. You know, one of those people that you think, “Hmm… I don’t really know them, but I think we could be friends.”
Anyways, one of the things he talked about was making time to be creative. Deliberately going out and tracking down inspiration and creative shots. He said that he regularly will go out with only his iPhone, stopping by places he has never been, or going the long way home, seeking for new inspiration.
That has stuck with me. I think there is a misconception (that I am working to overcome) that creativity is something that just happens… I am sure that it is easier for some than it is for others. But, the thing that I am learning is that, no matter who you are, if creativity is something you want to develop, you have to work at it… You have to practice it. Someone once told me that Stevie Wonder writes a song every day… At first I think, that’s crazy!! But then it hits me… What if he hadn’t worked that hard at song writing? Would we have songs like Isn’t She Lovely? Or My Cherie Amour? Maybe…
But maybe not.
So I have been putting that into practice. Ever since that class I have been purposefully looking for creative shots, but using only my iPhone… Trying to further develop my eye for amazing photography. Here is one that I took this week:
Hanging on
I am excited to see how I improve over time, as I keep up this habit!
P.S. Occasionally I may decide to post a picture on Twitter. You can follow us here: FyreflyPhoto
P.S.S. I am following Will on Twitter and he regularly posts pictures from his creativity hunting expeditions. You can check him out here: WilJax
Keeneland Race Track | Lexington, Kentucky It’s always fun to do a senior portrait session! It’s a right of passage for most students. You pull out 2 or 3 outfits that you like and go spend an hour or so getting pictures taken that mom will cherish forever and ever. This past weekend I got to take senior pictures with my cousin Andrew. I can’t believe he is already a senior in high school…it definitely makes me not want to think about how old I am:) He was funny because he totally knew he was there for his mom. One of the first things he said was “I’ll probably smile in most of these because that’s what she’ll want”. Sure enough, when I showed her a couple shots she immediately said “oohh, I like that one”…he was smiling.
Here are some of my favorites from his senior photography session:
Thanks for letting me be a part of the end of your high school career Andrew! Good luck with landing on a school and good luck with getting that full ride!!!!
*if you want to book us for a Senior Photography Session or any other session please visit our website or email us for more info.
Devou Park | Covington, Kentucky As a family photographer I am so blessed to meet great families that I would have never had the chance to meet otherwise, as is the case with Matt, Anna and Miles. A few days ago we met at the overlook behind Drees Pavilion in Devou Park and had a family portrait session. The weather was amazing…around 70 for most of the morning and some well placed clouds in the sky.
I knew we were going to have fun when Miles jumped out of the car and grabbed my hand to lead me around the park. He is such a cute kid who is very fun to be around. Matt and Anna were so great to get to know as well. Matt is a journalism professor at NKU (please don’t be too harsh about my writing Matt) and Anna is a stay at home mom. Both of them were so genuine and easy to talk to. It was very cool to talk to them about their upcoming adoption and be a part of the process in taking their family picture to include with their paperwork. All in all it was a really engaging and fun day.
Some of my favorites from the family picture session:
This is before he changed into his “picture shirt”. So funny!
The wagon is always a hit! He loved riding in it and pulling it.
Matt and Anna: you guys are great parents with an amazing son who’s funny and super fun to be around! Thanks for sharing a little of your lives with me. Good luck with the adoption and I can’t wait to show you the rest of the pictures from your family photography session.
*if you want to book us for a Family Photography Session or any other session please visit our website or email us for more info.
Devou Park | Covington, Kentucky I absolutely love engagement photography sessions! For a couple of hours I get a chance to hang out with couples who love each other enough to want to spend the rest of their life together. Devou Park is an amazing Cincinnati icon (even though its in Northern Kentucky) and it was a beautiful night for pictures.
Here are some of my favorites:
Great couple + great light = great pictures! Thanks for letting me be a part of your engagement and marriage. Can’t wait to capture your amazing wedding in pictures.
*if you want to book us for a Engagement Photography Session or any other session please visit our website or email us for more info.
I absolutely love children’s photography sessions. I especially love them when I get to take pictures of some of my best friend’s kids! Brandt and Jessica are dear friends that we don’t get to see as often as we used to (if no one has told you yet: “having a baby changes everything!”) but I still love watching Campbell grow up from afar. It’s even better when I can take some pictures to help add to their albums and walls.
This kids portrait session took me back to Old Loveland…my family used to live right down the road so it’s always great to drive through the neighborhood and see the old sights:) It was a beautiful day filled with beautiful smiles and some funny faces by Campbell! She is such a cutie.
I love these painted butterflies at the Loveland Bike Trail. I always thought they’d make for a cute backdrop…turns out I was right!
Some people will disagree but, in my opinion, there is no better picture than a classic black and white portrait.
Those bubbles make this pictures:)
Baby photography is super fun when they are as cute as this little one. Thanks Brandt and Jess for letting me hang out with Campbell for a couple hours. I can’t wait to show you the rest!
*if you want to book us for a Children’s Portrait Session or any other session please visit our website or email us for more info.
It’s true, there is something special and unique about professional photographs. The light, the editing, the framing of the shot…if you find the right photographer they can create a moment that you didn’t even know was there.
But what about everyday photography? Can it be special too? People often say things to me like “I could never get the same kind of shot you get” or “I’m lucky to get a shot that doesn’t have my finger in it!”. Are you one of those people who thinks they have the shot nailed when they are taking it, then you look at the back of the camera and it just didn’t turn out that way? You aren’t alone.
Here are 3 simple tips you can use to make your photographs a little better each time you are out:
Eliminate distractions. One mistake people make is trying to get all the action in the picture. Photography is more about eliminating distractions in a scene than it is about getting as much as you can in one shot. Find a point of interest and try to set up the shot to compliment that one thing.
Be ready. This one especially applies to children. You have to have the camera ready to go when you want to get the shot. Make sure you are on the mode you want and that you are zoomed appropriately before the moment happens. I try to show up 15-30 minutes early for shoots just to get all my settings and equipment exactly how I want them BEFORE the client shows up. Obviously you won’t do this with your family but it illustrates the importance of being ready for the shot. There have been times when the sweetest moment of the shoot is when the family is getting out of the car and getting ready to get their picture taken. If I wasn’t prepared I would miss those all together.
Be a composer. I know this sounds weird when talking about photography, but it is so important. In photography there is a rule that works pretty well…it’s called the “Rule of Thirds”. Envision that your photograph is broken up into three sections from left to right and three sections from top to bottom. All in all, there are 9 squares that are created when you do this. Most of the time your point interest should come at or close to the cross section of two of these lines. Don’t worry, there’s a picture below for the visual learners like me:)
Here is a couple of examples that illustrate all three of these tips. Both pictures are from a trip I took with some friends to Africa. Both were taken with a point and shoot. I chose these shots because one is an “in the moment” shot and one is a scenic shot and both were taken with an inexpensive camera. Basically, I chose them to show you that YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
The photograph above was taken while on safari. There was tons of stuff in that area that I could have included in this shot but I thought the simplicity of the bird and the dead tree was plenty. Also, the point of interest (the bird) is in the vicinity of the crossing of the far right “third line” and the top “third line”.
This photograph was taken on the way to the safari. We were in the middle of the African plains when we got not 1 but 2 flat tires (and then another 2 on the way back!). As you can see, while everyone else was working I was snapping away…I didn’t say being a photographer was going to make you any friends:) The point of interest is at the bottom left of the photograph near the crossing of the left third line and the bottom third line. If you look at the photograph, 6-7 “squares” are without any interesting content but they allow you eye to move right to the point of interest.
There are plenty of other little tips and rules to help make you a better photographer but these are pretty easy to pick up and implement. Maybe next week we’ll explore 3 more.
*If you really want to learn how to a better amateur photographer I have a friend and brilliant photographer who leads an online workshop for just such a thing. I’m sure she would love to have you in her next open seat! Check out 503 Photography‘s “Wannabe Workshop” (I don’t know if that’s really the name, just sounded good).
**If you want to book Fyrefly Photography for a Wedding, Engagement, Family Portrait, Senior Portrait, Kids Portrait or anything else you can visit our website at Fyrefly.com or email us here.
Who knows what the future holds for this adventure? Not me. If you had of told me when it started that this thing called Fyrefly would be where it is in such a short time I would have quickly told you that you were on an illegal substance. Sometimes when you dream you think “but that’s just a dream, it could never happen”. What a dumb thing to think…if you are dreaming with no belief that it might be possible, then what’s the point? Self-torture?
I am learning to dream and then sit down and figure out what it would take to make my dreams a reality. There is so much more in store for this adventure…for now let’s call my mood “pleased, not satisfied”. I am still chasing my dreams because I’m afraid if I stop something else will catch me from behind.
In honor of my nostalgic mood I went through and picked my favorite photo from every one of my shoots over the last 6 months, 22 in all. I exported these in small files so they wouldn’t take long to upload. So if you watch them on full screen they will be insanely pixelated. I thought about telling you why each one is a favorite but that would have made this post longer than any human would ever read, even my mom:)
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*If you want to book Fyrefly for Newborn Photography, Kids Photography, Family Photography, Senior Portrait Photography Engagement Photography, Wedding Photography or anything else you can think of visit our website at Fyrefly.com or email us here.
If you are here for the first time then you don’t notice any difference (obviously). But if you have ever been to our blog before you will notice that we changed the look completely! The basic structure is the same and everything functions in pretty much the same way…everything is just cleaned up and a little more sophisticated:)
This morning I decided to do a shoot with one of my favorite models (my son Ryan). He totally got into it and is starting to get that he is on camera:)
FIrst…”show me your muscles”:
Then…”Serious face”:
Then we try “See No Evil, Hear No Evil…
But “Speak No Evil” comes out as this:
Guess that means he does speak evil? Lots of fun!!!!!
