.Fix-It Friday #64 • Photo Editing Fun!

It's fix it Friday at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ . Every week you get the opportunity to fix a photo. Here is my version.

ORIGINAL                                                             MY VERSION

and because everyone likes a splash of color in B&W or the classic B&W here are a few more

Happy Friday!

Love That Shot - Blossom Workshop ~ Exercise One

As a photographer you know that it is a never ending journey of knowledge. Technology, lenses, cameras, software...etc. It is always changing and you are always learning new things. I am stepping outside my creative box this week and taking a "Blossom Workshop" at http://www.lovethatshot.com./ I have always loved looking at photos of flowers but never have I really taken the time to photograph them myself. I wish I had planned this exercise a little better but I was limited on time. After a long day of work yesterday I headed out of my house to get some pictures of some flowers (it was 8:45 at night) and the sun was fading fast. I had only about 15 minutes of shooting time available before I was out of light.

The idea of this workshop is to step out of "AUTO" mode in your camera and to start using your camera to it's fullest potential. You will be amazed at how simple it is once you learn how to do it. I am a hands on person and this workshop is great cause they give you step by step instructions on how to set your camera and include visuals too for those (like me) who need to see something to know what to do. But the great thing about this workshop is that it doesn't just apply to "Flowers" you can take this knowledge with you when photographing your kids or animals.

Here was my first exercise
Practice taking photos with these settings. (These were settings given to you in the workshop... visit them at www.lovethatshot.com to find out more!)  Then experiment with your aperture. Try a variety of aperture settings. Take note of what the camera decides to set for the shutter speed and ISO. Observing this is the first step to understanding how shooting in Manual mode works.

Here are my photos taken and I left them SOOC (Straight out of the camera) so you can see my settings. Keep in mind that since these were taken at night my settings may be different then someone shooting in the early morning or later afternoon. Later I will try some different textures that are available for free at http://www.lovethatshot.com/

Also the flowers were starting to wilt.... so when photographing flowers try to find some that are in full bloom. Since I was limited on time I had to settle with wilted flowers. I am going to retry this weekend to find some better looking flowers to photograph.

CAMERA- Nikon D90     Lens: Nikkor 50mm f1.8     Photos taken in Aperature Priority Mode

ISO 400    f/2.8

Notice in this photo my depth of field was off on the front of the blooms (be careful with that when shooting with the 50mm lens. It is an easy thing to do.)

ISO 400    f/1.8 (Probably should have shot in f2.8 here instead)

This flower was all alone.... It was just crying to be photographed

ISO 400   f/1.8

And just so you can see how important it is to use your aperature on your camera this is the difference on depth of field

ISO 400    f/5

Same photo only I changed my aperature 1 stop (notice the background starts to blur (or what photographers call bokeh)

ISO 400   f/4

Again same photo only I changed the aperature (notice the depth of field is even more shallow)(Also please note I change my ISO up to 640 because by this poing the sun was almost set... under normal situations I would have left it) ISO controls how much light your camera allows in... the highter the ISO the more "noise" your photos will have. I always try to shoot between ISO 100-400 if possible.

ISO 640 f/2.8

And finally using my 50mm to it's lowest aperature (notice the bokeh in the background)

ISO 640 f/1.8

I think for this photo the 2.8 is my favorite. With larger flowers the DOF was better at 2.8 range.

Want to learn how to achieve a great bokeh? Visit http://www.lovethatshot.com/ to learn how. It is a great workshop!

Also this is linked up to in the Photo Fridays!

Sister to be of he

Meet family "H". Mommy found out the day of the photoshoot that they are going to have a little boy! Is that not exciting. There is nothing more exciting then the anticipation of a little one to be. This sweet little girl is a little over two. She was spunky, charming and very independent. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and that was to "HAVE FUN!" And so we did. We played and played and I chased her around and we blew bubbles and went down slides... she is a reminder of my little 2 year old I have at home.

Even Babies Like Sports!

This child will have no choice but to play sports. If you saw his wardrobe you see footballs, baseballs and soccer balls on every shirt. His daddy coaches 2 basketball teams and his mommy coaches 2 cheerleading teams. He has 3 older brothers that all play sports and a little sister who does dance and cheerleading. He also has cousins who wrestle and and aunts and uncles that seem to coach teams of various different sports. So here is my entry for sports. He may only be 3 months old and unable to crawl or sit up, but I guarantee you in his dreams he is playing sports! :D

Week 30 • Purple Photo Challenge!

I new right away what photo I wanted to enter. Here is my super adorable, perfect and loveable niece Kennadie. I love this photo.... her perfect baby skin and her big pouty pink lips... I am ONE PROUD AUNTIE


Go see more great entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/. I think purple is the new pink! :D

Mrs "R" Photo Shoot

This session was so fun! We went to a local park and let this little princess run around and play. She was so sweet and so adorable. Her mommy is a good friend of my sisters so it was a very special shoot for me. They are a beautiful family and have one beautiful little girl.

Paul and Emily's Engagement Session

I love working with Brides to be. I must be so lucky because only the coolest, laid back brides ever call me to book sessions. Not once have I ever came close to meeting "bridezilla!" LOL! I guess it is bound to happen one day right?

This couple was a little nervous in the beginning... CLAIMING they didn't take good photos... but towards the end of the photos when everyone (including the photographer) loosened up I think they started having more fun then they realized. In fact Paul was totally posing and asking me to take photos of him in front of things and coming up with his own poses. They are so fun!



This is one of my favorites. I love her expression here!! She played the part perfectly!


I don't know what they were talking about when they said they can't take good photos! :D I think they did a great job and we had a blast walking around the Old Prison. Interested in an Engagement Session? Email me at stefanimariephotography@hotmail.com.