CAPTURING THE MOMENT

This past weekend, my very dear friend, Jessica, asked Wade and me to take her maternity photos.  We were thrilled, but also a bit uneasy since we hadn't done anything like this before.  We just got our camera a few months ago, so we are by no means experts.  In fact, I finally found a setting that works well and leave it mainly on that.  Here are some of the things I hadn't really thought too much about before but proved vital to getting a nice photograph.  I want to hear from you what advice you have, since I'll take every opportunity to learn more about this fancy contraption that steals my image.

>> Lighting:  Man, this is a tricky one to control.  We were lucky that it was overcast when we shot the majority of the photos.  There was still enough light, but it wasn't overly bright so that harsh shadows were created.  Towards the end, the sun starting peaking its way through more.  We could have started a little later, which probably would have helped the sun glare, but I wanted to make sure we got everything in.  In the future, I'll be more comfortable starting as the sun sets if there are no clouds in the sky.

>>Poses: Jessica was awesome and did her research so that she knew the exact poses she wanted.  She brought them on her phone so that we could look at them when we needed a new idea. Coming up with posing ideas is what I've always found to be the hardest.  Whenever I get in front of the camera, I just freeze and do my one pose.  I call it my blogger pose.  You know the one.  It's that go to pose every outfit blogger does--looking down at your shoes will messing with your hair with a half smile.  I need to do a better job of shouting things out to get everyone more comfortable.  Maybe I'll invest in a good joke book. 

>>Just Keep Shooting: We joked when we first started shooting that we would take a few hundred photos.  We all laughed because that seemed like a ridiculously high number.  What was the grand total of pictures?  A whopping 400!  With digital cameras you can just keep shooting and shooting.  That is the only way to capture those rare in between moments that really showcase the subject's personality.

>>Editing: You know, some of the photos turned out amazing on their own, while others I wanted to add a little something extra by playing with the colors, cropping, etc. through Photoshop.  I think both ways are beautiful.  I'm still trying to find my style.  It ranges between candy colored photos and soft, dreamy pictures.  We've enjoyed playing around with the different looks, so no need to limit yourself.  Sometimes pictures take on lives of their own.

Here are just a few of the photos of Jessica and her sweet family.  I mean, how cute are they?  It's easy taking pictures when your subjects are so lovely.

What are your photography tips and tricks?  We're leaving for the lake this weekend, so I'm excited to get some rest and relaxation in on the water.  Have a great weekend!