Cawfee Tawk Tuesday: Contemplating Why

Happy Tuesday. This week I've decided to take Cawfee Tawk in yet another direction. Over the past few weeks and months I have heard way too many stories of lives being altered over illnesses, particularly cancer. This week alone I heard about another friend of mine who seems too young to be facing the difficult road before her due to her cancer diagnosis, as well as a precious little boy named Trey Love who is fighting for his life against neuroblastoma. And then there's my own father who faces the possibility (and probability) that his own cancer has returned.

But it's not just cancer, and it's not just tragedy. It's the whole idea of life. Life is a vapor. It goes so fast. We wait for what seems like forever for our special day, our graduation, our wedding day, our little one's due date, and then we blink and those days are behind us, our kids are growing up, and we are wondering where it all went. One minute we are looking ahead to a road of endless possibilities, the next we are looking back at the precious moments that are now just memories. One minute we're taking our first step down the aisle towards our soulmate, the next we're celebrating decades of marriage and a house full of rambunctious children.

I know there are a few of you out there who read this blog and enjoy seeing these images, but rarely, if ever, pick up a camera yourself. This blog post is for you. Don't wait until you feel comfortable with your camera. Don't wait until you have a good reason to shoot, or a special event. Today is that special event, that special reason. Today is another day with those amazing friends, those precious babies (even if their 16 or 46!), and today is another day with him, with her. What could be more precious than that?

So this post is simply a celebration of all the reasons to get out and shoot. Some moments are huge. Some are wonderfully mundane. But all are precious.

So shoot because they're in love and you're so happy for them.

Shoot because you've never seen anything more precious than the way he cherishes his little girl.

Shoot because they're two of the loves of your life- your father and your son- and they love being together.

Shoot because true love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:7)

Shoot because no matter how old he is and how old you are, he's always daddy, and you're always his little girl.

Shoot because it's today and they're here and they're happy, and so you are too.

Shoot because for this fleeting moment, they're not bickering, not crying, just being big bro and little sis.

Shoot because they love their momma and she's all they need, and nothing makes her happier than caring for them.

Shoot because today they walk, arm in arm, into their promising futures, even if just yesterday...

... they were your little boys, just learning to walk together.

This week's homework is simply twofold:

1. Get your camera and shoot. Who cares if you don't get all the settings on your camera, or the lighting isn't perfect. If the moment is, that's all that matters right now.

2. Cherish each other. I'm sure ALL of you can relate to the fact that life is just a vapor and a gift, and we need to savor every second of if.

I'm off to go hug my kids. Sending you hugs as well.

Thanks for reading, and happy shooting

Jen

(Spring is here which means sessions are budding along with the flowers. Since my days are now filling up with sessions and editing, I'm probably going to need to scale back on the Cawfee Tawk. Look for Cawfee Tawk Tuesdays every other Tuesday or every third Tuesday. I'll do my best!)

Cawfee Tawk Tuesday: Ditch The Cheese!

Happy Tuesday friends! How's that coffee this morning? Well, if it's anything like mine it's pretty light, which is perfect for this week's topic! After 2 weeks of a pretty complex topic like aperature, I thought I'd take it back to something a little easier and maybe a little more fun- getting great expressions from your subjects (aka those adorable kids)!

Now if you're like me, you've got that one kid who just hates your camera. Sure there's one who will ham it up for you any time you want to shoot, but there's that one who just despises having his photo taken. Every time you pull out the camera, you get either the dirty looks or the fake smiles.

Take a quick look at this shot- can you tell who I'm talking about in my family?

Seriously, I love this kid, and he's one of the cutest kids I've ever seen in my life (yes, I know I'm not 100% objective, but I love my mommy goggles)! But I cannot get this kid to look at my camera and give me a real genuine smile. This is the best I get. Mouth close, semi-happy look, more closely resembling the old "you've got 10 seconds mom and I'm out of here" expression.

Now I know I'm not the only one with a subject like this! But what can we do with these faces? How can we get real genuine smiles, honest expressions of the beauty we see everyday?

Well, I can tell you one thing- it sure isn't going to be with the old "SAY CHEESE!!!" so don't do it! Seriously, right now, throw that phrase out of your basket of tricks and never ever go there again! Seriously, you know the face you're going to get with it. I can't even give you an example from my own photos of "that look" because I NEVER EVER say those words! And I am telling you never ever to say them again! You don't want that face.

Why not? Well, simply because it's not real. Life is not cheese (well, maybe soap opera life, but not real life- and that's cheesY, not cheese!). Life is about real emotions and real expressions and for me, I'd rather have a grimace than a "say cheese" smile.

Some of you might not like what I'm saying here, like my own mother, who would much prefer seeing her beautiful grandchildren adorning their best grins! But I think I prefer real life. And sometimes those more serious expressions, those sad faces are almost more beautiful.

However, we all love the smiles sometimes. So if you want some real ones, engage with those kids, talk to them, get their minds away from your camera and back to YOU. Start playing with them and you'll find those smiles. Here I started challenging Brady to make as many silly faces as she possibly could. Not only did I get some great OTHER expressions, but eventually I got what I was really going for- that genuine smile that she could not contain! She was having way too much fun!

And look at this! Mr. "Don't you dare put that camera in front of me!" with a genuine expression of joy! How is this possible? Easy! I tickled him and started teasing him. We were playing and he forgot about the camera. Sure he isn't looking AT ME, but he's genuinely happy and this is one of my favorite shots of him.

Again, I say let them play. Play with them, or get them playing with each other, then shoot the moment. I know nothing makes Mikey boy happier than playing with his brother and sister, so that's how I got this smile. You know your kids and what makes them happy- shoot them doing those things!

Mikey is not the only one in our family who LOVES playing with his siblings. I am starting to figure out that the only thing I need to get my kids truly smiling is another one of my kids playing with them. I'd take this over "CHEESE" any day, and I'm sure you would agree.

Of course, like I said, life is not always joyful and giggly, but even the sad and grumpy moments can be beautiful so I shoot those too! And I'd encourage you to as well! Am I terrible for shooting through this tantrum? Perhaps, but I think not (after all, it's not like he was hurt- he just wanted to hold my camera himself)! Somedays I look at this photo and laugh. Other days I look at it and think "well, it could be worse- Mikey could be screaming like THIS right now!" But I know I will always love this image.

And I encourage you to keep shooting through the tantrums and through the emotions. You may get lucky and get something like this- laughter through the tears. A more beautiful expression I have yet to see.

And if you throw away that CHEESE, keep shooting, and enjoy every expression your loved ones give you, you know you're bound to get the real deal sooner or later- right there, genuine smiles, lookin' right at ya! And there's nothing more beautiful than that!

Get to it! Ditch the cheese, grab the camera, and shoot the emotion. Have an awesome week and send me some examples. There's nothing I love more than real emotion in photography!

Happy shooting!

Jen

Cawfee Tawk Tuesday: Aperature Part II

Happy Tuesday everyone! Got your coffee? I've got mine- nice and hot with my favorite hazelnut creamer in it! YUM!

Anyway, let's get to it! Last week, we started on an important lesson in depth of field and aperature. I saw some great images throughout the week from some of you. Thanks for taking the time to humor me and do the homework. Gold stars all around!

So now that you're a little more familiar with depth of field and aperature, let's figure out how we can use it in our images. For me, adjusting my aperature is the best way to create my images and "tell my stories".

Let's talk first about the obvious. By setting your aperature to a higher f/stop number like f/22, you create tremendous depth of field where everything is in focus. This is perfect for those landscape shots where you want everything to be seen in great detail. Here is one of my favorite landscape shots, taken in one of our favorite places ever- Estes Park, CO.

However, using a higher f/stop number is not just for those landscape photos. Sometimes when shooting portraits, the environment adds to the image and it's better to keep everything in great detail. When I shot this image, the gorgeous setting only added to the gorgeous family so it made sense to me to keep it all in sharp focus. The setting helped me better tell this family's story.

Of course, it makes sense to keep everything in focus. Seems obvious. But there are times when it's better to "open up". Bring down that f/stop and open up that lens and focus ONLY on the subject you are trying to single out. Create that "single themed image" where there is no question as to what your viewer should be fixed on. Here it is the simple yet heart-melting smile of my little sweetheart.

And let's take this a step further! Seems obvious to focus on the face right? You've got a portrait, so you focus on your subjects. But let's take our story telling to the next level by using a shallow depth of field and an unusual focus. Here, rather than focusing on the bride and groom, I chose to focus on the flowers in my foreground. A much more interesting shot, the bride, groom, and minister are out of focus in the background and the viewer is made to feel almost like she's getting a sneak peek. It's a much more romantic take on an otherwise common shot.

Here's another great way to tell a great story without focusing on the people in the image. By using a lower f/stop and a more shallow depth of field, I focused on the flowers rather than the bride and groom and let the viewer get a sneak peek into the private moments of the newlyweds. So romantic!

Playing with your aperature is a great way to change the stories you are trying to tell with your images. It helps take your photos from snapshots to portraits or stories. After all, every great image tells a story! So spend this week experimenting. Look around you and decide before hand what images should be in full focus for great stories, and what images would work better as single-themed subjects. Take some shots using a shallow depth of field, and then try the opposite. After a while (and I mean after a long while, not just one week) you will start to notice that you tend to shoot either shallow or deep. You will start to realize that you like telling your stories using great detail or focusing on one element. And you'll start to develop a style!

As for me, I love to shoot more wide open, using a more shallow depth of field. And when it comes down to it, as much as I love a romantic shot, I still cannot resist setting my focus on those captivating and beautiful faces I find in front of my camera!

Go play and develop that style- and don't forget to shoot me an example or two! I love to hear from you! Happy shooting and see you next week!

Jen

Cawfee Tawk Tuesday: Aperature Part I

Happy Tuesday! Grab your "cawfee" and let's get down to business!

A lot of people have asked me how to get that cool blurry background in their photos. The answer lies in understanding "depth of field" and "aperature".

Depth of field is the zone of sharp focus in your images. If your image has sharp focus throughout, from the foreground to the background, you have a greater depth of field. If your image has one small area in focus, with the background and/or foreground blurry, it is said to have a "shallow depth of field". So how do you alter your depth of field?

This is where aperature comes is.

Aperature is simply a hole in your lens. It's the size of the opening of your lens when a photo is taken. Changing your aperature changes how big that opening is so that you can have a tiny opening or a large opening.

Huh?

When you press the shutter on your camera, you need to consider two things- how fast the lens opens and closes (shutter speed- we'll discuss it some other day) and how wide the lens opens and closes (aperature). By changing your aperature, you change how wide the lens opens- how much light you let in.

So how do you alter the aperature? Let me try to show you. Go get your camera. I'll wait here. OK, now check out your settings. Chances are you've got a dial or some button that lets you change your settings and chances are you've got some letters in those settings- M, P, S, and A maybe? Put your camera into A mode- that's Aperature mode.

Now that your camera is in the aperature setting, you can adjust the size of that hole in the lens either by turning a dial or pressing a button (sorry, but you need to check your manual to know which- each camera is a little different).

Aperature is measured by f/stops. The lower the number the f/stop is, the wider the opening of the lens is, and the higher the f/stop number is, the smaller that opening will be. Higher f/stop and smaller opening means greater depth of field (everything is in focus). Lower f/stop and wider opening means shallow depth of field (blurry background). You can see by my example below (btw... pardon the subjects I chose, but could you imagine me trying to get my 3 kids to sit still for this? Seriously, come on!) Can you see how the smaller f/stop makes just the Zoo box in focus, while with the higher f/stop everything is pretty much in focus?

So why is this important? What's the purpose of selecting a low f/stop or a high f/stop, and what's the big deal if my depth of field is shallow or not?

Well, that's a story for another Tuesday! Next week, we'll get into how to use aperature for story telling and portraiture. In the meantime I have a THREE part homework assignment for you! (no groaning and no back talking the teacher!)

1. Go back and reread this post- like I said it's a little hard to understand but so crucial to taking your photography to the next level- I base 95% of my portrait work on aperature!

2. Go read your camera manual and learn how to adjust the aperature (f/stops) on your camera. Ugh, annoying, yes. But so worth it!

3. Go shoot some objects around your home or neighborhood like I did above. Take 3 shots of the same object- shoot at a low f/stop (wider open lens), a mid-range f/stop, and then a higher f/stop (small opening)- depending on your camera, this could be f/4, f/8, and f/12 or it could be f/2, f/5, and f/22! Just experiment and download your images- see if you can see the difference.

And of course, share with me! I love hearing from you and want to know if you can see it too!

Happy shooting!

Jen