Learning

   Now that I have got you a bit caught up on happenings in the past few months, I am jumping back into April to tell you a little bit about this month. Photo world is keeping me extremely busy, with correspondence and setting up photo shoots and all that goes with that. It is the kind of craziness that is so worth while and I love it because it is yet one more aspect of this photo business.
   A few weeks ago I had the wonderful privilege of going and doing a photo shoot with a sweet newborn baby. I learned so much at this shoot. I learned about lighting and the consequences of very high ISO. I learned that the earlier in a baby's young life you do photos, the better. I learned that even when kids don't work exactly the way you had planned, it is impossible not to have fun with such sweet little faces and a camera. So, despite some challenges with baby's schedule and my own camera/lighting scenario, we managed to get some very fun pics of the family :)

   Every shoot is a learning experience for me, but this one was especially so. They say practice makes perfect, but maybe even the very best photographers still have things to learn and experience. I don't know. I do know that I'm gonna keep on practicing over and over again... 

K-love

   I'm not sure how many of you have ever heard of the radio station 104.9, also known as "Klove." My family, my friends, and most people who know me will tell you that I have an obsession with this station. It is a contemporary Christian music station that I listen to a lot. And if I am not listening to Klove, I am listening to other music from the bands and artists I hear on Klove. Just a little note about myself.
   Now, most everyone, I would venture to say, has been around a toddler or young child at some point in their life (I know, this seems totally off subject, but hang on, I will connect this with the previous paragraph in a minute). Even the most calm, quiet children are busy. As little ones, they are learning and exploring and there are oh-so-many things to do, places to be, etc. That is why, when I am photographing young age groups, I tend to just follow them with my camera, giving them fun new places to explore and props to play with (flowers, hats, umbrellas, etc.) Occasionally, I give them some directions, have them smile for the camera, or pose with mom or dad. Mostly, I just catch moments as they happen.
   One Wednesday last March, I got the chance to "shadow" an adorable little girl. A little girl who mistook my name - Kaela - for the radio station, Klove. Thus, my favorite station and I now share the same name :)

   This little girl was so incredibly sweet, and I had way to much fun with her and my camera. The hardest part was trying to limit the amount of pictures I put on here while trying to show you as many of my favorites as possible! Hope her sweet face brightens your day!

One Friday Morning, Part 2

   I have taken you halfway through my crazy, 2000-picture-taking day, late last March. I learned so much, saw so much, experienced so much. I witnessed the birth of a child into the world. I learned how to run on only four hours of sleep and still be social. I continued my ever-learning, ever-discovering experiments in calibrating my camera to my surroundings. I discovered how many sweet moments are captured when I follow around a 1-year old with a camera. And I found out why everyone says that six-month-olds are so fun to photograph :)
   Now, we continue with part two of this day. Before we go any further with my photo experiences, I want to say a tremendous thank-you to my family. My mom worked out all the details with people about when to come, where to meet us, etc. She helped me research lighting, techniques, and oh-so-many other things that helped make it a successful day. And she drove me everywhere. She really makes my job pretty easy :) My brothers and my dad were so patient with all our craziness. The boys came with us for a few shoots, and other times they stayed home to hold down the fort in our absence. Meals were later than normal, and their whole day was offtrack, and I heard no complaints from any of them. They truly were troopers.
   Back to photo world. All week I had been working with small children, from newborns up to 2-year-olds. My next two photo shoots were with kids between the ages of 6 and 11. Working with kids in this age range is a completely different skill set than infant/toddler photography. In fact, I don't think you can even compare the two. With little ones, I tend to follow them around and catch moments as they happen. With kids in the older age set, I actually give them some direction and guidance as to what I want them to do in the pictures, and they, in turn, are able to comprehend and follow instructions. Very different.
   So I share with you the first of these last two shoots. I worked with two children this time, doing individual shots and shots of the two of them together. It was quite entertaining to catch moments between the two of them: the expressions are priceless. Without further comment:

  

   Last session of this crazy day before I went home and crashed :) This little boy made my job so easy for me. He showed up at the park all business. I gave him little-to-no instruction, and he posed and smiled away like a model.

 

 

   And so we wrap up one of the craziest days of my life. So glad I could share it all with you! Stay tuned for some more catch-up in the next couple of weeks.

One Friday Morning, Part 1

      I've heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. What if I take two thousand pictures in one day? 

Approximately 2,000,000 words said, without me so much as opening my mouth.

According to good old google, the average human being says only 20,000 words in a day. I have come to be very thankful that God gave us all tongues rather than cameras.  

   Of course, I do not usually take 2,000 pictures in one day. This day was special. One Friday morning, at 1:30AM, I left my house with my mother and my camera. I had the incredible opportunity to witness the arrival of a sweet baby girl into the world, an unforgettable and precious experience. About 800 of my pics that day came between arriving at the family's home around 2AM and leaving around 7AM. Amazing start to the day.

After getting an hour or so of sleep, I headed off to my next photo shoot with a sweet, busy little 1-year old boy. Definitely kept me moving, but so worth it. The pictures kinda say it for me - he is adorable.

Immediately after that came another baby girl - theme of the day :) This baby, already several months old, was a bit more alert and awake than the baby girl I met early that morning. I had way to much fun catching her smiles and beautiful big eyes...

Thus went Part 1 of my crazy, 2000-picture-taking-day. Stay tuned for Part 2, to be continued.

Getting Started

As I am just getting this blog up and running, I will be backtracking a little bit into March to get you caught up on recent happenings in my little photo world...

Brotherly Love to the Core

Top of the World

Together