New "Toys"

I bought a new door. Ok, so it isn't new...I bought an OLD door. Weathered and worn, old and BEAUTIFUL. I found it at a GREAT place Brown's Building Materials. They have old and new supplies there. It is a super cool place to get props...especially if you are in to this particular aesthetic, which as I am sure you are figuring out...I do! I have only used it with my children so far, but I think it is going to be in my arsenal for a bit. Oh, and did I mention that it only cost me $8.15 (and that is after the tax man gets his share)!
Here it is, my cheap and wonderful find!


The second picture was lit with my newly made "beauty dish". My husband found a blog that show how to do it. Yes, it isn't super fancy, but and to me this is a pretty big but, it was inexpensive to make and it works pretty stinking well. Here is the real kicker...after taxes, all the components cost a mere $25. That isn't a typo, and I have used it for a few product shots now and the results are pretty darn good.


These are a couple of the shots I was able to capture with the dish...as you can tell the products are hair fashion, so head shots seemed like the way to go.
Being that I am pretty new to this game, I am not claiming to be prefect or to have the best ideas or the greatest amount of knowledge or wisdom in the field of photography. I am just sharing what I do, and what I use. I rely heavily on the blogs and classes that are offered by those who really are at that level, and then share what I have done with that!

Insomnia...and Pictures!

Last night was a rough one. After posting I decided to try to go to sleep. Try IS the operative word there. Finally, at around 8am I started to drift off, only to be awakened by my husbands alarm. I filled him in on my sleepless night and he got up and took care of things this morning. So I drifted back to sleep only to be woke up by my son who decided it would be dandy to kick his legs and bounce them off the bed. I told him to stop or leave...he stopped. I drifted peacefully back to sleep to again be woke up about an hour later as he decided to get up. then the whole falling back to sleep and being awakened shortly there after cycled through for the third and final time. In total I got around two hours of sleep. So this post is going to be a short one. Just a few of the portraits I took while at the in-laws. You enjoy and I will take a nap! Oh the life of a chronic insomniac!

Been busily taking pictures

Some for pay some for free, all to increase my skills! I am no Napoleon Dynamite or anything, you won't see any bowstaff skills here, only an increase in my shooting skills (of the photographic kind)!
I recently had the opportunity to take my my in-laws family portrait. It was so great! They have some neat and texture rich areas to shoot in...when you like on a farm and own a vineyard that sort of thing isn't too unusual! They are a pretty large crowd, so I was given another chance to work on my large group sessions. The challenging thing is to make them not the same ol same ol run of the mill family shots. I tried to to that by using interesting settings and textures. I plan to post a couple on here for you all to see, but not at this moment. I just checked the clock and it is telling me it is after four in the morning and I have yet to go to sleep. Rest then post. Hope I piqued your interest!

Lighting, and other Good things to think about!

I have not been in this industry as a professional for very long. I have LOVED photography for years though, and I love the discovery and the opportunity to learn new things from those who have the years of experience and passion for this art form.
Recently creative live had Zack Arias give a three day lighting seminar on line for free. It was spectacular and only drives me onward to become a better person in photography. The lighting modifiers he used and instructions he gave were great. Now if only I had the funds to get them all. I know he cares about this industry and is a true pro, because he gives back!
Zack also said something important to remember, buy with cash, save up until you can...NEVER put it on a credit card! Great advice, we live in a get it now, and pay later world that can and often does get us into trouble. That is sage advice I plan to keep at the forefront of my mind. Another tidbit, I picked up is get one lighting modifier, use it constantly so that when you pull it out at a shoot, you know exactly how it works and where to set it up with out thinking about it. Second nature!
What a great place for those of us who are aspiring to be something more than mediocre in making the picture! I have viewed a couple of these and they are great. I recommend them to all who want to learn from the modern day greats. And if you can't view them streaming live, there is always the option to buy the instructions for a fair price (and what great educational material to have on hand and review).
I don't claim to be the best, but I do claim to LOVE my job and my work. I hope to become better and better, and CreativeLive is a great place to start!
That is all I have for today, the rainy weather of this month has made shooting outside a bit more challenging...but onward and upward!
Ryanne

Flash time.

I was able to get a new flash recently and have been having a lot of fun working with it and trying new things out. Aaron is so good at coming up with things to try. Recently he decided that we should try holding the flash to the end of a roll of paper towels while taking pictures of the kids. I was shocked at how well it worked as an improvised snoot. We were able to spot light Javin while he pretended to be a rock star. It was pretty cool cause you could not even tell we were just goofing around in the messiness of my living room.

One thing I have been learning in the past year or so is that you don't always have to have the fanciest or most expensive gear to get great shots. An Imagination and a bit of ingenuity go along way in this industry too.
Don't be afraid to try things out, play with lighting ideas, even if they seem a bit goofy or off the wall, you might just surprise yourself!

Easter Pictures

I am a little late getting these up, but they are from Easter. Mostly a small session with my children and my niece.
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Sneaky snake and his charmers!

In the middle of the Barrett family shoot, a snake crossed our path. I LOVE snakes so I had to stop what I was doing to catch it, on the camera that is! While taking "his" close up a family came by, very excited to see it there. I guess they had been looking for one the entire time they were at the park. So, those charmers caught him and then so graciously let me capture them!
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