If you were wondering where I went…

If you have been wondering where I have gone you can find me here!

I have started the new journey into photography as a business. I got to that weird place where people I didn’t know wanted me to photograph them. I didn’t feel 100% ready, but if you don’t give it a go how will you know? right? If you want to continue to follow me in my journey you can follow me over at my new blog. I appreciate your support! Just quietly I am excited and freaking out at the same time. Who needs bungy jumping when you can launch yourself into a business!

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My Journey Takes A New Turn

I started this blog in 2011, expecting my second son and having discovered a new hobby. I called it a journey in photography and it continues to be. Initially it was the journey of discovering there was more to photos than point and click, then I looked closer at composition. I photographed everything. I discovered I loved macro photography for the ability to turn anything into an abstract artwork

and I also discovered portrait photography through my main subject, my kids. I got my first DSLR and learned how to use it. I naively assumed that a better camera would mean better photos, but until I learned how to manipulate it I found it meant the opposite. Then I started to notice the flaws in photos and started my obsession with the light. I love photography. I love portraits. My kids will grow up. I am looking for a career. I would love to do this, but I don’t love mediocrity. I don’t love poorly executed ideas. I don’t love photos where the photographer doesn’t SEE the product.  I am 95% sure I will give it a go. So my journey continues down a new path.

First port of call. Getting some idea of the basics. Posing people flatteringly is surprisingly hard. My friends are about to be photographed to death until I get good at it.

Here is a friend of mine who popped in for a cuppa and wasn’t expecting this.

Another Black and White Portrait

I love the sparkle.

Two Perspectives

As a mother I see my beautiful baby. CHEEKY!

As a photographer I can’t help wishing he had moved his chin down ever so slightly to get the best angle.

He LOVES that pillow.

A Story of Emily

Some of the others photos I took with Emily. As an experiment it was fairly successful. She came for about 3 and  a half hours although I think at least an hour was taken up by me trying to set up the lights. Actually it was the Godox octagonal softbox. I would never be able to construct that thing or deconstruct it without help. I am not strong enough. Perhaps there is a better method than I used but it was like an awkward tent. Until I can afford one that just pops up umbrella style it makes good light!

Portraits with flash

I am at the beginning of my journey to learn how to use flash to light my photos in a way that I am happy with. That is so that it doesn’t look like flash unless I want it to. So I started in the backyard this evening as the sun got low with my sons. The light is pretty flat. I am confident if I had a subject that would stand still and look at the camera for more than 2 seconds I could set up something better than this, but it was a start. The blog is about the journey after all. This is the beginning.

Lavender and a World Class Education

Totally unrelated to my lavender macro, I have been watching Sue and Felix on Creative Live today.

I have resisted using flash as much as possible until now because I don’t like how it looks. Seeing natural light recreated with artificial studio light has EXCITED ME! I can’t wait to get some time to try it out.

As a Mum with 3 young boys I only have free time really at night and to be able to shoot then would be a blessing. I am looking forward to exploring it further. Creative Live has opened up a world of education opportunity for me. I have no possibility of getting out, but I can have it going while I watch the boys play or play with my baby. I said to my family earlier tonight that I didn’t like technology, but really it not only is the foundation of my passion for photography, it allows me, a suburban Mum in Adelaide, Australia to take part in a world class education that I could not otherwise access or afford.

THANK YOU.

Weekly Photo Challenge: On The Move

He felt like he was flying.

A Baby Portrait of a Different Kind

It may surprise you to know that babies aren’t always cute, cheeky, happy little cherubs.

What mother has not seen this face?

This face happens daily. It may be because he has had enough of sitting in one place. He may want to be picked up. He may not be able to reach the toy that is tantalisingly just out of reach. He may have tried to move toward it, only to find he went backward! He may… a million things.

He is my son. I cherish this face as much as the others he makes.

I want to remember it when I look back.

Composition: Drawing the eye using light

I have been studying. A main point that stood out to me as obvious but sometimes overlooked is that the lightest area in a photo is where your attention is drawn. By squinting your eyes you can see those areas more obviously. In a portrait the main focus is most often the face and eyes. This portrait was snapped outside in the garden and it is busy. Busy colour, busy environment. In this instance I felt the environment framed the subject well, but distracted slightly from the face so I decided to make it black and white. I converted it to black and white in Photoshop then identified the colours that needed to be altered slightly to enhance the face region while retaining as much detail as possible and minimise the background. When I felt I found a balance I liked I used a high pass filter with a layer mask to sharpen the outer edges of the face to emphasise them from the background and that was that.

Here is the result. As always with my photography it is a work in progress. I would love to know your thoughts. Particularly any ideas for improvement. My own critique included less contrast to reveal more detail in the face next time. I find it difficult to work that out. Monitors seem to make them varying brightnesses etc. Ah, well, back to the drawing board.