MomShots

As I pulled down my bookmark list at the top of my browser for the MomShots admin login page I heard haunted creaking door sounds in my head. The kind of sounds that are in a horror movie and the people victims are opening a door that hasn’t been opened in years. That’s kind of how I felt about writing this post.

Creeeeeeeeeeeak!

If you follow MomShots on Twitter or Facebook, then you may have saw the note that I have decided to not quite retire the blog. In fact, I decided to start working on content and begin posting again. I just miss it too much.

So we are starting out slow this week. I Heart Faces theme this week is Pink, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. I decided to throw out a photo to get the ball rolling. This is me and my baby girl about a year ago. This is also a self portrait. I also need to learn how to smooth skin in Photoshop. My imperfections are glaring out at me!

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

In other news, have you started thinking about those holiday cards we like to send? I am going to try to get my kids out of the house this afternoon and take some shots of them. Hopefully we can come up with something usable.

What about you? Have you even thought that far ahead yet? Did you have any luck getting the shot you need? If you are having trouble, you might be able to piece something together like I did last year.

Talk to you soon! I promise.

I’m not starting this blog up again… today. I just wanted to join in with the iheartfaces brothers theme. This blog seems like the place to do that.

I entered to win the iheartfaces giveaway of one place in the Park City work shop. I didn’t win. I didn’t realize until this morning that I was actually really hoping that I would. Usually I enter giveaways and then forget about it or don’t really care that much. This was different. I could REALLY use a get away for a day. Like REALLY, REALLY badly!

I have become a bit burnt out on photography. I’m officially not obsessed any more. I officially gave up on my 365 project last week. I was doing so well at taking daily photos. Then I was having a hard time posting the images, but I was still diligently taking the shots. Then last week I realized that I just didn’t want to do it anymore. I had a hard time admitting that to myself. Sometimes it’s hard to be honest to myself.

I just had a thought… I’m not sure who I think I’m writing this to. My blog is dead! I still have about 50 people a day who visit but I’m pretty sure that 99.9% of those people are not actually people but bots fishing. Hahahaha! I’m totally talking to myself right now. Love it! I feel like I’m doing that a lot in real life too; that’s kind of my point about needing to win the Park City workshop spot. There’s no way in HELL that I could fork out almost $700 to go to a photography workshop. But oh, it would have been so sweet.

I won a great workshop last year at Photocamp to learn from a world renowned photographer but my baby was too young to leave all day, my husband was working too much and too sporadically to be able to rely on his schedule to be open to go to it so I gave it to my friend. I wish I could take that workshop this year. Bad timing.

I’m starting to think that photography has served a place in my life and I learned many great things but it isn’t as important as it was. I don’t know what will take its place. I have decided to go back to school so maybe that will take its place. Right now I’m just depressed. My house is dirty. My kids are running all over. My walls are bare. I need someone to come over and just fix everything. Any volunteers. I just look at my piles and feel even more depressed and tired.

This post sucks! I hate pity part posts. I’m not a pity party person. I’m a lie and tell you I’m doing great even when I’m not. Whatever. No one’s going to read this anyway!!! Muahahahahahaaa!

Oh MomShots… you have been such a great place for me. I have a very special place in my heart for you and the readers. I have grown so much through the posts of this blog. I have learned so much about photography and Photoshop that I couldn’t even imagine I would learn. I have much more to learn but I feel like I have a pretty good knowledge base to continue on with my photographic journey.

I can’t decide what to do with this site. I love it. I truly do. I feel like there is such a need for basic information to help parents take better photos of their children. When I first began this site, I felt like I was a ship adrift at sea without a compass. I could find no information specifically about photographing children online that was helpful. I had a camera that was too big for my britches and a software suite that I had no clue how to operate.

Since then, there have been quite a few great sites that have popped up that help parents learn tricks to take better photos of their children. There have been some wonderful tutorials written and a lot of fantastic photographic knowledge spilled forth into the universe of the Internet.

My readers have been wonderful. Over the years, I have loved receiving emails with questions or comments and I have loved reading your comments on the posts. We have had some fantastic guest posts from amazing photographers and learned so much.

I have not been sure what to do with MomShots. I feel like I have lost interest. Well, maybe lost interest isn’t the right word. I have lost my motivation and feel like other things in my life have taken greater priority. I like to think that it has to do with having four children but then I read some of the craft blogs I follow and many of those women have as many children as I do and still manage to maintain fantastic, full, busy and lucrative blogs. When I write that, I think lost interest might be the best way to describe it.

With the birth of my fourth child and first daughter, I have spent much more of my free time working on art projects or sewing instead of writing posts about how to photograph children. I still use my camera ALL THE TIME!!! but I just don’t have the drive to write about it like I used to. Maybe I’m a little bit less narcissistic now. Probably not!

So what is the point of this post, anyway? I guess it is to tell you that I am officially backing off of MomShots. I may decide to work on it again in the future, but for now I am going to let you know this so I will avoid this guilt that has been following me around for the past year.

My current photographic journey is taking place in the form of a 365 Project where I take at least one photograph every day. I am documenting this journey here. I hope you will follow my progress and share your thoughts and comments with me. I can always be reached by email if you have questions or comments relating to photography or anything else that strikes your fancy. Facebook will probably be more active than this site so if you haven’t “Liked” MomShots on Facebook, you should!!! I will still ocassionally be active on Twitter as well. The MomShots Flickr pool is going strong and I hope you will continue to post your photos to that, I will.

Thanks for your support and friendship. You mean more to me than you could possibly know.

You would think that after nearly three years of being Mrs. MomShots I would be able to get a decent photo of my children for our family Christmas card. Nope. I had to fall back onto my Photoshop laurels.

I went out one evening with my four children and got lots of shots like this:

and this

and of course this:

They all had “cute” potential but absolutely missed the mark. So we had to try again another night. This time I thought I had a few good shots. However when I looked at my camera I found this:

this:

and this:

Close but not quite right. Each shot has a little bit of goodness in it but all three of them didn’t quite add up to the great picture I was looking for. So instead of going out a third time, I decided to try my hand at a little Photoshop magic. I knew that layer masks can be used to stack images and only let specific parts of the images show so I thought this would be the way to go.

I turned to my trusty friend, Google and searched for a tutorial that would help me turn these three shots into one that I was happy with. I found this tutorial and I was off at super sonic speed! Google never lets me down. He always knows exactly what it is I need to find. Google is my friend.

Following that tutorial was pretty simple and I ended up with this image:

I am very pleased with my results. I am sure I can practice this skill a bit more and become better at it but for now, I am so happy to have a shot of all four of my kids looking at me and smiling that I am not complaining. I am still of the belief that getting the shot in camera is better, but today Photoshop came through where my photography skills failed me.

Hooray for Photoshop! I learned how to do the classic “Head Switch” maneuver and I am very happy with the resulting image.

If you are struggling with a similar type of problem, give this tutorial a look through and try your hand at it. I found it pretty simple to follow and really fun to actually do. If you run across a problem, leave a comment and I’ll try to help you through it.

I just found out about this great site called Everyday Elements. It is such a great resource for anyone looking for more information about Photoshop Elements. She offers online workshops to teach Photoshop Elements and she teaches a beginning photography class. All at amazing prices!

These classes would be great for yourself or as a gift. Check them out. I’m sure you’ll be as sold as I am! You can find all the information right here.

Are you working on any projects in preparation for the holidays? I have a bit of sewing and a few crafts to do with the kids. I’ve been looking at lots of blogs trying to find inspiration and ideas for decorating my house and meals to prepare. I have been trying to log some creative time every day of one type or another. I just finished sewing curtains for one of the windows in our family room. One window covered, about a hundred more to go!

I am also working on getting a halfway decent photo of all four of my kids together. I want to give a copy to grandparents for Christmas. Plus it would be nice to use one for Christmas cards. I am determined to get cards out this year. That means I have to get them designed and uploaded to the printer today so I can receive them in time to mail. I need to get busy!!!

While gong through the photos I have taken this month I came across this one. I wanted to make a quick post about how abstract is not always a bad thing. You don’t always have to see your subject’s eyes or have a clear view of their face. Sometimes a photograph can highlight chubby little arms, a dimple or cute toes.

Another idea is to put a few abstract photos in a group. I put these two photos together and then grouped them with a photo that shows my daughter’s face. It kind of ties them all together.

Have fun and play with your subject. Try some intentional abstract shots and see how you like them.

Does anyone else use the iPhone app called Instagram? It is my current favorite photo do-dad right now. It is part social network and part photographic self expression. I’m loving it. I take so many more photos with my phone now.

In fact, I was up in the mountains with my kids yesterday. As we were driving up, I exclaimed that I was bummed because I left my camera at home. One of my sons said, “Don’t worry mom. Just use your phone!” So I did.

If you do have the Instagram app, my username is jessicastier. Follow me. I’ll follow you.

Did I mention that it is free? I love awesome apps that happen to be free.

So with my iPhone, this entry for I Heart Faces current theme was taken. < --- Did that just read like Yoda?

This is my five year old son watching the first snowfall out of our family room window.

I get asked often what point and shoot cameras I recommend. I responded to that question from a friend on FaceBook and after I spent all that time looking at point and shoot cameras online, I thought I would share what I wrote with you.

This was her message:

Hey… I have a question for you….I really want to get a really good point and shoot camera. (not the small ones) Something that is realitivly easy to use but not so complex that I won’t ever use it. Thank you for you help!

So after looking at Nikon and Canon point and shoots online, I started thinking about what I would, as a mother, use a camera for. These are the features that I want: nice video, zoom, fast shutter speed and low light sensitivity. Those are the kinds of things that will make sure that I can take great shots of my kids whenever I need to.

A little compact camera is nice for being able to pull it out of your pocket and shooting a shot or two or being able to shoot a little bit of video, but I think as a mother, a camera that can zoom up very close and can click 120 shots in a minute would win my heart. Plus, I don’t need a camera that I can keep in my pocket. A lot of my pants don’t even have pockets. I do always have my purse with me though so the little larger size would not be an issue for me, as it is not an issue for my friend.

I am going to say right off the bat, that I am a little Nikon biased. I have loved each of my Nikons and have no reason to have any ill feelings toward the brand. That said, I do not have any ill feelings toward Canon or any other brand, I just am more familiar with Nikon. I don’t think I’m saying that Nikon is better, it is just what I am more familiar with.

Personally, I don’t want a teeny compact camera. They can’t keep up with my kids. They just don’t offer continuous shooting the way a larger camera does. You all know what I’m talking about. When you push the button and the camera clicks after your kid moves out of their cute pose. It’s annoying to say the least! Compact cameras are much better then they used to be but they still can’t keep up. It’s just not an option for me. I don’t recommend any of them. Their price is lower, but if you are shooting small children, I promise that you will never be fully happy with your purchase.

If you are still not convinced, this is the Nikon that I like. I think it would be a great camera for older kids who can slow down for a few seconds, it shoots nice video and it does fit in your pocket. If you like that kind of thing. I like pretty much all of the Coolpix line for this, but my favorite is the S4000. It has great low light capabilities and that is helpful when shooting indoors, as we often do.

If you want something that gives you more control, faster shutter speed and better zoom, check out the Nikon P100.

It’s a little slice of awesome. This would be the one for shooting fast moving kids as it can shoot up to 120 frames per second in continuous sports mode or 10 frames per second in other modes. Do you realize how fast that is? That’s insane!

The zoom capabilities on this are amazing. I would use the word insane again but I already used it to describe the shutter speed. It can zoom from 28mm (very wide angle to capture broad vistas or large groups of people) to 678mm (that’s a CRAZY amount of close up). A lens on a DSLR that would zoom that much is as long as my arm and cost $8000, literally. Like this:

Plus if you want to use manual controls you can do that too. But you don’t have to. If you are feeling adventurous or want to learn how to have the utmost control over your images, then go ahead. I love shooting in manual on my DSLR. If you want to you can. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But there are TONS of auto programs available. It’s pretty exciting actually.

Another feature that is pretty nice is the ability to capture images in low light. The P100 has a really sensitive sensor and can use an ISO of 3200. That just means that its sensor is more sensitive to low light than another camera with a smaller number ISO. The higher the number, the more sensitive to light it will be.

One of the questions I get often is from people wanting to know how to take better photos in their home, under normal lighting situations without using their flash. A camera that is this sensitive to low light would most likely do the job very well. Birthday parties are no longer a challenge with the low light and fast shutter speeds available on this camera.

It also shoots HD video so that’s a bonus, if you’re into that kind of thing. My husband likes those kind of features. I, personally, never remember to shoot video. But I’m goofy like that.

I am so incredibly impressed with this camera. It’s amazing. Beyond amazing. If I wasn’t a DSLR snob, I’d get one. I might have to get one anyway. I want to get one for my mom. I think this is the perfect mom or grandma camera. It would eliminate the frustration of not being able to shoot those adorable grandkids.

So that’s kind of both ends of the spectrum. A nice compact camera that you can stick in your pocket or a way nicer camera that can capture all of your kids crazy antics and help you to see a fly on the nose of an elephant at the zoo. My vote is the P100, but I like bells and whistles.

If you are a Canon fan, they make a comparable camera. It is the Canon G12 and is an amazing camera with bells and whistles similar to the Nikon P100. There are some small differences. The G12 does not have as much low light sensitivity as the P100, as the G12’s ISO only goes to 1600. That’s not bad though. 1600 is still a great amount of low light sensitivity.

In English this means that you will be able to take pictures of your kids next to the Christmas tree more easier with the Nikon P100 than the Canon G12.

The brand new Canon G12 (that I see at Canon.com) has 4 more megapixels then the Nikon P100 (the older version G12 that I am finding on B&H’s site has the same amount). That wouldn’t be a deciding factor for me. 10 megapixels is a ton and the additional megapixels won’t make a difference unless you are going to blow up a photo to a gigantic billboard sized image, you will never, ever, ever know the difference. With 10 you will be able to blow things up to any size that you would normally use and have lovely images.

The biggest difference that I see between the Canon G12 and the Nikon P100 is their amazing zoom capabilities. I am super impressed with the Nikon P100’s abilities of zooming all the way to 670mm, but I’m even more impressed with the Canon G12’s abilities to zoom to 840mm. That’s just insane. Really insane. Certifiably insane. Awesomely insane.

The Canon G12 also has the ability to swivel and pivot the LCD screen in back. The Nikon P100 does not have that feature. Personally, that wouldn’t be a deciding factor for me. I would probably never use that. That’s just me though.

This is a lot of information and probably sounds confusing. In plain speak I will say that if I were going to buy a point and shoot camera today, I would buy the Nikon P100. It would do the job of capturing my kids really well. That is the reason why I have a camera.

If I were a Canon consumer, I would buy the G12.

There are lots of cameras on the market. Lots of great cameras. The options are endless. The options are confusing. If you have a specific question, shoot me an email or leave a comment and I’ll give you my opinion. This is after all, just my opinion.

Addendum:
After I wrote this up, a friend asked me about the Nikon S8100.

It is a nice medium between the Nikon Coolpix 4000 and the Nikon P100. It can shoot up to 10 frames per second, shoot 1080p video and has a really high ISO of 3200 so it can do well in low light situations. It only has a 10x zoom, but that is pretty standard for the compact point and shoots. It also has an interesting night portrait feature. It takes two really quick images and then merges them together to make one. One image is of the subject, using the flash and the other is of the background so the result would be an image where the background looks good and so does the subject. I would like to see how that works in real life, but it might be a fun feature to play around with!
It also comes in some great colors. I like the pretty colors.

Earlier this week, child photographer David Moore wrote a blog post titled “6 Steps to take ‘Guerilla’ Photos of your Children” on the Digital Photography School website. It’s an excellent post and a must read for any parent that wants to capture better images of children. What is the “guerilla” approach to photographing kids? It’s somewhere between candid and formal. Your child is aware that you are taking photos, but at the same time, you’re not so removed from the environment that you’re only capturing candid moments.

Last Saturday I was photographing my oldest son’s soccer game. On the side of the field I noticed the coach’s toddler, Drake, playing in a pile of leaves with his older sister and my youngest son. They were having a great time covering each other with the crunchy leaves. I quickly grabbed my gear and headed in their direction. Drake knew I was taking his picture, but because I was sitting on the ground about 25 yards away, I wasn’t disturbing the natural playfulness that kids have around freshly fallen leaves.

Here are David Moore’s tips, with some comments that accompany my pictures below:

1. Prepare your gear. Because I was shooting a soccer game, the only gear I had with me was my camera, monopod, and a Canon 100-400mm lens. Not the ideal lens for photographing children, but I was very surprised at how well it worked considering I didn’t want to disturb the kids. I was able to quickly set my camera to AV (aperture priority) and kept the ISO at 800 because of the dim morning light.

2. Get down to their level. I removed the camera from the monopod, made sure that IS (image stabilization) was enabled on my lens, and then sat on the ground.

3. Light the eyes. The sun was coming up over my left shoulder so I moved 45 degrees to the right so that I was not sitting between the kids and the sunlight.

4. Watch your backgrounds. Before clicking the shutter, I made sure that a garbage can on the field behind the kids could not be seen from my angle and was hidden behind a tree.

5. Shoot the scene, not just the face. Along with these images below, I was able to capture Drake playing with his big sister, running around and dragging his feet through the leaves.

6. Bring the camera along. Should it take thousands of dollars in camera gear to capture a meaningful image? No. Someone with a point-and-shoot could have created similar images if they have a good understanding of their camera, light, and use tips like these provided on MomShots.com.

In addition to David Moore’s tips, here are two that I would add:

7. Show the child your images. In my experience with Drake, he was curious about my camera and wanted to see some of the pictures. Every few minutes he would walk over to me so I could show him what I’d captured. He would grin and laugh at himself. This broke down any shyness that Drake may have had in front of the camera.

8. Encourage the child. Drake was having fun and needed no prompting or direction from me. Every once in a while I would say to him, “Drake, I want to see how high you can throw those leaves in the air,” or “I’ll bet you can’t jump over a pile of leaves.” Because it was a fun challenge to him, he would unknowingly perform for the camera.

You can see the rest of Drake’s images on my website, www.ShaunNelsonPhotography.com. And please feel free to comment and share these tips.

Camera: Nikon D90, Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40), Aperture: f/3.2, Focal Length: 50 mm, ISO: 200. The White Balance was the auto setting for shade.

Halloween came and went in a whirlwind of costumes, sewing and candy. We had a blast. Do you want to see the photos I took?

So do I.

I didn’t take any. Not one. Not a single photo.

What my excuse? You can’t be Mrs. MomShots and not get any Halloween photos, right? OK, I’ll resign my title temporarily. My husband was out of town for the week and when he got home he was pretty much useless due to jet lag so I was busy getting everyone fed with real food prior to candy extravaganza, costumed with enough layers to stay warm for a little while in the pouring down rain, finding loot bags, etc. Thank goodness my husband got out the Flip and recorded the kids right before they left. I didn’t get a chance to breath, let alone take any photos. In past years I have brought my camera with me and shot them as we trick or treated but this year we were dealing with a major rain storm so there was no way I was going to take my camera outside.

They were cute. Trust me.

So I wanted to share a little video I took while trying to take a shot of my youngest two kids. This is a typical scene at our house. Sometimes there is more yelling on my part, often more tears from one of the kids. You get the picture. You are not alone.

This is on my bed with a grey fleece blanket under my kids. I am standing up, above them. We have natural light coming in through the large window on my left. Just an impromptu photo shoot. I got out my camera to snap a few photos of the baby because she was doing something cute but then everyone else came over to join in the fun. It quickly became a family affair.

This chaos is minimal compared to what frequently happens. I’ll try to take some video next time I’m shooting all four of my kids and you’ll get the picture. Craziness is a daily occurrence when trying to photograph children. It is part of the fun!