MomShots

So I have been thinking about something.  I was thinking about how photography relates to playing the violin, or any instrument for that matter.  When I was a kid, I learned to play the violin.  I took private lessons and I played with school and city orchestras.  I loved it.  It was something that I really enjoyed and something that I began to get pretty good at.  It was a really enjoyable creative outlet.  I could really see how my playing and skills would get better when I would practice daily.

Since life has gone on, I don’t pull out my violin and play as often as I should.  I really enjoy playing but for some reason I always have an excuse not to pull it out.  When I do, I know that my playing is not as good as it used to be - because I don’t practice.

So I’m relating this to my photography skills now.  I want to get better.  If I want to improve than I need to practice, practice, practice - just like any art form.

I am issuing myself a challenge to pull out the camera and practice every single day.  I am going to start small with a 7 Day Challenge.  I am going to take at least one picture every day for 7 days.  I’ll let you know how this goes.

So I’m pretty excited! I just got back from a class that was offered by my local camera store. It was called SLR Essentials and turned out to be pretty cool. I wasn’t the most clueless person in the place and I learned some things that I didn’t know. I am still trying to grasp some of the concepts and make sure I understand them.

Some things I learned:
SLR = Single Lens Reflex. Basically, because of mirrors, you are seeing through your view finder, exactly what the lens is seeing. On your old school point and shoots your view finder is above your lens and so what you see is not exactly what the lens sees. Now a days with these new-fangled digital point and shoot cameras that really isn’t an issue because you can use your LCD screen to see what the lens sees and rarely use the view finder. Hmmm…. I didn’t know that!

Aperture (also called F/Stops) is the size of the hole in your lens that you or your camera can choose. The larger the number, the smaller the hole. Small f/stop number needs a fast shutter speed. So in other words, if the number is small then the hole is large. You would want your shutter to move quickly so that your photo doesn’t get totally saturated with light and ends up blown out or over exposed.

Shutter Speed are fractions of a second that the aperture is left open. So if you are trying to capture an action shot of say… your daughter chasing after the greased pig at the local 4th of July celebration (seriously I saw this event last year at my aunt’s town Independence Day celebration!!! I thought it was some old tyme story and no one really did that anymore. They do. It was awesome!). You are going to want to use a wide opening in your lens, a.k.a a small f/stop number and a fast shutter speed. This will capture your sweet girly in all her greasy glory with out any blurry movement images.

Yay!!! I get it!!! Now to translate that to my camera… That is going to take some practice.

I also learned something else. I haven’t told you about my cameras yet. I have two; a Nikon Coolpix 3500 and also a Nikon D100. One is a point and shoot (this one is pretty hammered. It’s been dropped a lot and my 4 year old takes pictures with it all the time), and the other is a digital SLR. Apparently we’re a Nikon family. I don’t know why. However, I will still love you if you are a Sony, Olympus, Canon, Fujitsu or any-other-camera-brand-I-can’t-think-of family. It’s just the way we roll over here at our abode.

Here’s the thing… the D100 is about 5 years old. It’s big. It’s actually my husband’s. He bought it for work a million years ago and when that job ended he got to keep the camera. I have always called it Ben’s (that’s my hubby’s name) Camera. It was his. Until now. I’ve stolen it from him. I am claiming it and have begun to learn how to use it. I was a little afraid that it was too old and that technology was so much more advanced that the camera would be obsolete. Tonight I learned that it is not. It still rocks. It is still an awesome camera and I am super stoked to learn how to use it.

I may have had the oldest camera in the class but it is still an awesome camera. It may not be able to shoot 12 megapixels but 6 megapixels is still capturing some pretty incredible images and clarity. It can do SO MANY THINGS!!! I am so excited to learn that camera inside and out.

I made a goal tonight on my way home from this class: I will learn the Nikon D100 inside and out. I will learn how to use all the features on it and I will become a good photographer!

So really, I guess that is two goals. But they are good goals. I will stop coveting the D40X and be very happy with my D100. By time I have mastered this camera, I will perhaps have enough pennies saved up to buy the newest hotness on the market. And then my pennies won’t be spent in vain. I won’t be one of those women in my class who had the coolest newest camera on the market and didn’t now anything about it. Anything!!! I will earn that camera.

So what’s the moral of my story today? I guess the moral is: Take a class at your local camera store. You might be surprised by what you learn. My class was only $20 and I feel that I got a really good value. I feel like I know my camera a little better and am excited to take a bunch of shots tomorrow at the zoo.

Hello and Welcome to Momshots.com!

I’m super excited that you are here. This is a site dedicated to the photographing of our wonderful children. Here we will explore ways to take better pictures of the most precious things we have – our kids.

My kids move so quickly and won’t sit still that after an afternoon of taking pictures of them, there are no photos in focus. Not to mention that they get dirty in an instant! They walk out of the house in clean clothes and combed hair; I blink and suddenly they are covered head to toe in mud and somehow got some sticky substance smeared across their cheeks. I’m sure these problems are not isolated to my little corner of the world.

Do you have the same problems?

Let’s learn how to solve these problems!

Let’s learn how to take better pictures. Let’s explore ways to take great photographs of our children!

Together, let’s learn some techniques to better capture the magic of childhood and be able to show our children what a wonderful and beautiful time of life they are experiencing. Let’s discuss ways to save some of those not perfect, but not so bad shots. Let’s learn some new ways of looking at our subjects and let’s share some of our favorite pictures and discuss why they are our favorites.

I welcome your comments. I welcome your knowledge and your questions. I am excited to take this journey and learn ways to enhance my Momshots. I hope you join me on this adventure!

Let’s get started!