MomShots

I had a blast at Photocamp. It was so much fun to just hang out with people who were into the same thing as I. I got to meet a couple MomShots readers and a bunch of people from the Flickr group Photowalking Utah.

I felt like my presentation went OK. I had a lot of fun doing it. Hopefully I was able to give some information that was helpful to someone. If nothing, at least it got people thinking about taking pictures of kids. I was hoping that people would participate and offer their thoughts and tips and I was really happy with how much participation I got. I think it helped that my presentation was in the afternoon and so people were a bit more relaxed.

In the morning sessions, I was feeling really anxious about my class later in the day but my anxiety was for nothing. I am notorious for doing that.

I put my presentation in PDF format on a new tab called Photocamp Notes. You can download it if you are interested in reading the gist of what we discussed.

I feel so honored to have been asked to speak. The other presenters were all very talented and skilled photographers who I learned so much from. I am super excited for next year!!!

These photos of me were taken by Luann, who I finally met in person and had a blast hanging out with and going on the photowalk with. Thanks Luann!

And Kerry; I didn’t get to talk with you. Thanks for introducing yourself. I wish I would have talked with you more. I thought I’d see you again and I never did. I hope you had a fun time and learned some good stuff.

I asked for your catchlight photos and I received them. Thank you so much!!! You all are so awesome!!! I am super excited to write up the post about catchlights. The thing is, it might not be until next week. So it WILL happen, just not as soon as I originally thought and said.

I have this bad habit of biting off more than I can chew. I don’t do it intentionally but when the time comes and everything is due, I end up staying up all night and trying to finish all the projects at once. As I’m typing this I am thinking it might be a time managment problem instead…

I am having flashbacks to fashion design school. The night before a big project would be due I would stay up pretty much all night working like mad on it. In fact, one of my final projects for a specific class stands out in my mind. I stayed up all night busting my butt trying to get it done. I had until something like 10pm to turn it into my teacher at school and after that we could drop our projects off at her house. I remember driving to her house at 4 in the morning and leaving it on her doorstep in the middle of the night. Good times…

So the point is I think I need to do the catchlight post next week because last night I woke up around 2am and couldn’t get back to sleep until about 7am because I was thinking about my presentation on Saturday at Photocamp. I haven’t finalized everything I am going to discuss or my examples. I need to sit down and do that today so I can sleep tonight!!!

So before you point at me and call me a liar for not having the catchlight post ready, I would like to console you with a little giveaway. I would like you to answer a question for me. The answers will probably be used in my presentation.

Here’s the question (actually it is two): Why do you take photographs of your children? What do the photos mean to you?

Answer that in a comment for one entry. Post a link back on your blog for another entry, leave a separate comment with the link.

I have 5 prizes to give out so there will be many happy winners! Deadline is Friday, March 13th.

Obligatory photo. This is from last summer when we would go up to this great camping spot and have picnics and kind of “day camp” but we never ended up staying the whole night. Maybe we will this summer.

Copied directly from the site:

PhotoCamp has sold out - but due to huge demand, we have added 75 seats to our max capacity. If you are thinking of registering, this is your second chance so act fast! These will sell out again and fast!

PhotoCamp Utah is for photographers BY photographers. For this event-be a success, we need you-be there!

We have some amazing presenters comitted - sharing their knowledge, entertaining keynote speakers, and sponsors giving us some amazing gifts - all-make this a great event for all those that attend. This is going-be an exciting event.

There is limited seating available, and those that we have are filling up fast. Don’t delay, register right away-save your seat! It’s only $10 for an entire amazing day. Register now!

Last night, I was watching my Twitter feed when I saw a post about a mini-clinic at the Salt Lake Library in an hour and a half. Ben was home and I asked him if he would mind watching the kids while I went to it. He agreed and I quickly got my stuff together and ran out the door.

The clinic was hosted by the Flickr group Photowalking Utah and was presented by Rich Legg who is an incredible knowledgeable and extremely talented photographer. The theme was studio lighting for under $250.

The class was great! I learned so much. Especially since I haven’t really delved into the world of studio lighting yet. I am what you would call a “Natural Light Photographer”. For me, that’s a hoity-toity name for someone who still has so much to learn that I just haven’t gone in that direction yet. Optimal word here is “yet”. One day I will. And now after what I learned last night I feel much more prepared for that day.

Courtesy Disclaimer: This is my personal definition. Not all Natural Light Photographers are in this boat. Just me.

I really had a fun time and ended up sitting next to an amazing photographer named Anne Torrence. I follow her on Twitter and have always been super impressed with her. It was such a surprise to realize that it was she I was sitting next to. I had a little moment of star-struckness but that passed and I introduced myself and talked with her for a few minutes about her current project. I’m excited to get to know her and the whole Photowalking Utah group better. I really hope I can swing getting to events more frequently.

MomShots is really is not a location specific blog even thought it may seem like that lately. If you don’t live in Utah I am sure you are getting sick of me mentioning Utah things all the time. I would strongly suggest that you look into your local area and see what kind of photographer groups are out there. I bet there are some good ones around. If you don’t find any, maybe you should think about starting a group. A photowalking group is a great way to start.

Speaking of location specific, once again I am going to plug PhotoCamp Utah. I found out last night that there are only about 75 more places available. If you are thinking about going be sure to sign up right away or you won’t be able to. It will be held in south Provo on March 14th, 2009. More information can be found on the website.

As you know, I am speaking. My theme is tips & tricks for photographing kids. I know you’re all surprised by that title… LOL… Anyway originality aside, I was wondering if anyone had any specific topics or questions that you would like to see addressed? I am trying to put together the outline for my discussion and I thought your input would be much appreciated. Even if you are not attending, I would love your input.

Also, I need to put together some prints to show as props. Do you have any favorite pictures that I have posted here or on Flickr? I am very excited about the opportunity to speak about and share my love of photographing kids but honestly, I am a teensy bit nervous. Especially after meeting all those incredible photographers last night! I am feeling a bit like an imposter since I really am so new to the art.

Insecurities begone! No more thoughts or words about that. That’s the last you’ll hear about that. It’s all about having fun and learning some new things. I would love your input and opinions on anything related to this.

Obligatory MomShot:

I want to share with you. I have been absent for a few days. I have been in the Mom Trenches, meaning I’ve been dealing with a bunch of sick kids and then I got sick too. But we are on the upswing now. Yay!

How was your Valentine’s Day? Did you get any good photos?

I had a really fun opportunity to do a photo shoot with my sister and her husband. They were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary and I asked them if I could take some shots of them. It was so different to shoot adults than children - and especially these two who have had lots of time in front of the camera so they did a great job of posing and just looking adorable. Here’s a small sampling of the shots I got.

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Ok, so it’s not pictures of kids and that is really the primary objective of this site but I do want to share something I learned. Because learning photography is the second thing that this site is about.

The biggest lesson is that I need to use my flash to fill in my subject, especially when the background is bright. We went up into the Provo canyon to try to capture some images of them in front of the beautiful mountains. However I was frustrated because they were too dark and the background was so light. I kept thinking that if I had a reflector stuck in the snow the shots would be perfect. Silly me! I didn’t even think to use my flash until about two days later and I was editing some images.

Hello?!? Fill Flash!!!

I think that if I would have used my flash to fill in the foreground light on their faces, the shots in the mountains would have been great.

I am kind of kicking myself about forgetting that. I try so hard to use natural light and avoid using my flash that I completely forgot that it is OK to use in some situations. This would have been one of those situations.

Here’s one of the better lit shots. It sure could have used a bit of fill flash love!

You can bet I will be trying hard not to make that mistake again!

I will now be the crazy lady walking down the street chanting to myself, “It is OK to use my flash. It’s OK to use my flash. It’s OK to use my flash.” So if you see me, be sure to stop me and say hi!

Also speaking of saying hi, don’t forget about Photocamp Utah, on March 14th. If you register before the 1st your price is only $10. It’s such a screaming deal I can hardly believe it. It is for photographers of all levels so don’t be intimidated if you don’t feel like you can call yourself a “photographer”. If you have a camera and want to learn more you should come. It’s going to be great.

I am trying to figure out exactly what I am gong to talk about (suggestions are welcome!!!) but I am super excited. If you go, I really hope you will say hi to me. I’d love to meet you!

I just found out about this really cool seminar going on next month on Saturday the 14th. It’s called Photocamp Utah and it is all about photographers of all levels spending a day teaching and learning together. The price is totally affordable and it is in the Provo area so there is no excuse for not coming!

It sounds really fun and exciting doesn’t it?

I think so too!

Plus, I was asked to speak so now you have even more incentive to come!!! Truthfully, I’m really excited and a little bit intimidated about this but there is no way I am missing it. The chance to mingle with other photog-minded people and learn from them is super exciting. It should be a really fun day and I am planning on coming away from it better at this art form.

Be sure to follow @PhotoCampUtah on Twitter for updates and info.

Also, if you register before February 28th, you can go for only $10. That’s an awesome deal!!!

Let me know if you are going to come and we can plan a meet up for lunch or dinner or something like that!