MomShots

Last night we went to the park down the street and had a picnic dinner.  After we ate, I followed the boys around with my camera for a while trying to get some good Momshots.  I have to say that they are getting better at being photographed.  They are starting to strike little poses.  I don’t know if posing is good or not, but they are beginning to understand that if they are moving when I take the picture it will be blurry.

Anyway, there was a little section that was shaded by a large tree.  Magnus was crawling around in that area and he was just adorable so I decided to try out the trick with using the flash to eliminate shadows.

This idea is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately.  My Uncle Eric (who is a fabulous photographer) posted this tip here.  He said:

…the photo of the grape juice, try using the flash to fill in the shadows.

So I thought I’d give it a try.  My results were less than perfect but I’m OK with that because this is all a learning process for me.  This first one is overexposed but I can see that if I had used different settings it might have been a great Momshot.  The EXIF data on the picture says that I used an aperture of f/3.3 and a shutter speed of 1/180 of a second.  I probably should have sped up the shutter a little bit.  Maybe 1/200 would have been enough to get more definition around his jaw line.  He’s pretty cute though, isn’t he?  

This second one isn’t perfect either but I think it is closer to the desired effect.  He isn’t engulfed in shadow but he’s not totally blown out either.  Different settings made a big difference.  I used an aperture of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/180.  So the smaller aperture made quite a difference.

It looks like I was playing with adjusting the aperture.  I usually play with the shutter speed and leave the aperture alone pretty much alone.  

I read the other day that one of the differences between an amateur photographer and pro is that the pros don’t ever show anyone their bad photos.  Well, since this is a site dedicated to learning photography, I am going to be showing a lot of my not so great shots.  Maybe one day that will change.  I keep hoping that I’ll download my camera and it will be filled with awesome Momshots.  One day…  

So I guess the moral of the story is to practice, practice, practice.  I am going to keep at this until I get some good consistent results.  That’s what this is all about.  

Today was day 3 of my personal 7 day challenge. My challenge is to get out the camera and take at least one photo every day for 7 days.

I have had some good Momshot opportunities lately. We’ve had some really summer-like weather lately and the neighborhood has seen an epidemic of kids running through sprinklers. Warm weather means lots of bright sunshine, but that also means heavy shadows. Sometimes that is OK, I think. I think shadows can sometimes add interest - but maybe I’m saying that because I’m not a professional… I don’t know, I just say it like I see it and I sometimes like shadows.

Day 1:  My oldest son drinking water from the hose.  I love how the water is frozen.

Day 2:  My oldest son eating birthday cake at my uncle’s birthday party.  I like how intent and focused he is on this bite.  I love that he has frosting on his nose.

Day 3:  The day was very hot and two of my sons were playing in the sprinkler.  Can you see my son trying to catch droplets on his tongue?  I love his facial expression and how ridged his whole body is in anticipation.

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.