My Golf Course Lesson

Last month my friend wanted me to take photos of her two year old son.  She had his one year photos taken at the golf course by a talented local photographer that recently moved out of state and thought it would be fun to do it again to show how much he's grown and changed over the last year.  Shouldn't be a big deal right? 

Well...  

When we arrived, I immediately started sweating.  It was still REALLY bright and there was no shade anywhere!  She had brought me there the week before to scout out possible photo locations, so I knew ahead of time what the conditions would be, but somehow I thought (and prayed!) that magically a cloud would come floating in or the sun would start setting faster than normal and save my poor, inexperienced bacon!  Her little boy is normally in bed at the time we began shooting, so we couldn't stay until lighting conditions were closer to my comfort zone.  It was much stronger light than I am capable of taking nice portraits in.  The photographer from last year did a great job in the same conditions - I felt like I was never going to measure up! Just like a bad case of test anxiety, the more nervous I got, the more I botched my settings, the more I messed up, the more nervous I became.

Big lesson for me!!  Looking back I needed to just take a deep breath, calm down, and not worry about comparing myself to others.  I need to remind myself frequently that the photographers I admire started somewhere too!  It's a journey that doesn't happen overnight and even the bumps along the way will help shape my photos of tomorrow!

 

Luckily, this little guy is so cute that it shows right through my blown highlights and technical difficulties!



Oh buddy!  I know just how you feel!



One great thing about strong light - silhouettes.

  

  

Thank you to my friend for her patience and support...

Gymnastics

Ok, this girl is awesome!  Her cartwheels and flips made me wish I was more coordinated! 

These two are just too cute together!!

Just the Two of Us

So we attempted a family picture, armed only with the cheap tripod and my camera remote.  Oh boy what an experience!!  The clouds came in and it was much darker than I was expecting, the monsters were bouncing off the wall, and the dog... well I was starting to wonder why I had thought it would be a good idea for him to be there!  I'm still attempting to find the "one" family picture that turned out, but I was excited that there were several of just me and the hubby...  I just had to post one.

Big Bro and Lil Sis

One of my favorite things to photograph is children.  I especially love it when I can photograph them as they play and let their personalities shine through.  These guys were so fun!

 

  



The vintage look is perfect for this little guy!



I love her eyes in this photo.

Boys are awesome!