Tytan Harris

This is the cutest little guy. One week old, he was wrapped up snug and sound asleep when we got him naked and wanted his picture. He wasn't gonna have it. I was able to take a few good ones (including this blessing one) but I had to leave to go somewhere and didn't feel like we had enough great pictures, so I left my camera with my friend, gave her a few instructions on how to use it and what to do, and told her to go for it. She captured the top one. Love it. The black background is just a black sheet draped over some chairs in her living room.

Flowers in my yard

I was just playing with a few features on my camera. Here's a few roses and things in my gardens. No photoshop or anything. I just loved the colors and wanted to capture it.

What do people want?

I've learned that most people just want a good picture. Not a lot of people can afford professionals who charge as much as your car for a picture that will be outdated by the next holiday. People just want something inexpensive, but good to last until they get around to taking their next picture.

Niari's family

I've done a few shoots with extended families. Some are harder than others. A few of these guys were very serious faced, and very hard to pose. Don't be afraid to 'force' them to pose the way you want, even if they think they already are!
I've learned that it takes me a good 10 minutes or so to 'warm up' and get my groove. So play around for a while. This was at Layton park. Great trees, pond, bridges...

I used manual mode for most of these, switching to automatic once in a while.

My first missionary shoot

What a handsome guy, so easy going and not too shabby on the eyes either.

Mark & Lisa

Still learning how to measure light. The background light in some of their pictures was very bright, but they were in the shade. I went too low on my F-stop (I think mine was 9 or so). The light was probably measuring in the 20s. I should have met in the middle, 12-16 somewhere. Use a flash in these cases too. It brings in color, unlike what I've been lead to think - that it washes people out.

Beauty family. The girls are gorgeous, the guys are good-lookin, even the dog is cute!

Jill

This one of Jill with her hair blowing is my favorite. We were just going around taking pictures and a small breeze picked up. Priceless.

(I have a lot more of Jill, and a friend, I'll post them later)

My first post!

I was just playing with some actions here. The first is the original. The rest are actions from coffeeteaphotography.

Photos R Us

This blog is dedicated to my wannabe photography self. The more I get to play the more I love it.
Just a few things I've learned along the way...
* Take a few pictures of each pose (that way eyes are guaranteed to be open :)
* Have fun, capturing natural poses are the best!
* Always check the lighting and the focus, muy importante!
*Don't be afraid to use automatic. Nobody will know but you.
* Most people tend to look up a bit when they're being photographed. Have them put chin down a little but not too much that there's a double chin :)
* Sometimes off centered brings the focus to the subject.
* Sometimes exaggerated poses look better. Arms away from body somehow, legs out, chin outstretched and to the side, shoulders tilted, etc....be creative.
* Photoshop can fix lots of stuff.
*I've learned that I have a lot to learn.
Someday I hope to be great. But for now, I'll take being where I am, learning something every time. Thanks to all my willing models for thinking of me and being patient while I learn.