Best Friends: One of life's biggest perks.

This evening I had the pleasure of shooting Danielle and Olivia. The two have been best friends for quite some time now. Since middle school actually. We met at Kennesaw State University, where both girls are currently attending school to start off the shoot. We met around 5, and on the way over I was freaking out a bit inside as the sun was still waaaay up in the sky. Not the ideal position to be shooting in, however, I was able to find some open shade to start with, and then the sun began to lower in the sky and the shots that followed were just amazing.

I tweeted earlier today that while I love photography, sometimes I feel as if it doesn't love me back. And I say that, because there are days where I absolutely love photography. And today, after this shoot, is one of those days. But there are other days, that I absolutely hate it. (Not literally). But there are days when I get so frustrated when my artistic vision isn't coming out in the photos I'm taking. Today however. Today, I LOVE photography. I am incredibly happy with the photos from tonight's shoot. In the past I have relied very heavily on post-processing in order to get a "cool" photograph. However, after burying my head in books, I mean, the internet, I have once again got re-inspired to go out and shoot photographs that are amazing straight out of my camera. In fact, I recently painted a wall in my room with chalkboard paint, and written in HUGE capital letters is "STOP RELYING ON POST-PROCESSING TO MAKE A GOOD PHOTOGRAPH!!!". (The three exclamation points aren't an exaggeration) I am happy to say that today I am content with the photos I took. As when it comes to photography, I'm never happy/satisfied.

The light was a bit of a challenge today, not so much the location of the sun in the sky, but instead, the location on my subjects and the sun. I was shooting straight INTO the sun for the majority of the shoot, and while it does produce that beautiful highlight in the girls' hair, it is quite a challenge to not blow out the image. I had to hold the camera in one hand, and block the light with either my hand, or my westcott 42inch 4-in-1 reflector. While this doesn't sound so difficult, autofocusing while doing so hindered me to get some of the compositions I really wanted. But, overall I am very happy with the outcome. Anywho, on to the photos, most of these photos are un-edited and straight-out-of-the-camera (SOOC).

As always, leave your comments at the bottom, I always love reading them!

P.S. I am incredibly behind on editing. I have been really pushing myself to learn more from a post-processing perspective so I am quite behind, but I will be updating the blog quite frequently over the next few days. Be sure to check back in!

New Lens, New Reason To Shoot.

Over the past few weeks I talked about transitions. Ever since I read the quote "dissing" those who rely on heavy editing techniques to create a "WOW" image I have really pushed myself in regards to how I do what I do. I used to rely on fancy editing in order to get the emotional response I aim for when I am showing a photograph. But, I am pushing myself extremely hard in order to create an image that will "WOW" those viewing it even if it is unedited

I picked up a new lens this week. A Sigma 30mm f1.4. Its a beautiful peice of glass, that takes even better photographs. When shot wide open, typically lenses lose sharpness. This little beast, on the other hand. It freaking sharp throughout the range. It's been on my camera since I bought it Tuesday and I don't forsee it coming off anytime soon. This lens does wonders for portrait photography. It makes skin look simply beautiful.

When I picked up the lens I was just itching to shoot with it. Unfortunately I had to wait until today. I know I know, a whole 3 days. But for me, that was like 3 years. However, I am proud to say it was definitely worth the wait. Big. Time.

Natalie drove up so we could take some pictures together. We've shot together before and like everytime before, today's shoot was an absolute blast. Even though she did constantly make fun of my fake laugh.

On to the peek-churs. Just a little side-note. I typically am never satisfied with the photos I take, but I am absolutely in LOVE with these. Pretty darn proud actually. I'm happy to say that I am definitely moving towards where I want my photos to be.

 These next photos are what I like to call "Happy Accidents". When we originally began shooting outside it was a beautiful overcast day. A bad thing, unless your a photographer. The clouds diffused the hard sunlight giving you a beautifully soft light. Great for portraits. The sun snuck out behind the clouds a couple of times, so in order to combat the hard shadows. I flipped Natalie around and shot into the sun. I was not planning on shooting anything like this today, but when life gives you lemons. Well, you make an amazing image. (See what I did there). Clever, I know.

 Another "Happy Accident". We were shooting when the sun once again wanted to play hardball. I turned Natalie around once again and back-lit her. This is probably my favorite out of the set. I think this photo is a homerun.

I had an incredibly difficult time narrowing down the candidates to feature in the blog. To see more check out the Facebook Album.