dance pictures

last month I helped my son with his homecoming pictures. The pictures at the dance are always so expensive, and more cheesy that anything. It was a lot of fun, but I want to remember a couple of things for next time.
1. remember that what ever time you tell them- add about 30 min. It's hard to get a group of teenagers to meet at the same time and on time, especially when they have to pick up their dates, get pictures at the girls house, etc. Be patient. And when any couple arrives, don't wait- start with the couples that are there.
2. try to pick a spot for pictures thats centrally located. This was a spot in front of a nice gated community near most of kids homes. I went and looked earlier in the week to make sure that it would be okay at the same time of day for light. (and it was still different- could have used less shadows- thank you!) But the boulder was nice, something for the kids to pose around...


3. I want to be more prepared next time with fun poses. Last time I did dance pictures, the kids had all of the poses that they wanted to do, and they had so many, I ran out of time. This time they were asking me what they should do, and I went blank!

4.It helped to have a "slope" area for group pictures. That way all the boys in the back could be seen. I'm glad we took a couple of poses with just the guys/girls.


5. last but not least- big mistake- I let the girls take off their shoes thinking that I would crop it out and it wouldn't be a big deal- lot's of great shots with bare feet sticking out! bummer....

horse shoe bend

On our trip to lake Powell we decided to take the hike to Horse Shoe Bend. Again, been to Page thousands of times, but never been. Loved it enough to take the whole family back the next night. If you want to go, there are a couple of things to know.
The parking lot is a couple of miles south of Page. From there, you hike 3/4 mile to the lookout. Not for the faint of heart- no railings, and a 1000 foot drop off. Don't get too close, you think that the stone is thick, but at the edge it's pretty thin.



picture at dusk of horse shoe bend with the Colorado river below. 1000 feet below!




Chelsea at one of the look out spots- she was making me a little nervous... (but a great shot none the less)





Photo taken on first trip at 11 am. not sure which one I like the best- the river in this one or the deeper colors at dusk.

Antelope Canyon- WOOOOW!!!!

This year our lake Powell trip was a little different- no pictures of the canyons uplake (long, long sordid story of broken outdrives and parking at the dock for the whole week). But hey, it turned out to be great! My family has been to "the" lake for the past bazillion years, and every year I've wanted to go take the tour of Antelope Canyon. But no time! This year we finally made it, and wow- it was spectacular! I can't recommend it enough. Here are some photos that I took in the slot canyon with some things that I learned along the way.



I couldn't get into a photography tour- all full- and we called a month ahead of time. But we showed up at the gate ($6 parking) and then paid for a regular tour ($25).Hint- Cash only,so be prepared! Tours start on the hour and run about 90 minutes. Be there early so that you get a spot. Best light in the summer is between 11 am and 2 pm (when the sun is high. Any remember that it's a slot canyon, if there is any chance of rain (especially in the summer, when afternoon monsoons happen often), they will close for safety.



BE Patient! There are a lot of people in the canyon during the day. If you want to get a shot of the canyon, wait for your group to go ahead, take the shot quick, then run to catch up so you don't miss anything.



Our tour guide was helpful with taking pictures, pointing out places that were good for pictures. He was nice and tossed a lot of sand for our group (it's the sand in the light that produces the light beams in the photos).



Take a tripod and shutter release if you have one. I used a kit lens (18-55mm) but would have loved to have a wide angle. Goes without saying- don't try to change your lens in the canyon with all the sand flying! no flash, and raise you ISO (our tour guide suggested 800). I mostly shot these in manual mode.



Last thing I learned- take as many pictures as you can handle- you never know which one you'll fall in love with!

Carli

Who doesn't love freckles- Seriously! Took these portraits at Sand Hollow and at Red Cliffs State Park. What I learned? Life is a lot easier when your subject wants to be in front of the camera. Carli could have done this all day, which helped to get great pictures of her.

What a Handsome Guy? Must get his looks from his mom!

I'm getting caught up! Here are my son's senior pictures from this spring. I really wanted to get a couple of great pictures of running, since that was his life in High School.

Okay- this was my first attempt in post production with cloning- kinda like it! Hope I can use technique again sometime.




State champ ring- cool bling!

McGlinn Family

My sister Kari came up a couple of weeks ago to visit and we took some family pictures while she was here. I forgot how much energy two toddlers can have. I made them a deal at the end- they could come and use the shutter release to take 5 pictures of their parents, if they would sit in the picture for one! Worked like a charm. Lesson- better work quick when you are taking pictures of toddlers, and bring money next time to feed the ducks!

Engagement photos

Had a great time taking a friends engagement photos this last weekend. Worried that since I've know her for years that she wouldn't feel comfortable showing affection in front of me- what I learned instead is that when people are love, they don't even know you exist!

fix9942, a photo by kimkimzey on Flickr.

Note to self: Alway's bring someone with you when you are shooting portraits. Chelsea was the best- joking and putting the couple at ease. She also made sure that things like the ring and brides hair was in place. She also lugged around my camera bag, diffuser, and refector- thanks chels! Also should remember that it takes longer than you think- We started at about 7:45 (sunset for 9). Could have used 15-30 min longer.

Why am I blogging when I said that I would never- ever?

My Daughter, Chelsea, told me this week that I should start a blog. I started to laugh- me??? But today I was editing photos for a friend (her daughter is getting married in august and they asked me if I would take some engagement pics for them) and it dawned on me. There are plenty of great pro photography sights out there, but what about a mom that just wants to touch up her photo so that her teenage daughter doesn't cringe when she sees a family photo with that one zit front and center on her forehead?
Also, for very selfish reasons, it would be nice to compile all the different tips, tricks, and formulas in one place. I could post my favorite pictures as reference for the future. So if no one else in the world ever sees this, it doesn't matter-