Visit to Knob Noster

So another week goes by and those darn deer have avoided my camera yet again. I keep trying and its like they know when the camera comes out. I will get them before the summer is over! Nevertheless I had a nice hike at Knob Noster State Park yesterday. If you have never been, it is so worth the time. It is gorgeous. Not a huge lake but it has some nice trails on it. I also might be a little biased of the location since that is where my husband purposed to me.

I saw a few butterflies yesterday which made me so happy since I love butterflies. A couple kept flying around me but they wouldn't settle. When they finally did, they kept landing on my shoulder or back. I could not get the camera turned to get a picture of them before they would move again. Finally one landed on my leg. Sweet! I got it and then kept walking. It stayed on my leg for a bit. Well it was really tickling so I reached down and picked it up with my hand and stayed there for a few seconds. It was so cool. I made a couple multiple exposures while I was out there too. Everything was so green. I never want summer to end. I haven't enjoyed the heat but I will take it every day over snow. Guess I am living in the wrong area lol. Here are my shots from yesterday. Take a look and let me know what you think. :)

Flowers

It has been a few weeks since I've posted nature so I thought I would post some of my most recent shots with you. I will be the first to admit that it has been super hot so I have kind of been a hermit when it comes to getting outside and using my camera. I know. Very bad! With as hot as it has been though, no one is lively outside. Not people, animals, and flowers haven't really wanted to be open either. Can't blame them though. Lilies have been in season though and they are gorgeous. Sunflowers as well. I am in love with my sunflower shot below. Being from the country, we had a hay field that we would let grow up for a while and then we would cut it later in the summer so the cows could eat the hay bales. There have always been wild sunflowers growing in the field. It is one of the things I love about the Midwest. My hope is to next year, make it to Kansas when their super gigantic ones are out. A few of the flowers below, I am not quite sure what they are but I thought they were pretty and unique. Not something I have seen everywhere. Missouri has very beautiful wildflowers a good portion of the year. Take a minute and let me know what you think in the comments.

Preparing for a Session

Hey guys! This week I am going to talk about you've booked the photographer for a portrait session, what happens next? For many people, getting their picture taken isn't really their favorite thing to do. Getting pictures taken every year, in my opinion, is very important. Life changes so quickly and kids grow up. You want to have those photos and memories look back on.
    First thing after you book, you have to decide what to wear. The ever demanding question. My number one rule is never match your background. Don't wear green if you want trees and don't wear blue if you want water as your background. Also crazy patterns are a bad idea if you want a busy background. Sometimes families have girls wear one color and guys wear one color which looks nice with the contrast. Wearing white shirts or black shirts are not always the best idea. White makes you look too bright if you are in the sun. Black does the opposite.  Make sure you are comfortable in whatever you wear. If you don't feel comfortable, you can tell on your face in the picture. If you have kids in the picture, it is best if parents were neutral colors, and the kids wear bright colors. When doing a senior session, it is important to bring outfits that show off your personality. If you played a sport or if you want your prom dress in the photo.
     Now the next question is, do I bring any props? Sometimes it is good to bring a blanket that you might want to sit on. Some of my clients have brought chairs or benches. If its a child session, you should bring props that tell more about them. One of my clients like tractors so we photographed the baby on a little riding tractor. The photographer wants the pictures to look how you want so don't be afraid to use any props that are special to your family. Seniors should bring any medals, sports equipment, anything that tells more about them.
    The last question is where do I want my pictures taken? Sometimes the photographer will have locations in mind. One of the things that separate me from other photographers is that I come to you wherever you want your pictures taken. So if you want your pictures taken at the grandparents barn that has been in the family forever, I can do that. Some photographers do have studios. You just want to make sure you pick some place that will be a nice looking background and not too chaotic.
   Make sure whenever you schedule your photos, you are thinking of the season, what the weather will be like, and if the sun will be in your face or not. If you have children, you want to make sure you don't schedule them in the middle of their nap time so they'll be cranky.
  Your photographer only wants the best for your photos and for them to turn out exactly how you envisioned. Ask questions if you need help. The more prepared you are before the shoot, the happier you'll be with your photos.
    You can visit this link if you would like more tips. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182747697355058242/.
     Below are a few examples of some family shoots.

Light Painting

Hey all! I hope you all had a great 4th of July! I thought I would show you light painting this week. It isn't something a lot of people know about but it is super easy and fun to do. To do this, you just need: a camera, tripod, some sort of remote trigger, and a light source. Wait until it gets dusk or is dark out. Set the tripod up with your camera on it. You can either turn your shutter speed way down to like 20 or 30 seconds, or if you have a remote trigger, you can go as long as you want. A remote trigger is good to have because it saves you from having to hit the shutter again and causing camera blur. Start the shutter and then paint whatever you'd like with your light source facing the camera. The camera will capture everything you draw until the shutter closes again. This is really fun to do with sparklers or flash lights. It is harder for glow sticks to show up because their light isn't as bright.
     Light painting is fun because you have so much room to show off your creativity. Something that my professor introduced to us in college, you put a piece of steel wool inside a whisk on a string and you spin it. The effects look pretty awesome. Just make sure you don't wear anything that you care about if it catches fire and you're not in a place that can catch fire. One of our assignments in college was to lay the camera face up at the ceiling, hang a flash light from the ceiling, and spin it while the shutter is open. Gives you a really cool pattern.

 Here are just a few examples of some I've done.