Fulton Photography 1000 Fan Contest

The talented Elizabeth Fulton (based here in Ottawa) is holding a contest that may be of interest to some of you. Check it out! 

Link: Fulton Photography 1000 Fan Giveaway

Vanessa and Family

I recently had a wonderful session with a friend and co-worker of mine who is expecting her 3rd baby. She has such a beautiful family of 4 and is looking forward to increasing it to 5. Here are some photos from their session. Enjoy!

Link: Vanessa and Family

Beth and Daniel's Maternity Shoot

I had a wonderful session with Beth and Daniel last weekend. When I was taking their photos you could see how much they love each other and how excited they are to become parents. It was truly beautiful. I hope you enjoy!

Link: Beth and Daniel's Maternity Shoot

Photography Tips for the average Joe - Part Two (What to Wear - Formal Studio Shoot )

What props you use in your photos and how you dress can really affect the overall look of your photos. The best thing you can do is know in advance what kind of photos you are looking for. For example, do you want them bright and playful or sophisticated and formal? Once you know this you can plan your wardrobe and props accordingly.

Today we will cover formal in studio shoots. For this type of photo shoot you should "dress up" more then you would for other types of photo shoots.

A few ideas of what dressing up could mean:

• Dress pants and dress shirt, golf shirt or sweater
• Jeans and a dress shirt, golf shirt or sweater
• Khakis and a dress shirt, golf shirt or sweater
• A dress
• A skirt and top

Something to remember is shoes. If you are doing a more "casual" formal soot with jeans and a dress shirt you might opt for bare feet. For other more formal shoots you will probably want to wear shoes or socks. If you choose to do the shoot in socks then remember that everyone's socks should be plain in colour and blend. If everyone is wearing neutral colours for the photo but someone had on bright pink socks then that is all you would see and will end up being very distracting. If you decide to wear shoes then they will have to be clean on the bottoms in case this is shown in the photo and so that the back drop does not get dirty. Remember that everyone's shoes should go with the overall theme of the picture. For example, sneakers would look pretty silly if everyone is dressed up in formal attire.

Most people feel like everyone in the photo has to match but thats not necessarily the case. As long as the outfits are complimentary the photo will look great! For example, one person may be wearing a blue, black and green dress and another wearing a green shirt with gray pants and another wearing a gray sweater with black pants.  As long as the colours look good together then it will look fine in the photo. It can be nice to have people dressed differently as it can add subtle details to the photo. I say subtle because you never want to wear something that will take over the picture. For portraits you always want to make sure that the people are the main focus.

Things most people should avoid wearing for indoor formal studio shoots:

• Polkadots
• large prints
• extreme colours (i.e fluorescent)
• multiple colours

This is not to say that you should never wear these things, depending on what you are going for it could work but in most cases it doesn't.  You always need to keep in mind what you want your photos to look like in the end. If you are unsure of where to start I suggest you check out pictures online to see what type of photos you like and pay special attention to what the people in the photos are wearing. This will give you ideas for your own photos. You can then adapt these ideas to make them your own. If you have hired a photographer then you can always consult with them and they can also give you some guidance.

I hope this is helpful and feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Jen's Maternity Shoot

What a great week its been! 3 Maternity shoots and a birthday shoot too! I have finished the editing for last Wednesday's Maternity shoot and this mama to be looks amazing! Here are some of the pictures from her shoot. Enjoy!

Link: Jen's Maternity Shoot

Janie Turns One! Cake Smash Fun!

Last weekend was so much fun! I had an adorable little one year old in the studio to celebrate her first birthday and she had some fun with a giant cupcake! Take a look and let me know what you think! If anyone is interested in a cake smash session then send me a message! I hope you enjoy!

Link: Janie's Cake Smash

Richard Family Photoshoot!

Last Saturday I had a fantastic shoot with a wonderful family. Here are a few of the photos we took that day. There will be more to come since we did three different types of photos so stay tuned!

Link: Richard Family Shoot

Photography Tips for the average Joe - Part One (Lighting)

So I have decided its time to add some more "meat" to my blog. Since it's mostly clients who visit, I thought I would start posting tips that I have learned along the way for taking good pictures and for having a good photo shoot!

So my first post will be about lighting when taking everyday pictures. This pertains to both when you are out and about or just sitting at home. The very first thing you should do (whenever possible) is turn OFF your flash! This gives a very harsh light (especially when shooting babies or small children) and it is not flattering. It can cast big shadows, make your subject to bright and the background too dark. Whenever possible use available window light as your lighting source. Open up all your blinds and curtains before pressing the shutter button.

The next thing you need to know is that almost every camera (DSLR or point and shoot) have a function called "white balance". When you are under different lighting conditions you sometimes need to program this function. Most of the time your camera will get the correct white balance when the white balance setting is set to "auto" BUT there are many times when the camera gets confused. If you have ever taken a picture and there is a yellow or green tint to it then this is because your white balance was not set properly. There are even different white balance settings depending on the lighting conditions outside (sunny, cloudy, etc). Having your white balance set properly can make a huge difference in the way your photos turn out. Read your camera manual if you are not sure about how to change the white balance setting.

So thats it for today; I will post more soon :) Enjoy your picture taking!

Album Pictures Now Available!

Well, well, well.......

I am really sorry! I just realized that the last few album links for my blog posts were marked as "private" albums! That means that no one could go and take a look! I fixed that now! Please go take a peak! There are newborn baby pictures as well as the home grown design studio pictures available! If this happens again then please let me know! :)