Tuesday Tip

This week's tip is... Focus on the eyes!

People have asked me how I get the subjects' eyes so sharp in my images. The answer is simple: Focus on the eyes. If you are shooting with your camera set on auto-focus, make sure when you're looking through your view finder that you see the little red light show up on at least one of the eyes. You may have to move your camera and try different angles until you see that it has picked up on one of the eyes its self. This leads me to another challenge...


If you feel comfortable (because you have read your manual not one, not two, but at LEAST three times), I *highly* encourage you to practice choosing your focal point manually. By manipulating your focal point you can manually place the focal point on the pupil of the subject's eye. By doing this you are much more likely to get the focal point you want and the sharpness you desire. 


I anticipate a few questions could arise from this tip so I'm going to try and nip those before you even have to ask :) 


1. What setting should I have my camera set on to adjust my focal point manually? Although 'Program' (P for Canon) is not the only setting that will allow you to do this, it's the one I recommend. Until I learn how to shoot 100% in manual, I'm sticking with P. I'm one of those who sticks with what works. It works so I'm sticking.


2. Whose eyes do I focus on if there is more than one person in the picture? It depends. (Oh why did I give myself such a complicated question, haha) If I want one person to be the focal point of the image, obviously I choose that person's eyes. However, if I want a group of people to be in focus I usually just switch to auto-focus and allow my camera to do the thinking for me. While in auto-focus I do make sure my camera picks up on someone's eye. Sometimes if I have two people side-by-side I'll just choose one of their eye's, randomly. If they aren't side-by-side (different depths-of-field) then I don't choose one over the other because I don't want one person to be in focus while the other is blurred. Wow, I hope that makes sense. 


3. Do you always choose the eye as your focal point with taking portraits? Yes! :)


4. How did you figure that out? Although I'd love to take credit for figuring out the importance of focusing on the eyes all by myself, I have to thank Jasmine Star for that little tid-bit. She always has such great pointers. 


As always, I have included a few photos to support my tip. Check out all those beautiful eyes!

Happy shooting!

Hearns | Newnan, GA Family Photographer

Oh how I love me some Hearns. Jimmy and his beautiful wife, McCall, are very dear friends of ours. I was delighted when McCall asked me to take pictures of their family. Little James David is just as cute as he is full of personality. The 3 of them mixed with the 3 of us made for a fun day for photographs. Jimmy and McCall are absolutely beautiful, inside and out. I have enjoyed watching their little family grow and look forward to many more slumber parties in the future! We love you guys :) Now, doesn't this first photo just melt your heart?!

Courage.

Picks + Passes

Picks

• 90's weekend on Star94. Something about "How Bizarre" and "MMMBop" just really puts a smile on my face. Oh, and we can't forget "Baby Got Back" and "Ironic."
• Husbands that organize drawers so that I, too, can find the shirt I'm looking for. Thank you, Brandon!
• Autumn, for all of it's wonderfulness. I love the weather change (more front porch sittin'), leaves changing colors, home decor, and getting to layer my clothes. LOVE it.
•  Pinterest, duh! 
• Being a soccer mom, without the mini-van of course. This is Ariston's first season playing on a team and I assure you, I'm having the time of my life cheering my little man on. :) He scored 2 goals his very first game. Since then, he's scored 2 to 3 goals per game. That little joker is fast I tell you. Yes, I'm being that annoying bragging mom right now- sorry. I'll stop.

Passes

• Landing on The Real World while channel surfing and realizing that I'm a good 5 years older than the people on the show. When the heck did this happen?! 
• Husbands that insist on having their clothes tailored before wearing them. We're making Yumi one happy little seamstress.
• Round-about traffic cirlce things. What in the world am I supposed to do? Do I stop, yeild, go? AHH. And by the way, why would I go from point A to C to D and then B instead of going straight from point A to point B. Makes NO sense. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?
• Not having a cell phone for 6 weeks is frustrating to the max! Needless to say, I now have a phone and am so thankful that I can be back in the 21st century with everyone else. Friends, I need your numbers- text me please :)

[Below I've included little dude doing his thing on the soccer field.]

Tuesday Tip

My "tip" this week is actually a challenge. I don't know about you, but I'm always up for a good challenge- bring it on, right?!

I challenge you to try a new angle. Often times we get in a routine of capturing the same straight-on shot. It's easy, comfortable and familiar. Next time, try something new, something outside your comfort zone- spice it up a little! Here are a few ideas on how to capture different angles:

• Get lower than your subject and shoot upwards. Sometimes when I'm photographing my subjects I take the straight-on shot first and then I squat down and shoot upwards for a different angle. It's amazing how different two photographs can be with a simple change of position. That's easy, right? Check out the side-by-side images below. One was straight on and the other  is the same exact pose except I've captured it from an upward angle. Can you believe how different they are?  Which do you like better? I think between the two I actually prefer the upward angle more.

• Angle your camera.  Instead of holding your camera perfectly horizontal, try angling it so that it's more diagonal. Typically, landscapes should always he horizontal, but, when you're photography people try slanting your camera a bit. It makes for a more interesting shot. In the photograph below you can see that I just slightly angled it to the right.

• Get above your subject and shoot downward. I absolutely love a bird's eye view. Shooting downward is not only an overall interesting perspective, but it can also be rather flattering. When taking pictures of children, try having them sit on the ground and look up at the camera as you stand over them (which is what I did with  Maris in the first image below). It's such a fun pose! It's not that easy with adults ;) In the second photo below I was standing on a ladder (by a dumpster, believe it or not). In the thrid photo I was at the top of a church staircase. Although it isn't always easy to get this angle, it's definitely worth it when you do. I'm always on the look out for something to climb on!

There are many others angles out there for you to explore. What are you waiting for- got get em'!    Happy Shooting :)

Sneak Peek { Odom Wedding }

Landon, we think you're a pretty lucky guy!