Your Photography Questions Answered

 

I shared my best tips for taking good blog photos a few weeks ago, but today, I’m calling in an expert to answer some more photography questions:  what kind of camera to buy, how to use it, and (since the Fall family photo season is upon us) what to wear!

Welcome, Lindsay Hart of Hart to Hart Digital Photography & Design!  (She’s the one who took those beautiful newborn pics of the twins.)

 

 

 

Lindsay Hart here of Hart to Hart Digital Photography & Design! I'm excited to be stopping by Emily's beautiful blog today to talk all things photography.  In addition to shooting families, weddings, events {and twins!!} one of my favorite things about photography is teaching my "Mom-ography Workshop Series". I love sharing useful ideas, advice and tidbits I've picked up along the way.  I mean, who wants to read their camera manual any way?! I love how accessible photography and good cameras have become and I want you to get the MOST out of your investment... or at least take it off auto every once in a while :)  Today, I’m sharing the three questions I get asked most often:

 

My top recommendation for an INTRO DSLR is the Canon Rebel (newest/latest model or so). A great mid range is the Canon 60D or 7D.  High end, and my personal camera is the Canon 5d Mark III. I know there is the infamous Nikon vs. Canon debate. I personally love Canon for the ease of use and variety of lenses. However, what's even more important than brand and body is your LENS!!

TIP: If you're looking to add a fantastic "portraiture lens" to your line up, the 50mm 1.8 is my top beginner pick as it is the MOST VALUE or bang for your buck!! It is a $120 lens with a very low aperture. The lower your aperture goes, the blurrier your background will be. From detail shots, to portraits of your kids, this lens (if used correctly) will definitely take your photos to the next level!

 

TIP: Try before you buy. Did you know you can rent lenses on line for very inexpensive (try BorrowLenses.com)?  OR, if you’re local, you can rent right here in Charlotte from BIGGS CAMERA. Most cities have local camera stores with very friendly and helpful staff ready to help make recommendations based on your needs!

 

 

Simply buying a fancy SLR camera will not a better photographer make!!!  The best way to get full use out of your camera, and not have your photos looking "point and shoot", is to get to know your camera and start taking it off of auto mode. Read a book, check out online tutorials OR even better, take a class {Mom-ography workshop plug!!} and really get to know how ISO, Shutter Speed & Aperture relate.

TIP: When shooting, it's ALL about the light!! I am obsessed with crisp, bright eyes in photos and my #1 recommendation for when you are starting out is be more aware and make better use of your light source. Point your subject towards the light and use NATURAL LIGHT whenever possible. This means indoors, face a window or open door. Outdoors find soft open shade. To better illustrate my point, let's take a look at the these three examples side by side.

 

 

The first is shooting with the light source (window) behind the subject. TOO DARK! The second time, I added flash. Looks very point and shoot. The third time, I turned my subject towards the light and voila, it looks 100 times better. NOTE, I did NOT change a single setting on my camera. It was the LIGHT that made all the difference.

TIP: Turn off the flash!! Have subjects look up for catch lights, shoot with a shallow depth of field and put your "focus points" on the eyes.  (Remember the low aperture 50mm 1.8 lens we talked about? This is perfect portraiture lens for light and bright photos).

 

 

 

 

That burning question... what to wear?!  I get asked this before almost EVERY photo shoot, and it really does make all the difference if you do it right. My personal preference is coordinated, not matchy matchy. I recently had the opportunity to style my own family session. We chose three complimentary hues based on trendy/summer colors we all liked that would be fun, yet classic. Each member then based their outfit around these colors and theme.

 

Here's the style guide and the final shot:

(Lot's of fun and just what we were hoping for!)

 

TIP: Think about where the final print/product will hang. If the picture is going to be used as a piece of artwork for your home, choose outfits and setting colors that will compliment the room or space. My own home has beachy tones with yellows and corals. Therefore when dressing my own family for our picture, I chose neutral whites and grays in a yellow setting that now hangs on my wall and matches the room perfectly.

TIP: Pinterest has some very useful "What to Wear Guides" that can help guide you towards complimentary colors and outfits.

 

image:  I Heart Faces via Pinterest

 

Polyvore also has FABULOUS style boards that can help you put colors and outfits together as a BASE for your photo session as well as WhatToWear.com. And finally, perusing your favorite clothing websites: JCrew, Gap, Banana Republic etc., can help give you color/outfit ideas...  You don't necessarily have to buy your outfits from those stores, but they've already done the job of styling and coordinating, so you can get a lot of ideas!

Whew, if you made it this far, hopefully you've been able to pick up some tips and tricks and mostly get excited about taking your photos to the next level!!

…..

 

A huge thanks to Lindsay for sharing all of her expertise!  I’m thinking it may be time for me to be a big girl and read my camera’s owner’s manual.  (Maybe I can do that while sitting in the afternoon car line!)

Btw, if you live in or around Charlotte, you can catch Lindsay on Charlotte Today this Thursday (Sept. 20th) where she’ll be sharing more tips, including how to catch a great action shot of your little soccer player and how to take great Fall pictures.