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At Long Last…

Posted on March 12, 2010

I am not sure why it has taken me so long to write this post. It has been sitting as an unpublished draft on my blog for close to two weeks, really I am amazed that I finally pushed the “publish” button!

I think my hesitation comes from the fact that I tend to freeze up when given too many choices (don’t take me to Subway please!). At the end of February I attended my first photography workshop. The “Life as Art Workshop” was taught by Nichole Van and it was worth every penny. The amount of information she packed into three days made me feel like I had a piano strapped to my head. Processing it all is going to take awhile. There are a ton of things I want to do differently and figuring them all out is making my head want to explode!

Not only was it a great workshop,  full of information, resources, and tons of goodies to take home but I also left with some great new friends (enter “Awwwww” here). Not to mention that I won the roommate lotto with Karyn. Karyn is a fellow Texan transplant and a total peach. You can check out her site at In Bloom Photography.

Here are some images from our mass photo shoot…

It was such a great experience and if you have come upon this blog post while researching Nichole Van’s workshop I encourage you to 100% go! You wont regret it!

So now I have a lot of choices to make and maybe, just maybe I can break out of my deer in the headlights stance and start moving on all the ideas I have. I can’t wait to get started!

Littlest Heroes

Posted on March 8, 2010

On my flight home from Salt Lake City I had the (no such thing as) luck of sitting next to a woman named Kaci. Kaci shared with me the incredible story of her son. He was born with Craniosynostosis and has had multiple surgeries to correct the problems caused by this birth defect. This little boy has went through more heart ache, pain, and trials then most adults do in a lifetime. Hearing about his suffering made me tear up and wonder if there was anything I could do. Kaci then told me about the  Littlest Heroes Project. Littlest Heroes is a non-profit organization, composed of  photographers who provide free sessions for children with serious illness or life altering disabilities.

When I got home I checked out their website and eagerly applied to become part of their organization. Yesterday I received the email that I was accepted, and I can’t wait to take pictures of my first little Hero!

If you are a photographer, I hope you take the time to check out their site and consider volunteering your time and efforts to such a worthwhile organization. If you or someone you know could benefit from the project, don’t hesitate to go to their website and check them out!

More For Moms (or Dads of course)!

Posted on January 25, 2010

If your a Mom looking to take better pictures of your kiddos, then have I found a blog for you! Check out Beyond-snapshots for tons of great info on using your camera to take awesome pictures. The blog is managed by two incredibly talented photographers, Rachel Devine and Peta Mazey. Go check out there work and then come back so I can tell you “I told you so”!

Speaking of kids, here are mine!

Free Senior Portraits {Amarillo and Canyon High Schools}

Posted on January 20, 2010

The Salted Image is looking for a couple 2010 Seniors from each of the area high schools to give free sessions too!

Receive a free session as well as your high-res images on disk for you to print off as needed. What I ask in return is that you pass out some super cool senior rep cards (your image on one side my business info on the other) to your family, friends, friend’s friends and families friends! Send me an email to leah@thesaltedimage.com if your are interested.

And how boring is a post without pictures? Here is a recent picture of our uber-cool friend, Meg in the snow. Maybe by posting this the snow will come back, enough with the 60 degree days already!!

My List for 2010

Posted on January 5, 2010

I have seen plenty of lists over the last couple days. Lists of resolutions and things to do. Lists highlighting the best (and the worst) of 2009. Everywhere I look are lists. So, not to be left out I cheated and made today’s post a list. At first I was just going to answer the most asked question I recieve as a photographer (what kind of camera should I buy) but instead…

My list of things that will take your family photos from drab to fab! Ha!

First off, which camera should you buy? Well, first you need to ask yourself if you are looking for a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex, you know a “fancy” camera where you have to look through the viewfinder with one eye), or a point and shoot that you can easily throw in your purse (or man-bag) and take anywhere. 

For your SLR I would say the Canon Rebel or Nikon D3000 are great places to start. Although I shoot Canon, it is only because it would be unaffordable for me to shoot with both brands. Get whichever brand makes you happiest. 

Now I know very little about POS’s, but if I were to get one, I would get the Canon Powershot SX10 IS. It allows you to zoom and the pictures I have seen taken with this camera have been amazing. For in-depth reviews (much more then my silly opinion) go here.

 

If you end up with a SLR, please, oh please, do not buy the crapola kit-lens that comes with the camera body. Just get the camera body and use the money you saved to buy the 50 mm 1.8 lens. This will cost you around $100 and give you images that will be so much sharper than the cheapo zoom you get with the kit. For a bit more, purchase the 50mm 1.4, I so adore this lens. It is awesome for low light, and gives super crisp images with beautiful background blur. The drawback to these lenses (to some people, at least) is that they are prime lenses, which means they do not zoom in and out, and are fixed at 50mm, but that’s why God gave us feet, right?!

Next up, Lightroom. Sure Photoshop is an awesome program but let’s be real it is not practical for most people because of the HIGH price tag. Although I use Photoshop for most images that end up on my blog, I use LR for EVERY single image I process. It is so easy to use and so very efficient. If I have 40 images all taken in the same time frame and light, I can process one and then apply those settings to the other 39 images all at once. This frees up time to take more pictures, which makes me very happy! I would even recommend it for those who just want to take pictures of their kids and family. Because everyone has images that are just a bit under exposed…

the difference is pretty obvious, and I am sure by this point you are wondering how you ever survived without it, right?!

But wait! There’s more! You can get creative and use your artsy side to make all sorts of changes (belive me, you can go WAY beyond just changing an image to black and white).  

Not sure you want to spend the money on the program? Try it for 30 days with the trial version at Adobe.

So, there you have it. My super short list of things that will help you make great pictures! 

Enjoy 2010, make it your year of non-drab pictures!

To the Mommas

Posted on November 19, 2009

I stumbled across this website the other day and wanted to pass it on to all the Mom’s with cameras (or anyone wanting to learn how to use their camera better).

The site is packed with tips for photographing your children; from basic camera use to post processing techniques.  Check out the MomShots site here.

 

Hope you enjoy it!

Bridals: Katie

Posted on November 9, 2009

We photographed Katie’s bridal session back in September and I have been eager to post them since. She was SO easy to take pictures of!

Katie is a student as well as a ballet instructor and dancer. She carried herself so gracefully that I felt like a one-legged pony next to her. Really, it was ridiculous. I mean look at her…

 

I will be posting Katie and Jess’s wedding pictures over the next day or two, so check back to for more.

Family of Four and a Free Family Session

Posted on October 31, 2009

I will admit that photographing families is a bit intimidating for me. All those faces, blinking, smiling, frowning, and interacting can be a challenge. That is one of the reasons I offered to photograph Star and Jason’s family. I really felt I needed the practice and thanks to how easy these guys made it, I’m now hooked! I am so looking forward to the next family and since I am celebrating my brand spankin’  new blogsite (that I’m loving, by the way) and the beginning of the holiday season, I thought this would be a great time to offer  a free session (or two). The only catch is that you book your session before November 30th. If your interested contact me soon!

Star and Jason, thank you so much for letting me “practice” on your family! You all are the best!

Sisters {Amarillo, Texas Portrait Photography}

Posted on October 28, 2009

So, how much do I love this family?

When we were new to Amarillo and didn’t know a soul, this family was one of the first to count us as friends and invite us over. The girls are both so fun and I love, LOVE, that they love my daughter so much! Seriously, major fights break out of who gets to hold Adalay next!

We did a family session last week and I will be posting those picturs in the next day or two.

In the meantime here is Grace…

 

And Brenna…