Compositions Of Family Portraits

I've been having some fun today with compositions.  Still pushing the limits of Photoshop seeing what I can and can not do for my customers.

My findings were surprising!  I've been able to do some different things from one picture to many pictures.  One of my favorites was one I put together of my family.  I was able to choose my background, layout and text (optional) and came up with this composition...

Then, I realized I could move the pictures around AND resize them!  WOW!  Who knew : )  So then I came up with this:

                                              

I have realized that there are so many options available! 

I'm also excited to see some of these compositions put together for babies and seniors!  SO many possibilities!

Summertime Blues

Our weather here in Northern Montana has been a little gloomy lately and I've really had cabin fever lately!  I'm so ready to photography flowers, trees and PEOPLE!  Sometimes the wind and rain (and sometimes snow) make it tough to get out there and shoot!

But, I've used this "down time" to practice, read books, read magazines, work on my marketing and set some goals.  I've actually been able to get quite a bit done over the last few days.  And considering we have rain in the forecast for the next week or so, I expect to get quite a bit more done!  I'm designing my own documents (flyer, order forms, etc) which are fun, but time consuming.  I've also made a tri-fold poster to use at some upcoming events I will be marketing at.  I'm pretty proud of how it turned out and even had the help of my kids!

I rented a photography book from the library, too.  It's from 2001, and it's interesting to see how digital photography has evolved over the past nine years.  In the book they talk about 3 megapixal cameras and how the 6 megapixal cameras are hitting the shelves.  And today we have digital cameras with 21 megapixals and more!  I can't wait to see what will evolve over the next ten years!  The technology discussed is a little outdated in the book, but the concepts and theories are still relevant.  I'm sucking up as much as I can to continuously improve myself.  That way, when the weather clears and I can start booking clients, I can hit the ground running with that bonus knowledge.

My favorite parts of the magazine aren't the articles, believe it or not.  Although the articles are great, insightful and extremely helpful (usually), I enjoy the advertisements!  I love seeing what's out there in the form of equipment, computer programs and services.  I've found companies that do braces removal, make specialty products and buy and sell camera equipment.  All products and services that will help me help my customers have a wonderful photo session and enjoy their photos for years to come!  How exciting is that?

I welcome you to visit my website if you haven't had the opportunity yet.  It's http://www.vaneppsphotographymt.webs.com/.  I'm adding photos, specials and new products as often as I can to serve my clients to their greatest desires!  And if you DON'T see something you want, ask me!  I'm sure we can get it for you!

Perhaps the most exciting thing about this new venture is the involvement of my children.  They LOVE helping me with anything and everything.  They are great models letting me pose them in various settings sometimes trying several shots with different camera settings.  And today, my son told me he wants to be a photographer.  So I gave him one of my "old" point and shoot cameras as his own and showed him how to use it.  We set up his camera case with extra batteries, a cleaning cloth and some other goodies.  He spent the day photographing anything he could...me making lunch, me on the computer, his sister playing, block buildings he made, and many, MANY more!  But he was EXCITED!  It was so awesome to share something with him and watch him grab on to what I taught him and run with it!  Now, who's to say that by the weekend he is interested in something new, but, for the time being, we are having fun!

Marketing!

Well, I've been spending a lot of time on marketing lately.  I'm trying to find any and every opportunity to market that I can.  A good business is only a good business if it has customers!  The only way to find customers is to get my name out there.  So, I've put together some new flyers that I'm going to hang around town. Tell me what you think! 

I'm pondering the idea of advertising in the newspaper, but will probably wait until we get back from Ohio to do that.  By the way, we will be arriving in ohio in less than 30 days!  I have a couple of sessions lined up and just donated a session to a charitable event while we are there.  But, the weather should be perfect when we get back for photos, so I hope to stay pretty busy!

Wow! Has it been that long?

Well, first let me apologize for the lapse in my postings!  I had no idea it had been so many days since I had written!  I guess time does fly when you're having fun : )

I've been very busy lately!  Not only with some personal things, but with my photography as well!  I have updated my website (http://www.vaneppsphotographymt.webs.com/) and I think you will like the changes.  Please let me know what you think!  I've also been busy "in the field" photographing some great things!  What takes time is going through all the photos, picking my favorites and then playing with them on Photoshop trying out black and white, sepia, cropping, adding my logo, removing those annoying power lines and building, etc.  But, that is almost as much fun as the photographing!

I've had a couple new favorites "pop up" over the last week or so, choosing a picture to add to the blog today was a little perplexing.  But then, it just "popped up"!

This is a Richardson's Ground Squirrel.  Very cute, but quite annoying, too.  They did their tunnels anywhere and everywhere and can be found throughout the area, not just in the park.  They've been known to destroy crops and their holes leave unstable ground for livestock causing broken legs.  However, despite their annoying tendencies, they are quite cute!  I photographed this guy through the car window at Many Glacier as we paused to look for mountain goats in higher terrain.  He was practically right next to me and too cute to pass up.  I think you'll agree!  I think this little guy should be a post card...but I haven't quite found the right quote for him yet.....

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

I spent Mother's Day at Glacier National Park with my husband and two children.  It was an AWESOME day!  While there we saw wildlife galore!  We went to Many Glacier first as it is the wildlife hot spot.  While there we saw a moose, mountain goats, big horn sheep, a mama bear and her three cubs and tons of ground squirrels.  It also started to snow while we were there by the storm only lasted about 15 minutes. 

After Many Glacier, we went to St. Mary which is another awesome place to see wildlife.  Unfortunately, Going to the Sun Road is not open yet, but, we were able to make it into the park a few miles.  While there, we saw more ground squirrels, a few herds of elk and a bunch of mule deer.  While the kids were playing throwing rocks into the lake, the deer came right near us.  We were not able to get closer than a foot or two, but it was still a very fun experience.

I am very excited that I received my business license in the mail on Saturday and can now conduct business in Montana!  I had been booking appointments in Ohio, but didn't want to book anything in Montana until I got my license.  So I am ready to roll!  I'm actually offering a FREE session to the first three people to book and hold a session in May!  So please let me know if you are interested and feel free to let your friends and family know as well!  And although only the first three get a free session, be sure to keep checking my website for specials!

Printing!

I am SO loving my printer!  I was a little skeptical of printing my own photos, especially for paid clients, and so I've been "practicing" with different photos, collages, etc just to see how it comes out.  I must say, they rock! 

I did some research prior to purchasing a new printer and I really liked the Canon Pixma series.  I didn't want to spend a LOT of money (I am so cheap) but I wanted something with a high quality.  I settled on the MP560 which only cost me about $100 at Staples.  The ink cartridges are small, but only cost about $13 a piece.  And with everything I've printed already, there is still 3/4 of two left and almost all of the other three.

I printed out a bunch of 4x6 photos to send to family and they look like postcards!  I couldn't believe it.  And one of the 8x10s of Lake Sherburne that I printed is so crystal clear and blue green, I'm ready to jump in for a swim!

I was also added to the listing of Montana photography studios at http://www.virtualphotographystudio.com/.  So that is fun to see : )  I'm still waiting to receive my license from the the City of Cut Bank.  Once I receive it, I can start my marketing activities and setting up shoots here in Montana.  Right now I have some appointments in Ohio when we are there in June, and I'm excited about that! 

Study Time

Today was an uneventful photography day.  I say uneventful because I didn't get any actual shooting time in!  Besides being a little under the weather myself, the actual weather hasn't improved much over the last few days.  I did, however, take some time to catch up on some reading.  I am now subscibing to three magazines...Shutterbug, Digital Photography and Profession Photographer.  I also keep up with Outdoor Photographer online.

One thing I like about Outdoor Photographer is that they have a new contest/assignment each month.  This month is exciting for me because the topic is "National Parks"!  There are some really awesome pictures on there so far, and I had no idea there were actually that many National Parks.  I enjoy these assignments for two reasons. First, I get to see other people's work.  I enjoy looking at other's photos because it gives me ideas and inspiration.  Second, I like being able to participate, even though I've probably not had as much experience as some of the other photographers.  If you get a chance to look, the link is http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/assignments/national-parks.html.  Here is the photo that I submitted!

I've also recently purchased some new photography books and have been pouring over those as well.  Again, the knowledge and inspiration are awesome!  Perhaps someday I'll work for National Geographic : )

Cinco de Mayo!

Hola!  Believe it or not I took two years of Spanish in high school and two in college and I remember very little!  It just goes to show you if you don't use it, you lose it!  I suppose that goes with everything we do!

Today was my husband's birthday and most of my day was preparing a special day for him.  The kids and I made cupcakes in the morning, took sandwiches and cupcakes to his work and then had a nice dinner at home.

I was extremely pleased, though, that around 9 am, UPS delivered to my a photo that I had ordered just two days prior from White House Custom Colour.  They are my preferred printer for prints larger than 8x10 or for any specialty items.  The print I ordered was a 16x20 of the big horn sheep I took at Glacier National Park.  My fear was that printing a photo larger than 11x14 with my camera would look pixelated.  However, I was happy to see that it still looked very clear.  I love WHCC for both their quality and service and will continue to use them!  Now I need to find a mat and frame for this beast of a photo.  And, of course, find it a home!

The weather here in Northern Montana is still in the 30s and snowy.  So, I still haven't made it out much with my camera.  However, regardless of where I'm going, I'm still looking for fun shots and I do take my camera and equipment with me every time I leave the house!  You just never know when opportunity may arise.

So, although most of the day as about my husband, on our way home, I noticed in a field filled with cows, that all the babies were huddled in one little area.  It was kind of like the parents rounded them up for a babysitter : )  They were all around the same age and just kind of chilling out in the snow.  Then I noticed across the street stood a mama and baby cow drinking from a watering hole.  It struck me as a very cool  picture. I tried it in both color and black and white.  You'll have to tell me which you prefer... 

Working on Collages

Today I made my business cards.  I debated on having them printed, but I wanted to create them myself.  I think they came out pretty nice! By creating them myself, I can also used different backgrounds rather than having to purchase 250 cards with the same background.  So, I'm happy with that.

I also hit my Photoshop software again today this time playing with the cookie cutter option!  I am bound and determined to figure this program out and become a master for my clients!  Let me tell you, this was a tough lesson for me. 

I started with something simple...I took a picture of my daughter and placed in on a background.  Okay seemed easy enough.

But I REALLY wanted to do something like a collage...having two or three pictures on one page with a background.  This was more of a challenge.  I played with the different option for creating a collage, but still wasn't getting exactly what I was looking for.  I decided to try something anyway and came up with this collage from my children's Christmas photos.

I still didn't get it to do EXACTLY what I wanted, but I'm going to keep working on it.  My problem is that I'm a perfectionist and if it doesn't look exactly the way I want it to, I get frustrated.  After an hour of frustration, I had to take a break.  I'll try again tomorrow!

Picture of Pictures

I'm still figuring out my Photoshop software.  I received it as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and have only started using it in the last couple of weeks.  So, I find my self compelled to play, perfecting my edge, creating new and interest photos.

Today I was just flittering through some of my photos and had an idea...I wanted to see how many wildlife photographs that I had.  So I started going through them looking for specific views.  Some of the photos were blurry and even Photoshop couldn't correct it, although I DID learn HOW to correct lens blur : )  Some were already in great shape.  Some were taken with my old camera and the pixels per inch were weak for what I was looking to accomplish.

But, I played quite a bit in the program.  Not only did I learn how to correct blur, but how to save the photos to a specific size or pixel per inch setting.  I used 300 ppi for a guide. Some pictures couldn't be printed larger than 5x7 without looking pixellated.  So, I decided to print all the photos in 5x7 size. A couple are still a little weak to my standards, but I enjoyed the time spent nonetheless.

I'm also still working with my printer and am extremely surprised at not just the quality of print, but the speed of printing.  I've also not made much of a dent in my ink, which makes me VERY happy : )

Here is the composition I came up with today...starting with the top left, you'll see big horn sheep, antelope and a moose.  On the right, elk and bison.  I dubbed this my "Wildlife Collection" and hope to add bear and mountain goat to it still. 

The sheep, all female, were seen at the entrance of Many Glacier just a couple weeks ago.  The antelope we saw on a trip to Great Falls off of highway 15.  We often see antelope on that trip.  The moose was also seen at Many Glacier the same visit as the sheep. We actually saw moose in three different settings, one with a baby.  Unfortunately, they were too blurry. I was using my 500 mm lens with no tripod or remote and there was a little bit of wind. One of the moose we saw was splashing in the river.  I started towards her and she moved out of the water and watched me closely.  At one time I had the feeling she was going to charge, but luckily, she didn't, she just walked into the field. I did have my bear spray with me, though, so I wasn't really worried.

The elk were seen in St. Mary.  We went for a hike about a month ago.  While waiting for the kids to use the potty before hitting the trail, I noticed a couple heads in the distance.  They were so still, they almost looked fake.  I got out my tripod and began to walk towards them hoping to get a nice shot.  As I walked closer, more elk came out of the woods into the clearing.  I continued to walk closer to them, pausing in intervals to get off a few shots.  They were very aware of my presence, but not aggressive.   I was able to get maybe 20-30 feet away and they spooked and ran off.  My husband counted around 60 females in the herd.  It was an amazing experience.  I felt like I worked for National Geographic.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how my prints turned out today.  Now I need to get some frames and mats.  I'm thinking of buying one frame with a mat that has five openings for the shots.  I think it would be a need composition that way rather than framing and hanging them separately. 

I also found out that my camera may limit me to a maximum of 11x14 prints.  I did, however, order a 16x20 print from my printer today to see how the quality is with that stretch.  I also received my B&H catalog in the mail!!!  It's about an inch or inch and a half think and chalked full of photography toys : )  Time to make out my wish list : )

I'm hoping that the wind subsides and the temperature warms here this week so I can actually get some shooting time in rather than just playing with the photos.  But, until then, I'll still be having fun!

Alternative Plans

Today didn't go exactly as I had planned.  I was up at 5 am this morning, but, unfortunately, it was NOT to film the sunrise!  My six year old daughter had some tummy troubles and never did go back to sleep until about 3 in the afternoon.  That was okay, because in between trips to the bathroom, laundry and ginger ale runs, I was able to work on my website in peace and quiet while she watched the Fraggles and my husband and son slumbered.

I was happy with the results and I think that I will be done SOON!  Thank goodness! The most time consuming part is uploading all my pictures as each photo takes a couple of minutes to load.  But, once it's done, maintaining will be easy : ) I'll be able to focus more of my time on marketing than prepping!  Since next weekend is Mother's Day weekend and the weather is going to be cooperative, we're going to try heading to the park then, if not before.  Unfortunately we're under a wind advisory for the next couple of days making it difficult to film much...

Today I've posted one of my favorite spontaneous photos.  I say spontaneous because I never planned on taking this picture.  We were on our way to Glacier National Park one day and as we were driving this cabin came into view.  I asked my husband to pull off so I could see if there was any potential.  The Rocky Mountains offer a phenominal backdrop to our subject (the cabin).  Could you imagine having that view be the first thing you saw every morning and the last thing you saw before going to bed?  Amazing.  One problem, however, was that there was a large white shed and a lamp post almost right in the middle of the shot.  I decided to snap a few anyway and foud they were very easy to remove with Photoshop.  The end result is the photo you see below.

Happy May Day!

I enjoyed some family time today and hanging out with some of my Girl Scouts.  I did, however, have time to work on some of my photography stuff!  I worked on my website and made a photo DVD set to music for our Girl Scout Court of Awards.

I also took some time to try out my new tripod and my remote control.  The weather is going to be sunny and in the 50s tomorrow up in the mountains.  So, we're planning to head up to Glacier National Park so I can play with my new toys : )

Today's picture is one of my favorites.  During a trip our family took to Many Glacier at Glacier National Park, we came across a small herd of female big horn sheep.  They didn't seem bothered by our presence, but only let us come a few feet away.  They were very interested in our mini van and flocked around it.  At one point I thought one was going to get in with us!  It was an amazing opportunity to photograph these sheep and to watch them in their natural habitat.  I kind of felt like I could be a part of National Geographic!