Jan272012
Friday January 27th 2012, AT 6:06AM 5 Comments;
I almost didn’t join in this week. The theme was the very bane of my existence.
Meal Time.
I love food with a serious passion. And if someone else prepares it all the better.
But the worst time of day for me–every single day–is 5:00 p.m.
I’m tired. Hungry. Irritable. And fixing dinner is the very last thing I want to do. And I’m sort of a food snob, so if we do eat, there is a high standard it has to pass.
Our family changed to an all natural diet two years ago and its made an incredible difference in our life–BUT, it also means that everything we cook is from scratch. Which means more work. It also means happier healthier bodies, but sometimes that’s hard to remember when you have a kid you’re trying to keep from climbing the stove, your husband is working late, and cooking means at least 30-60 minutes of juggling and hoping for a miracle.
My resolution for 2012 is to do better at menu planning and making this a happier time of day like it should be. Maybe this can help.
Photo Specs: Nikon D7000, Fisheye lens, ISO 3200, f7, 1/250 on timer. The camera is in the fridge.
Check out Rhonda’s image this week HERE. (Remember I mixed last week up so we’re off from each other once more this week!).
Check out all the previous weeks of the project HERE.
I explain the project HERE.
Brooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. Someday she’s going to be able to say that she is a rockin awesome gourmet cook who dances around the kitchen singing happy tunes while baking and cooking in such an admirable fashion. People will even ask her for recipes, and secretly hope that they get invited over for meals. Until then, she’s a wannabe chef who is hoping her pot of creativity and ambition will boil over at any moment!
Brooke teaches inspiring online photography classes that bring you confidence in your skills and creativity.
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Jan252012
Wednesday January 25th 2012, AT 6:06AM 3 Comments;
Over the weekend I linked to a fabulous article on how to make a strong portfolio of your work.
Aside from the actual body of work and the presentation, I think there is a vital ingredient that too many photographers neglect:
The photographer!
Earlier this week my friend linked to another photographer she liked. I was eager to discover why she liked this photographer so much. After trying to find an about page (and there was none) I tried to find a picture of the photographer so I could put a face to the name. All I found was a photo with a huge camera covering her face.
I gave up.
I’m sure her images were nice, but I wanted to know about HER!
She totally lost me because she excluded herself from the display of her own work.
Unfortunately, this has happened to me several times. I happen upon a site, and eagerly want to find more out about the artist. At minimum, I want to see their face. All of their face. I want to see their eyes and have a proper introduction without trying to communicate with a camera inbetween.
If you want others to risk their own insecurities in front of your camera, you must invite them by first showing that you are willing to do it yourself.
Step in front of the lens.
I’m not the only one that moves on if I can’t find any information on the photographer. For some reason, this is a huge trust issue for me. If you show me your face and tell me about you, then I trust you enough to contact you about photography. If there is no information, I pay no attention. Images do not speak for themselves in a world where there are so many great photographers.
I promise you this will do more than you can even imagine for establishing trust with prospective clients.
View other Tiny Tips HERE!
Brooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. She eats a spoonful of Nutella every day at 3 p.m. This is the secret to life happiness.
Brooke teaches inspiring online photography classes that bring you confidence in your skills and creativity.
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Jan242012
Tuesday January 24th 2012, AT 6:06AM 9 Comments;
Location used to be really important to me. I would spend significant time searching for new and exciting places that had a lot of color or artistic intrigue that would make for interesting pictures.
In the past few years my interest has instead shifted to focus more on the emotional content of an image. I’d much prefer people to be drawn to my actual subjects than to be drawn to any compelling backgrounds that in many cases have nothing to do with the subject whatsoever.
Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, I believe unconsciously my obsession with location hunting was tied to the fact that I felt like the subjects weren’t interesting enough on their own. An exciting location would make up for whatever the subject lacked for making a compelling picture. (How thankful I am that I have since learned differently!).
My interest in location is now a sentimental one rather than an artsy one. Of course I still want it to be pleasing to the eye, but one of the best things I’ve done is to invite the subjects to pick the location instead of me.
It works every single time. And I love it.
It means I shoot somewhere new each time, my portfolio broadens, and best of all–the location means something special to them which makes the images have even greater value.
This family shoot took place in their Grandma’s backyard. I love that it has memory and meaning to the subjects.
Click HERE to view other Tiny Tips for a Dramatic Difference!
Brooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. Her favorite locations for her own personal photos include her house, her yard, and her parents farm. Its where most of life happens and the daily memories are built anyway, so why not infuse sentimentality into the whole creative process?!
Brooke teaches inspiring online photography classes that bring you confidence in your skills and creativity.
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Jan222012
Sunday January 22nd 2012, AT 6:06AM 3 Comments;
1. WHAT LENS SHOULD YOU GET?: Two great articles on lenses. A) This one talks about the recommended lenses for each purpose and breaks it down by budget. B) This article details the benefits of a prime lens (my absolutely hands down favorite type of lens that I can’t live without!).
2. HOW TO MAKE AN AWESOME PORTFOLIO: This article was so spot on. I myself need to go in and do some filtering to my portfolio after reading this. A few things I love that James brought up? Don’t use music on your site. Don’t use splash pages (never heard this before but loved his reasoning and need to reconsider my own splash page now.) Great tips to refine your presentation.
3. 20 TIPS TO STARTING YOUR BUSINESS: Spencer broke this list into two parts. Part One and Part Two. Both awesome.
4. EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT PHOTO BOOKS: I just discovered The Photo Book Girl. You’ll find reviews, coupon codes, and tips for photo books. Incredible resource! Check out this post on tips for designing the best album.
5. INSPIRATION: 50 Photos to Blow You Away. I look at way too much portrait photography, so wandering through these images was such a breath of fresh air. I hope you enjoy them as well!
Jan202012
Friday January 20th 2012, AT 6:06AM 4 Comments;
Its three weeks into the Family Life 52 project. Already I am so grateful to be a part of this. I had no idea how committing to Rhonda to join her for the project would be the very accountability I needed to photograph MY LIFE!
I always wait till the day before. This meant we had pouring rain and next to no natural light in the afternoon. For those interested, all these images were taken at ISO 3200 f/2.8, 1/100.
Oh yes, and I totally read the project calendar wrong! Apparently this is next weeks theme! Oops! (Which is why my theme doesn’t match Rhonda’s today!)
Theme: Height
We never did get around to using the tape measure to see how tall Buzzy was…turns out there were way too many other uses for it!
Buzzy is very solution minded.
What he lacks in height he finds a way around!
I’ve been trying so hard this resolute month to be more creative in my family life, especially motherhood. Apparently, I can actually be quite boring. This project has been a playful highlight every week so far and has done wonders for breaking up the day to day routine while providing an activity that we both enjoy.
Check out the previous weeks for this project HERE.
Brooke Snow is a Lifestyle photographer in Cache Valley, Utah. She also sings alto and taught herself to yodel. Those skills are more marketable than one might think.
Brooke teaches inspiring online photography classes that bring you confidence in your skills and creativity.
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