I ran across another blog that did this and thought it was so cute that I had to do it. I’m going to try to continue it once a year until the kids are about 6.
Here is Miss Mia on her second birthday.
That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Your photos are amazing, and your girls are adorable!
Absolutely adorable!! Hugs from Conroe, TX
Perfect! =)
Yay! Happy Birthday Mia! Hugs from Conroe, TX (p.s. I usually put that last part because i have met locals via blog comments before)
Looks like we might have 2 curly sues around here. Ausha’s first ringlet…….
So Sweet!
Today I am going to share answers to a lot of questions I received via email & blog comments. I remember when I first started out in photography, I would get so excited when I came across my favorite photographer’s Q&A posts. They taught me so much. Hopefully my Q&A can answer questions anyone else has had, but has not asked. If there are any other questions anyone has please email me or comment below and I will compile them together for another Q&A soon. I took off the option requiring people to add their email address when commenting, so if you would like to comment anonymously go right ahead.
Thanks again for all of the great questions. I am so grateful to have such loyal blog followers!
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Q: What camera and lens do you shoot with to get such crisp shots of babies’ faces – specifically their eyes? And do you manually or auto focus? You apparently have it mastered. I shoot with a Canon T2i and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Is that my main issue? The middle-grade camera or lens? I thoroughly and respectfully appreciate your guidance!! - Taryn
A: I use a Nikon D90 camera. I mainly use my 50mm 1.4 & 85mm 1.4 lenses. I switch back and forth between auto focus and manual. It really depends on what I am focusing on. If I am focusing on a subject that is moving faster than my auto focus can follow then I will use manual and just cross my fingers that I get it in focus. With still subjects, I use autofocus most of the time. I don’t think the camera is your problem. To get crisp shots the lighting/exposure has to be perfect. It sounds like you just need to master your exposure and lighting. It can be tricky to find the right light. Take pictures of your subject at different times of day in the same spot and note the differences. That might help you figure out what lighting looks best. I find that placing my subjects at 90 degree angle by a window gets the best results.
Q: May I ask what lens you typically keep on your camera for pictures around the house? – Carrie
A: I always keep my 50mm/1.4 on my camera and leave my 24mm/1.4 sitting in my kitchen (central location of house) so I can quickly change my lens if I need to. My daughter’s rooms are 12×12 in size. 50mm works great for portraits in their. I also love using 85mm/1.4 when I want to sneak a close up without getting too close to them (they are easily distracted). I use my 24mm when I want wide angle shots of them – for instance, when I turn the camera around to get shots of them sitting on my lap or shots of them when they are at my feet, pulling on my shirt.
Q: I was curious…have you ever mentored anyone? I love your work and would love to have someone to help me fill in the gaps/take my photography to the next level. I love natural light and families…two things you mesh beautifully
– Shauna
A: I have thought about mentoring but it does not fit my schedule right now. If I ever decide to in the future I’ll make an announcement on my blog.
Q: Your work is awesome! Do you use one lens or do you have several for different shoots? Also could you post a before and after shot following photoshop editing? – Joanna
A: Thank you! I normally stick with using my 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4 and 24mm 1.4 with all shoots. For detailed close ups during newborn shoots I use my Micro-Nikkor 60mm. You can view before and afters in my actions portfolio. Although, I have been just using curves for editing lately. I sometimes use actions and sometimes like natural coloring. Depends on my mood.
Q: Hi! I love your blog! Your pictures are amazing! How did you get started in your business? – Ally
A: Thank you! I got a DLSR cam for my college graduation present. I took a few pictures and fell in love! I started out by practicing on my friends and family and once I figured it out I started my business. I will say this: I wish I would have waited until I knew more about photography before I started charging people for it. When I look back at some of the pictures I took when first starting out, I am a bit embarrassed. To everyone starting out, I recommend waiting until you know everything there is to know about photography before you start your business. For instance, if you don’t know what aperture is or how to shoot in manual mode, you probably should not be charging people for photos.
Q: I was reading more on your blog and you said you taught yourself after getting a degree in graphic design.. I just would like to know how? Did you just get your camera and start experimenting with the settings? or did you find guidance or help with books on your camera? I would have to teach myself too just I wouldn’t even know where to begin really so I’m just curious how you started out. I know basically knowing about cameras especially dslr’s. Also did you learn how to edit photos through photoshop with the graphic design degree or was that something you had to teach yourself too? – Annmarie
A: I started using photoshop in college for design work in 2001. That is what got me knowledgeable with it. I got my camera and experimented with it, got frustrated with it, tried to read the handbook it came with (did not work – I am more of a visual learner), bought “photography for dummies”, that did not work, so……I would just google all of my questions to find the answers or bug my 2 photographer friends with questions. They were annoyed half the time though so I had to stop that.
Then I just experimented myself and figured it out. Honestly, I am STILL learning to this day. It takes a long long time to figure everything out. I’d say at least 5 years. It takes trial and error. I learned how to edit photos is all about having an eye for it and knowing how your editing program works. You need to be able to look at a picture and tell what is wrong with it (if anything is wrong).
Q: I love to shoot wide open and I find that when I have more than one person in my shot that only the person that I focus on (usually the one closest to me) comes out sharp. And even if they are all on the same place(?) of focus. Thanks!! Nancy
A: It is very hard to get two people in focus when shooting wide open, unless they happen to be on the exact same plane. Especially when trying to get both persons’ eyes in focus. When two people are on the same plane and I want both persons’ eyes to be in focus, I do one of two things. Either set my F stop to about 2.5 in order to get both in focus in one shot or if I want to shoot wide open (lowest # aperture – 1.4) and get both in focus, I hold the camera really steady and focus on one person, take the picture and then focus on the other person and take the same shot, then photoshop the two photos together. It is a lot of work but turns out really nice.
Q: I love to shoot wide open and I find that when I have more than one person in my shot that only the person that I focus on (usually the one closest to me) comes out sharp. And even if they are all on the same place(?) of focus. Thanks!! Nancy
Q: Which program do you use to edit your videos? – Magdelena
A: imovie.
Q: Your pictures are really amazing. Do you have an online tutorial? – Abel Amandy
A: Thank you! Sorry but no I don’t have an online tutorial for photography.
Q: I LOVE your work! I am just starting out in photography and would love some advice on the business side of photography. Since you are my inspiration I thought you would be the best person to ask. – Nichole
A: I feel so honored to be your inspiration! Thank you so much. My best advice is to stay true to yourself. Try not copy others work. These days it seems like you see the same picture over and over again (according to my Pinterest stalking). Try to find your own style and stick to it. Going into a session with no plan or ideas can sometimes end up being your best sessions.
Q: I am just starting out in photography. What photo editing program do you recommend? Also, as with any business I am sure there are cons. Before I venture into this, I would love to know what you consider the cons. Would you mind sharing? Also, what is your favorite subject to photograph? What is your least favorite? – Francis
A: If you are just starting out in photography I recommend not editing your photos at all. Fixing those ‘bad’ photos in an editing program is too easy these days and can be addicting. When I first started out, I remember thinking “if that picture does not turn out right, I will just edit it in photoshop”. That is NOT a good way to think and ends up hurting you in the end. It is really time consuming and always ends up looking bad and most of the time – fake. It is best to know what you are doing when you take the picture so it turns out right straight out of the camera.
As for the cons of photography I would have to say 1. treating friends as clients & 2. always being ‘on the clock’. I’ll explain both — A couple years ago I found myself getting really stressed out because I was offering all of my friends a discount. Even if my friends weren’t asking for a discount, I would offer one because I felt like I needed to. Yes I was being nice to them, but I was not being nice to myself. 60% of my clients WERE my friends. Offering so many discounts wasn’t making me any money! I had to stop and treat my friends as my clients. It was hard but I made myself do it. Another thing you need to be prepared for is people asking you to take their picture even when you’re ‘off the clock’. Even when you attend a friend’s event as a guest/friend, (whether it be birthday parties, baby showers, graduations) might you’ll still be asked to take pictures. I even get people asking me to use cameras other than my own that I’m not even familiar with. They simply want me to press the button. I laugh to myself most of the time when this happens and try to take it as a compliment. I can’t blame them because I tend to ask my brother-in-law who is a videographer to video my kid’s events with MY video camera. Sorry Andy! I’m that girl!
I’ll try to stop.
I photograph two subjects. Adults and children. While I love photographing both of them, I would have to say photographing adults is more challenging. The reason is because we as adults are more picky about our appearances. When I take photos of adults I have to take into account how they will feel about the way they look when seeing the picture while also thinking about exposure & composition. So posing takes more time. The first thing adults look at when they see their picture is themselves and whether they look good or not. It is common nature. I do. You do it. We all do it. The art of the photo is not looked at first. It could be the most artistic, perfect photo I have ever taken, but if the person in the photo hates their facial expression? perfect awesome photo dismissed! My husband and I had our photos taken a while back and even though the photos themselves were nice, we hated every single picture because they did not show our true personalities. We were asked to make serious, sexy faces in every shot, which is SO not us. That brings up another point about the difficulty of photographing adults. It can be very hard to capture adults personalities. Some couples freeze up and can’t be themselves when a camera is pointed at them. This can make it very hard to get laughs and natural facial expressions. So be prepared to act ridiculous and say inappropriate things in order to get a few laughs.
Q: What type of video camera do you use? – Heather
A: I use the video on my Nikon D90 camera. It can be challenging at times because it is manual focus only. I am still teaching myself how to use it.
Gracie – 3 things. light. proper exposure. good lens. low light lenses are great for indoor photography. for instance 1.4 or 1.8 aperture lenses. for the homes I visit that do not have a lot of natural light coming in, I position the newborn very close to the window. No matter if it is overcast I get good enough light for sharp photos this way. If there is one room only with a window with good lighting and enough space around the window for maneuvering then I stay there for most of the session. I do not ever use a flash. Tip for no window access: if it is warm outside, open the front or back door and put the baby in front of it for good light
Hello Johanna,
My question is in regards to indoor photography, how do you master sharp pictures indoors? I get it right only when there is a ton of natural light coming in. How do you do it when you visit for newborn pictures? Do you use flash? Is there a setting you recommend? I can’t avoid getting noise in my pictures…
Thanks!!!
Gracie
Of course nancy! Let’s do! I feel bad we have not met already. I will let you know the next time I’m in town so we can schedule something. That’s awesome you made friends with your Georgetown blogger friend.
Had to come back to see what others had left as far as questions post your blog post. Those were awesome questions from Brooke! Thanks to you both and seriously can’t wait for the day I meet ya! Maybe we could meet for coffee or lunch one of your trips to town or when I’m out in your neck of the woods. Yes, I am “lets be friends” pusher. LOL Just ask my friend Leslie who lives in Georgetown. I stalked her blog and then we met up halfways in RoundTop for the Antique days and shopped till we dropped. It was like we had been friends for years! OK. I will stop now. laters.
I have been following your blog for some time but haven’t ever commented until now. Thank you SO much for posting these questions. You answered a lot of questions I’ve had but did not have answers to.
Great questions Brooke.
1) My rule of thumb for ISO – The lower the better. The lower it is, the less noise you will have and the sharper your photo will be. I set mine as low as it will go without making my shutter speed lower than 100. If it is lower than 100 is will be a blurry shot.
2) Perfect light time for outdoor is 1 hour/45 minutes before sunset.
3) If you are trying to find that perfect light then yes, the time of day matters indoors. It all depends on when the sun shines through your window best. All homes are different. All windows in homes can be different too. For instance, Mia’s room window is facing NE, so the sun is never shining straight into her room. Light is best in her room between 10-11am and 2-3PM.
4) You will get the same amount in focus not matter the distance from your subject, however the further away you are, the less sharp it will be.
5) My inspiration comes from so many different things. It is hard to pin them all down. A lot of it comes from graphic design. Having a background in it has made my work look more like “advertisement art”. From the negative space I leave sometimes, how I frame the shots and even down to the idea for the shot. It can also comes from music. Sometimes words to a song, give me ideas for photos. As far as waking up in the morning and feeling inspired or artistic, that comes from within and is something I have always had. I have days when I don’t want to do anything having to do with art and some when I have to be doing something artistic all day.
JOHANNA!!! This is something so special and REALLY cool for you to compile and put out there. I want to personally thank you:) You are such an inspiration to all of us…I guarantee you there is not one person that reads your blog that doesn’t think, How does she do that???
I have a couple Q’s…
1. Do you have your own “rule of thumb” when determining the ISO and aperture?
2. You had mentioned perfect lighting, when do you think is the best time for that?
3. When shooting in doors, does the time of day even matter? Morning, noon, afternoon?
4. When shooting wide open does the distance between you and the subject matter? Meaning:will I get more in focus from 1.8 if I am further back rather than super close?
5. Where does your inspiration come from?
Boo Andy! Fall sounds good Nancy.
You are my SheRo! Thanks for taking the time to put this all together! When we get our photos done I will have to be sure (my)Andy has had a few glasses of champagne(quickest way to get him to relax) so that he doesn’t look too stiff. Ha! I am still trying to determine when we can do our photos with you. Thinking that maybe fall might be best and would be great so we could send out photos to celebrate our anniversary. We’ll see, Andy just rolled his eyes at me when I told him I was going to book you. Boys….. Hugs from Conroe, TX
The elephant chair is from Marshall’s. I know it is hit or miss finding things there though. The tag says “Golden Chair, Inc.”
I LOVE this!! She’s getting so big!
Thanks Stephanie. I love those curls too! Yes our days are very interesting around here
Ausha has turned into a ball of energy too (more so than Mia). That’s awesome you are going to do a video for Heidi. I’d LOVE to see it 
How funny she sings that song too. Thanks for following!
She is just adorable! I love her curls. And such a little ball of energy. I bet your days are interesting!
My little girl, Heidi, is right behind Mia, turning 2 in just a few weeks. I plan to do a little birthday interview with her too. I thought it was funny, Heidi loves to sing that Frere Jacquez song too. She busted it out in Target one day…so random!
Anyway I love your blog! Been following for about a year and a half now. Both of your girls are beautiful and I can’t get enough of your pics! You are beyond talented.
Haha Ruth! It is ok.
Thanks Johanna. And sorry for the duplicate question. How annoying is that?! As soon as I posted my comment, I saw that someone had already asked!!
The chairs were a gift. I ‘think’ they are either from Palais Royal or Kohl’s?
What an adorable idea!!! I love your girls’ rocking chairs. Have you ever shared where they are from?
It took about 30 minutes
Very precious! I want do this when my girls’ birthdays come around. How long did the whole uncut interview take? Thx!
This was absolutely precious! So glad you were inspired by the other person to do your own video! That is what I love about bloggers, they inspire others! Loved her giggles and I loved it when you left them room and she was just a rockin and then giggling. Great job! Thanks for sharing this with us! Hugs from Conroe, TX
SO cute!
I “love” her giggles and her energy! Your girls are PRECIOUS!
Emily, their great grandmother got it for her as a gift. I ‘think’ maybe either Palais Royal or Kohl’s?
Adorable! I have seen the interviews typed out, but not a video interview. Great idea! Mia is a cutie.
This is very sweet. What a fun treasure this will be to watch when she is older! Would you mind sharing where the elephant chair is from? It is so fun!
OMG I LOVE this! You have no idea how SAD I am that I don’t have any videos of Madison when she was little =(