Top 10 of 2010

So here we are, at the end of 2010. I can't say it's been the easiest year of my life, but it has sure been full. It brought me some good things: a little package of pure enthusiasm - my daughter, Julietta. Her smile and squeals can flip my mood 180 degrees. Seriously, you've got to meet this kid. I know she was sent to us, especially, to remind us to smile, even when we may not feel it. You can't not smile when she is around.

2010 brought me a new love as well - my passion for photography. Who can believe that after all of these years of being that annoying friend with the camera in your face and the one who made her college buddies sit down and go through every.single. photo album, one day I'd be on the verge of taking photos for a living?!

When I left the US, nearly eight years ago, I remember writing in my journal about how excited I was to see how I'd fill up the rest of the pages - what adventures lay before me, what new people would impact my life, and where I'd end up. I couldn't even fathom the idea that I'd be writing from a small house in Valencia eight years later with a husband and two daughters. I had no idea I'd be about to start up a photography business.

Life sure floors me now and then... well, actually, it floors me every time I stop and think about it.   I'm writing this from one of the deepest, darkest, lowest points in my life so far, and yet I'm filled with so much hope. I know that there are a lot of us out there at this very moment who are suffering in some way. I do believe, though, that it is our faith and our hope that get us through the rough patches, and it is with our actions and our pure desire to want something better that we can change the parts we don't like, even if that means looking at things in a different light. I have absolutely no idea what this next year will be like, but I do believe, my friends, that it will floor us.

It will bring us to our knees.

It will be the best year yet.

I  believe it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Love,

Sarah

Tip of the Week: Window Light

It seems fitting to talk about window light, since that's what I'm learning about (plus I couldn't think of a tip to share and Erin asked if I'd share on window light so I said, "BINGO!").

The cool thing about window light is that you can get so many different effects, by just turning your subject, plus, you don't have to wait all day long for perfect light.

Sweet little Cam Man. I love this kid. I love how these impromptu window lit photos came out too.

Here are some things that I've learned since I started learning about photography (remember, I'm no pro, I'm just a girl who would like to be someday. ; ))

1. When you see light shinning in through a window - the bright sunlight - that is NOT the light you want. You want soft, indirect light. Think of the kind of light many indoor plants like.  Most people say that a north-facing window is the bomb. I just say, "It's preferable" because, c'mon, you know I don't talk like that (I use much cooler vocabulary, like "BINGO!").

An exception to direct window light would be evening window light when you want to play with sunflare.

2. Look at the room you're shooting in. If you're in a room with a lot of windows and white walls, COOL! I'd love to come shoot at your house. You might not get a lot of contrast, but you'll get some amazing shots. If you shoot in a room with only one window, you'll get some very dramatic images which will also be stunning.

This was shot upstairs in our sunny attic. It has windows on both sides, so she's all lit up. Her face it still a tad dark, though, but you get the idea.

This was shot in our living room which only has one large window.

3. Move. You move. Try taking the shot from different angles. Then tell your subject to move (if they'll oblige. I don't typically have that luxury, so I move... or I bribe, then shoot quickly).  Try some with your subject facing the window for a really nice even effect, and also try some like I have been working on where your subject sits in front of the window, but at a slight angle. 

This is the one I submitted for our first assignment. The teacher said "great job", so I guess I did all right!

4. Pay attention to the light. Where is it falling? Where are the shadows? You typically want at least a portion of the face lit up with some shadow. Try not to get the entire face in the shadow. I did this waaaay too many times to count while I was doing my practice shots.

Julietta! Where did your face go?! Yeah, I know you can see it, but it's so dark, you see?  Get it?

5. Don't over-expose your subject. You want light parts, but not completely WHITE parts. If you can only see white, it's overexposed (if you have a DSLR you can check to see if you've blown anything out after each shot). Other parts of the picture can be over-exposed, but not your subject.

I love this shot so much, but I did over expose Julietta's face a bit and Bella's hair. Shucks!

If you want to learn more,  "Available Light" by Don Marr is a really great, informative read. Or you can always take Detra's Creative Light workshop (and no, I don't get a kick back for mentioning her. I just really love it so far!)

I hope this helps a bit. Make sure to leave me a comment if you have any questions, or you can always leave me a comment just because it makes me smile. : )

Drama Queen

Our first assignment in Detra's Creative Light workshop is to take a picture using dramatic light (ha! I feel so official. My first "assignment"). The subject needs to be in front of a light source, so you blow out the background and have some dramatic shadows on your subject. Sounds easy enough, right? Yeah, I thought so too until I started taking pictures. I took around 300 photos yesterday!! (So before you go telling me how great they are, remember · I took 300 photos to get them!!) I like a large percentage of the ones I took yesterday (thank god!), but I'd get a big fat F for the assignment because the majority didn't follow the guidelines at all. First of all, Julietta is not the most accommodating of subjects. She never does what I tell her to do!!

I expressly told her not to use this face, but do you think she listens to me?  Ok, her face cracks me up, but it doesn't work with what I'm trying to accomplish here.She just doesn't understand that I have a vision. ; )

I ended up bribing Bella with two juice pops so she'd sit still in front of the window. I also had to put on the movie Monster's Inc. Jeez! The things I'll do to get a shot!

Anyway, here are some of my practice shots. Do you see one that sticks out that you think I should turn in? We have until next Friday, so I thought I'd keep practicing.

After all of the bribes were exhuasted, I settled for just taking some random shots of my girls while they played (and cried) and got excited to see the Yayos when they came.

I've never seen a kid shed such a large quantity of tears every time she cries. Look how big those tears are!

The Yayos had just pulled up.

This probably would have been better if I'd had more room to back up, but I really like how it shows the contrast between youth and age.

Today I got Alex in on the action. I also have to do a sidelight shot for a bonus. He was not feeling well, but he humored me for a few minutes.

Wow! That was  a long post. But it was aimed at your viewing pleasure. Less words, more photos. That's how it should be. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Back in the day, I dreamt of being a writer. I've always loved storytelling. The problem, however, is that I can never think of the right words, which can slightly hinder the writing process. I like to think that finding photography is my outlet to share stories; to see the things other people overlook. Maybe I was always meant to be a story teller, just not with words. I sure hope so. I hope I hope I hope...

A Case of the Monday Blahs. Wait, it's Tuesday...

I'm feeling very uninspired. Blah! What do I have to share with you guys? Hmmm... You'd think I wouldn't shut up since I'm home alone most of the day with two babies under three, but not today. Today feels like a Monday, like I've got leftover Brain Mush from all the crazy partying I was up to last weekend.

Ok, you got me. I joke. We did go to Canet, though, this past weekend. Canet is off da hook! It's a small beach town outside of Valencia near Sagunto where my in-laws own a cute little apartment. (Yes, you heard me right. My In Laws. What about it? You don't think they know how to party? Ohhhh, we par-tay.) Anyway, lately we have been making quite the tradition of spending Sundays at the apartment.  We usually go, have lunch (Paella or Arroz al Horno. mmm!) play in the pool, and then go on a walk. This time Bella and Julietta both got in the pool. They are hardcore water babies. I think they'd spend most of the day in the water if they never got cold.

These aren't the best shots. It was still pretty sunny.

I'm telling you, she goes stiff every time her sister tries to hug her. Smart kid.

Later we took a walk to the nearby garden/park so Bella could play some more (i.e. so I could take pictures). I swear, it must be so annoying to have to be around me all the time. I drag everyone out at sunset, and spend the next hour and a half in my own little world, trying to get as many good shots as I can before there's no more light. It's actually a bit of a work out (and thank god for that, because I'm not the gym type).

Bella and Yayo

At my defense though, I don't have a car, and we live outside of the city, so trying to get anywhere at sunset and then back home using public transportation before dinner is... well, it's idiotic is what it is, and plain out stressful. I have to make the most of Alex's day off if I ever want to get that dreamy light.

At this point, I monopolized Julietta because Bella just doesn't stop moving.

But I don't think she was very happy about it...

I get a lot of pictures of Bella from the back.

And that's that. It was a nice, chill, Sunday afternoon. We spent time together, the kids played, Alex relaxed, I got to take pictures, and we partied it up (ok, you know that didn't happen, but I still like to imagine). Happy times.

In order to get this shot, I had to act like a turkey on crack, making silly gobble noises and flapping my arms.

Tip of the Week: Sparkly Eyes

Oops! Last week I said that I would post a new tip every Thursday or Friday, and here it is Saturday, and no tip. Can you ever forgive me? To make up for it, I'm going to share a real quick and easy one today that you can do with a point and shoot or a DSLR. It's all about the eyes.

Big, beautiful, sparkly eyes

Before I had learned anything about photography, I remember telling Alex, "I really love those pictures that you can see sparkles in their eyes." Now, I love sparkly stuff to begin with (I have been both a sparkler and a "sparkle monster" for Halloween just to give me an excuse to wear lots of glitter), but I was really on to something when I mentioned this. Do you know the sparkly eyes I'm talking about? Black and white images of babies come to mind when I think of them. All you really see are these big beautiful baby eyes.  Anyway, little did I know that you really REALLY want those lights in their eyes! They are called "catch lights" and it makes your subject seem alive and vibrant, of course, even more stunning.

No Catch Lights (or very minimal catch lights):

So, how do you get these so called "catch lights"? You turn your subject towards the light source. Easy as pie! If you're not sure where you'll get the best catch lights, take your subject and just turn him/her until you see those eyes light up like magic! It really is something spectacular, and so easy to do.

 Fairly Awesome Catch Lights:

And this one I don't love, but her catch lights are sparkly. Sometimes you can even see the photographer's reflection in the subject's eyes. I think that's pretty cool.

So there you have, your fabulous photographic tip of the week. May you have beautiful weather this weekend, and plenty of opportunities to use your camera!

Tip of the Week - Photographing Children

When my photography obsession really started, about five months ago, I stopped watching tv. I put away my knitting needles, covered up my sewing machine and let my novels sit, unread, on the shelf (wow, don't I sound like a thrill ride!). I'm definitely not known for my balance in life. I'm the kind of person who throws herself in, head first, with everything she has, and that becomes her everything (of course the people in my life come first, but everything else - "climb into the back seat!"). I'm not saying this is a good thing, but it's what I do. So, instead, I spend my free moments searching the web for every piece of information I can find about photography, and learning how to process my photos, and then I look for inspiration. That's my favorite part of photography - looking at pictures.

Anyway, I do have a point to all of this.  Since I've put in all the time figuring this stuff out, I thought you might like me to share what I'm learning with you. I've decided I will do a Tip of The Week.  It will most likely be on Thursday or Friday when I post this spectacular piece of information. Remember, I'm just learning this stuff myself, so I'm not an expert on the subject, but I like sharing, and I especially love sharing with you, my loyal nine readers (I'm up four more! Yippy!)

So here we go...
Today's tip is for those of you with children... or pets, I suppose.. or really short hyper-active friends...

Tip #1 GET DOWN!
The first thing to remember when taking pictures of children is to get down to their level. You will see this advice time and time again. It's everywhere, so try it, because it will make a big difference! When you shoot from above, you get everything from an adult's perspective, missing the point of the photo. You want to capture childhood, which means you need to show it from their eyes. Also, when you shoot from above,  you usually end up getting the ground as background which is often pretty boring.

Shot taken from above.

Although it's not the best shot of Juji, it's much better than the previous one.

Tip #2 Keep them Busy
The other thing to keep in mind is that children move FAST! I think the best thing to do is to find them an activity that holds their attention (that just happens to be in a place with perfect light and a simple background), and then take shots from all different angles.

Tip #3 Be Silly
When you want them to look at the camera forget about saying "look" or calling their name. That might work at the beginning, but kids catch on very very fast. Instead, say something ridiculous. I read someplace that a one photographer used to say, "oh no! I think a bird just pooped on my head!". I tried it and Bella looked at me with an expression of wonder and disbelief. It worked like a charm!  Yesterday I said something like, "OH! Is it raining watermelons?".

Looking for watermelons.

And then she looked at me (Silly Mommy!), and I was ready!

So there you have it. Go forth and photograph!   Oh, and don't worry. I have a blanket about to be cast on the needles very very soon.