Have a fancy digital camera but no idea how to use it? If you want to learn about "exposure" and other foreign camera lingo, curious about what the heck your camera’s dials and buttons do, trying to bust out of the limitations of the auto mode, or just desire more "pizazz" in your photos, this Crash Course is for you...
Read MoreEach time I am given the opportunity to photograph an event, I am reminded of the aspects of event photography that I love and that inspire my documentary family work. Whether it has been a youth retreat, baptism at church, leadership conference, fundraising event or wedding, the role of "event photographer" provides the perfect environment to gain experience as a skilled documentarian. Here are the top five ways event photography sharpens my documentary family work.
Read MoreI am a professional photographer, but—confession—sometimes I miss the shot. When people say to me, "Wow, you have a nice camera—you must take amazing pictures," or "Wow, you always take the best photos," I chuckle a little to myself. Let me explain...
Read MoreI recently started my second 365 photo project. Because I'm adding new photos nearly every day, organizing all of these is important. It would be a pity for all of these images to remain hidden in the digital bowels of my computer forever... I wanted to share a little about my workflow and a few things I do with these images as inspiration for anyone reading. PLUS, get a FREE Chatbook with my referral link inside!
Read MoreA couple weeks ago, I started my second 365 photo project—a photo a day for an entire year. After successfully completing my first year of intentional photo documentation of my own life, I am absolutely addicted and thrilled to be starting a second year's worth of photos. It was definitely the best decision I have ever made and I want to share three reasons why, in hopes that you (yes, YOU) will start one of your own.
Read MoreAs creative people—graphic designers, photographers, and appreciators of anything "artsy"—creativity is what makes me and Chad tick; it's our language. Today on the blog, I'm talking about creativity in church and collaboration of community that makes us come alive. Last week we gathered in Charlotte with a bunch of photographers to learn & grow from one another. These are the highlights.
Read MoreLast weekend, I had the honor of spending three days at Green Lake Conference Center for our church's annual Middle School Winter Retreat as their photographer.
With 10 different churches represented this year and nearly 200 students, this retreat is a very big deal—lots of planning goes into the whole event. But the coolest part is, it's so much more than just another "cool event". God receives SO much glory!
As the photographer for this event, I get to capture stills of all of the students and leaders during games, activities (indoor and outdoor in the snow), main sessions, team challenges in the gym, and more. Over the course of the weekend, I snapped over 1000 photographs and sorted & edited nearly 300 while I was there. They get uploaded to a site where the students can access them soon after they get home from the retreat.
Well, I finally finished editing through my second round of senior portraits. We got through the batches of proofs and finals and have a handful of portraits that I'm extremely happy with (and so is Nick, our studly feature)!
Read MoreLast week, I got the opportunity to do a photo shoot for a little 2-yr-old and a 3-month-old. Audrina and Landon were such cuties! I definitely enjoyed the fun, football concept in these images.
This was the first "little kids shoot" I've ever done. I was pretty happy with some of the individual shots I was able to capture of each of the kids. BUT, this shoot was quite a challenge!! I learned A LOT.
