photography on the brain

There is a lot going on over here.  All good things though.  Things keeping me busy.  Things that are finally coming together + falling into place.  Things that get me excited!

  • working on the blog

  • designing my photography website [more to come soon]

  • booking photo sessions, which start this week!

  • working on a few freelance design jobs

  • working a few days a week for Love Grown Foods


While I have a list of recipes that need to be tested, photographed + eaten, there is a lot more than food on the brain.  So I figure, I might as well talk about those things here.  This blog is ever changing and adapting, and I thank you for sticking with me as it continues to do so.

Right now, all things photography are swirling around in my brain, completely overwhelming me.

I’m fairly new to photography.  Really new, actually.  Almost exactly two years ago, I hijacked Chris’s dSLR camera after our move to Colorado.  I figured cooking, blogging, + learning how to use a real-deal camera would occupy my time, while we job searched.  And boy did it ever.  Learning how to use a dSLR camera on your own, is no joke, but I loved every minute of it.

Shall we look back at one of my first photos?  Let’s!

_MG_4933

Okay, one more.

_MG_4967

Anyway, after about 10 months, I finally decided to flip the camera into manual mode and really learn how to use the camera.  Not just guess how to use it.  Aperture?  Shutter speed?  I knew I shouldn’t set them below a certain number, but I didn’t know why.

Manual mode and learning foreign-to-me words, hurt my brain.

Take for instance, the explanation for aperture[taken from a tutorial I wrote for an informal photography session at the Foodbuzz festival last November]
Measured in f-stops, aperture controls the size of the opening in your lens.  The size of the opening controls the amount of light that passes through the lens, to the image sensor.

The larger the aperture –> the smaller the f-stop # –> the narrower the depth of field = shallow depth of field

The smaller the aperture –> the larger the f-stop # –> the larger the depth of field = large depth of field

Say what?  Up is down, down is up?  Yeah….that took awhile.

Flash forward 1.5yrs and all of those definitions are second nature, but it’s not over just yet.

Lighting.

A whole new can of worms.

Photography is an art.

And lighting is as well.  Natural light and artificial.

What I’ve researched so far, about artificial light, I don’t really understand.  However, I’m hopeful that if I keep reading + plunking away, it will start to make sense.  I want a light setup that I can grow into.  Not something so basic, that I grow out of it in 6 months and want the next best thing.  Starting a photography business is an investment.  It can take a decent amount of time to actually make money, because equipment is anything but cheap.  Right now, when I book a session, it means I’m THAT much closer to being able to afford my next piece of equipment.

It will come.  All in good time.

I’m currently contemplating the following:

Canon 580ex – Who would have ever guessed a flash could cost $450??

Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras

Calumet Genesis 200 2-Light Kit 

Canon 50mm f1.4

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

Canon 35mm f2.0



Canon 7d

Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD

I don’t even want to add up the total cost of those items.  All I know is, that’s a lot of sessions to book!

For now, I’ll be sticking with my trusty Rebel XTi.

And I have Chris to thank for that.

So, thank you husband, for buying this camera. Even after all of my “youwanttospendhowmuchonacamerea???” badgering.  I appreciate your persistence in telling me it was a good investment.

Never did I think the day would come, where I would actually pick it up and try to use it.

Boy how things can change!

Off to dream about pretty black cameras + accessories…

Ashley

If you’re looking for some of the tutorials I wrote last year, check my Photography tab at the top of the blog.  I hope to continue with those at some point soon!