No more worries . . . a new toy to save the day!

Even though I trust myself, I don't trust technology, so that means I'm taking extreme risks when shooting weddings because what if my D200 stopped working suddenly on me? What do I do? While I have worried about it in the past, I've never dwelt on it. I didn't have the money to buy another one and I guess I just had that much faith (and mostly hope) in my equipment. But I know I can't do that forever and I can't fathom the thought of risking my business and reputation. So, last night I broke down and ordered myself another digital camera.

Right now I use the Nikon D200. I love it. It's been amazing for me. I still have tons to learn about it, but I think I've figured out what I need to know for now. Just recently the D300 came out. Of course I'd like to have it, but that's not a habit I'm getting myself into. So many photographers constantly are buying the next bigger and (supposedly) better camera just because they feel the need for the next best thing (and to be able to say they own it). I don't get that because who really does care? Your client doesn't. They just want good pictures. I mean, I do crave the D300 (but one day soon it will probably be much cheaper) and I drool over the amazing D3 because I'll probably only ever dream of owning one. But it seems we always want what is better, don't we, no matter what it is? I'm a sucker to the phenomenon. It definitely holds true in the photography world as well.

I almost bought another D200, but I didn't. I bought a cute little D80. Still not cheap, but I only need the body. And from reviews I have read, it's a good choice for a back up. (Reviews are always a great way to make technology decisions.) Ideally another D200 is best because it will shoot pictures exactly the same, but, hey, any additional camera at all is a good thing in my book. Good thing about having all my camera backs the same make (Nikon) is that I can then interchange the lenses.

Why am I so proud of buying the D80? Because it's not the D200 or D300 which I honestly don't need. I tend to end up buying things I don't really need. I'm trying to get out of that habit. I'm finding out when it just sits and sits and sits and doesn't get used, it probably was not a purchase I ever needed. Not that I think I will feel this way with the D80. It's just a general habit I want to get out of.

Anyhoo, back to my purchases. Yes, I said "purchases". I also bought 2 lenses. One thing I've learned over the years is that lenses come in all shapes and sizes and all price ranges. I didn't realize that some "glass" is better than others, and that the numbers on the side of the lens really do mean something. For a long while I just shot pictures with the lenses that came with my cameras. If I purchased any additionally, they were always the cheapest new lenses I could find. I just didn't get why one lens that looked exactly like another could cost $1000 more. I now know why and I'll get to that in another post --- promise!

So I purchased a couple new prime lenses. One for shooting wide angle shots (I wanted one for group photos or outdoor wide shots) and one with a good zoom with a good appeture rating. I didn't have a really "good" one yet. At least not one that I was happy with. I also purchased the SB-800 flash. I already had the SB-600 so I am going to give the SB-600 to the D80 and now my D200 will have a new friend, the SB-800. I'm so excited for my D200. She's been asking me for the SB-800 for a while now. (*giggle*)

So why am I even telling you about my purchases? Well, for one, it's just exciting! It's fun for anyone I think, to get a new camera! Even though it's still a Nikon, it's going to be different and it's going to take some getting use to. But who doesn't like new?! I'm also excited because I haven't made a big equipment purchase in some time, so I feel like it's "time" to upgrade again. I'm also really excited because it's one less thing to worry about. I now have a back-up. Phew. That's the most exciting thing of all.

For you, this is also exciting. After helping Alexis in deciding what to purchase when she bought her DSLR for her big trip to Thailand, it made me realize that maybe I know what I'm talking about and that perhaps the information (which she said was invaluable to her) could be invaluable to someone else as well? So this weekend I will tell you what you need when purchasing a new camera. At least what I think you need. When you dive into it all head first it's extremely overwhelming. I want to help make that easier for you. Maybe I can save your day and help make the process easier? If not, I'll just be more confusing, but it'll still be worth the read :c)

Digital Photography 101

A great way to begin this course is to cover cameras themselves. And you might ask, "what is the best DSLR camera to choose?"

My (personal, of course) simple answer is: Nikon or Canon.

Some people will tell you Canon is better, others will say Nikon. This is an on-going battle in the photography world. Pro photogs go back and forth about this all the time, and no one has a perfect answer. If one really was better than the other, then they wouldn't be as big as each of them are, or they wouldn't be in business at all. It all really comes down to which one you pick up first at the store and which one you feel a connection with.

I've heard and read reviews from top photographers that a lot are married to their point and shoot Canon but prefer the Nikon DSLR. It's funny how one brand can differ camera to camera. So ultimately, it's up to you whether you go Canon or Nikon. It's really just a battle that no photographer will ever win.

All the top photographers use, basically, one or the other. The VERY best camera (again, in my opinion) is a Hasselblad but, I personally could never afford one. The very very very best camera that photographers use in the commercial industry are the Phase One cameras and backs. Pricing is anywhere from $15,000 to $32,000 or more. See why I'm not getting one of these but drool over the thought of owning one? I held one in my hands a couple years ago. It's a remarkable piece of equipment.

My advice: Stick with Canon or Nikon.

As to which brand, that is up to you. If you plan to have pictures printed larger than 11x14's, I would recommend a 10 MP camera. I have heard that a Canon Rebel XTi body is a good one to begin with as well as the Nikon D40x. Both are great professional-grade starter cameras!

It's no secret that I use Nikon. I have photographer friends who use one or the other and I made my decision at the time on price. Nikon's tend to be a tiny bit more affordable. I also read reviews and they were outstanding. I ended up with a Nikon D200. I don't own a back-up camera, and I admit, it is SUPER risky. So right now at this very moment I'm contemplating which back-up camera to get. I can't take anymore chances. I'm in between a D60 or a D80. I've heard the D80's are perfect for back-up use. However, the D60 just came out and it looks pretty dandy, too. Any advice for me?? What do you use?

There you have it. Day 1 of Digital Photography 101. There's tons more to come!

Welcome to my office space.

My office is a big part of me and my home. Since I work from home, my children have even grown very accustomed to it. They even know now (finally!) when I am working in there, that I'm "at work", which is nice. And even though they still can come in anytime, it's my only real special place in my entire house that I can call my own. I actually feel invited to go in there, especially now. And so I thought I would invite you in to it also!

Just a couple weeks my husband got done painting my office. I've been having a lot of back troubles lately, so I for the first time ever, I didn't paint a room in my house. (I direly LOVE to paint walls!) Sweet darling hubby did all the painting and he worked on it each night after the kids went to bed. (He's so good.) It went from bland icky probably-never-actually-painted stark dirty white to a crisp oh-so-warm and fresh coat of RED. I love red if you didn't already figure that out. :c)

You also may or may not have figured out that I am a photographer and I work out of my home. I've been working out of my home for over 5 years now. It definitely beats my last (very odd) job as a professional taste tester. While I actually LOVED doing taste testing and found that job exciting because there are not many people in this world that can do that it -- taste anything and EVERYTHING no matter what it is and be able to pinpoint on my palette what attributes the food has on a scale and then spit it out (yes, spit it out in front of people!) -- I still would much rather shoot pictures. It's definitely more rewarding and tad bit more fun :c)

I chose to work from my home because of my kids. When I started my job, I didn't have kids, but I was praying that I would. We had lots of troubles conceiving, but I still felt like God would not have put me in that position if He wasn't going to give me a child. And shortly after that He did. And it's worked out beautifully. Of course there are many a days when I wish I worked outside the house, but most days I'm very happy and content where I am.

I mainly shoot weddings, which is I have all those Martha Stewart Weddings, but I've found myself shooting tons of babies and kids lately, and I'm having troubles deciding which I like shooting better. I'm afraid in the long run, those small cuties will win out, but we'll see. I'm putting stricter requirements on the weddings I shoot which makes it easier for me and much more fun. Who would have thought I would be able to pick my weddings? It's definitely a blessing.


So here it is . . . pieces of my office. It's definitely nothing fancy, but it totally works for me, and in between my actual photography needs are pieces of me. I love having things around me that make me happy. Everything is right there and I actually, for the first time ever (!), feel organized. I could tell you where everything is. It all has it's place, and that's something I didn't have until we moved to this home 8 months ago. Thanks to IKEA, Pottery Barn and reading my Real Simple magazines, I'm turning into an organized Val that I never knew existed. Some of my friends like Chel, Leann, Alexis, Natalie, Kristin, Heather . . . FINE, all my friends . . . will all be amazed by this because it's these people who are already organized or never thought it was possible for me to be!

These Expedit bookcases from IKEA have been a Godsend. I love them. We even have two in our family room. I'd like to have more but I'm not sure where we'd put them. I know how I am when I look at other people's pictures . . . I study them and try to figure out what everything is. So I just went ahead and listed it all for you so you don't have to strain your eyes. (But if you are straining, I suggest clicking on the picture and making it larger.)

Then there is my closet which Neil and I converted into more storage with shelves. It's worked out remarkably well. Back in the back of it where you can't see, I store old client files and negatives, personal photos, and all my big equipment (lights, light stands, reflectors, backdrop stands, light boxes, etc.). So I can hide all the not-so-pretty things out of sight and that's nice because it's all still in one room and not all throughout the house like it use to be at our old home.



And then there is my bulletin board which kind of speaks for itself.


And finally, my daily work space. One of the places I post my entries to Purple Valley from and *the* place I do all my photo editing from. Notice the 3 external hard drives. You can't have enough hard drive storage, which is something I have talked about in the past among some of my digital photography posts. (Speaking of, I hope to post another really useful and valuable post on choosing the right camera --- tune in later this week!!)


Grandma Libby, one of my biggest role models, would be so so so proud of me, I just know it.

There you have it, my work space. Sorry I rambled so much, but if you plan to visit me more, that's one thing I tend to do ;c) But for some reason people just keep comin' back. And I appreciate it. :c)

How to be a professional photographer . . . just like Barbie

First of all, you must look like you're going out on the town. Highlight your hair, pull it back, wear a cute short skirt, tight shirt, and make sure you have worked your buns off to have the best toned body you've ever had and a waist the size of a Dolly Parton (well, or Barbie . . . hehe).

Also, make sure you wear your highest, most uncomfortable heels.

Set up your subject; in this case, triplets. (You know, Barbie can take on anything and everyone, especially when she looks pretty!)

Make sure your camera is at a perfect distance away so that your images will be full-frame.

Tripod needs to be at a good height so not to strain arms or legs. It's okay for the subjects to be uncomfortable, but not the photographer, and especially not Barbie.

It's very important that your camera is centered on your subject(s).

Put the headpiece back on the baby who just threw it off.

Walk to camera.

Photographer (especially Barbie) must stretch arms so not to tire them.

Barbie's subjects should look their best, but Barbie's looks must be up to perfection before any shooting can begin.

Start shooting! If you followed these steps, you should have beautiful pictures, but if not, at least you looked good shooting them. That is ultimately what matters most.



:c)
The End.

12 essential photography rules.

Suddenly I am all about helping you guys, my friends (and my lurkers, I suppose I'll help you, too), take better photos, store photos better, etc. Here are tips, which I didn't make up, but which I found very helpful, which may help you also. If you have a DSLR with manual settings, these should really be helpful. Some may be way over your head, some may not, but if you find just one useful, it will make me happy.

I'm all about making people happy with a photograph I take. Why not help make you happy with the results of the photos you take. Ultimately you will take 95% of the photos you own, so why not improve so you'll have perfection to pass on to your kids and their kids. But wait, before you can pass them on, you have to save them, and even more important, PRINT THEM. Again, another post which will come later . . .

The tips, all borrowed from Pop Photo (and all great in my opinion!):

12 essential facts, formulas, and photographic rules

What happens when your systems go belly-up, when all of that cutting-edge technology dies and you must rely on (gasp!) your own knowledge? It pays to have these basics in your head. They can get you out of a jam and help you get good shots when nothing else will.

1. Sunny 16 rule -- The basic exposure for an average scene taken on a bright, sunny day is f/16 at a shutter speed equivalent to one over the ISO setting—that is, f/16 at 1/100 sec at ISO 100. From this you can interpolate, and try f/22 at the beach, f/11 on a cloudy-bright day, etc.

2. Moony 11, 8, and 5.6 rules -- There are many different rules that work well when shooting the moon. One favorite for a proper exposure of a full moon is f/11 at one over the ISO setting. For pictures of a half moon, use the same shutter speed at f/8, and for a quarter moon, use the same shutter speed at f/5.6.

3. Camera shake rule -- The slowest shutter speed at which you can safely handhold a camera is one over the focal length of the lens in use. As shutter speeds get slower, camera shake is likely to result in an increasing loss of sharpness. So, if you're using a 50mm lens, shoot at 1/60 sec or faster. Not enough light? Use a flash, tripod, or brace your camera against a solid object. (Val's comment: I've had great results from 1/30 even. I learned in school to never shoot at under 1/30 without a tri-pod or flash.)

4. Anatomical gray card -- Metering off an 18-percent neutral gray card is a good way to get a midtone reading that will give you a good overall exposure of a scene. Forgot your gray card? Hold your open hand up so it's facing the light, take a reading off your palm, open up one stop, and shoot. (Various skin tones rarely account for even a full-stop difference.)

5. Depth of field rules -- When focusing on a deep subject, focus on a point about a third of the way into the picture to maximize depth of field, because the depth-of-field zone behind that point is about twice as deep as the depth-of-field zone in front of it. This works for all apertures and focal lengths, but the smaller the aperture and the shorter the focal length, and the greater the distance you shoot at, the greater the depth of field.

6. Largest digital print rule -- To calculate in inches the largest photo-quality print you can make with a digital camera, divide the vertical and horizontal pixel counts (see your manual) by 200. For critical applications, or if you want exhibition-quality prints, divide the pixel counts by 250. (Val's comment: this is a really insightful point!)

7. Exposure rules -- The classic advice is, "Expose for the highlights, and let the shadows take care of themselves." This works with slide film and digital. But with negative film, especially color negative, you're better off overexposing by one stop.

8. Quick flash-fill rule -- When using an automatic flash unit that doesn't provide auto flash-fill ratios, set the flash's ISO dial to twice the ISO you're using. Meter the scene, select an f-stop, set the autoflash aperture to the same f-stop, and shoot. The resulting 2:1 flash-fill ratio will produce filled shadows one stop darker than the main subject.

9. Flash range rule -- Want to know how much extra flash range you get by going to a faster ISO? The rule is, "Double the distance, four times the speed." For example: If your flash is good to 20 feet at ISO 100 (film or digital), it will be good to 40 feet at ISO 400.

10. Megapixel multiplier rule -- To double the resolution in a digital camera, you must increase the number of megapixels by a factor of four—not two. Why? The number of pixels in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions must be doubled to double the pixel density across the image sensor.

11. Action-stopping rules -- To stop action moving across the frame that's perpendicular to the lens axis, you need shutter speeds two stops faster than action moving toward or away from you. For action moving at a 45-degree angle to the lens axis, you can use a shutter speed one stop slower. For example: If a person running toward you at moderate speed can be stopped at 1/125 sec, you'll need a shutter speed of 1/500 sec to stop the subject moving across the frame, and a shutter speed of 1/250 sec to stop him if moving obliquely with respect to the camera. (Val's advice: Just have it set at 1/250 or over with action shots and you should almost always capture the action in freeze-frame.)

12. Sunset rule -- To get a properly exposed sunset, meter the area directly above the sun (without including the sun). If you want the scene to look like it's a half-hour later, stop down by one f-stop, or set exposure compensation to minus one.

Happy day to you! Now go and shoot some great photos then bring them back and show me! :c)