Enchanting the Lens

Nikon D800 ISO200 65mm F 10

In preparing what I was going to tell you about these images, I didn't really want to bore you with the technical details. However, what I wanted to do was show you a few images from a recent shoot with a naturally gorgeous young woman named Morgan. She is an aspiring hair & makeup artist who truly enchanted my lens. She took direction with grace and her relaxed approach to the task at hand lent so beautifully to the end result.

When I shoot a session that yields photographs like this, they reach deep down inside of me at awaken the truest parts of my artist-self. This is why I do what I do. This is why I photograph women. Everyone possesses beauty just like this. Natural, honest, inarguable. I hope that I get the chance to show more and more women - young and old, slim or not - that their beauty is uniquely perfect and something I would be honored to celebrate with them.

Nikon D800 ISO200 70mm F2.8

KTY | Day 14

I am really good at taking things on. I have a very large plate and it is always very, very full. I am a chronic project starter and LOVE to get new ideas rolling into real plans/campaigns/projects. I also have a hard time pacing myself and saying "NO" to a project when I don't truly have the time to commit to it and to execute it to the best of my ability. I always think, "I'll make it work" or "It won't be THAT time consuming". Famous last words, right?

In this edition of my KTY work, I'm puttering away on the materials offered by Time Management Ninja +Craig Jarrow

In this exercise, I'll be honest about what I need to ditch in my list of commitments. Here we go!
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 There are very few things on my project list that I want to or can afford to ditch. I think I have one monthly commitment that will not be renewed when the time comes. I volunteer a lot. I mean A LOT. I have sat on a handful of boards for years on end. A board of directors is not paid and it is often a thankless job. Non profit organizations cannot run without them but it's not always the most self-loving way to spend my time. In my early board-member years, it was about self worth and volunteerism visibility. It was validation. Now, it's a timesuck. And one I can afford to let go of. Once the AGM rolls around, I'll decline to let my name stand as a director. Plain & simple.

My hobbies are few but I can definitely commit to two things. Not to add on any new ones and to not spend any money on hobby-related materials until I use up what I have. Thankfully, that's not much and I want to keep it that way.

In order to commit to this I had to do two things - I had to say it out loud to my husband who is the one person I can be totally truthful without filtering anything ever. The second thing was to get real with myself about retail therapy and how ridiculous a notion that is. I will stop spending money needlessly on things I do not need. No more purchases to improve my mood. That's silly. Spend time doing things I love, now there's some REAL therapy.

What's in the Bag - Volume 6

The Nikkor 10-24mm 3.5-4.5 lens

This lens does NOT get a lot of play. It's a wide angle lens that is just a bit too bendy for portraits. Well, for close ups, anyway. I have used it when I want to tell the story of the location but being a wide angle lens, it distorts headshot style portraits in a weird and awkward way that I don't care for. Plus, the bulk of my shooting is done in the studio and this is not a great lens for that kind of environment.

However, I do live in a spectacular location – Whitehorse Yukon – where the landscape is unforgettably beautiful and immensely photograph-able. There are numerous landscape photographers in my area who can attest to that! So for outdoor shoots like family or kids portraits, it is a fun one to use now and then to create a sense of scale and to celebrate the environment. I normally only shoot on location at our family farm – Sourdough Sodbusters- which is my favorite outdoor location because I know the layout so well as well as the path of the sunlight & shadows. Not to mention that I have a number of sets laid out in various spots on the property to create a variety of photos for my clients.

All in all, this is a great lens to have if you're a portrait shooter who wants to be able to grab a bunch of the environment in some of the shots. It's essential as a landscape photographer.

Do you have this lens? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

Enchanting the Lens

Do you ever meet someone and know immediately that they are exceptional? That they are young but still accomplishing great things? That happened to me earlier this year when these two beautiful sisters came into my studio. In 2012, Whitehorse hosted the Arctic Winter Games. When the events had concluded, I offered the gold medal athletes the opportunity to be photographed as my thanks to them for working hard and making Whitehorse proud.

Nikon D800 ISO100 48mm f8 1/160sec

Both of these girls are gold medal athletes! They are lovely, soft spoken and very friendly girls who clearly can perform under pressure whether in competition or in front of the camera. They are honestly as sweet as they seem in these photos. Their mama, who is one of the most incredible, funny women I know is obviously very proud of her girls and I hope she pats herself on the back for a job well done every single day. Blessed all around.

These portraits were done in the studio with my 86" PLM and an Alien Bees B800 strobe. This is easily my favorite studio lighting setup because of the soft wraparound effect of the large umbrella. It makes everybody look gorgeous!

Nikon D800 ISO100 60mm F11 1/160sec

Nikon D800 ISO100 70mm F11 1/60 

What's in the Bag - Volume 5

 

Allow me to introduce you to my new love. My 24-70mm 2.8 lens is my new favorite sweetheart lens. It is such a useful lens for portraits and particularly rocks in a close-up, full frame head-shot style portrait. It captures rich, stunning color and has been an absolute treat to add to my kit. This lens is absolutely an investment (around a thousand dollars) but is worth its weight in gold.

To be honest, I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this lens so I haven't yet found anything I don't love about it. The only challenge I've had so far is that (after forgetting to order a UV filter when I bought the lens) I am still filter-less and the local camera shop which is closing, so that stresses me out when I'm shooting. Need to remedy this ASAP!

• sidenote : I use a UV filter on every single lens I own. Especially because I hate lenscaps so the filter protects the glass of the lens. That's it.

Now, I ought to tell you that this is one of two lenses in my bag that is not a Nikkor lens. I actually bought a Sigma. I decided to do this knowing that this lens was going to spend most of its life in the studio and not being used & abused outside in the elements thus rendering the Nikkor casing overkill. Plus it saved me about a thousand bucks.

Do you have this lens? How do you use it and what do you love or hate about it?

Beauty Boutique Babes

At a recent event held at our local Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique, I had the privilege of photographing the amazing team who I see and work with regularly. These girls are exceptional with their customer service, product knowledge and makeup application. If you're lipstick challenged (like me and only wear nude gloss) or have a mascara crisis, they can HOOK YOU UP! Here they are::

Amberley - Manager

Teri

Emily

Kiko

Natasha

Olga

KTY | Day 13

I think it's entirely possible that I've bitten off more than I can chew with my attempts to blog regularly but I also know that I have a nasty habit of making things much harder than they need to be.

I make up these silly rules and goals that are often both arbitrary and unrealistic. They are generally designed by my inner-critic who thrives on pointing out my shortcomings and failures. Missing blogging for a few weeks has been fodder for endless  negative self-talk. Enough of THAT!

In an effort to streamline my huge list of projects & tasks (some are loved more than others and some are just designed to be important task avoiders) I am having another kick at the can. But nonetheless, I do enjoy writing about my photography business, about personal development, art, crafts, my crazy-ass family and everything in between. So let's get on with the show.
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TMN - Day 12 | +Craig Jarrow

What did I stretch today? This is an EASY answer. Not only did I totally rock our homeschool plan for the day with boy-wonder, I also managed to schedule blog posts. Blogging & me is a very on-again/off-again thing. I love the idea of it, get stuck with the tedium in the content generation. But recent exercises relating to getting super clear, being super real and forgiving myself when something goes sideways (like not blogging for a month) I just get up, dust myself off, smooch my injured self-esteem and get right back at it. I know that with a higher level of commitment and a deeper clarity with my content, I'll be eager to write & share. That's the goal.

What I learned about myself and my inner strength is that I have an infinite amount of patience when called upon to do so. I am immensely invested in my kids' education and am the perfect teacher for boy-wonder (who needs patience, a willingness to listen and a wicked sense of humor). I learned that he is grateful and will excel in that environment. Parenting WIN!

The self-imposed limits that I still need to challenge pertain to my business. I have money blocks that come up regularly. I am well on my way to reaching a good place with my relationship to money and am eager to get there. I am looking forward to living a life that is closer to my dream rather than the one that is full of limiting beliefs.