MJ 2 Day Models.

Last week, Scott & I had the amazing opportunity to be the models for Melissa Jill's amazing MJ 2 Day Workshop here in Phoenix. Melissa is an incredibly talented photographer and it was such an honour and so much fun to be in front of her - and 15 other photographers - camera. More than that, Melissa is an amazing person with such a giving, kind, humble heart. She openly shares her vast photography and business knowledge through her workshop and blog with only the intention of building up other photographers and helping them succeed. I can't even begin to imagine the difference she has made in so many photographers lives.

It has been a joy to get to know Melissa on a personal level and I am so blessed to call her a friend. I am absolutely in love with the photos she took of Scott & I. She captured our love perfectly - she captured us.

Melissa, thank you from the bottom of my heart for these amazing photos - I cannot even begin to tell you how happy they make me. Even more, thank you for your friendship. I am truly blessed!

I had a hard time narrowing down my favourites....













Check out Melissa's posts from the workshop here.

Tips for Second Shooting: Part 3

This is the last and final post on my tips for second shooting! I won't drag it out any longer - promise ;) Get caught up on all the tips here.

Tip # 5

Keep Busy

On wedding days there is always, always, something you can be doing. There is nothing worse in my head than for a second shooter to be standing still not helping. I would hate for the main photographer to have to seek me out and ask me to go and find something to do! It is definitely easier said than done though and it takes understanding the flow of wedding days as well as taking initiative to find useful things to help with.

Here are a couple ways I have found help me to keep busy on wedding days. There are some situations, like formal family portraits, that do not require more than one photographer capturing the image. So, I put my camera down, and I keep busy by helping by gathering family, seeking out the missing Uncle Bob, prepping the groups for who is next, standing right next to the photographer and saying 'Everyone smile! Look right here! Only 2 more seconds! Doing great! You all look wonderful! Squeeze in!' - by doing all of those things I am helping the portraits go smoothly and quickly and to the guests I am still an active part of the process instead of creeping out silently in the background.

Another option, if the family portraits are being taken at the reception site, is for me to leave the group (after checking with the main photographer, of course! Communication!!) and go start capturing the details in the reception area before all the guests begin arriving. This can be applied to any part of the day when the photographer does not need you at their side and there is something else going on that you can capture instead. At cocktail hour you can capture candids of the guests, at the ceremony you can capture more details, during portraits you can grab a bridesmaid aside and snap a quick picture of her bouquet or hair piece or even grab a picture of the groomsmen holding their gift.



The most important thing is to keep busy - there is ALWAYS something to do at a wedding day! Take initiative and do not wait to be asked by the main photographer.

Tip #6

Don't Over Shoot.

Wait... Whaaat?! Isn't the second shooter there to provide more photos? Shouldn't they shoot everything and anything and a million of it to give the main photographer more options?!

NO.

The second shooter isn't there to capture the wedding day in its entirety. They are there to fill the gaps in the main shooters coverage to provide a fuller representation of the day. It can actually be more work for the main photographer if you hand over 3000+ images from the day. Including 200 shots of just the brides shoes - they might only want to add in 1 or 2 of the brides shoes and mostly likely they've already captured one that they really love SO they have to go through 200 images just to select 1 image they want to deliver to the client?! And then repeat with the remaining 2800 images? Way too much work!

Be selective and intentional with what you are capturing - make sure you are providing a variety of shots that are different without going overboard.



The details on this alter were amazing - I could have shot so many photos of just this! I had to restrain myself and not go crazy overshooting it!

I could probably keep going writing even more tips and little tricks that I've learned through second shooting; but, what they all boil down to is becoming the best possible asset to the main photographer on the wedding day that you can. Always seek to help the main photographer in whatever ways you can instead of hoping to grab the best shots and improve your own portfolio.

Hope that this was helpful. These are the tips that I have found improved my second shooting abilities - I truly love second shooting and have learned so much through it!

Tips for Second Shooting: Part 2

Following up on Monday's post with more tips I have picked up while second shooting! Get caught up on the first two tips here.


Tip #3

Communication is KEY.

I probably over communicate on wedding days BUT it is just so important especially when second shooting. I always make sure I know what the main shooter requires of me and wants me to capture - this helps me know that I am delivering exactly what the main shooter is expecting from me. For the ceremony, I like to talk for a couple minutes before it starts and plan out where each of us is going to shoot from and also what lens the main shooter wants me to use. It makes my job easier knowing exactly where I should be shooting from and also what type of shots I should be trying to capture. Throughout the day I am constantly asking: "What do you need me to do?" "How I can help?". I might get super annoying but at least I know that I am helping in ways that are actually helping the main shooter!

I second shot for Modern Pixel Photography so much this past year that Mike & I had a system worked out for lots of situations, including the ceremony, so we did not need to communicate quite as much after a few weddings. But, we still would have a quick chat before the ceremony to make sure we were on the same page or make changes if there was something unique about the ceremony.


Can you spot Mike? He's way over on the right side!


Tip #4

Capture Complimentary Images

The main shooter doesn't need a bunch of duplicate photos - the same angle & composition - from the second shooter so I try to always grab a slightly different angle or composition that will compliment the main shooters photo and add variety to the photos.

The easiest way to make that happen is by standing to the left or right of the main shooter and capture photos from there - just make sure to stay out of their shot!


Mike's angle:



My angle (after they shifted poses but stayed in the exact same spot as the above photo):



To give the main shooter an even larger variety of photos - you can capture different aspects that make up the main image. Focus on just the faces or their feet or maybe, like below, the bouquets.



Another way to capture a different image, if you cannot shoot from a drastically different angle, is to use an opposite lens from the main shooter. If they are using a wide angle lens then I try to use a longer focal length to get a lot tighter of shot or vice versa. My general rule is to never have the same lens on my camera at the same time as the main shooter.

Mike's wide angle shot:



My cropped shot:



Thanks Modern Pixel for letting me use your images!

Finishing up this series here.

Tips for Second Shooting: Part 1

This past summer I gained a lot of knowledge second shooting. Not only did I learn a lot about photography - I learned a lot about how to be a second shooter. Because; really, it's a lot different than being the main photographer on a wedding day.

I hope that by sharing the knowledge I gained I can help at least one person become a better second shooter! This tips are more geared towards a situation where there is only the main photographer and the second photographer and no assistant.

Tip #1:

Check your ego at the door.

This is probably the most important tip I can share. Your main job as a second shooter is to HELP the main photographer - and that can take many different forms. No job or task or request is below you - anything that needs to get done, you do it. This especially applies to non photo taking related requests. Someone needs water? Go get it. Photographer forgot something in their car? Go get it. Reflector needs holding? It's all you.

Also, these are not your clients so however the main photographer chooses to approach the day is the way it goes. If you would handle situations differently - or choose different poses - or use a different location, that is fine. Keep your thoughts to yourself and don't become a diva. If asked for your opinion, give it. Otherwise, smile and help the main photographer as much as you can.




Tip #2:

Know How Weddings Work

For most brides & grooms along with their families & friends - this is one of the first weddings they've been a big part of. So, all the little details that make up a wedding day are all new to them. You need to have all the answers for them and help them out so that the main photographer can focus on the photography.

You need to know how and where to pin boutonnieres, that bridesmaids should hold their flowers just below their belly buttons, what hand to wear wrist corsage, how rental ties work, how to do cuff links, how to do corset backs on dresses, be ready to pin bridesmaids dresses or get the zipper up, be able to bobby pin stray hairs back up, how to walk down the aisle, how to get into a limo in a big dress, and anything else that might come up on a wedding day.

Helping in these ways can lower the stress factor of the day and help everyone enjoy and be present in the moment - which makes for better photos!



I know, I know. Neither of these tips have anything to do with actually taking photos BUT I really think that the second photographers job has so much more to it than just taking photos. The second shooter is there to help the day go smoother which can result in better experience for all involved.

More tips coming soon!

Content Over Quality.

A family member recently gave me some photo's they took at our wedding. Amongst the photo's I found this one - of my dear sweet amazing grandma.



I remember this moment so clearly - my siblings, mom, aunts & uncles, cousins, and my grandma were all out on the dance floor. Holding hands in a big circle. Bobbing our hips and swaying side to side. Smiling. My smile was probably the biggest of all - my heart was bursting it was so full.

And my grandma - my dear sweet amazing grandma - was right there in the middle of it all. Her family. That she and my grandpa started so long ago when they had a little wedding of their own.

I cherish this photo for the memory and, most importantly, the feelings I associate with it.

As a photographer, it is easy to be very critical of my own work. Very easy. To be upset that I didn't have the absolute perfect locked in focus and tack sharpness I strive for. To be mad if the composition is unoriginal and boring. If the exposure is way off. If the white balance is horrible.

BUT... this photo of my grandma and I? I love it not because of the technical aspects - it was taken with a point and shoot with an automatic flash and is totally out of focus - I love it because of the content. Of the memory I will now forever be able to look back on.

So, to all the wedding photographer out there, shoot for content over quality. Strive for technical perfection - do your very best to capture each moment perfectly. But remember, these are peoples memories you are capturing. Of their one and only wedding day. Believe me, just capturing those precious fleeting moments - of a hug or a glance or a tear filled eye or a grandma on the dance floor - is so much more important than capturing it with technical perfection.

People are more connected to the emotional value of a photo than the technical aspects that it is made up of. Make sure you aren't deleting those amazing moments because of it's not 'your best work'. I bet you the bride won't even notice and will just be happy to have that moment captured in a photo. To look back on forever.

My new BABY!!

I was excited to come home to Lethbridge for many reasons - to see my mom, friends, my cat, not having to work - BUT the reason that I was most excited about was that I had a wonderful little package waiting for me....

Meet my new BABY!!!!

The 100mm 2.8 L MACRO!!!!! AHH!!!!!!!! I can barely contain my excitement!!!  

Of course, I had to test this wonderful new lens out RIGHT AWAY! I did a 'regular' shot and then did the 'macro version' of different things I found around the house...

The main reason I purchased this lens was to improve my ability to take great detail shots on a wedding day. I had to try it out on mine & Scott's wedding bands!

Yikes! My ring is in serious need of cleaning!

It's official. I am in love. Now, excuse while I go and spend some more time with my new baby ;)

Staying Organized: Image Files

I LOVE organization, seriously love it. Anyone remember that show Clean Sweep on TLC? I wanted Peter Walsh's job of a professional organizer - to turn mass chaos into beautiful organized spaces? Yeah, that sounds like a slice of heaven to me!

So, it only makes sense that, once I started taking more and more photo's I wanted to find an organized way to manage those image files. I used to cull the images, export the originals into an 'name - originals' folder, edit, and then re-export the edited images in a folder with the name of whoever those images were of and keep all the images on my external hard drive.

Yes, it was a bit of work but I didn't know any other way to keep things organized! Thankfully I stumbled upon a blog post by Zach & Jody that revolutionized the way I store images...

Lightroom Catalogs.

This rolls all of those separate steps I was doing into one and not only keeps your images organized - it helps speed up your program!

A very simple and quick summary - really, just go to Zach & Jody's blog because they do a super awesome job explaining.

1)Within Lightroom, go file - new catalog.

2)Name that catalog first with the date the images were taken then with the subject's name: YY-MM-DD-Scott & Kari

3)Save to either your desktop or external hard drive or both. I have 'year' folders on my hard drive that I save everything from that year into.

3)Import ONLY the images from that photo session, Cull, Edit all within Lightroom. The catalog saves the original image as well as all the edits you do so there is no need to pull any of the files out of the program! This also enhances how quickly Lightroom works - no excess of images to bog it down.

4)That's it! Any time you need access to the images you pull up the Lightroom Catalog and everything is there waiting for you! This is also great because since each session has it's own Catalog it is very easy to find the photo's you are looking.



If I didn't make any sense just go over and watch Zach explain it all :)

Life Saver.

Okay, okay, it's really more of a time saver - but I have just a tiny flare for the dramatic. Or so Scott tells me, daily.

*Ahem*

Moving on....

I had heard of some of my favourite photographers talk about this tool they used to resize and brand their photo's for their blogs. To be honest, I thought that I just wasn't nearly a big enough deal to be using the same applications as Jasmine Star. So I looked into it and decided to wait.

Oh, if only I could go back and time and start using this amazing tool then. It would have saved me SO much time.

Blogstomp.

AKA the best time saver, possibly ever, when it comes to blogging images.

It is so easy to use - just drag and drop, choose the images you want, and stomp it. It even automatically saves the image in a folder on your desktop. Amazing. Life saving. Okay, okay, time saving.

I used to open each image in photoshop, run an action to resize, then move it to a template, watermark it, and have to save each image separately. Yeah, not fun and very time consuming.

What used to take me 30 minutes now takes less than 5. And I have a new best friend. Well, at least when it comes to blogging :)

AND then even have a free demo for you to download and try. Go and do it. Go now. It will be your LIFE SAVER. Okay, okay, TIME SAVER!

Just to make this post a little prettier - a photo from Paris. My heart yearns to go back to Europe. But that's another post for a another day :)


Resized & watermarked perfectly in .075 seconds. It just might be a new record!

Editing.

My goal with my photography is to take the best possible image in camera - meaning proper exposure & composure. The reason? To have a consistency in my photo's but the main reason - I hate editing.

Okay, okay, hate is a strong word. Strongly dislike.

I strongly dislike editing partly because I am just a little bit lazy but mainly because there are so many other things I would rather be doing with my time than stuck in front of the computer for hours. Like watching a movie with my hubby. Or reading. Or, you know, actually taking photo's!

Since I am not in love with editing, I have developed my own very minimal style of editing that I feel gives my photo's a natural, true to life, consistent, timeless look. Well, at least, that's what I'm aiming for! I do not use any actions or presets because I feel like they just take more time and I never love the result. I truly feel that editing is about refining your style not creating your style of photography.

And so, in the off chance it helps even one person, I thought I'd share my approach to editing. Plus, I just couldn't pass up another opportunity to share some of the photo's from Darren & Mallorey's e-session!

Step 1: Take the best possible image you can in camera.

Step 2: Upload to Lightroom. I rarely ever use Photoshop. It's just much too time consuming for me.

Step 3: Edit.

I usually start with up-ing the brightness of the image then move on to correcting the colour temperature. 97% of the time this means only warming it up a bit (more 'yellow' on the sliders). Then, up the contrast just a tiny bit and reduce the clarity (amount varies on the image - this softens up the subjects skin and takes out some of the harshness) and then sharpen AND that's it!

And, of course, some visual aids.

Straight Out Of Camera:


After:

Brightness +15, Temp +160, Contrast -5, Clarity -15, Sharpening +20

Nice & simple and it only took me 30 seconds!

Then, for my black & whites all I do is take my saturation all the way down before adjusting the brightness, contrast, clarity, & sharpness. Easy-peasy! I personally do not do sepia colouring only because I prefer black & white.

Straight Out Of Camera:


After:

Saturation -100, Brightness +15*, Contrast +5, Clarity -9, Sharpening +20. And, in only 32 seconds!

*My secret is to over brighten my b&w version just a bit - this gives the image a bit more POP*

I hope that this helps and if not then you at least got to see how I make the magic happen for my photo's ;)

Second Shooting.

A few months ago, I received the best email. An email asking if I would be interested in second shooting this summer.

I'm pretty sure they could hear me yell 'YES!!' all the way from Phoenix.

I feel so incredibly blessed that Mike & Lisa of Modern Pixel Photography found my name on a list of Winnipeg second shooters and liked my photography enough to ask me to work with them this summer.

Second shooting, essentially helping out the main photographer with ANYTHING at all that they need on a wedding day, is the best possible fit for me right now. We move so often and have such an uncertain future that I can't book many weddings of my own - I just can't promise I'll be in the same place 6, 9, 12 months from now!! This way, I get to do so much more photography and learn from and help out a fellow photographer while adding to my own portfolio and experience. If this isn't a WIN-WIN situation, I don't know what is.

Mike & Lisa, thank you SO much for trusting me enough to ask me to work with you. Thank you doesn't even begin to cover how grateful I am. It's been amazing so far and we're only 2 weddings in!


A photo from the first wedding I second shot with Mike - a movie & theatre themed wedding! Check out Modern Pixel's full post & I'll be posting more of my photo's from the day soon :)

Shooting for Myself.

We were sitting on the couch the other night and Scott asked me how I was feeling about the first month of our third year back in Carman.

I told him I was happy. This was my favourite year yet....except, I haven't been taking as many photo's for me.

We've been so busy with life that I haven't made the time to take my camera out just because I want to. Lots of photographers talk about 'shooting for yourself' to keep your love, passion, and creativity flowing and for most photographers this means creative shoots of your friends or styled shoots with models.

But; for me, it's always been the little details in my life that I love to photograph - just for my own happiness.

I love to take my camera around the house or on walks or into my backyard just to see what I can capture. I love taking a little extra time to find the beauty in the things most people walk by every day. That little tiny leaf? One of millions? I can make it look like art - something that should be on your wall. I love looking at my surroundings differently. I haven't always had a ready supply of people to photograph to help me learn photography and so this was how I learned and practiced. On the little details in life - looking at them differently to capture the beauty.

All that to say, I made the time yesterday to shoot for myself. It was raining all afternoon - washing away the dust and making the greens so vibrantly beautiful. The clouds parted for half an hour and the light was perfect so I grabbed my camera and shot in my backyard for 10 minutes. This is what I captured....

Look for the Light.

Backlight that is.

My favourite kind of lighting situation. I thought that I understood this wonderful lighting technique & how to find locations with it, that is until I read my friend for life Melissa Jill's blog post. (What, one lunch doesn't make us FFL?!?! I made her a SCARF! If that doesn't make us FFL, I don't know what would!) Melissa wrote an amazing series on her blog about locations and it really changed how I looked for locations, she's such a photography genius - you need to go and read her blog. Now, go now.

My favourite post was the one on lighting. I was always looking for locations that had great backgrounds first and then within that find the best light. BUT great light can make a good photo GREAT - no matter the background. And, as I already mentioned, backlighting is my favourite way to light a photo. Melissa does a better job explaining, but here's my own humble attempt.

Look for a spot that has a long shadow - usually buildings, trees, tall structures provide this - and that doesn't have too busy or distracting of a background. Then place your subject(s) feet on the spot were the shadow ends, with their back to the shaded area, facing you. This way the subject's whole body/face will be in shaded and be the same exposure as most of the background BUT the sun will be hitting the back of their bodies/heads giving them almost a glowing look that really makes them stand out in the photo.

I was able to put this wonderful technique into practice recently. This is the parking lot I used for Darren & Mallorey's engagement session.

Yes, really not a pretty parking lot. At all. But, by having Darren & Mallorey stand right where the shadow ended (the spot the red arrow is pointing to) ....


.....I was able to capture some of my favourite images from their session.





I also put this technique into use on Geoff & Kandace's session! We were in a regular ol' back alley with nothing special going on in the background but the light makes this an amazing photo of them :)



Both of these are locations I would have NEVER used before - but, by changing my mindset and looking for great light rather than great backgrounds I was able to capture some wonderful images.

Please let me know if you have any questions or I made NO SENSE trying to explain this :) Or you know, just go and read Melissa Jill's blog ;)

Comments.

I started this blog almost exactly two years ago and I still remember how excited I was when the first comment was posted. It felt like my heart was just given a little hug.

Knowing that someone has taken the time to even look at my blog and then leave me a little nugget of encouragement left me smiling all day long.

I *still* feel that way whenever someone takes the time to leave me a little comment on a post. Like my heart is being hugged. And so, a long while ago, when I realized I felt this way by people loving and supporting me by leaving comments - why couldn't I make OTHER people feel the same way? Spread the comment love?

Oh that's right - I was crippled by insecurity and fear of putting myself out there, in the comment section. Come on, really? I decided to get over myself and started to leave comments on the blogs that I frequented - to let these people (mainly photographers but other types of bloggers as well) know that I appreciated what they had taken the time to post and enjoyed viewing it. To give them little heart hugs. It started out as mainly 'Great post!' comments and then as I became more comfortable I started posting more a la Kari comments 'SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I absolutely LOVE these images!! That one of the bride doing that thing in the second picture down - GAH!!! You are so seriously amazing!'. I tried to comment on a least every other post if I read their blog every day.

And then, the most amazing thing started to happen. The more I was willing to love and support OTHER people - the more they were willing to come over to my little blog and love and support me! The first time Mary Marantz (believe me non-photography friends, she is a BIG deal) commented on my blog post - I literally fell OUT OF MY CHAIR and then called Scott and yelled the amazing news to him 'MARYJUSTCOMMENTEDONMYBLOGCANYOUBELIEVEITISERIOUSLYCANNOTBELIEVETHISJUSTHAPPENED - *inhale* - SHE KNOWS THAT I EXIST!!!!!!!' To which Scott replied 'HUH?', obviously. But then it starts this wonderful circle of me wanting to leave even more comments on her blog and her coming back to visit mine (Hi Mary! In the off chance that you are actually reading this! I love you in a normal and not at all creepy way!)



It's happened with other photographer's too and even people who consistently see my name pop up in the comment section of other blogs come over to check mine out. Melissa Jill sometimes replies back to the comments I leave on her blog - it makes me SO happy to know she took the time to read my comment and reply back with a little 'Thanks Kari!'. But; even if nothing comes back to me, I am happy knowing I gave someone else's heart a little squeeze. Hopefully made them smile with my overuse of CAPS and !!!!!

So, the whole point of this post is: Amazing things can come from supporting others - especially when you do so from a genuine place.

I dare you - start exercising your comment power more. It doesn't have to be on my blog - it can be on friend's facebook posts even - just keep it positive and supportive. Go ahead, make someone smile today.

Zach & Jody.

How in the world can one little photographer be so lucky?!?! I honestly am feeling so incredibly blessed for this past month. My photography socks have been completely knocked off!!!

Last Thursday, I was so very excited and giddy to be going with Amy & Jordan & their friend Meggie to the monthly Phoenix PUG meeting to listen to yet another of my favourite photography teams speak.

Zach & Jody!!!!



We may have been slight groupies as we showed up 20 minutes early - first ones in line! We just had to get front row seats!! Which we did - and I even got to hug both Zach & Jody in the process! They officially know I exist!!

These two have such giving and caring hearts as well as SO much business savvy - it's crazy. They share their know-how so openly and truly want every photographer they meet to succeed, as Jody quoted: "A rising tide lifts all boats."


Yeah, just a little excited!

Giddiness aside, they gave such a great talk. It was all about No Cost Marketing - essentially tapping into your biggest referral source, you clients!

There were 3 main points to their approach:

1. Qualify...your clients. By having clients that really fit with your personality and photography style you will ensure a great experience for everyone involved! The easiest way to attract the type of client you want is to put a lot of YOURSELF into your website/blog and allowing clients to relate to the content on your site and connect with YOU.

2. Give...a great client experience. Give your clients a reason to want to talk about you - simply through going above and beyond to enhance their experience. Surprise them with thoughtful gifts, under promise and over deliver, enhance their lives!

3. Build...relationships. With clients as well as vendors and other photographers. Become an expert in building relationships and seek to help others (with no gain in mind!). I love this quote Zach used: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” (from How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie)

After their talk, Zach and Jody hung around for a while and we got a chance to have a really great talk with them and snap some photo's. They are such genuine and caring individuals. When we left Jody actually gave me a *real* hug - tight squeeze and all :) I was also able to see with a few other photographer's I've met down here again, like Sarah & Suzanne, which was so great! Such an amazing night!


Amy is the most recent recipient of my crochet gift giving :)