UN-posing Your Poses

We're all guity, including myself. You see your 4-year old child playing quietly (or loudly!) in the backyard.
The light is perfect.
The situation is perfect.
You grab your camera...
...and then you say "BOBBY! SAY CHEESE!!!"
Bobby runs away. Or he smiles in such an akward way that you know he's just trying to get the camera out of his face.
Lost shot!

I consider this a photographic case of "nature versus nurture." When you look back on life's more beautiful moments (captured in photos of not), they often aren't canned or forced. They are natural, and natural moments are captivating. They force the imagination back to those fleeting moments in life that we chose to whip the camera out for. However, our very well-trained more nurturing side just can't help but ask our children to snap out of those natural poses in order to say "CHEESE!" After all, our mothers and grandmothers did that with us, so it MUST be the correct way to take pictures, right?!

Well, right. Kinda. Not really.

Honestly, speaking as both a photographer and as a mom, I must say that the answer is SOMETIMES. There are moments where "CHEESE!" is appropriate (like large family photos and in group settings where you NEED to sit everyone down in order to get a shot). But, when photographing my own children, in most situations, I have learned to put the "CHEESE!" away because (most of the time) asking my children to pose has only resulted in stress and lost photo opporutnities. Even when I take my pro photos, I always try to get the most "posey" shots finished at the beginning of a session, because I know that my clients' children will be the most cooperative at that point in a shoot. After that, I get to use my creative side to capture the family in the most natural way possible.

Posing is one of the most difficult aspects of photography. I will be COMPLETELY honest, too, in telling you that it's often what I critique myself most on as a photographer because, even if you have the camera's settings set PERFECTLY, you have to consider the person on the other side of the lens at all times. What works for one person (client, child, or whole groups, too) may not work for the next. So, while taking photos of your kids at home, I am going to suggest trying something different this month: UN-posing.

Un-posing is exactly what it sounds like. Not posing. This month, really try to observe your kids as they play or just do something plain cute. Do they have big cheesy grins on their faces as they do any of these things? If so, great! If not, what are they doing? Are they concentrating intently? Are they squealing in delight? Are they glaring at you as you try to whip out that camera? (haha!)

My main point in that I want to convey is that I would like you to think of your camera as an accessory to a moment, and not a stressful piece of equipment. If you learn to take photos of things that don't force your kids or others to remove themselves from special everyday moments, then you will be surprised at how much more relaxed your kids will be when you DO need them to pose.

Happy clicking!

Looking for Light: The Golden Hour

The month of June was, well, crazy for me. Probably the craziest of my life. We welcomed our fourth child, Grant, into our family; however, his entrance was not how I anticipated because I ended up with an emergency C-Section. After three "normal" births, this has been quite the recovery process, and I will NEVER underestimate how hard C-Sections are to heal from. On top of having to recover from the Section, I ended up coming home to a sick 15-month old son and soon after two sick little girls. Thankfully, I had my mom and my husband to help, and I will be forever grateful to them for how amazingly wonderful they were. All in all, though, Grant is a beautiful and healthy addition to our family, and I am grateful for that. The rest of the kids are healthy again, too!
Now, enough about me, haha. Let's talk about photography- a subject that puts me into a feeling that makes me feel, well, zen! Ohhhhmmmmmm.....
Last month, I talked a bit about open shade. This month, I want to talk about the "golden hour," which is the time(s) of day that most photographers LOVE, due to it's universally flattering and dreamy effect that it tends to produce.
In short, there are actually two "golden hours" during the day- the hour after sunrise, and the hour before sunset. During both times of day, the sun is not bright enough to cause squinting or harsh lines, and it often creates a softer dimension to your skin tones and subjects in general. The evening "golden hour" can also produce an amazing sense of backlight, or that halo effect that you can get when the sun is placed behind the subject.
If you have young children and are brave enough to venture out of your home with your kids and camera in tow, you will be amazed at how that morning light can create whimsical photos that can allow you to incorporate things like morning dew into your photos, too. I promise that you won't regret it!
Now, there are some technical aspects to taking phenomenal photos during the "golden hour" that I will have to address in a future installment. Until then, have fun taking practice pictures of your kids and/or pets during these times in order to see how these times of day often create the best photos!

Looking for Light: Open Shade

For this month's post, I will start discussing how to look for the best light opportunities under which to take your photos. Again, this is one of those areas where you can apply this knowledge behind ANY camera (DSLR, point-and-shoot, even polariod!).
We have all been there. We have all of our kids/family in a great location, and we really want to capture the memory. But, when we had a chance to look at the photos after they were taken, we realize that we have either 1) our family members squinting from the brightness of the sun; or 2) we realize that we have basically "blacked" our their beautiful faces dur to too-dark shadows or contrasts. Now we are left with less-than-perfect images to reflect our perfect memories (sigh!).
How can we make sure that we minimize the photography faux-pas?
The first way we can do this is to place our subjects in open shade. Where can you find open shade, you may ask? The answer is: a LOT of places! Have you ever been under the shade of a gazebo and noticed how much more relaxed your eyes are? Well, that's open shade! Or in shadows of buildings...open shade! Open shade is even light that allows you to get wide-eyed and less-squinty results. You can find it most times of the day, too, so it really helps to keep ample opportunites for great photos open.
Now, sometimes you can find open shade under the canopy of a tree; however, I must caution you to look for "dappling," or sunspots coming through. Those tend to be distracting when the dappling comes through on your subject's head or body when they are in otherwise evenly-lighted shade.
In order to keep this post short, I won't go into how some open shade can result in bluish light and some in more warm or yellow light, but we can save that topic for another day.
Until then, have fun looking for opportunities to practice placing your subjects in open shade. I promise that you will love the results!
Some examples of my photos taken in open shade.

The first was taken in my garage:

...And this one was taken with an overhang blocking the direct sunlight:

Finally, this one was taken with my subject in the shadow of a building:

How to make ANY photo look better, regardless of your camera or its setting!

Since there are SO MANY areas of photography to discuss, I wanted to follow up with an article on how to get better pictures, REGARDLESS of which camera you have.
When most people go to take photos, where do they typically place the main subject?
If you are like how I used to be, it was smack-dab in the middle of the frame. After all, the middle of the picture is where the main subject is SUPPOSED to be, right?
Well, that is right...sometimes.
In this post, I'm going to help teach you about something that photographers use in composing great images: the "rule of thirds." Basically, the "rule of thirds" helps you place your picture's subject in the most aesthetically pleasing way.
Here's a grid that will help me illustrate this point:

(Photo of grid sheet from Digital Photography School, www.digital-photography-school.com)
In order to avoid getting too wonky, I will help break this down into how I learned this: try breaking from the "center" mold, and try placing your subject in one of these nine planes. For example, if you are taking a photo of your child, try having their eyes be in the top of your frame. This will create more of an interesting visual element, and may help those who look at the photo really focus on the child, as opposed to what's surrounding them.

Another way to create more interesting photos is to incorporate lines into your photos while thinking about the "rule of thirds." This allows the viewer's eye to follow the lines to the subject and helps to anchor the subject into the picture. Lines can also create an effect that causes those who look at the photo to wonder what's beyond the frame:

So, the next time you go to take a photo of your child (or any subject, for that matter!), try to think outside of the box of putting your subject in the center and try to think of the little "rule of thirds" boxes. Of course, as any photographer, rules are made to be broken; however, in the meantime, it will be fun to challenge yourself a bit and try something different!
If you are interested in learning more about the "rule of thirds," please feel free to e-mail me at reflectionsbyrosie@hotmail.com, or check out this article:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds

Grace

Spring!

Since this is my first spring in Texas, I must say....I AM AMAZED AT THE WILDFLOWERS!!! Everywhere you look, there they are- buttercups, Indian Paintbrushes, poppies, Bluebonnets. Gorgeous!

I've been taking some photos of my kids in the flowers b/c I just love the innocence of both. Enjoy!

One Special Boy- Juan Galvez's Story

April is Austism Awareness Month, and this year, it means something special to my family and me.
Since moving to League City, we have been lucky enough to have some of the best next door neighbors anyone could ask for. One of the families who live next door, the Galvez's, have been extra special to us. Their sweet natures and helpful spirits have helped us establish our friendship with them, and their son, Juan, has taught us more than words can express.
Juan is playful. Sweet. Smart. He loves to laugh as my middle daughter, Danielle, chases him around the Galvez's home with a toy blow dryer yelling "C'Mere, BOY!". In many ways, he's a "typical" 5-year-old with boundless energy. He also loves to look at books and play with cars.
But in many ways, Juan is different from other "typical" 5-year-olds. Juan has Autism.

For those of you who do not know much about Autism, you are not alone. Honestly, I'm in that boat, too. The amount of information about Autism on the internet, in books, and on television can be extremely overwhelming. But, once you know someone who has Autism, I can promise you that you WILL want to learn more about it. Autism is a mystery in many ways, as no one knows exactly what causes it or what can be done to cure it, but anyone who knows someone who is affected by it knows how much it changes lives. Many lives, in fact...current statistics estimate that as many as 1 in 110 children are affected by it. Autism affects every individual differently, and can have different degrees of severity. Some Autistic individuals can still be functioning members of society, and some will never be able to live without assistance.
According to Tammy, Juan's mother: "I have heard our exact story from many other families. In our sons case he had developed typically and hit all of his milestones early including talking. We noticed a change in him between 15-18 months.
He started to slowly stop interacting with us. He stopped responding to his name, he stopped making eye contact, talking, pointing and just started to loose all social skills. It was like someone turned a switch off in him. He continued to play with toys but in a different way. He would play with his train but only spin the wheels. He would run things past his eyes back and forth and do repetitive behaviors that were odd."
In May of 2008, Juan was officially diagnosed with Autism. He was just barely two years old.
Since then, "Our son has been working at a full time job since he was 20 months... literally. He has averaged 40 hours a week therapy since he was diagnosed. He is now 5 and still works so hard for every skill he has. He has a severe articulation disorder that makes his words unclear. He knows his alphabet, counts to 20 and is doing amazing academically. His struggles with social interactions are very noticeable. He just doesn’t use his language to interact socially. He uses it to get his wants and needs met."
"What can I say he has changed our lives and we are so lucky to have such a special child in our family. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. Everyday brings a new word or skill. He is funny and full of love. He has a long journey ahead of him but we are not scared anymore for him. We are ready for the journey and look forward to everyday."
Juan's smile can light up anyone's day, and I am thankful that Tammy let me share a bit of their story in honor of Autism Awareness Month. While there is too much information on Autism to share in a short Blog post, I encourage all of you to learn more about it through checking out the following sites:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html
www.autismspeaks.org
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm