Ericka + Isaac Engagement

Ericka and Isaac are getting married! Here's a few pictures I got to capture over the weekend. It was a hot day but this couple managed to look amazing despite the heat and bugs!

Hi guys, It's a busy, busy summer. I recently took a trip down to Dawsonville, Georgia for an Anniversary party for our very special friends the Ramirez. They asked me to take capture their special moments and here are some of them. We had an impromptu photo shoot in the process.

Looking at their party from a distance and love how it all came together even though it had rained earlier

Sparklers are so much fun!

Happy Friday to you all!

While I haven't posted in a while, I would like to catch you all up on some things I'm working on. I decided to experiment a little with the style of my photography. While most of the time you should shoot with your meter reading at perfect exposure on your camera, I want to try to shoot at shallow depths of field and overexpose my subject a little bit. I feel that maybe that will make skin tones a bit more creamier? Below are some examples of what I mean. I shot all of these at an aperture of f/3.2 and just varied my shutter speed according to different light situations. 

Fierce!

Also, you may have noticed that I have changed my logo. I felt that I needed to update my look. I want to especially thank Brooke Bozelle for designing such a cool logo. You can follow her on her Etsy account at Avenue Six Twenty Five for more designs. I think that watermarks/logos are very important not because I'm afraid of someone stealing my pictures (because believe me someone will copy and use your pictures anyways if you put any picture online) but because it helps with promoting your brand. If you want to become a serious photographer I really suggest you start out putting your name out there. Also a great way to promote yourself is by joining photography communities such as Flickr and Facebook. Join photo critics online, they help you see what you may be missing in a photo. Most importantly though, shoot everyday. Practice makes perfect as they say.

Finally the weather's been pretty near perfect these last couple of days so it helps to have awesome days to go out and shoot.

~Angie

Exploring Day!

I'm glad I had the time the other day to just go out and explore! Sometimes you just have to get your gear out and make those pictures happen. I hadn't realized that I had very few pictures of just inanimate objects and nature. Recently most of my photography has been portraiture.  So my hubby Darien and I drove out around our area to places that I've been wanting to just stop and shoot. Where we live in North Carolina there are a lot of opportunities to photograph old barns and houses that have been abandoned and left behind by time. 

This house had a water well...Be sure to get someone to go with you because some of these places are a little scary. I wouldn't want to see anything crawling out of that well...

Here's me....

Here's my husband Darien...

I look forward to taking more outside shots of nature and possibly... I've heard there's a Zebra in the area. I HAVE to go find out more about that!

Here are a couple more pictures to share!

This shot was interesting...this tree grew around this old window shutter

Have a wonderful start to your week! Remember...make time to go out and photograph!

~Angie

The other day I received the lens I've been waiting for...the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM! This lens is exciting because it will allow me more room to take pictures in tight spaces. 

Usually, my workhorse is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. Although I love my 50mm because it is a sharp prime lens, the 40mm is so much sharper even though I do lose 1 1/3 stops of light. Stops of light mean my aperture is smaller therefore less light comes in and then that makes it harder to take pictures in low light situations. 

The 40mm is a prime lens which means that it is not a zoom lens. You have to zoom in and out by physically stepping up or away from your subject. Prime lenses are by far the sharpest lenses you can buy and the 40mm is a great deal! I got my 40mm from Amazon for $191.00 with free shipping plus taxes, my total came out to $203.89. Not bad at all! 

If you are taking pictures with the kit lens that comes with your DSLR, definitely think about upgrading your lens to a prime lens. Your pictures will look amazing. You can see the difference!


Below is my subject taken with the 50mm lens at f/3.2 at 1/60 of a second. I'm standing about 3 feet from my subject.

Now here is my subject taken with the 40mm lens at f/3.2 at 1/60 of a second, still standing about 3 feet from my subject. I can definitely fit more of  the guitar without cutting so much.

The 40mm is also known as the "pancake" lens because it's really flat and compact. It's a great travel lens. You can see how small the aperture is by the size of the glass.

I'm not knocking on the 50mm by any means. The "Nifty Fifty" as it is affectionally called is a great first lens! I highly recommend this lens at only about $100.00! You can tell how much bigger the aperture is by the size of the glass.

Bobbitt Baby!

Noah is so handsome!

Love his chubby cheeks!

How can you go wrong with a bow tie!