Studio life is finally getting a little more settled. I'm shooting, my technology is working, the phone is ringing and my internet is on. All of that was quite a feat, mind you. Now, I'm in the process of learning my new space. I'm figuring out where I like the lights and playing with the various shooting areas to see what feels the most comfortable. It'll be a while before I'm truly settled and have everything in its place. I'm trying to just relax as I go through this part of the process and not get frustrated with the rough spots. Some days I feel sure of my move and thrilled with the new space, energy and possibilities. Other times, the piles by my desk, the frames not hung on the wall and the pieces that are still in disorder make me panic and worry that I should have stayed put. On those days, I feel like running home and crawling into bed.

Today, in honor of my fragile and unsure days, my favorite shot is from one of the first sessions that I did in the new space. I like the set up because it's one I haven't done before and that's the kind of thing that happens when you change things around. It's kind of hard to beat that insanely cute face too, right? She was cracking me up. The way her Mom got her to giggle was to snort like pig. Ah, the things we do for sweet smiles like these!

I included these other two from the session as well. You guys can pick your favorite!

What about you, any favorite shots this lovely Friday? Post links to them in the comments section below or add them to my Favorite Shot Friday Flickr Pool!

Have a great weekend my friends!

I have been seriously MIA from the blog. The last two weeks have been so crazy busy. I have been moving my studio and it, as you might expect, was a major undertaking! The added bonus was having the kids off school for spring break and being sick most of the two weeks. The good news, it's pretty much done. I'm in the new place and getting back to business as usual.

In the middle of the mayhem, I took my group of Hope Stone photography students to Houston's Glenwood Cemetery for a photo field trip. Glenwood is a favorite spot of mine and has been since high school. It opened in 1872 and has the most amazing collections of monuments. There are many notable Houstonians buried there, including Howard Hughes. It's a beautiful place to walk and photograph. I love taking photo students there. There's just something kind of magical about it and people always end up with some pretty cool images.

Field trips are one of the best ways to improve your photo skills. Taking the time to venture out somewhere and give yourself an opportunity to experiment is so important. Glenwood is a great place for this. It's peaceful and quiet and the monuments stand perfectly still while you play, zoom in and out, crop differently, change settings, etc.

We've been having such incredible weather the last few weeks too. Get out and enjoy it! Glenwood is considered a garden cemetery. There are also flowers and other things to photograph besides the monuments.

The gates close around 5 so we took a little walk down Washington Blvd. as well. Cool photos are everywhere! Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and shooting something new always makes for some interesting shots.

I love this next shot...not sure why but it's one of my favorites from the day.

So friends, who's up for a field trip? Weather permitting, I would like to invite a group of you to come walking through Glenwood with me this coming Saturday. Participation is free and Glenwood is open to the public so anyone is welcome. If our group gets big, we'll need to spread out so as not to be too obvious or disruptive. Glenwood has rules (most are obvious, scroll down to read) that you should read through before coming. I would like to meet at 10 am inside the cemetery and walk until about noon (or sooner if you need to). Pass through the gate, go over the small bridge and find a place to park (please spread out). There is a sort of guard house after you pass over the bridge where we can meet. Please leave a comment here if you would like to attend so I can have an idea who might be there.

Gear: I travel light with one camera and a lens or 2 and recommend the same.
Rain: If it's rainy, we'll cancel and try for another day.

So, who's in?

Here's my first shot. Marley gets lost in the scene. There are distracting elements in the window behind her and on the ground all pulling your eyes away from her face.

While coming in a little closer helps reduce some of the distracting elements, we still have too many things competing for our attention and it's hard to really appreciate the expression on her face.

So much better! You can see her now and her eyes pop too. The next one is my favorite.

Here's another series showing the same process of getting closer.

Now, it's your turn! Grab a friend and try this out for yourself. Start wide and come in closer. Portraits will look best at the higher end of your lens' focal length. If you have the kit lens that ships with most DSLR's (18-55 mm), that would mean shooting "zoomed in" at the 55 mm mark. I would also recommend shooting on manual if you can or in the A (Nikon), AV (Canon) or in the portrait mode. If you are controlling your f-stop, choose a low number. These were all shot around F2.8 - 3.5.

Please share your images with us! Leave links to them in the comments section or add them to my Monday Lesson Flickr Pool. I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys capture!

I know, it's Saturday and posting Favorite Shot Friday a day late is, well, cheating a little. I could have posted this last night but I went to a movie with my husband and kids instead. Sometimes you just gotta go have fun and leave work behind, right?

So, this week it's a toss up between these two shots but I think it's the first one. This whole session is cute! He just smiled and charmed me the entire time I was photographing. Mom brought the sweet little towel. She said that one of her favorite times is when he's all freshly bathed and wrapped up in his towel. I have mental pictures of my kids exactly the same way so I can completely appreciate it. I think we got pretty close to capturing it except for the wet hair and eyelashes.

Which one do you guys like best? What about you...any favorite shots this, um, Saturday? Leave links to your images in the comments or post them to my Favorite Shot Friday Flickr group. Don't be shy!

Happy weekend friends!