Photography Idol

So... I entered my FIRST ever photography contest. I'm a wreck. I don't take rejection well, so fingers crossed!!! Here is the image I submitted!

And check out the Chic Critique Forum where I entered!

Baby Mania! Things you should know when choosing your NEWBORN photographer.

Well. Here I am again...after promising...again...that I was going to keep up with this blog. Lets face it. I wont do that. But I will drop in every once in a while to talk about something that's going on, or to vent. HA. So. We welcomed out second (and last) little one in August. A perfect little boy. Grehsen Chase. (GREY-SEN NOT GRESH-on) Conner is thrilled to be a big brother, although he's still confused and a little jealous. The adjustment has been...interesting. But wonderful. So anyway. Back onto the photography track. Apparently the entirety of people of my FB friends list are expecting a baby. Yay! Super exciting. And, although I am- for some reason- becoming a wedding photographer- my heart lies with newborn photography. And while I would LOVEEEE for everyone I know to bring their babies to me for their newborn pictures- the reality is, most of them don't. So I hope that at least they can take some information from me so that when I have to look at their newborn pictures, I am not cringing because they didn't get the best quality that they could have. Now. (If you are a photog. you know who I'm talking about) I'm no Rachel V, or Mary M. But I do know the basic rules of newborn photography, and I know my Do's and I DEF. know my Dont's. So when choosing your Newborn photographer here are some things you should look for and ASK. *First and most importantly- SAFETY. Babies DO NOT pose on their own. Their tiny little bodies are handled, and molded into those dreamy breath taking poses by the photographer. It would be SWELL if they had some training and experience before they are putting their hands on your babies. While we all know babies are much more durable than we all think, they are still extremely fragile. If your photographer gets excited because baby is propped up on his/her hands by themselves, without being spotted, and held, you probably are going to want to pack your stuff up and search for someone else. Those types of shots are not real, they are photo shopped composites. *Second and my hugest pet peeve. FLASH. GAAAHHHHH!!! Your baby was just in a warm comfy DARK sanctuary for 9 months. WHY on EARTH your photographer would feel the need to scare the crap out of him/her with the brightest of white light into their face is BEYOND me. Aside from the fact that they don't like it, and it will startle them out of sleep- their skin is so precious and pure, and that hideous light never does anyone any good. And it certainly doesn't make for a very calm or beautiful, and def. not a natural photo. (NOTE: if the lighting situation is dark (I mean with no windows or t night), then off camera lighting MAY be necessary, but it should NEVER be pointed directly at baby) *Third- Newborns should be photographed before 2 weeks, so they are still nice and sleepy and flexible for the adorable posed shots. Sure, they can be photographed any time you want, but if you are paying someone to do it, you should do something that you aren't capable of doing yourself. Between 4 weeks and 5 months, there isn't much we can do with a baby, aside from laying them flat on their backs. *And lastly. Take a look at their post processing work. (Their final images, on their website or FB pages) You do not want a photographer that is processing their images with things like: Vignetting (this is where they turn the edges and corners either really dark or really light. Or color selection (where they make the image black and white and just leave a certain thing in color. or Blurs or any kind. These are all signs of an amateur photographer, first of all- and if the photographer isn't an amateur, it is still distasteful, and takes away from the point of the image. I hope that helps!!!