What is the Best Time of Day to Take Photos

 The answer will always be just after sunrise or just before sunset. This time is often referred to as the "golden hour" because of the golden tones given off by the early or late day sun. If possible I try to schedule my shoots for 1.5 hours before sunset and 30 minutes after sunrise. But, that is not always possible, especially if you are shooting the morning during summer. Ain't nobody wanna do a 6:00am call time!! So, in the summer I am starting my shoots 2.5 hours after sunrise! The golden hour is not golden any more! But the trust is the early or later in the day - the better the lighting - and the better the lighting the better your pictures. So no, I am not doing to do family reunion photo at 2:00pm on Saturday. 

These images were all shot in the morning, 2-3 hours after sunrise. The key is to shoot in open shade with fully populated backgrounds. All four of these locations have an abundance of tall trees to give me the shade I need to keep the light from being too harsh. Now, I am a back-lit girl, so even in these shaded areas and I am placing the subject in front of the light. 

These images were all shot in the summer months. No matter the date, I start my shoots at 6:30PM in the summer months. Worst case that is 2 hours before sunset. I use trees to accentuate the light by having it filter through the leaves. (Top 2 images) YUM! The photo in the bottom lefthand corner was taken much earlier around 2:00 in the afternoon (it was a wedding...) I placed the bride at a 45 degree angle to the sun to get the gorgeous rim light on her hair with out blowing out her dress. 

Come fall it is easy to schedule sessions for the golden hour, but I am still a back-lit/filtered light kinda girl! It's just the best!

Now this shot was during the golden hour but a storm rolled in and I was working with thick overcast skies. In this scenario, I turned the family around so that they were facing the sun to keep their faces from being too shadowed. 

So when is the best time to take photos? Early morning and late evening and never ever in the middle of the day. 

www.3wishesphotography.com

The Exposure Triangle for Beginners - Shooting in Manual Mode

Most DSL cameras come standard with 4 shooting modes: Auto or Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual Mode. The hard truth is that only in manual mode are you, as the photographer, making all the decisions when it comes to the exposure. 

Auto/Program: In this setting your camera is taking in information provided by its sensors and meter and making decisions on what "exposure triangle" makes the most sense given the limited information it has. Program mode allows the photographer to pop on the flash for some fill flash if desired.

Aperture Priority: Allows the photographer to choose their desired aperture (how much depth of field they need), then the camera takes it from there and determines the other two settings that make up the camera's sensors and meter thinks the correct exposure should be. 

Shutter Priority: Allows the photographer to choose their desired shutter speed, and lets the camera figure out what the aperture and ISO settings should be for the best exposure. 

Manual Mode: In this mode, the photographer chooses the aperture, shutter speed and ISO for each exposure. 

UNDERSTANDING THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

So what is Aperture or f stops?

• The aperture or f stop is the measurement of how wide your lens opens when it take a photo. 
• This opening is the hole through which the light passes into your camera.
• A wide hole lets lots of chaotic light in, resulting in a shallow depth of field or bokeh (f1.4). 
• A narrow hole lets less orderly light in, resulting in a wide depth of field (f22).

So what is shutter speed?

• Shutter speed is the measurement of how long the aperture stays open. 
• Fast shutter speeds freeze motion  (1/500 and higher)
• Slow shutter speeds show motion and allows the light to flow into the camera for longer periods of time. (1/60 and lower)

So what is ISO? International Organization Standard (now wasn't that helpful?!?)

• Think of ISO in terms of how sensitive the "film" is to capturing and the light/photo that is coming in through the lens.
• Small ISO number require more time to absorb the light/photo but are nice and tidy (low noise/grain). Meaning they work well when there is a good light source.
• Higher ISO numbers require less time to absorb the light but are a bit messy (more noise/grain). Meaning they are good when you are in a low light situation.

So what should you do first? Stop and ask yourself a couple of questions. 

• What is the main think I am trying to capture?
• Is my subject moving? Do I want to freeze or capture that motion? If the answer is yes, choose your shutter speed, then your aperture, take a meter reading and then use your ISO settings to complete the exposure your meter is showing you. Take the shot, if it's not right adjust your ISO for more or less light (higher number if you need more light, lower number if you need less light).
• Do I have multiple lines of people I am trying to get in focus, do I want to wide or narrow depth of field to show off the subject? If yes, then start by choosing your aperture, then your shutter speed and finish off with your ISO. 
  
  If you live and Colorado and would like to learn more in a one-on-one class, email me at cija@3wishesphotography.com

Tips for Maximizing your Senior Poses

One of the tricky things about a senior session can be all the outfits. Some girls will bring 5-6 outfits, which can leave you feeling like,  "How in the world am I going think of enough different poses or find enough different spots to take photos in six different outfits?"

Here's some tips that have helped me. 

#1 Find out how many outfits you are dealing with before the shoot starts. 

#2 Then take the number of images you want in your finished gallery and divide that by the number of outfits. Some of you are like wait, what are you taking about? When I started out in this industry I took hundreds of images at each session (and if you haven't nailed focus and exposure it's not a bad idea to continue doing that until your on-shoot skills have improved), but now I take only what I need to offer finished galleries of 40-45 images. 

For example: If I have a client that has 5 outfits, 40 divided by 5 is 8. That means I need to do 8 poses in each of the 5 outfits. 

Now here's what I actually take. For a 40 image finished gallery,  I want to take around 160 images.  Here's how I do the math: I take 1 smiling and 1 serious  look of each pose. That is a total of 80 images. 40 smiling 40 serious. But then I take 1 extra of each just to make sure the image is sharp and their eyes are open and their smile is perfect. That make 160 images total.  When I cull the images, I choose 20 of the best smiles and 20 of the best serious and wallah!

#3 Maximize your locations and your poses by making simple changes. 

- I maximized this spot/pose by simply having her change the position of her legs and move one arm forward. Switching from 85mm to 50mm gave the same location a completely different look. 

- In these two images I stuck with the 85mm and just changed my proximity to the client, while having her change her arm position. 

- Same thing here, I moved and asked her to slip her hand under her chin. 

- In these four images I used both the 50mm and 85mm, while simply directing him to move his golf club. 

- Again, one image was shot with an 85mm lens the other with a 50mm lens, while having the client shift from side facing to front facing. 

- I used the same lens for all 5 of these images, while having her make small changes in her orientation to the lens and well as the placement of her feet and hands. 

- Maximize locations by having the client sit, stand and kneel.

- Or just move closer or further away!

Happy Shooting!

www.3wishesphotography.com

Castle Rock, Colorado

Simple Prompts for Natural Photos

I have been doing professional photography for a long time. A really long time. 

I love authentic expressions and interactions between families. But I also understand that a nice posed photo is important to a lot of people, so I try to make my shoot a little bit of both. 

The easiest way to do this is to start with a posed photo and then give your clients a simple prompt.

"Look at your mom and say I love you!"  

You can get some really great expressions, especially from teenage boys! 

"Grab those kiddos and give them a hug!"

"Give each other an eskimo kiss!"

Or... just a regular old kiss!

Or just asking them to look at each other and laugh is enough!!

Walking pictures is another great way to get authentic interactions. 

Simply ask your client to make natural connections (hold hands where it makes sense), then ask them to talk to each other about where they would like to go when they are done with the shoot. I also encourage them to help their kids look up at them. Ask them if there is something on your nose, etc. 

Walk across the the lens. 

Dad leading with both mom and dad looking back at the kids. 

SO CUTE!

Linking arms at the waist and walking 

towards the camera and away never disappoints. 

And sometimes it pays to lag back a bit when walking back to the cars after your shoot. No prompts necessary! (I will often tell my client that I am going to grab a few shots of the sky, so I can fill in their backgrounds if needed and that I will meet them in the parking lot.)

Some more simple prompts that produce great photos!

Ring-around-the-Rosie

Twirls and Baby Presses!

Surprise Hug!

Tell the kids you are going to play a game, ask them to stand real still and no matter what happens keep looking at the camera. Then have dad sneak up behind them and give them a great big hug!

Chats and Baby Presses work too!

Have mom hold their child while spinning around in a circle and stopping short when parallel to the camera! KIDS LOVE THIS ONE!

Ask the kids to chase one another around mom and dad.

Whisper a secret! 

It's not just for kids!

Ask the kids to run and give their parents a hug!!

Alright now, get out there and give it a try!

To book your own shoot, visit my website at www.3wishesphotography.com or email me at cija@3wishesphotography.com. 

2010 - My Favorite Photos from 2010

I was still trying to find my way and my style as a photographer in 2010. I discovered filters and preset - two things I never use now! I began to do more newborn and maternity photography and even played around with some indoor shots.  

The Greff's were annual clients and dear friends from church. This was the year I definitely began to understand my love for photos where families got to interact with one another. It became a bigger and bigger part of they style. 

Amy Keith were annual clients as well, I loved working with their family so much and fell in love with their kids on this shoot. Callie was so sweet and I just love is bare feet and cute little toes!

Several of these families were all neighbors, something about that was really special to me. This was my first shoot with Kristy and her family and I just got to work with them again this past summer (Senior Photos this time) how cool is that?

Ah the Kane's another "neighbor". Beth and Brock did photos with me every year up until a couple of years ago when they moved. I love this family so much, and miss them deeply. 

I began playing with silhouettes in 2010! I still love good silhouette!!

Winter milestone sessions, newborns and maternity sessions all pushed me to bring my camera and love for natural light indoors. One thing I really love about this type of photography is the integrating the family's home and things into the shots. Gavin and his sock monkeys was a definite fave. 

I struggled to find my style when I came to newborn photography. I spent way too much time (years in fact) copying what I saw others do vs. shooting what I saw. This is my LOVE. No props, just sweet snuggles at home!

Oh my goodness... I love this shot of these cute boys! 

Carrie and Aaron's wedding was one of my first. Maybe my 2nd. I was a nervous wreck but in the end was really happy with the photos I took. I still love finding unique ways to use light. 

This was at Natalie's 9 month milestone shoot... I love everything about this photo. Their sweet family walking through this beautiful fall landscape is just magical! 

Oh Heartly, her shoots were always the best! She lived on a 2200 acre ranch and every shoot was an adventure find new places to take her photos! We even did some in a Yurt!

This was another one of those shots where everything just came together. 

Titiana and I did the craziest stuff on this shoot, we even did part of it in a local laundry mat!

Oh Charlie!!  My fave!

Ayla was another muse, she is just so natural in front of a camera - so much fun to shoot with here. 

Cheyenne - I just love capturing true joy!

Loved with photo of Connor and Peter. The light and colors in the background, the smile on Peter's face looking at his firstborn son. LOVE

I am a sucker for a shoot shot!! And I am not ashamed to say, I still love a black and white photo with just a pop of color! 

Samara was adopted from Korea, love this picture of her being held by her mom. 

This was the first time I tried have someone lay down and shoot from above. I loved it! I still do!

This was a rare indoor shoot of twins at their home. Their giant stuffed toys made for super fun background, I loved the challenge this shoot afforded me.

I remember walking in the front door for this shoot and saying, "Can I put your baby in there?" It's not my heart or vision when it comes to newborn photography but it fun!

Started learning more about depth of field and its influence on photos. I love an image with lots of creamy bokeh. 

One of my all time favorite  indoor maternity shoots, in fact this was my very first indoor maternity shoots. I feel in love with the beauty of a side-lit photo.

My nephew and his future wife. loved the color combination the soles of their shoot being in focus (and we all know how much I loved a good headless shot!!)

This session with Allison pushed me to try new things, like asking this shop if we could photograph her in this window. Actually, I'm not sure we asked! I tend to ask for forgiveness later (after I got the shot!!!)

I still love this maternity shot of Rebekah and newborn shot of Kate. 

This shoot with Melissa was very special, Melissa was in the middle of her battle with cancer.

This photo of her with her sweet boy was definitely one of my favorites from that day. 

Gavin! Does it really need an explanation??

My mom made this sweet hat and few others for me to use on my newborn shoots. That's one of the reasons I love this photo so much, the other? That sweet one-eyed peek!

My first ever Valentine shoot... how perfect is Chase!!

Thanks for joining me on this walk down memory lane. To see a glimpse of my current work visit my website at www.3wishesphotography.com and email me at cija@3wishesphotography.com to book your 2024 session!