Pursuit of the Holiday Portrait

The holiday season is quickly approaching and you are probably getting the great idea to send a fun new portrait to your friends and family. Here are a few tips to making your good idea look great.
The whole feel of the photo can be determined by the clothes and the setting. Do you want a formal, classic look, or more of a casual, playful theme? When choosing outfits make sure that all the "models" are matching. They don't have to be in the same color but they should be in the same neutral color family. Pictures, writing, prints, or embellishments are distracting, so avoid clothes with those. For outdoor settings, choose medium shades, too light and they could wash you out. For interior settings, choose something that will match the background. In either case you want your family members to look good together, unified. Nothing should distract attention from your faces. If your shoes are seen in the shot, they should be plain and simple and not draw attention to them selves by being bright or multi colored.
For the location there could be many options. If choosing the outdoors think about the weather and the lighting, and always have a Plan B in case the weather goes bad. Make sure nothing odd is happening in the background and that a tree or pole is not coming up out of one of their heads. Look all around the frame and make sure everything looks good.

When posing your family, try to imagine triangles. This will make a more visually appealing portrait. Do this with their faces, arranging them higher and lower than each other. It doesn't have to be a drastic amount of space for it to work. The "models" should be very close together with one shoulder more forward than the other creating more angles. Pay attention to what their hands are doing. They won't know what to do with them so you'll have to put them in pockets, in folded arms, or in their lap. Put them somewhere they won't be distracting.

Kids can be a challenge to photograph and often set the pace. Infants are good right after waking up and right before feeding.. its not a lot of time but it can be done. What will also work is if the baby is held by someone and is comfortable then you can crop in close, only getting the baby. If the baby is crying then you can shoot their feet and hands. I even like to photograph the baby sleeping. They can be gently posed and will make adorable portraits.
Toddlers need distraction and you have to be fast. Have a toy that you can use to play with them, fake a sneeze, get their attention and act fast.. get that photo.

For taking a more casual approach throw out mostly everything I just said. When photographing children you can get really good stuff by letting them be themselves. Catch them when they are mellow in the morning waking up, or watching tv. They can play dress up and goof around in their imagination. Some of my best portraits come when I just let the kids go and play.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Pet photography! If you have a furry or feathered friend I want to see your portrait photographer skills in action. You can use the tips I gave for infants and toddlers to help. Feel free to send in a bad one and a good one so we can see what you did to get the desired image.
Good Luck!

Big Cypress Photo Gallery

Are you familiar with Big Cypress Gallery? If not I'm going to do my best to introduce you to it. Big Cypress Gallery is located in South Florida on Tamiami Trail. For those who don't live in Florida this is the road that connects the East Coast to the West Coast. The Gallery is having a Summer Lecture Series. The first month of the series featured resident photographer Clyde Butcher. The gallery and Clyde Butcher's home are actually located within Big Cypress National Preserve. He is often compared to Ansel Adams because of his beautiful black and white landscapes.
Clyde discovered the Florida landscapes by chance. He wandered into a cypress forest behind a local tourist stop and Clyde found his inspiration. He began exploring all of the swamps, sawgrass and mangrove forests of the Everglades, discovering rivers of grass and lush scapes that make up what I think of as the Real Florida. Every state has its own natural attraction. I just moved to Florida myself in 2004. I'd been uninspired, like Mr. Butcher, and its taken me a few years to figure out the benefits and the wonders of living in this flat, hot, Southern state. Although, the farther South you go, the more North you get. That is more to do with the people than the land.
Its because of the photography of Clyde Butcher that I and many others even know what a wetland looks like.
I'm looking forward to the next lecture in the series. Mike Owen and Rick Cruz will be talking about the Ghost Orchid and other rare finds in the swamps and forests. Look up Ghost Orchid, this is a flower that is protected because its an endangered species. Its in bloom once yearly and not very easy to find.
After the lecture I went shooting with some friends. I used my digital infrared camera to capture these black and white scenes.
For more information about Big Cypress Gallery, Clyde Butcher and the lecture series go to www.clydebutcher.com


The assignment this month is to try some nature photography. Get out side and find some critters or landscapes and compose something good enough to frame. Don't forget to send me a copy to post.

Edit & Organize

What kind of photographer are you? Do you have a discernible 'style'? How about a favorite subject? Maybe you are the family documenter. Whatever your specialty is, you are accumulating lots and lots of it -- right? With digital photography being so easy to use we are snapping at everything, having no fear of "wasting" film anymore. Its more and more important to edit your images. There is a saying that we learn in school that is " A photographer is as good as his or her worst shot". Think about that... If you go through your photos after your vacation, and remove all of the duplicate photos and un-necessary images then you are left with the creme de la creme. Imagine how impressed your friends will be when you invite them all over to view your new vacation photos, in slide show format on your new flat screen monitor and they are only seeing the best of the best of your photos.
In doing this after each photo session you will begin to decipher your own style. Without having the excess images to wade through you will be more free to develop your photographer's eye. You will also keep your viewers from becoming bored!

A friend and I went on vacation together and both of us took photos of the experiences of our trip. When we got home we made doubles and exchanged the copies so that we could have a more complete version of our time. I noticed right away that our shooting styles were very different. My images were all traditionally composed, rule of thirds, bla bla bla. Her photos were easily identifiable because she liked to shoot on angles and her subject matter was often different. There were more photos of feet, as I recall. It was wonderful to see the same locations shot with such a different approach.
This also brings up a good point. I'm encouraging you to shoot out of your comfort zone. Its a nice surprise when you can see the same old thing in a new and exciting way.

HOMEWORK
Clean up! Get into your photo files and clear out all the extra and unnecessary photos. You'll have a whole month to do this. Who ever frees the most space on their computer will receive a gift. Plus your computer will love you.

Composition

Compose Your Photograph
Before you go out and buy that big expensive camera know this, Its not the camera that takes the stunning photographs, its the photographer. Its all in how you compose your subject. There are rules of composition and if you practice them you will find that your photographs will improve.
First, decide what your subject is. Are you going to show the whole scene? Think about where you are going to place your subject in the scene.
--Using the rule of thirds is common practice. Imagine the scene is divided into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. You then place your subject on the imaginary intersecting lines.
--Another composition tool would be to place the lines in your scene on a diagonal. For example, if you have a road in the scene move yourself or the camera so that the road is running in a diagonal line across your image.
--Frame your scene by using items on the edges of the scene. An example would be placing a tree on the edges of the photograph so that it frames the subject.
--Try to find the unique point of view. Get up higher than your subject, or get your belly on the floor and shoot up at your subject.
--Keep it simple and use depth of field (covered next month) to zero in on your subject.
--Get close to your subject, even in a portrait. Fill the frame with the subject and see what happens.
You are encouraged to combine these tools and develop your own style and photographic eye. See what develops.

Last Month's Home Work

Macro was the subject last month

Lance Berry sent this in

of his cactus. Actual size is
3/8 in tall and 1/4 in wide.

Marla Murphy sent this photo of Samson the cat. She used the macro setting on her point and shoot camera.

Home Work

OK! Work on your Photographer's EYE. Practice the composition tools and show me what helped you the most of the tools I listed. One or more will illuminate the light over your head for that Ah-HA moment. Let me know what your questions are and if you want to see more examples.

I am available for photographic tutoring. Give me a call!

The flower on the left is an example of placing the subject on a diagonal and the one on the right is an example of filling the frame with the subject. Thanks to Marla Murphy for sending these in.
Roseanne Photography
roseannephotography.com
please send emails to
roseanne@roseannephotography.com

Macro

Finding Your Subject
When discovering your inner photographer your subject matter is often the most difficult to determine. Think about what you are most interested in. What is it that you question in this world. When taking a photograph you are, in essence, stopping time. You are giving yourself and all viewers the chance to study, memorize, and investigate your subject. Look through your lens, whether it is the viewfinder or the digital monitor, and see what the camera is seeing. Scan the edges, what is in the center and what is the focal point. Everything within the frame is your photograph. Sometimes you can find the best subjects right under your nose. Have you ever tried using your macro feature? Its the one that looks like a flower. Macro means that your subject is captured on your image sensor at life size or larger. Use a tripod if you can.
This is a photograph of the smallest tomato in the world, says me. Sometimes the most extraordinary things are found in the most ordinary places. Keep your eyes open you never know what you may find.

About You
Does your mom still have your college photo hanging on the wall. Is that the most recent photo she has of you? Maybe its time to replace that one with a more recent rendition of yourself. If you don't want to be photographed solo you may want to include your family? no family.. how about your pet?
There are many reasons to have an updated and flattering portrait of yourself. Here are a few:
Business cards, Resume, Internet dating, Valentine's Day, High paying modeling job, Passport photo..
Let me transform you into your inner Heidi Klum or David Beckham, Whoo Hoo! Be yourself or be your fantasy. I'll do my job to put you in a relaxed and comfortable place that will release your true self. Treat yourself, you deserve it!!.


Home Work
Take this opportunity to shoot with your macro lens or setting. Get out this weekend and look for the little things in your life and turn them into something timeless and immortal. Then send your images to me with any questions you may have. I'll do my best to answer them and may include the Q&A in next month's news.










Roseanne Photography
www.roseannephotography.com
Please send emails to roseanne@roseannephotography.com

Well.. this is my first attempt at "blogging". I think I'm way behind the times.. now everyone is twittering. For those of you who don't know me, I'm a photographer. I freelance in South Florida. The purpose of this blog is to help to answer questions about your camera and about taking photos. Everyone has a digital camera these days, we even have one in our phones. Images are being recorded all the time, everywhere. Sometimes even when we are unaware that we are , ourselves, the subject of the photograph. And this "media", no longer being referred to as "film", yes media can be transported quickly all over the globe. Its daunting when you think about it. I can take a photo of a butterfly and send it to my friend in Costa Rica, from where the butterfly eggs came from, in seconds.. or maybe minutes since dial-up is still the main connection type.
The other point to take into consideration is that these images don't go away. When you are in college and you go to spring break and you bear it all on video, this gets put on the internet and more than likely, someone is going to save it to their computer. Someday, after you have long forgotten the daring days of your youth, these images can resurface someway some how. Middle school kids are taking provocative photos of themselves and sending them to someone they think they can trust, without taking into consideration that their lives are just beginning. Some kids are being charged with Child Pornography and are now registered Pedophiles. It gets serious fast.
Photographic images are viewed as the truth because they are a snap shot of a moment in time. They are used as evidence of the truth. But now they can easily be altered.