Practice, Practice, Practice! Learn! Experiment! Learn More! Practice More! Get Better!

I have taken so many steps forward in the development of my business lately. I registered (finally!) with the Houston Center of Photography for their Certificate of Completion program. I have to test between difficulty levels, have to submit a portfolio before receiving my certificate, and have a great line-up of classes/workshops ahead of me. As I matter of fact my very first class is coming up very soon! I absolutely can't wait. The class is a remedial class just about using a camera and learning all of the settings. I am purposefully starting at the WAY bottom because I want to learn all that there is to know. When I have finished the certificate program I am going to pick an official name for my business, obtain a logo, and register as a real and true legitimate business. I am so looking forward to that day. I would love nothing more than to own a studio but I know that if I work hard enough I can make this business a success even without a studio.

One problem I am encountering is a lack of detail in the important features of my images, namely the face and eyes. I have been told and have learned from research that a big part of that is the fact that I still shoot in JPEG and not RAW. Next Tuesday I am doing newborn pictures for my God-sister whose maternity photos I did in the summer. I plan to shoot 50/50 and see what a difference it makes. I have bought a TON of new props and a great bamboo rug for a backdrop so I really have high hopes for this photo shoot. So much is invested in it.

My First Boudoir Session

A friend of mine was needing a little pick me up, and requested a boudoir session. I have been on the model side of glamour photography but I hadn't shot any myself yet. I felt like this was prime opportunity for a new experience and accepted. I found the session fun, but very challenging. We used my own bedroom for the backdrop, which I was resistant to, but it actually came out quite cute. I always shoot in natural light, alternate lighting is the death of me every time. My client however, wanted to do the shoot at night and so we did. That in itself was a large step out of the box for me, and during the shoot I found establishing the right settings on my camera difficult. Too often I was either producing too dark images or too blurry ones. My biggest hurdle was the subject herself. She was feeling a bit uncomfortable and though I tried to be silly and have fun, I just couldn't pull her out of it. Posing was difficult, I would move an isolated body part and she would turn to jello. I tried explaining that she was to only move the part I was touching but often we wound up giggling and distracted. I know that with practice and study I can learn techniques that will help in situations such as these. I came out of the session with low expectations and found myself pleasantly surprised! I definitely lost a lot of images to darkness, blur, or awkward set up, but I also had a moderate amount to choose from for final edits. I can come out of this experience knowing a little better what to expect out of a boudoir shoot, and I plan to research ways in which I can improve my approach.