Getting Creative With Your Shutter Speed

After I posted one of these images online, I had a number of emails asking me how I did it so I thought I'd share the how to here on my blog.

It isn't rocket science. It's using your settings to get a creative portrait. For me, it seemed obvious that if we were all going to be skating around we would want a few images that showed movement. The easiest way to show movement is to create a little blur. So, in order to do that, we have to slow down our shutter speed. In this instance, we were outside so there was a lot of natural light. I had the ISO at 100 and I knew from experience that I would want my shutter to be at about 1/40 or 1/50 to get the kind of blur that I want, so I lowered it to there. I didn't want the boys to go too fast as they weren't wearing helmets for aesthetic reasons. I told them to space themselves as I knew that I would be trying to capture their parents between the two of them to create a 'framing' effect. In order to get my exposure correct, I now had to adjust the aperture...there was WAY too much light to shoot it wide open, so I closed the aperture until the proper exposure was achieved which in this case was f11. I focused on the parents, braced myself and had the boys skate by while I shot. They did it three times in total and thanks to the wonders of digital technology, I could look at what we got and determine that the image I wanted to make had been achieved :) NOTE: your shutter speed will be slow enough to cause camera shake, so you must be sure to hold steady to achieve the sharp subjects in the centre. You must also ask your subjects to hold still :) I know from experience that I am able to hand hold at this setting.

Now, I was lucky here because the kids had a parent who was a photographer, but older kids are usually eager to help you create anything you can dream up. I always explain to them what I am trying to do and show them any results on the back of my camera if they ask.

Another option open to me was panning. I could have attempted to get the boys sharp by using similar settings and moving my camera with them while they skated by. In my experience, this is rather time consuming to achieve and so I made the call on this colder winter day to get everyone inside as quickly as possible and do this instead.

I hope this helps everyone in trying to create movement in their own images. If you have any other questions on how to achieve a certain look, be sure to ask me(either here in the comments or on my Facebook page). I'm going to try and post more photography tips from now on. And, if you have a mom's group that would like to have a photographer come and teach them the basics of using their digital SLR, I would love to have the opportunity to come and talk to them. Just contact me via the contact form and we can set something up.

Thanks,

~ Dana

Friday's Favourites: Family Photographs

I know I am a family photographer so I am a little bit biased, but...this week this gets a post.

It has been two long years since we had family photographs done. Of course, that year...we had 4 sessions. Two family ones(one was impromptu). One just kids. And one just adults. We were...well...a little family photo'd out. Not to mention the fact that my family constantly has a camera shoved in their face, so they had grown tired of the process a bit.

The other truth is...the last two years have not been easy ones. I know that I should have put a brave face forward and had them done anyway. And, the truth is that I half heartedly tried to...but nothing came to fruition. I didn't feel like remembering that time in my life. For some pretty good reasons and some pretty stupid ones. And, looking at the blog post of my new photographs, I'm wondering why I hung on to all that crap. And, the truth is that the hard times are there for a reason. They are there so you appreciate the good ones. And, I'm getting there with appreciating the good ones. These images are really helping me with that.

You see...the stupid things that held me back--mostly about the way I look and being unhappy about it, but not unhappy enough to actually do something about it. Seem pretty stupid when I look at these pictures. Look at how much love there is. Love exists in the chaos of life...even if you aren't happy with the way it looks. Sometimes even more so because of that.  And, I don't look that bad to me when I see the photographs. I look worse in my head. Which I know doesn't say much about my self-esteem, but there you have it. It is almost always something that strikes me after we have had professional photographs taken. So, I don't see the hair cut I'm not super happy with or the wrinkles or the ~gasp~ fat. This is what I do see:

My kids are not little anymore. And, that all at once breaks my heart and fills me with joy. They are honestly the most amazing kids I have ever met. True story. And, they are that way because of the relationship that Bob and I have. I'd say the way we love each other, but it's more than that...because sometimes we don't love each other that much(ha). It makes me sad that we skipped those years of having family photographs. Even though we have a million photographs of them, there are not very many of me with them. I am super duper bad at that.

soooo....this week, I'll urge you all to get your family photographs done. Pick a photographer you love. That helps a tonne. It also helps if you pick one who is used to photographing kids the same ages as yours(just saying...it's true. most photographers are used to photographing young kids when everyone is good about getting their pictures taken, but as kids get older it is harder to find photographers that can connect with them). Open up your home...this is the home we have lived in for the last 8 years. There is a good chance that we won't be living in it for much longer. I'm so happy to have photographs of the kids in their rooms and us in our kitchen/living room. Just chillin'  ;)

Last but not least the shopping list(cause I know some of you are wondering and this IS a Friday's Favourites post):

Jack and Georgia's outfits are almost exclusively from Zara with the exception of Jack's velour suit jacket. That's from H&M. Jack's watch is from The Children's Place as are Georgia's boots(they are super duper old though). My tops are both from Anthropologie. Bob is wearing J Crew from head to toe. The swing in Georgia's room is from Pier One. So is my winky face mug. The Dr. Who blanket is from HMV and the Star Wars bedding is Pottery Barn kids(again--super old). I think that's everything you might want to buy :) If not, just say the word and I'll let you know.

The photographs are by the amazing Leigha Graf. I will be sure to share the album with you when it's done. That is my preferred method of saving my own photographs. And, coming up soon, will be Leigha's session as well. Maybe I'll even share the whole thing.

And, finally...Grandma Gandzalas's Rolled Up Pancakes. It is one of those recipes that she knew by heart so this is how she gave it to Bob. Bob once spent an entire day just cooking with Grandma and getting all of her recipes. He keeps them on his iPhone(used to be his Palm Pilot, but times have changed). This is the one we make all the time. We listen to the a CD of Bob's mom singing and tell stories about how the butter used to drip from Grandma's, but how we are more health conscious than that. ha.

4 eggs well beaten 2 cups milk 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup flour to consistency

It should be fairly runny. The pancakes should be fairly thin. When they are hot, you spread butter on them and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll. Eat. Repeat. ;) We have also tried Nutella, but this is a modern version that we only do on special occasions ;)

Happy Friday,

~ Dana

Friday's Favorites: Angie's Kettle Corn

I have decided to start a regular post called Friday's Favorites :) This is where I will share with you something that has made my week extra awesome. I am known as quite the competent shopper amongst my friends(and connoisseur of all things awesome). This week(and honestly for awhile now) it has been Angie's Kettle Corn which I have bought by the giant bag full from Costco. At least, it seems like a giant bag, but if your entire family sits down it will be gone before you know it. For me, it is the perfect mix of sweet and salty. Because it is popcorn, it doesn't make me feel that guilty when I absolutely CANNOT stop eating it(this does not give you permission to detail why they are bad for me--on the contrary, go to their website and see that 2 cups are only 140 calories...and, if you can stop at 2 cups, you are a better person than I).

The best thing about doing this post was learning that there are OTHER flavours. The one I am most interested in is the Salty Caramel--as I am sure it will become obvious as the year progresses that SALTY CARAMELS are amongst some of my all time favourite things.

After you have devoured your bag whilst watching Netflix this weekend, feel free to leave me a comment saying 'THANK YOU...OMG...THANK YOU.'

~ Dana :)

The 5 Minute Project

2014 is going to be the year of projects for me. I have one big personal one brewing(honestly, it's been brewing for the better part of my life so I am excited to sit down and figure out exactly what flavours we have in there). That was pretty cryptic I know, but I am aiming to spend February figuring it out so that I can share it with you in March. But, today, I want to talk to you about a small project I started last year that has grown into a group project. Last year, I started to capture 5 minutes of my life every now and then. No pressure. No timeline. And, then, on a whim...I started a blog and asked others to play along.

I quickly became overwhelmed and knew that there was no way I could keep up with that one. ha. Soooooo...I started thinking. How could I keep up with it? And, it became obvious that gathering a group of regulars who could post along with me would be the way to go. But, who to ask? I made a list. And, you know what? They said yes.

So, now I have the most amazing Group of Eight. That's what I have named us. And, I think you should head on over to the 5 minute project blog and be BLOWN AWAY by the awesomeness of the people I have surrounded myself with. Truthfully, I am lucky enough to call some of these people long time friends, a couple of them internet friends and a couple of them new friends(whose work I greatly admired).

ANDREA HANKI: If you don't know her, you have certainly been hiding under a rock. I have known her since before she had kids(so there-ha). And it has been my extreme pleasure to watch her success balloon and her family grow(her kids are amaze balls). In case you need her links(for the 2 of you who don't know her), here they are Pink Sugar Photography; Pinksugarland; her instagram. She is so cool that I am constantly amazed that she thinks I am somehow cool enough to be her friend.

CHRISTINE POBKE: But you should always refer to her as Pobke. Or simply Pippa's mom. ;) She is an American living down under who I first met on twitter and we quickly became friends when she sent me a parcel of cookies from Australia. That is all it takes to become my friend. Ha. And, before there was Pippa, there was a trip to Vegas for WPPI. She is my social media guru. And, she takes the most darling photographs of her baby Pippa. If you have somehow not heard of her before now, here are her links: Pobke Photography; her instagram.

JOSH SOLAR: If you ever say hi to Josh, the first thing he will do is open his arms and say 'I'm a hugger'. He should just wear a shirt that says that ;) I have known Josh for a few years now and watched him and his wife grow The Happy Family Movement and build a life for their family that is both inspiring and honourable. If there is a more genuine person on earth than Josh, I have yet to meet them. Here are his links: The Happy Family Movement; Solar Photographers, his instagram.

DANA PUGH: In case you weren't sure where you were, this is ME. I'm Dana Pugh.

SUZANNE GIPSON: One day late last year, an image came through my feed and I said to myself 'hey ho...who's that?'...it was Suzanne. I didn't know her, but we had mutual friends. Soooooo...like the Facebook stalker that I am, I started following her work. I don't think I had ever said two words to her before I asked her to be a part of the group. I asked her because she was a new found love and I wanted a front row seat to her work. I was COMPLETELY surprised that she agreed to play along. Here are her links: Suzanne Gipson Photography; her instagram(it is ridiculously good).

REBECCA CHALMERS: I've heard she has a secret island where she spends her summer and if you follow her work, you will see that it is obviously a magical place. Either that or she is just some sort of magician. I've known her online for a while now and I am convinced that 2014 will be the year we will meet. Maybe there will be the same 5 minutes captured through two different set of eyes. Now, that would be cool. Especially if it were on her island(look at me angling for an invite). Here are the links to her magical work: Bee Chalmers Photography; her instagram.

EL HOGAN: El emailed me awhile back to tell me that she too had started photographing 5 minute projects...just one of those funny coincidences of great minds thinking alike ;) So, obviously, I wanted to know who she was. I went to her site and just love her work. I also found that I had pinned one of her photographs on Pinterest way way back. I am excited to get to know her a bit better. Here are her links: El Hogan Photography; her instagram(be prepared to be amazed).

ALPANA ARAS: I have known of her work for many years, but it was only recently, when she was posting photographs of India on her instagram that we begun a conversation in earnest. And, then, one day I looked at one of her photographs and realized we were in the same place(I was in California). We went nuts trying to find each other and, once we did, spent many hours talking and scheming--especially about ways to visit India together. You can find her work here: Storybox Art; her instagram.

So, once you go and look at all of their work, you will see why I am so excited to be doing this group project with them. We are leaving Fridays open for submissions from everyone else and I am excited to see what gets submitted. If you would like to play along and blog a series, make sure to let me know and use the hashtag #5minuteproject :)

You can find the project here: 5minuteproject.com 

~ Dana