Project 52 Month 4 | Family Photographer San Clemente

So, while being a Family Photographer in San Clemente, I like to create things that are just for me, or as I call it, personal work. It's so good to make sure, as an artist, that you're shooting for yourself. It helps keep the creative juices flowing and also takes off the pressure to deliver something specific. You get to just play around with your camera and lenses and practice, experiment, create!

That's why I started my Project 52! It helped take, not only me, but other photographers, out of our normal routines, our comfort zones if you will. It makes us think a little differently, a little more creatively, maybe. It's fun and it's great getting to see everyone's different perspective on the weekly themes. 

For the month of April, our themes were: 
Week 13: Dream
I had recently purchased the Canon 85L lens, and it is SO DREAMY

 Week 14: Spring
How can one not think of spring when you see a little birdy sitting in a tree

Week 15: Fresh
Fresh dew on a blade of grass

Week 16: Flowers
These are....mustard plants? They're normally very bright yellow, however, I altered them in post production just because. 

If you're interested in seeing the other week's themes, you can check them all out here:
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3

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Project 52 | Month 3 | Family Photographer San Clemente

Continuing, 2 months later, with my Project 52, this Family Photographer in San Clemente has been photographing as much as possible these past few months. I am really enjoying this Project 52. It's helping me to really THINK when it comes to what I'm going to photograph. I make it a point to at least TRY and step out of the box when the theme is posted. 

For March, our themes for the week were:
Week 9: Quiet
Week 10: Green
Week 11: Lucky
Week 12: Bokeh

So for Week 9: Quiet
I set up a little selfie session, thought about what I could do to represent quiet while being by myself. This was the image I came up with.

Week 10: Green
I used my Canon 100mm L lens to do a macro shot of some flowers we have in our front yard. There was enough separation between this single bud and the grass below it and it created this little purple bud in a sea of green.

Week 11: Lucky
For me, I think we as women are lucky to be able to experience life moving inside of us. Even to be capable of this is incredible. Not all women are so lucky, so for those who are, please cherish that.

Week 12: Bokeh
I initially used a slightly different photo for this in my group. However, this image was taken on the same day, at a different angle and actually showcases real bokeh better than my other one. 

I really do enjoy being apart of this Project 52. If you're a photographer looking to join the group, we'd love to have you jump right in. You can send a request here: Artistically Created Group

If you're looking for a Family Photographer in the San Clemente area, I would love for you to Contact Me today to discuss a possible session!

Project 52, Month 2 | San Clemente Family Photographer

Following up with my Project 52, Month 1 (which you can see HERE), I'm a little late getting these posted. I love that being a San Clemente Family Photographer, I'm not limited to any one thing. I get to photograph families, babies, births, and special projects just for me. That's what this Project 52 is all about.

While coming up with the themes middle-end of last year was a little difficult (it's hard to think of 52 original themes). It's also not easy to come up with WHAT to actually photograph for these themes. But that's the fun part. The themes are open to our own interpretation and as artists, we're free to go with what we are feeling.

So, without further ado, here are my weeks 5-8 of Month 2. Can you spot the theme I created within the themes? Here's a hint... there's a certain holiday that happens during the month of February ;)

Our theme for week 5 was RED
I instantly thought of fruit when I saw this theme. I happened to have some pomegranates in my fridge (I LOVE pomegranate seeds). So I figured, why not cut it up and photograph the beautiful design that hides inside.

Our week 6 theme was: Passion
I chose to do a selfie session with my boy, Capone. My passion is capturing the moments, the memories. So that's just what I did. And I swear, he's not as terrified as I made him look by hugging him like this

Week 7: Love
I can't even begin to describe how much I love this boy. He was the first dog my husband and I got together. He was destined to be ours and he has been loyal ever since.

And finally... Our week 8 was: Hearts
I happened to be doing a Gold Hope Session this week. So I wanted to incorporate this little heart sign that I made for the little girl to hold.

I have to admit, so far, I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking with it. we are already on week 12, so I'll be sharing more in the next couple weeks. I hope you're loving seeing these as much as I'm loving creating them.

If you're looking to have a family session (or maternity, birth, newborn), I would love for you to Contact Me today to talk about capturing your memories!

Military Homecoming | Camp Pendleton Homecoming Photographer

As a Camp Pendleton Homecoming Photographer it is my pleasure to be able to capture families welcoming their own personal heroes home from a deployment. Being away from someone you love is hard enough. Being away from them for 6 months or more, and we're talking nearly unbearable.

Military families are strong and resilient. We are a community that stands by one another and supports each other. We all get it. We all know what it's like. We all have that one thing in common. Things get tough, but we just keep on going... because we have to.

I met Ravan the day Mike was returning from his 6 month military deployment. We drove down to where the homecoming was supposed to be, only to find out that it was being delayed a few hours. This is totally normal in the military life. Things never really go as planned, that's why we have plans B, C all the way through Z already in place. Instead of driving back home at the risk of needing to turn right back around, we decided to grab some frozen yogurt and sit and chat. I loved this opportunity because I got to know Ravan and Mason a bit more. I loved how excited Mason was that Mike was coming home. They already had so much planned out that they were going to do together.

We waited quite a while, which you might be able to imagine was pure torture for Mason. But the reaction I caught when Mike finally arrived was priceless.

I am so thankful that I am able to capture these moments. And I am so thankful for our men and women who serve our country. Thank you!

If you or someone you know is looking for a Camp Pendleton Homecoming Photographer, I would love to hear from you. Just shoot me a message:

Also, feel free to check out my Homecoming Collection Information

3 Ways to get Sharper Photos | San Clemente Family Photographer

As a San Clemente Family Photographer, one thing I see a lot of newer photographers struggling with is how to get sharper photos out of camera. There are A LOT of different factors to consider when trying to make a sharp image. Today I'm going to discuss three ways to get sharper photos.

I'm choosing these particular three factors because I personally feel these are the top three to take into consideration when trying to get sharper photos.

1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH LIGHT ON YOUR SUBJECT
There are a lot of reasons that having enough light on your subject will effect how sharp your image turns out.
One reason; having enough light on your subject helps your camera to "grab" onto the right area you're wishing to focus on. What I mean by that is: while our lens is what we use to focus, the camera itself still needs to be able to "see" what we're trying to focus on. It looks for areas of contrast (an area of light next to an area of shadow). If your subject is too much in the dark and there isn't some light that the camera can grab onto, then your lens is going to have difficulty focusing. This brings up another point about contrast... backlit images typically have decreased contrast and more haze. Because of this, it can make it harder for your lens to focus. It is created by the way the light source is hitting your lens (typically going straight into it). It's like us being blinded by the sun when we try to look right at it... a little hard to focus, amiright?!

As you can see, between these two images, the top image has less light on my subject, aka my dog. While her eyes are still in focus, you can see how having more light on her does actually make her appear sharper.
On top of making it easier for your camera to find the right area to focus on, having enough light also helps reduce your ISO. If your ISO is too high, you'll have noise/grain in your image. If your image is underexposed and you need to bring back some exposure in post, you're going to have noise in your image. Having too much noise will make your image look less sharp, even if you nailed focus.
All I did different (besides adjust my settings) for these two shots was open my blinds to camera right.

2. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FAST ENOUGH SHUTTER SPEED.
This is a big one. If you do not have a fast enough shutter speed, you are going to introduce camera shake into your image. This will make it impossible to have a sharp image, and you also will not be able to fix this in post. A blurry image out of camera will remain a blurry image out of post.
There's a bit of a "rule" when it comes to how slow you actually let your shutter speed get. The rule is 1/focal length. What this means is that if you're using an 85mm lens, your shutter speed should not drop below 1/85ths of a second. And since 1/85 isn't an option on any camera I'm aware of, you'd want a shutter speed of at least 1/100th of a second.
Now, it's also suggested to never let your shutter go below 1/60th of a second. This is because this is the average threshold for people to hand hold their camera. Meaning, any slower than that and it's suggested to use a tripod. Now... of course, there are always those who have very steady hands and can go lower than 1/focal length or even lower than 1/60, but you'll need to test your own limits. I know that I am more on the shaky/unsteady side of things. So I prefer to keep my shutter speed as fast as possible. Because I know I cannot fix a blurry image in Photoshop, I never want to risk introducing camera shake into my image.

Here are two more shots of my beautiful and well behaved model. As you can see, the top image is NOT sharp, and the bottom image is. Both of these were photographed using my Canon 35mm lens. The shutter speed in the top image is 1/40 and the shutter speed in the bottom image is 1/125. So, as you can see, even though I was still at 1/focal length in the top image, I was below 1/60. And for me, through my years of personal experience with photography, I know that I like to keep my shutter speed at no less than 1/100, even with a 35mm on my camera.
I encourage you to test your own limits at hand holding your camera.

3. TOGGLE YOUR FOCAL POINTS
This is another mistake I see a lot of newer photographers make. Either they leave their focal point in the middle of their view finder, or they allow the camera to choose the focal points for them. In my opinion, both of these are mistakes. For one thing, unless you are ALWAYS using a center composition, which I don't personally recommend, you're going to need to utilize your other focal points. They're there for a reason, use them! Now, your center focal point is your strongest one, but that doesn't mean the others should be ignored. I like to use the focal point that is closest to the composition I'm looking to have for my image. Practice moving your focal points so that you can get used to where the buttons are located and soon you'll be able to move them without having to look at your camera.
Now, you could focus and recompose your image, but there are limitations to doing that as well. For example, if your focal point is in the center, and you tilt your camera upwards to focus on someone's eye, then recompose the shot by tilting your camera back down so that the center focus point would now be pointed at their torso, there's a chance you will alter your depth of field. You will shorten the distance your camera is to your subject and your subjects face will not be sharp. Focus and recompose works best when moving from right to left, not up and down. That's just something to keep in mind, and something that I again encourage you to practice with so that you can see for yourself what I'm talking about.

The image above is something that you might see when you look into your view finder and want to change your focal point (this is what I see on my Canon cameras, Nikon may be slightly different). The middle example is showing that the camera would be using the center focal point. However, it's also showing that you're using ONE focal point, which is what I suggest. This is where you could change your single focal point to any of the other gray boxes that would best achieve the composition you're looking for in your image.

Hopefully these three tips will help you in getting sharper images. As I mentioned, there is SO MUCH more that goes into getting a sharper image in camera. These are just my top three. If you're interested in knowing more, I've put together a little ebook for you. You're welcome to sign up for my newsletters to get tips & tricks sent straight to your inbox. When you sign up, you'll get my 8 tips for How to Achieve Sharper Images in Camera. These newsletters are for newer photographers looking to learn how to use their cameras to the best of their abilities!

If you're interested in some one on one mentoring, I'd love for you to Contact Me today! I love helping newer photographers grow and learn.

I have been a San Clemente Family Photographer for 3 years. Capturing families interacting is the best job! If you're looking to schedule a family photography session, I'd love to hear from you!