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Lifestyle photography is what I’m passionate about.  Those candid moments that are not planned but just happen when given enough time.  When you step back and become an observer you see a person’s world differently.  That’s why I love photographing people in their own homes.  Capturing that uniqueness that applies to each person is what lifestyle photography is all about.  In my example below I literally walked into a genuine, unplanned moment that I knew I wanted to photograph. My niece was watching her Ipad without a care in the world at the kitchen table.  After taking a second look I realized she had lined up her My Little Ponies on the table beside her as her audience.  She regularly plays with them and other dolls this way.  I decided to shoot at eye level with the table so I could place my focus on the ponies while my niece was blurred yet still visible in the background.  I wanted to capture the uniqueness of the moment so I intentionally did not talk to her while I was shooting.  I wanted the photo to create the feeling of peaking in on a moment without intruding.  The end result is a priceless childhood moment frozen in time that I can show her one day and say “remember when…”.

                                                            WEEK 18 – LIFESTYLE

I got extra creative for week 17’s prompt, framing.  My Great Pyrenees was watching the sun set and I wanted to frame him somehow without moving him.  At the time there was nothing around framing him.  I started looking around and found some bricks with holes in them and realized I could shoot thru one of the holes.  I held the brick in the palm of my left hand, supporting my elbow on my leg, and holding my camera with my right hand.  I positioned my camera lens very close to the middle hole of the brick and started shooting.  I did this quickly since the brick and camera were heavy but it was worth it.  The result was a unique photo highlighting my dog.  He always photographs well : )

                                                            WEEK 17 – FRAMING

For this week’s challenge I was looking to create bokeh. And oh, how I love me some bokeh : )  Bokeh is achieved by using a small aperture number and focusing on one part of your photo.  The result is your intended subject being in focus with a blurred creamy background or foreground.  This effect is good to use when you have a lot of distractions in your frame.  Bokeh helps to isolate what you want in focus and makes your subject stand out.  With most of the photo being blurred, the viewer’s eye automatically searches for the subject that is in focus.  In this case it was the bloom on the tree branch.

                                                              WEEK 15 – BOKEH

Week 16’s prompt was connection and it also happened to be Easter.  I couldn’t think of a better example of connection than a child connecting with SWEETS on that day : )  I don’t know about you but I can’t deny a child sweet treats and candy on Easter Sunday.  It just defeats the purpose of Easter in a child’s world : )  My niece happened to be a little extra hyper that day but she was in a great mood!!  The photo below is her enjoying a cupcake, fueling up for an egg hunt.

                                                          WEEK 16 – CONNECTION

Mother’s Day is fast approaching us.  For those that don’t know it’s May 14 : )  Photographs are priceless.  They are family treasures passed down from generation to generation and become more meaningful as the years go by.  Kids grow up way too fast and before you know it they are going off to college.  It’s easy for moms to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life.  They want updated family photos but are too busy to get the ball rolling. That’s where husbands and children come in.  When deciding on this year’s gift for your mom or wife consider what it would mean to her to receive a family photo session as a gift.  The end result will be photos she will cherish forever.

I have a few spots left before Mother’s Day.  Not only do I offer prints but also large wall displays like the canvas below.  Use the contact form to reach me by email.

Week 12 had me looking for shadows. Given enough light you can find shadows anywhere, even indoors like my example below.  I turned on the dining room light to help cast a shadow on the wall of the stair railing.  Using shadows in photography creates drama and mood in your photos.  They help highlight your subject drawing your eye to the main focus of the photo.

                                                             WEEK 12 – SHADOWS

A well balanced photo means the right and left side of a photo are weighed equally to the eye.  One side is not competing with the other.  For this week’s prompt, balance, I chose to center my niece in front of a garage door.  There is nothing on the left side of the photo that is competing or distracting from the right side (except my watermark : ).  Both sides are of equal weight visually, making my niece the main focus.

                                                             WEEK 13 – BALANCE

Week 14’s prompt was free choice and that happened to be Spring Break.  My older niece went fishing for the first time with her dad and caught three fish.  She was pretty excited about it and I was there to capture her after she caught the second or third.  The look on her face was priceless : )

                                                            WEEK 14 – FREE CHOICE