February 3, 2025 • 50 mins
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Enhancing your photography is all about storytelling and technique. By focusing on layers, capturing genuine moments, and varying perspectives, you can significantly enrich your images and engage viewers.
• Recap of composition principles from the previous episode
• Techniques for layering elements in photography
• The role of storytelling in crafting cohesive image sequences
• Capturing movement with varying shutter speeds
• The Power of candid shots for authentic emotional capture
• Mixing it up with perspectives: using wide shots, mid shots, and close-ups for storytelling
• Challenge for the week to create a little photo story
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey mama, whether or not you're trying out your
camera for the very first time,or you've been doing this a
while and just looking for somecreative inspiration, I've got
all that and more.
I'm here to help you see yourworld differently, challenge you
creatively and find yourpassion for photography.
Welcome back to the BetterPhotos podcast.
(00:21):
So it gets a little nice oneday, and I am all about spring
cleaning.
Organizing.
I am wanting to like redo myoffice space to make my process
easier and ready to go.
I am so behind on getting outclient USBs Like, yes, I already
(00:46):
put things in galleries andeverybody has their images, but
I like to send little boxes withlike little gifts and things
and I'll not have one of theitems or one of the boxes or one
of the packaging things orwaiting on USBs, and so I want
to get my office more set up tohave things just to grab and go.
(01:07):
So we, me and my husband, wenton a day date over to a new
place in Charlotte calledToastique and I highly recommend
.
It has juices and differentcollagen lattes, um, and then
they obviously have all thesedifferent toast.
So I got the best avocado toast, um, with like a chili oil,
(01:31):
with um, watermelon radish Um, Ican't even remember what else
was on it and a chia seedpudding, which I was really in
the mood for chia seed pudding.
After a solid core workout, Ialways want something like cold
and like light, and I used to goto living kitchen all the time
and just trying to find areplacement for that has been so
(01:52):
sad, because I feel likethere's like nothing, um,
especially like within a quickdistance.
Um, so if you have any placesthat you suggest for chia seed
and do not say what's it calledFirst watch, don't say first
watch.
That is like so heavy eatingthat one, anyways.
(02:18):
So we went to Tostik and thenwe went over to Shoppin South
End area and then to thecontainer store at South Park
and they have so many goodoptions, but it's so hard to see
it in the store and think aboutlike picking out things in
(02:38):
individual pieces when onPinterest and Instagram, they
just keep feeding me all ofthese office ideas with like how
to organize your mailers andyour boxes and it looks so
pretty.
But I'm like overwhelmed, Idon't know where to start and I
don't want to spend that muchmoney.
So that is my predicament isthen I start thinking about OK,
(03:00):
well, it's February and weshould be starting like
seedlings soon, and do I want tobuy seeds?
Are there things that I need topurchase online that won't be
here in time to start yourseeding?
What about, like the lightsthat help the seeds grow better?
And then I remember that I'mterrible at watering.
And then, like, spring breakcomes along and then I forget to
(03:21):
water all the seeds and theneverything dies.
And then what do I want mygarden to be like outside?
Like I love this plaster, lookon a garden.
But being a photographer has itsdownfalls, because I want
everything to look good in apicture.
So our fence is like one ofthose black, like iron fences,
(03:41):
and our neighbors built theirhouse like so close to us and I
don't want it in the backgroundof any of my photos.
So I'm like if I plant thesebeautiful garden beds with
plaster, whatever, you can stillsee the neighbor's house in the
background.
So then I try to think, okay,well, what am I going to put in
the background to block theirhouse, so that when I take a
picture it'll look like youcan't see it?
(04:03):
Yeah, yeah, that's what goesthrough my mind.
This is when we were buildingour house.
My builder hated me, I think,because everything was like how
will this look like in a picture?
What will this look like in apicture?
And he's I'm like even the guyhanging like our lights.
I'm like, okay, I need thelight to come down this far so
that when I take a picture, Ican still see the light in the
(04:24):
picture.
Yeah, I am like so crazy.
I'm like sorry, but if you wanta picture of the house, like
later, and then it's like I willgive you a photo because it's
going to look better, because Ihad photos in mind in the first
place, um, but by the end ofbuilding our house, we were so
over it that we're like bye, bye, bye.
(04:47):
Anyways, that was so long, so,without further ado, oh wait,
what am I working on?
So, working on I am next weekwe're going to talk about
editing, and so I've beentweaking some of my editing
(05:07):
about editing, and so I've beentweaking some of my editing.
Um, again, just pulling in moreof that nostalgia, that like
grain and less contrast, butstill sharp.
Um, and I use an AI software toedit that I'll talk about next
week, but it still only doeslike 50% of the work so, and not
all the like the retouchingstuff that I do on newborns and
(05:30):
moms, and so I still have tomake sure that I still have a
lot of time that I need to edit.
So I'm trying to get that downso that I can focus on shooting
more and even like the businessstuff I love, like doing content
stuff and, um, doing reels andposting and using chat GPT to
(05:54):
help me, uh, narrow downbusiness stuff, which that could
be an episode too, um, but yeah, let me know what you are
wanting to hear.
My instagram is at be poshphoto, so just dm me and
hopefully for episodes afterthis, then we can talk about
(06:15):
some other things that can helpyou make better photos.
All right, so let's get started.
So last week we talked aboutcomposition.
Did you work on anything withcomposition?
Last week?
Did you try out the rule ofthirds?
Did you look for leading lines?
(06:35):
Did you find natural framing orframe your own things?
Did you use doors, windows,anything like that, in your
images?
This week, or even justtraining your eye to see those
things is also helpful.
Again, the more you incorporatethis stuff and the more you
actually do it, the more you'regoing to learn rather than just
(06:58):
listening or yeah, learning,online.
You have to go do it.
So this is anotherencouragement to get out there
and do it.
Um, this week we have lots ofgood stuff again going off
composition and just adding morecreativity to your shots.
So get your cup of coffee, getyour your tea, whatever and
(07:25):
let's chat.
Okay, so you have figured outyour camera settings, you have
everything set up, you haveworked on light, you have worked
on composition, and now we aregoing to take that a little bit
further and talk aboutstorytelling or creative shots
(07:46):
that you can get to add morevariety or just go a step
further in your photography.
So today we're going to betalking about five different
techniques that can help yourphotos get more depth, more
movement.
Photos get more depth, moremovement, more storytelling just
(08:10):
a lot of variety to add to yourgallery or to your overall
photography skills.
We're going to learn technicaland practical ways to achieve
these shots and why we wouldtake these shots in the first
place.
What does it do to the viewer'seye?
So the five things that we'regoing to talk about today is
layering.
Creating like a foreground,middle ground and background.
(08:31):
Storytelling with the beginning, middle and end Capturing
movement with motion blur, andhow to create a gif, candid
shots to capture emotion andauthenticity, close-up, mid and
wide shots just to givedifferent perspective.
(08:51):
And I think that is it.
So we are going to get started.
Okay, so the first thing we'regoing to talk about is layering,
and that is creating aforeground, a middle ground and
a background.
Why is this important?
So this adds depth anddimension and can make your
(09:13):
images feel less flat.
It invites, like the viewer,like into it and draws their eye
to different pieces of the art.
So for my portfolio, I wastrying to figure out what was I
missing, what are some thingsthat I could work on?
Um, last year, and I was justcomparing to some photos and
(09:37):
photographers that I've savedtheir work and I'm like what do
I love about their work?
Like what is it, what are theycapturing, what are they, what
is the style, what is the mood?
And like how can I get betterat that?
And one photographer I followis Light by Iris, and I love her
(09:57):
work and I was like what is itabout her work?
Because it's different thanmine, and so I'm like I'm not
trying to be exactly her, butthere's something that she adds
to her images that I want toknow about and like what am I
missing?
And so then I saw her postabout a class that she was
(10:19):
teaching and it was calledLayers of Love, and I was like
that's it, that is what I'mmissing.
I'm missing layers in my photos.
And so I took a great class byher and I definitely suggest,
you know, taking classes thatdeal with things that you
specifically want to work on,and so this one was a great one.
(10:41):
And we were just talking aboutforeground, middle ground,
background.
So I typically do this with,like, grass in the foreground
and then a family in the middleground and then, you know, woods
in the background or whatever,and we kind of talked about that
last week with composition.
But her type of layering islike with people and like with
(11:02):
things going on and people doingstuff, so it's more cinematic,
and so I loved incorporatingsome more of that, like where
somebody is doing something withthe child in the foreground,
then somebody is walking in themiddle ground or somebody's
doing something coming out of adoor in the background, multiple
things kind of going on, whereit is a collective piece but it
(11:27):
adds interest and, um, just likemore of like a movie, like
something's going on here andsomething's going on here, but
yet it will all be cohesive,based on, like the direction
they're facing or who they'relooking at.
Um, so that was.
That was something great that Ilearned recently to incorporate
(11:47):
more of in my work.
Another way to add layering isto get that bokeh.
So you want to turn thataperture down to a 1.8, 2.8,
however low it can go, and focuson your subject.
So bring your subject closer tothe camera and make the
(12:08):
background super blurry, and sothis can add focus to something
that you want the viewer to see.
This can also add emotion andjust focus to something specific
in the frame.
Another way to add layering canalso be with like textures and
(12:34):
specifically with newborns, andadding like for those overhead
shots of a baby, maybe bythemselves and there's layers of
different textures and colorsor patterns, and then like the
baby in like a solid neutralblanket or maybe it is neutral
(12:55):
blankets and fur and the baby iswearing and then maybe you can
add the layers of the kidsaround the baby, looking down at
the baby, laying beside thebaby, different layers that when
you are getting closer to thecamera, there's more things
(13:16):
coming at you.
So it's kind of like creatinglike a 3D element within a 2D
image.
Okay, another example would belike a mom and a newborn closer
to the camera and she's lookingover her shoulder at her kids,
playing in the window or withthe curtains.
Maybe dad is standing in thedoorframe looking at mom and mom
(13:38):
is looking over her shoulder atthe kids.
But just adding differentlayers can make the viewer stay
and linger a little longer atyour image and just add interest
and make them feel connected tothe image.
Layers work so great whenyou're photographing a group of
(13:59):
people, a family, so this issomething to keep in the back of
your mind when you'rephotographing.
So it's not everyone on thesame plane, that people are
closer to the camera, in themiddle ground, in the background
, and just create that depth.
So the next thing isstorytelling, with a beginning,
(14:22):
a middle and an end.
So a single image can tell astory, but a sequence of images
takes the viewer deeper into themoment.
So this can help you create acohesive gallery that doesn't
feel like a bunch of randomshots, that it was more
intentional with what you werephotographing.
(14:42):
I feel like this is hard in thesense of what story do I want
to capture?
Like, what story am I tellingwhen you don't even know the
people that well or your clientsthat well, or like it's just
another thing to think about.
But this is something that willhelp you learn how to do that
(15:06):
and see that before you even getto those moments.
It doesn't have to be a bigscary, like when you're back in
school and you're thinking of ohmy goodness, I have to write an
essay on this and like what ismy beginning and middle and end
and climax and you know all thethings and so this is really
just okay in this moment.
(15:26):
What is the beginning and themiddle and the end?
So it could be kids gettingdressed Okay, so you see a
picture of their clothes on thefloor, you see them putting
their uh, their shirt on ortheir shoes on, and then you see
them running away, goingoutside to play.
So that can be a story.
It doesn't have to be a storyfor the whole time that you're
(15:49):
with the clients or with yourfamily.
It can be just simple moments.
Maybe you're baking somethingwith your kids, maybe you are
making cookies and you get aphoto of the flour and
everything's set out.
Then you get a photo of thekids with flour on their hands
(16:10):
or the mess, and then you getthem enjoying the cookies at the
end.
So that could be a little ministory.
That's something that you canincorporate to something that
you just document yourself.
It doesn't even have to be withclients.
Getting in the habit of seeingthe story can help take your
photography to a whole new level.
(16:31):
So doing the you know picturesof before, middle and after
throughout your day, just evenon your phone, can just help you
start visualizing.
Oh, this is a story.
Oh, this has a beginning,middle and end.
Oh, I could capture this andthis could be a sequence of
images.
And there, this has a beginning, middle and end.
Oh, I could capture this andthis could be a sequence of
images.
And there can be more in themiddle obviously.
(16:52):
Like, maybe there's a pictureof flour on the hands, maybe
there's a picture of rolling outdough, maybe there's a picture
of getting flour on your face.
You know all these fun things.
So the story can be longer.
But just get in the habit ofthinking what can I shoot to
start the story, what can Ishoot to keep it going and what
(17:13):
can I shoot?
To wrap it all up, what is theending?
Photographing little storiesthroughout the day or throughout
your session really makes thesession come alive and become
more of a memory and anexperience.
So they'll be like rememberthat time that we did this and
it was a sequence of things,rather than we just stood still
(17:36):
and got our picture taken.
That was like.
One thing I really try toincorporate into my sessions is
doing something.
It creates a full experience,so that I want, when the kids
leave, I want them to be like oh, I can't wait to go back and do
this, or they have a memory oflike fun times with their family
.
Maybe you know it's like a lotof things going on at home, like
(18:01):
we're working, we're gettingdinner ready, we're driving to
activities, we are on our phones, we are shopping groceries, all
the things and sometimes itgets lost just to put our eyes
on our kids and our whole familyat the same time and play, and
so that's what I really want tomake time for.
(18:25):
When I'm adding theseexperiences in is that I'm
getting genuine moments whereeveryone's eyes can be on each
other, everyone can be doingsomething together, and
hopefully that will make thekids and even the parents be
like we needed that, you know,okay.
So the next one that we're goingto talk about is capturing
(18:48):
movement.
So this goes back to ourshutter speeds and our camera
settings, and so once you learnthat, then you can kind of start
breaking the rules of things.
So there can be so many ways toadd movement in your photo, all
(19:10):
right.
So if you have your shutterspeed slower, then you're going
to have more blur in your photo.
So if you turn your shutterspeed down to like a 1 over 50
and you let your subject run byyou, that subject is going to be
a blur if you're standing still.
(19:30):
Another thing you could do isto set it down to 150 and run
beside your subject.
So this will create part ofyour subject in focus with the
background being super blurry.
Okay.
So another fun thing is havethe subject running towards you
(19:50):
with the lower shutter speed.
Then another technique could bethat you are running away from
the subject while the subject isrunning towards you and
changing up your perspective andmaybe not having the subject
completely in frame Maybe it'sjust their feet or their legs or
their hair blowing.
This can all add so muchvariety and so much like cool
(20:14):
shots to your gallery.
Another thing you can do is Ilike to put it down to like one
over 20 and have my subject tryto stay really still with their
face or with their upper bodyand then just move their dress
or their skirt.
And so this is when I like tohave my families try to wear
(20:40):
like more outfits that move,because you cannot do this in
jeans, like it just restrictsthe movement.
And so when I'm telling myclients to wear like certain
outfits, I'm thinking of theshots that I want to get wear
like certain outfits.
I'm thinking of the shots thatI want to get and just that like
romantic feel, that, um, Idon't know, it's just like more
(21:02):
cinematic, more like movie-ish.
Um, when you're having likesome outfits like blowing in the
wind and blurring and I don'tknow that, just I just love that
.
So I kind of get stuck andfreeze a little bit when there's
like a little girl that likecould be twirling in her you
(21:25):
know skirt or dress or whatever,but she's got like tight pants
on her leggings and it's like,okay, well, this is not exactly
the shot I was going for.
I can still get something ofher twirling, but it's like,
okay, well, this is not exactlythe shot I was going for.
I can still get something, umof her twirling, but it's not
going to be that like ultimateshot that, like I feel like, is
so pretty.
All right, so you can also tryyour subjects jumping or, um,
(21:54):
skipping, holding hands,skipping towards you.
Sometimes, if you're in themiddle of like a ring around the
Rosie and you are also spinningaround while taking photos of
them spinning, that can be cooland just get some people in
focus and then some peopleblurry, get some people in focus
(22:15):
and then some people blurry.
So again, that can add likeanother artistic spin on your
photos.
And if you haven't seen by now,photography is a workout.
You are up, you're down, you'rerunning, you're carrying things
, you are on the ground, you areholding a million things at
once.
You are laying on the ground,you are getting on ladders.
You are, you are laying on theground, you are getting on
ladders, you are constantlymoving and doing things.
(22:36):
So just keep that in mind, thatthe more you move, the more
variety you're going to get too.
When you add movement to yourshot, you are conveying energy,
joy, playfulness and you'remaking the viewer feel like
they're there, and soincorporating this with kids and
(23:00):
couples and families can justreally play into a mood that
you're trying to create for theviewer.
Adding images that havemovement just really is so much
better than just having a wholecollection of still images.
(23:20):
So another fun thing that I liketo incorporate with the
movement is a set of burst shots.
So basically you are puttingyour shutter really high and to
make sure that your subject issharp as they're moving, and
then you can find high dynamicburst mode.
(23:41):
It looks like a bunch ofrectangles on your um, either in
your settings or on the side.
You can have like there's likea quick shortcut button to
change from a single frame toburst.
High dynamic burst, I think, iswhat it's called.
(24:02):
Different cameras say differentthings, but it looks like the
multiple squares and so orrectangles, and so if you put it
on this it'll make your like.
You can hold down the shutterand it will just like rapid fire
click.
So you obviously don't want tohave somebody in a still
position while pressing thisbutton, because you are going to
have a thousand of the sameimage.
(24:25):
But what you can use it for iswhen you have a subject running
towards each other.
If you have a mom throwing ordad throwing up a child in the
air each other, if you have amom throwing or dad throwing up
a child in the air, if you havea family that is skipping
together or a mom or dadspinning a child, there's like
(24:45):
multiple scenarios of movementthat you could capture with this
, but what it's going to do isit's going to make a single
frame, one part of the movement.
So when you put it together, ora set of pictures together, if
you like, are viewing them onyour computer, and you start
pressing the right arrow and itstarts moving, like really quick
(25:07):
, it looks like a, like a stopmotion video, or like a video
that's slowed down frame byframe, and so then you can pull
it into like if you want to editthem, you can edit the photos
and we'll talk about that nextweek and then you can pull them
into um, an app like InShot, andput all the frames there that
(25:29):
you want.
And then, um, I like to changethe duration down to like 0.3 of
a second, and then you canspeed it up or slow it down and
then export it as a video andthen add it to your collection.
So it won't be.
If you leave it as images inyour gallery, you're going to
(25:50):
have like a thousand images justfrom this one movement, and so
please don't send that to yourclients.
I've done that accidentally,left that in my gallery to
upload and I'm like, oh my gosh,I go back and I'm like sorry,
there was like 50 of like justlittle incremental movements
because I was exporting them touse as a GIF.
(26:11):
Um, so I normally just leavelike the best shot in for the
still image and then use theother ones to create a little
GIF video that I can use forsocial media and then also I can
upload that to their gallerytoo.
Okay, so that is super fun andagain, it's just like a creative
thing to do, all right.
(26:33):
So number four is candid shots,and I think these are these are
the easy, like the ones that youwant to get, but you don't even
like really place an emphasison what you want to capture with
the candid.
And then sometimes I I feellike you feel the pressure to
tell somebody that you're takinga photo, and the importance of
(26:57):
this is getting real emotionsand not just the posed smiles,
and so you know, like when youtell your kid to smile or
someone else's kid, and they puton this like fake smile and
you're like, oh, that's not likeyour real one, and so maybe
just like sitting back andletting other moments happen and
prompts and then capturingthose, um, real smiles, those
(27:22):
can create like better photosbecause you know they're genuine
Um, you can.
Also there's photographers thatsolely do documentary style
photography and basically thatmeans that they come and they're
like a fly on the wall and theydo not interact with the family
at all.
They are just strictly there todocument things that they see,
(27:44):
connections that they have.
Sometimes people have these fortheir wedding just to capture,
like all like the real things.
But part of being a photographeris anticipating the moment.
That is so key in photography.
You have to think a couplesteps ahead of what is going to
(28:08):
happen so that you can be readyto take that image.
It was a lot more importantwhen I used to shoot film
because you only had so manyshots in the camera to be able
to take, and so now, withdigital, we just hold down the
shutter and just like, leteverything capture, which is a
(28:31):
nightmare to go through later,and so just anticipating a
moment can help really narrowdown what you want to capture.
So for my sessions I am notdocumentary but I'm also not
super posed, and so how I getthose candid shots and the shots
(28:53):
that look real and authentic isI use prompts and so I don't
really set people up unless Iknow that something else is
going to happen, the real photothat I want.
I will cue people to do thingsor set up a family to do
something, and then sometimesI'll tell the mom and dad like,
(29:14):
hey, they do this, I want you todo this, and so it can be
something like you set theparents up and they're like, um,
you know, squatting down, and Itell the kids that they're
gonna, when I count to three,they're gonna, run over and give
mom and dad a hug, and so Itell the parents to like kind of
(29:34):
brace themselves so they don'tget fully knocked over, because
some of the kids run very fastand very hard.
So I will give them a promptand then when they run over and
give kisses, it's not reallylike the first, sometimes it's
not the first image, but it'slike a couple images after that
that they're just kind of likelooking at their kids and the
kids are looking at them, andit's like those moments that I'm
(29:57):
anticipating not really thefull force where everyone's like
closing their eyes, likebracing for it, um, and so
that's kind of like with any ofmy sessions I am cuing and
prompting so that people don'tfeel stuck and not know what to
do in front of the camera.
That is like the most awkwardthing, because obviously we
(30:22):
don't spend our days likethinking how would this look?
I mean, sometimes I do, and um,but like how would this look
and how would that look?
And you just want someone totell you like do this and do I
look good doing this?
And so that is why I think aphotographer job will never go
away, because you constantlywant someone to tell you does
this look good?
What do I do?
(30:42):
How are we doing this?
And then can you also like helpwrangle my kids, so that I'm
not running around looking crazy, but like I can keep my hair
and makeup good.
Or I'll tell the kid that we'regoing to do a secret.
They're going to.
When I count to three, they'regoing to run towards dad and
whisper poopy in their ear orsomething like funny.
(31:03):
Or I'll have the kid runtowards dad, but I'll tell dad
when the kid gets to you you'regoing to pick them up in the air
and fly him around and fly himto mom to give him a kiss, and
mom you're going to like reachout your hands and pull them in
for a kiss, and so there's likea whole sequence of things going
on and I'm just giving like theinitial, like prompt, but
(31:24):
everything that happens inbetween.
I am ready to capture thoselittle candid moments.
So I'm not telling them how bigof a smile to smile.
I'm not telling them what to do, how to smile.
I'm not telling them what to do, how to, how to throw the kid
up in the air specifically likehow high.
Or I'm not telling them how orwhere to kiss your child on the
(31:45):
forehead, on the nose, on themouth, on the cheek.
What are you doing after?
Are you giving eskimos?
Are you laughing orling, likesome of those things are cute in
a general sense.
But I'm there to capture allthe like candid moments in
between and that's when the realemotion and authenticity comes
(32:05):
through is those in betweenmoments.
So sometimes I'll tell mom anddad to give each other like
Eskimo kisses, and it may not bethat I'm actually trying to
other like Eskimo kisses, and itmay not be that I'm actually
trying to get a photo of themdoing a nose-to-nose picture,
but maybe I am asking them to dothat.
So then they look at each otherand laugh like this is so
awkward and like you know, likethis is so funny, like I haven't
(32:28):
done this to you ever, or youknow like this is so silly, and
just getting those genuinesmiles is more my goal, not the
goal of getting the Eskimo kiss.
Candids are also a great timewhen the kids are just not
feeling photos.
So sometimes I, if the kid ishaving a little bit of a hard
(32:49):
time, you can give them a littlemoment.
You can go around shooting somedetailed shots.
You can get some of the youknow that raw expression of like
today's just not the day, orI'm just not feeling this, and
maybe it's the parent's handslike on the kid's head or their
(33:10):
back, like soothing them orcomforting them, or the kid just
like laying over the dad'sshoulder, and getting some
candid shots of that, becausethat's real life.
And when you look back at yourphotos you can remember like not
just like the best moments, butlooking at how you responded to
your child and how you loved onthem and how, even in their
(33:31):
like hard moments, you're therefor them.
Like it can like bring a bunchof different emotional responses
.
When you look back at yourphotos and now kids are older or
things have changed, you willwant some of those candid
moments to look back on and belike yeah, that was it.
I like the candid shots because,again, I want to make it look
(33:54):
like I'm peering in to yourreality of how your family loves
each other, how they look ateach other, how a dad looks at
his daughter and a daughterlooks at her dad.
And those little moments I feellike are just the ones of
meaning, the ones that you willlook back at in 20 years and be
(34:15):
like oh my gosh, that was sosweet.
You know, to me it's more aboutthe connection that the family
has with each other than theconnection that they have with
the camera.
So I don't want fake, stiffsmiling poses that the parents
were just yelling at their kidsto get in line and smile.
Smiling poses that the parentswere just yelling at their kids
(34:37):
to get in line and smile oh,that like breaks my heart every
time.
Like I'm like that's not what Iwant a session to be like.
I want them to be laughingbecause they're having fun with
you and getting those naturalsmiles, the honest ones and the
emotional ones, the ones thatdraw emotion out of you.
So, while you still might getthe grandma shot, as a lot of
(35:00):
photographers have coined it,the one where everyone is
smiling at the camera add insome candid shots to your
gallery, where you are not justtaking the moments of everyone
anticipating the the picturebeing taken, but those in
between moments.
And if you need some promptideas they're in the show notes
(35:22):
I will put a link to promptsthat you can grab and use at
your next session.
Another tip that you can, youcan use if you have a longer
lens, so like an 85 millimeteror 135.
This is helpful to get thoseclose-up shots without
(35:45):
interrupting the family.
So if you think you want to domore details or more candid
shots without being really closeto the family, then maybe
invest in getting and I will putlinks to those suggestions in
the show notes as well All right.
So our last one is more aboutperspective and getting that
(36:08):
cinematic closeup shot, mid-shot, wide shot.
So I worked in video editingfor a while and we had to
categorize different shots fordifferent commercials or
whatever we were working on, toclose-ups, mid-shots and wide
shots.
So then when I was putting thefootage together, mid shots and
(36:31):
wide shots.
So then when I was putting thefootage together, I could grab
different shots to make the addsome variation to what we were
watching or to the segment.
And it's the same withphotography that you can help
tell a story through the typesof shots that you're getting.
(36:59):
So if you're looking at lenses,if you have a 24mm lens, you are
going to get a wide shotwithout being so far from your
subject.
So I got a 24mm prime lens sothat I could get a shot of the
nursery, even if it was small.
Otherwise, if I have my 50millimeter or my 35, I am
backing up a little ways to getthe entire room in my shot.
(37:23):
So with a 24 to 70 lens, you'regoing to get that wide shot.
You're going to get that wideshot, you're going to get that
medium shot and you're going toget those detail shots, all with
one lens.
So if you're looking to savemoney and get an all-in-one lens
, I would totally go for the 24to 70 because it's going to
(37:47):
allow you more options.
Now, what I like about primelenses is because I feel like
they give a better quality ofimage, and I'm so used to them
that I honestly forget to zoomin and zoom out with my 24 to 70
and I bought my 24 to 70 for myCanon and I don't know what
(38:10):
happened.
But this is just a PSA to makesure that you have your lens
caps on, but for some reason itgot a couple scratches and you
can't tell in most images, butin some it's like if the detail
spot was right on that scratch,then there's no repair.
So just FYI, keep your lensesin good care, and I'll also put
(38:34):
a link to those lenses in myshow notes as well.
Okay, so the first shot you wantto get is a wide shot.
This establishes where you are,it sets the scene, it captures
the environment and shows thescale of where you are.
So it could be a bedroom, anursery, it could be a field, it
(39:00):
could be a barn, like with thewhole barn in the picture.
It could be a park, with thewhole park in the picture.
So you're setting up where youare, okay.
So then you move on to the midshot.
This one is not a wide shot andnot close up.
It's somewhere in the middle.
(39:20):
So this one focuses on theconnection and interaction
between the subjects.
So maybe this is if you're at apark it's kids swinging on the
swing or maybe it is going downthe subjects.
So maybe this is if you're at apark, it's kids swinging on the
swing, or maybe it is goingdown the slide.
Maybe it is a family skippingthrough the field, like.
A little bit closer up, maybeit is the parents standing in
(39:45):
front of the crib in the nurseryor sitting in the rocker.
Those are mid shots and it'sthose are probably the shots
that we gravitate towards most,that fill most of our content on
our galleries or on our phonesis these mid shots.
So the next one is the close-upshot.
(40:06):
This is the detail shot.
This is the detail shot.
This is the thing that will, um, most likely do something with
the senses.
So, like, what is the?
What are the fingers touching?
What is the hand holding?
What is the nose smelling?
What is the ear hearing?
Um, what is the hair doing inthe wind?
(40:26):
Um, so all those little thingsare things that it's hard to
remember, to capture, I think.
So don't forget getting reallyclose.
And I find this harder becausethings are moving so quickly
with little ones that like toget those details and get them
to like slow down just enough sothat you can focus on the
(40:49):
little fingers.
So you have to be really highshutter speed, really quick to
go get those, or just wait forlike a more of a somber moment
where maybe you're asking yourchild a question while their
toes are like in the sand andyou're asking, like them to say
I spy, blah, blah, blah.
So they're spending like a lotof time like looking for the
thing and standing still orasking them questions like.
(41:12):
Another thing photography is ismultitasking.
You are trying to have a talkwith something, while also
you're trying to have a talkwith a child about their
favorite cartoon character,while also posing a newborn with
the mom and making sure thather hair is all collected.
The toddler is trying to throwa ball to you.
(41:33):
You are trying to get your.
There's just like a millionthings going on, and so you have
to learn to um multitask whenyou are doing photography.
Being a mom really helps withbeing a photographer as well,
because I'm used to that.
I have three kids.
I'm used to all the crazinessand running around and I was
(41:55):
there too with all the littlesand all the things, and so I am
right there with you and that, Ithink, helps add to my
photography business is alsobeing a mom and understanding.
So if you were at the beach,then your wide shot would be
everyone standing on theshoreline at the beach.
(42:17):
The mid shot could be theparents swinging their child
between them so they're walkingand swinging the child, and then
the close up shot could betheir wet sandy toes or fingers,
maybe in mom's hair.
Wet sandy toes or fingers,maybe in mom's hair.
So you could have the childjust like being held by mom and
just tell her to like run herhand through her hair, or maybe
(42:37):
she's doing that naturally, sonot everything has to be cued.
You can be looking for thosespecific things, and making it
easier is thinking what couldthey touch, what could they
smell, what can they hear?
Um, what can they?
What are the other ones?
Taste, and how many are there?
(42:58):
Taste, touch, smell, hear.
I know there's another one, Idon't know what it is, I can't
remember.
Taste, touch, anyways, so allthe senses.
So the wide shot tells wherethe subject is when are you, the
(43:21):
mid shot tells what you'redoing and the close-up shot
tells how it feels.
So if you can keep those threethings in mind for those types
of shots, you will have a greatgallery of photos to keep for
yourself.
Like, maybe you're taking allthese photos on a tripod or on
(43:44):
your phone with a remote timerand which, obviously, like
moving the tripod, is going tobe a lot of work, but it can be
doable.
It totally can be doable.
Um, but if you are aphotographer, then obviously
these are things that you canstart incorporating into your
session so that you can have, um, more things, more different
(44:07):
things to post, more different,different things, more variety
to post to your Instagram feedand make it not look all the
same.
So, um, so getting more varietyand nailing these shots can up
(44:28):
level you as a photographer,whether you're beginning or
you're a pro, and hopefully youcan take everything today and
make better photos.
So your challenge this week isto capture a three-photo series
that tells a story from your day.
Maybe it's part of your morningroutine or a playtime sequence
(44:53):
Just think about a beginning,middle and end shot and I can't
wait to see what you capture.
Some other things that youcould do to start thinking about
stories to capture or just getyour brain going.
There are some great journalingprompts that can help you spark
(45:14):
creativity.
You can also use chat GBT tothink about ideas or ask what
should I capture, what should Ido?
Give me some ideas forstorytelling throughout my day.
I'm a mom of toddlers and theygo to preschool during the day
from nine to one, and then weget home and it's nap time.
(45:36):
What are some photos ofstorytelling that have a
beginning, middle and end shotscould I capture?
So chat gpt will literally giveyou a bunch of ideas and I love
using it for sparkingcreativity, to get my mind going
.
But don't let it stop there.
Actually go take the photos,and the more photos you take,
(45:58):
the better photos you will get,and I hope to see you back next
week for talking about editingthose photos.
You guys have a great week.
Bye.
Hey mama, whether or not you're trying out your
camera for the very first time,or you've been doing this a
while and just looking for somecreative inspiration, I've got
all that and more.
I'm here to help you see yourworld differently, challenge you
creatively and find yourpassion for photography.
Welcome back to the BetterPhotos podcast.
(00:21):
So it gets a little nice oneday, and I am all about spring
cleaning.
Organizing.
I am wanting to like redo myoffice space to make my process
easier and ready to go.
I am so behind on getting outclient USBs Like, yes, I already
(00:46):
put things in galleries andeverybody has their images, but
I like to send little boxes withlike little gifts and things
and I'll not have one of theitems or one of the boxes or one
of the packaging things orwaiting on USBs, and so I want
to get my office more set up tohave things just to grab and go.
(01:07):
So we, me and my husband, wenton a day date over to a new
place in Charlotte calledToastique and I highly recommend
.
It has juices and differentcollagen lattes, um, and then
they obviously have all thesedifferent toast.
So I got the best avocado toast, um, with like a chili oil,
(01:31):
with um, watermelon radish Um, Ican't even remember what else
was on it and a chia seedpudding, which I was really in
the mood for chia seed pudding.
After a solid core workout, Ialways want something like cold
and like light, and I used to goto living kitchen all the time
and just trying to find areplacement for that has been so
(01:52):
sad, because I feel likethere's like nothing, um,
especially like within a quickdistance.
Um, so if you have any placesthat you suggest for chia seed
and do not say what's it calledFirst watch, don't say first
watch.
That is like so heavy eatingthat one, anyways.
(02:18):
So we went to Tostik and thenwe went over to Shoppin South
End area and then to thecontainer store at South Park
and they have so many goodoptions, but it's so hard to see
it in the store and think aboutlike picking out things in
(02:38):
individual pieces when onPinterest and Instagram, they
just keep feeding me all ofthese office ideas with like how
to organize your mailers andyour boxes and it looks so
pretty.
But I'm like overwhelmed, Idon't know where to start and I
don't want to spend that muchmoney.
So that is my predicament isthen I start thinking about OK,
(03:00):
well, it's February and weshould be starting like
seedlings soon, and do I want tobuy seeds?
Are there things that I need topurchase online that won't be
here in time to start yourseeding?
What about, like the lightsthat help the seeds grow better?
And then I remember that I'mterrible at watering.
And then, like, spring breakcomes along and then I forget to
(03:21):
water all the seeds and theneverything dies.
And then what do I want mygarden to be like outside?
Like I love this plaster, lookon a garden.
But being a photographer has itsdownfalls, because I want
everything to look good in apicture.
So our fence is like one ofthose black, like iron fences,
(03:41):
and our neighbors built theirhouse like so close to us and I
don't want it in the backgroundof any of my photos.
So I'm like if I plant thesebeautiful garden beds with
plaster, whatever, you can stillsee the neighbor's house in the
background.
So then I try to think, okay,well, what am I going to put in
the background to block theirhouse, so that when I take a
picture it'll look like youcan't see it?
(04:03):
Yeah, yeah, that's what goesthrough my mind.
This is when we were buildingour house.
My builder hated me, I think,because everything was like how
will this look like in a picture?
What will this look like in apicture?
And he's I'm like even the guyhanging like our lights.
I'm like, okay, I need thelight to come down this far so
that when I take a picture, Ican still see the light in the
(04:24):
picture.
Yeah, I am like so crazy.
I'm like sorry, but if you wanta picture of the house, like
later, and then it's like I willgive you a photo because it's
going to look better, because Ihad photos in mind in the first
place, um, but by the end ofbuilding our house, we were so
over it that we're like bye, bye, bye.
(04:47):
Anyways, that was so long, so,without further ado, oh wait,
what am I working on?
So, working on I am next weekwe're going to talk about
editing, and so I've beentweaking some of my editing
(05:07):
about editing, and so I've beentweaking some of my editing.
Um, again, just pulling in moreof that nostalgia, that like
grain and less contrast, butstill sharp.
Um, and I use an AI software toedit that I'll talk about next
week, but it still only doeslike 50% of the work so, and not
all the like the retouchingstuff that I do on newborns and
(05:30):
moms, and so I still have tomake sure that I still have a
lot of time that I need to edit.
So I'm trying to get that downso that I can focus on shooting
more and even like the businessstuff I love, like doing content
stuff and, um, doing reels andposting and using chat GPT to
(05:54):
help me, uh, narrow downbusiness stuff, which that could
be an episode too, um, but yeah, let me know what you are
wanting to hear.
My instagram is at be poshphoto, so just dm me and
hopefully for episodes afterthis, then we can talk about
(06:15):
some other things that can helpyou make better photos.
All right, so let's get started.
So last week we talked aboutcomposition.
Did you work on anything withcomposition?
Last week?
Did you try out the rule ofthirds?
Did you look for leading lines?
(06:35):
Did you find natural framing orframe your own things?
Did you use doors, windows,anything like that, in your
images?
This week, or even justtraining your eye to see those
things is also helpful.
Again, the more you incorporatethis stuff and the more you
actually do it, the more you'regoing to learn rather than just
(06:58):
listening or yeah, learning,online.
You have to go do it.
So this is anotherencouragement to get out there
and do it.
Um, this week we have lots ofgood stuff again going off
composition and just adding morecreativity to your shots.
So get your cup of coffee, getyour your tea, whatever and
(07:25):
let's chat.
Okay, so you have figured outyour camera settings, you have
everything set up, you haveworked on light, you have worked
on composition, and now we aregoing to take that a little bit
further and talk aboutstorytelling or creative shots
(07:46):
that you can get to add morevariety or just go a step
further in your photography.
So today we're going to betalking about five different
techniques that can help yourphotos get more depth, more
movement.
Photos get more depth, moremovement, more storytelling just
(08:10):
a lot of variety to add to yourgallery or to your overall
photography skills.
We're going to learn technicaland practical ways to achieve
these shots and why we wouldtake these shots in the first
place.
What does it do to the viewer'seye?
So the five things that we'regoing to talk about today is
layering.
Creating like a foreground,middle ground and background.
(08:31):
Storytelling with the beginning, middle and end Capturing
movement with motion blur, andhow to create a gif, candid
shots to capture emotion andauthenticity, close-up, mid and
wide shots just to givedifferent perspective.
(08:51):
And I think that is it.
So we are going to get started.
Okay, so the first thing we'regoing to talk about is layering,
and that is creating aforeground, a middle ground and
a background.
Why is this important?
So this adds depth anddimension and can make your
(09:13):
images feel less flat.
It invites, like the viewer,like into it and draws their eye
to different pieces of the art.
So for my portfolio, I wastrying to figure out what was I
missing, what are some thingsthat I could work on?
Um, last year, and I was justcomparing to some photos and
(09:37):
photographers that I've savedtheir work and I'm like what do
I love about their work?
Like what is it, what are theycapturing, what are they, what
is the style, what is the mood?
And like how can I get betterat that?
And one photographer I followis Light by Iris, and I love her
(09:57):
work and I was like what is itabout her work?
Because it's different thanmine, and so I'm like I'm not
trying to be exactly her, butthere's something that she adds
to her images that I want toknow about and like what am I
missing?
And so then I saw her postabout a class that she was
(10:19):
teaching and it was calledLayers of Love, and I was like
that's it, that is what I'mmissing.
I'm missing layers in my photos.
And so I took a great class byher and I definitely suggest,
you know, taking classes thatdeal with things that you
specifically want to work on,and so this one was a great one.
(10:41):
And we were just talking aboutforeground, middle ground,
background.
So I typically do this with,like, grass in the foreground
and then a family in the middleground and then, you know, woods
in the background or whatever,and we kind of talked about that
last week with composition.
But her type of layering islike with people and like with
(11:02):
things going on and people doingstuff, so it's more cinematic,
and so I loved incorporatingsome more of that, like where
somebody is doing something withthe child in the foreground,
then somebody is walking in themiddle ground or somebody's
doing something coming out of adoor in the background, multiple
things kind of going on, whereit is a collective piece but it
(11:27):
adds interest and, um, just likemore of like a movie, like
something's going on here andsomething's going on here, but
yet it will all be cohesive,based on, like the direction
they're facing or who they'relooking at.
Um, so that was.
That was something great that Ilearned recently to incorporate
(11:47):
more of in my work.
Another way to add layering isto get that bokeh.
So you want to turn thataperture down to a 1.8, 2.8,
however low it can go, and focuson your subject.
So bring your subject closer tothe camera and make the
(12:08):
background super blurry, and sothis can add focus to something
that you want the viewer to see.
This can also add emotion andjust focus to something specific
in the frame.
Another way to add layering canalso be with like textures and
(12:34):
specifically with newborns, andadding like for those overhead
shots of a baby, maybe bythemselves and there's layers of
different textures and colorsor patterns, and then like the
baby in like a solid neutralblanket or maybe it is neutral
(12:55):
blankets and fur and the baby iswearing and then maybe you can
add the layers of the kidsaround the baby, looking down at
the baby, laying beside thebaby, different layers that when
you are getting closer to thecamera, there's more things
(13:16):
coming at you.
So it's kind of like creatinglike a 3D element within a 2D
image.
Okay, another example would belike a mom and a newborn closer
to the camera and she's lookingover her shoulder at her kids,
playing in the window or withthe curtains.
Maybe dad is standing in thedoorframe looking at mom and mom
(13:38):
is looking over her shoulder atthe kids.
But just adding differentlayers can make the viewer stay
and linger a little longer atyour image and just add interest
and make them feel connected tothe image.
Layers work so great whenyou're photographing a group of
(13:59):
people, a family, so this issomething to keep in the back of
your mind when you'rephotographing.
So it's not everyone on thesame plane, that people are
closer to the camera, in themiddle ground, in the background
, and just create that depth.
So the next thing isstorytelling, with a beginning,
(14:22):
a middle and an end.
So a single image can tell astory, but a sequence of images
takes the viewer deeper into themoment.
So this can help you create acohesive gallery that doesn't
feel like a bunch of randomshots, that it was more
intentional with what you werephotographing.
(14:42):
I feel like this is hard in thesense of what story do I want
to capture?
Like, what story am I tellingwhen you don't even know the
people that well or your clientsthat well, or like it's just
another thing to think about.
But this is something that willhelp you learn how to do that
(15:06):
and see that before you even getto those moments.
It doesn't have to be a bigscary, like when you're back in
school and you're thinking of ohmy goodness, I have to write an
essay on this and like what ismy beginning and middle and end
and climax and you know all thethings and so this is really
just okay in this moment.
(15:26):
What is the beginning and themiddle and the end?
So it could be kids gettingdressed Okay, so you see a
picture of their clothes on thefloor, you see them putting
their uh, their shirt on ortheir shoes on, and then you see
them running away, goingoutside to play.
So that can be a story.
It doesn't have to be a storyfor the whole time that you're
(15:49):
with the clients or with yourfamily.
It can be just simple moments.
Maybe you're baking somethingwith your kids, maybe you are
making cookies and you get aphoto of the flour and
everything's set out.
Then you get a photo of thekids with flour on their hands
(16:10):
or the mess, and then you getthem enjoying the cookies at the
end.
So that could be a little ministory.
That's something that you canincorporate to something that
you just document yourself.
It doesn't even have to be withclients.
Getting in the habit of seeingthe story can help take your
photography to a whole new level.
(16:31):
So doing the you know picturesof before, middle and after
throughout your day, just evenon your phone, can just help you
start visualizing.
Oh, this is a story.
Oh, this has a beginning,middle and end.
Oh, I could capture this andthis could be a sequence of
images.
And there, this has a beginning, middle and end.
Oh, I could capture this andthis could be a sequence of
images.
And there can be more in themiddle obviously.
(16:52):
Like, maybe there's a pictureof flour on the hands, maybe
there's a picture of rolling outdough, maybe there's a picture
of getting flour on your face.
You know all these fun things.
So the story can be longer.
But just get in the habit ofthinking what can I shoot to
start the story, what can Ishoot to keep it going and what
(17:13):
can I shoot?
To wrap it all up, what is theending?
Photographing little storiesthroughout the day or throughout
your session really makes thesession come alive and become
more of a memory and anexperience.
So they'll be like rememberthat time that we did this and
it was a sequence of things,rather than we just stood still
(17:36):
and got our picture taken.
That was like.
One thing I really try toincorporate into my sessions is
doing something.
It creates a full experience,so that I want, when the kids
leave, I want them to be like oh, I can't wait to go back and do
this, or they have a memory oflike fun times with their family
.
Maybe you know it's like a lotof things going on at home, like
(18:01):
we're working, we're gettingdinner ready, we're driving to
activities, we are on our phones, we are shopping groceries, all
the things and sometimes itgets lost just to put our eyes
on our kids and our whole familyat the same time and play, and
so that's what I really want tomake time for.
(18:25):
When I'm adding theseexperiences in is that I'm
getting genuine moments whereeveryone's eyes can be on each
other, everyone can be doingsomething together, and
hopefully that will make thekids and even the parents be
like we needed that, you know,okay.
So the next one that we're goingto talk about is capturing
(18:48):
movement.
So this goes back to ourshutter speeds and our camera
settings, and so once you learnthat, then you can kind of start
breaking the rules of things.
So there can be so many ways toadd movement in your photo, all
(19:10):
right.
So if you have your shutterspeed slower, then you're going
to have more blur in your photo.
So if you turn your shutterspeed down to like a 1 over 50
and you let your subject run byyou, that subject is going to be
a blur if you're standing still.
(19:30):
Another thing you could do isto set it down to 150 and run
beside your subject.
So this will create part ofyour subject in focus with the
background being super blurry.
Okay.
So another fun thing is havethe subject running towards you
(19:50):
with the lower shutter speed.
Then another technique could bethat you are running away from
the subject while the subject isrunning towards you and
changing up your perspective andmaybe not having the subject
completely in frame Maybe it'sjust their feet or their legs or
their hair blowing.
This can all add so muchvariety and so much like cool
(20:14):
shots to your gallery.
Another thing you can do is Ilike to put it down to like one
over 20 and have my subject tryto stay really still with their
face or with their upper bodyand then just move their dress
or their skirt.
And so this is when I like tohave my families try to wear
(20:40):
like more outfits that move,because you cannot do this in
jeans, like it just restrictsthe movement.
And so when I'm telling myclients to wear like certain
outfits, I'm thinking of theshots that I want to get wear
like certain outfits.
I'm thinking of the shots thatI want to get and just that like
romantic feel, that, um, Idon't know, it's just like more
(21:02):
cinematic, more like movie-ish.
Um, when you're having likesome outfits like blowing in the
wind and blurring and I don'tknow that, just I just love that
.
So I kind of get stuck andfreeze a little bit when there's
like a little girl that likecould be twirling in her you
(21:25):
know skirt or dress or whatever,but she's got like tight pants
on her leggings and it's like,okay, well, this is not exactly
the shot I was going for.
I can still get something ofher twirling, but it's like,
okay, well, this is not exactlythe shot I was going for.
I can still get something, umof her twirling, but it's not
going to be that like ultimateshot that, like I feel like, is
so pretty.
All right, so you can also tryyour subjects jumping or, um,
(21:54):
skipping, holding hands,skipping towards you.
Sometimes, if you're in themiddle of like a ring around the
Rosie and you are also spinningaround while taking photos of
them spinning, that can be cooland just get some people in
focus and then some peopleblurry, get some people in focus
(22:15):
and then some people blurry.
So again, that can add likeanother artistic spin on your
photos.
And if you haven't seen by now,photography is a workout.
You are up, you're down, you'rerunning, you're carrying things
, you are on the ground, you areholding a million things at
once.
You are laying on the ground,you are getting on ladders.
You are, you are laying on theground, you are getting on
ladders, you are constantlymoving and doing things.
(22:36):
So just keep that in mind, thatthe more you move, the more
variety you're going to get too.
When you add movement to yourshot, you are conveying energy,
joy, playfulness and you'remaking the viewer feel like
they're there, and soincorporating this with kids and
(23:00):
couples and families can justreally play into a mood that
you're trying to create for theviewer.
Adding images that havemovement just really is so much
better than just having a wholecollection of still images.
(23:20):
So another fun thing that I liketo incorporate with the
movement is a set of burst shots.
So basically you are puttingyour shutter really high and to
make sure that your subject issharp as they're moving, and
then you can find high dynamicburst mode.
(23:41):
It looks like a bunch ofrectangles on your um, either in
your settings or on the side.
You can have like there's likea quick shortcut button to
change from a single frame toburst.
High dynamic burst, I think, iswhat it's called.
(24:02):
Different cameras say differentthings, but it looks like the
multiple squares and so orrectangles, and so if you put it
on this it'll make your like.
You can hold down the shutterand it will just like rapid fire
click.
So you obviously don't want tohave somebody in a still
position while pressing thisbutton, because you are going to
have a thousand of the sameimage.
(24:25):
But what you can use it for iswhen you have a subject running
towards each other.
If you have a mom throwing ordad throwing up a child in the
air each other, if you have amom throwing or dad throwing up
a child in the air, if you havea family that is skipping
together or a mom or dadspinning a child, there's like
(24:45):
multiple scenarios of movementthat you could capture with this
, but what it's going to do isit's going to make a single
frame, one part of the movement.
So when you put it together, ora set of pictures together, if
you like, are viewing them onyour computer, and you start
pressing the right arrow and itstarts moving, like really quick
(25:07):
, it looks like a, like a stopmotion video, or like a video
that's slowed down frame byframe, and so then you can pull
it into like if you want to editthem, you can edit the photos
and we'll talk about that nextweek and then you can pull them
into um, an app like InShot, andput all the frames there that
(25:29):
you want.
And then, um, I like to changethe duration down to like 0.3 of
a second, and then you canspeed it up or slow it down and
then export it as a video andthen add it to your collection.
So it won't be.
If you leave it as images inyour gallery, you're going to
(25:50):
have like a thousand images justfrom this one movement, and so
please don't send that to yourclients.
I've done that accidentally,left that in my gallery to
upload and I'm like, oh my gosh,I go back and I'm like sorry,
there was like 50 of like justlittle incremental movements
because I was exporting them touse as a GIF.
(26:11):
Um, so I normally just leavelike the best shot in for the
still image and then use theother ones to create a little
GIF video that I can use forsocial media and then also I can
upload that to their gallerytoo.
Okay, so that is super fun andagain, it's just like a creative
thing to do, all right.
(26:33):
So number four is candid shots,and I think these are these are
the easy, like the ones that youwant to get, but you don't even
like really place an emphasison what you want to capture with
the candid.
And then sometimes I I feellike you feel the pressure to
tell somebody that you're takinga photo, and the importance of
(26:57):
this is getting real emotionsand not just the posed smiles,
and so you know, like when youtell your kid to smile or
someone else's kid, and they puton this like fake smile and
you're like, oh, that's not likeyour real one, and so maybe
just like sitting back andletting other moments happen and
prompts and then capturingthose, um, real smiles, those
(27:22):
can create like better photosbecause you know they're genuine
Um, you can.
Also there's photographers thatsolely do documentary style
photography and basically thatmeans that they come and they're
like a fly on the wall and theydo not interact with the family
at all.
They are just strictly there todocument things that they see,
(27:44):
connections that they have.
Sometimes people have these fortheir wedding just to capture,
like all like the real things.
But part of being a photographeris anticipating the moment.
That is so key in photography.
You have to think a couplesteps ahead of what is going to
(28:08):
happen so that you can be readyto take that image.
It was a lot more importantwhen I used to shoot film
because you only had so manyshots in the camera to be able
to take, and so now, withdigital, we just hold down the
shutter and just like, leteverything capture, which is a
(28:31):
nightmare to go through later,and so just anticipating a
moment can help really narrowdown what you want to capture.
So for my sessions I am notdocumentary but I'm also not
super posed, and so how I getthose candid shots and the shots
(28:53):
that look real and authentic isI use prompts and so I don't
really set people up unless Iknow that something else is
going to happen, the real photothat I want.
I will cue people to do thingsor set up a family to do
something, and then sometimesI'll tell the mom and dad like,
(29:14):
hey, they do this, I want you todo this, and so it can be
something like you set theparents up and they're like, um,
you know, squatting down, and Itell the kids that they're
gonna, when I count to three,they're gonna, run over and give
mom and dad a hug, and so Itell the parents to like kind of
(29:34):
brace themselves so they don'tget fully knocked over, because
some of the kids run very fastand very hard.
So I will give them a promptand then when they run over and
give kisses, it's not reallylike the first, sometimes it's
not the first image, but it'slike a couple images after that
that they're just kind of likelooking at their kids and the
kids are looking at them, andit's like those moments that I'm
(29:57):
anticipating not really thefull force where everyone's like
closing their eyes, likebracing for it, um, and so
that's kind of like with any ofmy sessions I am cuing and
prompting so that people don'tfeel stuck and not know what to
do in front of the camera.
That is like the most awkwardthing, because obviously we
(30:22):
don't spend our days likethinking how would this look?
I mean, sometimes I do, and um,but like how would this look
and how would that look?
And you just want someone totell you like do this and do I
look good doing this?
And so that is why I think aphotographer job will never go
away, because you constantlywant someone to tell you does
this look good?
What do I do?
(30:42):
How are we doing this?
And then can you also like helpwrangle my kids, so that I'm
not running around looking crazy, but like I can keep my hair
and makeup good.
Or I'll tell the kid that we'regoing to do a secret.
They're going to.
When I count to three, they'regoing to run towards dad and
whisper poopy in their ear orsomething like funny.
(31:03):
Or I'll have the kid runtowards dad, but I'll tell dad
when the kid gets to you you'regoing to pick them up in the air
and fly him around and fly himto mom to give him a kiss, and
mom you're going to like reachout your hands and pull them in
for a kiss, and so there's likea whole sequence of things going
on and I'm just giving like theinitial, like prompt, but
(31:24):
everything that happens inbetween.
I am ready to capture thoselittle candid moments.
So I'm not telling them how bigof a smile to smile.
I'm not telling them what to do, how to smile.
I'm not telling them what to do, how to, how to throw the kid
up in the air specifically likehow high.
Or I'm not telling them how orwhere to kiss your child on the
(31:45):
forehead, on the nose, on themouth, on the cheek.
What are you doing after?
Are you giving eskimos?
Are you laughing orling, likesome of those things are cute in
a general sense.
But I'm there to capture allthe like candid moments in
between and that's when the realemotion and authenticity comes
(32:05):
through is those in betweenmoments.
So sometimes I'll tell mom anddad to give each other like
Eskimo kisses, and it may not bethat I'm actually trying to
other like Eskimo kisses, and itmay not be that I'm actually
trying to get a photo of themdoing a nose-to-nose picture,
but maybe I am asking them to dothat.
So then they look at each otherand laugh like this is so
awkward and like you know, likethis is so funny, like I haven't
(32:28):
done this to you ever, or youknow like this is so silly, and
just getting those genuinesmiles is more my goal, not the
goal of getting the Eskimo kiss.
Candids are also a great timewhen the kids are just not
feeling photos.
So sometimes I, if the kid ishaving a little bit of a hard
(32:49):
time, you can give them a littlemoment.
You can go around shooting somedetailed shots.
You can get some of the youknow that raw expression of like
today's just not the day, orI'm just not feeling this, and
maybe it's the parent's handslike on the kid's head or their
(33:10):
back, like soothing them orcomforting them, or the kid just
like laying over the dad'sshoulder, and getting some
candid shots of that, becausethat's real life.
And when you look back at yourphotos you can remember like not
just like the best moments, butlooking at how you responded to
your child and how you loved onthem and how, even in their
(33:31):
like hard moments, you're therefor them.
Like it can like bring a bunchof different emotional responses
.
When you look back at yourphotos and now kids are older or
things have changed, you willwant some of those candid
moments to look back on and belike yeah, that was it.
I like the candid shots because,again, I want to make it look
(33:54):
like I'm peering in to yourreality of how your family loves
each other, how they look ateach other, how a dad looks at
his daughter and a daughterlooks at her dad.
And those little moments I feellike are just the ones of
meaning, the ones that you willlook back at in 20 years and be
(34:15):
like oh my gosh, that was sosweet.
You know, to me it's more aboutthe connection that the family
has with each other than theconnection that they have with
the camera.
So I don't want fake, stiffsmiling poses that the parents
were just yelling at their kidsto get in line and smile.
Smiling poses that the parentswere just yelling at their kids
(34:37):
to get in line and smile oh,that like breaks my heart every
time.
Like I'm like that's not what Iwant a session to be like.
I want them to be laughingbecause they're having fun with
you and getting those naturalsmiles, the honest ones and the
emotional ones, the ones thatdraw emotion out of you.
So, while you still might getthe grandma shot, as a lot of
(35:00):
photographers have coined it,the one where everyone is
smiling at the camera add insome candid shots to your
gallery, where you are not justtaking the moments of everyone
anticipating the the picturebeing taken, but those in
between moments.
And if you need some promptideas they're in the show notes
(35:22):
I will put a link to promptsthat you can grab and use at
your next session.
Another tip that you can, youcan use if you have a longer
lens, so like an 85 millimeteror 135.
This is helpful to get thoseclose-up shots without
(35:45):
interrupting the family.
So if you think you want to domore details or more candid
shots without being really closeto the family, then maybe
invest in getting and I will putlinks to those suggestions in
the show notes as well All right.
So our last one is more aboutperspective and getting that
(36:08):
cinematic closeup shot, mid-shot, wide shot.
So I worked in video editingfor a while and we had to
categorize different shots fordifferent commercials or
whatever we were working on, toclose-ups, mid-shots and wide
shots.
So then when I was putting thefootage together, mid shots and
(36:31):
wide shots.
So then when I was putting thefootage together, I could grab
different shots to make the addsome variation to what we were
watching or to the segment.
And it's the same withphotography that you can help
tell a story through the typesof shots that you're getting.
(36:59):
So if you're looking at lenses,if you have a 24mm lens, you are
going to get a wide shotwithout being so far from your
subject.
So I got a 24mm prime lens sothat I could get a shot of the
nursery, even if it was small.
Otherwise, if I have my 50millimeter or my 35, I am
backing up a little ways to getthe entire room in my shot.
(37:23):
So with a 24 to 70 lens, you'regoing to get that wide shot.
You're going to get that wideshot, you're going to get that
medium shot and you're going toget those detail shots, all with
one lens.
So if you're looking to savemoney and get an all-in-one lens
, I would totally go for the 24to 70 because it's going to
(37:47):
allow you more options.
Now, what I like about primelenses is because I feel like
they give a better quality ofimage, and I'm so used to them
that I honestly forget to zoomin and zoom out with my 24 to 70
and I bought my 24 to 70 for myCanon and I don't know what
(38:10):
happened.
But this is just a PSA to makesure that you have your lens
caps on, but for some reason itgot a couple scratches and you
can't tell in most images, butin some it's like if the detail
spot was right on that scratch,then there's no repair.
So just FYI, keep your lensesin good care, and I'll also put
(38:34):
a link to those lenses in myshow notes as well.
Okay, so the first shot you wantto get is a wide shot.
This establishes where you are,it sets the scene, it captures
the environment and shows thescale of where you are.
So it could be a bedroom, anursery, it could be a field, it
(39:00):
could be a barn, like with thewhole barn in the picture.
It could be a park, with thewhole park in the picture.
So you're setting up where youare, okay.
So then you move on to the midshot.
This one is not a wide shot andnot close up.
It's somewhere in the middle.
(39:20):
So this one focuses on theconnection and interaction
between the subjects.
So maybe this is if you're at apark it's kids swinging on the
swing or maybe it is going downthe subjects.
So maybe this is if you're at apark, it's kids swinging on the
swing, or maybe it is goingdown the slide.
Maybe it is a family skippingthrough the field, like.
A little bit closer up, maybeit is the parents standing in
(39:45):
front of the crib in the nurseryor sitting in the rocker.
Those are mid shots and it'sthose are probably the shots
that we gravitate towards most,that fill most of our content on
our galleries or on our phonesis these mid shots.
So the next one is the close-upshot.
(40:06):
This is the detail shot.
This is the detail shot.
This is the thing that will, um, most likely do something with
the senses.
So, like, what is the?
What are the fingers touching?
What is the hand holding?
What is the nose smelling?
What is the ear hearing?
Um, what is the hair doing inthe wind?
(40:26):
Um, so all those little thingsare things that it's hard to
remember, to capture, I think.
So don't forget getting reallyclose.
And I find this harder becausethings are moving so quickly
with little ones that like toget those details and get them
to like slow down just enough sothat you can focus on the
(40:49):
little fingers.
So you have to be really highshutter speed, really quick to
go get those, or just wait forlike a more of a somber moment
where maybe you're asking yourchild a question while their
toes are like in the sand andyou're asking, like them to say
I spy, blah, blah, blah.
So they're spending like a lotof time like looking for the
thing and standing still orasking them questions like.
(41:12):
Another thing photography is ismultitasking.
You are trying to have a talkwith something, while also
you're trying to have a talkwith a child about their
favorite cartoon character,while also posing a newborn with
the mom and making sure thather hair is all collected.
The toddler is trying to throwa ball to you.
(41:33):
You are trying to get your.
There's just like a millionthings going on, and so you have
to learn to um multitask whenyou are doing photography.
Being a mom really helps withbeing a photographer as well,
because I'm used to that.
I have three kids.
I'm used to all the crazinessand running around and I was
(41:55):
there too with all the littlesand all the things, and so I am
right there with you and that, Ithink, helps add to my
photography business is alsobeing a mom and understanding.
So if you were at the beach,then your wide shot would be
everyone standing on theshoreline at the beach.
(42:17):
The mid shot could be theparents swinging their child
between them so they're walkingand swinging the child, and then
the close up shot could betheir wet sandy toes or fingers,
maybe in mom's hair.
Wet sandy toes or fingers,maybe in mom's hair.
So you could have the childjust like being held by mom and
just tell her to like run herhand through her hair, or maybe
(42:37):
she's doing that naturally, sonot everything has to be cued.
You can be looking for thosespecific things, and making it
easier is thinking what couldthey touch, what could they
smell, what can they hear?
Um, what can they?
What are the other ones?
Taste, and how many are there?
(42:58):
Taste, touch, smell, hear.
I know there's another one, Idon't know what it is, I can't
remember.
Taste, touch, anyways, so allthe senses.
So the wide shot tells wherethe subject is when are you, the
(43:21):
mid shot tells what you'redoing and the close-up shot
tells how it feels.
So if you can keep those threethings in mind for those types
of shots, you will have a greatgallery of photos to keep for
yourself.
Like, maybe you're taking allthese photos on a tripod or on
(43:44):
your phone with a remote timerand which, obviously, like
moving the tripod, is going tobe a lot of work, but it can be
doable.
It totally can be doable.
Um, but if you are aphotographer, then obviously
these are things that you canstart incorporating into your
session so that you can have, um, more things, more different
(44:07):
things to post, more different,different things, more variety
to post to your Instagram feedand make it not look all the
same.
So, um, so getting more varietyand nailing these shots can up
(44:28):
level you as a photographer,whether you're beginning or
you're a pro, and hopefully youcan take everything today and
make better photos.
So your challenge this week isto capture a three-photo series
that tells a story from your day.
Maybe it's part of your morningroutine or a playtime sequence
(44:53):
Just think about a beginning,middle and end shot and I can't
wait to see what you capture.
Some other things that youcould do to start thinking about
stories to capture or just getyour brain going.
There are some great journalingprompts that can help you spark
(45:14):
creativity.
You can also use chat GBT tothink about ideas or ask what
should I capture, what should Ido?
Give me some ideas forstorytelling throughout my day.
I'm a mom of toddlers and theygo to preschool during the day
from nine to one, and then weget home and it's nap time.
(45:36):
What are some photos ofstorytelling that have a
beginning, middle and end shotscould I capture?
So chat gpt will literally giveyou a bunch of ideas and I love
using it for sparkingcreativity, to get my mind going
.
But don't let it stop there.
Actually go take the photos,and the more photos you take,
(45:58):
the better photos you will get,and I hope to see you back next
week for talking about editingthose photos.
You guys have a great week.
Bye.
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