Someone in the comments yesterday said, “How is this (asking us what our questions are) going to help you with your feeling overwhelmed?” Great question! Answer is…
When we’ve been on the road a lot with shoots and speaking, I know that when I come home I need to reconnect myself to the things I value and love. I make my Purple Kale drink. ๐ I snuggle with the kids. I pretend like I know how to walk our dog. I write. I watch movies with Brian in front of the fire. I go to the gym. And I wonder how my blog readers are doing.
With being gone so much these last few months, I feel to distant from all of you. I want to know what your thinking about, how life is going, how your photography adventures are unfolding, what is stumping you, what is frustrating you, and especially, what glass ceilings you’ve broken through. These are the things I love to hear about when we connect on the blog. Your brave experiences are the reason behind my “why” for doing this blog.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your questions yesterday, all your emails. I LOVED hearing where you are at, what your struggling through, what we can discuss. I love knowing we can start having conversations that may change things around. This is thrilling for me.
Keep your questions coming! We are going to do Photography Q&A Segments on the blog over the next few weeks and start tackling your questions. I’ve even made a category for just these posts. Ask anything. Don’t worry about sounding to beginner or silly. We all start somewhere, and I’m so excited you’ve started!
Check back this afternoon for the first question(s) we tackle together!
Talk soon! Me Ra
What lenses do you use most frequently?
Which do you recommend for starting out photographers!
I love your blog… thank you for all the time you take to do it!!!
-Abbey
Thank you so much for doing these Q&A’s. I love them sooo much! I’d also like (as another person posted) some insight on metering, shooting in M mode using flash indoors as well as outdoors. One more thing…shooting indoors with fast lens with no flash…I can’t seem to get that just right unless I’m right next to an open window. I hate that “yellow cast” these photos have. Am I making an sense??? THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL YOU DO TO HELP US!!!
Hey, I’ve got a technical question! Love that you are doing this. How do you light up those formal shots at a weddding? Outdoors and natural light are always best of course, but don’t always work here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m not a huge fan of those formal shots myself, but they are important to many and I’m going back and forth on how best to properly light those. Of course, I don’t want to haul around a ton of equipment either . . . So, I was wondering how you guys handle this??
I’m so impressed that you would take time to help so many….strangers! Thank you!
How do you get going with a portrait shoot….such as senior? How do you get them to relax and what kind of direction do you give? I hate when it feels awkward! Also, what about toddlers and young kids? It’s harder to give them direction.
I feel a little selfish about my questions so I wanted to add a couple more that I hope you can pause and think about, even if you never post the answers.
What is your favorite (non-photography) book of all time?
What trip or vacation have you and the family wanted to do that you haven’t yet?
What’s the most inspiring thing a teacher or your parents taught you?
♥ ๐
i have to admit i felt a little out of loop yesterday with your blog since in don’t really take pictures…but it really impresses me today that you desire to know what’s going on with others. so often i am completely overwhelmed enough with my own life that i could give a rip about how everyone else is doing…what their questions are…what’s going on with them. but after reading this i felt a little guilty. it’s funny…we all have a need to be really known by others. all of us. even as we deflect and shield who we really are…at the core we all want to be known. i guess it’s true for me too. so…i’m not a photographer…but i’m a songwriter. i’ve been writing a lot lately which has been so amazing. i’m trying to continue to grow in that…trying to move past my successes and my failures. trying to do things new. being aware of old stuff and saying the simple in a way that makes people want to listen. sometimes it’s hard to do that…but sometimes it’s so natural, i’m left wondering “who just wrote that in your notebook”??? ๐
ok…i’m done. i feel like i made this post about me. was that the point? ๐ enjoy your day…see you soon!
When you are taking natural light portraits, what do you meter off of to get the correct exposure (keeping the gray scale in mind). I have read to meter off the face and overexpose by a stop. Does this change based on different conditions such as a beach scene where the subjects are further away in bright sunlight, like many shots from Barefoot Memories vs. a close up in open shade? Any advice on getting a correct exposure for natural light portraits would be helpful.
I am so excited to learn more from people’s Q&A’s! Thanks for doing this. BTW, I loved your DVD’s. They helped jumpstart me to keep my camera with me everyday, to experiment with different settings, and to document my kids lives everyday. I loved your perspective and how the information was presented. The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD was very inspirational!
I can’t wait to read everyone’s Q & & Me Ra’s A’s. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Great site, exactly what I was looking for, I can’t get your RSS feed to work right in google chrome though, is it on my end?