Some time this past summer my mom and I attended a photography workshop.
We were unable to stay for the entire day. Both of us needed to leave early, so we only had the opportunity to listen and learn from the two speakers, in a conference room. We would miss the afternoon “safari” lessons, the hands on part of the workshop.
This was a bit of a bummer, but… it is the reality of busy people.
We were both just very glad to even have the opportunity to attend a workshop and learn some things! “Groupon” had an awesome deal that we simply could not pass up, so away we went.
Before we left Victoria, we made a quick stop at the harbour for a few photos!
I love the harbour.
My mom snapped this quick photo of me snapping photos of the ocean, with the family around. I couldn’t believe she used her point and shoot after we had just sat through that workshop!
I snapped one of her taking pictures too.
*my younger sister in the foreground, my mom snapping photos in the back.
Since the workshop, I’ve felt much more confident in playing around with the buttons on my camera. My wonderful, wonderful camera (a Nikon D300) which I purchased used from an online friend a few years ago. This camera has been one of the best investments I have ever made. Not only does it help with my business, GREATLY, as it makes for great product shots, it also allows me to learn more about how to get great shots of what’s even more important to me,
every.day.life.
*my husband and three youngest girls checking out an old sailboat
Great product shots are important… but life? It’s passing by me so quickly that I’m happy to beautifully freeze frame snippets with my camera here and there. We may not be able to go back in time, but we can relive the memories through photos.
*my mom and sister
The biggest change I’ve noticed though, by playing around with buttons recently, is the sunset photos I can finally achieve.
I snapped a photo of how I ‘used’ to take sunset photos.
And it was ‘ok’, the photo may even look pretty to some, but it always frustrated me that what I was seeing with my EYES, was not what I would see in my photos.
That photo above, was NOT was I was seeing with my eyes that night.
THIS is what I was seeing, and what I so desperately wanted to capture!
The sky that night, it was amazing.
I’ve become brave enough to play around with settings, get myself out of ‘auto’, and just keep snapping away until I get it right.
And now, what I see in front of me for just a few short moments as the sun sets.
I can keep forever, even after it’s faded and gone.
I can’t tell you exactly what settings I changed, that was so different from how I used to take photos. I’m not real good at teaching others what I know. I learn simply by doing.
What I can do, is tell you to get brave with your camera if you haven’t already. Read, read, and read some more. If an opportunity comes along to take a lesson, attend a workshop, or anything else that’s going to help boost your confidence, go for it!
You’ll never regret getting better photos!
