Need a pep talk!

[crayonblue]

For the past few years I've been working on photography. DH and I invested in photography equipment and learned how to use our camera. I don't think I will EVER feel confident about it but I do see that I am improving. Technically I can achieve what I want (with massive room to grow) but I am very inconsistent due to lack of experience. So far, I have only taken a few photos for friends, never charging.

Well, yesterday at church, our pastor told a story about how when he was in the NFL, the coaches asked him to speak at schools and he said no way, he would sign autographs and take pictures but that he was NOT a public speaker. Fast forward and now he is a pastor of a 10,000+ church and he is one of the best speakers I have ever heard! His point was that so many times we say we can't do x, y and z when we might be great at it. In his closing, he asked what we are sitting on, what we are good at that we haven't said yes to. Soooo, I was like fine, if someone asks me to take pictures, I will. I want to but I just don't feel good enough.

Wouldn't you know it that within 12 hours I got two messages from friends asking if I would consider taking family portraits. And I said yes. And now I am scared to death! And I've jumped in with both feet. My first photo shoot? A family of 10!!!!!!! What if they get all dressed up and my pictures suck!? Or what if I just can't figure out what to DO with 10 people? Heck, I'm nervous about taking pictures of the other family, a family of 4. Ack!

So tell me it will be OK!

Here's a recent picture that I'm proud of.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/LanaLCo/Hope_Flowers-1.jpg (http://s106.photobucket.com/user/LanaLCo/media/Hope_Flowers-1.jpg.html)

In case you are wondering, this is DD3. :)

[mackmama]

That is a fantastic shot!!! You will so great. 10
People is a lot so keep cool and know that you can only do so much. Bring props for kids.


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[crayonblue]

That is a fantastic shot!!! You will so great. 10
People is a lot so keep cool and know that you can only do so much. Bring props for kids.


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I will have to practice keeping calm! I tend to panic. Too bad I don't have any valium on hand!

[SASM]

That is a FANTASTIC photo of DD3!!!!! I love the background, flower hues, attire, and simplicity!!! Her beautiful expression!!! You CAN do this, L !!!!! Just take LOTS of photos. If you can, try to get them in natural light. And make sure it's a good "time" for the family in regards to naps. :) Yay!!!!!! How exciting!!!!!!!

[ShanaMama]

I admire you for jumping in. Photography is something I really enjoy but haven't pursued beyond the capabilities of my iPhone! Maybe one day... I specifically like posing people. Is that portion of it something you are good at? Can you schedule the group of 4 first so you get into slowly & build your confidence? Also, do you have a trusted friend you can have as an assistant. Just to keep you calm & focused & help out with small things? When I take my kids for prof pics I am always fixing a strand of hair here & a wrinkle there. If you are the photographer it's pretty hard to zero in on the little details and shoot the picture.
Lastly, is the group of ten mostly older kids/ adults? It might be harder to shoot 4 kids than 10 cooperative teens/ adults.

eta: that is an incredible picture! Now that I see its DD3 I think you actually captured her personality in that picture, from what I remember you posting.

[georgiegirl]

Good luck! I can't wait to hear how it goes. That's a fantastic photo of your DD.

[mackmama]

I've done photography professionally, and just know that you can do a lot post production if necessary. That always helped calmed my nerves. ;) Deep breaths, and I bet you will have a lot of fun! Bring puppets and stuff to get kids to look at you and smile.


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[Indianamom2]

That is a gorgeous photo (and subject!). You will do great....just remember that every.single.great.talent had to start somewhere. You will make mistakes, but you will also learn from them and that makes the trying worth it. Good luck!

[kaitlyns.mom]

Wow, great shot! IMO (as a non-photographer ;)) half of the battle is finding a setting that looks beautiful and the second half is dealing with uncooperative kids. But it looks like you've got the skill so go for it!

[crayonblue]

I might see if DH can go with me. He has shot a lot of video and has NO problem setting the scene and posing people. We actually would make a good team. I'm better technically but he is really, really good at lighting and positioning and telling people what to do!

[buttercup]

That is a stunning shot. I do find that some of the most successful women that I greatly admire are also wracked with self doubt. I say keep the self-doubt (I've never been able to rid of it myself) but jump in and more forward regardless.

[crayonblue]

Lastly, is the group of ten mostly older kids/ adults? It might be harder to shoot 4 kids than 10 cooperative teens/ adults.


The group of 10 ranges from less than 1 to 40ish. With some toddlers, preschoolers, elementary aged kiddos and a teenager. :)

The mom mostly wants one group shot for a Christmas card. If DH can stand behind me and jump around and get all the kids to look at the camera, that will be a success! I am going to also take more shots of the kids so that I can practice.

[mackmama]

Definitely bring your DH. Great idea!


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[Mopey]

That is a stunning shot. I do find that some of the most successful women that I greatly admire are also wracked with self doubt. I say keep the self-doubt (I've never been able to rid of it myself) but jump in and more forward regardless.

I still cannot believe people want me, pay me to make something as important as their wedding cake! holy moly!

That is a great shot and I would sign up to be your guinea pig in a hot minute! :cheerleader1:

And here's my fave motto (other than my sig) - It's not brave if you're not scared!!

[lovin2shop]

Wow, beautiful picture! You've got this, have fun, do your best, and it will be great!

[Tondi G]

You can do this! I would suggest spending some time looking at other photographers websites and see how they set up large groups.... to get some inspiration. Good Luck!

[Globetrotter]

What an awesome opportunity! I think it's a great idea to enlist dh's help :)

[lmintzer]

Lana,

You can do it! I've seen your photographs for years, and they are gorgeous! The families will be thrilled--no worries. Definitely bring Dave with to do your dirty work, lol! That way you can focus on the technical end of things. Maybe you can bring an iPad or a laptop with so you can "screen" the photos before you leav? That way you can make sure you have "the shot."

(I totally hear you about lack of confidence in things one is good at--that is me, to a t).

Lisa

[AnnieW625]

Wow, great shot! IMO (as a non-photographer ;)) half of the battle is finding a setting that looks beautiful and the second half is dealing with uncooperative kids. But it looks like you've got the skill so go for it!

:yeahthat:

love the photo of your DD. If you want more practice let me know as I am always trying to get great shots of my kids that don't look too candid, but often think other people do a better job.

[baymom]

What a stunning photo of your beautiful daughter! You got this, you really do. Plus, you'll feel calmer the day off, since your DH will be there. Good for you for jumping in....that's the hardest part!

I'm sure you have thought of a lot of poses for your group of 10, but if I may give my non-professional input, a friend recently showed me a gorgeous photo of her extended family. Grandparents, parents, siblings and children. They were all sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, pants rolled up and barefoot with their feet in the water. It was truly beautiful and maybe something about having your feet wet made the subjects feel more relaxed, but everyone looked great.

Keep us posted on how it goes!!

[crayonblue]

They were all sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, pants rolled up and barefoot with their feet in the water. It was truly beautiful and maybe something about having your feet wet made the subjects feel more relaxed, but everyone looked great.



What a cute idea! Will have to think of a pool nearby. Thanks for all the encouragement, you guys. It means a lot to me!

[Dcclerk]

Wouldn't you know it that within 12 hours I got two messages from friends asking if I would consider taking family portraits....:)

God's pretty funny, I think. If that isn't a sign...:boogie:

You will be absolutely fantastic. You have a great eye and are very comfortable technically. If you can, I would suggest that you get yourself all set up with the lighting/f-stops etc., so that you are ready to go after playing around yourself. Also, the big group thing can be tough, but you have a ton of places in SD that are very photogenic. Since both sides of my family regularly try to do massive photos of the extended families, if I could be so bold, I would suggest a few things...

The best shots have been where the background allowed for natural rows and vertical height while sitting. For example.. big trees that some people can even climb in, wagons for a hayride, rocks by tide pools, back of trains, etc. The ones that just were visually less interesting were the ones where we tried to create the height variation ourselves by having some stand, some sit, some kneel etc. on a flat plane. Even those with pretty backgrounds like the beach, meadow, etc. didn't work so well with such a big group. The ones where we had people grouped in chairs were really dull, despite my MIL's fondness for them.

I know that you, like me, really like the shallow depth of field. Sometimes I push the envelope too much on that one and end up with not enough sharpness in the edges when I try to do a bigger group. I also tend to fill the frame too much, which makes it really difficult to have people mat the photos, use them for a lot of the Christmas card templates that are available now, etc. There is a lot of value in the "white" space, especially for Christmas cards.

We have done some ones where everyone is primarily in black or primarily in white. It looks pretty dated to me now. I would, however, suggest a color palette that people try to loosely follow. We did one recently where everyone had browns, oranges, yellows, and greens. It made it cohesive, particularly with the scenery in that case. My favorites right now are some brighter colors like kelley green, bright blue, bright pink, etc. They have some vibrancy that makes the photo fun, plus it looks great in Christmas cards.

I'm so excited for you! Be sure to show off some of your favorite shots!

[jbbhb]

Not sure when you are shooting but here is a free webinar from adorama that I'm going to do...

http://blog.adoramapix.com/2013/11/18/2799/

[crayonblue]

YAY, first photo session down and a success!!!! This was the huge family. I am absolutely thrilled with how the pictures turned out. The family shot was hard…harder than I thought it would be. I took a ton and honestly there is not one with everybody looking in the same direction. Even with DH behind me doing all kind of antics to get the kids' attention! However, there is a great one with mom and dad smiling and a couple of the kids looking at them and all the rest looking at the camera. Whew. I then took pictures of mom and dad and also each kid individually. We chose a park with great climbing trees so I had to climb up trees to get pictures of the boys!

Couple of things I learned: 1) I nailed focus and exposure on every picture which kind of shocked me. But, that is what I have been practicing and practicing for years. All the years when Carmen was alive and I rarely left home…I took pictures in my house, trying to master focus and exposure. 2) I definitely need lots more posing practice. 3) Taking a huge variety of pictures helps as what I thought would work didn't and what I wasn't so sure, did. Particularly with lighting.

So all in all, I think it was good to jump in the deep end and take pictures of a huge family and get practice.

Oh, one more thing I learned. Check park location for dog poop on the ground. Enough said.

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

[georgiegirl]

So glad it went well.

Did you step in poop or one of the kids?

[crayonblue]

So glad it went well.

Did you step in poop or one of the kids?

My kid! :) DH and DD3 came along and DD3 basically stomped in poop!

[Globetrotter]

Way to go!!

[ShanaMama]

W​hat an awesome update! Yay for you!

[MamaMolly]

Oh mama, your baby girl is luminous!
Congrats to swimming like a mermaid in the deep in! Way to jump!!! :applause:

[3isEnough]

Congratulations on what sounds like a complete success!! I'm sure that family will be very happy with your photos.