Continuous Motion....I GOT IT!!

Okay so I have to say I am sooooo excited for TWO reasons! 1) because being the slow blogger I am, I just realized I can update my blog from my iPhone (poolside baby, yeah!) and 2) because I was able to get an AWESOME continuous motion shot! I may be more excited than I should be but nonetheless I am, shall we say--"tickled pink"?!? So I have to start with the fact that I was inspired by Scott Kelby in book one of his digital photography series that I blogged about a few posts back (my eternal thanks, Scott-you truly have made me a better photographer ;-D). I have to say that when I read his page regarding continous motion I was fascinated with the idea (probably as excited as I got when I learned how to "paint with light" and shot a complete heart I drew with two light up swords my kids had at the local firework spectacular, Thunder over Louisville-I would totally blog about that if I didn't lose the photo to a BAD HARD DRIVE...total other story...I will recreate the photo and blog all about that another day!) and seriously wanted to rush out to the local outdoor extreme skate park (I still plan to go!) but in the meantime I had something much more important to attend to...Kindergarten graduation.

Yes, my little man was graduating Kindergarten and in his eyes that meant he wasn't a little kid anymore. Oops gotta take a break for food, (free cookout at the neighborhood pool- can't pass that up!) Needless to say he also made a point to tell mom and dad that he wanted a BIG present (since he was now a BIG kid of course!) and hinted that he wanted a new motorcycle (he doesn't ask for much, does he?!) Being that he already has a motorcycle (Fisher Price Harley Davidson), but the batteries that it takes have been dead for a year, I decided it was time to cough up the $80 to buy the kid new batteries and bring life to the dead Harley. Alright, I know--I am seriously getting to the point. So I went to the adorable boys graduation and brought him a small gift (and by small I mean in size-can't exactly haul a Harley jr in the school gymnasium!) and I was playing with my new lens (which I happen to have a love/hate relationship with) and managed to capture some super cute glimses of little mans excitement for his new game-the self titled "game boy" happens to LOVE Mario (who doesn't?). Dang, that boy can melt my heart with those baby blues...

Soooooo when we got home he found his beautiful piece of heavenly blue plastic waiting on the front porch, was he excited? Ummm, yeah...you could say so. It was while I was somewhere between happy dreamy bliss from beautiful images like these:

(beautiful to me because of the sharpness where I wanted it, the bokeh where I wanted it, the nice color that the lens translated to my LED, and the most beautiful subjects I could ask for in my humble opinion!)....


                      ...to complete frustration from blurry shots like these (see why I have a love/hate relationship...bad bokeh!?):

when I realized "I can take a continous motion shot of my little man riding his little heart away". So I pulled back into the files I store in my brain sorted under "Scott Kelby" and started adjusting my settings. I started clicking continuously when little man gave his sister a lift and prayed for a miracle. I got it!! Not only did I get it, but I really got it! I LOVE the expression of I intensity on his face, love that my little chicka was looking over at me, nailed the sharpness on my subject and the blurry motion suggesting their movement that I was looking for AND was able to keep plenty of room for the motorcycle to go, making for a much more interesting composition.

WOW. I did it. I'm so proud of myself! And I think I'll like this more than any race car, dirt bike or skate trick I'll catch like this in later days. I got my first continuous motion shot and it rocked because it is special to me, because it shows the free spirit, unbridled fun my babies were having. I love it and I am SO thrilled. As a mom. As a photographer.  This is one for the portfolio kids ;-).

Wanna know how I did it? Okay, here is the recipe (you did all this reading, you deserve to reap a benefit here I know!) slow down your shutter speed (something below 1/60th of a second or where you would usually need a tripod-the slower, the more motion you can show), click the shutter and pan (follow) your camera around the moving subject in the same direction and relativley same speed they are going. Be sure to be shooting on continuous and be sure your subject is in focus. That's it. Your goal is to have your subject in focus and the surrounding area to show a motion around it. I plan to do ALOT more of this. I can think of so many fun ideas with this besides the obvious ones I mentioned above (long run on the diving board, waterfights, races (kids, bikes, cars, horses..whatever!, even babies first steps!) This can be a super fun trick that only the pros know so I truly hope I can help some of u other newbs to find the joy I have with this great technique!

Till next time!  BTW: Working on the Kandy Pop Photography website now...should be up and running very soon! Thanks for all of your support!

Warmly,
Kass

Kandy Pop Photography?! WHAT IS THAT??

Alright...here it is...so my friend tells me she received such an overwhelming response to the family photos we took of her family (Davis Family) and people are inquiring about how/where to get them done.  I'm told they especially love the collages (thank you!).  So she and I decided to try to offer our services to the public for a small fee so we can support our "habit" (shall we say?)  We LOVE Photography of all types but at this time realize we better start charging a little something if we want to continue to grow in this field (as most of you know, it's an expensive habit! We want new lenses! LOL)  We will be working on a new website/blog to showcase our work there and I will let you know as soon as it's ready!  We decided to call it...are you ready?! Kandy Pop Photography cause if you "meld" our names together (Kassi-Cindy), you get "Kandy" and "Pop" cause we are ALWAYS "popping" off pictures!  You know we had to do it Hollywood style, cause that's how we roll! ;-) Okay, okay...So we'll never be "Brangelina", but we can definitley rock the "Kandy Pop" by being behind the camera rather than in front of it! Hey, who knows, maybe we will be shooting Brangelina one day!!  LOL (still, mayyyybeeee!) :-)  Plus we also think the name suggests bright, fun, friendly photos and that is what we are all about!  We LOVE color, kids, fashion and most importantly, we LOVE to have fun and this is going to be such a super FUN adventure!  We are now offering a special promotion as we launch this new business so get in while you can, because we are only offering this low price to the first FIVE takers in the Kentuckiana area:

$100 Opening Portrait Special:
1 hour
2 Photographers!
10 Fully Edited Digital Photos
2 Personalized Digital Collages (similar to the Davis collages on the previous post)
1 Entry to win a Global Entertainment Acting Scholarship complete with professional photos (includes makeup artist, hair stylist and photographer, acting lessons and the chance to meet agents who may be looking for someone like you or your child to be in their next film, commercial or print ad!

You can leave a comment here, message me on fb or mlm if you are interested, or if you have my digits, just call!  We hope you're interested in this truly FANTABULOUS offer as we guarantee we will capture your family, children or personal portraits in a dynamically unique and creative way! We can also supply bright and fun accessories from my Punk n Posh line if requested in advance. Tutus anyone?!

BTW:  We also have experience in shooting for actors/models so if you need shots for your portfolio or ZED or Comp  Cards, we can help you to create the many looks agents are looking for as well as create/design your cards!  More to come on that soon!

Photographing the Davis Family

I was very excited when my friend,~C~, approached me about taking her family pictures; not only do I think she has a beautiful family (her two girls also modeled for my Punk n Posh line!), but I worked out an amazing trade (don't you just love bartering?!) LOL! Okay, so this friend has been taking Photography classes right along with me at the local University--so guess who took my princesses FIRST birthday pics?! (I'll actually be posting a piece on that soon! FUN!) You guessed it~C~! It felt so nice to not be the one behind the camera that day...to be able to focus on my sweet baby girl and still know I would get all the important pictures I will forever cherish of her on that special day. I HIGHLY recommend this to all! Hire a photographer on your children's special day so you can focus on them and not be hidden behind a camera the entire time! It really took a lot of stress off me and allowed me to enjoy her super special day even more!



Okay, so back to the Davis Family shoot...my first FAMILY shoot. A family of 6. Talk about intimidating! Maybe I should have started with a family of 3 first to get my feet wet, he he! ;-) There are many challenges when shooting that many people...especially on the entire family portrait shots. Like getting them all to have their eyes open at the same time, all of them looking at you at the same time, trying to keep little ones who run out of the shot in the shot (wink wink), trying to keep them all natural and several more. But the benefits that come from these challenges fill my heart with a "warm fuzzy" that I have never felt before. To see and know that I captured their beautiful, fun, endearing family in so many memorable ways just fills me with such a joy! What a great gift to be able to give to people! This brings me back to last summer when I had my first realy family portraits taken. I say this because before having Tyson (Legend Photography) shoot us, we had only been captured with a quick flash in a studio at JC Penny or some other quick portrait photographer. It is so different to have an image of your family that speaks to you..literally. Something that really shows your family's true style, personality and love for one another. Something that will become an heirloom. Tyson, you melted our hearts with your work of our family and our little Tori and I hope to be able to give that gift to many others in my life. Pay it forward, pass it on.

I know I still have so much to learn in the Photography world, but I promise to do the best I can with what I have and what I know. I am quite pleased with the results. I hope the Davis family is too. They are so beautiful that it didn't take much to make a beautiful image out of them. But that super cool tough guy car of ~T'~s made it unique and brought their own style to the shoot. Those adorably fun kids brought so much flava I had a hard time keeping up with them (especially my auto focus!)!

What a special thanks I have for them to let me in on their lives in such a personal way and for them trusting me to capture a sliver of moment in time for them!

BTW:  Wanna know what got those vibrant colors? My new Polarizing filter...LOVE it! ;-)

5 AWESOME GAMES FOR YOUR PC OR MAC~NAME YOUR PRICE!!

Okay, this one is going to be brief.  It's a GEEK tip from the hubby and a GREAT STEAL for you!  He's found a GREAT website that let's you download 5 awesome games for whatever price you want to pay toward a charity (I'm sure you could pay $1 for all-depends on what you want to donate to the charity and you will get ALL FIVE GAMES!!)  The site has been checked out by my Geek husband and is deemed 100% safe and virus free.

I don't know if you know anything about these games (I really didn't), but I know for a fact that the "World of Goo" is a SUPER fun game that my kids and husband both LOVE.  Here's a demo video of the UBER creative game that allows the player to make creative things with goo that attaches together like legos but much cooler!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2R1FZZMDZ93C/ref=ent_fb_link

My 9 year old son rates it a 9 out of 10, with the 10 being the coolest game ever (which in his humble opinion is Little Big Planet for the Playstation 3) which is probably thee most creative game ever made because it allows the user to create their own levels and video games like a real game designer! So given that, I would say it's an AWESOME game at an INCREDIBLE deal.  Here is just one of the games on amazon if you paid full price:

http://www.wolfire.com/humble

Five games for whatever you want to pay. Package valued at $80.  YOU PAY WHAT YOU WANT/CAN!  This is the website...includes World of Goo.  Deal only offered for a limited time depending on how much money they raise...right now it's only ONE WEEK!  Watch the video, check it out!

THANK YOU SUPER GEEK (My husband) for providing this VERY COOL DEAL!!  Mwuah! You Rock!

After you download them, be sure to come back and comment at how much you love them! 

GREAT BOOKS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY LOVERS!

, I know, you haven't heard much from me lately.  Remember I am new to this and am trying to find the time to work in  blog writing along with mothering four children, juggling the PTA duties I have as VP of Ways & Means, photography shoots, photography edits, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, homework with kids, time for husband, nursing baby and preparing for my neighborhood spring Yard Sale!  Did I say YARD SALE?!  Yup!  I did!  The only thing I love more than getting money from de-cluttering my house at our nieghborhood yard sale is finding other peoples random junk at a steal of a price and RE-cluttering my house! LOL!  Anyone else have this problem?  Ah, well...it's the little things that make me happy (and crazy!) hehehe.  Anyhow, I've decided for now that nursing time seems as good as any to write so I'm going to try to keep these short and to the point and hope to pass along some good tips I have learned to you during my 15 minutes of sit down time!

I've been reading this GREAT book by Scott Kelby that introduces you to basic digital SLR photography in a light, easy to follow book with quick tips for most situations along with snappy photos that speak to you.  I have loved reading this book so much that I just ordered books 2 & 3 and can't wait to receive them!  They are easy to read in the carpool line while waiting for the kids, at the doctors office and even the bathroom (I told you I don't have a lot of "free" time! LOL!  ;-) So, if you are wanting to learn more about photography and don't have the time to read a long 'wordy' book about photography and want to pick up so me quick tips from the pros, I HIGHLY recommend this book and most likely the other two as well!  He has a fun quirky sense of humor that keeps me interested and awake unlike many technical "know-how" books I have read. It's pretty dang affordable too and I am super glad I found them.  He also includes recommendations he has for accessories and breaks them down into 3 categories (small budget, medium budget, no budget!) so you can get the best tested accessory/equipment for your personal budget!  Each page focuses on a different tip/topic and includes a photo for demonstration.  He speaks in an easy to follow tone that makes you feel like you have a good friend that just so happens to be an awesome professional photographer that is sharing his top tips with you for taking amazing pictures.  He teaches you how to get your photos "tack-sharp", how to shoot portraits, waterfalls, weddings, landscapes and more without losing you in a huge page filled with words.  He also makes you laugh a little while you learn (one one page he talks about the importance of shooting at dawn & dusk and mentions that when someone asked a National Geographic Photographer if that was really the only times to shoot landscapes, he beat the man with his tripod-he was totally joking, but made his point while getting a chuckle out of me.) ;-)


I also just ordered the tripod he recommended from amazon (in my price budget) and can't wait to get it as I know I won't regret it since it has been recommended by someone (my new friend-lol) who has so much experience in photography and is probably thinking about alot more than I would when looking at tripods!  I also ordered a wireless remote and am looking forward to doing some slow shutter shooting that will be "Tack-Sharp"!  I will definitely post these pics as soon as I take them!!  Anyhow, I hope you take the time to pick up a copy of at least the first book...I don't think I have learned more from anything else I have tried (including classes at the University!) and I am actually thinking about taking his online courses next because I like his style so much!  Good luck to you all, hope you are all clicking that shutter button as often as I am!