An exciting day for my girls........

Seeing these pictures makes my {heart} happy!

This was quite the exciting day for my girls.

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They LOVE ballet.

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I love how these pictures turned out.

I love the pictures of the class with their teacher.

I love that their teacher cares for each of her students.

I love that my girls have learned ballet.

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I'm not a mom that expects her six year old to be a prima ballerina, but

I do love that they WANT to go to class.

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Michelle, I hope you love these pictures as much as I do.

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I know I've been away for awhile with no posts, but I have been super busy and finally found the time to edit these pictures.

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I hope everyone had a happy holiday season!

A Sneak Peek.....

This was the first extended family session I did.

Hopefully they like what they see.

Photo Challenge....Sweet Dreams

This is the first time I am entering one of these contests, but I am excited. I finally got up the nerve to enter and thought this was the perfect picture.

My friend called after she had this sweet little girl and asked if I would take some photos of her. I was in heaven.....I was fairly new at all of this photography stuff, but was so excited with how these turned out.

If you want to share some "Sweet Dreams" photos of your own go here.

Let me know what you think.

Short and Sweet Mini Session

A couple of weeks ago at my second job, I was having an extremely bad day.

I was very upset, and crying. I have really good friends at work. The Mommy to these boys is probably one of my best friends. Honestly she just sat and listened and I instantly felt better.

So for one of my best friends here is a picture of your sooo cute boys!

It was so cold, I thought we were going to freeze to death. These boys were so good though and so fun.

Happy Birthday, hope you have a really great one.

Some of my favorite things.....

I thought I would share some of my favorite photography related items.

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My most favorite thing I cannot live without, a UV filter for my lens.

UV filters range in cost, but can make a big difference in your pictures.

It can also save your lens if you accidenally drop it.

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I went to a class this summer and the photographer was changing lenses when she

accidentally dropped it.

The filter shattered, but the lens was perfectly okay.

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Lesson learned.

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My second favorite thing related to photography is my camera strap.

My Funky Camera has some of the most fabulous camera straps.

I love them all.

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I noticed etsy has a lot of camera straps also.

I love the Shey B shop, they have some funky straps that I would love to have.

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My third favorite thing photography related are textures.

They can have a big impact on your pictures.

You can find them here, here, and here.

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Happy shopping everyone.

A necessary evil........Photoshop

When I first started photography I was using just free photo software to do my editing. I finally

decided to buy photoshop.

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At first I despised the program, and I bet I had it for at least a couple of months before I actually started using it.

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Enter my friend, Krystn.

She sent me an e-mail one day and told me there was a photoshop class being offered at jessicasprague.com. Wahoo! I think it cost about $30.00.

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I learned so much from that $30 class and the best part the class is saved under your username and you can go back and view it anytime you want. With photoshop that is a must.

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After the class I also checked out MCP actions and have learned a lot from her blog resources.

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I have also learned a lot by just playing with photoshop, which can be good and bad.

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I don't think photoshop is very userfriendly, and sometimes it can take me quite awhile to edit a session. I always laugh when I hear someone say it probably takes you a couple of minutes to get the look you want. If they only knew.

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Some looks take me 7 to 10 steps.

Now that I have Photoshop and I have learned some tricks that work for me, I love it.

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My only other bit of advice, if you are a college student you can get a huge discount on the program so look into it before you pay full price.

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And now........my two youngest at a fabulous location I found.

Growth

I have decided to take the 365 challenge and create a new blog for me to post my pictures. A picture for each day of the year. Go here to see pictures of the different posts each day. I am only going to post a picture and title. Let me know what you think.

Shooting in Manual

Let me start off by saying I shoot with a Canon XTI, and use a 50mm 1.8 and a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. I love my 50, not so sure about the 2.8. I like the 2.8, but it is really hard to shoot indoors with the 2.8.



If you are already shooting in manual you understand how much you actually have to take into consideration before you take a picture. All the things to consider, shutter speed, aperature, ISO settings, white balance, focus. What kind of image do you want? Do you want a soft background? Do you want everything in focus? What's your style? What does your client want? A lot right?



When I first started taking pictures I shot of course in a preset mode. The camera basically did everything for me. I then started shooting in AV mode, or apperature priority. I really think shooting in apperature priority mode for several months helped make the jump to shooting in complete manual less painful. The best part of shooting in manual, what you set on your camera is what you will get. Make sense?



If you want to start shooting in manual, ask questions. A lot of people with photography blogs are happy to answer them. A lot are not so eager to answer, but my motto, "It never hurts to ask." I think a class is really helpful too. There are tons of places that offer photography classes, start checking around and see what you can find.

Now one more picture of these four girls. Their mom ordered this print, 16x24, it arrived today. I have been waiting anxiously for this print to arrive. It turned out awesome. I was so nervous, what if it doesn't turn out okay, what if it turns out horrible? I have never been so excited to get this.

I love this picture, the best part it was the girl on the far left's idea. She was a riot. She kept posing for me and asking what I thought. She kept asking if she could pose in different locations. I think, just maybe she could be a photographer in the making.

Once Upon A Time

There was a cowboy and his cowgirl, and their little buckaroos.

The youngest son buckaroo's personality was captured to a tee in the next picture.

One of my favorites of the night is up next....

Look at mama cowgirl and her little princess!

Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek.

I'm working on getting caught up from a couple of sessions. My kids have been sick so hopefully I will get some work done this week.

My youngest...........

My husband issued a challenge of sorts.

His words, "Do you think it's kind of funny that you take pictures professionally, but you don't have any of our own kids printed."

Well hubby dear, I just edited about twenty pictures. Sent 12 to be printed (the one above included).

My next post will talk about shooting in manual, the only way to shoot.

Making Memories

Photography is the gift of lasting memories........that is why I love it so much.
Last night as I was finishing dinner the girls asked if they could eat dinner with their new tea sets. Why not? Even everyday, normal routine moments can be made memorable with simple things.

I got the girls this tea set awhile ago on ebay. Planning to use if for my oldest's birthday.
I used it last night with dinner and made wonderful hot chocolate. I was a little worried. My littlest, 18 months, even drank from a tea cup, and miraculously didn't spill.

Try making a routine moment memorable today. It will make your day.


Now I am off to finish editing a session. My computer decided it needed more memory, silly thing. So I have been trying to free up some memory while working. {Sigh.}

A glimpse into the future........

I had a session today with four girls.......

It was hilarious; I imagine my life will be pretty similar when my girls are older

Here is a sneak peek for you Krystn.

These girls were so much fun!

Most of the time I didn't even have to ask them to do anything, they just posed themselves.

The funniest part of the night, after we finished at the location above I took them to a field of sorts.

They were completely disgusted that they had to sit on dirt; I can't even describe it!

It was so funny. They were soooo done, and wanted nothing to do with it

You are going to have lots of choices Krystn, hope you like what you see so far.

Haven't been so great about posting here........

I have been busy and I have a family blog too.......this one

tends to get neglected.

Today I decided to do a post about taking pictures.

I love to take pictures, I love to capture the moment.

I am still learning but I thought I would share a little bit of what I know.

When I first started out I wasn't quite sure what kind of lens to get or who to ask.

I started out with the canon 50mm 1.8.

When I went to buy the lens, the sales guy said, "Ah, fantastic plastic."

The lens is plastic, but it creates beautiful images.

I'm sure eventually it will wear out and I will have to replace it, but the price is

what will get you.

$100.00

For a lens........uh, duh?

Who wouldn't buy this lens.

It is perfect for shooting inside, so perfect for Mommy's trying to get shots of kids inside the house.

It works great outside; I love this lens.

I use it almost all the time.

So if you've been wondering what lens to buy.......try the "fantastic plastic" lens.

Your pictures will have nice soft backgrounds like below.

Fall is here...........and we love it!

My four.......a small miracle, everyone looking forward.

Family Sessions

It's time to start thinking about Christams cards........wahoo!!

Can you believe it?

The special this month.....A family session for 1 hour

1 calendar or 25 holiday greeting cards,

and a CD of 10 images of your session.

Price is $150.00

Stay tuned for pictures of the calendar.....

Sisters

They may not like each other all the time,

but

they'll have each other always......

A little story to go along with this picture.

I've been having a hard time with extra stuff for the girls, as far as

dance lessons, gymnastics......it just got to be too much.

I was ready to give up on everything........then I found this

fabulous place and I am in love.

The teacher is fabulous, she expects them to learn, she expects them

to behave, she expects them to have manners.

I LOVE THE ATMOSPHERE. I will never take them to another place for dance.

Check her website out, and if your in the area, sign your kids up!!

Fall

The crispness in the air.........

The colors all around..........

pumpkins lining driveways.............

halloween candy........

but mostly the colors.................

I love, love, love this time of year.

Attitude

It's all about the attitude..........

SHE has an overabundance of it.

Want some? I think I could probably give you 95% of it,

and we would still have enough to spare.

Pricing

Session Prices

Please contact me for pricing information @ mgilbert2528@msn.com

For My Nephew

My nephew is having a birthday this weekend. He is very into guitars, and music. This is one

of his guitars. This is going to be his gift from my husband and I. I hope he likes them as much

as I do.

Pricing

My pricing will be changing at the end of the week. If

you book a session before the end of the week

your session will be for the current pricing and not the new prices.

Joy

It's what I feel when I see this picture......

My baby and her daddy!

Well as most know I love my camera a lot. I thought I would tell you my

favorite time of day to shoot.

Try taking pictures when the sun is setting. You will get some fabulous light, and

you won't have to fight the shadows.

Try it, I think you will love the results.

Senior Style

I had a lot of fun doing this senior style photo shoot. The location was awesome, and the model was fabulous. Hopefully she loves these shots as much as I do.

Another one of my own.........

Hopefully this picture makes you smile, as much as it makes me smile!

Welcome

I am beginning my journey into the photography world. I hope you love the pictures that are posted here and will let me take photos of your family or children. I love natural light and photography using natural light in all of my photography.

This month I am offering High School Senior sessions for $95.00. This will include a full resolution cd with 10 images. I am also offering newborn sessions for $75.00. Newborns are my absolute favorite and I will travel to your home and complete the photo session in the comfort of your own home.

After the month of September my prices will increase for Newborn and Senior sessions. For these prices I will travel as far south as Roy and as far north as Tremonton. If you live farther than that area there will be a travel fee added.

Now because I can't have a post without a picture, here goes.

My little one enjoys this particular book a lot. She drags it around with her everywhere, and makes everyone read it to her. One thing you will learn if you start to visit my site often enough, my little one does not like her hair done. When it does get done she just rips out whatever is in her hair. Most of the time you will she her looking quite disheveled.