Family vacations can be stressful enough without the added headache of capturing all those memories. But, since capturing those memories are a must, I thought I'd share a few thoughts to help you on your way to great, less-stressful, vacation photography.

Oh, and enjoy some of my various vacation photos from over the years. :)

Maybe a better title would be - "What You See vs What I See." 

As a family and newborn photographer in the greater Pensacola, FL area, there's rarely a session that goes by where I don't say to my clients, "Trust me, it's going to look awesome." This is usually during a moment when I have them in what feels like an odd pose or using a prop in a way they weren't expecting. The great thing is, I have awesome clients, and they trust me. And they always love the finished product! This is never more true than during newborn portrait sessions. Often I'm set up in a corner of your home surrounded by baby accouterments, wraps, props, dust bunnies, and stressed out, exhausted parents.

So, I thought it might be kind of fun to show you some before editing, straight-out-of-camera pictures (Before) vs the final images provided to my clients (After). Enjoy!​

The 2 examples above are of the same baby, taken mid afternoon in the client's living room in front of their sliding glass door. You may notice that the second picture isn't as well lit in the "Before" image as the first one. This is because some summer afternoon storms rolled in while I was working.

The next 2 pictures are also examples of being set up for natural light portraits while storms rolled in. This time I was set up in the client's daughter's play room. I had studio lights in my car that I could have used, but with the client's other children (ages 3 & 5) running around, I was hesitant to set up light stands.
​As you can see from the "After" images, it all worked out fine!

Something else clients often worry about (moms especially) is their newborn's blotchy, flakey, pimply, red/yellow/purple/grey, etc skin. Any newborn photographer worth her salt can handle problem skin NO problem.

(And yes, the Before & After below are the same picture, I just performed a mirror image flip to provide my clients with more variety.)

All of the pictures I've shown so far have been taken without studio lights, using only the natural light coming into a client's home. But, some homes just get natural light, or don't have enough. This is why I always bring studio lights with me.

The image below was taken in a home with virtually NO natural light. So, i quickly set up my studio lights and we were good to go.
This picture is also a great example of when I shoot with a change to black and white photography in mind. The different textures of the fabric, the lines of the hardwood floor all immediately made me see that this picture in particular NEEDED to be in black and white!

As an on location photographer, I travel all over Escambia county and Santa Rosa county Florida as well as Baldwin county Alabama for photography sessions. this means that I need to be flexible and use what's available to me at any given shoot. The picture below is a great example of that. 
I wanted a photo that highlighted this sweet, new military family in a clean, simple way, and I had to do it in such a way that their wide awake little man would remain happy and content. Mom and dad had a nice, large window in their bedroom and it made the perfect, simple background for their first professional family portrait.

These last two Before & After pictures I'm going to show are perfect examples of "What you See vs. What I See."
In the first image, we'd FINALLY gotten little man to sleep and there was no way I was going to move my entire backdrop stand for a simple background fix that I new I could take care of in 30 seconds of Photoshop. Mom trusted me, and they ended up with this beautiful image of little boy O wearing daddy's cover.
In the second image, I knew that I wanted to incorporate the neat, rosette texture of the pink blanket while still keeping baby girl all curled up and happy. Mommy was concerned that their bedroom carpet would show in the final image but trusted me when I assured her it would not.

I hope that you've enjoyed my Pensacola Newborn Portrait Session Before & After editing. 

Newborn photography is pretty much my favorite thing in the world to do and I happily cover Gulf Shores, AL through Navarre, FL and north to Cantonment and Milton, FL.

How many of you have nice, semi-pro (or even professional) cameras but still feel like you have no idea what you're doing? Yep, I thought so. 

This morning I thought I'd share my favorite photography books and magazines NOT specifically geared for the professional photographer. If you're ready to start unlocking your photography potential - then read on!

*Finding Beauty in the Ordinary photography receives nothing for promoting the following books and magazines. They are merely books I own and love and magazines I've subscribed to for years.*

We'll start with books.

• First up is "Your Child in Pictures: The Parent's Guide to Photographing Your Toddler and Child from Age One to Ten" by Me Ra Koh
• Next is another by Me Ra Koh - "Your Baby in Pictures: The New Parent's Guide to Photographing Your Baby's First Year"

​Honestly, I love Me Ra Koh's photography books - if you're a parent who just wants to capture better pictures of your children - she's your yoda!

• Something I tell every new DSLR owner is to purchase the "Digital Field Guide" for their specific camera and speedlight. These books go much more in depth into the inner workings of your gear and the why. But, as opposed to your camera manual, they're easy to understand and contain examples.
• Another photography book I really  like is one that was put together by Popular Photography (one of the photography magazines I recommend): "Take Your Best Shot - Essential Tips and Tricks for Shooting Amazing Photos" by Miriam Leuchter
• This next book is really great at getting your creative juices flowing and helping you find your eye. "Picture Perfect Practice" by Roberto Valenzuela
• Lastly for books, I recommend "The Digital Photography Book", "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom", and "Adobe Photoshop CC" each by Scott Kelby. I really  like how Kelby relays information and includes plenty of examples and illustrations when necessary. His Lightroom book was a lifesaver when I when I decided to streamline my photo editing.

If, like me, you find it hard to find the time to sit down with a book, I strongly recommend you look into photography magazines. There are many, many options out there. The ones that follow are my personal favorites.

• Popular Photography
• Click
• National Geographic Traveler

​I hope you this post helps you find something to unlock your creative, photography spirit.