"You date your camera, but you marry your lens..."

Or so I hear in the world of photography. Here are some of the things on my "dream" list to further my photography venture:

This is my dream lens. It has a good range, stops down to 2.8, and is a favorite of many photographers. Plus, I can use it on my crop frame Rebel t3i and on a full-frame 6D (also on my wish list)

I hear good things about this lens when it comes to portraiture. It's super sharp and can create a nice bokeh. Plus, the price point isn't bad.

 I hear this is the laptop you want for editing, processing, and storing photos. I have never owned a mac so I know there would be a learning curve, but I'm willing to do the work if it will benefit me in the long run. My current laptop is on the fritz anyways so if I am going to upgrade this is the one I have my eye on.

A full frame 6D camera. I am a bit intimidated to shoot in RAW and to learn a new camera, so until I am more comfortable with what I have I am ok waiting a while for this.

using the spot meter

I spend a lot of my free time lately reading photography blogs and websites. Last night I read about how to spot meter and I couldn't wait to try it out. Metering is the camera trying to gauge the amount of light in the scene so it can set the correct exposure. There are three types of metering on the Canon Rebel (Evaluative, Center, and Spot). The default meter is evaluative which takes in the entire frame and exposes for all of it. Center meters for a smaller sample, and Spot meters for the smallest and most precise sample. Normally if you take a picture of a subject in front of bright light the subject will appear dark. But if you use the spot meter and highlight a lighter sample of your subject you will end up with a clear shot of your subject and blow out the background.

Keep in mind this was my very first time trying this, these are not edited, and it was a pajama day around here:)

And I had to get a shot of him snuggling his blankets.

This is what would happen without using the spot meter.

So much better!

Again, no spot meter.

If I wasn't just playing I would have moved him to a different window to avoid the distracting lines in the background.

More playing with the meter. 

the student becomes the teacher

Ha ha. Totally joking:-) My teacher, who is entering her senior year at BYU as a photography major, let me practice taking pictures of her. Isn't she lovely?

experimenting with light

behind the camera

From a young age I have had a passion for capturing "the moment" (you know the one I'm talking about: a baby's gleeful smile, a beautiful sunset, an expression of pure joy). I have memories of driving across the beautiful Rocky Mountains on vacation with my family and holding up my fingers to frame images that would make just the right picture.

I have continued that passion into motherhood. I love capturing the day-to-day and also special occasions and milestones. I am not sure where this photography journey will lead me, but I am jumping in with both feet!

I am a mother of five beautiful children and the lucky wife of a man who encourages me to follow my dreams and is my biggest supporter. Some other hobbies and interests of mine include cooking and trying new recipes (Well, eating really. Let's be honest. I just like food. Click HERE for our family's favorite recipes), playing the piano, reading (especially historical fiction), doing yoga, and jogging (Yes, jogging. Not running. There is a difference! I won't be running any marathons any time soon. Or ever.)

---From January 20, 2017---

When you are into photography, and when you have five kids, you typically find yourself behind the camera. Yesterday, my photography mentor took some head shots of me and suddenly I found myself in front of the camera. Not my favorite place to be, but I am happy with how these turned out.

50mm lens vs. 18-135mm zoom lens

50mm

18-135mm zoom

focus

I learned how to use the manual focus on my camera. I turned the aperture down low to create a blurry background and used a focus point to bring out the subject.

(50mm lens)

baby feet

I read a blog post recently written by a woman who lamented the fact that she had not gotten any pictures of her grown-up kids' feet when they were babies. I don't want to have any regrets, so here are Pierce's cute little baby feet at two months.

baby pierce

I had my first photography lesson with the amazing photographer, Alyssa Smith. She taught me how to use the manual settings on my camera, how to find the best lighting, and so much more. Even though it was a cloudy day and the lighting wasn't optimal, I was able to capture these photos of this two month old cutie.

Playing with the light meter