new lens

 Let me rephrase that. NEW LENS!!!!! My sweet husband gave me a lens off of my wishlist for Valentine's day and I have been having so much fun learning how to use it. These were taken with the Canon 85mm 1:1.8 lens.

This one is overexposed, but I like the composition. I have had to get used to how much light a lens that stops down to 1.8 can let in!

 I don't love the composition of this one, but I do love those chubby baby thighs!

 I took this jumping picture in the basement at night. I am impressed with this lens!

 Homemade granola bars before they were cut into squares

 Valentine roses from my love

This lens is so sharp. I love it!

birthday candles

 LIVE SNAP LOVE has a tutorial that I followed to take these photos of my daughter's birthday.

I wanted to practice before the real deal.

The boys were happy to help me get a few shots.

The real deal. I love how these turned out! After a combine 25+ years of kids' birthday parties I finally know how to take a candle picture. Yay! 

sunburst

I can't wait to play around with this technique some more and even include it in some of my lifestyle photography. 

Things to remember to create a sunburst effect:

*smaller aperture (ie-smaller than f/11)

*partially block sun with something

*don't look directly at sun through viewfinder. (ouch!)

reflection

I have been reading up on landscape photography, and while my focus will be on lifestyle, I would still like to learn the basics of how to take a good landscape photo. I don't own an ideal lens for landscape, so I debated on whether I should use my "nifty fifty" lens or my zoom lens for these and I decided to go with my zoom. They are not nearly as sharp as I envisioned, but I didn't use a tripod (which would have been helpful). I wanted to capture the reflection of the trees and the clouds on the lake in the late afternoon.

With the next two photos I was experimenting with something I learned: if the sky is lackluster the foreground should take up 2/3 of the frame and sky 1/3 and vice versa. I tried it both ways because the sky had some pretty cool clouds I wanted to capture and I also wanted to capture the reflection of the clouds on the lake.

"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?