How to Improve Your Online Presence

Head shots.  They are becoming more and more necessary in this modern world of online presence.  It seems like every company is requiring head shots of their employees for websites or online purposes.  People are always wanting updated pictures for their LinkedIn, Facebook page or even an online dating site.  Who doesn't want an updated and flattering picture of themselves?  So often people use old, outdated pictures or pictures in which they have to crop other people out making them lesser quality or unflattering.

Here are some hints to make sure you are putting your best

 foot forward in your online presence.

1.  Don't use a picture that is outdated.  Make sure your picture is from the

 last year or so.  If your picture is more than 2 years old or if you have

 drastically changed your hair...it is time for a new one.

I changed my logo and my brand and had new head shots done to make

 my online presence more consistent.  Thanks to my friend Maren Miller for 

taking these pictures for me!  See....even photographers need to have head shots taken. 

Hello!

 

2.  Make sure it is a flattering picture.  Do you have 3 chins in the picture?  

Are you wearing your old, grubby clothes? 

 Then it is time to change your picture.

3.  Where was the picture taken?  Is the background cluttered or ugly.  

Does it cause your eye to go to the background of the picture instead of 

to your smiling face?  The background should be plain so as to draw the eye 

to your face.  Slightly off center is also nice for head shots.  It makes it feel higher 

quality and more pleasing to the eye.  Your face and upper body should be the largest 

thing in the picture.  Make sure it isn't a full body shot that shows 

more the background than you.

4.  Are you trying to look like a model with a pouty face?  Is it a selfie?  

Are you holding an alcoholic drink?  If so...that picture has to go!  

Make sure the picture shows your entire face and that you are

 smiling and look friendly in the picture.

5.  Is there another person in the picture with you?  Did you crop someone

 out of the picture?  That usually lowers the quality of the picture

 making it look old and unprofessional.

If you run your own business or people hire to you do a service for them, 

then you should have your head shots professionally done.  Those pictures

 should be on your email and on your website.  People feel more comfortable 

working with you if they can see a nice picture and have an idea of what you look like.  

It is worth the investment of having pictures done.  Trust me!

Here are a few head shots I have done in the last few weeks. 

Beautiful and artistic Audrey:

Fun and full of life Carey: Visit her new blog here.

 

Brandon- one of the nicest guys around: 

(We did these in the middle of their family session.  So if you need an

 updated picture and we are doing family pictures....let me know. 

 I am happy to snap a few pictures of you for your online/business needs)

My amazing sister Julie: 

Is it time to update your online presence?  I am offering a special!

  A 20 minute session with 25 fully edited images with print release in downloadable 

online gallery for $150 (or bring a friend with you and share the session for $200).  

Comment on the blog if you are interested.  Hurry!  

You must book by May 1st to receive this offer.

Visit my website or Facebook page for more pictures and information.  

Thanks for stopping by!

10 Tips for Taking Pictures on Vacation

We are getting ready to go on vacation for Spring Break.  

So naturally it is a good time to share pictures from our last vacation, right?  

I am such a slacker.  Last year we went to Anna Maria Island off the coast of Tampa, FL.  

My parents rented a beach house so that my sister and I and all of our kids could enjoy

 a week at the beach together.  It was AMAZING!!  I highly recommend it.  

We had so much fun and it was the most relaxing vacation we have been on in a long time!  

Along with my pictures, I am going to give you some

 hints that have helped me when taking pictures on Vacation.

Number One: Bring a real camera.  

Even if it is a cheaper point and shoot.  

iPhones are great and they are handy, but the quality is better with a

 real camera.  Trust me and bring your camera.

Can you get this shot with an iPhone?  Maybe someone can, but I can't!  

Action shots are hard with phones.  So use your real camera.

Makai and Josiah were trying to splash the birds.  See the water up in the air??

Number Two:  Take pictures!  

Bring your camera everywhere and take a lot of pictures.  

This is hard to do and you are going to want to "be in the moment".  

However, you won't ever regret bringing out your camera and taking pictures.  

Be intentional in your photo taking.  Take pictures every day and document

your time on vacation.  Take pictures of where you went and what you did.  

You will forget over time, so take pictures.  They don't have to be perfect. 

 All of mine came straight out of my camera with no editing!!!

The beginning of our trip. DIA.

 What is the first thing the kids did when they got to the beach house???  

Run down to the beach, of course!

Best Dad/Uncle award goes to.......Chris.  He spent hours in the 

water wrestling and playing with the kids.  He is amazing! 

Number Three: Have people in your pictures.  

It is nice to have pictures of buildings and such but in the end, the pictures you

 are going to treasure are the ones with your loved ones in them.  

So if you see a pretty building, put a cute little kid in front

 of it and take the picture.  You will love that building even more when someone

 you love is standing in front of it.

Ringling Brothers Circus Museum

The Aquarium with the grandkids.

Number Four: Take pictures of the details!  

It helps to remember them later.

  Did you find something tiny and cute on your vacation.  

Put it in your hand and take a picture.  

You can always delete it later if you don't like it.

This bird hung out about 5 feet from us on the beach.  

It must have been a regular thing.  

When the guys next to us caught a fish, they just threw it to the bird.  

We caught a little crab.

 Our first morning there, we found these little frogs out by our pool.  

They were so cute.  We never saw them again.  But it was chilly outside that

 morning so they must have loved that.

There were millions of these little shells everywhere.  And they were alive.  

They had these little creatures inside.  It tickled your hand.  

Half awesome, half creepy.

 It was just before Easter so the kids did an Egg hunt courtesy

 of Nana and Bapa. I had totally forgotten that until 

I looked through these pictures!

We had fish and chips on the pier and then we went for FroYo.

Number Five: Get in the pictures.  

This is a tough one for me as I am always

 the dedicated photographer on both sides of the family.  This last trip I made it

 a point to get in some of the pictures and I am so glad that I did.  

So often I feel like I don't exist because I am NEVER in any of the pictures.  

So I am trying to get better about handing off my camera or setting 

the timer and getting in the picture.

Number Six:  Did it make you laugh or smile?  Then take a picture! 

 It will help bring back those fun memories later.  

Adah got stung by something on the beach.  Let's just say it was just

 like the "Friends" episode.  I HAD to take a picture.

We buried the kids.  It was so fun.  #greatparenting

Until Tanner couldn't get out of the hole.  

I may have laughed a little.  Sorry buddy.

Check out these two and their hair blowing in the breeze on our last day of vacation.

Number Seven:  Get different combinations of people.  

We often tend to gravitate towards certain family members and therefore

 have a million pictures together.  But MIX IT UP!  Tell Grandma to grab

 just one of the kids and take that picture.  Those are the cherished ones!

The oldest cousin and the youngest cousin.  Holding hands.  Awwwww.

Nana and her third grandson.

 Adah and Makai had a great time making these drizzle castles.  

They were so sad when the tide started coming in and wrecking their creations.

 The 9 year olds boogie-boarding.  

Or trying to with the help of Chris.

Number Eight: Don't take pictures when people aren't at their best. 

 If they will find it embarrassing later, then best not to document that. 

 If you have been out drinking and someone jumps up on the table to dance, 

might want to skip that picture.  Or is someone really self-conscious of 

themselves in a bathing suit?  Then skip that picture (or immediately delete it). 

 Or just take it of their face and not their body. Be nice and try to show them at their best.  

You would want the same from someone else, right?

Obviously I don't have any pictures of this!  Because it would be embarrassing!

Number Nine: Download the pictures every night to your computer.  

Then put them in a file labeled "day one" or "Monday" or "March 15th".  

It will help later.  It also helps if something goes wrong with your camera or if it is lost. 

 Then you won't have lost all of the pictures from your trip.  

Trust me...it might save you anguish later!

 This was taken on Day Six of our trip when we went fishing.  

I know that because it was in my Day Six Folder!

Dolphins, right off the back of our boat.  Awesome!!!

 Jameson was on day 3 of not feeling well so after he snagged a fish, 

he laid on the cooler and went to sleep.

Number Ten: Get a Full Family Picture.  

This is the one you are going to want as your Facebook Profile picture. 

 Or your Christmas Card.  Make every effort to get one.  

Where everyone is looking at the camera and isn't a filthy mess.  

You could even find a local photographer and have a session done!

Gotta go.  The beach is calling my name.

Where are you going on vacation this year??? 

 Hopefully these little tips will help document your time!

Capture with Confidence

My first "real job" was as a teacher.  I taught middle school Geography and American History.  I LOVED it!  People always say I am crazy, but I love the middle school age.  They are too young to think they are "too cool" for you and throw attitude and yet they are old enough to get sarcasm and they can joke around with you.  Perfect combination!

Now that I have found my passion and creative outlet in Photography, I have been looking to add the teaching piece back to my life.  I have missed teaching!  Back in November I did a little class for some moms about how to take better pictures of your kids.  It sparked my love for teaching again and I set out to design a more in-depth class about photography.

So many people have nice digital cameras and they don't know how to use them!  They leave them on AUTO and are missing out the huge potential that their cameras have.  So I created my class and called it Capture with Confidence.

I had a blast setting up the curriculum and making everything pretty for the class. And in January, I had 4 people come to my house and take the next step in learning about their camera.  They brought their cameras and I helped them figure out their settings,  how to change their settings and how to get great pictures in all situations.  I showed them the difference between iPhone, Point and Shoot and DSLR cameras.  And then we talked a bit about Photography Basics.  Here are a few of my slides.

The 2 1/2 hours went way too fast, but I feel like they all got a good grasp on how to use their camera.  They also walked away with some cool swag and a cheat-sheet to keep handy as they are taking pictures to help remind them of what they learned.

At the end of the class I took their pictures.  Because who doesn't want a professional picture of themselves.  And it is nice for me to have pictures of my beautiful (and handsome) students.

Meet Jan: She is awesome.  I have known her for over 15 years!  I met her when I was working as a teacher at D'Evelyn.  She always took such good care of me at D'Evelyn and even diagnosed me with mono.  She is a treasure!

Meet Don: He is Jan's husband. So right away I knew he would be fun!  He was so into the class and I loved watching him trying out new things with the camera.

Aren't they cute?  Pretty sure Don was talking when I took this picture, but it makes me laugh!

 

Meet Krista: Jan's daughter.  She is a new mama and wants to learn how to take great pictures of her adorable little girl.  Although I never had her in class, I taught at D'Evelyn while she was there.  Yes, that makes me feel really old.

Meet Stacy: Life-long friend.  Stacy and I became friends in 5th grade when her family moved here from Seattle.  She and I have one of those deep friendships that are vital to life.  She challenges me, keeps me accountable and loves me unconditionally.  She recently got a camera for Christmas and wanted to learn how to use it to take better pictures.  It was so fun to have you there Stacy!  Love you!

Here are some of the other things that we covered:

Composition

Lighting

ISO

Aperature

White Balance

Shutter Speed

Settings

I took these while demonstrating white balance.  The first one is too "warm".  The second one is too "cool" and the third one is just right.  Amazing how this little thing can change your pictures so drastically!

And they even got yummy (and healthy) snacks!  Huge shout-out to my lovely and talented mom who carried out my vision for the snacks.  She did all of the work and put them all together for me!!  She is amazing and I couldn't have done it without her.  She even stuck around and listened to the first half of the class.  Thanks mom!! 

Thanks Stacy for taking this in-action picture of me while you were practicing your new skills!

The class was just before Valentine's Day so I had fun decorating the house and making everything look pretty!

For some strange reason, I don't have any pictures of the cool swag that everyone got.  Perhaps I was too focused on teaching the class that I didn't get any pictures of that.  Just know that it was cool.  I will get pictures of it next time!

I am thinking I will do another class this spring.  Anyone interested???  It is $50 for 2 1/2 hours and includes yummy snacks and cool swag!  I can also do private classes if you want to get a few friends together and do the class as a group.  I would love to get to know you and have you get to know your camera.