I Heart Faces -Family Fun

Family fun in the sky!

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

The Gardens after the rain...

Wow, this shoot feels like a lifetime ago...

I love shooting here, but you must, must, must wear mosquito spray! Especially if it's been raining and let's face it when isn't it LOL (we already had rescheduled this once!)
The Halligan family were a joy to shoot...

I love LOVE this one of Mum and Dad in BW...

and look at these eyes...Beautiful...

and these...(one of my fave portraits ever...soulful)

We took some fun shots of family interaction...

and fun stuff...

I'll leave you with the kids. I could share a whole lot more but this will do!

Such a fun, laid back shoot. And Mr. C could be an assistant, he was full of ideas and concepts! Thank you Marisa for trusting me to shoot your family, I hope these photos give you all great memories x

Like a rainbow...

Wow Okinawa really challenged me this past busy season with it's crazy weather...but I'm a trooper and so was this family!

I met Nikki a couple of years ago now as she was part of our British group of nutters having lived in the UK for some yrs (even though she's American). I was happy she hired me to do her family session! Cheeky girl!

We got creative on the beach with the tidepools...

I love this tree!

The kids were alright!

and did a great job...

Nothing like barefoot in the park...

Some Dad and son time, love this moment...

And talking of Dads, let's give the Dad some face time here! Dads deserve it!

Thank you Turnbach Family, the weather may have been cloudy with a chance of meatballs but you brought the colour!

And we still got a decent sunset silhouette! Cheers!

I Heart Faces - Best Face of 2011

Hmmmm, this is a hard one. BUT, this is the first photo that popped into my head. I absolutely love eyes and I love the soulful look on this little girl's face from a shoot last year...

This image just pulls me in. I hear Adele when I look at it! It was a 'quiet' shoot. As in, it was one of those: is it or isn't it going to rain and do I or don't I want to have my photo taken. As we went around the location, we just sat and we just chilled and as Pooh would say 'just be'. And that's when I got an image like this. Does that even make sense? LOL
OK, enough of my waffling, go over to I Heart Faces, this blog is massive, it's all faces (but also great tutorials) and it's just a great supportive community. Happy New Year I Heart Faces x

That's a great camera...

I know most photographers have seen this old 'what the duck' strip...

but I thought I would do my own blog post on the whole camera thing (in fact this has been sitting in my drafts since 8/16/10!). Actually, today's cameras do take really nice pictures, but you must know some other things besides the shutter!...I am no expert, always learning. I don't have the 'best' camera on the market, but I do have a good camera and I work that thing. I certainly don't know all the post processing that goes on these days, I am a simple person, I feel overwhelmed when things get too technical and that makes me lose my inspiration and creativity for things. I am like a typical artist type. There's no shame in that.
Anyway, so here is a photo April, my daughter took with her point and shoot. I thought this was a great example of excellent composition...

It is not always about the camera but having ANY camera to get an image that might have been missed otherwise, like this one. Or photos with your iphone!
To thy own self be true. It's YOUR vision, your art. Keep it real. True to yourself!

When people or my clients say to me, you are the best photographer etc, I do take it as a compliment but it stays in my heart and doesn't EVER go to my head. I have met too many people that think this actually means they are the best photographer. Well, news for these people. Even the most beginning business photographer who has really no style, underexposed and out of focus images, etc, has clients that say, wait for it...'you are the best photographer'!!!
So, Be humble, not arrogant. There's a BIG difference between arrogance and confidence. Arrogant people look and sound like idiots. The end.

I saw a quote by Richard Bach recently about writing, but I thought it transferred to photographer: A professional photographer is an amateur who never gave up. We won't get into the whole spiel about what makes a professional photographer when it comes to money, but you get my drift, I hope? It's passion and drive and love and...and...em...marbles! I took this today as I tried to get this long overdue blog post together! I really hate having drafts, esp for years!

People who think they are better than all the rest usually have some deep seated insecurity problem and now want to let themselves shine whilst putting others lights out. You can let your light shine and let others lights shine too. It's a big world. There's enough room for us all shining our lights. And you are allowed to shine your own light! Just don't blow others candles out in the process!

I try and be nice. And most people I know do too when it comes to photography. I am quite sick and tired of the competitive nature and the crappy sheisty people that spoil this art with their 'girl dog' tactics. All over the web is this hatred going on. It never used to be like this. Or did it? I know that I have been inspired by so many helpful and loving people and especially when I got to Okinawa when my love of photography had just been re-sparked. Really, I say be honest and nice and everything is cool. But don't cross me when I am being nice or I will quote from Eminem here: 'I will tear down your balcony'...I love to share but I'm def. not a mug (look it up, British slang!). Here's my Eminem inspired shoot!!!

Style. I get the occassional email, PM, phone call asking me what lens to get, camera to use, what to do with photography, etc, etc...Half the time the person asking has better gear than I have LOL I can say that the number one thing for me to say is develop your style. If you are all over the place and wishy washy you won't be known for your style. When people can say that looks like a Pam (or insert name here) photo, that's a good thing, it means you have a style, all of your own! Even if it's with your iphone! Even if it turns out not to be your image, since some tend to have others with similar styles and that's no bad thing either (maybe you could make a friend of a likeminded soul!). At least, though, you need to have some sort of artistic style. We are unique. No one can replicate YOU! This is how I see it: Eye, Lens, Camera body, post processing. See what it starts with. EYE. YOUR eye! No one can take that away!

Locations. I would like to point out here on Okinawa, no-one owns a location. Let's take Toguchi beach as an example. No one owns that beach. In fact, you really can say in your resume back whether you go from this island, that you first realized you were a photographer when you shot a family of four in front of a funny mushroom shaped rock. Or a beautiful pregnant belly LOL.

That was the moment YOU became a 'famous' photographer on Okinawa! LOL So, I for one will say hello to my fellow photographers as we march past each other with our family of four trailing behind! You know why, because I like people and if you are a photographer, you really need to like people, even if they disappoint you once in a while! You've gotta have faith! Anyways, I absolutely love toguchi!

Mushroom rock and all!

Light. It's all about the light.
Here is a typical, maybe not the best, example...

I had this recently (now a lonngggg time ago!) on my blog showing the difference of a year in age of this little man. One of my photographer friends said the 2nd one was a fantastic image and asked me if I had changed my processing. To which I replied No! In fact I am pretty certain this was shot with the same lens and about the same aperture. Yes, I probably processed it differently since it was a different environment, but I don't majorly process and it was certainly with the same programme. The difference is the light. The first one was shot early in the morning on the beach, a great time for light, but it was June and muggy light (if there is such a thing) Very bright outside but overcast at the same time.
The 2nd one, shot again early, but no notable humidity, in the autumn and in an urban environment. The quality of the light was very different...
Love. That's what it's all about! Anyways, I've rambled through a whole bunch of topics! I'm not the best at writing, I tend to go all over the place! I just say spread love and fisheyed flowers!

Until the next post...Have a brill day!

Trees, Beach and Each Other! x

Still playing catch up! The Corbin Family were so much fun to photograph! From Location...

To canvas...(iphone pic of their 16x24)

It was another is it or isn't it going to rain late afternoon session (in fact in the afternoon it was pouring!). I love the lushness of the trees! These two were such great models! I love the real smiles as they light up their eyes and capturing their connection!

Mum and Dad, looking good!

I enjoy the time I spend with my families getting to know little bits and bobs about them as we move around the location! We are all here, on this rock, together as one big family!

Before you know it, it's that time of day again. Some sunsets are fabulously tangerine orange and some are gorgeously lavender blue with lots of cloud texture. Whichever way, it's your day (fisheyed of course!) x

Thank you so much Corbin Family. I thoroughly enjoyed our session and I hope you enjoyed your canvas and prints x

Bright and High energy!

Catching up with some blog posts, oh my I'm behind, but I'm so anal about it, I have to get them all out there eventually! So, here are the Luna girls next to my fave colour in the whole wide world!

Mum wanted Christmas photos! So, off we went!

Older Sis...

We went all around the local American Village with it's cool backdrops!

Here is Little Miss E...We had to come round the block 10 mins later to get this one! We almost didn't get it! She was fast!

The doors, LOVE! and I love their outfits too x

Urban. Love it! I want those boots!

I can tell you and Mum will tell you too that this shoot was a challenge, but I love a challenge and it was a lot of fun chasing these 2 high energy girls around trying to get photos, but we pulled it off! Thank you Amanda and the girls, I am so glad you loved them!