Q&A Part II

You can STILL ask questions, until FRIDAY! And don't forget to post a comment if you'd like to enter the giveaway, too! :)
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And NOW let's get down to business!

Mindy asked a couple of questions! "What exactly does "oh snap" do, so I could sort of mimic it until I can buy TRA?"
Mindy, I wish I knew the answer to that. And honestly, I'm sure I could go through and figure out what each step of the action does so you could somehow "recreate" it, but I'm going to suggest you save up for those TRA sets instead! Basically it "defogs" (takes away all the greyishness), and it boosts the color a bit and adds depth, and some other things I'm not technically intelligent enough to explain. :)

Where do you get ideas for poses when you are doing a family shoot?
Posing is something I'm really not a pro at, but I spend way too much time gleaning pose-ideas from other photographers I love! I always remind myself that I want the shot to look natural, and sometimes that means just letting the family do their thing until I see something I like. I like hand-holding and hugging, things that bring the family together, so long as it looks natural. My girl Vanessa is great at posing, and Jess is great too!

What do you do if you're doing a shoot and the conditions are horrible at the time you scheduled (i.e. HARSH sunlight in the middle of the winter)?
Shoot anyway! This was SUCH a hard lesson for me to learn. But there's only one thing I hate more than canceling a session, and that's rescheduling it. Boo! So I quickly learned that even at high noon there is good light to find and if the only light you can find is harsh light, use a diffuser! I admit, I've never tried the diffuser technique with shoots involving more than 1 person, like a family, but for a portrait session it works great! THIS is the one I use - it's a reflector with a translucent option as well, so you have an assistant hold the diffuser between the subject and the SUN and you can still shoot! The photos I did of Josey (click to see) were taken using the translucent diffuser to block the sun, and it still provided soft light on her pretty face.

What is the KELVIN mode for white balance? And how do you use it?
Adjusting your white balance in Kelvin mode is like manually adjusting the temperature of the lighting in your photo. I am not quite sure how to find Kelvin on every camera ever, but after doing a little research, it looks like it is available on most modern digital cameras (including upper level point and shoots). Google your specific camera model to figure out how to adjust it on your own! But to give you the gist, a Kelvin of 2000 is very very cool (blue toned) and the opposite end of the spectrum, 10000, is very very warm (orangey). So let's say you are shooting in a small room with tungsten lighting, and no natural light. The light is very warm in this situation, so you'd compensate with a low Kelvin setting which will give you more true-to-life and balanced coloring. If your camera doesn't have the Kelvin mode option, shoot in RAW and adjust the temperature in your RAW processor, like Bridge or Lightroom. :)

and lastly...
"Did you see my question in the comments on your "hero" and "fresh" post on m24?"
Hee hee, no I didn't... I'll get back to you on that one...

The Hendrickson Family asked, "What's your best advice for somebody just starting out? Like WHERE do I start?"
Start at home! Photo your kids, take the kids on walks and photo anything you see that is interesting. Start looking for neat textures, patterns, locations, etc. Looking at photography blogs is a good way to get started, immersing yourself in the skill you'd like to develop, gleaning information anyway you can. Join groups like Digital Photography School and take advantage of classes offered in your community. {Shameless plug: Here in Baker City I will be teaching a class in April at the Crossroads about basic Digital SLR photography! Your community may have something similar!} You know the Nike slogan? Just do it!

Terese asked, "What do you do for printing photos. How do you price your prints?"
Terese, this is a really really good question, and I'm going to write a complete post in response to this question because I want to make sure people actually read it. So look for that later this week or beginning of next week! :) Thanks for asking!

Meredith asked, "I had a question about locations... how do you find yours, are any on private property, do you ask permission to use certain locations?"
Two words... Nap. Time. Stella sleeps well in the car, so I do a lot of my location sleuthing while I keep her asleep in the back seat! :) I drive around a lot, and if I find something I like but it's private property, I do ask for permission (usually...). People are generally very willing to let you use their spot. At least, they are pretty willing here in friendly old Eastern Oregon! :)

And lastly, my sister in law Mishelle asked a LOT of questions! :) Here are a few:
When is the best time of day for natural light to do a photoshoot in?
Early morning (like, at sunrise!) is actually the absolute best, but good luck convincing a client to wake up at 4:30 for photos. 8-10 is a prime time in the morning, and then within an hour before or after sunset is the best in the afternoon/evening, especially in the summer...(at least that's what I've found works best for me!)

How much editing to you do to a typical photo?
Well, I try to get my photos as good as possible in camera so that my out of camera processing is minimal. I retouch the skin, run a couple actions or do some custom editing depending on the photo, dodge and burn here and there, etc. I try to not do a TON of editing, just because I prefer a more natural look but sometimes it's fun to go crazy and do something more involved.

What kind of camera do you use?
I use the Nikon D300, primarily.
I also futz around with the Diana F+ (medium format holga) and an old Konica 35mm. But film is spendy, yo!

Do you like color or black and white better?
Typically, black and white. But sometimes color is just amazing and I wouldn't sacrifice the color just because I like black and white. I guess it depends on the photo.

How do you know when to use and when not to use a flash?
I usually just don't use a flash. Sometimes I use the SB600 speedlight with a Gary Fong (white cloudy, photojournalist) diffuser for fill flash during the day, but that is so rare I think I've only used it a handful of times. Flash is a tricky thing to master, but when it's done right it can be really cool. I'm still learning :)

WOW! Thanks for all the questions everyone! Keep 'em coming, you have until Friday to ask your q's and to enter the GIVEAWAY! :) :) :) And if you missed Q&A Part I, scroll down a bit. If these answers have helped you out, leave a "hello"!