3 Tips for better parenting and grand parenting Read with your kids!

3 Tips for better parenting and grand parenting Read with your kids!

First tip – I am no expert :D

Second tip – Grandparenting is great. 

  I hear it all the time.  Being a grandparent is great because you can give them back.  Who are you giving them back to? God? That is a good idea – turn them over to God!  Grand parenting is great because it is a good chance to make up for all the goofy things we did when learning on your grandkid’s parents (your kids).

My youngest granddaughter

Third tip – Read with your kids! 

 If your kids are too young to read with then read to your kids.  I am referring to reading the same books your kids are reading.  Regardless of their age, take the time and read the same books your kids/grandkids are reading then talk to them about the books.

My wife and I love to read and my oldest granddaughter is the same and consumes books nonstop (thank God for libraries!)  One morning I was going through my list of books I wanted to start reading and a thought came to me, read the same books as my granddaughter.  I remember her talking about a series of books that she was reading and I decided to read the series too.  (My wife has read with my granddaughter before and always reads to them – [I am a little slower at catching good parenting tips.]  The book series started with The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and it was the first of four books in the series.  (I get entertainment books from the local library and/ freelibrary.org.)  Freelibrary.org has a very large selection of ebooks/audio books that work on your e device or mp3 player and you can check them out for up to three weeks and ten books at a time.  My local library has a small selection but between the local library system, Pittsburgh’s system, and freelibrary, I can usually find what I want.  Now back to the main attraction.

The City of Ember (Books of Ember)

It proved to be an interesting book and kept me engaged from start to finish.  Scattered throughout the book were various life lessons on morals, values, and various character traits (both good and bad).  There were times when the book seemed to go a little too dark for a ten year old and it seemed to ramble with no apparent direction but when I finished the book, many of the ramblings made sense.  Since my granddaughter was on book three, I immediately started on the second book, which is the People of Sparks.  While I was reading the first book, I began the dialogue with my granddaughter about her favorite characters, situations in the book, and the general plot.  The People of Sparks had a few sections that bored me but I am not the intended audience and the plot continued to build. The greatest value with both books is the life lessons scattered throughout the book as part of the dialogue and plot.

This dialogue between us continued into book two and three – The Prophet of Yonwood.  

She did not like the book nor did she fully understand it, which prompted me to finish it quickly to ensure I could discuss its plot and basis.  I found the book to be very dark and it was not until I finished the book did I understand its direction.  It is not a book I recommend for a ten year old (its rated 9 and above) since there are sections which paint a very dismal and odd look at certain items in life. I understand why Jeanne DuPrau wrote it and its conclusion is better than the majority of the book but I believe it should be written with a different stroke of the pen.

Since I read the book and its previous books, I was able to talk with my granddaughter about it and how it related to the previous two in the series;  helping her understand it and the life lesson in the book. 

Reading the same books as our kids/grandkids provides us opportunities to talk and dialogue providing tremendous openings to share our thoughts and values.  Do not stop reading with your kids when they grow.  Hopefully, they continue reading their entire life filling their lives with valuable books, stories, and life’s lessons. 

I love to read and talk to others about the books we read and what we learned from the book and if the book(s) has any value in our life.  There are many people in my life who love to read and we share our favorites and quick reviews as part of a regular routine.  Do you enjoy reading?  Please share your favorites with me!

 My final tip is to make your kids/grandkids part of your reading crowd, then read and talk with them about the books as you go through life together.  Ask them questions and let them talk explaining what they see and vision in the book.  Encourage them to read and build character images in their mind.  Ask them to describe the characters and discuss the characters together.  Do you envision them as tall or short, serious face or do they have a big smile always?  (Don’t make it a lesson but a chance to talk and dialogue with them.  Be a part of their life by getting to know their world and how they see our world.)  Ask them if their friends like to read and are they reading the same books.  Get them excited about reading and help them understand the value of reading books for many reasons.

(We are both reading book 4 in the series – The Diamond of Darkhold and we will discuss it when we complete it.)

Remember this: Life is all a matter of perspective so get out and enjoy the beauty of life!

High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Seneca Valley Portraits

Montour School District

Black Hawk School District Portraits

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA 

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography

Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.

Wedding Engagement Session - Stephanie & Steve - Buttermilk Falls - Beaver County Photographer

Stephanie and Steve
Wedding Engagement Session
Buttermilk Falls ~ Beaver County, PA
Northwest of Pittsburgh, PA

If you follow this blog you will notice a familiar setting.  Buttermilk Falls
I try to take photographs at this location in all four seasons since the look is similar but not the same.  In the winter, the falls are a large frozen mass.  In the spring, the water is flowing fast and furious with a tremendous roar making normal speech a challenge to be heard.  The amazing part about photographing in the spring over any other time of the year is the size of the falls and the look that can be created.

I love to look at images with a water falls that has the soft creamy look.  This effect is easily obtained by slowing down the shutter to 1/15 second or slower.  However, the challenge is when there are people in the photo and standing on slick mud on a hillside without a tri-pod.  I asked the couple to stand as still as possible and I crouched low and braced my arms on my body.  This enabled me to hand hold this shot at 1/15 second which created the dreamy look.

Buttermilk Falls Portraits

Wedding Engagement Buttermilk Falls

After spending at least thirty minutes around the falls, we decided it was time to go to the spot above the falls which presents a beautiful view of the falls and surrounding area.

Steve brought his Harley and I couldn't pass up grabbing a few shots of it when the sun was nearly gone.

Harley Davidson Beaver Falls

Silhouette with Parasol  

High School Senior Portraits and Weddings by dr Frank

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA 

Specializing in Wedding and Portrait Photography

Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and surrounding communities.

Buttermilk Falls - Beaver Falls PA High School Portrait Photography Part 2

Buttermilk Falls - Tremendous setting for Portrait Photography

In part one I started to outline how I found this beautiful spot for portrait photography. Before I go too far into this post, I want to emphasize that I am positive everyone has a tremendous location near their home.  Although it might not have the same features, it is sure to have great possibilities for fun portrait photography.  

As I climbed the steps to the falls and maneuvered around trees in the path, I noticed many beautiful items along the way.  First, the walls to the right are possible because many workers cut out this hillside years ago.  The stone in the hillside was used in many local and not so local buildings years ago as workers worked hard mining the stone. 

I also noticed how some people did not have a love for the land and littered both the stream and path with garbage.  Remnants of civilization that has little regard for the beauty and sanctity of this setting. I noticed names and initials carved in the trees and in the wooden benches along the path.

When I came upon the falls, the roar was very loud and I could not hear anything except the pounding of my heart.  I was mesmerized by its beauty and quickly decided that this would make a great spot for photography.  All around the pool of water that is at the base of the falls are cut out spaces which make tremendous places for portraits.  One beautiful place takes some climbing to enter and unfortunately is riddled with broken glass and other debris.  

Over the years, I encountered many different people along the path and around the falls.  Some are general tourist who found the falls in a similar manner that I did and others were directed here from a friend or flyer. In the fall, I schedule a portrait session with a high school senior.  We waited months for the leaves to change and the weather to be 'perfect'.  When we arrived to the falls, we noticed it was filled with cars along the road and the typical 'quiet' path was filled with people and loud sounds.  From the right and above us came men in blue and gray. Some were covered in dirt carrying long guns and looking very determined to attack the men in different colored uniforms. Did we trip over a switch and end up many years ago in the midst of a civil war battle?  Was this a movie set?   No, scheduled our portrait session on the same day when a reenactment of times gone by was taking place.  What should we do?  Go home and attempt to schedule a future session?  No, we decided to utilize the tremendous props that were made available for us.  I could not pass up these fun props. 

Stage Coach High School Portrait

This first image is not directly at the base of the falls but above it along side the railroad tracks. 

I couldn't resist the great backdrop and immediately asked the owners if we could take a few photographs in front of the stage coach.

The second shot is from the same setting but I added a strong bare flash from camera left and added some post processing in Lightroom to create a more antique look. 

Antique Stage Coach High School Senior Portraits

Buttermilk Falls Camping Portraits

In the third photo, we borrowed a hat from the owners of the stage coach and lit her with a light on camera left.  I couldn't resist the fun look and figured this would make a tremendous memory for this high school senior. 

I have hundreds of different looks that I have been able to gather from this beautiful setting.  Although there are some that look the same, with a little ingenuity, new looks are created every time.

Look for creative ways to use familiar spots.  In this example, we could have walked away and came back when there was no one around, we decided to stay and have a fun time utilizing the change in scenery to create a very fun look.

High School Senior reading on railroad tracks

 Watch for unique ways to photograph your subject. 

Buttermilk Falls is seconds from the PA turnpike near the route 18 exit and close to Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, Ohio.

Contact dr Frank to photograph your wedding, portraits, or special event.

Visit dr Frank's portfolio site for more fun, exciting, and colorful photographs of weddings in and around Pittsburgh, PA   

The most important picture part 1 - Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

The most important picture is the one you take and is kept cherished for many generations. This is a picture of my mom and dad from over 50 years ago.  (This post is not to be morbid but is meant to encourage each of us to take photos, share photos, and understand their value and importance in the lives of generations to come.)

My mom died last week (Sept. 2, 2010) at the young age of 73 and this is one of hundreds of photos she kept from our family's history.  She kept photos from her childhood and of people that unfortunately, I will never know.  Sunday, I spent a few hours scanning and cleaning images of her life.  Why did it take so long?  Because I spent hours looking at and crying over each one cherishing their value.  The actual time it took to scan and clean the images (remove dust, scratches, etc) might have been 1/10th of the time I spent with the images.  I could not take my eyes off each image.  It is a part of my families history and I will do everything possible to preserve the images for my children, grandchildren, and future generations to come.  We have pictures from their wedding nearly 56 years ago and other images dating 65+ years ago. 

Although we have hundreds of images that my mom and others took and thousands that I took, I am looking for more.  Images that never were taken.  Images that I wish we  I insisted we take.  

My sister asked that I create a table top album of our parents lives.  Although it will be a daunting (not because of the work involved but because of the tears involved) task, it will be a work of love.  I encourage everyone that reads this post to understand the value of pictures that we take today for future generations.  No doubt when this image was taken, my parents like the image.  However, there is little doubt in my mind that this image was looked at for years by my parents (their wedding picture is still on their wall) and its value today is thousands times more than the few cents it cost to print this image over 50 years ago.

The walls, shelves, refrigerator door, and any other holding place, is filled with photographs of our lives.  It includes pictures of when my sister and I were growing up, my children, grandchildren, relatives, and people I don't know.  


Many of the images are 'poor' quality that were taken with a Polaroid with a harsh flash or instamatic camera and no flash.  However, there are many excellent images taken with better cameras and by professional photographers.  Regardless of the quality of the image, they are a treasured image and a part of my families heritage.


I am sure I learned the value of a photograph by observing the collection of images (but its complete value was manifested last week when my mom died) growing up and living in a household that took pictures not stop. 


When I cover a wedding or other significant event, I do everything possible to take pictures of everyone that wants or doesn't want their picture taken.  The value of the image might not be known until 50 years from now when their child or grandchild sits with the print in hand (yes print not digital file) and cries with tears of joy laughing at the outfit worn today.  They might sit and be thankful that someone took time to preserve a little piece of their families history by pressing the shutter, preserving a fraction of a second that will have value years into the future.


The value of a print is why I encourage families, couples, and everyone else to make/purchase prints and albums of their special day.  The wedding album isn't just an album but it is an heirloom that will have value thousands times its current value years from now.  

After I complete the album of my parents/grandparents, I will print a copy for each of our children.  Its value to them and their children (my grandchildren) will be priceless.  I can only image what will be said of the images 50-100 years from now when my grandchildren, great grandchildren, sit and look at the albums.  

I lost count of the times that I attempted to photograph someone but they didn't want their picture taken for one reason or another.  I get comments like, "I don't take good pictures".   That's okay.  I am taking the picture (is what I want to say) and the picture is for (fill in the blank - bride and groom, your mom, dad, sister, aunt, etc).  


I was talking to one of my wife's sisters over this past weekend and we both agreed on the same thing.  Regardless of what anyone else says, each family event will conclude with a group/family photo.  We will not care if the kids (big or little :-D ) don't want their photo taken.  There will be no one safe from the camera.  


For the funeral, I went through thousands I images that I took over the years and cried and laughed.  I looked at images of my father in law who died a few years ago.  I looked at images of my grandkids when they were just born or when my grandchildren were dedicated to the Lord.  I looked at images of my bride nearly 32 years ago and how young we were and marveled at my hair.  Where oh where did it go?  :-D


Mom, we will love you forever and a day!


What is the value of a picture?  In some cases, it is priceless. 

Drew - High School Senior Portrait - Class of 2010

These images were near the Beaver Heritage Museum. A Civil War era home is located at the edge of the property and presents many tremendous photo opportunities. The rustic nature of the building is a tremendous back drop and setting for Drew's High School Senior Portraits. As you can see from the images, Drew has a large frame and a rugged setting was appropriate for his session.




The evening was perfect, overcast skies with enough light to cast some fun shadows.



I used off camera lighting with no difuser or umbrella on a light stand, camera left for most of the images in his shoot. A few of the images, I underexposed the scene by 2+ stops and filled the image with directional light to create a sunset look. This technique is critical to learn, especially living in an area where we go days and maybe weeks without any great sunsets. However, when shooting portraits, I would rather have a dull sky and create my own sunset with either an off camera flash or video light.



I used Nikon’s wireless CLS to fire the remote flash but in bright sunlight it might be a better choice to utilize a radio trigger. (Pocket wizards, Paul Buff’s, radio poppers, or the many varieties on ebay.)



These tricks can be used in many portrait settings and not only outdoors. Experiment with underexposing (use manual exposure on your camera) the scene and filling just the area you want with directional off camera lighting. With this technique you can create many different and interesting looks in your portraits.

Contact Me to photograph your Wedding or High School Senior Portrait in the Pittsburgh area.

As always, get out and enjoy the beauty of life.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Drew - Beaver County High School Senior Portraits Class of 2010

Pittsburgh Wedding and Portrait Photography by Frank Kendralla

Drew is a 2010 Graduate and was fun to photograph.  The images were photographed in Beaver, Pa adjacent to the Beaver Heritage Museum.  The textures and powerful detail in the majestic Civil War era home made for a tremendous setting for Drew's High School Senior Portraits.  Drew, we wish you the best in life!




Drew - High School Senior Portraits from Frank Kendralla on Vimeo.

Photograph what you love – wedding photography part seven

Photo by 
Frank Kendralla




So why am I so passionate about weddings and wedding photography and more important, why should you hire me to be a part of your wedding (as the wedding photographer)?


First, I approach each wedding in the same manner that I would want other professionals to approach a wedding that involved my family. I do everything possible to treat each bride and groom with the same care and attention as if they were my own. With two beautiful grown daughters, three grandchildren, and a very supportive wife of over three decades, I understand the importance of family. I do whatever is within my power to treat each bride with as much kindness and respect that I would want for my daughters and granddaughter. No unflattering poses or images are intentionally shot nor are they displayed for viewing. Every portrait or close up picture receives additional attention to ensure the bride looks her best for their special day. I understand the importance of the parents of the “bride and groom” and follow this same approach with the family. I expect this same type of respect from everyone that works with me and we approach each family and guest with respect, kindness, and professionalism.


Second, I understand the amount of stress associated with a wedding. I have been on all sides of the wedding, as the groom, father of the bride, guest, and photographer. Yes, there is plenty of stress associated to a wedding and the last thing the family needs is a wedding vendor to lack professionalism or respect for the family and guests.


Third, as part of the stress with a wedding, many families are faced with completing tasks or duties that are out of their normal day to day activities. For example, very few folks design and print wedding programs every day/week. Yes, there are many applications and online help tools to create nice wedding programs but not everyone works with this software or similar daily. This brings me to an example of what over twenty years experience with design and other related tools can do to assist the bride and groom. Typically, I stay in touch with each bride and groom, especially as we get closer to the wedding date. I ask if the couple needs any assistance with any task associated to the wedding. (Yes, items that are not photography related.) It was within a week of a wedding and I called the bride to ask if there is anything she needed help completing prior to the wedding. A short answer, YES. :-D She was struggling with the wedding programs and was concerned that she would not get them done before the wedding. I told her not to worry and send me the information for the programs. I completed the programs and sent her via email a few samples to view. The couple and family were thrilled with the design. Later, I sent the files off to print and delivered them to the family prior to the wedding. Another stress item eliminated from the bride’s plate.


Finally, as I stated earlier, my goal is to treat the bride, groom, family, and everyone associated to the wedding with as much care and respect as if it were my family’s wedding day.


drFrank
www.frankkendralla.com
www.kendrallaphotography.com
www.kendralla.com

Photograph what you love – wedding photography part one

Photograph what you love – wedding photography

Part 1

Photo by

Frank Kendralla

There is an old saying within the photography world, shoot what you love to show your maximum creativity and passion.

I love weddings and I love photographing weddings. Over the next few posts, I will share a few reasons why I love them and what stirred up this emotional passion.

First, during a wedding the photographer gets to shoot all types of photography. At any one time during the wedding, I can be an event photographer, outdoor photographer, nature photographer, food photographer, architectural, or portrait photographer. Both formal and environmental portraits are shot during a wedding. With all the action-taking place, some state that a wedding is like a sporting event.

Portraits of children are taken during the wedding (ring bearer, flower girl, junior bridesmaids, etc). Portraits of grandma with all the grandchildren and nana with her first grandchild always move me emotionally. When I see the little girls running around with flowers and bows in their hair with beautiful dresses, I think back to when my girls were little and all dressed up. It brings tears to my eyes (even as I type this paragraph) remembering their laughter and carefree attitudes. With little babies in the arms of grandma, bring back memories of when my mom held her first great grandchild (my granddaughter) for the first time and how precious the image will always remain in my mind. Watching the ring bearer run up to his uncle (the groom) and jumps into his arms, reminds me when my grandson did the same to my son in law. Capturing special moments are a great joy for me as a photographer.

Shooting pictures of fancy cakes and cookies are a challenge but very fun and worth all the efforts. Cakes come in all shapes and sizes. From cupcakes that form a huge tree to cakes shaped like a softball. It is my job as the photographer to capture each cake’s uniqueness for the bride and groom to remember. Some cakes are shiny and others full of color and shape. During the cake cutting, some time there are food fights and other times the exchange is very simple.

More in the next post:

drFrank

www.frankkendralla.com

www.kendrallaphotography.com

www.kendralla.com

Gi Gi H.S. Senior Portraits Animated Show

Earlier in the summer, I had the opportunity to capture a brief moment in history of another beautiful H.S. senior - Gi Gi., - Class of 2010

Gi Gi Class of 2010 from Frank Kendralla on Vimeo.

Laura and Wes - wedding part 1

Another fun wedding this past weekend. The wedding was held at the Grace Bible Church in Harmony, PA and the reception at Shakespeare's resturant. This is the first of many images I plan to post from Laura and Wes's wedding. These were shot in front of the log cabin near the Grace Church in Harmony, PA. The first is a very 'fun' shot. Laura was sneaking a kiss as they road off from their wedding. :-D I used Topaz adjust for both images and layer masking to ensure the skin tones did not end up looking like a cartoon character.

Both images were shot with the Nikon D300 - 17-50mm f/2.8. ISO 200

Laura and Wes engagement shoot

Wow! Another fun engagement session completed with a great couple. Laura and Wes are very playful and a complete joy to photograph. Both are very athletic and open to fun portraits.




When we arrived, the weather was not cooperating. However, after a brief delay, the rain stopped and we were able to get some amazing shots. We shot until nearly dark when the bugs were looking for a late night snack.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This was shot with the Nikon D300 and the 85 mm f/1.8
 

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Isn't she beautiful?
 
Over the weekend, I worked on a documentary project with Victory Family Church of photographing couples married 10+ years. I photographed a couple that was married nearly 70 years on Sunday and they were very spunky and fun to photograph. Since it is a private project, I doubt I will be posting many if any of the images to this blog. However, I will keep you informed how the project is going.




Get out and capture the beauty of life!

Expect the unexpected

Nikon D300, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8

One of the best parts when shooting an event such as a wedding is to expect the unexpected. People do the funniest things at weddings. In this sequence of images, the DJ begins to give the instructions to the guy who caught the garder. Just as the DJ started to talk the guy did a standing back flip on the dance floor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him start to do the back flip and I turned and fired off a few shots. The camera was at waist height and the lens zoomed out to 17 mm. This all happened in a blink of the eye. Notice the motion blur and how close he was to the floor. He performed a perfect (in my eyes) back flip. Immediately, I turned to the young lady who caught the boquet earlier to capture her reaction. The next image is when he started and the last image is when he was finishing. A few images in between are not shown.


One of the best parts when shooting an event such as a wedding is to expect the unexpected. People do the funniest things at weddings. Years ago I learned to expect the unexpected. Regardless, if the event is a wedding, party, corporate event, or sporting event, always expect the unexpected. In this sequence of images, the DJ begins to give the instructions to the guy who caught the garder. Just as the DJ started to talk the guy did a standing back flip on the dance floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him start to do the back flip and I turned and fired off a few shots. The camera was at waist height and the lens zoomed out to 17 mm. This all happened in a blink of the eye. Notice the motion blur and how close he was to the floor. He performed a perfect (in my eyes) back flip. Immediately, I turned to the young lady who caught the bouquet earlier to capture her reaction. The next image is when he started and the last image is when he was finishing. A few images in between are not shown.

One of the most amazing items I find about a wedding is that even thought the outline is very similar. Non of the weddings are the same. There is always so much emotion that takes place and so many types of photography available. From the candids when the bride is getting ready before the wedding to the emotions flowing when the bride and groom see each other for the first time. Then a quick pan to the bride and groom's family as we capture the smiles and tears. Wow! The emotion that takes place is unreal. Then we slow down some for the formal portraits but the emotion kicks in again when we take all of the fun portraits. The entrance into the reception hall brings more fun activities and emotion. Oh, so much fun. Until next time, get out and enjoy the beauty of life!

Emily & Matt - Engagement Session

Emily and Matt will be married later this fall with the wedding ceremony to be held at the United Presbyterian Church with a wedding reception to follow at the Fez in Hopewell twp. PA. We had a great time shooting their ‘engagement’ portraits at the North Park in the North Hills of Pittsburgh.

A few of the photos were taken on Marshall Island, which created a great backdrop for the portraits. The sun was setting over the water and it created a great back lighting situation. Emily looked beautiful with the light causing her beautiful hair to glow in the setting sun.

After a few shots on Marshall Island, we headed off to a second destination in North Park, the ‘School House’. It is an old shelter with tremendous character. I found it earlier in the day when I was driving through the park looking for buildings with character. Inside the shelter are two stone fireplaces with an amazing look. Under the shelter were many arched entranceways that enabled creating great images a ‘breeze’.

Emily and Matt are faithful Pittsburghers and brought along their Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys to wear in few portraits.

I had a tremendous time spending a couple hours with Emily and Matt, discussing the wedding and taking a few fun portraits.

The images were shot with the Nikon D300 and a variety of lenses including the Nikon 70-300 vr, Tamron 70-200 and 17-55 f/2.8. The lighting was an off camera SB800 shot through a white umbrella.

As always, get out and capture the beauty of life, 'one click at a time'.

Malaya - Congrats to Shannon and Ryan

Not long ago I had the privilege of shooting Shannon and Ryan's baby shower. Next I had the privilege of capturing their litte girl's first day of life! Isn't she cute? I had Ryan hold her close to the window and I used the soft side light that was coming in through the large sliding window. I used the 85 mm @ f 4 with an ISO of 800 on my Nikon D300.

Enjoy!

Rachel and Mike's wedding slide show

Beaver County Wedding Photographer Frank Kendralla presents a slide show covering the highlights of Rachel and Mike's wedding.





I had a great time capturing their special day for them to remember for years to come! Thank you for the opportunity!

Proms are everywhere part 2

This is another design I did in fotofusion. I used a picture of Gianna's flowers as a background to the design and placed the three images on top. Notice how the borders are based on the color of her dress. Try this technique in your design software of choice. It makes a very nice design and adds a nice touch to the finished product.

Shannon & Ryan - Baby Shower -

I had the honor of shooting the baby shower for Shannon and Ryan on April 19th. They are a great young couple and her enthusiasm and joy shows in this photo. The shower was held at the Baden American Legion and the flag behind her made a great backdrop for most of the pictures. In fact, I used the flag as a backdrop for a few quick portraits rather than the brown paneling walls. Why? 1. Because the flag added some color and class to the image. 2. The paneling is very reflective and any amount of light glares off the surface causing an ugly glare and hot spot.

Congrats Shannon and Ryan - your daughter will be born soon! :-)

The main image was shot with the D300 @ ISO 1600, using the 70-200 @ 1/250th second with a fill flash. I used a bounce card on the flash which was pointed straight up to the ceiling. The flash filled the area and the card on the flash sent some light directly forward filling the area under her eyes and adding the twinkle.

Fill the frame

Image taken with Nikon D200, and Tamron 70-200 lens. Gary Fong Lightsphere used on SB800 flash. f/2.8, 1/250 second, ISO 400

Very fast tip. Remember to 'fill the frame'. It helps draw the viewer's attention to the most important part of the image [your subject] rather than distracting items in the scene.

Health Hut Photo Shoot - Beaver - Chippewa

Image shot with the Nikon D200, Tamron 17-50mm using the lumiquest 80/20 difuser. [Click on image for a full-size view.]

Recently I had the pleasure and honor of shooting a few portraits for Health Hut, a local health store in Beaver and Chippewa. I have been shopping at both stores for many years and I can tell you from experience they are some of the most helpful and friendly folks you will ever meet. For those of you that know me, know that I have been a 'health nut' long before it was popular. Back in the 70's, in my late teens, I jumped on board to the 'health nut' wagon and continued riding it throughout my 'adult' life.

I do not remember exactly when I started shopping at both stores but I always remember how kind and friendly they treat me and everyone in the store. They go out of their way to talk to everyone, treating each customer with respect and kindness. Nothing against a chain store but this type of treatment and/or knowledge is not found in most chain stores. If you live in the area or are passing through either city, stop in and browse their wide selection.

So when I was asked me to do a few photos for their new site, I was thrilled and count it an honor to capture a split second in time for them.



Oh yea, watch this blog for a few tips on baby portraits. I am catching up on a few recent shoots and will have a few more post this coming week.

Till next time, get out and capture the beauty of God's amazing creation.

A spot of red

The look of this image is one of my favorites. I love the close up photo with the beautiful lady graced with roses. This image was shot with a sliding glass door as the back drop and I exposed for her face, with my flash off camera to her right. The light rolls off her face giving just a hint of the curves of her face. This caused the background to overexpose and go white. I converted it to black and white with a light sepia tone to the image. The red was brought back into the roses using photoshop and a layer mask.

Have fun!

frank