Fall Outfit Ideas!

Since fall is quickly approaching I thought I would throw out some ideas for outfits.

If your backdrop is beautiful fall leaves you don't want to blend in by wearing rusts and golds.

Instead, try to find something that will pop against those colors.

Because leaves can make for a busy background I highly recommend going with solids.

These looks are all pieces I pulled from Oldnavy.com.

You will see two plaid shirts here, but they're mean to be worn under the solids so you only get the collars showing.

I always tell clients that the best outfits are those that 'go' but do not 'match' perfectly.

So, here we have purple and turquoise as the pops of color with gray, brown, and denim as the neutrals.

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CLICK TO ENLARGE!

Graduation Announcements!

I am now offering custom graduation announcements with the template pictured below.

You choose 3 images, font, and colors.

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Set of 24 flat cards in 5x7 size with envelopes....$60.

Set of 24 5x7 photo announcements (on photo paper) without envelopes....$95

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Click sample below to enlarge. Prices valid until December 31, 2010.

How to recognize a good photo.

First of all, let me say that none of these photos are awesome or amazing or anything spectactular. I took my 8 year old outside for literally 5 minutes to get these shots specifically for this blog post.

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There are many things that make a good photo, but I'm just going to address a few of the basics.

If you are looking for a photographer, make sure they can at least get the basics correctly!

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FOCUS!

There is nothing worse than capturing a great moment with your camera, only to find out later that it's out of focus. Yes, it even happens to professionals from time to time (which is part of the reason we take so many photos in the first place).

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This photo is properly focused. The eyes are perfectly in focus. This photo, while viewed small, looks like it is fairly in focus, but if you click on it and then click again you'll see that the eyes are completely out of focus and that the focus fell on the hair.
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EXPOSURE!
This is a little tougher for some people to recognize, but it is definitely one of the most basic things in photography.
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This photo is properly exposed.
There are a couple of bright spots on his shirt, but his skin is properly exposed.

This photo is overexposed, meaning it is too bright.

This photo is underexposed, meaning it is too dark.




FINDING THE LIGHT!
I always say that the most important thing in photography is light. Part of being a photographer is knowing how to find locations with good lighting.
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This photo has good lighting.

This photo, taken only INCHES from the one above, has dappled light. The spots on his skin and hair are caused by the light shining through the trees above. This is not good lighting.

This photo is backlit, meaning the light (the sky in this case) is behind him. While backlighting can be done properly and with beautiful results (using a reflector, fill flash, etc.) this is NOT an example of how to do proper backlighting.

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Another thing you will notice about all of the photos above is that they have an out of focus background. This is a result of the depth of field that I created using my camera settings. Good portraits generally do not have the subject (person) and background both in focus.

The subject needs to pop out of the background.

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There are, of course, many more things that go in to a good photo and even more still that go in to making an amazing photo, but these are some of the basics that I thought I would address today.

You can also apply some of these basics to your own photography when taking your own family photos!

Jonathan & Charity

Jonathan and Charity are a married couple who live in Keizer, OR.

I took these photos just a few miles from their house during a sunset session.

We had a great time and found some wonderful locations!

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CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!!

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Charity


Jonathan
(yes, the same Jonathan I hired to design my logo)

If you read my blog, you know that I love the moment right before the kiss.

I also love the shots between the shots.

Yes, we took these chairs (thank you, Michiko, for loaning them to me) out on location!

It wouldn't be a family portrait without Petunia, their smiling dog!

Isn't she cute?

Some more laughs!

One of my favorites.

I seem to be drawn to orchards. This is not the one by my house.

I really like this one too.

Another one of my favorites.

Dylan - Class of 2011

I posted a teaser recently and here are some more from Dylan's senior session.

These were all shot in Salem.

Dylan was very easy to work with and followed direction very well.

He's an actor, so I think that has something to do with it!

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I hope you have an amazing senior year, Dylan!

Price changes

Please keep in mind that my prices will be changing at the end of this year.

My sitting fees will be going down, but my print prices will be going up.

If you would like to know what next year's prices will be, please email me.

If you find that next year's price list fits your budget better than this year's (for those who do not plan to order many prints),

I'd be happy to honor next year's prices now.

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Also, if you would like to order prints from any photo sessions that you had in 2009 or 2010,

I urge you to do so now while the print prices are still very low.

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kel @ kelwardphotography.com

Sneak Peek from mini session with Asher

I had an impromptu mini-session with 11 month old Asher a few weeks ago.

More to come!

I have a logo!

Finally!

I've wanted a logo for a long time but just didn't know what I wanted.

Until recently.

My inspiration came from a tree that I see every day out my front window.

So, I hired Jonathan Boys (www.digital-carpenter.com) to design my logo!

It's just me.

I've gone over this before, but it's been a while.

Want to take a great self portrait?

Here are some tips:

~Hold the camera just slightly above you (it gets rid of any extra chin fat).

~Take a ton in an effort to get one.

~Find good lighting

(you want to be in the shade, looking out to the brightness. If you are indoors, put the camera between you and the window)

~Use editing tools to get rid of any blemishes you don't want in the photo.

~If your skintone looks way off and you don't know how to fix it...go black & white!

Sneak Peek of Jonathan & Charity (couples session)

Just a sneak peek from a recent couples session that I did. Jonathan & Charity were a blast to work with. They've been married for a while (I can't remember how long, but I want to say 10 years) and were both comfortable in front of the camera.

I can't wait to edit the rest.

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Click photo to enlarge.

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Sneak Peek of Dylan (senior session)

More to come soon.!

Mini Session With Vaughn

As a less expensive option for my clients I offer mini sessions.

For $75 a client will receive a 30 minute photo shoot which includes $25 in print credit and 8 free wallet sized prints. This price will be valid through the end of 2010.

These sessions are for one person only and include 5-10 digital proofs.

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This is a mini session that I did with 2 year old Vaughn.

(See previous posts for other mini sessions.)

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CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!!

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