keepin it real ;)

hey ya'll! i just got back from vacation [key west. holler.] and i'm completely rejuvenated and tan and smiling :) UNFORTUNATELY my computer died while i was away (i'm posting this from my parents' desktop... so no pictures sadly), but my new computer will be here soon and we'll be running at full force and designing albums and editing pictures and making magic happen!!!

in the mean-time, i thought i'd post a little bit of what i'm 'about.' i've been formulating a business plan and one of the things you have to do (or so i've read) is include a statement addressing what your business goals are etc. obviously, being the spacey, non-business oriented person that i am, i took this to mean 'what do i want to capture in my images, what messages do i want to convey' instead of 'i will target this market and provide this service and be a boring person who should wear suites.' i'm ok with it.

here's a little snippet:

caitlin elizabeth photography exists to capture little moments in all their glory and record history in the making; not the things you see printed in newspapers or broadcasted on national networks, but personal histories. love, joy, happiness, kindness, bliss. i want those in-between moments when couples aren't posing, they're loving - when siblings aren't smiling, they're laughing together - when families aren't pretending to have it all together, they're being their goofy, quirky, little-kids-with-their-shirts-untucked-and-ribbons-untied selves. caitlin elizabeth photography is all about the real, the unseen - because to me, that is beautiful.

~

so when you're trying to figure out what you want for your babies 1-year pictures, don't limit yourself to what you've already seen done. want to take a washtub outside, fill it with bubbles and rubber duckies and let her play for an hour? perfect. or take a bike ride with your husband and kids for family portraits? fabulous. what about a drive in movie in an old car? or playing basketball? or putting on nerdy glasses and going to the library? or getting out on a boat? or going to a baseball game? or putting on your camo, grabbing a gun and heading off into the woods? i'm not knocking the traditional... if that's what you want, go for it! the bottom line is: you have to be comfortable and it has to be YOU. if you're afraid of heights don't suggest that we go hot-air ballooning, but if you love fourwheeling, grab your helmet and let's go!

use yourself to inspire the feel and setting of your shoot. be it an engagement session, everyday portraits, senior pictures or a family thing, make it yours. because that's when you get real images. i'm all about keeping it real ;)

want to know more about me? check out: http://www.caitlinelizabethphotography.com/about.html

baby you're a firework

ohmygoodness. i was going to sleep last night and i just kept thinking about all of the 'stuff' i MUST get done in the next few days. so this blogpost is going to be twofold: an 'instructional' on how to take pictures of fireworks and an 'i need to be held accountable' post... here we go!!

i was blessed enough to spend the long holiday weekend on the eastern shore with some pretty uh-may-zing folks. there was sun, water, boating, beer, food and fun... and of course fireworks!! fireworks offer a perfect scenario in which you can play around with your camera and get some interesting pictures. as i was experimenting, this is what i found [these pictures are by NO MEANS professional, but i thought i'd share what i captured]:

1. keep your ISO at 100. fireworks emit super bright light, so the colors will just be over-exposed and look completely white if you jack up your ISO.

2. keep your aperture small. my f-stops in these range from 16-22. if you use a wider aperture too much light is let in and the picture will be over-exposed, with little to no definition in light patterns or color.

3. long shutter speeds are key. in an ideal situation, you would set the camera to BULB (this just means that the shutter stays open as long as you tell it to) and use a shutter-release cable to trigger your shutter. these little jewels decrease the likelihood of 'camera shake' which happens when pressing the on-camera shutter release and increase your chances of capturing crisp, sharp images by not touching the camera itself. none of these pictures were taken with one of these cables, hence their less-than-ideal sharpness.

4. if possible, set your focus to 'infinity' - i had a little trouble with this one, and it's why you don't see any of the 'tails' of the fireworks that you see when they are first set off. i couldn't get my focus straight so i had to wait until the firework started to go off before my camera would focus on anything... kindof a fail, but a learning experience nonetheless

5. i had my white balance set to 'daylight' -3... aka 'night' - i don't really know if that was the right thing to do, but it's what all of these photos were shot with!!

6. i can't believe i almost forgot this: a tripod is absolutely necessary. if not an actual tripod, a makeshift one (you can put a bean bag on top of a fence pole, as long as your camera has a stable, stationary place to rest while you're shooting)

7. HAVE FUN AND EXPERIMENT. that's what makes photography enjoyable!

my last addition to the fireworks post is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2KtzWvoYCw

and now on to the 'i need to be held accountable' part of this post... things i need to do:

- order sample canvases to figure out which company i'm going to use

- order sample portrait books and wedding albums

- order prints for my fair displays

- get framing ready for said prints

- figure out what i'm going to display things on

- BRANDING <-- this terrifies me (i'm thinking: caitlin elizabeth photography - sweet. simple. southern. - thoughts?)

- put together OFFICIAL pricing list (including packages/rates) *i already have some of this, i just need to put it all in one place and make a book or something to present it in

- contact local preschools about package info

- check on booth at county fair (how big, what i want to display)

*i know there are other things that i need to get done, but i just can't think of them right now

hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of july :)

much <3

caits

maddie *little miss thang

oh maddie :) this little girl is a SPITFIRE and i love her. she has such a big personality!! she wanted to wear her cowgirl boots for her photoshoot, so she borrowed her grandfather's hat and we headed out to one of the many local farms. her daddy also likes old cars, so we asked Mr. Proffit if we could shoot on his land, which he has decorated with all sorts of old-timey goodness. prepare yourself for the sass that is about to ensue!

such a cutie!

love this one :)

she likes vogue-ing

one of my favorites!

serious face again

framing!

by this point she had gotten more comfortable, so her personality started showing <3

yyeeeeaaaaaa hhhaawwww!

this is maddie: big grin and hair in her face! i kept pausing for her to get the hair out of her face, but she said 'hair in my face, that's just me' and she was right. it's perfect miss maddie :)

alright. here you go papa. the old timey truck. maddie's mama said that he was gonna pay more attention to the truck than to maddie!

poor thing had to take her boots off because they were giving her blisters - she's a trooper though

ooohhhhh hheeyyyyyyy maddie :)

love this one too

crazy kid - i think by this point she was thinkin 'alright miss caitlin, stop askin me to do such ridiculous things'

we played in the dirt :)

these boots are made for walkin...

yes. yes. yes!!

miss maddie - i hope you enjoy these. i had so much fun with you and your mama!

<3 caits