photography 101 ~ quick pullback and photography lesson

i have had several people ask about the possibility of offering a photography class, or one-on-one mentoring.
while i will probably offer that sometime soon, i thought i would give a quick tip to start with that can help you where you are now.

if you are one of those people who have just bought a nice, new, shiny dslr and just really don't know where to start. listen up!

first of all - congratulations!! i remember the day i got my first "good camera". i could not have been more excited... and i don't think my boys could have been more annoyed! haha! my new models were expected to pose all day and half the night!
but it is pretty exciting to get a new camera, and i know it can be a little bit overwhelming.

so just take it one step at a time.
one of the most important things to start doing is training your eyes to find good lighting!
so much of getting a good shot is getting good, natural light!
sometimes, you may be surprised where that light can be!

this weekend i shot a 1st birthday party (which i can not wait to share the pictures from!)
it was in a place where there was not a lot of natural light.
i was able to find a spot upstairs, in a very small space, where there was some pretty great natural light streaming in!

here is a pull back shot of what i started with...and then what the finished product looks like!

and this party was literally crawling with adorable little models...so here are a couple i took using this same set up.

so...the tip for today: i know it might seem really basic, but it can really make a big difference!
take a deep breath. and go look for some good lighting!