Familiar

I love meeting new families and creating beautiful, lasting images of their children. My goal is always to try to capture their true personality, but it can be difficult. Depending on the child, meeting a new person can be intimidating, not to mention a person with a big black camera pointed in their direction. I try to remind myself to slow down and relax, so the kids (and parents) can come out of their shell a bit. And at the end of the day, I hope I did a good job.

As I edit the photos, I am aware of certain expressions and faces that I love. But sometimes I wonder if they are typical for that child. Having only known the child for an hour, how can I be sure that I captured the personality that mom and dad know and love? I did my best.

Recently I was able to do a full photo session with the son of our dear friends. Even though they live in another state, we manage to get together three to four times a year. I have gotten to know their little boy since he was just a few days old and love to snap a few pictures of him every time I see him. So it was refreshing to go back reflect on these latest photos and know that his real personality shines through.

For the Love of Books

Where would we be without our wealth of books? On our shelves, our night stands, our coffee tables. Reading to ourselves, to our children, or being read to. Words, illustrations, pictures. Covers, sleeves, pages. Oh, our beloved books!

Ever since our very first Shutter Sisters book has been out, we've seen it on bookstore shelves, being busted out of Amazon boxes, displayed in your homes. There have been encouraging words, rave reviews, and giveaways. We cannot thank you enough for all of your support!

With all this good stuff to report, we've decided to create a little home pagefor all the links that are around the blogosphere. Have your shared your thoughts on Expressive Photography on your blog or somewhere else around the wonderfully wide web?  Please share it with us on our new Expressive Photography page here at Shutter Sisters. And if you've got a shot of the book to share, we've got a new place for those too! It's called Book Sightings and it's just for pictures of the book. All you have to do is add your images into our Flickr Pool tagged "Expressive Photography" (with the quotes) and we'll be featuring your sightings! What better way to celebrate?

And because we are focusing on the love of books of all kinds, our generous sponsor this month Focal Press has offered a number of their stellar titles to YOU for a book love giveaway day today.

All you have to do is share a comment on this post between now and Sunday 11/27 at midnight EST to be entered to win one of these photography titles from Focal Press:

Expressive Photography: A Shutter Sister Guide to Shooting from the Heart (wink wink)

The Elements of Photographyby Angela Faris Belt

Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity by Michelle Bates

Lensbaby: Bending Your Perspectiveby Corey Hiltz

The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos by Michael Freeman

Books! Books! And more books! 5 books means 5 winners! YAY! So, this post begs the question: what are your favorite books? Do tell the story!

Snap Happy

I grew up playing cars and wrestling with my brother. And secretly wished for a sister. Naturally, I've collected and kept a number of girlfriends by my side; however, I can't say I know exactly what it feels like to have a sister. But these girls come close. Jen Lemen and Tracey Clark. "So how did you meet these Shutter Sisters?" people ask me in real life.

"I met them online," I say. And I smile because it sounds a little bit crazy to admit that you've discovered and embraced a big handful of kindred spirits – sisters – in the wide-open space of the internet. I never would have believed it to be true. But it is. And for that, I am truly grateful.

We'd like to share a great big thank you to those of you who joined us (in person and in spirit) for our Shutter Sisters Snap Happy Hour on November 11 in New York to celebrate the launch of our book, Expressive Photography. Thanks to Focal Press for their eager support and to Marriott for graciously hosting us at the super swanky VIVID Lounge at the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel. It was such a treat to just relax, soak in the light of night, and spend real-life quality time with people who click. Let's figure out a way to do this more often.

focusing on connections

I had the pleasure recently of capturing two people in love, I was able to focus on their connection as they declared their love for each other. It was tough for me, having never photographed a wedding before. I faced some difficult technical issues but I have to say, the motto of this community kept me focused - “shoot from your heart”. A fellow shutter sister, my dearest kristin sent me a sweet message beforehand, knowing I was anxious about the huge job ahead “Just use that big beautiful heart to see with and all will work out perfectly as it was meant to be.” My own connections here online, were going to help me focus my attention and search for their story with my camera, I’m grateful for this support. I survived the wedding day, and thankfully have a collection of images, that capture the beauty of their connection and the happiness of the day.

As photographers I feel we seek out and focus on connections. We shoot the union between siblings and adult & child. Photographing touch and holding hands. There is attention paid to friendships, and generations together. We feel the love, joy, and silliness in images, that all focus on our need to connect as humans, or even with a new puppy.

We’d love to see any connections you’ve captured recently... maybe you’ve been focusing on shooting from your heart... please share with us and let’s celebrate the connections this community brings.


switching it up

Every year, like many photographers, my fall schedule fills up with family sessions. It's always fun to meet new families and visit with past clients. For the parents, the main goal is usually to get the holiday card photo and I'm happy to be able to provide that classic family portrait because I love them too! But sometimes I need to remind myself to keep the creativity flowing or I'll find myself in a rut.

I enjoy my job and it's important for me to continue to have fun with it. So I find it necessary to give myself permission to find those different angles and interesting perspectives. It's okay if the family isn't always looking at the camera or smiling. And it's okay to play with images that are more expressive and less posed.

Today, show us your most recent expressive photo, whatever that means in your world.