Awkward Things You Might Hear Me Say

"I wish the flowers would stop trying to involve me in their love lives."

Actually, I'm usually a bit more graphic about it when I've been sneezing for a few hours, but for today there is rain and the damp keeps the pollen from attacking my face.  Even so, I have been spending the day cleaning cameras like crazy and trying not to feed my Pinterest addiction with yet more frilly wedding photography.  I need to stop drooling over barn and beach weddings until later this spring when I can start shooting them more often, for now I am just focused on building ideas.

I've changed editing programs after my favorite publisher/printer stated hey would no longer be supporting the previous one.  I don't normally use third party "actions" for editing, but there are a few unique ones I adore for this set so it may be a change for the better.  Also, it allows me to reduce the time spent fighting with individual tools because I am obsessive over getting skin, hair and eyes to look ideal in my photography.

On the up-side, I've managed to hear from a number of weddings and our June and July dates are filling up again.  Couples still looking should request their day soon, and those thinking about a 2015 date will get fresh new images in the next few weeks to give them some ideas for their day.

Earth Day & Spring Blooms

The flowers starting to bloom in front of my door.

My "day job" has eaten up a ton of time this month.  I agreed to take on extra hours when a co-worker left unexpectedly and we needed to fill the gaps in the week.  The income certainly has not hurt, but it makes time to shoot harder to find.  With the grass growing and the snow all gone, flowers have started to appear on the little patch of green between my front door and parking space and this makes me want to shoot even more.  Spring has such wonderful light for catching the natural world. 

Taken to show the new dye and make-up purchased 
from my "other job" at LUSH: Handmade Cosmetics.

To go with the change of seasons, I changed my hair color again.  This time going darker and working with the shorter trim I have now.  My skin has the wonderful pink glow that means my fragile balance between too much sun (I'm a lovely Victorian alabaster most of the time) and not being able to resist going out into the garden has shifted to the sunny side.  I think over the next few days while I am home it will get worse.  I plan on spending much of my time outside starting the long task of preparing my garden and playing with the tiny monster boy.

All this and planning out a photo shoot for the little man's birthday.  I avoided Easter photos with him but I cannot escape that his second birthday is coming and as a photographer mommy I will have to think about what to do for this year.  Two years is a hard age to shoot as he wants to run, giggle, fidget, and generally be a crazy little boy.  His favorite object at the moment is his blue kickball, and I suspect that will appear in this year's photos as well as the "guitar" he so enjoys (my husband's old PS2 controller) and his favorite shoes ever (my gardening boots).

Check back soon for wedding shots and some great wildlife items from a trip to the rescue and rehab center for injured animals!  Tonight I leave you with a look at one o my favorite parts of spring... baby things!  These kittens are from our neighbor's most recent litter of fluffy toe nibblers.

The North Remembers

I have been neglecting this blog as I deal with some difficult family situations lately.  Honestly, it is more that I am just not keeping up with it while I work out a way to get my family through a rough patch. I need to get back to work on this blog and make sure that I am not ignoring my updates. 

We live in Maine, an area always covered in snow in the winter.  When I was in middle school a serious ice storm came through and caused saplings along the road to my family's house to become curved from the extended period under the weight of the ice.  They now make arch over the road and the snow looks beautiful on them.

What I would like is the chance to share more wintery images.  For that reason... I am sharing these until I finish editing the next batch of wedding and portrait works.

The Torture Of Just ONE Good Shot

I  am the mother of a very precocious little monster.  At eighteen months, he has grown up with a camera constantly documenting his every adventure.  What I share here is a small fraction of the memories that fill albums and frames in my home; but they all come at a price.  Hours of practice and careful planning to devote the time to each shoot.

The shot above is one of two successful images from a period of twenty minutes on Saturday afternoon.  He was occupied with the cat stalking through the tall grass, a bird flying past, the dog waiting to cuddle with him, and finally a pile of doggie left-overs from when that same cuddly dog had to visit the bushes.  Which is why I wanted to point out that toddler photography requires the understanding that a single great image is all you may receive and it may not be the one you desire.

Every year in my early days working chain store studios and selling retail photography, this was the time of year that made me cringe.  Families and parents that otherwise felt photography was a waste of time and money would begin booking sittings while some ideal image of two toddlers sitting with model perfect smiles in a catalog perfect holiday scene danced in their heads.  I often watched new hires and veteran coworkers being insulted and abused for failing to make their children magically behave like perfect darlings.

What I will be doing now is sharing all those moments that could have made lovely photos that fell victim to the evil toddler photobomb! Yes, even professionals suffer from those moments.  In fact, with my son visiting my studio on a daily basis at times, I have a plethora of material to choose from for this entry.

The image to the left is also for Saturday, though taken at my home with studio lights up while attempting to take an updated headshot for his portfolio**.  As you can guess, he was having no part of Mommy and her camera being in his face.  This is a rather typical response from toddlers to anything which they no longer want.


The next image, on the right this time, was taken at a family gathering on Thanksgiving Day.  This is a common moment of poor cooperation through extreme sleepiness on the part of the child.  My son had refused to nap and was about two hours past his usual time for unconsciousness following his watching of Sesame Street.  I was already forming the idea of this blog entry and was pleased to get this "gem" for our examples because I cannot begin to count the number of parents with infants and toddlers that do not understand how vital it is that they consider feeding and napping times when booking with photographers.

As the manager of a few chain studios I often gave advice to parents as they booked about outfits, props, and the often ignored "how to time your booking".  The factors were simple, children who are over tired or just woke up from a nap will be puffy-eyed and grouchy.  Children who did not have their snack prior to sitting for the camera should not be expected to just wait because they will get focused on food over smiles.  Sleeping newborns should be allowed to nap and wake up on their own; babies tucked into a gift wrapped box can be the best holiday card you will ever find.  I stuck this information into the Brain-File of advice along with having your child partially dressed for their sitting as you arrive so that you can put on their shirt or dress and make sure it is free of stains.

The example here is from another day I was in the studio just to shoot my son's photos.  This was at the same session that involved his destruction of a birthday cake, though I intentionally planned to do that last.  At this point it was late June and I wanted to take photos of his beach outfit before allowing him to make an epic mess.  I had put the hat on his head, but he insisted on holding it, leading to a natural failure with this second image.  I fell victim to having an idea in my head that he would leave the hat on, and instead he fought it and eventually tossed the hat on the floor before we moved on to our next phase.

Toddlers making a mess or doing things you do not expect can also make for lovely moments.  Keep in mind that there is often a way to make something beautiful without having to retake or ask your photographer to create a false image through large amounts of image manipulation.  That photo of your little angel looking off into the distance and not making eye contact with the lens can be just perfect. The cozy little monster sleeping through his photos could make for a perfect "Sugarplums Danced in Their Heads" moment to share with family.  And that kid with the grin that shows every missing tooth... he is just perfect even when he's asking Santa for his two front teeth!

Farm Favorites

When it comes to personal portraits, there is nothing quite so lovely as choosing a setting where you can take advantage of light and space for easy poses.  I suggest this for high school and college seniors looking for individualized images.  Better than bringing along props and outfits, this can allow your calm and joy to come through more than any staged image in a studio. 

Farm and country photography is a prime example of that type of image.  I adore farm photography.  I spent most of my life on a farm and horses were a huge part of what kept my focus and sanity through the difficult times in college.  This shoot from early July was a wonderful chance to embrace the unique charm of natural light in the afternoon sun.

My subject here is a fellow horse fanatic and this made the day very enjoyable as we spent time chatting on our walk over to the pasture.  We took advantage of the natural beauty of the horses and made some beautiful, simple moments.

Playing with Perspective.

New Hampshire's White Mountains.

Just playing with perspective and lines.  I felt this was not my best, but cannot get those wooden beams and lines out of my head.  Honestly, I like perspective images like this because they force the eye to adjust over and over to understand what it is they are witnessing.  It drives my husband crazy that i will take these over and over to feed my collection with more and more distortions and revisions.

Clarence Fahnestock State Park, Putnam County, New York.

Chuang-yen Monastery, Kent Lakes, New York

Chuang-yen Monastery, Kent Lakes, New York

Portland Headlight, Fort Williams Park & Lighthouse, Portland Maine

Bedroom Eyes

I intended to post after work and the toddler's bedtime last night.  Instead I ended up watching horror movies through my eyelids (snoring too) on the couch with the toddler and my husband decided to let me sleep.  I suppose I needed it if I was out so much that he couldn't wake me up to drag me to bed when it was his bedtime. 

Alright, back to work now.  Time to discuss the photos I posted on my pause the other day as well as more thoughts on boudoir and the use of depth in shooting some poses.  We will start with one of my favorites, shown here in monochrome though the color is equally impressive.  I am going for pose so color would be distracting since the lingerie is a startlingly bright shade of unashamed PINK that we picked first for the distraction and ended up giving us great teaching shots.   Thanks so much to the lovely Brooklyn who was my model for this test shoot and did a great job.

This pose is all about eye contact and getting the right light on the hair and face.  What you want to think about in this shot style is how to capture the model's pose without distortion from too much fore-shortening.  This means showing enough of the whole body to keep everything in proper perspective, making sure it does not seem like they are just a floating head/torso.  The second major focus needs to be on getting the right amount of light, which I must say took testing, shooting, moving stands for lights, re-shooting, moving again, re-shooting, and so one... all with a very patient model hold pose through the whole process.  The final lighting was finished in post-production and only required some work to fix a smudge on the backdrop and a bit of editing to the skin.

The rest of the session was focused on legs and getting some great "shape" with lights.  I worked mostly on shooting "Parts" of the model rather than her whole figure so I could get the best grasp of how to turn or move into the right spot to accentuate a fantastic figure.  I expressed before that my love for shoes is a special one, and this let me play on that passion for shoes while shooting.

This shot was inspired with a clearly topless one I saw online and wanted to work from for future boudoir shooting.  I was thinking about trying to get the focus on the legs rather than the bust-line, and wanted to bring the focus through the "motion" of the leg lift.  I think it worked well over all.  The hint of a topless figure from the hanging bra is there to help with the story telling, though the model was actually still wearing the lingerie top.

In this last shot I was going for shadows and a vintage feeling by working on a darker coloration.  My goal here was to keep the face in semi-shadow so we could see that contrast.  I adore the expression here too... something like a request but not a blatant "follow me to the bed" either.  I'm still not completely sold on this shot's success, but I got some solid moments out of it and a chance to work with a lovely up-and-coming model that has a great sense of humor when her photographer is a total klutz.

Some Light Landscaping

Akelis Studios Photography

I am ecstatic tonight.  For the first time in about two months I am getting requests for weddings; I had a two month break from inquiries that worried me for a while.  Not just the orders are picking up, but so is my mood.

I placed my order for a new lens this morning after much consideration and anticipation.  It should arrive by Monday evening, giving me time to play and practice before the next wedding out in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  I am itching to shoot some lovely wedding images in the brilliant autumn colors, and this will give me a new tool to expand my repertoire so clients can benefit. 

This week was taken up with a ton of studying on better panoramic techniques.  I used an older and less reliable method because it was what I had been first instructed with as a second shooter.  The woman who took the time to teach me was lovely, but I agree that the results are vastly different when using this system.  I will also get the chance to cut down the time spent on editing as it will not require so much intensive "stitching" to achieve the same look.

Akelis Studios Photography

I love getting the chance to shoot something a bit different, a bit more artistic, at times.  I adore the riot of colors that comes at this time of year and love spending a little time having the chance to imagine how hose colors will appear.  There is something so alive in this time of year as winter closes in, the harvest time for the northern hemisphere.  Apples, pumpkins, and hundreds of other delicious colors and flavors of farm stand foods have taken over my kitchen and my brain.

I also love panoramic wedding images.  I simply don't shoot them as often because I feel that the method I use is prone to gaps or compression problems when prepared for printing.  This may well have to do with how I edit things, and I am sure it could be fixed buy raising the cost of my services to clients by outsourcing the digital work.  I refuse to raise costs to my clients because it will cut out how much they are receiving for their money, that is poor business behavior and a poor way to treat customers who should be your first interest.

I will share more wedding images and some of the test images in the next few days.  Hopefully you will all see what I mean in the clear difference from these images, one taken while I was in college and learning more skills to put to work in my art.  While I do not want to insult my teacher or my old work... one can only improve or become obsolete.  I plan to improve!

Married Go Round Photography

Please remember that if you like the work on any of these photos, you should look up the studios responsible - each is one I have seen work from and found something I enjoy; all are listed so that you can find them for your event.  

 
Now that I have had a few days to goof off ... it is time to get back to that list I gave you the other day.  Today I am going to cover the ones that will have a special place in my own wedding album. And I'll start with something that can become a disaster so quickly it almost hurts.

Photo Credit:  Ampersand Photography

My wedding gown is hanging in what was once my bedroom at my mother's house across town. At some point fairly soon I will take a few photos of it so details and those lovely “lonely gown” shots can begin the album I will someday build for my wedding photos. I think the biggest part is making sure that the whole scene is carefully planned and executed. My own plan involves a tribute to my grandfather since he had such an impact on my life.

There are a number of fantastic things I have taken but still get that fluttering thrill every time I line up the shot and click the shutter.  The thought put into what I will do before this shot happens is one of those drawn out moments that makes my stomach clench.  There is a little fear that it will not manage to live up to what is in my head, but I cannot wait to see it.

The sequence I have in mind for my wedding actually includes some other great elements that I adore, an idea of childhood memories. One version of this I love is done through use of the rope swing. It is that kind of childhood or celebration salute that blends right into the next style that I adore; though my choice of childish prop is a bit more massive. For that reason I plan on letting it have a starring role in the images of myself and my bridal party.

Photo Credit:  Akelis Studios

I adore my bridesmaid. She is one of the most amazing souls I have ever had the privilege to encounter in my life. We share so much, so many laughs and tears, and I cannot imagine how I could ever go without her at my wedding. The thrill of getting my beautiful best friend to model her ruby red gown for her own portraits in that album is something I am looking forward to greatly. For her I have this image in my head of sitting on one of the lavish painted horses that decorate the classic carousel I most covet.

Yes, I am going to have my bridal portraits on a carousel!

Photo Credit:  Akelis Studios

The goal is for both of us to take a ride along with our children – all boys – and take some perfect mommy moment photos we can share with our kids as they get older. I want to have that moment with the breeze brushing back my veil and those sweet moments with the boy. Eventually we will add in my husband, our best man and his two children, and our other groomsmen. The idea of a wonderful riot of color around my husband and I as we kiss on the spinning ride is something I have held in my head for years.

I adore the colors and lights, the carnival feeling, that matches the lively party I want for our wedding day. Something between a mad-hatter tea party and the country festival from Mary Poppins is what I have in mind for our reception. We'll have tea-pot center pieces, lemony finger cakes, and my steampunk details for the slightly science fictional side that happens in everything my loving nerd man encounters.

And speaking of the men... how about those manly details that should really get some photographic love? I'm a sucker for those awesome socks. I love those bright color statement things, most of all the ones that match the bride's bright shoes. Who says the girls get all the fun photos anyway.. just because they might all be secret shoe addicts does not mean you have to let them have all the fun either.

Knot.com Image  (photographer not listed) 
(If you are the photographer, please comment below so I can add your credit)

Pick something fun and go with it guys. I secretly dread the photos that will appear when my husband and his friends get their turn with the camera. I foresee a Dungeons & Dragons game theme since we are all gamers that ran table top back in the days before my pregnancy. I was thinking about ordering dice for the groomsmen as a thank you, so they could well appear at some point.

Photo Credit:  Simply Southern Photography

Don't just let your bride hog the spot light with her girls. Take some time and really think about what you share with your buddies. Would you be the guys walking down the train tracks for that “almost an album cover” look to your photos? Perhaps you are military men looking to salute your days in the service. Or are you Star Wars nerds that want to have a light saber duel on the steps of your venue? If you do have that battle, make sure you remember your Padawan training and give the camera a great show!

Speaking of stairs, I love brides or the stairs. Oh, and photographers, make sure that you consider those stairs for the couple as well. They make such a wonderful setting for those scattered groups or large parties that need to fit neatly in a shot without being a panoramic image.

Photo Credit: Fairy Godmother Weddings

Even if all you have is a more modern and slightly dim stairwell, you may be surprised to see what a fantastic shot can be achieved. The fun angles, sharp lines, and extreme shadows that occur there make for a very striking backdrop when the subject is such an elegantly outfitted subject. More romantic styles can be achieve by adding rose petals or soft editing to enhance the glow of marble or mahogany.

They can give such a fun element to the moments before walking down the aisle or getting dressed. This particular shot brings to mind the White Rabbit and his “I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!” as the bride runs for the alter. Perhaps it is the clock tower on the right side, but I actually adore the fairy tale element it calls to mind.

The grandeur and scale here leads me to the last of my favorite styles that will appear tonight, and the style I love shooting. I am talking about the distortion and scale of an amazingly framed image. The uncompromising shot that has you looking up a Gothic church or down a long row of trees in a woodland path. The kind of image that makes the backdrop outweigh the couple and still manages to tell a story.

I have chosen a venue which lends to this style of image. The beauty and grandeur of the backdrop captures the eye without quite over powering the figures so long as they are dynamically posed. Remember that the key there is having a dynamic pose! Go for the drama of a dipped kiss or wait for a strong breeze to catch the bride's veil in a long gust. Remember that man made structures are not the only setting for something of this sweeping strength. Perhaps a combination of thunderstorms and romance is more they style of your wedding, but there needs to be some “movement” in the image to capture the attention, but it will bring about a wonderful result that will certainly not disappoint.

Photo Credit:  Club Corp.

Deep Blue Eyes

I love when a boudoir shoot can give such great images that I am not looking at them later thinking about how I should have shifted her hand, or moved a bracelet, or changed a light position.  This was one of those shoots.  While not everything was a gem, I adore this shot.  It is one of the moments when I could have shot with my subject topless or completely nude and not even had to change a thing.

I always love shots like this in boudoir because they really focus on how much seduction there is in eye contact.  Keeping this outfit we went for a different type of eye contact and a pose that displays round faced subjects to their best potential.  I usually save this style of shot for late in an album when the intent is gifting a significant other.  contrast was the goal here, though I personally feel that a little more shadow or dark points would work to maximize this concept.

Then there is the idea of what happens when you choose to keep eyes closed, taking direct contact out of the story and keeping the mood low and warm.  The color choice for this shot and second outfit are of the model's selection, though I think the sky blue is helped with the coloration of her tattoo.  Here the focus is to invite the viewer into the image by letting the eye flow based on a change of color.

You may notice there I just made a statement that the photo is not perfect in my eyes.  I believe in admitting when improvement can be made and in this case the model is lovely but the artist side of my brain is focused on what to change and make better in the next shoot.  That is the only way I could ever improve, and I encourage everyone to look at their work and do the same thing.  At the moment I am booking boudoir less often and wishing to increase those sittings, and the best way to improve business is to raise the quality of your product.

Alright darlings, in the next two days I will post the second half on my list of favorite wedding photos.  I will also be updating some of my wedding images from this season, sharing favorites with all of you patient darlings.  Until then, keep improving and keep smiling!

Shoe Fetish

Beautiful stems from a boudoir shoot in May.

I adore shoes.  It may be one of the few very feminine traits that I keep in my life.  I adore them but I hate shopping for them.  So I naturally accost other women and ask where they bought "those shoes".  Actually, I ask men that question too, but that is because I love men's boots.

I mention my shoe fetish because I am currently obsessed with wedding shoe photography.  I make sure that the shoes get love in boudoir images and I am looking forward to more fashionista brides giving me a chance to get great shots of sexy wedding shoes. Lately the style has gone back to something white or ivory to match their gown, but I adore the girl brave enough to pull a set of hot pink pumps from the shelves of bland white stems.

Raw image from a shoot in May, love that color!

I don't wear heels when out with my husband because we are nearly the same height. My daily kicks are simple ballet flats in black or brown based on what matches my outfit. They allow me to chase the toddler around, do my shopping, and not cut open my feet while walking along rocky roadways as I make my way to a location shoot. I wear an old pair of running shoes as I go to my mundane retail job, but even that is simple and black to match the required black and white dress code. 

 

Hidden in the back of my closet is a very different world. A row of sexy kitten heels in shiny black, pale pink, bedazzled silver, and gold-flecks on a cork base. I had a pair of sultry red until I ran them into the ground from going to the club in college, wearing them to work in fashion forward New York, and just generally loving them until they had to be put down.

Such a fan of her heels, this girl is not shy about height and she is already tall!

I post all this because I am working on ideas for shots with brides. I am also working on upcoming shoots with a few new models that will include shoes as central to my theme. And I post this because every once in a while I need to remind myself how being girly is just fine.

Time to Do Some Fixing

You might have noticed my recent absence.  I am sorry for the radio silence, life has been a tad unkind to my business interests lately.  The studio has been closed while I focus on dealing with some issues that have seriously limited my ability make it a success.  I am limiting work to on location boudoir and weddings while my family and I work on making the best of a less than ideal situation.

Trying to think that things are looking up!

To try and keep this dream of mine from falling into oblivion, I will be forcing myself to do some serious work on the blog, website, and marketing through any channel I can find.  I ask that you all send positive energy while this revamp of business and life occurs so we can present you with the beautiful rebirth of a wonderful dream.

Finsh What You Started

I have spoken at length about doing limited post work on images to maintain the quality of the photo.  I have also spoken about making sure to share only what you love and what most fit's the client's desire.  While I believe in doing limited "fixing", there is something to be said for making sure the best quality of image is supplied.  I rarely give clients a truly unedited look into an session or shoot. 

Normally I will remove blurry, under-lit, or otherwise poor images and crop some when there is something out of place.  I believe in deleting without mercy when it comes to making the call on what should stay after a shoot with a model.  Their portfolio is what will get them work, and anything that is in the portfolio is a reflection of my thoughts and process.

This is a perfect before and after of images done with a lovely model just last month.  She sat with me after the shoot and we selected out favorites while removing those that did not make the grade. Out of 73 images shot, we had just 23 that made the final selection to see what would be done in editing.  From those 23, 17 made a final debut on the CD emailed to her for adding to the portfolio she worked to compile, and I believe five are currently on display.

I wanted to talk about this because of the recent release of images or the American Olympic Team.  These were taken at an event with a limited amount of time to work with each subject, but I feel that much more could be achieved if simple technique and a little editing was applied.  This is the article from Solstice Visuals that I first viewed when a fellow photographer posted it on a forum for industry professionals and hobbyists.

Outrage Over The Photographs Of The United States Olympic Team

 This "outrage" from the photography industry came from the awkward posing, off putting cropping, poor backdrop choice, and just blogging choices made in posing and details.  When viewing the first collection I believed perhaps this was taken by a student or amateur photographer and displayed without time for editing.  At this time, I believe that there was inexperience and a lack of post work.  There are signs of a dirty lens, poor alignment, poor lighting, and very little care for the backdrop that could have been solved by just pulling down more of the paper roll after ripping became evident.

For comparison I wanted to include this second link, with images from the same person (image #6) other photographers taken at the very same event.  While obviously not all fit the same aesthetic, a huge difference is visible in the lighting quality and time taken to create a finished product.  Even the final image, one that is in a very unfinished format, shows some real promise as a "behind the scenes" moment.

Olympic Portraits, Part I: American Athletes

From this second group I see images that have been polished and finished without an overload of retouching  to remove the quality of the image.  I try to keep a similar quality, but understand the desire to prove that post work is not always needed.  What needs to be focused on is keeping images pleasing and avoiding sloppy work.

Photography as an Art

Hiking purgatory chasm in 2007 while at JWU - taken with my pocket camera by a friend.

I remember being a teen, well some of it.  I remember thinking my parents knew nothing about the world, and that I was always going to be as cool as I was in high school.  And then I grew a brain and moved on.  I was told I could not march with my class at graduation because I had taken too many alternative courses for home schooling and did not meet the number of requirements for a diploma from the high school that had once told my parents I had no hope of ever going to college.

Macro Photography of college landscaping post rainstorm - my "artistic" period in 2005/06.

Three months later I started college and held a 4.0 GPA and a part time job in a huge city.  I relaxed by taking photos with a little P&S (point and shoot) at the school stable.  I excelled in business classes and learned skills that make running the studio much easier, but never really thought much about photography beyond taking some fun images.  I remember thinking that the exhibits in the art school across the street where a joke at times - I still have no idea how a toilet seat with a sledge hammer wedged in it is supposed to make me "feel" something or than confused.

I take my photography seriously only in how it is something that can always be improved upon.  I don't claim it needs to be an expression of the world, just that it should capture something worth a second look.  I certainly don't feel the need to go ruining perfectly good toilets just to make a pretty picture.  

I say this because I think there are some pieces of "art" that are not always worth sharing.  I don't think it is fair to go charging a person hundreds of dollars for images of their family taken with a pocket camera that you claim makes you a professional.  I also feel that there is something to be said for trying to hone your craft before going to charge.  I may not used the most advanced camera out on the market, but I do use advanced lens attachments and take the time to practice with them before using them on paid shoots.

Macro Photography from the New York Botanical Gardens in 2010.
This was taken as part of the test images for my back-up camera.

I enjoy taking photography of the natural world to relax.  On occasion I even sell prints of the rare shots that I am comfortable sharing with others.  I take portraits seriously though.  If I am paying a model, or being paid to make something that a client will hang on their wall, it had better look like it was worth the money they are paying for my time and services. 

I write this today as part of a a warm up to my next post concerning the photography of the American Olympic team that has been covered on Reddit and other major sites.  I will post an analysis that I have been working on later, but this is partially based on those images, and partially on a comment from a friend on her social media about how it seems becoming a "photographer" is the new thing to do.