Posted on July 29, 2010
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One hears so often that someone blossoms/ glows when pregnant but it has never been more true than for this future Mom. She was so gorgeous and so friendly it was such a pleasurable shoot.
I’ve been telling clients to really look around, see what they like when browsing through magazines. When she arrived she had a very clear picture of what our goal should be for the session. With that in mind, and with my artistic eye, and help with composition we set about having the most perfect session. Having professional photos taken is not an every day occurence and the more the photographer know about you, what you want the better the results will be. After all professional photos is not just anyone with a camera taking pictures, its creating art. (as the recent link on my facebook fan page can attest). Before I go on about this subject too much let me get back to sharing the beauty..
The future mommy, so friendly.
Taking a lie down while she still can. Just joking, I love this black and white
The last two is breathtaking to me. I have been wanting to try this for some time and the afternoon sun came in very handy. The model of course, makes it..
and the last one, almost a silhouette
Posted on July 22, 2010
This album is very exclusive. Very substantial and heavy. This particular one is 13 inches by 13 inches. The back and spine is covered with real premium leather. We chose an image cover for the front. The image was printed and it feels almost like acrylic. The cover is at least 1/4 inch or thicker.
Photos are mounted in the album behind double matt. Therefore the pages become really thick as well, the back paper, the photo and the matts. Such a fabulously exclusive product. Really making the photos stand out.
I took some photos but deliberately did not want to show the inside of the album since its meant to be exclusive and will remain so, its for the family to decide who gets to admire it:).
I do think I might do a tiny one as sample product one day but I have a ton of products waiting on the list of samples and I can only manage to do one or two a month:) For now the photos will have to do:
The spine and back is real leather. Pages are bound hinged. Opens up flat and close flat as well, no bulging anywhere. (sorry for the bad product photography, not my strong point and I was not in the mood to get out the studio lights)
Here is a picture of the hinged pages and how neat the matt is adhered. Perfect workmanship
Close up of the double matting:
Do you dare to have something so magnificent?
Posted on July 22, 2010
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I just got these in today and I had to share. I really loved these two pictures, taken as snapshots of the children when we went to Summer in Abu Dhabi . I had them mounted on 1/4 inch foam. This is a poster type mount. Not meant for fancy mounting as its not very long lasting, but perfect for children’s rooms, playrooms (as I meant to do with these) and therefore I could go fairly large without spending too much. The picture in the previous post I will probably also do big as my Bianca is only interested in BIG pictures in her room (yep teaching her photos should go large from early on, she already has a canvas 10 by 20 in her room, and another foam mounted print of her and her sister with Grandma that is 16 inch by 20 inches).
These will go up on the playroom wall, they are 24 inch by 24 inch each. They will be right next to each other on one side of the playroom. The houses here are so gigantic that to make an impact one need to go large. 24 inches by 24 inches sounds huge but it isnt at all too big for what I had in mind.
I always advise my clients to first really think of what you want to achieve, where are you planning to hang your pictures. Don’t think ah, a popular size is 16 by 20 or whatever, really decide what you want. Each house, each family is unique and your art work should fit you personally. Are you someone that adore square pictures, then ask your photographer if the picture you love could be cropped that way.
Aren’t these just adorable, and perfect for a playroom?
Also got an unbelievably exclusive album in today, will take some photos when I inspect it for quality.
Posted on July 22, 2010
Its been sometime for me to post some snapshots. I took a ton while Mom was here. A snapshot could be such a wonderful capture of a special moment. So are all snapshots created equal? Well sadly no, but there is a few things that might make them better.
- A good camera would be lovely. Not everyone has SLR’s. If you plan on making a book or something specific and you have an SLR then use that camera for taking snapshots this summer. However the only reason I say so is that the higher definition could come in handy when you want to make a beautiful book. Even the very best SLR will not give you good pictures if you don’t use it right though. I’ve noticed in point and shoots the reflex cameras like the Canon power shot also tends to give better focus than the regular point and shoot. But whichever camera you use it will be completely useless if the composition, focus etc is not correct.
- My rule of thumb is also – take pictures in the highest resolution possible for your particular camera. It might mean there can’t be as much photos on the SD/CF card but just think of it. If you selected the lowest resolution because you wanted to get 1000 pictures on your card and you happened to catch a perfect shot, it might be completely pixelated and not really usable. It would be so sad. When I do photo shoots I prepare about 30 or a little more per session (I take about 70, but weed through to the very best 30). You do not need 1000 pictures that are all bad. Rather go for 30 that are excellent, of high quality and that you can blow up to a meter wide if you so wish! And honestly even that is too much, if I get 2-3 photos that are really good for a afternoons play then that’s enough. I plan to start scrapbooking but havent so I mostly print out most stuff and there just isn’t enough space for too much photos.
- When taking a photo of someone never have the sun shining high right from behind or just off to the side if their face can’t be illuminated in some way. All you will be doing is creating a silhouette of them. Completely blacked out person and blown/ white skies. If the light comes from the side to their back but they are still facing some light, gorgeous back lighting could happen but that is a little more complicated and I won’t get to it in detail now. Artistic silhouettes of course is also another topic that we can discuss in another post.
- Try to frame your person properly, get the composition right. Some tips for composition:
- The subject should be the focus point. (easier to focus on a specific area if you use a SLR and toggle the focus points, but when using life-view on a point and shoot, be careful to search for the subject press the shutter ever so slightly to lock in focus before you click away)
- Its preferable that the subject (eyes) is in the top 3rd of the frame. If its a close up then it looks better if subject fills 2/3 of the frame at least.
- One’s eye draw to thirds. Photogs often talk about the 1/3 rule. So basically (and this is the most basic I can think of to say it), try to place the subject in the 1/3 line intersections. If you were to make a grid on your photo of thirds from top to bottom and left to right the 1/3 axes would be where the lines cross. Most cameras have this grid in their menu (even point and shoots) and as a start out to practice it might be a good idea to have this be visible when you set up your shots.
- Snapshots are quick shots/ spur of the moment shots and shouldn’t be set up too much, but you can still take pictures of the children playing and have it be spectacular rather than just snapping away without a care in the world. Trust me in the end that 5 seconds consideration will make the world of difference.
- So when you download the pictures to the computer pay attention, are they all in focus, are their colour good etc. If they need work try to edit if you can. Because lets face it, a person just isn’t supposed to be orange, or green or completely blue or magenta. I just shudder when I see this on photogs’ websites as it just is not right and will never be no matter how much you pretend it was a “style” you were trying to go for. You have to start of with colours true to the reality. Once you have this right then of course you can add artitistic things. Unfortunately when you take pictures with a point and shoot the possibility of getting the white balance perfect is not as good. (even with a SLR it needs work afterwards). I will place some pics in a minute to prove a point.
- Cropping. when you’ve taken the picture and like the outcome, just give some thought as to what exactly the crop should be. With a very high resolution camera you can of course crop down much more than a lower resolution camera.
So that is just some super basic tips. Once you have mastered the basics and getting consistent appealing photos, one can try some more artistic stuff though that breaks the basic rules.
To give you an idea about white balance and what you might be able to do editing/ cropping wise here is a snapshot I took while we were all out and the girls were playing. They weren’t keen on a photo but since they are never together and very dear friends we had to have a picture. The set up was not perfect because out and about, well you have to go where the kids are. I did have them in the shade as shade is much better than full sun. Unfortunately not enough sun/ light were on their faces so I added a degree of light in there. The white balance on my camera was way off (still set to a previous inside shoot) so I had to correct that too. Lastly I cropped out the distracting background and voila, a workable picture for the girls’ walls as both will soon have one of these in their rooms.
I have decided to place some really basic and intermediate tips form time to time. These are meant not for photogs but for completely amateurs so I will try my very best to write it in as simple language as possible and try to explain what has worked for me.
If you have a snapshot that you adore that you think might have more behind it, you are welcome to contact me. I will gladly have a play with one photo for everyone that mails me on brunilda@brunilda.me
So grab those camera’s and have fun.
Posted on July 19, 2010
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On Saturday I visited a couple that are anxiously awaiting their baby boy. It was such a fun shoot since they planned it all out and it was quite creative. I really enjoyed it to follow their lead. Without further ado let me show you two photos that they selected for the blog.
I love the first as it incorporates their home in the maternity photos. It looks so relaxed,
The second picture shows so much love, happiness and restfulness. Love for each other and love for the soon to be baby boy still waiting to meet his Mommy and Daddy.
Posted on July 17, 2010
Another blog post where the gallery has already been handed over. Yesterday this friendly family came over for a mini session. You might remember the gorgeous mommy and baby way back when at these posts: maternity and newborn. Little baby boy is 8 months already! wow, time flies! I love these and show 2 of the 3 as black and white as Dad mentioned Mom might want black and whites. I must say I agree it looks great and almost timeless in black and white.
Giggling baby boy, laughing at daddy’s antics:
I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t show some colour as I am a colour junkie:)
The family photo
Posted on July 17, 2010
On Wednesday this couple came all the way from Dubai. They told me they were tall but boy was I pleasantly surprised when they arrived. So very tall, beautiful. As some of you know I am not short by any means (1.82m) and I was short compared to them, I was positively in awe. Did I mention how attractive they are? Well I’ll let you be the judge but I am sure you will agree. I cannot wait to meet their little boy he is going to break hearts.
I am not calling this post a sneak peek as they already have their gallery. I made significant changes in my work flow and galleries should now go out super fast and blog posts come after that. Where life happens and I do not manage to do so (sick kids etc), I will post a sneak peek and the galleries will come thereafter as in the past.
Enough postponement, here they are. The first one was Dad’s creativeness. I love the effect. Mom in a hoody.
What a striking picture, it needs no explanation
The new parents to be.
The mommy looking so lovely. I love the polka dots, gives me an idea for the baby pics…
And lastly isnt this the cutest ever! We HAVE to repeat this picture when little baby is here to fill his little shirt.
Posted on July 12, 2010
Wow I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since all this started in earnest. Birthday’s are special and what better way to share this with all my lovely clients. Every clients that I could contact I will in the next week to remind everyone about my little contest. If you’d like to submit an entry, shoot me a mail or write a comment. If you do not hear from me then it might be that the email I have of you is outdated or incorrect. So if you see this blog and want to enter just enter!
What is it all about?
I started shooting for clients last year from July and more formally from September. I have had so many clients from newborn to older and each and every one has been a pleasure. So many lovely products have come through and each delivery has been like a present to me to give. I love this more than I ever thought possible. I adore the little ones and a very big perk of my job has been to cuddle some of the littlest ones. To think some of these babies are now almost a year, amazing. I want us to celebrate this year with me giving a present.
Who and how to enter?
If you have had a regular session with me in the past year, then you are eligible! Choose your favorite photo and let me know which one. Choose your product choice. I will be giving away one 20 by 24 canvas, and a few smaller items as follow on prizes. If you would rather not have an “old” picture as your canvas choice and you win, then you are of course welcome to book a new session and your canvas will then be coming from that session.
How will we know who wins?
Well of course there will be a competition! I will upload the entries to the facebook fan page and voting will be via the “like” button on my fan page. In the end the photo with the most likes wins, easy! Entries close 20 August and Voting will be 21 August to 31 August. 1 September to start the birthday month, I will announce the winner!
Birthday month promotions
Whatch the blog closely during the month of September and before. I plan to run a few promotions during September as celebration/ birthday month.
