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August Meet-up, Posing Workshop

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Posted in Meet-up

The difference between an amateur and a skilled model are obvious…

…but showing up to a shoot prepared and studying body language can do wonders for making the average client feel as comfortable as an experienced model.

For this month’s meet-up we are going to study the art of posing. I’m sure we all learned at speed portraits that posing yourself and other people can certainly be a little tricky. One of the best ways to overcome “posing block” during a photo shoot is to have some poses already planned. It helps ease the pressure of thinking up ideas on the spot, and giving your subject some initial direction can also help you ease into the shoot more comfortably.

Posing is something you should be studying every time you look at a photograph. When you see a photo that you like in fashion magazines, advertising, or while browsing another photographer’s work on the internet, are you asking yourself why you like it? Well, this month that is our goal. So, in order to help us with this we have recruited a model who is a Shutter Clique proclaimed posing expert: Miss Vanessa Duran!

Normally Vanessa makes our job as photographers super easy because she can give you a solid pose every time she is in front of the camera (no direction required). This time we are going to try something a little different. (PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY FOR SPECIFIC PARTICIPATION INSTRUCTIONS. IF YOU ASK A QUESTIONS ON THE FANPAGE THAT IS IN THIS BLOG IT WILL NOT BE ANSWERED.)

The meet-up will be Thursday, August 26th, at 6:00pm. (Location sent to you upon proper RSVP)

The goal of the meet-up is to create a photographer’s posing reference for an individual (female) photo shoot. This can later be printed out and used to help your clients visualize poses or simply kept for your own inspiration. If this goes well we will plan more for men, couples, kids, etc.

For your RSVP search the internet or fashion magazines and post a photo on the fanpage of a pose that you would like our model to re-create. Also include a few words about why it inspired you. Keep in mind – we are working with one female model. Poses can be high fashion or commercial.  RSVP photos will be supplemented with additional poses if needed. At the meet-up Vanessa will go through each pose and each photographer who attends will get a few seconds to snap some photos of that pose before moving on to the next one. This will be a structured shoot to help us create a tool that will benefit our photography later on, and if time permits some extra free for all photos.

In addition to the RSVP, please bring $5 as a cover charge for the meet-up. This $5 charge will most likely be a standard fee from now on to help supply the group with a small budget for meet-ups, parties, models, etc.

Other Announcements:

Point and Shoot Camera Drive: A local teacher would like to start a photography program at her elementary school. In order to do this, she needs a minimum of 5 point and shoot cameras for her classroom. If you are like me, my point and shoot now sits in a drawer since I fell in love with my SLR. It’s either camera phone, SLR or I just don’t take a photo. If you also have an old point and shoot camera lying around that you don’t use, please bring it for donation to the next meet-up. Make sure it has a battery, charger and if you also have a memory card for it, even better!

Shutter Clique First Birthday!: Next month the Shutter Clique will be one year old! We have already planned an educational meet-up. However, a party is also necessary! Join the discussion on the fanpage and let’s plan away to celebrate!

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July Meet-up :: Speed Portraits

Thursday, July 8, 2010 Posted in Meet-up

Practice your smize in the mirror and come join us Thursday July 22 at 6:30pm for speed portraits! You have all heard of speed dating, speed networking, etc… well we are going to apply that same idea to a group portrait session. Everyone will be taking photos and having photos taken of them! NO MODELS. And before you get camera shy, I will just say this, being behind the camera is one of the best ways to learn how to give instruction to your subjects. So show up ready to be fabulous on both sides of the lens.

RSVP: Lately a lot of people show up without an RSVP. Although we love to see new faces, we don’t have a lot of rules in our group. So…. come on people, do the one thing required to participate, and participate! :) The location of the meet-up will be messaged to you after you post your RSVP on the facebook page. This months RSVP theme is…..(drum roll)…. “Me and My Shadow.” Seems simple enough right? Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
SC members on both sides of the lens. Photos courtesy of Patrick Ang and Lindsey Kimball

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Firsts

Sunday, May 30, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

The photo above was from my very first wedding. Well…technically, it was a wedding reception because the couple already had a small private ceremony. It was in San Diego and I got the gig because the bride was the sister-in-law of one of my very best friends. I can’t remember what I got paid exactly… but it wasn’t much. I borrowed a 5D from a friend because my primary camera at the time was a really old rebel. If it means anything to you, by old, I mean it was still one of those silver ones. The photo on the left is the photo I took. The photo on the right is my 2010 updated version. I’m still happy with the photo in general but looking back at this beautiful location and couple, this same exact wedding would be a whole different story for me as a photographer today. As a new photographer, thinking I was good at it made it easy for me to pursue it as a profession. In reality, looking back at my old work I actually cringe at some of the photos I thought were really awesome at the time. I was a clueless girl with a camera and a dream. We all see the work of our favorite photographers and wonder if we will ever reach that level of awesomeness. But hey… everyone has to start somewhere, right?

So, this month I thought it would be an interesting and fun activity for the pros to share some images from their first shoots. Go on the Fanpage, post one of your first photos, and tell us a little bit about it. Looking back on my some of my first “professional” photos it’s actually really amazing how far I’ve come and it motivates me to keep improving.

Have a happy Sunday! June Shutter Clique activities will be announced soon.

-Jen

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Call For Entries::Fashion Foward

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

Photo courtesy of Coy Townson

Hey fellow photogs! Part of the importance of this group is to get involved in the community art scene. Nicole Browning of the Micro Gallery is currently looking for artists to participate in their June show. The theme is Fashion Forward. Could it be a more perfect topic for photographers? We all know fashion and photography go hand in hand. The possibilities for a creative artistic take on this theme using photography are endless. I hope you will all check out the call to artists for Fashion Forward and consider submitting. This is a great opportunity to create a concept driven photograph.

If you are new to fine art photography don’t hesitate to ask questions. Hope to see a lot of you involved!

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“California is a fine place to live – if you happen to be an orange.” -Fred Allen

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Posted in Intern Series

Can you believe it? I’ve been in California for three whole weeks already! I can hardly believe it myself. If you would have seen me at the airport in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, you probably would’ve bet a lot of money that I wouldn’t be able to make it for three weeks. [I'm kind of a homebody!] This is the best learning experience I’ve ever had! I have learned more on this trip than I ever thought I would. I really didn’t know what to expect when I got here. The title of this blog isn’t meant to offend anyone that lives in California, but I found it really funny when I came across it while searching for inspirational quotes this morning. It was a great state to visit, but I just don’t think I could ever live here. I really miss leaving my car in the driveway and not having to lock it. I also really miss my miniature weiner dog, Dexter! Monday is the day that I am officially leaving. From Bakersfield, California to Garretson, South Dakota, it is exactly 1,699.75 miles. Mapquest is telling me that equals out to 25 hours and 6 minutes of driving. We’ll see how that goes! Before I leave though, I have lots of people to thank for my great experience on the west coast. This is going to sound a little bit like a Grammy award ceremony but it has to be done! First of all I’d like to thank Jennifer Williams for organizing pretty much everything for me. She’s one of the coolest and nicest people I’ve ever met and is so dedicated to helping people learn. She made sure I was learning a whole bunch but she also knew it was important to have some fun too. [white water rafting!] So THANK YOU so much Jen for making this a great experience! I couldn’t have done it without you. Also, I want to thank all the other photographers that let me help out with their shoots and weddings. Thank you so much Patrick Ang, [my new Asian friend], Andrew Skelton, Jessica Frey and Bossco Huang. You guys were all great and taught me so much! And… THANK you to all the other people that I met that made me feel at home. All the people that I met at the weddings I was second shooting at and all the people I met just randomly all made me feel so welcome. I’m going to miss all of you so much!! And since all of you are probably wondering what a blind miniature wiener dog, I’ll post a picture of my dog, Dexter! :)

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“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Posted in Intern Series

This past Saturday morning, Jennifer and I got up bright and early to go white water rafting down the Kern River in Kernville, California through Mountain and River Adventures. We got there a little early so we took a stroll down a street filled with old cars and pickups at a car show. Then we went inside and filled out the paperwork. I asked Jen why we had to fill it out and she said “in case we die”. She was joking of course! We suited up in our wetsuits and splash jackets and took off on a bus up to the entrance to the river. The guides taught us everything they thought would be helpful and some paddling techniques. We were told we’d get to take three trips down the river. Little did I know, the first one would be the worst. The whole time, our guides were warning us about a “hole” that we would come across. It’s hard to explain what it is, but the current is really strong in that area and you have to paddle like crazy to get out of it. You have to overcome two huge waves that are bigger than your raft and it has to be hit perfectly straight. Well, the first time, we hit it at an angle and as hard as we tried to paddle our way through, our raft flipped over. I was stuck underneath the raft for what seemed like 5 minutes. The only thought that kept running through my mind was “I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead!” Finally Mike pulled me out from underneath the raft and the coldness of the water hit me like a brick wall. I felt like both of my lungs were collapsing and filling up with water at the same time. I clung on to Mike for dear life as I was gasping for air. Before I could think any further, our guides flipped our raft back over and helped us back in. I was in a pure state of panic. After a couple minutes I settled down and realized that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever gone through!! Long story short, we did it two more times and made it through flawlessly. Thank you Jen for letting me come along and experience that! Here are some photos so you can see for yourself how awesome it was. I would recommend it to anyone in the Bakersfield area! Click on the link above for more information.

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“Never, never, never give Up” – Sir Winston Churchill

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Posted in Intern Series

Sunday, on Mother’s Day, I got to do another wedding; this time with Andrew from J. Andrew Photography.  The whole wedding was awesome. We met them at the Padre Hotel around 11 am and that’s when all the fun began. The ceremony and reception took place at the Kern County Museum, which I found very fascinating. Even though it started down pouring as soon as the pastor pronounced them husband and wife, it all worked out in the end. Derek and Allyson Jones, congratulations and thank you for letting me be a part of your big day! Here are some of my favorite moments that I captured throughout the day.

Special thanks to:

J. Andrew Photography for letting me second shoot with him!

House of Flowers for the floral arrangements

Fairy Godmother “day-of” Wedding Coordinator for making the whole day run smoothly

Sit N’ Grin for the fun photobooth!

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“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” -Albert Einstein

Friday, May 7, 2010 Posted in Intern Series

The past couple of days, I’ve been hanging out with the fabulous Jessica of Jessica Frey Photography. We’ve had a lot of great adventures and tons of laughter! In the past two days, Jessica has gotten pooped on by a bird [which I had to wipe off of her face], we’ve patiently waited at a Starbucks for an hour and a half, and to top it all off we had to risk our life and drive a vehicle with a black beetle! [FYI, it crawled up my leg on the way home and Jessica slammed on the breaks and screamed at me to get out of her car!] click here to view a photo of the nasty creature we had to deal with! (: Besides all of the out of ordinary things that happened, I learned a lot too. And since she shoots Nikon, I got to borrow some of her lenses too! On Wednesday night, we did a family shoot together. The family was great and so adorable! I assisted with the reflector and other things like that. Last night we did a senior shoot. I got to play around a little bit and take some of my own shots. Here is one shot that I really like of her and also of her bangles because she is from the Indian culture.

Here’s a couple of me that Jessica took (: [my cheesy smile]

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“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake” -Henry David Thoreau

Thursday, May 6, 2010 Posted in Intern Series

Since there are people reading my blog from both California and South Dakota/Minnesota, I figured I needed to explain the differences between them. I’ve been here for almost two weeks already and the differences are pretty clear to me already. I don’t want to be biased, considering I’m not originally from here in Bakersfield, so I looked up two different articles. “You know you’re from Bakersfield when….” and “You know you’re from South Dakota when….” I hope this adds a little laughter to your day because we all need a little bit of that right? Enjoy!

“You know you’re from Bakersfield when…”

1) You will park a mile away from the entrance just to have your car parked under a tree.

2) You laugh when people complain about 95 degree weather.

3) You remember the TWO times in the last 25 years that it snowed in Bakersfield, and you remember everything you did that snow day.

4) Everyone always says they’re going to leave, but you know that if you try, you get sucked right back in.

5) An ice cream truck drives past your house at least every hour.

6) You think a red light is just a suggestion.

7) You realize that Valley Fever isn’t a disco dance.

8] Someone from out of town talks about how foggy it is and you tell them, “Just wait.”

9) You no longer associate bridges or rivers with water.

10) 2 out of every 3 vehicles you see has rims.


“You know you’re from South Dakota when….”

1) During a storm you check the cattle before you check the kids.

2) You are related to more than half the town.

3) You can tell the difference between a horse and a cow from a distance.

4) Your car breaks down outside of town and news of it reaches back to town before you do.

5) You don’t put too much effort into hairstyles due to wind and weather.

6) Your quarterback is hurt and you’re hoping it’s the first thing on the 6 o’clock news.

7) There’s a tornado warning and the whole town is outside watching for it.

8] The local gas station sells live bait.

9) You go to the State Fair for your family vacation.

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May’s Shutter Clique Meet-up

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 Posted in Meet-up

This month Shutter Clique is going to take portraits of The Pink Ladies, a non profit children’s charity group. These ladies know how to have fun and raise money at the same time. They also have a rockabilly style that will make for some super fun portraits! We will be meeting on May 18th this month somewhere downtown at 6:00 PM. We will post the exact location once we are closer to the meet-up date.

RSVP:
For the RSVP this month we are going to do something a little goofy. Your assignment is to take what I like to call an “awesomely bad photo.” Now is your chance to get it out of your system. Any photo cliche you can think of is acceptable. It can be awkward or just plain silly. Think “matching sweaters in front of a Christmas tree” or the infamous “Olan Mills’ wagon wheel.” If you need inspiration, your mom or grandma probably still has one hanging up in her house. Here is an example of a photo that was taken to be intentionally bad for Christmas 2009, now go forth and make us laugh!

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