You Asked...

I hate the expression, "Don't beat a dead horse in the mouth" because, well, ew. However, a lot of people have emailed over the last few weeks and asked about my camera and why I chose it.

Music to my ears, people.

Now that I know exactly one percent about my camera, I really enjoy talking about it with others who are curious. For those who are not at all interested in the discussion, skip to the bottom and just look at the pictures. And if you're not even interested in the pictures, why are you reading my blog? Rude.

Just kidding.

I wish I could take credit for the camera we own, but it was the Mister who actually did the research and bought it. This article was what sealed the deal for him. There's the original debate of Canon vs. Nikon (a few people swear by Olympus but popularity wise, the other two blow it out of the water). We have a Canon point-and-shoot and love it so this was an easy choice. Once you've decided on the brand it's all about the camera. We wanted HD video so that meant the Rebel XS was out. It was between the T1i (which recently replaced the XSi) and the T2i. The T2i was pricier but had higher megapixels and image resolution. My advice is go to Best Buy's website and compare cameras. If you're not familiar with camera lingo some of the descriptions will mean nothing to you, but you can always do additional research to find out what they're talking about. There are tons of choices and plenty that are far nicer and/or more expensive than ours, but I can only tell you about the cameras we considered.

I'll save lenses for another day but another question some have asked is what editing software I use. Honestly, I rarely edit the pictures. It's not that I don't believe in it, blah blah blah, but I don't know much about it and haven't had the chance to learn. We have a Mac and I use iPhoto when I want to change the levels (saturation, etc.) but for the most part I just leave it alone until I can actually learn how to do it. A lot of people love Adobe Lightroom, and I would too if it weren't for the price. I'm starting to understand why photographers charge so much. :)

Two more things. The first is you have to practice. A lot. No one gets better by using their camera once a month. I have taken thousands of pictures since we got the camera and if I don't like them, I delete them. I'll take 10 different pictures of the exact same thing and only one will end up looking decent. Sometimes not even one. And that's ok. The other thing I'll mention is GET OFF AUTO. I know it's super easy and you don't have time, but I promise your life will change when you are shooting in manual (shooting manual? I don't know). The good news is you don't have to go straight to manual (although that's what my friend/teacher told me to do and I learned the basics so much faster). If that's too much, shoot AV, which is aperture priority. It lets you determine what part of your picture (and to what extent) is in focus, but the camera still decides the shutter speed. Also, do some research on white balance and ISO--you'll be amazed at how much better your pictures are once you understand how to use those features!

Ok--I'm done. For those of you who emailed me, I hope this answers your questions! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few months. I think I've improved but I typically like 1 out of every 50 pictures I take. However! Whether or not I like the picture, I LOVE taking it. And that's all that matters. :)

Category: Non-People


(We bought this wine for our 3-year anniversary!) :)







This leaf cracked me up.


Category: People (Or Close Enough...)

Crash Davis

Owen was the subject of my first ever "photoshoot"

You can see us in the reflection! :)



Leslie asked if I'd take a few pictures of her family over Thanksgiving. I had so much fun!

(This was one of the photos I edited...)








Loved, loved, loved the lighting this day. Early morning in November, partly cloudy. Gorgeous. These are my co-workers who've taught me everything I know about photography.






Age 2: The absolute hardest age to photograph. But quite possibly the cutest!



Here's a few pictures that I (obviously) didn't take but were taken using my fantastic tripod from Justin and Michelle! Merry Christmas me!