Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Self Portrait

It is not as easy as point and click when you need to frame the shot, and then run to be in the shot. I got it in my head that I would take some maternity pictures in my makeshift studio set up. I had some ideas and I wanted to try them out. So I placed a small stuffed animal where I would be in the final picture, I focused the shots, and click, and 10 seconds later the shutter clicked. Needless to say many of the pictures did not come out as I wanted. However, there were a few that turned out just like I wanted, and one that I thought was a lost cause is now my favorite.
Here are a few of the ones that I was able to take that were in focus and turned out just as I wanted.



My advice for anyone doing self portraits is to have your ideas ready, your batteries charged, and don't try this on an empty stomach. In my case there was a lot of up and down to get the right pose, compounded by the fact that I am 39 weeks pregnant was not helping my case. I think the pictures will be ones that I will treasure for years to come, so it was worth the effort.

Monday, November 23, 2009

LensBaby Composer


I bought the LensBaby Composer the other day. It is an amazing lens for my Sony A-100. I got it the other day and have finally had a few minutes to take it out and experiment. I was having trouble getting it to work with my camera, but I just changed the settings to shutter to fire even when lens is not attached. (Go to menu second screen under shutter) The alpha was just not recognizing that a lens was attached. The Lensbaby is a fully manual selective focus lens. It is so fun to play around and get different effects.
I took a few shots of some planes at the museum, I really like what I got. I can't wait to take some portraits with it to see what sort of fun effects will emerge. As with anything new, it takes time to learn the tricks. This is no exact science. It is great to get out and just try something new. The lighting seems a little tricky to me, but I am sure with some practice I will be able to get it right.




If any of you photographers out there have any tips to share about the LensBaby Composer, I would love to hear them. I also love to browse the LensBaby photos on Flickr. If you have some to share leave me a comment!