Now What? Part 2

Here is part 2 of wayoutnumbered’s motivational and inspirational guide to getting started with your new photography equipment or software. Read part 1 here.

Be A Stalker

I’m a stalker and I don’t care to admit it.

I stalk photography blogs of all shapes, sizes and themes.  There’s an incredible amount of generosity on the web today for us photo fanatics, starting with this site right here!

With 4 kids and 2 businesses I’m pressed for time as much as anybody…but when I do get on my computer, I spend some reading and learning from people who know more than I do!  I’ve learned things that I probably would have never found out on my own…such as Erin showing me how to turn my quick selections Red to see what I’ve done .  And I’ve lost count of all the free things that I scarf up everywhere they’re offered, especially the free actions over at Coffeeshop.  My favorite is the Urban selection in Vivid 2…I was hooked from the very first time I used it.  It was on this photo:

So take advantage of the knowledge that’s available and do some stalking!  Leave comments, enter contests (I’ve already won a giveaway in 2010!) and if you’ve got something to share then pass it along to the rest of us!

Copycat

I’m a total copycat.  If I see a “look” or a pose that gets my attention, I try to find out how I can recreate it – here’s the kicker – within my own style.

We all have our comfort zone for how we shoot or edit our photographs.  Copycatting (is that a word?) is a great starting point to try new things.

Here’s an example:
I tend to want to edit every photo very dramatically.  I love High Key black & white, urban colors and dramatic crops.  But when I saw the FloraBella site I was blown away with those soft, pretty photos and was dying to see if I could create some photos that were striking without using the high drama I was used to.

Honestly it was kind of hard for me to go the complete opposite way that I was used to editing…but I was determined to do Soft & Pretty!  My copycat efforts resulted in these photos:

These aren’t my typical “look” but I love how they turned out and I learned a ton doing new editing techniques. By applying my own non-traditional crops to the photos I was able to make them my own.  So if you see some shots you like…some color tones you haven’t used before…maybe a photo theme you’d like to shoot…don’t be scared to be a Copycat!

Plan A Shoot

I have more than enough pictures of my kiddos looking like this…

and this…

And while every shot is worth remembering, I was really wanting some great close-ups for my wall last year.  So I planned a day, coordinated the clothing and managed to get the entire family to a beautiful location all on the same day.  It wasn’t exactly the harmonious family picture day I had envisioned, but by doing a shoot with a specific goal in mind I was able to get these shots:

Of course those were mixed in with plenty of these…!

You don’t have to be a “professional” to do a photo shoot and I’ll bet that you’ll surprise yourself with the great images you’ll capture when you have a goal in mind.

I hope my ramblings here can help someone this year.  And if you’ve got a tip that needs to be on this list then please…Leave A Comment and get us all motivated for a fabulous 2010!