Gone...Home...and Gone again!

One thing my family is ...is an outdoor family. But, it hasn't been that way since we haven't been camping in a looooong time.

Well, this past weekend this mommy braved the woods. We were so completely excited to head up north for a family only camping trip. Why? This trip was actually the first camping trip as just a family...no friends...just us and our trailer...smack dab in the middle of no where. We loved it.

We camped right outside of Heber, Arizona. Sadly, one of the towns that was affected by the worst fire in Arizona history. This fire burned over 467,000 acres of beautiful county. An absolutely horrible fire.

Although we camped in an area that didn't suffer too much devastation, there were were charred trees surrounding us. When we went on hikes, we could look left and right to easily find sides of trees completely black from the fire. Here was one tree that we actually camped under. There it was, completely bare but surrounded by full trees.

On our way up there, we drove through Payson and my husband had the fabulous idea to start our family get away with a treat for our girls. The best kind of treat in my book...a ice cream cone from McDonalds. He actually ordered two large cones...I told him that I thought that might be a bit much for the girls. Then I giggled when he said, "I was ordering larges for us to endulge a bit before passing back!" And endulge we did...his licks went much faster than mine. Oh, tasty treats!

We filled our trip up there with tons of chat time. The best part was asking the girls what they wanted to do most once we got there. I giggled when they said..."We want to see a bear!" Say what.....A BEAR! This made my husband, their dad, smile BIG!

For those that haven't met my husband...he is a HUGE mountain man! Not meaning size, but if he had it his way he would build our house in the middle of the forest and probably live off the land. AND he'd change his name to Grizzly Adams...carve canoes for fishing rivers/lakes, grow a beard to braid, wear a large cowboy hat and make his boots from the hides of his home grown cattle.... or something like that! Okay, I probably exaggerated but...he is definitely an outdoor man. And an avid hunter...sorry animal activists(ahem, my twin sister). Me, I do love the outdoors, but I love shopping, Starbucks, and everything else that comes with the city life. I know, not exactly the perfect match on the outside but we sooooo click on the inside.

Now, one thing about my husband is he doesn't work too hard to find animals. I swear they come to him. Needless to say, when we were driving to our campspot...my husband and I both see something right on the side of the road. In unison we say, "what's that?" Holy...{bleep}...it's a bear. We both were giggling while quickly telling the girls to look at the bear, just as the bear sloooooowly started walking across the road right in front of us. I grabbed my camera to take a picture...now me, I love the outdoors and love wild animals, but do prefer then from the view of my front seat. So I handed my camera to my husband and off he went. Only problem, I sent him with my camera in M mode with my 35mm lens. NOT exactly the best for someone who isn't familiar with a fixed lens OR shooting manual. But he did pretty good. Here is the most in focus picture of the bear and it's pretty good. What was scary was my husband even said the bear wasn't freaked out by us.

So, yep...my girls got their wish ! They saw a bear. Soon they started saying they wanted to see an elk...ha, then we saw wild turkeys two different times and two very nice bucks. Ahhhhh, living the life as children of a moutain man.

Now, onto my cute camping kids. Nothing too grand, but my baby Easton with his two new chompers. When he wasn't hanging on a lap, he had fun playing in his pack-n-play.
Okay...now the light in the forest is just B-E-A-Utiful! Ahhhh, I loved every second of it.

The other bonus to our camping trip was my husband's parents joining us for a night. My girls love them to pieces and especially love their papa since he brings them chocolate. AND, I let my girls enjoy finger licking good Snicker's bars. Camping and chocolate go hand and hand!

Another reason for our camping trip was my husband needed to sight in his bow. He was drew an amazing elk tag for the beginning of September in a unit that only gives our 150 archery tags.

Here are a few shots he took at 50 yards...yep, he pretty much nailed it.

..................................................Now, I'm popping in for a quick update.
For the next two days, I will be getting filled with nothing but photography. I will be attending a workshop for the next two days. The first day....the hours are 9 am -7 pm...and could potentially go longer. Tuesday...9-5ish! This is where I'll be glassy eyed and have the glazed over look but will be hanging on every word, trying new things on my camera, brushing up on the latest and greatest to add to my sessions and nonstop photography talk. I. CAN'T. WAIT!So, I will be totally M.I.A. in not only blogland but emailland!
LASTLY, wow....wow is all I can write! I opened up my fall calendar and mini sessions last week. One mini session date is filled and two sessions dates have 1 spot left. AND, my fall calendar is just about booked....by my clients and new clients that moved FAST. I do have plans on releasing mini session dates on my blog on Thursday. But for now, if you want a mini session date...email me to see what's left AND...if you want a regular session...let's chat soon!
Until then...TA TA!

What is exposure?

These past two months, I've taught a handful of classes on understanding your camera.  When teaching how to understand a camera,  learning the basic photography concept is a must.  

What I've loved is meeting several women that start the class, leaving with a huge respect for their very nice camera and all that it's capable of.   Each one of these moms leaves the class as a "momtog"....mom/photographer.  Which honestly, is how several of today's big name photographers started out...simply as a parent wanting to better capture their children and/or life.

If you own a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera, then you most likely have heard ....

"That's a really nice camera.  It must take really nice pictures?"  I always chuckle when I hear that...um, yeah...it's aaaaaalll the camera.  Hearing that makes me think...  telling a chef, "Your food is really good.  You must have really nice pots and pans?"

The basic concept of photography is exposure and how it's created.  Without getting super technical, exposure is all about three concepts.  And how they interrelate.  I'm also leaving out how these concepts apply to metering.

1.    ISO

2.   Aperture

3.   Shutter Speed

While it's still hard for me to see myself as a photographer when I have a loooooong list of photographers I admire and I'm still unsure about me carrying that title as that would mean I'm in the same category as those "big dogs."  But I do decide my exposures and I don't shoot in auto mode.  My camera is my tool and I think for it.

One of the girls in a recent class asked about settings for my pictures as visual examples for her.  While I understand the importance of hearing these numbers as a visual teaching method, it's not always the best for learning settings. At least, not until how the exposure concepts relate and work together.  Learning photography is overwhelming and is not a concept that can be learned overnight...photography is a trial and error learning process.  The settings used for one picture are specific to the lighting available, direction of lighting and determining how to use exposure to convey the message captured for that picture.  And unless another picture is set up exactly how that picture was created, the settings most likely won't work.   It's after going through trial and error of slowing or speeding up shutter speed,  opening up or closing down an f-stop and increasing ISO...that settings will make sense.  But, I completely understand how helpful it is to see another photographer's settings as I often ask friends what their settings were. Why do I ask?  I'm curious how the lighting was used and how the settings related to create that exposure...I'm kinda a dork that way.   I've always been that student that craves the what's and why's of everything.  

So, after that seriously long write up...I was thinking since I've had several woman leave my classes ready to start learning how an exposure is created, I would start including my settings with picture....here and there that is.  Also know, if you're ever curious, email me or leave a question in the comments and I'll be sure to include it.  I am always more than happy to help.

Now before the pictures...for those that don't know about rule of thirds...it's basically a rule that directs a visual artist how to create an image that's appealing to the eye. 

(there is a definition, I'm just not feeling too motivated to write it out.... I know, the big L  A  Z   Y!)

BUT do remember, that not all images follow the rule of thirds as it's always fun to break rules and it can push an artist creatively.  I love shooting both ways...rule follower and rule breaker!

To understand rule of thirds...basically place the focus of your picture on one, or more, of the four crosshairs of this layout.

Here is an example of following the rule of thirds.  

The dog and the baby...landed on or near two of the four crosshairs.  Now if I really wanted to have my teacher hat on, I would have showed you a picture where the mother, baby and dog were perfectly centered in the frame and it would be seriously BORING to your eye, compared to this picture.
My sister...again rule of thirds.  I know, the focus points roughly fell on two of the four points.

Here is an example of Aperture...blurry background, depth of field.  It's what everyone wants in their pictures, at least that is the bulk of the questions I get.  How do I get the blurred background?   

I left the detail in the little girl's face, opposed to really blurring her out...her expression added to the showing off of her bling. 

ISO  400  F2.8  Shutter 1/320

lens 17-55 mm  f2.8

Shutter Speed

I'm not going to give too much explanation on this.  It's how fast the shutter closes.  
ISO 100  f1.4  SS1/3200

lens  85mm f1.4

Again, aperture.  

(indoor swiming pool)  

ISO  800   f2.0  SS 1/640

lens  85mm f1.4

ISO  (film speed)  

(shot indoors in low light)

ISO  1600  F 2.8  SS 1/2000

lens  17-55mm f2.8

EDITING

I do little editing to my pictures.  When I edit, I edit to merely enhance my pictures. I don't get too fancy but have been known to occasionally.  

Here is a picture straight out of the camera (SOOC).

Here it is edited.  
(shot a little bit before sunset)

ISO  400  f2.8  SS1/500

17-55mm f2.8

SOOC
Edited

(shot indoors)

ISO1250  f2.8  SS1/800

lens  17-55 mm f2.8

Okay, did this make sense to anyone?  Do you even care!?!  HA!  Let me know if it's clear as mud and I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm not going into much detail.  

All I can write is photography is a mouthful...it's A LOT!  I aged a TON these past three years as I've put in several long nights reading books, on the internet and having my camera glued to my hands.  Hence, the permanent dark circles under my eyes.  But I wouldn't regret it one bit, I love photography. Now I'm just learning how to balance it with my family priorities!  And I stress learning.

Tomorrow I have my next class. For now, I will be scheduling once class each month. If you're interested in class dates and the details on one....send me an email at tamiproffitt@yahoo.com.

Get's me smiling!

When I first opened up birthday week contest, I soon had an email from a fellow photographer, Jen Taylor, that made me smile...BIG!  Without writing out her entire email, there were two things that brought on my giggling grin.  

1.  Seeing this picture of her adorable daughter and her personally designed, ultra cute outfit.

2.  That she would love for me to come to Minnesota to photograph her daughter!  This was where I beamed...beamed my big pearly whites all day.  Why?  When a peer in my industry asks...it just renders me speechless.  I honestly didn't know what to say...  But I sure had a lot to say to who ever called me that day...I couldn't stop sharing the flattering news to anyone who could hear.  

Here's the fun part, Jen and I met almost a year ago at a photography workshop in Seattle.  She was one of the first girls I met there. 

Okay...here's a little storytelling.  First, the workshop I attended had I think 30 attendees.  It was big.  The first night was a meet and greet night for everyone.  I, of course, arrived late.  And arrived with blisters from the shoes I pranced through the city in.    

Before I went upstairs to the meet and greet...business had to be taken care of.

1. bandaids for feet from front desk

2. go to the ladies room

As I went up the stairs, I think I might have been the very last girl to arrive. And,  I arrived feeling like the new girl to an all girls school.  So, I entered and made my way to the very back of the room.  It was there that I met an incredibly nice group of girls and Jen was one of them.  

It wasn't until an hour into the evening that I realized my undergarments were not only hanging out, but hanging out because they got stuck in the zipper of my jeans!  Um yeah....I couldn't even scurry to the darkest part of the room to fix this, I just giggled outloud and quickly fixed it.  To this day, I simply laugh!  

Jen...I'm not sure if you even remember this.  But if you do, we're giggling together.  

_____________________________________________________

Finally....time to get to business.  The winner of my blog contest.  Drum roll please.  

:::::::Number 4::::::::

Picture number 4 received 89 votes...holy cow!  That is one fan club.  Now, to the mommy and daddy of this super cute trio...let's get to chatting about our new venture.  I have a few fun ideas.

Birthday Week!

I went back and forth on whether or not I would put my birthday out there.  Why?  A few years ago, I hit a stage where I wanted my birthdays to just be another day...nothing big.  It wasn't that I was in denial about getting older, I just started thinking that way. I wish I could write that there was an event, an emotion or a year that I just couldn't let go of, but NO...it just hasn't been a big deal to me. 

This year I will be...um, um,  34!  Ah, I wrote it.  I see it.  I believe it. But, I don't feel it.  It's truly not real until I see that number, and look in the mirror and see aged eyes.  I am happy to write that I don't feel it, and I love that I feel young.  

As July was approaching, I knew I wanted to have fun this month.  Fun with my blog.  Fun with sharing more of myself, giving to others, celebrating little moments and making others happy. I had plans of doing all of this. THIS is how I wanted to celebrate my birthday.  

With every birthday, I think of the past year...what went down, what made me smile the most, what I want more/less of, and what I'm thankful for.  I can definitely say I am thankful for my family, friends and clients.  All three fill my days with smiles, giggles, advice, comfort and love.  They make my world go round...and fill it with happiness.  

With this week being my birthday week, I decided...I've been given more than I could ever dream or ask for.  I am blessed.  And, I'm a huge believer in what goes around comes around.  As I've been given happy memories, I want to give happy memories to another.

Here's this week's contest.  

______________________________________________________

I will be discounting a children's session, for up to 3 kids, to $25....

valued at $125.   

(products will be available at the current pricing)

..............THE DETAILS..............

What:

~send a picture of the children winning the discounted session

~the type of picture:  children being children...just how they are...doing what they do

Where:

send this picture to tamiproffitt@yahoo.com

When:

~all pictures need to be received by Thursday night

~session to be held in August

How:  

The winner will be chosen by the number of votes the picture receives....I seriously SUCK at making decisions!  Thanks voters!

I will post the contest pictures on Friday.  The voting will take place over the weekend and close on Sunday at midnight.

_____________________________________________________

Now, go....go and look through your picture files of your children, grandchildren, friends, nieces and nephews and share!  Find pictures that make you sigh and smile big, that give you a peaceful grin, a giggle, an out loud laugh, or a picture that simply takes you back to that very moment.  Please share with me!  I can't wait to see a glimpse into your sweet life.

And since your here to see pictures, here's one.  It just happens to be a picture of a beautiful girl, inside and out, that frequently makes my camera happy with her sweetness.  Introducing Miss C.  I think I've shared this picture before and I just stumbled on it today.  I recently saw Miss C, and the hour with her was filled with double takes as she has grown...A LOT!  

Today was one of THOSE days!

The past few nights...I've been pulling some serious late nighters to get caught up on work.  When I say late, I mean 1am late with a 6 am wake up call!  And to top it off, I've had absolutely no coffee in my house.....OOOOOOUCH!

But...I pull those late nights so that I can be work free during the day to give my three babies ALL of me!  Today was one of THOSE days when I was given one of the most precious gifts a mother could ever ask for.  While I was playing hair styling with my girls....actually they were pretending to cut my hair (scary),  my sweet Cam walks in front of me...rubs my face and says with the sweetest voice..." I love you so much Mom!'  And that was all it took....I began to cry! THIS is what being a parent is all about...THIS is why I love my kids unconditionally during the good and the bad times, THIS is why I laugh when my girls are screaming at eachother and I have no escape...THIS is why I read them stories each night, why I kiss them a million times each day, why I tell them they make me the happiest mommy in the world....THIS is why nothing will ever compare to being a mommy.

Then when she saw me crying, she sweetly told me..."it's okay mommy.  I'm here, I'll take care of you."  Then she sat down, forced my head into her lap and began rubbing my face while singing 'You are my sunshine'....the song I sing to them when ever they'll listen.  

I ask...HOW DID I GET SO LUCKY!?!

My baby Cam.  In her favorite dress...actually she calls it her tutu.

Photoshoots with her is always a comedy hour.  She's one of those hams...funny thing...this IS her!  There is not hamming it up because the camera's out...this is HER!  This is why her teacher's need a good sense of humor because something hysterical is always flying out her mouth and her animated expressions.

AND she doesn't always come out and tell me when she's done...she typically shows me anything but her face.  

Holiday UPDATES:

_______________________________

The emails and phone calls about scheduling holiday sessions are starting to come in.  I wanted to let everyone know, dates for holiday sessions and mini sessions will be released at the end of July.  

If you want to be one of the first to be notified when dates become available, please be sure to email my assistant Mariah to be added to the list.  Yes...there's a list!  The list will include past clients and new clients wanting to schedule for the fall season.  After this release, the remaining session dates will be opened.  Also please note, I will be scheduling a limited number of sessions to allow for maternity, newborn and baby sessions.

OH...everyone needs to return for a new contest starting on Friday!  Yep...an overdue contest!  I will be having one each week in July!  

Cabin adventures |Queen Creek Family Photographer|

I have been BUSY this past week!  We made two back to back trips to Pinetop, came home twinless, lived like a family of three for a week,  worked my tushy off, and got some seriously fun projects started and finished.  

I'm always in heaven in Pinetop...the skies are unbelievable, the fresh air is breathable, the temperature is perfection and the mood is SO relaxed!  On our first weekend up there, my girls were begging to go fishing...so fishing we went.  My husband and his father are serious fishermen, and my girls princess fishing poles were catching more fish then we could count. If only my girls had the attention span...it was fun while it lasted.

Cam is one with nature...she loves bugs, getting dirty and everything else that screams outdoor girl.  On one of her bug hunts, she plowed right through a little creek that was hiding in some tall grass...her reaction was priceless but her feet were soaking.
My little chunk...my sweet 6 month old chunk.  He just melts my heart...and Lord knows he HAS my heart!  While the girls were gone, he mastered the art of staying on my hip and I had a HARD time resisting.  

We spent one of the weekends with our friends up north...which is always a good time when our kids get together.  There truly is nothing better than watching kids grow up not only knowing eachother, but LOVING eachother...I love watching every second of them together.
Mr. R man....bff to my twins and in a marriage agreement with Cam.  The best part, he shares the same birthday with my girls.

These two...make me giggle!  My sweet Miss P and Cam.  Since she was born, my Cam has been obsessed with her.  A year ago, it wouldn't be odd to find Cam straddling her on the ground, trying to pick her up or convincing Miss P she could only find refuge on her shoulder.  I'm simply amazed Miss P doesn't run like mad when she see her...  Actually she does the opposite...she gets screaming giddy when she sees my girls.
My girlfriend's daughter was the protector from the snakes my Cash and Miss P were terrified of.  Of course my Cam was heading out to find them....she kept saying they were going to tickle her with their tongue...should I be scared?
The next few months, I'll be slowing down quite a bit.  I came across the perfect quote for my stage in life.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it."

~Ferris,  Ferris Bueller's Day Off

_________________________________________

While I have past sessions to blog, products to feature, contests to run, camera classes, a wedding to photograph (I know, slap me next time) and upcoming sessions...my blog will be taking a back seat for a bit.  AND, the remaining session dates available are limited to maternity and newborn sessions ONLY.   It is just too dang HOT!

Contest

Here is my first blog contest EVER! Every session isn't just a session...no matter how exhausted I am or having the job feeling...I am connected to each session. I fall in the love with the children, families, the moments between the set ups....and the final pictures I present. AND, as the photographer, I believe every client NEEDS a nice print from their session. Not just an 8x10 or a 5x7 but a good wall print. THIS contest will be awarding a winner with a nice 11x14 wall print, mounted on styrene with a lustre coating as their prize.


I've chosen four pictures from sessions this spring and one from December of last year. AND to spare me with the difficult decision of deciding who wins, I'm leaving it up to my blog readers to decide for me.


Here is how it will work! It's easy peasy....
Each picture is numbered. Once you've decided on the picture you like best, go to the comments section. Then enter the number you choose, write what tickles you about the picture (optional) and sign with your first name. That's it!


The contest begins today and will end Sunday, June 7th at midnight. Whatever picture has the most votes wins...


Here are the four....


1.
2.
3.
4.
After the contest ends, I will contact the winner and they will be able to chose a picture from the session highlighted as their print. *please note, the print will be available for pick up, direct shipping will be available for an additional charge.


NOW....GO....GO....go and vote in the comments section!

LEAVE YOUR NAME!

Newborn Special

The real motivation behind the special I'm announcing for this summer, June and July.


My baby, who 5 months ago was this tiny.... and today is now 18 pounds of chub!
Newborn Session Special $125 session fee
includes 24 5x7, two sided, flat baby announcements (valued at $50)
10% off prints
*for session details, please refer to the session portion of my website


While I was planning on taking the summer off, I changed my plans to simply slowing down a bit...I have a limited number of session dates available for the summer months. June has one session date left...contact me if you want it.


Also keep in mind that newborn sessions are best within the first two weeks of delivery. If you are anticipating your sweetie arriving...PERFECT...it's best to get scheduled on my calendar and reserve your session date. For anticipated arrivals, I reserve the week before and after your due date as a potential session date....if the arrival is off from this block, you will get scheduled in.

Soul

For me....the soul of a photograph is clearest when shown in a black and white.  This picture made me smile BIG as I'm wrapping up my editing for the night.

QUESTION:

If I put together a simple "Getting to know your camera"  class, would you be interested?  Do you own a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera ?  Do you take it out of the auto mode....

A.K.A. green  mode, the mode that's titled AUTO or on the camera icon?  Would you like to venture out of that mode and TRULY get your moneys worth out of your beautiful camera?

ALL to often I hear clients telling me that they have a fancy, schmancy camera but only shoot in auto mode because they're scared!  My opinion, shooting only in auto mode is like buying a Ferrari, only driving 2o mph and on side streets.  Your camera wasn't built to shoot only in auto...it was built to do incredible things.... show off it fabulousness!

If you want to know how to create stunning pictures with your camera or just want to understand it...send me an email letting me know. At  tamiproffitt@yahoo.com .  I think I have JUST what you need!

Dear Blog,

First let me begin with, I'm sorry!  I'm sorry I've neglected you. I'm sorry you've gotten NO play in my house.  I'm just plain sorry!

While excuses are just that, excuses...I have a few reasons that have kept me from you.  I'm now "officially" back to work and have had two AMAZING sessions.  Actually, two sessions that were scheduled a bit closer than I'd like to have them, but hey, sink of swim right!?!  An entire week of running every which way but loose.  A trip to the doctor to make....what I like to call a donation.  A donation meaning, paying my co-payment for this worried mom to only hear that my baby's tummy might just not be feeling too happy.  Several nights of " baby that doesn't seem to be feeling too good" sleeplessness.  And driving my girls to THREE...yes THREE....playdates this week. My girls have a better social calendar than me....geesh!  AND tonight...polishing off my week with my computer doing nothing but frustrating me!

At this point, all I can do is crawl into bed and rest my puffy and burning eyes by getting a little sleep. I promise I will be back...hopefully sometime soon!  Believe me, I'm DYING to share with you the sneak peeks from my recent two sessions!  Seriously to die for fun was had at both!  Unfortunately, I AM at the mercy of my computer and right now it doesn't want to play to nice!  UGH!

I'll be sure to keep you more in the loop of my crazy life!  

My apologies,

Tami  

Overwhelming response....

...to my first sale!  If this is the first time to my blog and haven't read the post from yesterday...well, go read it!  I'm offering all sessions in the spring half off the regular price!  This is an amazing deal! I am overwhelmed and flattered by the response.  I'm just reminded how wonderful my clients are in referring me to their family and friends!  

Due to the number sold already, I will be selling only four more discounted sessions to avoid booking my spring season solid.  This past fall season, I closed my calendar in September and want to avoid closing my calendar early again for the spring.  If you are interested or know of someone chatting about buying one, have them contact me via email at tpqueencreek@yahoo.com.  I will be selling the remaining five on a first come basis!  To those of you spreading the word....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!  Seriously, I couldn't thank you all enough for sharing your kind words and sending me your family and friends!

ALSO...the BEST deal from this special is the Bellies and Babies session fee cut in half!  This includes a mini maternity session and a newborn session which includes 24 baby announcements! TOTAL SALE PRICE OF $112.50.  If you know of someone due in the spring...GIFT PERFECTION!  

NOW...sharing more from the mini "celebrating two" session!  How cute is this little guy!  

AND....today was a crazy Christmas bake fest day with friends!  I was up WAY late last night...late in terms of going to bed at 3 am!  Yikes!  My late hours were filled with cutting and baking sugar cookies, finalizing orders and TRYING to make sense of business paperwork...for my bookkeeping friend!  Tonight, I will be turning in way early!