THE ARCHIVE
GOLDEN COLORADO ASPENS
Blue skies and golden aspens, that's what Fall is made of, right? :) If I could hang out with photographers and bloggers every weekend I would be over the moon. Hiking out next to the water, stopping to take photos, getting lost under the swinging branches of golden aspens, and laughing until we can laugh no more.
Meg and Beth had planned a few specific outings while we were visiting and Crystal Lake was one of them. It was absolutely beautiful; the temperature was just right, we had bright blue skies, and beautiful golden aspens. I totally stole this quote from Meg's insta, because it's just put so well.
"And all at once (they never knew exactly how it happened) the face seemed to be a sea of tossing gold in which they were floating, and such a sweetness and power rolled over them that they felt they had never really been happy or wise or good, or even alive and awake before. And the memory of that moment stayed with them always, so that as long as they both lived, if ever they were sad or afraid or angry, the thought of all that golden goodness, and the feeling that it was still there, quite close, just around the corner or just behind some door, would come back and make them sure, deep down inside, that all was well.” -The Magician's Nephew
We had the best time snapping photos. I took pictures of Beth. Beth and Amy took pictures of me. Amy took pictures of Meg. Meg took pictures of Amy. We laughed, we learned, and we loved every minute of it.
Featured items: (Me) Crisp in the Fall Graphic Sweatshirt || (Me) Joy is Contagious Mint Tank || (Me) AEO Denim Skinnies || New Balance 574 Cruisin || (Beth) Be Brave Graphic Sweatshirt
One of the best things about visiting Colorado was getting to spend time with Beth, Meg, and Amy. I learned so much, was inspired in so many ways, and I laughed until I couldn't laugh anymore. xoxo. Samantha
Photo Credits: Elah Tree || Oak + Oats || A Love Photography
LEADVILLE, CO + TIPS FOR PORTRAITS ON THE GO
I love tiny towns. Whether they are tiny mountain towns, tiny East coast towns, tiny West cost towns, or tiny Midwest towns. Tiny towns, from anywhere, are my favorite. Leadville is a tiny mountain town and it holds up to the tiny mountain town persona; quaint, friendly, local finds, and general good fun.
Leadville was our second stop during my Colorado adventures. And our first stop in Leadville was lunch, which I was super happy about. I'm always happy when food is involved, haha! After I inhaled my food, which was delicious, we headed out to walk the town. Because Leadville was the cutest little town ever and kept seeing the perfect places to snap portraits. I love snapping portraits... portraits was the reason I fell in love with photography. As we walked around Leadville I kept stopping and asking someone if they would let me take their picture... "Hey, will you stand right here?" ..."Hey, will you sit right here?" Thankfully everyone always said yes. :)
TIPS FOR PORTRAITS ON THE GO
LOOK FOR FRAMING: One thing I'm always drawn too when I'm on the go, especially when I'm thinking about portraits, is framing. I'm always looking for framing. When I look for framing I'm looking for structures that frame my subject. This could be door frames, alley gates, tree canopy's, anything. The picture below started out framed. I was initially drawn to the doors and the framing of the doors, so I sat Beth within the framing. Once in post processing, I decided I liked the composition a little tighter.
LOOK FOR UNIQUE BACKGROUNDS: One of the places we walked through during our time in Leadville was an antique mall. Guys, Tyler and I love antique malls. We love finding vintage items and unique decor pieces. Anyways, while we were walking through this antique mall I saw the perfect space for a photo. It was a rectangular room, so it provided a great u-shape similar to framing. Plus, all the vintage items created a really unique background.
LOOK FOR UNIQUE LIGHTING: This one goes with the one above. The same unique background had great unique lighting. There was a window letting in a perfect amount of light. It was the light that I was initially drawn too.
LOOK FOR DEPTH & LAYERS: Meg's photo above was inspired by depth and layers. As we were walking by I noticed the brick and iron railing, which I loved, but to take the photo straight on wasn't the greatest. What was behind the railing wasn't very visually appealing. I knew that I could create a more dynamic photo if I took the photo looking down the sidewalk, which created lots of depth and layers. The great thing about Meg's photo is that you get a better sense of a story.
Featured Items: (Me) Between Two Pines Pullover c/o || (Me) Classic Mojo Jeggings c/o || (Beth) Punch Vintage Leather Cuff c/o || (Beth) Natalie Borton Camille Necklace c/o || (Beth) Be Strong Boot c/o || (Meg) Between Two Pines Pullover c/o || (Amy) On My Radar Demin Jacket c/o
Guys, I'm so thankful for friends that let me snap their photos. I could take pictures all day everyday. We had so much fun walking around Leadville; eating good food, spending time together, laughing, window shopping, and stopping for coffee... even though I don't drink coffee, ha! :) xoxo. Samantha
P.S. Thank you to Beth of Oak + Oats for snapping these great photos of me and A Love Photography for snapping that cute one of the three of us!
WIDE OPEN SPACES : CAPTURING YOUR SUBJECT AND HIGHLIGHTING YOUR BACKGROUND
Some of my favorite photos are those that have beautiful landscapes in the background. Ones in which I feel that the photographer is working to capture their subject and highlight the background as well. This is something I'm definiltey still working towards, but we all start somewhere, right? ;)
While in Colorado... or should I say before our weekend arrived, Beth, Meg, Amy, and I all chatted about different things we would like to do while all together. For me, I simple wanted to take lots of pictures of pretty people and pretty things. Amy had mentioned that she wanted to do a dreamy mountain shoot. We were all on board and I was over moon to take pictures as well. I love taking picture no matter what, but I loved that we specifically planned for this shoot. We all had dresses picked out, Amy did our make-up, we fixed our hair, and we all headed out to an open field with a magnificent background. We spent time behind the camera and we took turns stepping in front of the camera too. Amy was on point directing everyone through the shoot and I snapped away from behind.
CAPTURING YOUR SUBJECT AND HIGHLIGHTING YOUR BACKGROUND
REMEMBER THE RULE OF THIRDS: The rule of thirds is one of the first composition principles I learned as a photographer. It's so second nature now that I shoot in the rule of thirds without even thinking about. However, when you are working to capture your subject and highlight your background, the rule of thirds can really benefit you when trying to do both. Take the photo below as an example. Meg is position in the bottom right third of the photo. This means I can position the background in the top left third of my image. I am able to capture Meg looking beautiful and still have the background visible too.
DIRECT YOUR LIGHT : In most cases when I'm shooting at sunset I prefer to shoot backlit or I position myself and my subject so that the sunlight is streaming in from the side. If I want to highlight my background I do my best not to backlight my subject. If I backlight my subject I have to overexpose to get my subject properly exposed which means my background will be blown out and not as visible. This type of shooting isn't bad, I do it all the time, but if I want to to have my background highlighted and visible I have to direct the light in a different way.
Let's use the photo above as an example. Meg and I are both positioned in the shade, which is great because I was able to achieve an even tone and exposure. Because she is positioned with the mountains directly behind here and the sun setting to the right of her I am able to expose for her while the background is still properly exposed as well.
Meg's Wearing : Catherine Bridesmaids Dress || Ekata Hammered Gold Cuff || Ekata Necklace || Shop Ekata jewelry and receive 15% off your purchase, use code EKATA15!
Camera Details : Nikon D700 || Nikkor 50mm Lens
One more thing that could add to highlighting your background is to shoot with a large f-stop number, as if you were only shooting landscapes. I didn't use that specific technique in these photos, but it is an option. This particular technique may, however, take away from your subject.
Doing this shoot with Meg, Beth, and Amy was so fun! I loved watching Amy direct and I loved snapping photos of all the girls! xoxo. Samantha
4 TIPS FOR SHOOTING IN DIRECT LIGHT
Shooting in direct light scares me, haha! Mostly because I prefer even soft light. But direct light forces me to think differently... it stretches me, it pushes me out of my comfort zone. While in Colorado I had the pleasure of taking photos of lots of pretty things and lots of pretty people. Beth graciously allowed me to capture some style photos for her, which was so fun! I could take pictures of Beth everyday. :) We were all together taking in the beautiful scenery and the time of our photo shoot fell about mid-day.
I didn't want the mid-day sun to detour me, but I knew it would be tough. One of these days I should spend some time just snapping photos in direct sun light and see how I feel about it... I'm always desperately looking for the best soft light around.
TIPS FOR SHOOTING IN DIRECT LIGHT
LOOK FOR SHADE: My first instinct when shooting in direct light is to look for shade. Shade provides soft even light, allowing your subject to be evenly lit. When looking for shade try to find areas with pockets of open sky. Once you find the area in which you want to shoot, position your subject just on the edge of the shade with open sky behind you (the photographer.) This will insure you're subject's face is nice and bright. For this particular shoot, with Beth, I totally forgot to find open pockets of sky behind me to help with light. I still love Beth's photos, but there is always room for improvement, right? ;)
OVEREXPOSE: When you are shooting in the shade with direct light you almost always have to overexpose to make sure your subject is properly exposed. When you're looking through your view finder and reading your meter, your meter is going to read the light for the overall photo and background. That means your camera will work to get the background properly exposed and your subject will be too dark. Take a few test shots to find the best exposure. For these particular shots I overexposed by at least 4 stops and I brought the exposure up even more in post processing.
USE STYLE ITEMS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE: Because Beth was wearing a hat in these photos, regardless of where she stood, her face would almost always be well shaded. If you find yourself in direct light, but shade is limited think about what style items you may be able to use to your advantage.
POST PROCESSING: I think one thing that new photographers get discouraged by is seeing their photos sooc (straight out of camera,) and they aren't what they were hoping for. Guys, nearly all of my photos sooc are muddy. They are flat and kind of boring, haha. Most photos come to life in post processing. Our job never ends at the snap of the shutter, we have to develop them too. Keep in mind that your first pass of processing may not be your last. I processed all of these photos for Beth, but after they had sat for a few days and I began to prepare this post I felt like the photos needed a second pass. This isn't always the case, but this style of photos where the background is brighter then the foreground and I'm working to properly expose my subject... sometimes a second pass is needed.
I think every photographer will find their sweet spot when it comes to their preferred lighting, style, and editing. I find so much encouragement in knowing that each shoot is only one shoot and there are many more shoots ahead. I loved doing this shoot with Beth because she is so lovely and while I was struggling with light, she was so sweet and encouraging. I want to fly to Colorado and take photos of Beth all the time. What are some of your surefire tips for shooting in direct light. xoxo. Samantha