Laura and Chad|Engagement Session|St. Louis MO

About 2 weeks ago, I made a trip to St. Louis for my very first photography workshop. It was way more than I anticipated. In fact, I'm still processing much of it - so I'll be leaving it for another post on another day.

One element I was really looking forward to was the mock engagement session we were able to shoot. This is Chad and Laura. They're a real life couple - but aren't really engaged. They were kind enough to let 30+ photographers crowd around them while being all mushy. Chad is a professional photographer himself, so he knew the drill.

The most challenging part of this session was being able to squeeze in there and get a shot before the moment passed, There came a moment that I just said to myself, "Alright, Kami. It's time to take the right-of-way." And that's what I did. I figured I hadn't driven 4 hrs to sit on the sidelines. I must say, I think it turned out well...

If you like what you see and would like to schedule an engagement session of your own, shoot me an email!

SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera)

I've been working VERY hard to nail my exposure while shooting in manual mode. Here's a small sample from one of the shoots I had while in Manhattan, KS over the weekend. These images are completely untouched. Not an ounce of correction. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. That doesn't mean I won't be playing around with them in Lightroom :)

In the nude...figuratively speaking

I use Photoshop Lightroom a lot. I mean A LOT. It's a fantastic tool. However, I really want to discipline myself in fully understanding my camera. I've been working on adjusting my settings to get the best shot from the start. This obviously isn't possible in every circumstance. However, my goal in this photography journey is to be a photographer...not a photoshopographer. These photos are completely unedited (with the exception of the watermark). I think they turned out pretty well. 

Happy Accidents

I love it when shots like this end up on my camera. I think it's pretty cool.

A Walk to the Park

Tyler and I have been talking a lot about personal tastes in photography. I think this picture is a pretty good example of how Tyler and I see things differently. Take the vignetting for instance. I love it. I think it helps direct the eye to the clouds - my "subject". Some photographers would be highly disappointed when they saw that their lens created this "old-timey" feel. While it certainly doesn't work for every shot - I really like it here. One other element we disagree on in the series of shots I took on the way to the park is the light poles. They drive him nuts. He prefers his shots to be as clutter-free as possible. While I tend to agree with him the majority of the time, I don't mind the "clutter" in this shot because it shows exactly what I want it to...we're walking in the 'burbs. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery???

My latest Photoshop creation