Sweet Paisley Mae Newborn Session

 

Recently had the pleasure of photographing sweet baby Paisley Mae in her gorgeous nursery. She was the sweetest baby and spent most of her session either sleeping or smiling at the camera.

 

It’s Been Entirely Too Long

So this post is incredibly overdue! I could blame it on my 20 month old toddler, or even on the amounts of work I’ve had, even the messy house and life in general… but in all honesty, there is no excuse. If you are still following this blog, I salute you faithful reader.

Now, how to even begin such a post? How about with some pretty neat photos I’ve taken lately?

All photos shot on Canon 5D Mark iii and Zeiss lenses.

The past year I’ve had the absolute honor of photographing some incredible people and their families. As a photographer there really is no greater joy than having your work become part of someone’s memories.

The Girls!

So it seems all the parents of lovely girls want me to photograph them. 🙂 I love it! I had the opportunity to do sessions with these two beauties this week. I used the Canon 5d Mark iii and the Zeiss lenses to capture these shots.

Brooklyn wasn’t too excited about shooting photos, but I still think this shot is adorable 🙂

Little Ms Mia is turning 1 and the theme of her party is Mia Couture. How cute is that? We used these girly props from a great friend of mine and captured Mia at her finest. The sun had been hiding all morning and the minute it peeked through we got these shots.

Photography Thief

Stealing. Stealing ideas, work, time. I have had it in my heart to write a short blog about photography theft. A great and talented photographer friend of mine and I sat drinking coffee the other morning talking about how its so easy for some people in our profession to claim to be these incredible photographers, and charge rates that are ridiculous only to find out that A) they stole their whole marketing plan from a fellow photographer and B) the work they have up on their site isn’t theirs. It’s a shame really. Not only do they do a disservice to themselves, but also to the photography community and, most importantly, their clientele. The biggest issues here is trust. The one thing in humanity, in my opinion, that is so hard to attain once it’s been lost.

I recently heard of a case where a “photographer” stole from various photographers for iamges on her website, even her bio was stolen. Imagine… to not even be able to write a bio for yourself! Her clients I’m sure were in for a rude awakening when they saw that the work she did for them was not as the one she promoted. On top of that she was charging incredibly high rates for mediocre work by marketing with someone else’s work. Incredible.

For those photog readers who have had to deal with this unfortunate situation, I found that this blog actually details really well how to handle images being stolen: A Photo Editor.com

Here are the basics…
*Always watermark your images when posting them on social network sites
or any public website where your images are most vulnerable.

* Shrink wrap your images (if you are not sure what this… its where someone tries to grab your image, but they end up with a blank image instead.)

* Block right click … put up a no right click block on your java script on your site.

At the end of the day, there is no full proof way that your images can not be stolen… but at least with these steps, you can try your best to prevent your photography from being stolen.

It’s In The Silence

Often times I have to remind myself that even though all the bells and whistles of photography are nice, they aren’t what make a great photograph. As a photographer I’m constantly challenging myself to do better, be better than the last shoot I had and often am harsh on myself about not doing it “correctly” the first time. Not sure if I’m the only one that feels this way… hope not. 🙂

This morning I was reminded of this quote that I absolutely adore by Ansel Adams…

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.

When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”

There are moments that just can’t be expressed in paper and ink, they have to be experienced and seen… that’s what photography is for me. It takes me back to that specific moment in time and I’m able to relive it. It’s my own personal time machine. Every frame that is shot is a little reminder of the good, funny, bad, and quiet times that have happened in my life and the life of others that I’ve had the honor of photographing.

So today I encourage you, take out your camera and shoot the moments of silence, laughter, sadness, whatever inspires you!

Lightroom 4

I know, I know… I’m a tad late… ok so really late on the Lightroom 4 upgrade. It took me a bit to upgrade because I needed to do a clean sweep of my computer and pretty much start over, but finally the day has come where everything is updated… my PS 6, LR 4… so excited! I gotta say, I’m kinda hooked. I’ve only had it for a couple of days, but I absolutely love the upgrades. Having the option to create photo books are pretty bad ass. I was able to do layouts before, but now having the easy templates its a really great addition. I love the new editing brushes! And well of course the biggest addition of all, video. My husband has a post production house, so this new addition is great! For those out there that are like me and still didn’t update, I gotta say, you wont be disappointed. This new LR 4, is beefier with all the bells and whistles. 🙂

It’s Finally Up!

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that my new website is finally up and functional!! WOO HOO! I might be a bit sleep deprived so bear with me.

After many designs and many many changes, it is finally done! Please take a sec to check it out: www.tanoriphoto.com

Also if you haven’t already, like us on facebook!

By the way, I promise… this is the LAST time (at least for next year or so) that I change the look of this blog. 🙂 I just had to make it match the new site!

I will be blogging really soon about stuff like lenses and how to pick the right one for your shoot and also talking about presets and actions. Stay tuned!

Go Broncos!

As a big fan of the Denver Broncos (NFL team for those that are not into sports), I loved being a part of last night’s win at Brennan’s with the LA Broncos fans. What a fun group! The energy was electric and everyone got ready to see Peyton Manning hit the field. Here are a couple shots from the evening. Since the lighting was actually pretty nice in this bar, I didn’t have to use flash or bounce cards. All of these were taken with Canon 5D Mark iii, Zeiss 35mm.

Shooting at Sunset

I’ve been blessed with living in an area where I’m walking distance from the beach. Unfortunately life gets in the way and I don’t get to visit it as often as I’d like, but this past weekend I had the opportunity of shooting a gorgeous mama to be during sunset.  On this shoot I had awesome help and support from my business partners and husband. We had a reflector that helped bounce just the right amount of light on her to really make her glow. I don’t think we could have asked for a nicer day.

Canon 5D Mark iii, Zeiss 50mm 1.4, no editing

Quick funny story… while trying to capture one of the poses on the beach, I had the mom to be and her husband sitting on the sand when the tide came and completely soaked us all! Luckily she was a-ok and so was my camera! Whew!

What’s in the Gear?

I often get asked the question, “What camera do you shoot with?” and soon after, “Which camera do you recommend?” I dont mind answering these questions at all. I love that people are getting more and more into photography these days. I also love to see what they capture. What does surprise me though is how much weight is taken into the gear you use. I’ll be honest, I’ve never been one to say, “because I have this camera, I take amazing photos.” Even writing that made me laugh a little. It would be like saying, because I have this awesome cookware, I make amazing dishes. Really?! Even if I had fantastic pots and pans, I wouldn’t become Gordon Ramsey overnight. Get what I’m saying?

Now, there are advantages to having the right gear, but having the right gear doesnt mean you have to spend thousands of dollars. I have seen photographs look simply stunning with an iPhone. I have been brought up to think the following… Shoot with what you have, Make it look like a million bucks! Now that’s the tricky part, how to make your photos truly pop no matter what camera you are using. The rules are basic and pretty easy.

1) Shoot for the eyes. Really make sure if you are shooting someone that those eyes pop, really focus on them. If you are shooting a landscape or a certain focal point… make those certain details come to life with proper focus.

2) Find the light. I don’t mean everything has to have studio lighting. No, on the contrary, some of the most gorgeous photos come with the help of mother nature (she’s awesome). Find the golden hour, get that glimpse of light coming through the window… make it a soft box!

3) Rule of Thirds… I will refer to this as the golden rule. I have often broken this rule. It’s really a make or break. If you can follow the rule of thirds, you will be GOLDEN! Those photos, no matter what camera you use, will look simply amazing.

Now grab your camera and get out there and shoot some amazing stuff! The world is filled with them!