27 Feb
Baby Camdon
Have you ever wondered what my blog is going to be like after I actually have the baby? A week ago I would have denied all charges that having a baby would make me only write about babies all the time. I really hope that isn’t the case, but ever since this photography thing came into my life it’s all I seem to talk about lately. Gaaah! I don’t want this blog to become my photography one, and I want to have a life outside of the pictures I take (and someday outside of the children I raise), but until I come up with a good name for the biz I’m going to have to post my pictures here (because I can’t bear to just keep them to myself.)
You’ve seen Baby Camdon before. The photos below prove what some good light and a nice camera can do. I’m proud to say that none of these photos were shot on auto (yay!). All of my practice using the G9 on manual has really helped me to understand what all of the settings mean. I still shoot lots of “test” shots and play with the settings, but the majority of the time I’m shooting on aperture or manual. I would shoot manual all the time but I can’t figure out how to change both the aperture and the shutter speed, I seem to only be able to change either/or. I guess I need to read the manual.
Please don’t steal my pictures. 
I don’t have a watermark yet because I don’t have a business name, so if you want to use these, please make sure you credit them!
We started little Camdon out on his tummy, which didn’t work out so well because it made it too easy for him to smush his face into the blanket instead of looking at us.
I’ve decided I’d like to try something I’ve never seen another photographer do. I’m going to post a Straight Out Of Camera Shot (SOOC Shot), in every post. I hope that doing this will keep me from relying heaviliy on Photoshop to create beautiful photos. I think that Photoshop is a great way to enhance photos, but I never want to be relying on it so heavily that I can’t be happy with the photos as I take them. You know?
So here is my fav SOOC shot for this session. I think it’s pretty good for my first time with the camera.
I sharpened the eyes, warmed up the color, brightened the midtones a little, a tiny bit of cropping, and removed a few blemishes. I think it’s my favorite shot from the session.
Hahaha. Funny baby.
THAT SHOT!
Babies can have so much attitude. I love the half smirk on his face that says “Hey crazy lady, I ain’t gonna look at the camera and smile for nothin.’”
I can’t wait for mom to get these letters up on the wall so we can photograph him in his room below his letters. This shot wasn’t really working for me until I ran the Totally Rad “Old Skool” on it. I said I didn’t want to rely on Photoshop, but that doesn’t mean I’m against adding a little extra sometimes. 
Isn’t the dog on his bum the cutest little touch?
Shooting little dogs is quite possibly the most difficult thing ever. They hardly ever sit still! Little Lexi was a good girl and sat down for just a moment to pose in a portrait for me. I definitely had to speed up my shutter when she came into the picture!
We did a few with Jill and her baby, which made me realize how much harder portraiture can be when you introduce multiple subjects. Of course, having a model as gorgeous and comfortable in front of the camera as Jill is definitely made a difference for me. Thanks to Jill and Baby Camdon for putting up with me for the afternoon.
There are a few more shots in my flickr set here. Please go visit if you would like to see the rest!
I’m at a stage where I’m trying to be very open to feedback, so please feel free to let me know what you think! Later on down the road, when I feel more confident about what I can do, I might get a little annoyed with people critiquing my photos all the time, but for right now I need to swallow my pride and say “What do you think I can do better?”
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
I think overall you did a really great job, however, in my view, the only thing I don’t like so much are how the eyes were sharpened, as they ended up looking a little bit on the fake side.
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1I agree with the sharpening of the eyes. You lost the deep blue of his eyes, and made them look like they had lightning in them, if that makes any sense. But otherwise, lovely soft images. I love the cropping of the last one, with his mom.
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2I think you’re doing amazingly well already, Jenna. Great shots.
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3Personally, I love the sharpening you did. I have clear blue eyes and they play the same tricks in photos. Sometimes they’re dark blue, but if the light is hitting them right they look just like his in your edited version.
Great job at keeping it natural!
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4Jenna, these are amazing! I love the simplicity. I think sometimes baby photographers go overboard trying to be artsy and they end up putting babies in environments/situations that are very unnatural. You did an amazing job of finding light and soft color. You’ve even got a little bit of a studio feel without the studio! I *LOVE* the shot of Camdon with Jill looking over her shoulder. You framed that perfectly so that Camdon is the focus, but Jill it still in the shot, looking beautiful and watchful. That shot in itself is a good representation of motherhood.
The only constructive criticism I have is that the image could stand to have a little more contrast, but I happen to really like high contrast B&W. It’s kind of personal preference thing, though. 
Overall, GREAT JOB!
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5Jenna, did you consider “that shot” as a business name? I think it’s kinda cute and catch — and easy to spell! That Shot by Jenna?
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6I think the problem with the sharpening of the eyes is because of where the light hits especially in his right eye the sharpening tool causes it to look a bit like it’s popping out of his skull.
Maybe if you just sort of unsharpened the top part.
I love the smirk though, especially with his arm dangling down. It gives him this almost bartenderiy, yeah whadda ya want look.
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7I like the eyes better sharpened on Camdon, he looked lighter. I guess it might just be a personal preferance. I cant wait to see more of your photography. If you need to borrow my sun room ever let me know!
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8these are great! you are making me want a nice camera!
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9I think you did a fantastic job! The 2nd (and 3rd) shot is my favorite
I will say that I love your work so far and would definitely hire you to shoot me
P.S. I think the debate on the eyes is really a personal preference.
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10I think these are lovely! I like the sharpened eyes, actually - I love what you did to that pic, actually. I love before and after shots. I really need to improve my photoshop.
The one with Jill is soooooo lovely. She’s gorgeous too!
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11Okay, I really need to start sending you baby clothes for That Baby! Hopefully, it will give you some motivation in your studies. Your photos are looking great, but I have a feeling this will only feed your baby desire.
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12I love the sharpening of his eyes - it really draws you right to his gorgeous face.
I’m especially fond of the black and white with his Mom. Again, his eyes are full of such light, that it keeps the baby as the focus of the shot. But Mom is beautiful and strong behind him. It’s really nicely directed and balanced, and you still manage to keep baby our focus. Lovely!!
Oh and I think “that shot photography” is super cute.
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13I like the sharpening on his eyes. They look natural to me! Nice work. =)
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14Hi Jenna- Hopped over here to follow you from Weddingbee…
The shots look great. One point, though. Your camera is a Canon 50D. You’re calling it a D50, which would make it a Nikon (what I have).
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15These are nice for your first spin with your camera. To me, your photos seem a little “soft”, which might be fine to you if that’s what you want your style to be. Are you shooting on manual? If you learn to shoot on manual (it’ll take some practice!) it will change the way you shoot. I know it sounds little cliche, but that was the biggest piece of advice I received when starting out. It’ll give you the most control over your photos. You’re on the right track, just practice, practice, practice!
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16Wow, that baby has a lot of character!!! Well done, Jenna!
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17Jenna, I think the pictures look great overall. A couple of them look the the white blance might be off a bit (Lexi seems a bit blue), but that could just be the computer I’m on. Also, I would maybe increase vibrancy a little more, but that is just a personal preference (I *heart* vibrance).
As for the dog shots, a sure fire way to get a speedy dog to slow down is to hold a treat or favorite toy in front of his/her face.
Last thing, if you are concerned about protecting your images online, you could just use a simple watermark with your initials + 2009 or “That Wife” (maybe just your 50s girl headshot) for now.
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18Great Job Jenna!! I think the pictures are amazing!
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19Maybe your photog specialty/thing can be children. Did you have a preference for what type of photography you were swaying more towards?
I am in love with anyone who does mother/baby father/baby shots. I don’t think there are a lot of photogs who take the time to really take candid photos to capture those extremely personal moments. Keep up the good work… (In the meantime while you try to find a business name, in the lower right corner insert an opaque small Copyright & your initials JAB so your pics are protected… Just a thought)
How is school going?
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20I love his facial expressions! He’s bound to be a ladies’ man when he grows up!
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21i love the first shot of his face smushed into the blanket. so adorable and candid!
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22Jenna
I think overall you did a good job for your first photo shoot. It’s always hard to know what you are looking for the first time around. Once you are in the moment though it seems magical sometimes what you can capture. Sharpening can be tricky sometimes, but just like others said you have to make sure it matches with the lighting and sometimes people just look like that in real life. I know Ali’s whites in her eyes were always a little blue so in her photographs they always came up blue and I would have to whiten them if it bugged me too much. Photography takes practice!
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23I thought you did a great job of sharpening the eyes! I hate you. You are going to do so much better than me for a while. I am at BYU where everyone is insanely cheap and think $800 for a wedding is super expensive when it is actually a really good deal! I am jealous is what I am saying.
P.S. Jill is gorgeous!
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24beautiful Jenna! the lighting is perfect. Almost all of my shots on my blog are SOOC. I only adjust when the lighting is too dark but that’s it. I hardly edit simply because I don’t have time to but I know that if I did they would look better. But that’s the beauty of our Canons the color is beautiful right out of the camera. Obviously for my photo blog we edit, but I don’t like to rely on editing either.
Also, I have a 40D but i’m sure the 50D works the same, first make sure that your ON button is clicked to the very top. to control the aperture you have to click the wheel on the back of the camera, shutter speed is the clicky wheel on top. sorry I don’t know the real names for those clicky wheel things.
hope this explanation makes sense.
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25Baby Camdon is such a cutie! You took some great shots!
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26Wow, these are great too!! Love the soft colors, they are fabulous.
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27Love ‘em! I really need to learn how to use photoshop!
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28You really captured the personality of that little guy. What an amazing face! (The smirk is my fave.) You are well on your way Jenna. I’m impressed!
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