It's me!

My son is due within twenty days (WHAT!?), and my husband and I just got around to having a friend shoot some photos of us. She's actually an advertising producer who just dabbles in photography, but she's amazing. Her goal is to start doing it on the side. And she should! Once she gets a portfolio up, I'm going to provide tons of links. The only bummer part is that she lives in New York, so us DFW folks have to catch her when she's here. Fortunately, that's a few times a year.

Anyway, here's my husband and a nine-months-pregnant me. We shot around my favorite place, White Rock Lake. And we even went to the Filter Building where we got married four years ago. It was more fun than I could have ever imagined. Being on the other side of the camera isn't that bad.

Make things darker ... with light!

It sounds contradictory, but using a flash can actually help you darken parts of your photo.

After all, photography is just light. So when you have lights that are brighter than other ones, your camera is going to show you the difference (even if your eyes don't).

It takes some practice and a fair amount of camera knowledge, but after mastering shutter speeds and F-stops, you can add a flash and see what happens. Here's the method in a nutshell: -Set your camera settings to expose the ambient light to your liking (for example, under-expose it). -Then set your flash to the proper brightness to expose your subject the way you like.

Of course, it's a little more complicated than that, but photography is all about trying new things, making mistakes, and learning as you go.

Happy shooting.

If your Sony flash won't fire remotely, here's why (and how to fix it).

I really do love my Sony equipment, and not just because Sony throws me work from time to time. It really is good stuff. However I hit a little snag when trying to use my flash (the awesome Sony HVL-60M) with my remote trigger system. It wouldn't fire. No matter what I did. It just sat there like a paperweight.

So I did some sleuthing and discovered that the pin on the flash wasn't aligning with the proper point on the receiver's shoe. In laymen's terms, it was the equivalent of putting in a battery backwards.

So, the solution? Seeing as the flash only needed to slide about 2 or 3 millimeters further forward, I simply filed down the plastic at the front of the shoe. This lets the flash slip forward a bit more, lets the pins align, and PRESTO, lets the flash fire.

It isn't scary to do. I used a dremel tool, but some patience and a rough nail file or sharp knife would also do the trick. (I take no responsibility for bloody fingers or stuff flying into your eyes; be safe or have a grown up do it.)

Now my Sony flash and my remote system get along like old buddies, and I can even (gasp) use my Nikon flash and my Sony flash together in harmony. It makes sense, the cameras do share some guts from what I hear.

If you found this post, I hope it helped you out. Happy shooting.

Family Time with the New Baby

The Partlows welcomed their newest edition back in June (I believe). This is another shoot where I was in the icky part of my own pregnancy, so I haven't uploaded anything until now. But they knew my secret and were too sweet, giving me some homemade blueberry muffins (how a mom of a newborn even had time to bake is beyond me!) and keeping me hydrated.

However, it wasn't about me. It was about them.

I love these photos. They're so personal and sweet. They're a wonderful family and I'm so very happy for them.

Jenn and Isaac's Marriage Adventure in the Big Apple

Sony Cameras and Jenn, the lovely bride featured in this post, sent me to NYC to shoot Jenn and Isaac's elopement. Armed with the Sony A99 and a bagful of Sony lenses, I went to New York not knowing exactly what to expect.

What a trip! These two are rockstars. We ran around the entire city. Times Square, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center. Grand Central Station ... And it wasn't cool outside, either. May in NYC can be quite brutal.

I estimate we drank around 5,000 bottles of water. And since I was newly pregnant, at least 3,000 of those were mine. I can't thank Jenn and Izzy enough for keeping my secret for as long as they did (but they discovered pretty quickly that something was different about me; it isn't hard to hide a pregnancy when you don't participate in the champagne toast!).

However, heat and queasiness aside, I absolutely loved their wedding. It was way too much fun to be such a big part of such a personal event in their lives. Not to mention all of the attention we got was really fun, too! I'm actually very impressed with New Yorkers and all of the tourists. I don't think we had any unwanted photo bombs.

The entire shoot was a raging success, just like their marriage will continue to be. I have so many favorite photos that it's unfair. I hope they feel the same.

The Most Beautiful Photo I've Ever Seen OR Why I Haven't Blogged in Awhile

So I'm pregnant. And I've been pregnant. And unfortunately for me, pregnancy has been full of not feeling well.

It's been difficult shooting all of the things I've been shooting, editing the photos, and getting them to my clients. Posting the images on the blog, however, is where my energy has been running out.

But at 16 weeks, I'm starting to feel normal again (even if the camera does feel heavier than it used to). So hopefully when I find some free time, I'll update the blog with my New York adventure, some new newborn shots, and more.

Hush, Little Baby.

So the thing about newborn babies is that they sleep almost all of the time, which is great for taking their photos. In fact, all of those photos where the cute little baby is resting its head on its hands or hanging from a tree branch, they're all possible because the baby is fast asleep (and someone is very good at PhotoShop. PLEASE DON"T TRY TO POSE YOUR BABIES LIKE THAT!).

However, babies don't always feel like sleeping. The world is still a brand new place with tons of new sights and sounds, which is why Lovely Little Leighton refused to close her eyes for our shoot.

And that's the thing with newborn photography. You have to go with the flow and let the baby dictate what's going to happen. After all, it isn't safe to hang a squirmy baby from a tree branch or leave her alone in a basket (Mom and Dad are right outside the border of these photos. SAFETY FIRST.).

So through Leighton's cries and fussiness, her awesome parents powered through. And so did her unbeatable baby beauty.

How to Use Your Camera: Lenses

 

What does a wide angle lens do? It's easier to see for yourself.

I used one lens for these two photos, the Sony Zeiss 24-70 lens. The top photo was shot at 24 with me standing very close to the family, and the bottom was shot at 60 with me being further away from them.

Notice the difference? Look at the size of the dad's head, the width of the son's shoulders, and the distance the wide angle creates between the parents and their kids.

Many people will tell you never to use a wide angle lens for portraits. But I say, break the rules! Do what you want to do and create your own style. That's what photography is all about.

Happy Birthday, Madi.

Madi was less than 12 hours old when I got to meet her. I held her for as long as I could until her parents' other friends showed up. And after that happened, I pulled out my camera.

James & Miguel Strike a Pose

Posing. Is.

Difficult.

It's difficult for the people in the photos. It's difficult for the photographer.

That's because staring into a lens and pretending to act natural is one of the most unnatural things you can do. That and most of us aren't models.

Well, James and Miguel are making the rest of us look bad. I never had to pose them once. They knew exactly how to stand, where to look, and where the light was.

They were so much fun to work with and I just know they have a really great future to look forward to.

Adrienne and Bill are Having a Baby.

There's a lot going on with these photos. For starters, Adrienne and Bill are some of my dearest friends, so little Leighton is sort of going to be my niece. And I already love her so darn much, it make me cry just thinking about meeting her.

So taking, editing, and just being a part of this whole experience is almost too much to handle. I'm really a sappy, sappy person. But that isn't a bad thing, right?

Trailing that is the fact that I got to take the Sony Alpha 99 for a spin (the exact model number is SLT-A99V). In full disclosure, not every picture was shot with the Alpha, but most of them were. After all, the camera was hosting the fantabulous 24-70mm F2.8 ZEISS lens. That's right; Zeiss glass. And on a Sony body, that baby has auto focus (which is great for folks like me whose vision could get compromised by flooding emotions).

The lens was perfect for what I needed it for: indoor shoots. Leighton's nursery is a typical bedroom with each wall being around 10 to 12 feet long. So wide angle worked here since I wanted to get some shots of the entire room but I couldn't really scoot back any further.

Family Day at the Dallas Arboretum

 

One of the cool (and let's be honest, sometimes annoying) things about Dallas is the random springtime days we have when it's technically still winter.

It's not good for allergy sufferers, but it's great for family portraits.

I went out to our local botanical garden with the Busch sisters and their adorable kiddos, their mom, and one of their husbands. To say they're a precious family is an under statement.

It was a few hours of twin wrangling, learning to walk for the littlest one, and sunshine.

What happens in Vegas gets shot with my Sony.

I am just giddy over here. Sony asked me to join them in Las Vegas at the annual WPPI Convention and Expo. It's a huge event with photographers from all over the place. There are tons of business workshops, photography lessons, and cool products to check out. The coolest being the Sony stuff, naturally.

My first time in Las Vegas was a little over a year ago, and I didn't really get to see and do everything that I wanted. But this time, I'm taking my camera all over the place and I'm going to just drink in the lights like they're water.

And maybe I'll go see a Cirque de Soleil performance, too.

Maddie, Coming Soon

I shot Courtney and Ryan's engagement portraits a few years back. Then I shot their pregnancy announcement, and now I've shot Court's maternity photos.

What an honor. It's been way too much fun watching this little family form. I can't wait to meet their daughter.

Oh, and you may be wondering what the deal is with the one photo with two pregnant bellies. Well, Courtney's best friend Adrienne is also pregnant with her first baby (I shot Adrienne's engagement photos a loooong time ago). So I had to get a double belly shot of the two soon-to-be best friends with their matching sock monkeys.

Just My Puppy and Me

My husband asked me for a photo of his family, which right now consists of our dog and me. So Dillinger and I set up the camera and shot this photo in our backyard. I hate to brag, but isn't my dog awesome!

HOW TO USE YOUR CAMERA is back! And this one's a freebie.*

Saturday, January 19th 1:00 - 2:00 PM Lake Highlands North Rec Center 9940 White Rock Trail in Dallas

Contact the center for more info and to RSVP. Space is very limited. (214) 670-7794 LakeHighlandsRC@dallascityhall.com

*There may be an annual City of Dallas membership fee. I'm not the expert on that.

What Kind of Camera Should I Get?

"Oh, you're a photographer? Let me ask you a question. I'm looking to buy a camera. What do you recommend I get?"

If I had a dollar for every time I'm asked that question, I wouldn't need to charge for photography.

I never know how to answer this question, either. Because to be completely honest, the answer is: It depends.

Are you serious about photography? Do you want to learn about f-stops and shutter speeds and light balance?

Or do you just want to take photos at holiday parties? Or are you snapping your children at sporting events?

Because truth be told, no camera is going to work if the person holding it doesn't truly know how to use it.

Besides, I don't work for any camera manufacturer. I can't tell you the ins and outs of every point-and-shoot, DSLR, and SLT on the market. There are hundreds of them out there and they're constantly getting updated.

But I can tell you basic photography and I can steer you in a direction.

So, what kind of camera should you buy?

If you want to learn more about photography, truly learn about it, buy a camera that scares you.

If that's a point and shoot with interchangeable lenses, get it. If you're comfortable with a small camera but the thought of learning what an ISO does starts to blur your vision in fear, go for that.

And then use it. Take hundreds of photos of the same thing but change one tiny setting each time. Actually see in real time what your camera is doing.

That's the beauty of digital photography. Instant gratification. Learning while doing. Being up to your eyeballs in the process.

Get a camera that scares you, tame it, and then become a real photographer.

I'm on Pinterest now.

 

Since it's the thing to do, I thought I might as well jump on the wagon (or at least start riding in the wagon, seeing as I've had a Pinterest page for a while). Follow Veronica's Camera on Pinterest.

The Joys of a Zoom Lens

When Sony followed me around (wow, I still can't believe that happened) I got to play with the alpha 55-300 lens. And man oh man is that thing fun! Of course, Sony couldn't possibly show all of the photos I took, but here's one of my favorites.

And yes, I shot that from the ground. Cool, right?

Anyway, see more by watching the video below (if it embeds properly).

Mama Barrett and Her Boys

I like to shoot little bitty kids at their own homes. I always have (after all, you never know when a baby is going to destroy his/her outfit). So for the Barrett's holiday photo, we went as far as their front porch. It was quick, no one was (too) squirmy, and from what I hear the holiday cards are now in the mail.