manual mode

this weekend i attended my first photography workshop and it was so great!

a friend of mine and his wife have their own photography business (schafer photography) and hosted a 'capturing your kids' workshop for parents to learn to really use, understand, and take full advantage of their cameras.

step 1 . . . set your camera on manual mode.

i have been able to capture some pretty great pics of our little anabelle by just pointing and shooting. i have good equipment and a super cute baby, that's about all i can say. i wasn't doing anything special or even knowing really what was making some pics turn out great while others were awful.

go ahead, ask me about ISO, f-stop, or shutter speed now! (ok, i only know the basics but i'm learning.) as if that wasn't a big enough day, it was my first time away from anabelle for that long. i was gone for over 5 hours (chris and anabelle got to have a fun afternoon together). the workshop went by really quickly. it was just the drive home that seemed to take for-ever!

i've been interested in photography for a long time. i remember my first camera. i got my le clic when i was about 5 or 6, very cool! did you have one of these?

in high school i got a generic 35mm that i think my mom won on the radio. i'm pretty sure i used that until it broke.

my parents got me a 35mm rebel when i graduated from college (i was so excited). chris and i have had a few pocket digital cameras, i got my dslr rebel a couple years ago, and then i got a portrait lens last summer after anabelle was born.

here are a couple pics from the workshop (thanks jason & julia!)

shooting on manual definitely has a learning curve (an endless learning curve, i think). there are several things to think about and adjustments to make. since i'm still so new at it, i figured it might be best to start practicing when anabelle is stationary (which doesn't happen as often as it used to). i decided to try shooting my first real 'manual' pics while anabelle was in her highchair and in the bath. here are a few of my favorites that i've taken so far.

so fun!

i have lots to learn and lots of practicing to do which is completely fine with me, yah!