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By the time you read this, the kids and I will be in the air heading for the mountains that hold the “greatest snow on Earth.” Yes, we’re off to that pretty, great state – Utah. Heading to do some singing and to say hi to the family. And Cafe Rio. And Zupas. And Pizzeria 712. And probably Hires Big H. Does anyone else feel like they eat their way through Utah when they visit, or is it just me? * photo from my iPhone on one of my many trips last year 
January 26, 2012 - 1:25 pm
You forgot Smashburger! Mmmmmmm, sweet potato fries. My stepdaughter is brilliant for many reasons, but today she was brilliant for suggesting that I shoot some pullback shots of the locations where I took G-Man’s portraits yesterday so you can see what our yard looks like when you look out the window. (Though, it is raining today, so the light isn’t the same.) So, if you’re curious, these two shots…
…were taken here:
For the first shot, G-Man was sitting on the ground next to the wooden post and I was standing in the flower bed shooting down. For the second shot, he was leaning on the post, and I moved to to the right a bit so I could keep the brown door out of the frame. I didn’t even bother moving the empty propane tank and the ant spray because I knew they wouldn’t be in the shot. (I should really move those at some point though…) Though the photos were taken in the exact same spot, the background is completely different because I changed my vantage point. This shot…
…was taken here:
To get this, I crouched down so that the distracting things on the sides were out of the frame, and then had G-Man play a game where he was hopping from stone to stone. The first time he did it, I couldn’t get him to look up at me. I got a shot that I sort of liked… I had him start at the end of the stone path again, and this time told him to count the stones as he hopped. When he got to stone #6, he was supposed to look up and give me his best “surprised” face. And then I got the shot I was looking for. (And in a fabulous stroke of photographic luck, his arm is hiding the dead palm tree in the corner of our yard. Poor little tree…) My most productive location was near the pool.
From spot #1 above, I got these shots:
I also could have had him stand up in this spot and probably could have gotten a different look, or I could have moved around in front of him and shot from above like I did by the propane tank and ant spray, but this was our last location in the backyard and he was DONE with photos. Spot #2 – standing above G-Man and looking down:
Spot #2 – laying on my stomach in front of G-Man:
I don’t love the photo I got for spot #3, but for the sake of this exercise, I thought I’d include it. I stood in the far corner of the yard and had G-Man lean against the fence with his back to the house so he was backlit. But because of the angle of the sun, his left ear went red – which I don’t love. But the composition is fine and it gives a different look from a location 10 steps away.
So, there you have it. My backyard in all its glory. *grin* But the purpose here is to illustrate what is possible. If you’re wondering about your own yard or house, just pick a spot and practice shooting. I’ve not always been able to visualize what a shot will look like when I first spot a location. But, with a lot of practice and a lot of looking for inspiration in magazines and catalogs and on blogs, I feel like my eye is slowly getting to the point where I can see possibilities in a location that on first glance may look uninteresting. Questions? Other shot ideas for my backyard or yours? Let me know in the comments below. 5 comments 
January 24, 2012 - 8:55 pm
Love it! I often hear people say they don’t want to do portraits at their house. They never believe me when I tell them it is quite possible. This is an excellent illustration of how you work within your environment to get what you need. NIce work! 
January 25, 2012 - 7:07 am
Wow! That was great, thanks. I guess it is all about practice, isn’t it. Of course, having such a cute subject doesn’t hurt, does it ; ) 
January 25, 2012 - 7:15 am
Wahoo! 
January 25, 2012 - 2:56 pm
I love these! I want to go shoot pics in my yard now. Oh wait – you already shot beautiful pictures in my yard!!! 
January 25, 2012 - 4:04 pm
Tarryn – that’s so funny…I think you’re one of the few people who I’ve actually done photographs for at their home. You trail-blazer, you!! Whenever anyone asks me how I learned about photography, or what they should do to learn more about photography, my answer is always the same – take a class. I took an online portrait class when G-Man was no longer interested in holding still so I could practice on him, and it’s one of the best things I ever did. Workshops are great, but online courses allow you access to great teachers who you may not get to work with otherwise. I’ve taken a couple other online classes since, and I’m currently taking a class that I’m just loving so far. I’ve been following our teacher, Brooke Snow, online for a little while now. I came across her website through the ShowIT Sites website, saw she was a Utah photographer, and stuck around because I was really drawn to her style. (And as we’ve become e-mail friends, it’s kind of shocking how much we have in common as musician/photographers!) As I’m kicking off my year on sabbatical, I thought her class would be a great thing to keep me shooting, and to push me creatively. I was right. Our first assignment involved preparation – planning a detailed shoot, and choosing a location and using all the possible spots you can in that location. Well, I’ve been planning a detailed shoot for the past week – L’s first birthday/cake smash shoot. (Which I shot today. It turned out really well. I’ll show you soon.) But, I shot that stuff in the studio, and we’re focusing on natural light for this class. So, I decided to focus instead on the location portion of the assignment. Location selection is tough. I try to encourage clients to choose a place that means something to them – someplace they’ve spent time together as a family, and someplace they are comfortable being themselves. I personally think one of the best places to accomplish this is in the client’s home. But whenever I suggest it, clients aren’t usually interested in that. Which is fine, but I always suggest it. I think clients don’t take me up on the idea because they can’t imagine we can find any spots in their home that would photograph well. They only see their piles of paper scattered around on counters and the toys in the backyard. Well, I decided to put myself to the test and shoot G-Man in our own backyard. Our backyard, while nice, is not super large or green right now. We have a pool that takes up a lot of space, and there are lots of other visual distractions around. Brooke challenged us to “exhaust the location” as we did this homework assignment, and it was a bit of a challenge at first until I got going. Here are my three favorites I’m submitting for my homework:
And here are a few more if you have time – including a couple from the studio showing off G-Man’s “payment” for helping me with so many photos today. (We did Valentine’s Day photos in addition to these and L’s photos. I pushed his 4 1/2 year old patience right to the limit…)
(They’re the Captain America brothers, if you were wondering…) 7 comments
January 24, 2012 - 11:34 am
Love this post. I love that you are showing your suggestion can be done and done well even if your home isn’t featured in the Martha Stewart magazine. You should have included a picture of the imperfections around the house to prove your point. We all have a tendency to overcomplicate things and I love that you are showing there is a simple and stress-free solution for photo location. You should teach your own class on this.
January 24, 2012 - 11:39 am
Thanks, Amanda! You’re right – I definitely should have included pullbacks of the backyard. I’ll try to get out there and do that today. It would help with the point. 
January 24, 2012 - 1:23 pm
One of my new all-time favorites…the two “Captain America brothers” starting each other down. G-Man is trying to mimic the expression on the doll’s face. HILARIOUS!
January 24, 2012 - 2:12 pm
I laughed out loud when I got to the first “Captain America Brothers” pic. That is classic G-man all the way! Hilarious! 
January 24, 2012 - 2:25 pm
I love the superhero shots!! But my favorite is the second one. The eyes are to die for. Fabulous! 
January 24, 2012 - 2:53 pm
LOL love the last 2 shots 
January 24, 2012 - 9:38 pm
Totally love the Captain America Brothers shot…hilarious!! But I am in love with so many of the other…I’m going to have to order a couple of those for Grammy’s wall Some more of my favorite stuff from the past week - • My dear friend Whitney’s book publishing date is drawing near! In preparation for the launch, she’s created a Facebook page for the book. If you’re a Facebook user, click on over there and “Like” her, won’t you? • My friend Erik posted this blog in response to the Italian cruise ship sinking. Love his insights as he has been learning to sail, and love the life lesson application he found in the story. • Another great post from Glennon at the Momastery. It’s a letter to her son as he starts school, and contains so many things I would love to tell G-Man some day. Here’s my favorite part, in case you don’t get a chance to read it:
I LOVE that. • Deseret Book has an awesome new site called Seek, where they have videos and other LDS-related media. The whole site is awesome, but the other day I discovered the Fridge Quotes section. Pages and pages of quotes from prophets, apostles and other inspirational authors. There’s a little print button next to every quote, and you can change the font and color of the quote. It’s fabulous. Go check it out. • I’ve been following Leo Babota’s Zen Habits blog for quite a while. I always find it interesting to read. This post, called “The Habits that Crush Us” was SO timely for me today. There are some super insightful ideas.
Have a great week! Be on the look out for good stuff, and feel free to share in the comments below! no comments
* On Sundays, I feature photographs of buildings and places that are sacred to me. If you are interested in seeing more LDS Temple photographs, click here. no comments |
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…but it wasn’t exactly what I was going for.
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