I went from knowing nothing about photography and using an old cheap point-and-shoot, to climbing the steep learning curve of digital photography with my first dSLR. And something crazy happened. I fell in love.
I discovered an art form that allows me to document our family life while feeding my need to be creative and my desire to connect with beauty. I discovered an artist inside of me. And I began to really see the world around me for the very first time.
There's a ton to learn and I have a long way to go, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. On these photography pages, I'm sharing my learning journey with you. But keep this in mind: I have no idea what I'm doing. And that's not just me, feigning humility. I really don't know what I'm doing! But I'm learning as I go, and I thought it might be helpful to share that process here.
Please don't come here for real-deal photography advice. Go somewhere where the writers know what they're talking about (I've got great links on my How I'm Learning page). Do feel free to stick around if you're curious about what I'm using and how I'm learning this art form. I'm happy to share my very amateur and ignorant experience with the masses. :)
I'll continue to add to these pages as I find helpful books& resources, and as I add to my collection of photography gear. As always, please leave a comment or email me at amongstlovelythings [at] gmail [dot] com if you have any questions to ask, thoughts to share, or recommendations to make. I love hearing from you!
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Oh fun! My husband and I just bought each other the T3i for our anniversary, and I really have no idea what I am doing but love it already. Thanks for all the links!
ReplyDeleteAlso, what made you decide on that lens in particular? We just went with the kit lens.
Hi Meg!
ReplyDeleteI had read somewhere (Pioneer Woman, I think?) that the kit lenses try to cover a lot of ground. They have a lot of options and can take a wide array of pictures, but the quality is sacrificed in doing so.
I knew I wanted to take really great pictures of our kids (with the blurry bokeh backgrounds, in rooms with low-light if need be), and based on what I read, a prime lens works better for that than a kit lens.
So I looked around the blogosphere to see what others were using. What I saw was that a lot of my favorite bloggers use primarily a 50 mm f/1.4 (or similar) lens, so that's what I went with. I actually bought the exact same lens that Ginny Sheller uses (www.gsheller.com). I love her photographs!
The pictures on your blog are lovely, so I wouldn't second-guess your decision to buy a camera with a kit lens. :) And hey- congratulations on your baby-girl-on-the-way! Our kids are in the exact same order as yours. :)
Hmmmm... I'll have to check in here often. I have been thinking about getting a dSLR and pursuing some photography as a hobby. (Don't have one: camera or hobby!) Your pics are always so good. PBear can learn some things from the SBear.
ReplyDeleteSarah, you must have heard me thinking lol I have been meaning to email you to ask you what camera you use.
ReplyDeleteI studied photography for a year at college just before digital started to take off. I loved it but never got round to completing the course. Life swept me off elsewhere.
But as a homeschooling mum I've caught the love of learning again and my mind has turned to all those pursuits that I loved but left behind. Photography being a big one of those.
There are just so many camera's now and I'm not any less dazzled by technology (read using computers and programs) than I was before, but I very much want to learn.
I would like to get a Canon, but am finding the choice of which a lot to consider. I think I'll probably go for an entry level, they seem to be good image wise now and hopefully will last me some time while I work everything out again. I have forgotten so much.
I wouldn't have thought of getting a different lense, thanks for that idea and also the links.
I'm so excited to get started soon using a dSLR. Working in the darkroom all those year back was great fun but I can't wait to start using photoshop and other programs to have fun with photography. Technology really has opened up a whole new range of things to do. And without chemicals and the need for darkness and such it is easier to involve our children too.
In a nutshell my reasons to want to get back into photography are the same as yours though to 'document our family life while feeding my need to be creative and my desire to connect with beauty'.
A lot can be said about who we are and those we love in photography. When I was young my Grandma showed me a box of photographs from the the early 1900's up to about the 60's that had come into her posession, all of the one family and their friends. I used to spend hours with those photo's trying to work out how they were all connected, who was who, looking at how their lives had been, how they had grown.
I really wish I had taken more photo's than I did when my older children were young. I didn't know just how frail the memory can be. Now my 6th baby is only 5 months old and probably has had as many photo's taken in that time than the others had over several years.
But I am inspired by blogs such as yours to use my skills and love of photography to record something more about our family than just the odd snap.
Thanks for the inspiration :)
God bless you and your beautiful family!
Oh yay! I'm glad you made this page. I can tell you love photography- it shows in your pictures. I'm saving up for my own big girl camera, and I'm probably going to copy you and get the same kind.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI am loving your pictures. What a beautiful family you have. I am a regular reader of your blog although I don't comment much. While I am commenting I just have to say congratulations on your pregnancy! You look adorable! We just had our 8th baby in October. What a blessing!
Anyway, we are thinking of upgrading our camera. I have a Canon rebel xt EOS 8mp at the moment. I was looking at your model and was wondering where you store your photos? Does it take along time to upload your photos with that many megapixels? Just some questions I had.
God bless,
Kirsten
Hi Kirsten!
ReplyDeleteI use an 8 gig memory card in my camera. When I move them to my computer, I store them in two places- Picasa, and the normal Pictures folders that are standard on Windows PCs. It doesn't take them long to upload at all.
When I move some to Picnik to do photo-editing, they do take a long time to upload. I just recently made my pictures files smaller right on my camera (I was on the large setting, but I moved them down to medium) to see if that would help speed things up. I'm not sure if it will make a difference- I need to try it out.
Sarah