What I learned from doing 15 shoots in less than 2 months

I did it! What a ridiculous and worthwhile experience… I feel like I’m already better than I was 2 months ago. I read and watched tons of videos on posing, settings, editing, lighting, and workflows, but nothing beats actually taking pictures and practicing editing in tons of different lighting situations.

I have one more shoot to deliver before the end of 2018 (although the family is amazing and joked that if I got it to them by March, that would be totally fine… but I love editing and practicing and am so eager to finish).

My old boss told me that product managers should think, write, and communicate in bullet points… so here are my jumbled, bulleted thoughts in no particular order:

I don’t know how to balance this with a full time job. I edited almost every night for the past 2 months. I won’t do so many all at once moving forward (or maybe it will okay since I’ve learned? and now I’ll be faster?)
I don’t spend much time with Austin when I’m in photo mode. I’m SO impressed by people who have a full time job, do photography on the side, and also have a husband/family!
I really love the editing process and can’t wait to go home to do it.
I love in between moments, but I still need to practice prompting people. I’m very into prompting rather than posing… but right now I only have a few prompts that I do. I’ll learn more!
Family sessions are SO fun and I feel much more at ease than in any other type of shoot (maybe because I love kids? more than adults? not sure). Even when the kids are running around and dogs are barking, I feel so comfortable and giddy and less nervous than with other types of sessions.
I need more memory cards. I have 8 that are all 32gigs+ but I kept needing to buy more. Or I need to deliver my images faster.
I need memory cards with faster write speeds because I’m shutter happy.
If your photos aren’t backed up in 3 places, they’re not backed up at all. (Thankfully I did NOT learn this the hard way).
I love 50mm on a full frame, and 35 too! I rarely get out my 85mm lens. I think I’ve shot with it twice ever. Austin has used it once to second shoot the wedding ceremony with me.
Sigma lenses don’t play too well with Canon full frames.
Local adjustments and split toning take me a while right now but they are so worth the effort.
I have such a long way to go with learning film. I love the digital editing process though, so I’m not sure if I want to invest in a lightmeter and start devoting more time and money into film yet. Maybe if I ever do this for a job, I’ll focus more on film since a big selling point of film photography is that there’s less editing time involved, and a lot of wedding photographers are using film because of that.
Underexposing helps retain highlights in post, but shadows hold grain.
I still need to learn more about tone curves and histograms.
I need to learn to use Kelvin white balance.
It’s not always about the gear that you own.
I am so grateful for all the friends and new friends I’ve gotten to capture. And for their trust in me.
I have a long way to go to get to the glowy look I want and lighting is a big part of it, so I need to put light first and location second.
Last but most important, Austin is the most supportive man in the whole world. He is the one who wanted me to do 15 shoots. He pushed me to learn and grow in a short period of time. He told me to say yes to all these opportunities and to have a growth mindset! And he went to 7 of the sessions with me and helped pose and style. You are the best person ever.

Photo credit from left to right, top to bottom: Austin, Austin, Bonnie, Bonnie, Austin, Austin, Jasmine, Jasmine. Shout out to American Eagle for that sweater that I guess I wear to every shoot, Gap for the black dress that I wear when I work at weddings, and Black Rapid for the double harness that makes everyone think I’m super professional (even though I look like a slob wearing that American Eagle sweater).

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