I’ve had an old point and shoot sitting in my desk drawer for sometime and had been thinking about letting Brayden play around with it.  After seeing this story I decided to go for it.

The camera is a little too big for his little hands and he has a hard time holding down the button long enough to get the camera to focus and the shutter to release (especially inside).  And he likes to put his fingers on the lens, which drives me bonkers!  He’s only dropped it once and it’s still in working condition.  He has fun with it and I like watching him ask his subjects (toy snake, flowers, Hauggy) to say, “Cheese!”.

Here are two of his “masterpieces”

When can I start using him as a second shooter?  Maybe when he turns 3…

Judy asked yesterday how I liked the Fuji Instax Mini camera I got for Christmas and that reminded me that I hadn’t blogged about it yet.

I have a love hate relationship with this camera.  I love it because of the instant gratification and how fun and cute the credit card sized photos are.  I hate it because, well, the quality is what you would expect from a instant camera.  I’ve tried messing around with the settings and getting it to work for me, but it’s always a surprise how it will come out.  Maybe that’s part of the fun of it?

If the film were a bit cheaper and easier to find, I would probably play around with this camera more.  The Instax Mini 7S (the version I have) has come down in price and is now just over $60.  There is a newer version, the Instax Mini 25, which looks like it may have some improvements to it.  It is $95.  I would love to try that one out!  Film can be found for as low as $14 for 20 exposures.  That’s $.69 per image.

Would I recommend this camera?  If you have the extra money laying around, why not?  It is fun!  But, I would save up for a DSLR any day over this camera.

I love baking.  I don’t know that I’m very good at it, but I enjoy it.  So does Brayden.  He loves to crack the eggs and stir and make a big old mess.  I like to bake things that I don’t like (so I won’t eat it!) so last week we made Bananaberry muffins for an early Father’s Day surprise.  I got the recipe from Bakerella (love that blog!) and according to Chuck they were very good!  Totally worth the mess!

F 2.0, 1/320, ISO 250

F 2.0, 1/320, ISO 250

The final product!

F 1.2, 1/500, ISO 125

One of the things that frustrates me the most about wedding photography is having to use a second shooter.  Don’t get me wrong, I love having a second shooter there with me.  I love having someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of.  And I love knowing that someone (hopefully) has my back.  But, I really don’t like having to rely on someone else.  I like to do things myself and I want them done my way.  It takes a lot for me to trust someone else to do my job as well as I can do it.

Some of you may have seen my frustrated Twitter and Facebook posts this weekend.  I’m too trusting of a person and I trust my second shooters until they give me a reason not to.  I’ve realized first hand (and too late) that I must have a contract with my second shooters and it’s probably a good idea that you do too.

If you want to be a good second shooter who gets asked to shoot again, here are some pieces of advice:

1)  You are there for the photographer that has hired you.  Don’t be too proud to carry bags or get the main photographer water.  You are there to help make their job easier.

2)  Stay out of the shot!  I’ve had a few second shooters that have shot with me for the sole purpose of building their portfolio and not caring if they got in my way.  Do you think the bride and groom want you in all of their pictures?  Be aware of the where the main photographer is shooting and stay out of the way… even if that means that you do not get the shot.

3)  If the photographer does not have a contract for their second shooters ask them BEFORE you agree to shoot with them how and where you are allowed to use their images.  Can you blog them with a link back to the main photographer?  Can you use them on your website?  If in doubt ASK the main photographer.  Remember, as a second shooter you do not have a model release from the couple.  Before investing in a magazine ad with an image of a couple that you do not have a model release for you probably want to ask if it’s okay.  The couple could sue you for using their images without a release.  Just saying.

4)  Dress and act professionally.  Sounds easy right?  You’d be surprised!

Ask the photographer what the dress code is if they do not inform you.  I ask my second shooters to wear all black so if they do get in my shot they don’t stand out.  Because, yes, I did have a second shooter wear a tan polo shirt and tan pants      to a wedding.  Yep.

Don’t strike up a conversation with the bride and groom (or any of the wedding party for that matter).  Be kind and courteous and speak when spoken to.  This is their day.  Not yours.  Let things happen naturally and don’t force                         conversations.  I like to stay in the background and I like my second shooters to do the same.

5)  Put the phone away.  Don’t text, FB, Tweet during the wedding in front of the clients.  It’s totally fine if you need to check in with the kids or whatever, but do so discreetly.  Oh, and don’t take a phone call unless it’s an emergency (because that has happened to me too!).

6)  Don’t drink.  Another one that you would think would be easy, right?  But the same person who wore all tan had a beer at the reception.  Yep.  That second shooter was a winner.  Surprisingly, I didn’t ask him to shoot with me again.

7)  Anticipate what the main photographer will need before they ask.  If this was your own wedding what would you need?

 Do not hand out your own business cards.  Under any circumstances.  This is a sure fire way to not get asked to shoot again with that photographer (and probably their photographer friends because they will go and tell everyone what you did).  Even if someone specifically asks you for your card DO NOT GIVE IT TO THEM!  I love it when my second shooters ask for a few of my business cards so they have them handy if someone does ask for their information.  It’s actually probably a great idea to just leave your cards at home.  The main photographer has worked hard to book this wedding and make the connections.  Is it really fair that you come in and start advertising your own business when you haven’t done any of the work?

9)  Wait until the main photographer is done shooting until you start giving suggestions for direction or posing.  On a wedding day we are usually so pressed for time and there are certain things that I know I want to accomplish in a short period of time.  If I have extra time I will always ask my second if they have any ideas or want to try something out.  I love it when my seconds have their own ideas and are excited, but unfortunately, there isn’t always time.

10)  Don’t ask too many technical questions during the wedding.  I’m all for answering the questions of my second shooter, but know that there is a time and a place.  If the main photographer is rushing to get something done wait until there is some downtime during the reception to start asking questions.

11)  Get the images to the photographer in a timely manner.  Burn the discs and mail them out as soon as possible.  The photographer is on a deadline to get those images back to the client.  I have learned to not pay my seconds until I get the images because I’ve had a few issues with second shooters not sending me the images.

12)  Be respectful.  Always think that if this was your own business how would I want the situation handled?  Don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want done to you.

Reading these over it sounds a little harsh.  I am still a little upset over what happened to me.  I give my second shooters the utmost respect.  Those that give me respect in return I do whatever I can to help them out.  I love sending over referrals to them.  I answer whatever questions they have and teach them things that took me a long time to learn.  I support their business.  I want to help people who help me.  But, if you break any of these rules you will for sure not be asked to shoot with me again.

I have had one awesome second shooter who shoots with me about 75% of the time when she’s not shooting her own weddings and I just want to publicly thank her for all of her help and support.  Tracy Blake is the best second shooter a wedding photographer could ask for.  This is her second season with me and I totally appreciate how unselfish she is and how she always treats my weddings as if they were her own.  She’s a hard worker, a great photographer, and she always brings me a Coke at dinner  She does have one downfall though.  She always forgets to remind me to do the ring shots!  Kidding, Tracy!  I really appreciate you, Tracy!  Thank you for everything you do for me and my clients.  I wish every second shooter could be as awesome as you!

I think this cute camera for Dad (or any occassion really) may be a little too labor intensive for my two year old (and we already made our presents), but it’s a super cute idea!  Thanks to Jamie for sending the link over!

Image by Brenda Poney via Alpha Mom

Earlier this week I was shooting cute, chunky baby Liam’s six month pictures in my office and B came in to be my assistant for a bit.  He played a little bit of peeky boo (as he calls it) and also offered his little lamb to Liam to make him happy.  I don’t have to start paying him yet, do I?

Happy Friday!

ETA:  The backdrop is simply a yard and a half of fabric pinned to the wall.  I believe I got the fabric from Jo-Ann fabric over a year and a half ago.  Not sure if they still carry it.  All the pictures from the session were taken with natural light.  There is a section in the UNmanual that shows my setup and explains how to shoot with natural light.  I also blogged about the way I did the setup in my old house you can find that entry here.  The only difference is that now I am able to pin the fabric to the wall.  You can view the images from this session on the DrewB blog!

In case you missed it last week, here is an interview I did for Shootsac!  Be sure to read the interview with Carrie Sandoval as well.  She’s amazing!

There’s a handy dandy feature on your DSLR camera that can save you a lot of heartache if you turn it off.  On Canon cameras there is an option in your menu that says “Shoot w/o card”.  Turn that to “off”.  That makes it so you can’t take a picture if there’s not a card in your camera.  The shutter will not even release.  I’m sure Nikon has a fancy feature that is similar.

Even seasoned pros may have a slip up with that every once in a while.  I’m not going to name names, but a certain photographer grabbed her camera really fast to take pictures of her two year old yesterday.  They were really cute pictures and when that photographer went to review them in her LCD she realized that there was no card in her camera.  The really cute pictures were never even taken.  So sad.

Not that I know from experience or anything.  Just saying.

Carly wrote:

I am a soon to be mom, who is also a wedding photographer. I am meeting with a new bride, who’s wedding is two and half months after my due date. My question is: Did you shoot weddings while breastfeeding?

I’ve been polling moms I know, but none of them truely know how busy your day can be at a wedding. I am just so worried about taking breaks to pump! Any thoughts?

Thank you so much. Love the blog!

I shot my first wedding after Brayden was born when he was just 8 weeks old.  I breast fed him for a little over 5 months and probably shot around 6 weddings during that time.  I was able to get away with pumping right before the wedding and right after.  I got there early and pumped in the car and then sat there after (when all I wanted to do was go home!) and pumped some more.  I know that most people would probably have a problem with that, but when I’m shooting a wedding I’m on a total adrenaline rush.  I don’t go to the bathroom, I don’t get hungry, and I don’t feel any pain.  It’s immediately after the wedding that all those things hit me.  My supply was always fine not pumping and I never had any pain.  I was lucky.

I also didn’t want to inconvenience my brides.  I couldn’t say, “Can you wait 20 minutes to do your first dance until I pump?”.  Most of my couples booked me before I even got pregnant.  While they were all extremely understanding I didn’t want to make my problem their problem.

In hindsight, what I wish I would have done was hire a third shooter in addition to my second shooter that’s included in my packages.  The third shooter could assist for the majority of the wedding and then shoot when I needed to go pump.  I did have an assistant at most of the weddings to help carry bags since I was still recovering from a c-section, but it wasn’t someone who I would have felt confident in taking over my spot while I was gone.  And as most moms know, it’s not easy to pump when you are feeling rushed and stressed.

If you’re a breast feeding, wedding photographing mommy what did you do?

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Denver.  I spent exactly 33 hours there.  13 of those hours were spent in the JVS Speedlight workshop.  I go to one workshop every year and this year I really wanted to challenge myself and become better with my Speedlights (aka flash).  I really want to start getting more creative with my reception lighting.  Noel Kelley emailed me asking my opinions on the workshop.  I did some research and I liked the way they exclusively use Speedlights for their lighting.  I already have two!  I saw that the furthest west they were coming was Denver so I booked my ticket and took off!

The workshop is great for those of you who have studios and really want to take your portraits to the next level.  This workshop would also be great for senior photographers.  And if you already own speedlights the modifiers they use aren’t ridiculously expensive.  They outline exactly what you need to buy and tell you where to buy it from.  JVS and Anne are ridiculously good at what they do.  It’s truly awesome to see what they come up with.

While it was interesting to learn all of the things you can do, will I become a flash photographer?  No.  I still love my natural light  But, I do definitely understand my speedlights better and I’m excited to try out the reception lighting that I learned.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.

It was SOOOOOO cold when we were shooting these outside.  Even the Colorado photographers were cold!  Colorado did not get the memo that it’s Spring!

PS  Please don’t email me asking about my settings or what lights we used to get these pictures.  My lips are sealed!  I would suggest enrolling in one of JVS’ workshops and seeing it firsthand.  I promise it’s worth it!