What is point and shoot? Is it that you point at something and just shoot? Well, kind of. Point and shoot cameras are easy to use, small, and takes minimal effort, but I often get asked, what to look for when buying a point and shoot camera? I am NOT an expert, and what I am going to write right now, others might not agree.

Tip #1: Megapixel is important, but a high megapixel doesn’t mean that’s the best camera. Megapixel is important if someone wants to print a really large print such as something more than a 20″x30″. Also, if the sensor size is small in a small camera, and too many megapixel is in that sensor, it can actually lower the quality of the photos. That’s why in my opinion, 10 megapixel is more than enough.

Tip #2: Image stabilization is very important unless you use a tripod which I haven’t seen anyone using for a point and shoot camera. Image stabilization helps with stabilizing an image while the object is in motion.

Tip#3: ISO is important too. Higher ISO in a low light helps with getting a shot without using a flash. Look for a camera that has lower noise level/less grainy photos in higher ISO.

These are some basic tips that are important while making a decision. Hopefully, you’ll find these tips helpful.

Photography is 80% business and 20% photography. I heard this a lot at the beginning of my photography career, and now I believe it 110%. It is true. When I first started, all I focused on was how to take good photos, how to know my camera pretty well, how to understand the lighting and so on without knowing how knowing a lot about taking good photographs and nothing about business would not help me in the long run. Do I know enough about how to run a successful business or great business strategies? NO. However, I do know a lot more than I knew only 4 months ago because everytime I got frustrated, I made myself stop first, and reevaluate my strategies and knowledge.

A lot of my photographer friends get frustrated just like how I always got frustrated. I would love to share how I deal with my frustration, and hopefully, I will be more of a help and won’t end up hurting anyone’s feeling.

#1 We are artists first. As artists, we tend to compare our artwork with others, and there are so many amazing photographers out there. Every time I see Melissa Jill’s work, Jerry Ghionis, Jasmine Star, Joe Buissink, Trevor Dayley, Jose Villa, Clayton Austin or Jessica Claire’s work, I become speechless. These are a few of the many photographers whose work I LOVE. These are a few of the many photgraphers that are true artists and business people. Of course it’s ok to feel frustrated at times for not being able to produce such amazing photoraphs, but that frustration need to turn into motivation. When I get frustrated, I take a few days off. Then I look at my work, and think what do I need to improve? Do I have a style? What kind of photographs do I enjoy taking the most? Why? If I got married, what kind of photographs would I want? Is that the kind of style I enjoying doing for others? There are a lot of amazing photographers that enjoy playing around with flash, and the pictures are AMAZING! I love looking at their work, but I realized that I enjoy taking natural light photographs a lot more than flash. Finding the great natural or available light, and challenging myself with it is more enjoyable to me than using flash.

#2 Who doesn’t want to rise like Jasmine Star, right? I’ve learned to accept that I wasn’t born with amazing, charismatic personality like Jasmine or David Jay. I wasn’t born with amazingly good luck either. I had to struggle and work hard for everything in life. So, what’s wrong with that? Nothing. I made myself come up with a destination for my future in photography. Of course, it might be same as trying to reach the moon, but that might take me at least closer to the moon, right? It’s ok to take time, but do it right. My motto is, whatever I do, I want to do my best or else I don’t want to do it. When I met with Dane Sanders last year, he told how he had a full time job and did photography for 8 years. It took him 8 years to get to where he is now, but he reached his destination, right? He shared with the world the mistakes he made at the beginning of his career, but he learned from it instead of becoming a grumpy. I wish I could speed up my process to reach my destination, but that’s not the reality, and accepting the reality only makes things better than does any harm.

#3 We want to book 15-20 weddings a year or more, right? Is that possible? Of course it is possible. There are so many successful photographers that are booking as many as 40 – 50 weddings each year. I am in the same boat as many of you are, however, there are ways to book a lot of weddings. My marketing knowledge is horrible, but that should only motivate me to learn more. If I am not booking weddings then there must be something that I’m not doing right. That’s what happend to me last year. I was pretty frustrated, and then made myself work on my marketing skills, come up with plans, goals, work on my client meeting skills and more. Finally, it started to pay off. I think I still suck big time, but I am working really hard to become so good that I would be able to write a blog post or post a video of all of the above skills.

#4 A positive outlook is very important in life whether you are a photographer or a doctor or an engineer or anyone else. Negativity contaminates creativity and happiness. Staying positive and seeing the good in everything will only make our lives, and lives of others around us better. Especially as artists, as wedding photographers, our job is to make our clients’ wedding more beautiful than it already is, right? If all we see in life are the bad things then how are we going to make our clients wedding more beautiful?

I have to share this pin that I found on pinterest. Let’s get a whole bunch of pinatas and have a PARTAY!

I really don’t enjoy post processing that much. It has been my goal, and still my goal to get my photos, as good as possible on camera to make my post processing life easier and more enjoyable. I am still not satisfied with the results that I am getting; however, I should be happy that I’ve come a long way. I would love to share some of my tricks and tips with you now, and hopefully you find these helpful.

This photo was straight out of camera, and was taken right before sunset during golden hour. It was in the backyard, and the swing had shade on top of it which made the golden hour not so golden anymore. I did take a few test shots as usual, and then used the following settings.

I did not use any flash. Sorry flash lovers, I enjoy natural light more than flash. I shoot everything in manual mode.

Nikon D300, 50mm f/1.4G at f 2. ISO 800, Shutter speed 1/80 sec with a +3 exposure bias. I had to lower my shutter speed because of a low lighting situation, and raised my exposure bias so that my shutter speed isn’t too low for me to handle. I do this a lot so that I don’t end up getting blurry pictures because of a lower shutter speed. I keep telling myself, if I start working out, I will not have this problem. My white balance was around Kalvin 5000. I shoot Kalvin everytime.

Here’s the shot after post processing.

First, I used lightroom, and then photoshop for finishing touches. In lightroom, raised the temperature to 6828, and contrast a little bit too. After raising the contrast a bit, I noticed that the exposure looked a little high. So I lowered the exposure to -.41 This is all in lightroom. Now it’s photoshop’s turn. In photoshop, I raised the contrast by +4, and there you go. It’s all done. The good thing about lightroom is I can do the same thing on several different photos at the same time as long as all of the photos are exposed the same with similar white balance.

Hopefully you enjoyed reading the post processing as much or almost as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Happy Tuesday everyone !

I’ve been thinking about doing a styled shoot for quite some time. When Julie from Veilsbyjules, met last year, we came up with the idea of doing a styled shoot, and getting a few other vendors involved. The end result…..

Bridal Gown: Brides by Demetrois

Veils: Veilsbyjules

Florist: Mywedflowers

Invitation: Noel’s Paperie

Hair & Makeup: Becky Marshman

Models: Cynthia & Jennifer

What is branding exactly in business? There are so many information out there that it can get very overwhelming. I am so glad I found Julie through our wonderful showiteers group, AND I picked Julie Story to create my new logo, and learned so much about branding, and earned a lifetime of friendship (I hope). It’s my honor to be able to feature her on my blog. She’s a wonderful mother of 2 beautiful kids, a photographer, a graphic designer, a branding and marketing specialist, a website designer and overall a wonderful human being. If you can’t afford to hire Julie Story, then definitely check out her beautiful style groups that can be purchased.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Playful

Loving

Huggable?

 How long have you been doing photography? Graphic designing/logo? Website designs?

I have been a photographer for 8 years and a visual media specialist for 6. I originally worked in branding and marketing for small businesses prior to specializing in branding for photographers.

What inspired you to become a photographer and a designer?

I became a photographer because I loved the idea of taking an emotion, an invisible concept, and portraying it visually. I loved the idea of making an image and having someone have an emotional response to the image.

 I became a designer because I wanted to be able to be home with my kids and work, but over time it became so much more. Now, working with other photographers I am able to help them reach their dreams an change their lives by giving them a media identify, and a unique was to connect to their clients

How would you describe your style?

My photographic style is cinematic. It is filled with story telling elements. From the emotion to the details, capturing the flow of the wedding day the way a movie would unfold, giving the viewer context to the environment and the emotion.

 My design style in general is it more contemporary, modern and chic. I love bold statements and strong lines.

What is your goal in each field?

My goal as a wedding photographer is to capture the way a groom loves on his bride. This is the one thing that drives my creativity and at the same time warms my heart. Each couple is so unique, and watching the groom sweetly romance his bride, make her light up, feel stunning, and gives her permission to be empowered by his love for her.

 My design goal is to visually communicate to specific cliental by portraying who the photographer is, and what makes that photographer unique! I love helping people reach their dreams. THis inspires me and design is an amazing outlet to do that in.

If you had to pick one which one would you pick, photography or website design?

What a hard question! In photography, I am honored to capture the way a man love a woman and what that love makes her feel like. And in design, I get to help photographers reach their dreams. Both of these things fuel my soul and creative energy

Is there any photographer and/or graphic designer whose work you follow?

I have been in love with Jasmine Star since I found her. Girl crush ::guilty::

She has influenced me so much, giving me permission to be myself, and use that to connect to my brides.

In design, I certainly follow Promise Tangeman & Melissa Love. What I love about those girls is between the 3 of us we each bring unique style, so it encourages me to try new things, and push myself.

 What’s in your camera bag?

Canon 40D

Canon 50mm 1.4

Tamron 28-75mm 2.8

I asked Santa for a 5D Mark ii and a 50mm 1.2. He said yes.

Finish the following sentences….

Growing up I wanted to be … A mommy! I am so blessed to be a mother

If I could change something in my life, I would… Love people endlessly, completely, and never allow fear to stop me from doing so.

I want to photograph … Raw real emotion, between a man and the woman he loves.

My favorite quote… Everything is possible for him who believes Mark 9:23

When I am not shooting, I like to… Read, write, dance, skip

3 things I can’t live without….

God

My Kids

Cupcakes

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

More in Love with God

Which country do you want to visit the most?

New Zealand

If you had the option to move anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Denver or California

What advice would you give to other new photographers?

Get connect in a safe photography community (I recommend Showit . Educate yourself. Learn how to connect to people, and make it a goal to help other’s succeed!

Website: http://www.julie-story.com/

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliestorypage

twitter: http://twitter.com/julie_story

I am really happy to say that recently she wrote a blog post on branding for Gray Photography. Check it out. http://www.grayphotograph.com/blog/tuesday-tips-tricks-guest-blogger-julie-story/14476/

I am a little behind I  know. Ended 2011 and started 2012 by getting sick, but I am still happy. 2011 was a wonderful year with full of major decisions, and positive influences. I’ve received a lot of support from you, from my family and friends, and from some wonderful well known photographers; nevertheless, my journey is only getting more and more challenging now. I want a lot more from 2012. Stay tuned for a new blog coming up next week on 2012 goals and plans and expectations.

I wanted to do a top ten favorite blog with 2011 photos, and it was really difficult. Everyone must like their own creations although there’s always a lot of room to grow. I picked the photos based on the challenges, and what I’ve learned. Please leave your feedback.

This is one of my earliest photos of 2011 taken at the Desert Botanical Garden. I love vintage pictures although vintage was never my style. I tried to add a little bit of vintage touch to it while still keeping the modern touch. Another reason I picked this photos was because this was not a flower garden. It was freezing cold, and everything is dry. These flowers were on the side of the curb, and I tried to make it look as beautiful as possible.

Used Nikon D300

50mm f/1.4G 

f/1.4 and 1/1000 sec

I love vibrant photos with a lot of contrasts. After this senior shoot, I practiced using photoshop to give a high contrast look without overdoing it. If I take this same shot now, I would love to make a lot of changes to improve it 10 times; however, at the beginning on my photography career, I learned a lot from all these experiments.

Nikon D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO 400, f/2.8 and 1/6400 sec

I won’t be modest now. I was amazed at how dramatic a photo can be only using available natural light. The back of the cake had the kitchen cabinet, and it was set directly underneath the chandelier. One side of the cake had the beautiful window with plenty of natural light.

Nikon D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO-800, f/1.4 and 1/800 sec

I discovered that I had this picture the entire about 2 months ago. This was also taken using available natural light without any flash.

Nikon D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO 2000, f/1.4 and 1/250 sec

Nikon D300

50mm f/1.4G and 35mm f/1.4G

Left Hand Side   ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/250 sec     and   Right Hand Side ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/800 sec

The sun was very bright in the back.

D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/400 sec

My goal was to capture the circular sun ray while keeping the photo and the subjects well exposed to show the emotion.

D300

50mm f/1.4

ISO 200, f/2.8 and 1/320 sec

D300

50mm f/1.4

ISO 100, f/1.6 and 1/8000 sec

There’s nothing more fun than capturing the true emotion.

D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO 400, f/1.4 and 1/3200 sec

The room was filled with candle light, and I loved using the available light to create drama.

D300

50mm f/1.4G

ISO 1000, f/1.4 and 1/2500 sec

I noticed that my favorite photos from 2011 were all natural light photographs which proved that I really enjoy shooting in natural light or available light. If you’d like me to write a blog post on explaining step by step how to get well exposed photographs using available light only, feel free to write your feedback.

Who doesn’t want to look great in their pictures, right? I know I do. It might sound like nothing, but there are a few things that you can do to help you be prepared for your session, for some wonderful shots. These are a few tips that I always give to my clients, and I’ve heard some positive feedback.

       *Get a good night’s sleep

       *Avoid sun exposure or excessive activities the day before and the day of.

       *Drink plenty of water to improve skin texture. Bring along bottled water to keep you refreshed and energized.

       *Make sure your clothes are ironed.

       *Make sure your socks match your shoes. Avoid white socks if your shoes are dark color.

       *Make sure your teeth are clean.

       *Think about if you want a formal portrait session or a casual / natural portrait session.

       *Please make sure your shoes, hands and feet are clean and ready to be photographed.

       *You and your family can color coordinate for a portrait session. If you have more than 1 child then only the children can match their colors.

       *You should wear something that represents your personality and style to portray the real you in your picture.

        *Make sure you bring extra sets of clothes for your children and for yourself. Bring extra pairs of comfortable shoes just in case if you have to walk on dirt road to reach the location.

        *Please bring your child’s favorite toy, food and water, anything that will keep your child busy and happy.

        *Ladies, don’t forget to bring your makeup for touchups.

         *Relax and enjoy your session and be open to trying out different poses and locations.

I can’t believe Halloween is over. That means it’s almost Thanksgiving time, and before you know it, it’s Christmas. I have a few spots left for the holiday minisessions. This is a great way to update your family photos. Minisessions will offered in CA and in AZ. Check out the info below, and book your session. All sessions will different from another, because it will be YOUR session to portray YOU. Book your unique session today.

I am the kind of a person that always want to do the best. Best might be exaggeration, but I want to feel as if I am one of the best. That’s why I’ve decided to try a 4 week photo challenge. Because of my super busy schedule (sounds like a super star), I can’t do an everyday challenge. I picked the theme for each week because now I know my strengths and what I need to work on or I want to work on. Good news is, my brother, Adnan, has also agreed on doing the challenge. Since I’ve announced his name, he has no way of getting out of it. If you are interested in challenging yourself, please feel free to join us, and send me your photo at info@memoriesbyfaria.com Just shoot me an email saying you are interested. Here we go now.

Week 1: Sun flare

Week 2: Backlit

Week 3: Motion

Week 4: Black and White

Is there such thing as CHEAP and good quality? Think about gas station coffee vs. Starbucks. Why do you pay $5 for a cup of coffee when you can get a cup of coffee for less than $1 at QT or at Seven Eleven? The answer is quality, and the experience. We can get a pair of nice shoes at Walmart, and can get similar looking Christian Louboutin shoes. Which one better quality? Of course Christian Louboutin will win without any doubt. And that’s why a pair of Louboutin costs over $1000. I know Louboutin shoes are out of lot of our price range, but there are other great alternative options such Kate Spade, Cole Hann and so on.

Now think about what is most important to you in lifestyle photographs? Do you want to look at these perfectly exposed and focused photos and remember the good times 10 years from now? Or would you like to look at some out of focus, under exposed photos with no depth of field, and remember how upset you were 10 years ago about the photographs?

Professional photographers enjoy photography, and do this for a living. If a professional photographer charges $50 or even only $100 per session including all digital copies and count the post production time, that photographer will have to do at least 2000 sessions per month to be able to survive, and I am not talking about surviving in CA. If you are a photographer and trying to earn enough each month to be able to pay the bills, do you think you can deliver high quality products and service charging only $50 per session? If you try that then you will be burned out and give up, so please think about it.

True professional photographers invest a lot in their gears, and learning photography and in improving their skills and service continuously. Since I am a Nikon shooter, I can give you an estimate of prices of different Nikon cameras. There are many different dslrs out there ranging from $500 – $5000+. Why do a professional invest in a single camera that’s worth a few grand? Why not get a D3100 or D40 for less than $1000 and get the job done? The answer is quality. I won’t get into too much technical detail but the answer is quality of your photographs, same for lenses. A 50mm f/1.8 cost under $150, but a 50mm f/1.4 costs around $500. Why? The answer is quality. The more expensive the lens is, the better the quality of the photographs are. Most of the prime lenses cost over $2000. These lenses help with getting better focused, better exposed, and very sharp images.

Does high end gear mean high quality? Yes, but high quality also requires photographer’s knowledge. A professional photographer knows how to use their equipment very well. When I attended Mike Colon’s workshop 2 months ago, I was blown away by his knowledge. If you don’t know who Mike Colon is, he’s a celebrity wedding photographer. I’ve attended several different workshops in the past 8 months, and learned a lot. That’s when I found out how much each and every single one of these photographers knew about photography and about their gear. And every single attendees were very sincere about improving their skills and knowledge and learning more about photography. I met so many wonderful photographers this way. And none of these workshops were cheap, and worth every single penny. Take a look at these two photographs. Both photos were taken with my D300, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G.Both were taken at the same spot with same amount of natural light except for the camera settings.  Which one would you pick, and why? Which photo would you enjoy looking at 10 years from now? Or even 20?

Look at these photos.

These children didn’t pose for me. They didn’t freeze. I had to be prepared for these instantaneous moments, and photographing children is a completely different story, especially the mobile children. They won’t stop at the right spot or in perfect natural light against the perfect reflector, but we have to make it work. Moms, Do you enjoy looking at these photos and laugh, and remember what happened at that moment?

Last but not least, a professional photographer is not a photoshopographer. I would like to take this opportunity and share an unedited, straight out of the camera photo from a recent shoot.

Here’s the color corrected version.

But this doesn’t mean that if a photographer does a lot of editing then that photographer isn’t a good photographer. What I mean is, great photographers know how to edit to improve a photograph while maintaing the true picture.

Anyone can create an image or alter any image on photoshop, but a true photographer doesn’t alter the actual image. I can guarantee you that if you look at straight out of camera pictures of every single wonderful photographer out there, you will get blown away. I’ve seen straight out of camera shots of some great photographers and all I can still say is, “Wow”. There are many other steps in post processing besides editing, and a professional photographer spends a good amount of time doing other post processing work. I won’t get into post processing details because that will have to be another complete post.

Post processing softwares are very expensive too. Lightroom costs over $400. Photoshop costs around $700. There are other excellent softwares. Professionals use professional softwares, not Picasa or other free editing softwares.

Now, I would like you to think about it. Do you think Starbucks should charge $1 for a cup of coffee like a cup of gas station coffee? Do you think a professional photographer with high quality of work and service should charge less than $100 for a lifestyle session including all images?

Photographers, Do you want undervalue your work and your creativity? Get out of the sales rack and don’t hesitate to price your work properly.

*This post was not intended to hurt anyone.

Have a wonderful wednesday.