I've photographed quite a few seniors at Hartwood Acres Mansion, but the light at Hartwood the evening of Shawna's senior session was quite possibly the most beautiful I've ever seen it! Shawna's outgoing, upbeat, easy-to-talk-to personality made her such a joy to photograph from start to finish. Congratulations on your last year of school, Shawna - you're going to do great things!
I love wedding day toasts. Typically, by the time the wedding day rolls around, I've gotten to know my couple fairly well, but listening in to toasts by the father of the bride, best man, and maid of honor always leave me with an expanded perspective of who a couple really is.
One of my favorite toasts ever was given by a father of the bride at one of my weddings a few years ago. He talked a lot about the couple, about their relationship together, about his love for his daughter - and then he took a spin on the typical "father of the bride" speech and started talking directly to the people in the room. He challenged them to love on this couple long after the wedding day. To check in on them, and to find ways to support them in their marriage. He noted something in that moment that everyone already knew, but that he said anyways: marriage is tough. And often times, even in marriage, it feels as though we're living in isolation. We unintentionally isolate ourselves from other people and try to fix the broken pieces of ourselves all on our own, but in reality, we need to be supporting and uplifting each other, not just on the wedding day, but years and years after.
So today, I want to put a little challenge out on this little corner of the web: send a married friend a little love today. Write them a note. Or send them a message. Or show up in their lives somehow - today, tomorrow, next week - and show your support of their marriage. We have enough marriage-bashing jokes going around. What if we started to change our perceptions and words towards marriage to reflect the good instead of the bad?
Whether you're a copywriter, blogger, videographer, photographer, graphic designer, or web designer, staying organized as a creative with a gazillion projects floating around can be a challenge, and knowing where you are in each project at any given time can be even more of a challenge.
Towards the beginning of my photography business, I was booking, culling, editing, exporting, backing up, and packaging up sessions without a true rhyme, reason, or rhythm to my madness. One session would be in the editing phase, another couple in the exporting phase, a few others in the packaging stage, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember which one was in what step! After a few days of researching, I finally came up with a system that worked for me: a visual way to organize my laptop desktop where my "open" session files could be accessed easily at any time:
I broke my process down into 5 easy stages/action steps: working files (including culling, editing, an exporting), put in a gallery (I use and love the PASS gallery system), burn to USB (love my Flashbay drives!), back up to hard drive (or, in my case, since I'm extremely paranoid, to TWO hard drives), and finished files, which means the files can be discarded from my laptop safely. Then, once I exported the Photoshop file as a JPEG, I set the JPEG as my desktop and organized my projects into each category. Using these five stages, I know where every single one of my active sessions is at any given time in the process.
I'm sure there are much more intricate programs, software, and apps that can do this exact same thing - but this easy to implement system has been my go-to for the last 4 years and was an easy way for me to get organized and change the way I work. If you're interested in trying out this easy desktop organization system, click here to download your free PSD desktop organization template! Customize your categories, add a photo, export the file as a JPEG, set it as your desktop screensaver - and voila! You're ready to start organizing!
This superhero, goldfish loving family did an amazing job at their North Park session! We had the perfect April day in the 60's - which was exciting for these five, who usually get their family photo taken during winter! And, fun fact - it was Nathaniel's (the youngest) birthday the day of their session! Thanks to this sweet family for adventuring through muddy grounds to get to these perfectly lit spots!
One of my favorite parts about being a wedding photographer is following up with my couples after the wedding and seeing their families grow. Jen and Larry tied the knot last May and had their first child this month! This beautiful baby girl was just 5 days old when we took these photos, and she did an amazing job. Congratulations, Jen and Larry!
A few weeks ago, I drove up to the White Barn to scout out the area for potential photo ops for Rachel and Brian's wedding - it was my first time visiting since my wedding day at the very same venue on August 14, 2015. The memories instantly began flooding back - the joy of marrying my best friend, the excitement of having all of my friends and family together in one place, the adventure of marriage waiting right around the corner. I really couldn't have planned it any more perfectly myself - my heart needed those reminders heading into this wedding season. Much like how brides can get swept up in the details of their day, wedding photographers can get swept up in a sea of focusing on the pretty details and Instagram-worthy photos instead of focusing on what's really important - the couple, the marriage, and the precious job we have of coming alongside them on the first day of the rest of their lives together. That is what it's really all about (but yes, of course I still love the pretty details and beautiful photo ops!)
Rachel and Brian's day was the perfect March day. The warm weather, soft light, and no rain (always a plus in Pittsburgh) made for a beautiful day. There were so many personal details that made their day personal to their own journey - I just have to share a couple of my favorites:
During the ceremony, Pastor Scott read heartfelt notes that Rachel and Brian had written to each of their parents. I had never seen (or heard) this done before at a wedding ceremony, and I thought it was a beautiful way to bring the event full circle. Not to mention, there wasn't a dry eye in the audience.
During the reception, Rachel and her dad danced to "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman - well, they didn't just dance to it, but acted out the story line (give it a listen, you'll see what I mean!). The song ended with dad waving, walking off the dance floor, and Rachel hugging her new husband (which led to some serious tears behind my camera, I'm not ashamed to say it!).
All in all, Rachel and Brian's day was beautiful, relaxed, and full of so much love. I was so honored to be a part of it! Congratulations again to Rachel and Brian!
Vendors:
Ceremony & Reception Venue: The White Barn (Prospect, PA)
Bride's Dress: This Magic Moment Bridal Studio
Alterations: Skye Douglass-Casey
Florist: Darlington Flower Company
Cake: Autumn's Cakes
DJ: DJ Machine
Photographer: Jenna Hidinger Photography
One of the main reasons why I love being a photographer is the opportunity I have to document a moment in time - a split second emotional response. Many of these types of moments that I have the privilege of photographing happen at weddings - the groom seeing his bride for the first time, the mother of the groom tearing up in the front row at the ceremony, the first dances, and many more. But this blog post has a different kind of moment - one that I've never photographed before!
Amanda and Jeff met in college and have been together for fourteen years, and married for the last few. They recently found out that they were pregnant with their first child and wanted to capture their pure reactions when they found out the gender of their baby! They brought both blue and pink items for the session, handed me an envelope, and had me paint each of their hands with either blue paint (for a boy) or pink paint (for a girl). So technically, I knew the gender of their baby before them - so fun!! To their sweet surprise, once they lifted each of their hands from Amanda's tummy, they found out that they were going to be the parents of a little boy! Congratulations to these two wonderful people - you are going to make amazing parents!
I love when couples incorporate unique elements of who they are into their engagement photos (See this link for tips for choosing a unique engagement session location), and Timber and Zack's engagement session was no exception. These two are Missouri born-and-raised and met when they were twelve years old - but didn't start dating until just a few years ago. They both wanted a location that reflected their love of the great outdoors, so McConnell's Mills was the perfect fit! They also chose to incorporate Zack's truck, as well as a few bullets (a nod to Zack's love of hunting) for the ring shot! Congratulations on your engagement, Timber and Zack!
Do you ever have one of those days (or... months?) where you just cannot wait to get away? February was one of those for me.
I have to admit, I'm not much of a beach person, but getting some sand between my toes in the off-season is one of my favorite ways to relax. While I'm not a big beach-sitter, I do love to walk on the beach and be reminded of my smallness (oceans will do that to you, I suppose). At any rate, Nick and I were extremely fortunate to be able to travel down to Myrtle with some of his co-workers and their spouses. We relaxed, walked, went the spa, hot tubbed (I think I made that up), and even had the chance to take some photos of Nick's coworker, Darren, and his beautiful wife Kim! You might recognize these two from their Geneva College engagement session last fall.
When Kim asked if I would be willing to snap some photos of her and Darren on our trip, I was THRILLED. If there's anything I know to be true about Kim, it's that she LOVES the beach. I'm not sure I know of anyone who loves the beach more than her, actually (quite a contrast to me!) - and I love the idea of taking photos of her with the person she loves most in one of the places she loves most. That's what it's all about!!!
An estimated 2,500 photos are taken every second. (Via source), and 90% of people have only ever taken a photo with a camera phone. With the quality of camera phones improving year by year, some camera phones are beginning to rival DSLRs in their quality and capabilities. But besides measuring levels of quality, such as megapixels or noticeable distortion, how can one improve their picture taking habits to create better, more engaging images?
One specific group who often seek guidance on the subject of photo snapping are parents of young children. Every parent wants to take photos that catch their child in their truest form, just simply being themselves. Here are my top four tips for taking better photos of your kids:
Whether it means taking a knee or laying fully on the ground, getting down on a child’s level is the best way to change up the perspective of a photograph, and makes them feel instantly more comfortable.
For good reason, many people believe that it’s best to take photos in the middle of the day when the sun is “at it’s brightest.” However, taking photos with kids facing into the bright, harsh sun often result in squinty eyes and harsh shadows. A better method is to find some open shade, where the light is even (resulting in less contrast between bright highlights and dark shadows) where kids don’t have to squint.
Kids NEED to move. They can only sit still for so long before they start squirming. But you know what? Some of my FAVORITE photographs of children are the ones where they’re doing their own thing – whether it’s running around, climbing something, making funny faces, or being tickled, kids are comfortable when they’re moving – not when they’re asked to sit still. So give your child something to do, whether it’s running from one side of the yard to the other, jumping on a trampoline, making funny faces, reading a book out loud, or playing pretend (i.e., the ground is hot lava!), there are so many different ways to keep kids engaged and preoccupied without them even realizing what’s happening – giving you a chance to snap some great action shots!
One sure-fire way to get an awkward looking portrait of a child is to tell them to smile. Time after time, I’ve found that kids whom Mom tells to “smile really big for the camera!” have squinty eyes and a big, tight smile. Much like point number three above, the best way to approach photographing a child is to 1) give them something to do, and 2) talk to them. Never stop asking them questions! Children will engage with your camera when they’re engaging and connecting with you.
What are your favorite tips for taking photos of kids? Add to my list in the comments below!
