10 Things To Blog About

1. Do I get nervous before a photo shoot? Yes! I will work myself into a frenzy and my husband will tell me, "Honey, you know this stuff. Just go do what I know you can do!" *Thank You Honey, I love you so much* And I learned something very interesting yesterday. Even the Pro's get nervous before a big shoot.*whodathunkit?*
2. How did I start out in photography? When I was in my teens and my family would travel to the East Coast to see my Aunt & Uncle, my dad used to hand me a 110 point & shoot and I'd take pictures of everything. I enjoyed it then too but had bigger fish to fry.
3. Who were the first people to inspire me? My father. He took a photography course one year and after that he got the bug. He was very good and I enjoyed viewing his photographs. My husband Kevin. He bought me my first DSLR camera in 2006 and I haven't put a camera down since.
4. Who are my biggest inspirations today? David Hobby strobist.blogspot.com, Joe McNally, Syl Arena, Bryan Peterson, The People on www.photographycorner.com/forum who give honest and noteworthy critiques on my work, friends from a different forum where I learned how to use my new camera and all the settings. (Thanks Tim)
5. My Equipment? I shoot Canon. Mostly my 7D but at times I'll take the 40D out for a spin. I have an array of lenses. I have an Alien Bee 800 studio light, Plus I have 3 Canon 430 EX's one I & two II. I fire my flashes with my Pocket Wizard flex TT5's (3) and that in turn fires the Alien Bee. It hasn't failed me yet, (knock on wood). I also have 2 studio backdrops with stands to hold them up.  Plus odds and ends here and there.
6. What Equipment is on my list for the future? I'd love to get a couple of faster lenses for my portrait photography, one lens in particular is the 24-70 f2.8 IS. *little rich for my blood right now though*
7. My favorite Setup? It depends on what I shoot If I'm shooting Motorsports I use my 100-400 L IS. For Portraits I have 2 lenses I like to use, for the portrait above I used my 85mm IS. VERY nice portrait lens, For other portraits I like to use my 28-105. Also I love to use a 14" Lumodi beauty dish on one of the 430EX II's and either an umbrella or a Gary Fong Lightsphere diffuser on my second flash. I also learned something about equipment, it's not what you have it's how you use it. Learn your equipment, learn how to light, take your flash OFF CAMERA, Enjoy!
8. My worst critiques & My biggest Fans? I am my worst critique, I see fault in everything I shoot. I try hard to look at it as though someone else has taken it but I am still hard on myself. My Family and Close Friends are my biggest Fans! They all love my work and think I should always be published in magazines.
9. How long has photography been an obsession? Since my daughter was born really, almost 17 years. I always had a camera with me for important events. Always a point and shoot but still a camera. Then after a football game and seeing how the photo's mostly turned out blurred, I pouted until I got my first DSLR.I haven't put it down since.
10. My Toughest Challenges? Lighting! Portraits! I vow this year to practice more and pay closer attention to where the light falls, and how to see the light before it happens.