Stop Using Auto! My Photography Class

I took a one-day photography class to learn how to use the manual settings on my digital camera. My friend Julie Scow took it with me and it was such a fun day! The class was my Christmas present from Matt - I love the idea of experience gifts, especially ones that teach me something new. I would love to always be in some sort of class - when the kids are grown I will be taking cooking, photography, tennis, graphic design classes... hmm, what else?

We got to practice taking photos with high shutter speeds to capture images like this water balloon popping, and slow shutter speeds to get the cool effect of drawing a shape with sparklers. I can't wait to try this for the Fourth of July!

I knew all the terms from hearing my mom talk about photography and from working with professional photographers and graphic design artists over the years, but I had never put it into practice and actually tried it myself. I just want to get those nice blurry backgrounds and crisp, bright photos of my kids.

We got to test our new skills on some cute models and their dog out at the park. Despite a parking ticket, it was a great day out at Floyd Lamb Park!  It was a little intimidating to direct kids I'd just met,  but it was good to practice adjusting the camera as the light changed. I think I got a few good shots, and we all shared them with the girls' mom - I'm sure with some editing this photo could be even better, but I liked how it turned out.

Now to keep practicing on my four guinea pigs - I usually do Easter photos and hire a photographer, but maybe I will try them this year... if I try early enough, I can get a do-over if they turn out terribly!