{Fresh & True}

Karie Murray Photography has moved over to the new BLOG!

Click the link and jump on over!

http://kariemurrayphotography.com/blog/

Please take some time to visit a few of my favorite shops that I've featured in the Spring "Fashion Inspiration" : the lovely Ivory&Moss, beautiful and creative jewelry designs by JessLC and Starry Night Designs with her adorable line of baby booties. 

 

Just a note to other photographers: Please DO NOT COPY! If you like the guides and would like to share with clients you may provide a link to this blog post on your blog, website or facebook. Thanks for the consideration!

Just a note to other photographers: Please DO NOT COPY! If you like the guides and would like to share with clients you may provide a link to this blog post on your blog, website or facebook. Thanks for the consideration!

Hard to believe my baby boy is 10 months old already. A year ago, I was rubbing my round tummy, wondering what he would be like....and now I find myself only 2 months away from his first birthday!....

LOVE baby feet! LOVE my little man!

 

 

Looking forward to a busy April. I will be shooting all of 5 of my Sr. Portrait model sessions at the beginning of the month, and I have several newborns expected to arrive at the tail end of the month. ....all this to say....there is ONLY ONE date left to book a session in April {the 23rd!} ......if you would like to book a Luxe or a Simplicity session on that date, I will include a $100 product credit! Contact Karie at Karie Murray Photography to book your session April 23!.....616-283-9562.

A couple days ago, it was the first day warm enough to "Break Free" from the house and enjoy the outdoors!

In Michigan, March is full of these beautiful looking, sunny days where it is just bitter cold out....it taunts you.....but, not this day! We had brilliant spring-like temps and the sun was beaming! We didn't miss a beat! .....a walk to the park! -a daily routine for the Murray clan when the weather is pleasant! And, of course the camera had to come along too! 

 

We did it up right too!...with snacks and juice boxes and our hello kitty lunch boxes!

 

 

Some had more fun than other!......

 

and even a visit from the "park" kitty. We aren't exactly sure who she belongs to....she just shows up almost every time we're there.

Wishing warm, beautiful spring weather to you all!

Let me warn you before you read any further... You may not be ready to go where I'm going with this. Is bigger really better? -when it comes to print sizes! Yes!

Look around your home. I'm going to take a guess and say that most of the pictures on your walls are 4x6 and 5x7 prints, maybe an 8x10 or two and if you are the really brave type you might even have a 11x14. Now I'm not sure how we got the idea in our heads that an 8x10 is HUGE. Maybe we are just too over-consious of making our loved ones the focal point of a room?!! Silly me. That can't be it! (ha!) Why would we not want the faces of our adorable children or family to be the focus of the room? ...more beautiful and priceless than any other piece of art I can think of! ......so, with the risk of pushing you outside the box a little, let me demonstrate for you how "big" and 8x10 is......

There it is! .....really, being honest, I'm right there with you. I hide under the guise of "I have a small house", but when you can visualize it like this..... don't worry. Your not doing this alone. I'm stepping out of the box with you....

Take the step (keep scrolling with me here!)

I know, I always thought that such a large print would look so awkward in such a small

space, but it is quite the opposite! 

The two sizes side by side....

Now I'm not saying there is no place for a 5x7 or 8x10 on the wall! -There is! They work great on the sides of a larger print or grouped together on a wall! (There will be more to share on picture arrangements to come in a later blogpost!) But for now, I'm just trying to help us get a good visualization on how much better bigger IS!

Here, I'll leave you with are a few more images to get your gears turning!....

 

I recently heard someone define photography as "the art of painting with light". There are mainly two ways you are going to get the light required for a photograph. You are going to use "natural" light (sunlight or reflected light) or a flash. We are particularly going to talk about an on-camera flash for the sake of this being a Tuesday Tip. As a natural light photographer you can probably guess which I prefer. But why? And, how do you put this to use for your photos?

Let's talk about on camera flash. It's probably the little thing that pops up or flashes almost every time you take a photo indoors. Why? Because your camera sensors pick up that there is not enough light to capture the image and pow! flash! You have your image! But, you'll notice that these photos don't look very natural, are harsh, and sometimes washed out in the face. Also, often leaving you with red eye.

{For the sake of demonstrating, I switched my camera over to auto to simulate what the image would look like from any non-proffesional camera.}

So, how can you capture better images?.....

LIGHT!

By this I mean natural light. It's soft, it's warm and so much nicer to your photographs!

To capture the most natural images indoors, bring your subject close to sunlight (i.e. a window). They don't have to be in the window, but position them so that the sun hits their face, side of their face for drama, or is reflected onto their face or object you are photographing. And, if your camera is digital, you should have a setting to turn the flash off so you do not end up with TOO much light (also known as overexposing the image).

Light is a broad topic. If you have any questions on this topic feel free to leave a comment and I will try to answer them....or feel free to ask me on facebook!

As always please share with friends and next week we will continue the "Tuesday Tip" on light by talking about light outdoors.

Yes, I know it's not Tuesday. I apologize. We were iced in at grandma's for a few days and have been trying to get the week back on track. So, here is you Tuesday Tip on Thursday!

Today we are on the topic of "Being Candid".

As a lifestyle photographer, being candid is a large part of my photographic style. I'm not so much for the formal posed portraits. I like to create images while my subjects interact in a familiar setting. Yes, my subject obviously know I'm there and yes, I do capture lots of images where they are looking at the camera. But, I have created a candid environment to get these images. Here is a good example:

I recently took my little cuties out to get some pictures of the new outfits grandma had given them for Valentines. At first I had in mind to take posed shots, after all I wanted pictures of the outfits on them. But, this is what I got........

It was like pulling teeth! (really! these are the best of the worst!)

So, we sat down in the front window of a local coffee shop, pulled out the books from our stop at the library, and I shot away! 

You can tell how much more relaxed and fun these images are just at a glance. 

So, next time you are trying to get a picture of your kids or family, don't just stand or sit them in a straight line and say cheese! Get them involved in an activity. ....play with blocks, coloring with chalk on the sidewalk, jumping in the leaves.....or just get them talking......Your pictures will look much more relaxed and natural and you'll have captured a memory you'll treasure forever! 

And of course, there was a sweet reward for the girlies!.....

 

Be sure to visit next week! -I will be sharing the first of a 2 part Tuesday Tip on LIGHT!

If you enjoy the Tuesday Tips, be sure to share with your friends! Visit me on facebook for the latest from Karie Murray Photography!