From the category archives:

faq

your questions answered (part 3)

April 12, 2011

So, I just happen to be one of those people who totally unplugs when I get busy. I don’t really mean to … it just naturally occurs. I haven’t forgotten about the questions you guys so kindly asked me WEEKS ago, so I’m going to try to finish the rest of the questions up in this post.

questions | part 1 | part 2

*cracking knuckles*

Tristina asked …

After we move, Stephen will come back to Atlanta for one week every month. I will come back with him every three months or so for visits. Can we make a standing plan that I come see you for one day during those visits?

Easiest question ever – YES! We can even meet halfway at a park or something once summer gets here!

Antoinette (beautiful name!) asked …

Kind of a photography question: Do you “pose” your kids for your shots and clean up around them or quickly sweep things out of the background before you take a picture? I’m a total beginner photographer and I started out wanting to “keep it real” by having a policy not to arrange the candid shots taken around the house. But it seems that our “stuff” often clutters up the pictures.

Love your pictures :)

First of all, thank you!! So very sweet :)

And secondly, have you actually SEEN my pictures? Ha! I’m just teasing. In my normal everyday pictures, I don’t pose my kids unless the picture is very obviously posed. But it’s usually, “Emma, can you stand over here?” … *click* … “Wait, come back!! Argh, nevermind.”

So you know how I mentioned that I shoot with a wide-open aperture (smaller number) all the time? It’s really so that all of the crap in the background is blurred out. Because my house is not neat by any means. I have a 6-month old who is bored after doing things for about 4.8 minutes, and I have a 3-year old who never stops moving. Ever. A neat and clean house is simply not possible unless I never sit down. Or eat. Or go to the bathroom.

All kidding aside, I have definitely moved stuff out of the frame, or I have shot from a different angle to try to get fewer toys or clothes in the background, but I really do try to capture our everyday, including the not-so-pretty part of our everyday.

But then when the stars align (or I have someone coming over), I actually get things cleaned up.

And THAT lasts for about 14 minutes.

Christie asked …

I love that you take so many pictures. You inspire me to take just a quarter of the amount you do.

My question is this — what advice do you have for a mom who works full time to fit more photos in during the evening? When I go home I help fix dinner and then have to clean up, along with other various chores. Practice makes perfect when it comes to anything, but you have to have time to practice. What did you do when you had your little business making diapers and such? How did you balance it all and still have time for photography?

I’m also interested to know what you think about prime lenses as well. I just use my kit lens now, but I want to invest in something I’ll really love.

The sad thing is that you only see a fraction of pictures that I post. I probably only keep 25% of the pictures that I take. Yikes.

This is a tough question for me to answer, because I have the freedom to take pictures anytime I want. And I definitely did not know what I was doing back then when I didn’t have the chance to put that much time into it. If I worked outside of the home, I’d take my camera with me and take walks on my lunch breaks.

Actually, these are a couple that I took back when I was working full-time (and didn’t have kids, yet).

I also leave the kids with Ken sometimes and just go for short walks around our neighborhood. You don’t have to go to a beautiful place to get beautiful pictures!

And do a lot of shooting on the weekends! I know, weekends are busy around here, so I can imagine what it’s like for you, but I am living proof that you don’t have to dress your kids up and take them out to a beautiful location to practice your photography. You can start in your home!

And when you just can’t get out of the house, well …

I answered (or didn’t really answer) the question about prime lenses versus zoom lenses here.

Oh my goodness, I am totally loving these questions … you guys should all be news reporters. Or interrogators for the FBI.

Christine asked …

1. How do you take such great shots of every day moments while still being an active participant in them? I find at times that I don’t even feel like I was there because I focused too much on the photos.

2. I have a 9 month old who still benefits from being “worn”. I have a Moby wrap, which I really love, except for the fact that he is so interested in trying to lunge and grab at things, I’m terrified he is going to launch himself right out the top of it! Do you think he is just too old for it, am I being paranoid, or am I not getting him in well enough?

First of all, I don’t think about the photos … I just take them. Seriously. I get my settings right, and then I just shoot what I see. I would be terrified to take pictures of other people, because my comfort zone is MY house with MY kids. I know where all the best light is, I know what makes them laugh, I know their schedule, I know what they like to do best. So I really don’t have to focus too much on the photos. I just have fun and shoot.

To answer your babywearing question … you need a woven wrap STAT!!! Since it’s stretchy, a Moby wrap is really intended for itty bitty babies who don’t move around a lot. A woven wrap would definitely help you get a better “hold” on your baby and keep him tight. I still carry Lucy in a wrap around the house (and she’s 18lbs, 11oz) … I actually wrote a post about all of the different kind of wraps I use.

OR get a soft-structured carrier … Ergo, Beco Butterfly or Gemini, Angelpack, Boba, etc. I use a woven wrap around the house, but I use my Angelpack for shopping or walks around the neighborhood (now that she has to get out and swing or play) because it’s so easy to get her in and out.

PLEASE let me know if you have any questions – babywearing is one of my most favorite things to talk about these days. ;)

Amanda asked …

How often do you get pics printed (if at all)? I have great pics of my kids but lots of times fail to get printed cause I’m lazy and then my walls go bare. And when you do print them, does your editing style translate to prints well? I love the different looks of cool edits, but wonder if I do them will they actually look good hanging on a wall. Oh and where do you get prints from? I’ve heard mpix is good, but wondered your opinion.

What camera bag do you have? I’ve got a trip coming up in a few weeks to Charlotte & Asheville w/my mom and Lincoln (SO EXCITED-first time to NC) and need a camera bag.

Babywearing Q, what length is your wrap? I went on a walk with Lincoln in his new woven I made, ruck sack carry. The tails seemed so long, its 4.5yds. Thinking I need to chop it some more.

Random life Q, will you be eating dairy again when Lucy weans? There are often times when I’m making something with cheesy goodness and I think “poor Keli she can’t eat this” :) But then I think about how you’ve said that its part of why you are so many lbs down from pre-baby weight and I wonder if maybe I should go dairy free to lose a few :)

I have always been really really bad at getting pictures printed, but I’m working on it. I just printed out the first couple of months of my project 365, and I am so happy with how they turned out! I definitely need to do that more often.

My editing style has turned out okay, so far. Except for pictures I got printed last year for my parents – they turned out really yellow. I’m not sure if it was my editing or what, but they turned out awful. Of course, me being me, I waited until the last minute to get them printed, so I had to give them to them how they were. [And that just reminded me I need to get those re-printed]

I honestly can’t remember where I got the bad ones printed, but my favorite printer is White House Custom Color.

Okay, don’t yell at me, but I don’t currently use a camera bag [gasp]. I just wrap my camera in a cloth diaper and pop it in my diaper bag [which is a hugemongous Vera Bradley tote]. I am in the market for a good camera bag once Lucy is down to 1-2 diapers per outing. I’ve heard great things about Ketti bags, Epiphanie bags and Kelly Moore bags.

As for the babywearing question, I love size 6 wraps, which are 4.6 meters long … which would be about 5 yards. Having said that, I still use the type of carries that go around Lucy a couple of times to keep her secure. She’s a little wiggle worm.

For the rucksack carry, I tuck in my tails by using a tibetan tie – instructions here.

Ooh, dairy … tough question. I’ve thought about this a lot, actually. I will admit that my digestion has improved since cutting out dairy, but I will probably go back to eating dairy once Lucy weans. I definitely won’t be eating as much, and I will continue using the Earth Balance butter because it is SO GOOD. I have found a lot of other great substitutes that I will keep cooking with, but I will not hesitate to eat a slice of pizza every once in a while.

As a matter of fact, ever since we started giving Lucy some solids, I have been able to sneak dairy here and there with no side effects on her, so … we may be past it? I’m not full-dairy, yet (probably won’t be until she weans), but I can eat regular hamburger buns or a few cheese nips here and there. Woohoo!!

I don’t see anything wrong with dairy in moderation, but if there’s one thing I found out while on this diet, dairy is in just about everything. Seriously. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to think about what I was eating, and I bet I will check ingredients for a very long time.

I have decided that once Lucy weans, and I can focus on something other than dairy-free, we will be cutting out high fructose corn syrup and food dyes. Emma and Ken are going to kill me, because boy do they love their Captain Crunch Berries.

Kristin asked …

I would love to know how you shoot subjects in nighttime settings or low light settings without using your flash, or if you use a speed light. I love your photos from Sea world and the night time shots are amazing!!

MANUAL!! I shoot 100% of the time in manual. For low light images, I shoot with a high ISO and then adjust my exposure accordingly. I do not use a flash or a speed light. For the Sea World images, there was a lot of light coming from the actual show, so I only had to shoot at ISO 640.

ISO 2500 (!!) * f/2.8 * shutter speed 1/50 sec * 50mm

But there’s a reason you don’t see very many nighttime shots around here … I don’t know how to use a speed light. I will only shoot at night if there is a LOT of light around. And then I usually convert to black and white, because I can’t ever get my white balance right.

Ashley Jean asked …

do you use noise reduction (in detail) in lightroom 3?
I just found out how to use it and it’s great. I learned from this video, it’s a must watch if you don’t know how to use. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmc8aHCCI3Y amazing results :)

I don’t, because I use LR 2!!! I know, I’m ancient. And cheap. I will definitely keep this saved for when I upgrade to LR3. Thank you!

Kim asked …

My kids play both indoor and outdoor sports. I have a hard time getting decent pictures in basketball gymnasiums and hockey rinks. What would you recommend?

Good question! And I have no clue. I really wish I knew, but I just don’t. So I’m throwing it out there for anyone else to answer. Please help Kim, sweet readers!!

And last but most certainly not least:

Ashley Jean asked …

I would love to see how you edit just some of your photos. I know you don’t have “a full-proof recipe ” but just a tutorial on how you edit a photo in Lightroom. Please

I am going to do this in a separate post. Soon. I really really will. But it is late at night, and I want to get this one posted before people forget who I am, much less that they asked me a question.

Thank you all so so much for being so amazing! XO

{ 11 comments }

your questions answered (part 2)

March 23, 2011

in faq,lightroom,lightroom tutorials,photography

I bet you thought I’d never finish answering your questions, did you? We’ve been so busy … growing, teething, playing outside, teething, not sleeping … the usual.

Texan Mama (Gretchen) asked …

Do you prefer zoom lenses or primes? Why?

Here’s a biggie: what is the most common aperture you shoot at? Why? (me personally I’m always messing up between too much blurred background and not enough)

What do you think has helped you grow the most with your technical skills? Forums? A mentorship? Classes? YouTube? Trial and Error? if you have any specific references, please give ‘em up.

I have a hard time with that first question. I think if I HAD to choose, I’d prefer a prime lens, because it kind of forces me to look for the shot I want instead of zooming in or out on the “right” shot. Being forced to find the right shot really makes me a better photographer. But I also really like the flexibility of a zoom lens. I currently have a 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8 and the 24-70mm f/2.4. I love them all for various reasons, but I think I could do everything with the 50mm if I absolutely had to. The main reason I love the 24-70mm is the ability to shoot wide, because the 50mm and 85mm are not wide angle at all.

As for my aperture, I pretty much always shoot wide open, baby. I am notorious for having super soft images because I just don’t close down my aperture. Ever. That is my biggest downfall, really. I need to learn to close it down every once in a while, but I’m a 1.8 to 2.4 lover.

As for growing technically …

Forums? I am not currently a member of any photography forums. I tried one a few years ago, but my images were torn apart in the most horrid way, and I decided that wasn’t for me. I can handle constructive criticism, but I can’t handle being ripped apart.

A mentorship? I wish I could work with someone amazing, but I’ve never had that opportunity.

Classes? I’ve taken one online course that didn’t really teach me anything I didn’t already know. But it was free, so I don’t know what I was expecting?

YouTube? I use YouTube for tutorials on Lightroom and Photoshop, but I’ve never used it to help improve the actual technical side. Maybe I should!

Trial and Error? Yes, yes, YES!!! I learned how to shoot in manual by turning the dial to “M” and practicing.

If you have any specific references, please give ‘em up. Okay, here’s my secret. Flickr. A few years ago, Flickr was very open and people shared their EXIF data for their images. So I would see an image I liked, and then I would look at their EXIF data to see how they did it. I would put my camera into the same settings and shoot. Over time, I let go of shooting like others and found my own style, but I don’t think I would have ever really found my style had I not been able to look at what others were doing.

Now, a lot of Flickrers have turned off their EXIF data, so it’s not as easily accessible as it used to be. (But mine is always on for the images I take with my Canon!)

Jess asked …

Do you want to try to get back to the Zoo when the weather warms up? We haven’t been since the last time we met up!

You said one time that you weren’t interested in having a photography business because of the pressure you’d put on yourself to capture perfect pictures for your clients. Has your idea about that changed at all lately or do you see it changing in the future?

When I finally get pregnant, I’m going to ask you for sling advice :)

Yes!! Let’s definitely get together when the weather warms up! I would absolutely love that.

I am still not looking to start a photography business. I need to finally be completely honest about this whole photography business deal. So … here goes.

Everyone and their brother has a photography business these days. There are so many people who think that because they have a nice camera and because their mom told them that they take good pictures, they can make a little extra money being a photographer. So they start a business and charge practically nothing to do a session. But they are taking business away from photographers out there who have been working so hard and doing this for many years and that are charging what SHOULD be charged.

Now, I totally understand that every photographer had to start from somewhere. I get that. But my issue is with people who really don’t know enough about photography to be a “professional photographer” – even a beginner professional photographer. I actually created a website and a business name about 5 years ago, and I am so thankful that nothing ever came of it. I was NOT a photographer. I shot in auto mode, I didn’t know how to use Photoshop or Lightroom, I didn’t know the basic rules of photography. I seriously thought, “Well, I have a $1,000 camera – I could do that!” Oh man, I cringe just thinking about it. And even 5 years later, I honestly feel like I am just not good enough to hang a shingle.

Photographs are forever. The pictures I take of my girls will be around for generations to come. I honestly do not feel like I could hold the fate of someone else’s family pictures or wedding pictures or baby pictures that will be in their family FOR GENERATIONS in my amateur hands. I really wish people would think about that before they charge people for those photos.

Also? You have to be ON TOP OF IT to run a business. Our wedding photographer (Plantation Photography, just in case they have Google alerts set up for their business name, heh) lost/deleted/whatever 80% of our wedding photos and NEVER made it right. We fought with them for almost a year before we finally gave up. The only thing they were good at was avoiding our calls and letters and emails. It just goes to show that there is a lot of pressure on photographers, and I don’t think I could handle that at this time in my life.

But the bottom line is that I am not a professional photographer. I don’t play one on tv, and I simply cannot charge people at this point in my life. Will I ever feel like I’m good enough to be Keli Hoskins Photography? I don’t know. I may not ever feel like I am cut out to do this professionally. Not everyone who has a nice camera and who can be a decent photographer needs to be a professional.

Phew. Well, that was probably more than I should have said about that, but there you go. I feel better.

And finally, YES … please feel free to ask me anything regarding babywearing. It’s how Lucy and I survived those first few months.

Elaine asked …

I just ordered a new 50mm 1.4 lens. I’m VERY excited to get it but not really sure how to use it! Do you KNOW what settings to put your camera on for say a picture like you took of Lucy’s beautiful eyes in your recent You Capture post, or do you just shoot and get lucky? Because that is what I do right now with my basic 18-55… Thanks!

First of all, congratulations on your 50mm 1.4!! I’m totally jealous! You are going to love it!

I shoot 100% in manual. So I pretty much know what aperture and ISO I need for whatever and wherever I’m shooting, and then I set the exposure around that. For that picture of Lucy, I had her facing a window on a cloudy day, so I set the ISO to 400. Of course, I pretty much always shoot wide open, so my aperture was at 1.8 on my 50mm, but I probably should have closed down a little bit more to, somewhere around 2.8 so that her entire face and eyes would have been in focus. (See? Not professional photographer material!)

Once I started shooting in manual, choosing the ISO got easier over time. Now, I do let my camera choose my shutter speed based on ISO, aperture and what exposure I have chosen.

I would say I shoot in about 3 different ISO zones – 125’ish when I’m outside, 400-640 when I’m inside, 1000-1600 at night or in dark places. Of course, I use other settings based on what I’m shooting, but those are pretty good starting points.

Okay, there are a few more questions in the original post as well as a few in my part one answers, but since this post is already so long, I’ll post it and finish up the rest of the questions over the next few days.

Thank you!!

{ 6 comments }

your questions answered (part 1)

March 16, 2011

in faq,photography

If I don’t break this up into parts, I will never get them all answered.

Steph asked …

So, I’m well into my second year of owning a dslr (Nikon D60) but have only been using the basic lens it comes with. What is my next step, if I just like to take photographs for recreational reasons and not professionally?

First of all, I think your pictures are just wonderful, Steph, and I adore the moments that you capture with your kids. For the money and flexibility, you just can’t beat a 50mm. The basic Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is just a little over $100 and is truly one of the most versatile lenses out there. It takes some time to get used to prime lenses (ones that don’t zoom), but you’ll be hooked in no time!

I used my Canon 50mm f/1.8 for our entire Orlando trip last summer, and never regretted not bringing my other lens with me!

Emily M. asked …

i would LOVE to know how you learned to use photoshop! classes? books? trial and error? tutorials?

I started using Photoshop about 12 years ago when I was working as the Quality Assurance Coordinator for a regional vending company. My boss thought designing brochures and trade show banners were easy, so he bought Photoshop and told me to get it done. Only problem was that I have a degree in marketing … NOT in design. But I learned a lot of the ins and outs of PS by pretty much sitting in my office day in and day out designing things.

As for the photo side of it, I have learned a lot through trial and error, but I have learned the most through online tutorials. Some of my favorite tutorial blogs are The CoffeeShop Blog, I Heart Faces (Fix it Friday posts are great for learning how to do things in Photoshop), and YouTube. Seriously, if you just search for whatever you want to know on YouTube, there will probably be a tutorial about it.

I am not scared to Google things, though. I am a huge fan of trial and error!

Becky @ Life with Kaishon asked …

Every day you see beautiful images by photographers taken from all around the world. Some of the photographers are famous. Some of them are not. How do you deal with feeling like your pictures are not *as good* as theirs?

Are your parents sad that you are done having babies?

What has been your favorite age Emma has experienced so far?

I know you hike a lot and do all sorts of active things with your family, do you worry about dropping your camera? Would you be fearful to take your camera on the beach?

I just read somewhere that if you are a professional photographer you will need to buy a new camera body every.single.year. What do you think of that? That freaked me out a little.

Haven’t you already interviewed me, Becky?? {wink}

How do I deal with photographers who are better than me? Since I see photographers that are better than me every single day, this is an easy question. I, of course, strive to be a better photographer, so I am inspired by them. I am constantly finding new ideas, especially when it comes to shooting the “everyday” images of my girls, since that’s what I tend to do the most right now. When I look at photographers like Rachel Devine, I’m inspired to shoot in more natural tones (rather than the vintage processing I do all. the. time.) – and when I look at Beth Armsheimer, I am inspired to work with more purples and blues in my processing – and when I look at Kelle Hampton, I’m inspired to just capture my everyday life rather than dressing the girls up and tromping through the woods. Those are just a few of the photographers in my Google reader, but I could go on and on. So to answer your question in one word – INSPIRATION.

I don’t think my parents are necessarily “sad” that we’re done having babies. Are you, Mom? My parents have always been the most supportive parents, and I’ve always been quite an independent little booger. It used to get me into a bit of trouble {ahem}. I know that they would love to have twenty-eight grandchildren running around, so they are probably sad in that extent … but at the same time, they have always wanted what was best for me and my brother.

My favorite age? Oh goodness, that is a tough one. I think two was my favorite. Wait … ack, I don’t know. I LOVE the stage when they start crawling and getting into things. I’m a lazy mom, so I prefer letting them roam and explore and tear the house apart rather than have to entertain them. I really loved two, because her vocabulary was exploding, and her personality starting coming through. Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” was mistaken, because there was nothing terrible about two. Three has been a little tough, but mostly because I’m quickly coming to the realization that she is a lot like me. And that’s scary. But I’ve also enjoyed three, because she has become a lot more independent and outspoken and curious, so it’s like having a little person in the house. I don’t have to “oversimplify” things … I just tell her the truth and she gets it. So that didn’t answer your question, because I’ve loved it all!!

You can tell you do photographer interviews every week … you have the best questions!

Honestly, I’ve never really been scared to take my camera anywhere. And I have taken it to a lot of places! I’ve taken it to the beach, I’ve (carefully) walked into the water with it, I’ve taken it up high and down low … and I’ve never really been afraid to drop it.

AND THEN I DROPPED IT LAST WEEK!

IN MY DRIVEWAY!!!!

AND IT BOUNCED 3 TIMES!!!

And now my 85mm lens is broken.

{sob}

As for getting a new camera body every year? I think that’s kind of crazy. Now, I fully believe that if you’re a professional, you need to have the best camera body you can afford. I’m not saying you can’t be a professional without the best camera, but I believe that if you’re going to make that jump into “professional photographer,” you should definitely invest in the best camera you can or else you’ll feel like you’re constantly trying to catch up with everyone else. At the same time, if you’re a famous professional photographer with a gajillion clients, then I’m assuming that a.) you can afford to get a new body every year, and b.) you’re using your current body like crazy, therefore rendering it necessary to get a new body. But I wouldn’t know anything about that. I do know that I’ve had my current camera body for a little over two years, and I’m jones’ing to get a nicer one. If I could afford it, I’d upgrade for sure, lol.

Kathy asked …

How does one get to be as awesome as you?

When Emma was around 2, how in the world did you get her to be your model? Like the cute Halloween image I still adore.

It takes a lot of practice to be as awesome as I am. HAHAHAHA!

Actually, I got very lucky with her. Emma has pretty much always liked having her picture taken , so it hasn’t been that hard to get her to model for me.

It’s funny you should mention this particular image …

She was actually getting over a horrible cold so I kept her home from preschool that day, she fell down the hill that we were walking down to get to this little trail, and she was beyond cranky. It took seven takes, and this was the 3rd one, I think? I just told her to “look at me” and then hit the remote (that was inside the bowl). It was pure LUCK to catch that expression on her face. She was a total trooper for this one!

Debra asked …

Right after I purchased my preowned D40 last summer, I decided I HAD to have a prime lens and bought a 35 mm 1:1.8.

I of course researched it at the time & settled on that one, but now it seems like everyone’s ‘Cannot Live Without’ lens is the 50 mm 1.8.

I understand they’re both ‘primes’ so you have to use your feet to zoom in and out, but beyond that I don’t have a clue. It looks like the 35 mm 1.8 is slightly more expensive than the 50 mm 1.8.

Which one would you buy of those two?

Well, I have the Canon 50mm f/1.8, and the 35mm is on my list of lenses that I would like to have. So I’m the wrong person to ask! {wink wink} I love my 50mm so so much, but I’d love to have the 35mm solely for the wider angle. Basically, you’re getting “more shot” with your 35mm … the 50mm is a little more “zoomed in.” However, it really depends on how you’re using it … if you do a lot of portraits of one or two people, then the 50mm is probably your best lens. But if you prefer landscapes or group portraits or entire room shots, then the 35mm would be better. BUT they are both cheap (for camera lenses) – so why not have them both? I’m an enabler.

Also, in looking at the pictures on your blog and your style, I think you would really love the 50mm, so you should add it to your Mother’s Day wish list. You’re welcome.

Edited to add: please read the comments for more information about this … I shoot with a Canon, so I didn’t know that the 50mm 1.8 will not auto focus on the Nikon D40. So sorry!!! There is some good information shared by some awesome readers in the comments.

Okay, I’m going to end with that and get the rest of them another day. This is super fun!! If you missed the “ask me anything” post the first time around, please feel free to ask me something here. I’m always willing to put off writing actual blog posts from my imagination.

{ 15 comments }

ask me anything

March 11, 2011

in blog business,faq

So Lucy has decided that turning 6 months old means that we should just start over and she should act like a newborn. Wheeeeeee!

Instead of writing a post ~~complaining about~~ discussing how tired I am or wracking my brain to come up with something interesting, I’m opening up my blog for questions. Fire away.

Also, I need to put some more focus on writing photography articles/tutorials, so please let me know if there is anything you want to ask me re: photography.

I am clearly not an expert, but people seem to think I kind of know what I’m doing sometimes.

{ 13 comments }

q&a // part 2

July 21, 2010

in faq,general photography tutorials

Beth asked …

I just got Lightroom. Teach me how to use it? (yes, that’s a question)

Also, Anna and Noah think you are super talented with your blanket/quilt making skills. Anna wants to know if she can lay on it. Can she?

I promise to start working on some Lightroom tutorials. I have a list already … just gotta find the time to write and screenshot and write some more.

And I hope Anna and Noah and Eli are all enjoying that quilt. I had a blast making it while thinking of your amazing family and your children. All five of them.

Sarah asked …

How the heck do you save all your photos once you finish editing them in PS?
Do you save the original version also, or only the edited version?
Do you have a way you file them so you can find them easily?
When you put a watermark on your photo, do you save an original without it in case you want to print it out one day? Or do you just take it off later? How do you do that if you save your pic as a jpeg instead of the photoshop version?

Oh good questions!! They all kind of tie into each other, so I’ll go through my workflow, and that should cover all of them.

I shoot in RAW format only – there are many reasons for this, so that’s a different post altogether. But let’s just start with that.

I upload my images into Lightroom straight from my camera or card and initially arrange them by date. Once they’re all uploaded, I go through them and delete the unwanted images. Sometimes, I do quick edits as I’m going through them, but most of the time, I just click through and reject/delete. [I will write a full post on how I do this very soon.]

Once I have the images I want to keep, I go through and edit them. I basically have a little folder with my favorite presets that I use all.the.time. Some of them aren’t anything more than a little boost in brightness & contrast while others completely change the tones of the image. If I have a bunch of images that were basically taken in the same light (i.e., Disney images) then I batch-edit using the same preset. [tutorial coming soon]

I don’t save originals straight out of my camera, because it is one-click to “reset” the image back to it’s original format in Lightroom. Plus, that would take up WAY too much room on my computer.

At this very moment, the images that I upload straight from my camera/card are on my computer (C and D drives) while I have my Lightroom catalog backed up on one of our servers. One of these days, I’ll get a separate harddrive just for my images, but the server is a great backup for now.

So once I finish editing in Lightroom, I send to PS for final edits, re-sizing, adding my watermark, making storyboards, etc. I export all images from Lightroom using JPEG format (I do not resize!) into a folder on one of our personal servers. I have them organized from there into about a zillion different folders.

Most edited originals go into a folder called “Lightroom Exports” – if I make changes in PS (adding textures, changing tones, etc), then I save it in that folder, as well. So if I need to go back and print an image, I pull the large file from that folder.

Once I edit in PS, I resize to no more than 1000px on the longest side and add my watermark. Then, I save that image into a folder called “Flickr” – I have subfolders there for various subjects (emma, house, vacation, etc.) All of these folders are also on our server, so the ONLY images on my computer are the originals uploaded straight from my camera.

The re-sized and watermarked images are the ones I upload to Flickr or to my blog.

As for organizing my photos, everything is organized in Lightroom by date, and I add tags when I have time. Outside of Lightroom, all of my images are organized into different folders that probably make sense only to me.

Did that cover everything? Please let me know if you have any other questions or would like to see more clarification.

Misty (a sweet friend from high school with the cutest little girl!!) asked …

When did you decide to stay home with Emma full-time? Did you leave for maternity leave and never go back or did you go back for a while and then make that decision? And how did y’all make that work financially (without me getting too much into your business)?

We decided while I was pregnant that I would leave my job and stay home with Emma, so when I left my job a week before she was born, we all knew that was it. I know a lot of people who do maternity leave and then don’t go back so they can get paid for it, but I just couldn’t do that, so my last day at work was my last day of getting paid.

Not to get too specific, but Ken bought our house while he was still single, so we knew that his salary alone could pay all of our bills/mortgage/groceries, etc. I made decent money at my old job, but I used to to joke that his salary paid the bill while my salary was the tip.

Since we made the decision while I was pregnant, we knew that we would be losing my salary, so we socked away a lot of money into savings, as well.

Then, in March 2008, Ken made the tough decision to leave his well-paying corporate job (due to stress and unbelievable hours) to start his own business. And all financial security flew out the window. I can’t even tell you how we made it the past couple of years … I truly have no idea how we paid our bills on what was in our bank account. It was more stress than I could ever imagine, and there were definitely times where we were borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but we made it through. And due to an opportunity that he just couldn’t pass up, Ken is back in the corporate world. (Not for the same company as before)

I can tell you that we worked VERY hard to stretch our pennies, and that included using cloth diapers on Emma, menu planning and coupon clipping to save money on groceries, adjusting to lower/higher thermostat settings, using homemade cleaning products and detergent, shopping at Goodwill and consignment stores, making some of Emma’s clothes and cloth diaper covers, reading library books instead of buying new, renting movies from RedBox or the library instead of buying them, asking for clothes and shoes (for Emma) for birthdays/holidays, eating out was a luxury, just doing without.

But sometimes, it’s just not doable. I know many many moms who cry while driving to work, because they’ve calculated and calculated to no avail. Sometimes, doing without just isn’t enough.

In the end, I have no secret formula … I honestly feel very blessed.

Casey asked …

Where did you get the headphones?

… from this post.

I think I originally told someone that the headphones came from Target, but I think they were actually from Walmart. The brand is Phillips, and the package says 6+ years, but they fit Emma just fine. They only had one color (blue/white) when I went, but perhaps they come in different colors? I assure you, we would have wound up with purple or pink if they had those options.

Tiffany Lee asked …

I love the color of your photos and am just curious how much of that is camera setting versus post-processing.On average how many photos do you post process? Do you typically batch process them? And when you are post processing are you manually adjusting your photos or typically using actions.

… from this post.

I actually emailed Tiffany back straight away, but I thought I’d post my answer here in case anyone else was wondering.

I post-process pretty much all of my images, even if it’s just a contrast or brightness adjustment. I shoot in manual, so hardly any of my images have the same settings, but if I have a series of photos that are all taken in the same light / same subject / etc. (like in my recent sidewalk chalk post) then I do batch-process in Lightroom.

Because I use Lightroom, I don’t use any actions, but I do use presets, and I pretty much always use my own that I’ve developed over the past year. I would love to try out some actions one of these days – I definitely don’t see anything wrong with manipulating images!! – but I still use Photoshop Elements, and I’m going to wait until I can purchase CS4 (or whatever the latest version is) before I start playing with actions.

***********************************

Okay, phew. That’s all of the questions I saw … if I missed one, please let me know! And thanks – that was fun!! I’ll have to do that again soon. :)

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