Video FAQ: Part 2

Not long ago, I blogged a couple of videos that answered questions I have been asked frequently. I also posted the photos that were the product of those videos. My hope was that this could help people who are more visual.

So here is part 2 of my video blog posts :) As always, if you have a question you'd like answered, feel free to leave it in the comments. I will be working on shooting another set of videos soon!

As before... these are unedited and right out of the video camera, so you will have to excuse my randomness :)

Video FAQ Part 1

I often get emails (or facebook messages) with questions from other photographers. I am always blown away each time I get an email like this because in my mind, I am still that girl a couple years ago with a camera in my hand and no idea what to do with it. I know when I stop and think about it I have really come a long way. But to have someone ask me a question about how I do something is a total honor and a huge compliment!

With that said... I do things the way I do them not because it is the "right" way or the best way, but because it's how I learned and it works for me. I have been completely blessed by some people who are fantastic at photography who have taken the time to teach me things. People who have answered my questions and helped me out where they can.

I know sometimes for me, reading FAQ posts help, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they confuse me more. So I had a thought. What if there was a way to SEE the answers to the questions? And an idea was born :) I have a much BIGGER idea that I am still working on, but for the next few weeks, I wanted to share with you pieces of that.

Recently I did a shoot where I brought a couple of girls who are interested in learning photography. We set the shoot up as a way of teaching. I was trying my hand at mentoring and teaching what I know. I've had some requests for workshops and mentoring lately, and I am trying to figure out where I fit into all of that, without jumping the gun. But in the midst of this shoot, I had the girls tape some footage for me of what I was doing. I wanted to answer questions that I often get asked and show what it is I do. Hopefully someone, somewhere will find this helpful. Or at least entertaining :)

Here is some of the footage from our shoot with Nicole. It's unedited and in all of its glory. I hope you find it helpful (and any feedback you could give me would be very helpful in my bigger project!). I'll be posting several of these in the next few weeks so stay tuned!













I hope these videos can be of some help! If they are, I'd love to hear about it! If you have questions, or would like to know other things about how I shoot, please let me know in the comments below so I can work on this project! Keep checking back... I have lots of footage! :)

One-on-one Mentoring (Huntington Beach Everyday: Nicole)

I had no CLUE what I was doing.
I had a new camera, and a passion.
But NO knowledge... no prior experience... and no idea what to do.

When I was given my very first camera, I never DREAMED that that passion would take on a life of its own and eventually become a full fledged business. One of the most common questions I get is how did I get started. And while I've attempted to answer this question more than once... it is so hard for me to really explain, because I honestly believe that much of my success is due to a few key people in my life who invested in me. People who believed in me more than I believed in myself. Fellow photographers that had nothing to gain by helping me, but did it anyway. To this day I wonder why. I just feel incredibly blessed that a few people took it upon themselves to be kind and helpful and encouraging. I am where I am today, largely due to their wisdom.

Lately I've gotten several emails asking me if I've considered doing a workshop, or if I might be offering one soon. I am completely BLOWN AWAY by just that simple request! It makes me feel incredibly honored and blessed to do what I do. I love this amazing network of photographers that is Southern California! And while I am not yet at a place where I am ready to offer workshops... I am looking at the possibility of developing a one-on-one mentoring type of thing.

I gave it a little test drive with two very special girls who are a regular part of my life. They have both expressed an interest in starting their own businesses, and so I made them my guinea pigs :) Special thanks to Crystal and Shirley for helping me develop what could end up being a really cool thing!

I set up a special shoot with my gorgeous friend and past bride, Nicole. She was a fabulous sport and a beautiful model! In addition to shooting, I video taped some special FAQ answers that I will be sharing here on my blog. I hope that by offering these sessions and by posting some videos and answers to questions, I can give back even a small percentage of the help that has been given to me!

I wanted to share some of the photos from our session because... well... Nicole is gorgeous.












































































You may also notice that the last few blogs I've changed my logo/watermark a little bit. I've been playing around with different branding... working on some new projects! Diandra Ann Photography is in a big transition place right now! Pretty excited about what is to come!!!

Inspiration

I blogged a little video a few days back about inspiration.
I mentioned that I would like to expand a little more on this in a later post.
Welcome to that post :)

Inspiration comes in so many forms.
I am inspired by music videos (just today Sugarland's new video inspired me to paint my fingernails bright pink!), billboards, advertisements, other photographers, fashion magazines, and people in general. I have also been known to be inspired by a google search every now and then.

That's what happened last week. I was searching for some specific images and I happened to come across this:




And I fell in love...

I adore everything about this picture. I couldn't find ONE THING that I didn't like. I was inspired :)

So during a shoot last week, I asked Nicole if I could try a specific shot that I'd been wanting to try. But here's the fabulous thing about inspiration... it's not the same as the original. Normally I wouldn't share several shots that are this similar, but I love how this one photo inspired so many photos that are similar and yet sooo different.

More from this session coming soon :)

FAQ Video Blog #2

So for those of you who patiently watched my entire video blog a couple of days ago... here is part 2.
A little shorter.
Just as many "ums".
Just as much arm flailing.

The answer that you will hear is in response to several questions about where I get inspiration from and what my style is. I get these questions a lot it seems... but I've kind of avoided them because they are so difficult to answer and nail down.

I may do a follow up post to this. As I say at the beginning of the video... I've seen different answers to this question (in different forms) on many blogs recently. I think it is something good to think about as photographers and I think it is good to always be looking for new inspiration and ideas.

Enjoy!

Oh and please ignore the first sentence or two. It was left over from the last FAQ and I couldn't get rid of it :) Still learning to use this little flip!

FAQ Video blog part 1

I typically think of myself as a creative person.
You have to be to do what I do, right?
Well today I attempted being creative with my post by doing a video.

What I discovered is that I am not only creative...
But I apparently like to talk.
Even when no one is ACTUALLY listening.
I talked for 15 minutes in response to a couple of questions!

So I've split it into two posts so as not to bore you with my voice all at once :) I'll post the next video in a day or two.
Sorry if I say "um" and if I sound weird, or wave my arms around a lot.
But here I am. Uncut :)



***Note: For some reason when I made this I was convinced that it was OCTOBER??? And it's taken me several days to actually get the video uploaded (hey, it's my first time!) so I apologize for the date at the beginning that is completely wrong.***

FAQ: Engagement Sessions

I have expensive taste.

It's kind of become a running joke amongst my family and my fiance that given a choice between two items, I will inevitably pick the most expensive one. Not on purpose... it's just how I am.

BUT... I love a bargain.
Seriously.

There are some things I am willing to splurge for, but I would much rather find it on sale! Buy one get one free... 50% off... buy this, get that... You name it... if it's on sale, I need it!

Soooo... I think free engagement sessions are a FANTASTIC deal!
I mean, how much better can you get then free? Well, unless I pay YOU.

One of the questions I get asked the most is "Do I have to do an engagement session?"
The answer of COURSE is no.
But I think you should.
I think you should SO MUCH that I do them for FREE if I am shooting your wedding!

Engagement photos are definitely one of my very favorite things to shoot. There's excitement and love without pressure. Without other people. Without guests and time constraints. Just you, your fiance, and your love story.

Often times, the engagement session is the first time I get to spend time with my bride and groom. I get to hang out with you, hear your story, see your interaction... but even more than that, it's often the first time my bride and groom have gotten to spend time with ME. You get to see how I work... how I shoot. That way, when it is time for your wedding, we are old friends! And we know what to expect and how things will work. It just makes the wedding day run even more smoothly!

Not only that, but how fun is it having engagement pictures??? There are so many fun things you can do with engagement photos on your wedding day. Here's the thing... Since I've been a photographer, I've always been a photographer. But now I'm a bride. As I'm planning my wedding, I am sooooo excited about all of the ways I am going to use our engagement pictures. Guest books, slideshows, save the date cards, decorations... There are so many options!

Okay, so you've decided to do an engagement session (And I am jumping up and down with excitement). Now what? Where do we go? What do you wear? And what is it going to be like?

I want your engagement session to be about YOU! I want it to show off your personality and who you are as a couple. Did you meet in high school? Awesome! Let's shoot there! Do you love to go hiking? Perfect, we can shoot on the side of a mountain! Do you love to read together? Cool... we'll hit the library! There are so many choices of locations... and it doesn't have to be where your best friend had their photos taken. It should be uniquely yours!

So you've got the perfect location in mind... but what to wear? Well what did you wear last Saturday on date night? Because that would be perfect! You don't have to wear perfectly matching outfits. In fact, it's usually better if you don't! Wear what you are comfortable in, making sure to coordinate but not be too matchy matchy. Think about your venue and how you want your photos to feel.

You've dressed to impress, you've picked a venue that you love and we are getting ready to shoot. What now? RELAX! Have fun! Be yourself! Love each other. That's it. No joke! It's THAT easy! And don't worry, I will help you out :) You don't have to just KNOW what to do.

My fiance and I took our enagement photos just a couple of weeks ago. The amazing Jordana of Hazelnut photography shot our session and it was amazing! One of our favorite things to do together is to ride Javi's motorcycles. So naturally, we took one with us! You will notice that in this picture, he is wearing a t-shirt. Nothing fancy... just a t-shirt. That's what he wears. So that's what he wore. I love this picture because it's us. It's not someone else's idea of who we should be.

FAQ: What's in my bag?

Twitter.
It's taken the world by storm.
And now it has taken over my house!!!

It started with my mom. Then my dad (I thought pigs were beginning to sprout wings at this point). And today... my grandmother tweeted. On twitter.

Pigs have sprouted wings and are flying freely throughout the air.

Social networking is really an amazing thing. I am grateful for the conversations that it has opened up. One of the questions that comes up routinely in those conversations is some form of "What's in your bag?"

So here it is.

I shoot with a Canon 5d. I ADORE it. It was given to me as a very generous gift and I am totally blessed by it! Seriously, it has made a huge difference in the quality of my photos.

I would like to take a minute and say this. I personally do not think you need a 5d to be a professional. I shot my first couple of weddings, and several sessions with a Canon Rebel Xti. Then I upgraded to a Canon 20d. I shot with that for a long time (it's still my back up), and then a Canon 30d. I thought I would shoot with that forever. I did notice a difference in the quality of my shots when I upgraded to the 5d, but the biggest difference I noticed is that my lenses are actually true to what they're supposed to be, because the 5d is full frame.

I adore prime lenses. I shoot 99% of my engagement and other sessions with my 50mm 1.4. I also use this for probably 80% of my weddings. It is for sure my favorite lens. I use it for ceremony shots, a huge portion of my portrait shots, and even some reception shots.

I also use an 85mm 1.8. I use this for close ups during portraits, and some during the ceremony. I also love it for a few first dance shots. It is good for low lit receptions if you want to get a little tighter on the bride and groom.

The newest lens I have come to love is the 28mm 1.8. This is great for "scene setting" shots. It's also a great one for large families!

I am a BIG advocate for prime lenses. I prefer them over any other lens. I would rather move my feet than zoom my lens. I have found that this has really changed the way I shoot. I love it.

I do occasionally use a 70-200 at weddings, and although I have heard some wedding photographers say this is a MUST HAVE if you will be shooting weddings, I have shot entire weddings without using it once.

On my wish list are the 15mm fish eye lens and the 100mm macro lens. I am looking forward to getting both of those at some point!

Lenses, and even camera bodies, are really a matter of preference. Like everything else. I would strongly suggest renting equipment before buying it, because it gets expensive and you want to be sure you are going to like what you are investing in.

Just for fun, here's a picture that my cousin, James, caught of me when I was shooting Sarah last week in Oregon.