Wedding Album {Legend}

During my little vacation over the winter I was blessed to have a 12x12 Legend book order come in for Nellie and Casey's wedding. I was elated to get to do a book for them! It turned out amazing and with it being the first book from a new printer I was so pleased with the outcome and REALLY impressed with the quality. The thing weighed 14 lbs!! I told Nellie that I had a really hard time giving it to her because I wanted to keep it :)

There are 20 spreads in the book, 40 sides and since Nellie and Casey's wedding was so unique and amazing I think their spreads are some of my favorites ( I did just do a book for Laura and Chipper and that museum and her bird cage veil made for some awesomeness too :). Here is a peak into Nellie and Casey's book;
 

 

 

New Product; Accordion Books!

I love these SO much that I am going to have to get one for my own purse! These little wallet size accordion books are perfect for mom's, dad's, grandma's and just about anybody. They showcase ten images in a beautifully sturdy and durable little book with leather like front and back covers, a rigid interior and gorgeous print quality. For more details check out your client gallery or the investment page!

New Year New Bag

 I am in loooove! I have long carried a crumpler bag, and I loved it a whole lot but it was just so heavy and after an eight hour wedding day my back was killing me so when I saw this gorgeous leather bag I was all over it! It's the epiphane Lola, cute name :) It's so soft and there's plenty of room inside for my lenses, camera body and flash plus all those little things like cards and batteries. I've carried it around on a couple of shoots and man oh man is it a huge upgrade in the comfort category. The leather shoulder strap is just flexible enough to hold all my gear and fit snuggly onto my should without cutting into my neck. It's an awesome bag!!

The New Fourth Light!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So "they" say you're not supposed to change things. "They" say it's bad for "brand recognition" or whatever but, I like change... well at least in blog form :) Yep, I've changed it up again but this time for good, or at least a really long time. I've finally landed on something that's a fit which has been the problem from the beginning, figuring out what's a fit for my mangled mess of a creative bent. It's been tough really. Defining my style in a website. Pinpointing what I want Fourth Light to look and feel like. I think this is it! It's home spun and eclectic, classic and modern, it's a mesh of what I love and what I want you to understand about my art and my personality. I love that timeless, vintage flare. I love simplicity and intricacy. I am a science geek, hence the weird butterfly. This is Fourth Light!

Another New Feature!

I'm just on a techy roll! Seriously though, my new client gallery feature is so fun. I've got it up and running and just for kicks I wanted to show you all a slideshow put together through my gallery of my last wedding. I will be doing these now from time to time on some sessions and hopefully on lots more weddings to showcase a few more images!

Dan and Kayla's show

Client Galleries!!

Well I've finally figured it out :) I am a little slow... I am the first to admit that! Now, for your convenience Fourth Light Photography offers private online galleries with ordering capabilities! Yeah!! No more paper forms (well, unless you want to use them). Simply click the link in the toolbar above and you'll be whisked away to the Fourth Light Client Galleries page where you can view your password protected gallery and place orders easily from the convenience of your own home. If you've had a Fourth Light session and wish to use the new Client Gallery feature please shoot me an email or give me a call and I'll upload your gallery! And henceforth I pledge to join the rest of the world in the pursuit of technology... okay well maybe not... but at least this is a start! And here's a pic from a recent camping trip just because!

Rose

A while back I went scouting at Willamette University with my sis in law and we stumbled upon a beautiful rose garden.

We stopped and shot roses for a good 25 minutes. It was wonderful. The roses reminded me that God's creation is so magnificent. Just look at how many petals are on this one rose! And he fashioned each one, on each rose to be uniquely suited for that one flower. Amazing!! That's a big part of why I love photography so much, it makes me stop and think more about God's awesomeness. Something I take for granted each and every day as I walk past bugs, flowers, and trees all of which have been designed and created uniquely by an amazing creator!

100mm's of Awesome

I just got a 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM... wow, that's a name! And it lives up to that name!! I LOVE it sooo much! It came fedex this morning after a horrible tragedy occurred yesterday (I missed the delivery guy because I was changing a diaper!) prolonging my wait. There wasn't much to shoot today, flowers are a muddy mess from all the rain and nothing is really budding, so I just played a little to test the water. Well, that water is JUST fine ;0)

Style Guide {Summer 2010}

I have a few sessions scheduled for the beach and some more natural looking places around town in the coming months and so I thought a new style guide might be helpful to both my current clients planning and for the general Fourth Light Follower who might have a beach or outdoors session in mind down the road. I love the more romantic styles amidst the fashion minded right now. It seems the current trend is toward all things vintage and being a fan of the 20s, 30's and 40's I was in heaven creating this style guide... it made me want to go SHOPPING!


Remember when styling your shoot to think about coordinating colors and not necessarily about matching perfectly. You can see in this style guide that the overall theme is blues, creams/khaki and gray but their is very little matching as far as patterns go. I think mixing and matching solids with different textures and patterns is what really makes a simple color palette go a long way.

These styles can be found at Ruche, Old Navy, The Gap and on Etsy .

Diamond Lake

My family and I spent a wonderful weekend in Diamond Lake, fishing, resting, hiking and spending time together. I was able to take my camera out and about, capturing a few shots of this amazing and beautiful place!

My early morning sunrise shot;

Everything at Diamond Lake was still recovering from the bitterly cold winter. While it felt like spring had sprung during our trip, the plants and the lake were still surrounded by the remnants of winter.

A little sunset action;

Landscape Photography

When I do a family, senior or wedding photo shoot I am moving... a lot. I am constantly thinking about the next pose, shot, angle or set up and I move quickly to catch each moment as it happens. I have recently tried my hand at landscape photography and can I just say I admire those of you who have a natural talent for this area! I unfortunately do NOT have the landscape eye or steadiness that landscape photography requires and most of all I do NOT have the patience. I have heard that a portrait photographer sets up a shot in 1 minute while a landscape photographer requires 1 hour! Upon realizing my lack of patience in photography I decided to start practicing my landscape technique, in hopes that some of the steadiness and patience would help along my progress as a portrait photographer. So I went out scouting today for some shoots coming up next week (hopefully the weather cooperates for those) and I decided to take it nice and slow, taking my time to set up each shot and not getting frustrated when the first shot wasn't the best. I think I like the results... at least I like them a lot better than most of the other attempts!





I have also been working on a "tree" project for a friend. How can a stationary object be so difficult to take a picture of?! This is my favorite tree shot to date... I am still working on it.

Workshop

I lieu of doing my own workshop this season (don't worry, there is a Fourth Light workshop in the future... just not sure exactly when) I jumped on board with my sister in law Jamie, tagging along on her first JAZ Photography workshop. She lined up some amazing models, scouted some amazing sites and did all the hard work for me so why wouldn't I jump at the chance to go lend a hand and share a bit of my knowledge while snapping away at these gorgeous girls?! It was so fun and of course, my sister did great leading the group and sharing her amazing talent with everyone. It was a great afternoon!!



And now.... for the pictures :0) Can I just say I was in heaven and could have snapped for about three days with these girls, talk about models, seriously!

Bandon Wildlife Park - a Texture Tutorial

We celebrated my nephew's birthday at the Bandon wildlife park and I snagged a few fun pictures of the animals. I had taken a few shots of different textures from around my yard a couple of weeks ago and these animal shots were perfect for layering textures with.

To make your own texture overlays all you do is take a full frame shot of whatever texture you want (cedar tree, pavement, cement, chicken wire the options are endless). Open your subject picture and your texture picture in the same window of your photoshop (I am sure other editing software can do a similar layering technique) and layer the texture on top of the subject. Then adjust the opacity to your liking and I usually erase the texture from the face of my subject to keep it crisp and clear.

This first one I used a wood texture from a cedar tree and I decided to use it ever so lightly.



This one I just used the texture that was present in the surroundings, in this case the chain link fence, to add depth and variation to the shot;


So next time you are out and about, camera in hand, keep in mind the textures surrounding your subject. Think about how they might play into creating a more artistic shot whether it is simply adjusting your composition to include an element or in using a texture during the post processing of your images.

Alphabet Photography

I recently saw this idea for Alphabet photography and I was excited to work on it as a little side project. The goal is to capture the alphabet in and amongst everyday life and then you can make family name art and endless other possibilities. So here are the beginnings of my alphabet... I'll let you guess what letters are represented :0)

Spring is in the Air!

If you've got a session this coming spring I have put together my spring style guide to help your session styling along! Remember; have fun, make sure everyone feels confident in what they wear and pick a few colors to really emphasise. These style guides are just suggestions so take a peak and for more styling tips and ideas see my Session Information section!

These styles are from;

oldnavy.com

BananaRepublic.com

Bodenusa.com

Gap.com

Piperlime.com

The Canvas Wrap

After I posted last week about my new products I recieved a canvas wrap that is fully finished and represents what you will get when you order one of these amazing pieces of artwork! Take a peak!

They come ready to hang with a hand crafted wire hanger;


Bumpers to protect your walls;







And are two inches thick! They really add some drama to a room!



See the Prints and Ordering Section for more information on Canvas Wraps!

Some Changes!

Well, upon realizing that my "New and Improved for real" website just wasn't going to happen I decided to put a little more work into this little old blog in hopes that somehow it would feel more like a website and less like a blog. You'll notice that there are more pages to this blog-site now. In the right hand side bar there are different categories that you can scroll through to learn more about me!, booking a session, print pricing and ordering, session details and session tips. Take note of the new Prints and Ordering page. I have expanded my product line to include a bunch of fancy shmancy stuff! Most notably, I now have canvas wraps and books that will blow your sock off!! Here are a few shots of my most recent orders.

First up Kelsey and Micheal's wedding album;











And here's a gallery wrap from Jim and Julie's wedding;




These canvases do come fully finished with a wire hanger and bumpers (not shown).

You will also notice that my galleries have been updated to include my latest favorites and some old familiar favorites as well. Please take a look at all of the new Fourth Light features and enjoy!