Lillyblue
If you have so much as wiggled your baby toe into the world of children and family photography, then you have probably heard of, seen, and/or drooled over photographer Leah Zawadzki's work, better known as Lilyblue. She is an amazing photographer with a knack for making every photo she takes feel like an instant classic! And her actions and presets are the things dreams are made of! We are so grateful to have had a chance to talk with her about her style, what inspires her, and how you too can find your signature look.
MT: Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself? How did you get started in photography, and how long have you been at it?
I am a wife and mother to three beautiful children living in southern california. When i was younger I studied interior design at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. After working in the design industry for over ten years i had my first baby, four years after that i had boy girl twins. When the twins were in their first year i picked up the camera. I was inspired by photography sites such as flickr and found myself obsessed with getting just the right shots of my kids. In the beginning I was frustrated, because I would see other people do such beautiful things with their photography--i wanted that too. I didn't understand why i couldn't do it with the camera set to auto and the editing program that came with my camera. So I started asking lots of questions-- to others and myself. I began looking at EXIF data, examining camera settings and studying the lighting in photographs i saw. I bought photoshop, I took a class at a local camera store, and then i just started taking photos, a LOT of photos, that was about four years ago.
MT: One of the most distinct qualities of your work is your amazing post processing. How did that style emerge? How did it develop over time to the signature look you're known for now? What would you say to our momtographers who are struggling to find their own unique voice in their photography?
Thank you for your sweet words about my photography and processing. This is a very tough question to answer because to tell you the truth I don't really know, what I can tell you is that I have taken and still do take a lot of photos. In the beginning I would use other people's actions and presets and take hours editing one photo. I would look at the same shot forever trying to decide what it needed--what it needed to tell the story that I thought needed to be told. Style is something that comes from within you, it isn't something that can be defined or created out of a box or with the push of a button. I think the best way to find style is to stop looking and just be. Do what you love, edit to what you think looks good to your eye, and your style will emerge from there.
Momtographer Spotlight- Poptographer, Andrew Adler
"One of the great things about using a point and shoot camera is being able to do just that - point and shoot"- Andrew S. Adler
If that's not Momtography 101, we don't know what is!
Browsing through photo albums on facebook (one of my favorite past times), I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this one! HOW FREAKING CUTE!!!! :) I absolutely loved the way sky was so bright and beautiful at the same time so was Violet! You can imagine how excited I was to find out that my good friend Julia's (you may have heard of her she started a totally awesome site, Planet Awesome Kid)photographer husband had taken this shot, not with his oodles of fancy equipment but with his trusty Canon S90 point and shoot!
Keep reading for a little bonus mini tutorial about shooting at the beach, straight from the man himself! Thanks Andrew!
May/June Challenge- SUMMER
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER: ANDREA!
STAY TUNED FOR JULY'S CHALLENGE!
Thank you to all of our amazing Momtographers for their participation in the SUMMER challenge! The entries were just too good to pick only 5 so ALL entries are going up for vote this month!
Vote for your favorite entry by logging in and posting a comment with the number of the photo (click on the polaroid to see the photo number) and the word "vote". Please remember that you can only vote once. Voting will start today, July 1st and continue through the weekend, The winner will be announced on Monday morning, July 5th.
Good Luck Everyone!
Stay tuned for July's challenge - you're gonna LOVE it!
To see previous winners and finalists, go here!
Beating Ourdoor Sunspots and Haze!
Our winter cave has been abaondoned! The grass is growing, the birds are chirping, and the swingset is a-calling. Spring is officially here!
But shooting outdoors, especially in the late-afternoon hours, remind us that we have to be mindful of a few things when making use of the great sunlight. Specifically, avoiding the glare, haze and lens flare that can occur when the angle of the sun intersects with the angle of lens.
Our playground faces South, so in the late afternoon it gets direct sunlight from the West. This isn't a problem when I shoot with my back to the South - my lens 90 degrees to the sun.
April's Challenge - Anticipation
Congratulations to BRIANNE - the winner of April's Photo Challenge - ANTICIPATION!
You won a $30 gift certificate from Amazon.com and you will be the featured mom on LittleLunalu.com!
Here are the runners up!
Stay tuned for May's challenge - you're gonna LOVE it!
To see previous winners and finalists, go here!
David Bean
We've followed Photographer David Bean for some time - both on twitter and on his Pro Corner group on Flikr for Semi-Professional and Professional Photographers. We're big fans of not only his stunning images of celebrities and his commercial work, but his truly approachable and open desire to help other photographers along the way. A few months ago, I was talking to a fashion-world friend of mine about stand out photographers who would offer something valuable to our moms - and David's name made the short list. We leaped at the opportunity to connect -and a phone interview (with SIX DISCONNECTS!) he was every bit the wealth of experience and graciousness we thought he'd be!
MT: David - I'd like to start with something I saw on the bio of your webpage. It says "Art is not my life… Life is my art." That's something that resonates so strongly with us and with our moms because of what the nature of a Momtographer is. How did you get there?
Basically, I'm not an artsy-fartsy person at all - I don't like artsy fartsy people… someone who takes themselves way too seriously, like what they do is so important that without them the world would be this tragic place. I really appreciate arts and I appreciate the craft of photography, but it's not saving the world - I don't have any grand illusions that I'm saving anyone's life!
Journaling photo milestones
I've always wished I lived in the kind of house where there would be a perfect door frame on which to etch the growth of my family from month to month, year to year. The kind of door you'd find in a family farmhouse that's been around for generations - one that practically cue's Amy Grant's "If These Walls Could Speak". But alas, I'm one of the modern families of nomads who commit to address nor decorating long enough to make generational graffiti on my walls.
This past spring break, as my daughter was running down the boardwalk to the ocean ahead, I had a flashback to the year before and the year before that one. As it turns out, I have roughly the same image of her, year upon year. I have my own photo milestones...
Here she is at one - waiting for Daddy to come and take her hand and help her pull her wagon.
Again at two - skipping merrily towards the sand.
Backlighting wonder
Twice this busy week I had moments of photo wow - roughly at the same time of day, but with two different sets of circumstances. Both involved backlighting. For those of you not familiar with the term, it's when the majority of the light on a subject comes from behind. There's also an article explanation HERE. In natural light photography, you see a lot of this early in the morning or late in the afternoon when the sun is low in the sky, available as a backdrop. (Hey thanks Mr. Sun!).
In this first photo, we were returning from a birthday party. I was tempted to share the photos where my child tried to blow out the birthday girl's candles, but I thought better of it :) Instead, I'd rather share this moment of wonder I caught as she was racing back up our driveway amped on 2 cupcakes (icing-only, of course).
ISO 320 f/5 SS 1/100 50mm lens
March's Challenge - Change
And the winner is....
Congrats to Andrea! The winner of a $30 Amazon gift card!
Thank you to all of our entries and our finalists! Stay tuned for April's challenge!
To see previous winners and finalists, go here!
Overhead Sunlight - Enemy of The Momtographer
Remember our article about Cloudy Days - how they're a Momtographer's best friend? Well, yesterday's school Easter Egg Hunt was a quick refresher in how sometimes you just can't escape circumstance.
I arrived at school at 12:20, to make sure that I would be there in time to catch the little bunnies hop out of their classroom towards the egg hunt. I even brought the Spydercube that I'm testing out to help calibrate my photos. But before I saw the first sign of my bunny - I knew the photos would be less than wonderful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun was shining directly overhead.
In case you haven't experienced this yet - or made the connection - bright overhead sunlight is THE MOST CHALLENGING kind of light in which to photograph your child. The brights are REALLY BRIGHT and the darks are REALLY DARK, creating contrast and shadows that are hard for your camera to properly interpret. Plus, there's the whole squinty eyes thing.
