Royalty Free Images

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

"Mastering Your Digital Camera" workshop

Went to my very first photography workshop, and loved it!!! It was put on by some fabulous local photographers who have been published in almost every photography magazine there is, and it was all about learning what the zillions of buttons on the DSLR cameras do. Learned everything I needed to know about exposure, aperture, ISO, Depth of field, and shutter speeds...and that was just the morning! In the afternoon, we had the chance to play around with some specialty lenses, lighting, and learned the how-to's of light diffusers and filters. My Christmas and birthday list grew a LOT by the end of the day! It was such a privilage to be able to learn from some of the best in the industry, and to rub shoulders with people that I hope to be like someday!

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Greatest Day in My Photo Career (so far)!

Well, one of my dreams has come true today! I have been struggling to get into Stock photography for almost a year now, and I got my first image accepted this morning! I am so excited right now, because I finally feel like I am moving forward! OK, OK...I know it is only 1 image, but after a year of nothing, 1 image is a start! I know there are many more images to come, and as I learn and grow, it will only get better and better! Can you tell I am all euphoric? I can finally call myself a Stock Photographer! Wheeee!!! OK, enough of the craziness....I am not really crazy. Really! Just super excited, and ready to run out and take more pictures!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Shopping for a Macro Lens

So laast weekend, I went shopping for a macro lens. I was so excited....like, SOOOOO excited!!! I couldn't wait to buy one (I have been wanting one since before Christmas) and even had my gift certificates all ready to hand over. I arrived at McBain Camera, walked in, and when the young gent asked if he could help me, I proudly said "yes, actually....I am looking for a macro lens." He pulled out their vast array of lenses (I almost had a heart attack of joy) and he asked my price range. I told him....he almost cringed. Apparently, I had slightly under-estimated the cost of those suckers, and while there was one that was in my price range, it was a lower quality lens, and I knew that while I COULD purchase that one today, I knew in the long run, I wasn't going to be as happy with it as the one that was 1 step up (and almost double the cost!) I was crushed.....like, REEEEEALLY crushed....I had been expecting to walk out with one and take lots of interesting photographs that evening. So I was grumpy for a couple hours, then decided that waiting was indeed the right decision. I would rather wait and save my pennies and spend it on a lens that I will be really happy with instead of settling for second best.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Stock Photography

So while I work on getting my photo business some actual paying customers, I have started to get into the stock photography business. I have signed up with Dreamstime Stock Photography, and am excited to get some pictures up on their site and being sold to wonderful customers! Stock photography is a great way to go for me, as it allows me the freedom of being home with my kids, but also allows me to earn some cash to afford all the fabulous photography equipment that I want! However, getting images accepted may be tougher to do that I expect, so I am trying to keep an even head and be realistic about the whole endeavor. While I may not have the cash at the moment, I may need to spend some to make some! If you are curious about stock photography and would like to check it out (and perhaps try your hand at the stock photo world, you can click on the little pink counter icon on the top right hand side of my page, and that will take you right to their site, or click on this link to go to their homepage: http://www.dreamstime.com/res4544293-dreamstime. Good luck!