**Correction to Newsletter** The correct address is 1706 NW Glisan #5 Portland, OR

APRIL FOOLS SHOW

Just kidding... kinda. Literally, on April 1st 2010 I will be having a show at Equilibrium located on 1706 NW Glisan #5 in NW Portland (next to Saint Cupcake). The artist reception will from 6-8pm and I'd love for you to join me for music, snacks and photography. I'll be there to chat and mingle, come on out because I'd love to meet you!

I'm going to WPPI this year. I'm excited yet reserved at the same time. There is so much hype with the WPPI convention (for those of you staring at your screen with furrowed brows, WPPI is one of, if not THE, largest wedding photographers conference). Every year it's held in Las Vegas (no surprise there) for a week or so depending on how much you choose to attend.

My super smart husband, Josh, always says "If you can get one thing out if it, it's worth it." He even goes as far to say write 3 major things down you want to take away from a conference/speech/book/seminar and apply those things. To me this seems ridiculous. Only 3 things from a week long conference with all the latest and greatest! My mind always rebels until I realize that if I have only 3 main things to implement I'll actually get them done and implemented. What a shocker. When I take home the desired 300 things to change/make better/implement you know what happens? I become overwhelmed and never get them done. So, I'm looking forward to my 3 new items in March. See you at WPPI?

Before I head off to begin February with a bang I wanted to share my photographers go-to bag. When I was shopping for something to protect my gear I wanted a versatile bag. You may think from the simple fact that I'm a girl I'd want a million different bags, however, it's not true. When it comes to photography I want one bag to store my gear in AND travel with.

I love Think Tank Photo's Airport International 2.0. It's built to international airport requirements which is a tad smaller than US requirements. Which is great cause if I ever want to hop on a jet to Italy (yes please!) I'm good to go through the Heathrow airport w/o hiccups.  AND it's got wheels. I know! I'm sure your chiropractor is scolding you for carrying all that heavy gear! I needed one bag to fit all my needs and take the load off my back. I'll be toting it to WPPI cause I hope to do other things than just sit in a Vegas hotel all day ;)

You can check out Think Tank Photo bags here. Make sure you type in the special code AP-393 for your free lens bag with purchase!

 

Spend 20 minutes in front of a piece of art. Record what you see.

Wendy was one of my most favorite professions in college, if not in my entire school career. She saw things and analyzed them in a way no one else could. She made sense of a painting where it would come alive on the overhead projector. I wanted to be like Wendy. On one of our many museum field trips Wendy gave us one assignment. Spend 20 minutes in front of a piece of art. Record what you see. At the time I'm thinking, 20 minutes. Really? I'm going to fall asleep. We were to take notes and turn in a paper on the painting we had chosen at the following class. It turned out to be the most rewarding 20 minutes of the day.

Composition. It's a tricky thing to get correct. Composition lends ways to a whole ton of rules, some of which may even be better when broken. Regardless, it plays a very strong element in your overall image. Composition helps tell the story, it engages your viewer and it can make make your image comfortable or uncomfortable. I'll show you...

Take this image for example. If there is a face in your photograph that is the first thing your eye will be drawn to. So, for the image below you start looking at the brides face. She is also the lightest part of the image so between those two elements - eyes and lightest area - you eye starts at the brides face. For a composition to be "comfortable" or pleasing to the viewer you want to have the composition move in a circular manner. Basically, You never want the eye to become bored.



Here is the composition broken down:
1. This is where your eye begins, at the head of the subject. NOTE: your eyes always move the direction the subject is looking. Brides eyes, to grooms eyes, to grooms hand.
2. Your eye rests on the groom's hand. The leading lines in this image - the arms - direct your eye where to go next. This continues is the curve of the circle.
3. The brides elbow stops your eye from falling off the page and directs it upwards toward the head of the bride to completing the circle. And repeat... that's what makes the cycle comfortable and never boring.



Okay. Now Spend 20 minutes in front of a piece of art. Record what you see.... J/K! You don't have to but I do challenge you to look at this image again and your own images to see what it is that makes them interesting and engaging to your viewer, client, or yourself.