DelaLane Photography Blog » {Tell Your Story} Newborn & Family Lifestyle Photography in Yucca Valley, Ca

Since this session, I’ve also photographed the perfect newborn that was in this perfect 9 Month belly. I’ve never seen a prettier, more compact bump. I have no idea where that baby girl was hiding! This session stands out to me, months later, because not only was the couple awesome, it was also a perfect desert day, the kind of day where you don’t sweat and you aren’t cold, a day where you can hardly feel the breeze because it’s the same temperature as your perfectly temperate skin. It was just a beautiful day. A beautiful day to celebrate a baby about to make her debut into a beautiful world.

And she is… Beautiful! Look for Emily’s newborn session soon.

This session was part of a “Belly to Baby” series, a package we offer that includes a Maternity Session + Newborn Portrait Session. For more info, Contact Us. We encourage our clients to book early to ensure availability. Although we’re booked for the remainder of 2013, we’re already saving dates for newborns in 2014!

Tell Your Story | www.delalanephotography.com

The photographers who tend to inspire me most are the ones who take risks and sometimes break the rules. I’m not sure what that says about me, haha. I’ve always been a little bit of a rebel I guess. I’m also a nut for technically great photography. But if you can throw in something a little surprising too, even better. Greats – in any field – didn’t get to be great by doing things the same way everybody else did. They are great because they did something better and different than everybody else, because they took a risk. I aspire to be a photographer who isn’t afraid to step out on a limb and do something different, learn something new, be criticized for my imperfection. Hey, I’m still learning.  I enjoy the journey and I can handle a few missteps. But one way I don’t ever want to be thought of is boring.

So here’s a little rule-breaking for ya. Some photos I took earlier this summer when I brought my backup equipement (my D300s and my first 50mm prime lens, in case the unthinkable happened) into the pool with us at high noon. Breaking the rules is something I do a lot with my kids because, (1) we live in the desert where there is a ton of sun and a lack of trees and tall buildings, (2) most activities with our kids do NOT happen during those happy golden hours of the day, (3) they rarely pose exactly when and were I want them to, and (4) I don’t want to miss out on the preservation of our memories because the light isn’t “ideal.”

Here’s my rules… more like my own personal tips… for shooting (people) in direct sun. And some photos that broke them all. 😉

  1. Find shade when possible. Sometimes all you need is a little patch. You may not be able to capture the whole scene, but it could be that a head shot is all you need.
  2. Avoid mixing shady and sunny areas into the same exposure. The camera can’t deal with it well. You’ll either have horribly underexposed areas or horribly overexposed areas. If you shoot in the sun, keep the whole scene in the sun. Or zoom in and keep the whole scene in the shade.
  3. Avoid patchy light on your subject’s face.
  4. If you’re shooting in the sun, put the sun over your subject’s shoulder. You may need to up your exposure to properly expose your subject but a (I use the exposure compensation button on my camera to quickly up the exposure – but there are several ways to do it – then I take a test shot and adjust up or down as needed.)
  5. Always be aware of what’s in front of your subject. A big dark wall behind you (in front of your subject) is not going to do you any favors. If you can’t have your subject face open sky, look for bright reflective walls or objects that might bounce light back onto their faces.
  6. Use a reflector to bounce light back onto your subject.
  7. If you want to or need to have your subjects facing the sun, let them wear sunglasses. Then, not only are you avoiding squinty eyes, they also look cool. Another idea if you’re shooting a couple, have them look at each other instead of the camera. Find a different angle that doesn’t require your subject squinting directly into the light source.
  8. Find something to filter the sun through, even a very small tree or building or bush can accomplish this. Trust me, you don’t have to be in the forest. I know this because we have no forests here. Orientate your subjects and yourself (you may have to get low) so that the sun is being filtered by the object and your subjects are in between you and it. Play around with it. Move up and down, move your subjects, take test shots and see what kind of cool flare you might be able to create.
  9. Wide open apertures are all the rage and I prefer them about 99% of the time. But every now and then it’s fun to stop it down and create sunbursts. Filter the sun (for example hide half of it behind the edge of a building or tree) and shoot with your aperture stopped down to f/16 or smaller.
  10. Be willing to break rules 1-9.

Tell Your Story | www.delalanephotography.com

This stylish little family contacted me about setting up a photo session during their La Quinta vacation and opted to meet me up in Joshua Tree National Park, one of the most beautiful desert landscapes in the desert. Worth the planning and worth the drive!

It’s a tough choice many times weighing kids’ bedtimes with the good light. Living and shooting in the desert poses some extra challenges when it comes to these choices since we don’t have a lot of options for shade in the late morning and afternoons when kids are the most rested and the most happy. Sometimes it’s an either/or scenario. Either we get the pretty light or we get the rested kids (or maybe get up before dawn to score on both fronts.) The good news is that we always try to make our family sessions fun for the kids. And when the kids are distracted by all the fun and adventure of exploring the desert, the tiredness can many times be overcome with a little bit of patience.

This sweetheart at one point put his head down on mom, stuck his thumb in his mouth and *literally* held his eyes shut with his fingers. He was done with photos for the moment (or so he thought.) And it was precious. This might be my favorite photo from the session. We were patient and let him rest for a little while, had some snacks, and got back to smiles in due time.

Tell Your Story | www.delalanephotography.com

I’m totally about to start sounding my (older) age, hehe… but I tend to blog what I’m thinking, so here it goes…

Feeling nostalgic. This is a such an exciting time in a person’s life. The whole world is your oyster, and all that. All the possibilities, all the unknown, all the adventures, all the freedom and uncertainty and excitement. I have an emotional and heartfelt reaction every time I talk to high school seniors about their loves, their likes, their plans, their accomplishments.

Brooke is a sweetheart. I liked her right away. Such a poised, beautiful girl. She’s gonna do well. And I’m so glad I was able to squeeze this session in. I was only able to shoot 2 seniors this year (check out Natasha’s retro 50’s inspired session here) because a lot of folks waited to contact us and we were already overbooked. 🙁

Listen up, class of 2014. Check back with me at the *beginning* of next year. Don’t wait until the Spring to try and set up your sessions! We’re typically booked 2-4 months in advance (sometimes more), so don’t put it off. I wanna take your pictures. But there has to be room in the calendar. And besides that we need time to plan your one-of-a-kind experience. What do YOU want your senior portraits to look like? Chat with me about it!

Here she is. Beautiful Brooke.

Tell Your Story | www.delalanephotography.com

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