14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5: 14-16

I've finished another piece from my Value series, this one being, as you've probably guessed, Good Works. I am so excited to have another one done! Each time I complete one of these, it's this wonderful mixture of feeling really happy and proud, as well as that feeling you get when you check another thing off your to do list (have I mentioned that I love to do lists? And most especially, checking things off of said to do lists?)

The image is actually a composite of four photographs. As always, I liked my sister, the model's, face better in one photo, the way her arm was held in another, and the flounce of her skirt in yet another. So I combined them. I had also envisioned this beautiful sunset illuminating the sky behind her, almost as if she was the sun herself.

Several months ago, I had been out at Prairie Creek Marina for an early morning family session out on the lake. I got there early, and so I parked my car at the top of the hill overlooking the lake, which happens to be one of my favorite views in NWA, and watched as the sun gradually made its way up past the horizon. As I had my camera for the family session later on, I took several photos before setting it down and enjoying the moment. I've learned that sometimes it's not so important to capture the moment on my camera, but to put it aside and really be there. I've learned how much better it is to remember the wind on your face or to truly grasp the vastness of the landscape before you than to see it all through the viewfinder of a camera and only have the printed proof that you were really there. Granted, photography is something I am very passionate about and find joy in doing, but I've learned there is also a great sense of peace that comes just from being there in the moment knowing how fleetingly it will pass. Anyway, enough with the soapbox/mushy/gushy stuff.

The explanation for this one is fairly simple. We are taught in our church from a young age that we need to be an example of everything that is good and praiseworthy about our religion to those around us. There is no better way to show people the goodness of the Gospel than by allowing the true joy we experience from being a member of His church to be plainly in sight for those not of our faith to witness. When the world is mired in the darkness deep in the low valleys of life, we need to be the shining beacon on the hill top, inspiring others to climb towards goodness, and more importantly, towards true happiness.

"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is the dim haze of mystery that adds enchantment to pursuit."

- Antoine Rivarol

This is another impromptu photo taken after "Good Works". This time in color. The mist was starting to creep up from grandpa's runway as we were wrapping up our shoot and Kenna, who had been helping me with the shoot pointed out and said "Maddie, look!" I immediately had Chloe run out a ways and I dropped on my stomach, snapping away. Such beautiful lighting lasts only a minute, and you have to be ready for it.

While I like to say that I am completely self-taught, really what I mean by that is I've never taken a photography or photoshop class (apart from a photography class in high school, in which I learned as much as you can learn from a high school class, or in other words, next to nothing). I must confess that, for the most part, I have not sat down with my camera and photoshop and just tried stuff out. While I have on occasion, I have largely relied on multiple websites/youtube channels/social media outlets to learn everything I have up to this point. One such site is phlearn.com, which I thought I would share with you guys today. For anyone wanting to learn more about photoshop or lightroom, YOU NEED TO VISIT THIS SITE. Not should, NEED. It is an awesome resource for learning everything from the basics up to some pretty nifty advanced techniques. You can also learn how to remove your ex-boyfriend from a photo, and who doesn't want to know how to do that?!

Just head on over to phlearn.com. You'll thank me later.

It was great working with you Josh. Thanks for keeping Rob reigned in!

"One can be instructed in society, one is inspired only in solitude."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Solitude has its own very strange beauty to it."

-Liv Tyler

I took these after we had wrapped up shooting "Good Works". The sun was setting and her bright yellow skirt looked like magic against the inky dark green of the forest behind her, which, of course, is why its in black and white now. Silly me. I have another one in color, however, that I will share at a later date.

I told her to run out onto the runway and just twirl around for this photo. It amazes me how I can love an impromptu photo shoot just as much as one that I've planned out for months in advance. It's all for very different reasons, of course, but I love it all the same.

A few years ago my sister introduced my to the website "youarenotaphotographer.com". Occasionally I will peruse this page and cringe in pity at the photographs displayed here. While I can definitely admire the creative forethought that some of these photographers had before attempting to produce their latest and greatest works of art, there is a certain lack of technical skill, or perhaps just ignorance, that prohibits these photos from truly being great. (Although I will admit that some, ok... a lot of those ideas are just weird. And shouldn't be recreated. Ever.)

So I thought I'd put together a list of 5 habits and tips that I hope will prevent your photos from ever gracing the lofty feed of youarenotaphotographer.com:

1) If you have a DSLR, switch to manual mode right now. Yes, a LOT of your photos will probably look like crap at first. Yes, at first it will take you forever to get your settings figured out at the beginning of each shoot (and every time the lighting changes). Yes, you will be frustrated beyond all get out at first. DO IT ANYWAY. Hang in there and follow through until you've figured it out. If you really want to take your photography to the next level, shooting in auto mode will never get you there. There is no better way to learn the basics of exposure and lighting, than manually controlling it yourself.

As I side note, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I never shoot in auto mode. I do on occasion. HOWEVER, I only do so when I know the camera will be able to expose the photo how I want it, and that knowledge only comes after learning HOW your camera works. Shooting in manual teaches you this. Do not skip out on this! There is a reason I made this the number one piece of advice I am sharing with you. SWITCH TO MANUAL MODE.

2) Study. Study composition. Study color. Study style. When you're looking at a photographers work that you like, don't just look. Study! Where are they placing the subject in the frame? What colors do they tend to use in their photos? What poses are they using? What angle are they taking the photo from? You simply are not going to get results if you frame the model the same way you always do, with the same poses, and the same lighting, no matter how much you hope to get a different result. It's just not going to happen.

3) Nail your focus. There are a few telltale signs that someone is a beginner, and out of focus pictures are one of the primary giveaways. If you are struggling to get your focus right, my suggestion is to first read your camera manual. Sometimes it's just a simple matter of not understanding how your camera focuses. Other times it's simply the difference of having the optimal focus settings turned on in your camera for your style of shooting. If you are still struggling, try switching to manual mode. Don't be afraid to switch to manual focus. 100% of my portrait work is manual focus right now. One hundred percent.  For me personally, I prefer it this way. If I was a child photographer, I'd probably shoot in auto mode, as you simply do not have the time to manually focus AND chase children around at the same time. My subjects are stationary, I can afford to take a little bit of time to set up my focus EXACTLY how I want it.

4) Don't buy the latest and greatest gear just because you can get a halfway decent photo out of your existing camera. Better gear does not equal better photos! Get the basics down first (exposure, composition, focus) and then start producing great photos. When you are consistently creating excellent photos straight out of camera (meaning you didn't have to Photoshop the heck out of them in order for them to look good), and find yourself feeling held back by what your CAMERA can't do, not by what YOU can't do, then is a good time to start looking to upgrade.

So what gear should you be using? If you want to get into portrait photography, my recommendation would be to get a nice beginners dslr, such as the Nikon D3200 or D3100, or whatever the Canon equivalent is (obviously I shoot Nikon), and a 50mm lens. And stop there. If you get the camera body with a kit lens, use the kit lens for landscape photography. Yes, if you make a concerted effort, you will most definitely outgrow the camera body and the kit lens fairly quickly, but these are good places to start. The beauty of the 50mm lens is that you can ALWAYS use it on many different camera bodies and still see differences (and hopefully) improvements from camera body to camera body. I just upgraded my camera body last month and still fully intend on using the same 50mm I bought five years ago. To better prove my point, here's two photos I took, several years apart (the first is from 2010, the second from 2013). Despite using the same lens, there is a huge improvement in my work (at least I hope there is)!

5) DON'T OVER-EDIT! I know it's super fun to push the "color pop" button, or to see how bright you can get the prom-goers' dresses, but please, just don't do it! Mastery is in the subtleties!

And for heaven's sake, don't do selective color! I can tell you right now, before I've even seen your fancy red umbrella taking center stage in your fancy black and white photograph, that it's a bad idea. If it isn't dating your photo already, it will in a few years... in a few months... who am I kidding? I'll be up front about this: it dates your photo the second you push that selective color button. Just don't!

And while I would TOTALLY recommend sharpening a smidgen to give your photos a little crispness, you don't need an overpixelated, super texture-ified rendition of your greatest portrait work to date. Again:

DON'T OVER-EDIT!

The vast majority of the time, when I edit, I don't even touch the saturation slider, and all of my other adjustments are made just a SMIDGE one way or the other.Trust me, minor adjustments go a long way.

And there you have it. My five tips to a better you! Or at the very least a better you as a photographer. Hopefully I didn't hurt too many people's feelings, and have helped a lot more on their way to photo greatness! I firmly believe that everyone has a creative talent, it's just a matter of repeated trials and (hopefully) fewer errors. So take my advice for what you will (meaning you really should heed it), and get out there and create!

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe."

- Anatole France

A lot of times we put a lot of focus on acting and planning, rather than dreaming and believing. While acting and planning are important, a dream, a hope, or a belief is where it all starts.

 When I sat Cameranne down in this location, my first thought was "Oh, I'll put her in front of these cool urban/modern stairs, which will be really cool against her floraly/vintage dress. And then magic happened between the painted wall and her skin. I mean, look at how gorgeous her skin looks in these photos!

I also love that she brought her sunglasses to this shoot and specifically asked that we incorporate them into some photos. They totally MAKE this photo!

Thanks for contacting me Cameranne. I loved working with you!