Tilt Shift photography

A couple years ago, I stumbled upon this link:

50 Beautiful Examples of Tilt Shift Photography

It is called Tilt Shift photography and when I saw it...I was hooked. I researched and researched, because the learning curve of this TS lens is steep. Manual everything makes anything difficult, especially in this digital age!

I finally, about 9 months ago, purchased the Canon 45mm TS lens. I could barely contain my excitement and wrangled my neighbors kids out the door to practice. These are my first initial shots:





Not too shabby, but definitely not what the tilt shift lens can produce. The reason tilt shift makes me so excited is because A) I'm a Bokeh freak and B) I love shallow depth of field. Watch the video below to learn what Depth of Field (DOF) is.




I sometimes use my lens when doing a session, if I feel the client may like it. Sometimes, they don't. Some people just don't find blurring or missing heads, which is what I like to do sometimes. It's not that I wish you were dead, it's just that I enjoy the perspective it gives when you have no facial expression to rely on. "What are they thinking?" is what I want you to think!

Here are some more recent examples of my tilt shift work:









If this seems like something you'd be interested in trying for your session (or wedding!) please let me know! I am eager to meet other who see the beauty in this style of photography!

{Kahaialii Family} | Dillingham Ranch

Some families are just plain fun and the Kahaialii family is no exception! Gorgeous parents, photogenic children...all adds up to something awesome! Harmony was looking for something "country" and since I spent 2-3 days a week up at Dillingham Ranch, I used some connections to get us some time there. I hope it was country enough for them! We drove to different locations all over the ranch and it was a great time!

{Next Stop: Forever}

When Lauren contacted me, I knew this session was going to be good. I asked her (As I normally ask clients) to send me examples of photos she might like and boy, did she! I was psyched to learn our styles were similar, so I went ahead and purchased a stunning suitcase to go with the session and she brought the flowers. I love clients that give me creative control, because as I've said before, I really feel the session pops more this way. We went up to Barbers Point and with the sun slowly receding behind us, we just went crazy with poses! I had such a good time and wish Mike and Lauren the best at their wedding next year!

{Liane's Senior Sesh at the Beach}

Liane and her mom Gayle contacted me about doing a fun senior session. I jumped at the chance to suggest Makapu'u Beach, because I have been dying for months and months to shoot at the Makai Pier. So we started the pier and well, it was everything I hoped for! Liane is going to attend UH in the fall and will major in Business Marketing. Thanks for working with me and good luck in college!

{Najarian Family}

Early morning in a well manicured jungle can either be muddy or sunny....this day it was both! Taken at Queen Emma's Summer Palace, it had just rained so there were a few muddy patches but that didn't stop us! The Najarian family were troopers, that's for sure!

{A Globe Trotting Family}

There are some families that are just plain FUN! This family is no exception, as the Schwabs travel on a regular basis with their three boys. When Debbie called me and we discussed prop ideas, I asked what they like to do for fun. As soon as they mentioned that they enjoy traveling, a light bulb went off....why not bring a globe to the session? So they did! A portion of the session was spent figuring out where they are going to go in 2012, as their list of destinations in the past year even included the Marshall Islands (not easy to visit!).

So please, enjoy the family! They sure had fun!

50 reasons to not date a photographer

I love reading other photographers blog and stumbled upon this at www.inbedwithsue.com
She's an Aussie photog and just genius at photographing women in their birthday suit. It's lighthearted, so don't take too seriously!

where Sue found it -> http://notastarvingartist.com/post/12766897643

50 Reasons NOT to Date a Photographer

They rather hold their bulky camera, than hold hands with you.
On a romantic date, you’ll watch the sun go down and think “Wow this is gorgeous” and they’ll go “mirror lock, tripod, and stop down f/8 at 1/125.”
You’ll never be able to enjoy tv, movies, or magazines because they’ll point out all the visual flaws.
They like to sit in obscure coffee shop and voyeuristically watch people for great lengths of time.
If you’re taking a walk outside and you come across some “interesting light” they will make you sit/stand/pose in public so that they can take a photo.
You’ll never get to enjoy freshly cooked meals because they’ll spend 15 minutes taking 20 variations of the same dish with their iPhone.
They get angry when your friends go up to them and say “I am interested in photography, can you recommend a good camera for me? Nothing professional I just want to take pretty pictures.”
You’ll wait longer for them to finish analyzing art in a museum than you’ll wait at the dmv
Same goes with old used bookstores.
When you think they’re giving you their undivided attention, they’re really wondering how they could fix you with a little Clone Tool and Patch Tool.
Or they are actually using you to not look so creepy as they people watch everything going on around you.
They rather drop $1,000+ on new glass than a purse for you.
You can’t take a photo with them without taking at least five more.
If you ask them if you look fat, they’ll say “don’t worry I can photoshop you later.”
They’ll never photoshop something simple for you if the content is not up to their “standards.”
That photo they randomly took of you yesterday? Good luck getting them to send it to you.
They spend all their time on the computer (and not for porn.)
They can’t have a normal conversation with throwing acronyms and random numbers.
They still use film cameras.
They spend a lot of time with people cooler than you i.e. models, actors, musicians, successful rich people.
They’ll be fussy over the position of a common household object, like a coffee cup.
They won’t return your calls or text messages, but you can bet they’re still posting pics on Instagram.
They like watching old films that you’ve never heard or will ever understand.
They like looking at weird things in general.
Instead of having penis-envy, they have camera-gear-envy.
If there’s a natural disaster in a far away land, they’re already on a plane going over there.
Everything is watermarked.
They think everyone else’s photos suck.
They want to color correct a lot of scenes from Twilight and Jersey Shore.
They hate rainbows, especially ones spinning in a circle.
Whenever you’re in a group talking and the conversation goes deep, they’re taking notes in some form of Moleskin.
They use over priced Moleskin notebooks.
They like trespassing into old abandoned buildings filled with health hazards.
They always want to show a new photo they took, but don’t really care if you like it or not.
They hate your n00bie friend’s new artsy profile picture.
Bright, sunny days make them sad, but cloudy, overcast days are apparently great!
They’ll take you into places that have “culture” as well a high chance of getting mugged.
Your birthday present will be a portrait that they’ve taken of you.
You can’t go anywhere new without them stopping to take a photo of everything and anything.
They will always bug you to be a test subject.
Nothing can ever be naturally pretty, everything must be fixed in Photoshop.
Bringing their camera means, bringing 50lbs of equipment.
If you break any of their things on accident, you’ll owe them thousands of dollars.
You can’t get them a birthday/Christmas present without spending at least $500
They are natural hoarders, collecting and keeping piles of old newspapers, packaging, magazines, and other things that “inspire” them.
They are weird and geeky.
They have hard drives of photos, but probably have printed 10 images.
They are always secretly judging your creativity.
If you’re ever in auto mode, they laugh at you.
They orgasm every time they learn a new lighting technique.