Sweet Baby "A" ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

Little Baby "A" took is time joining us in the real world. He was due at Christmas, but waited until the New Year to arrive! He had the sweetest little face, and was a perfect model for me, sleeping on cue and allowing us to do so many different things! His parents were so nice and so relaxed, we had fun chatting while shooting and the time just flew by! I was a little late getting these out (trip to CHEO put a little bump in my deadlines!!), thanks for being so patient, ENJOY!

Some Tips for Getting a Sharper Image ~ Ottawa Children Photographer

I love learning and I also love to teach people. I learned a lot about photography and Photoshop on my own, taking workshops, but mainly from seeing an image that inspired me and trying to figure out what technique was used to get it. Sun flairs, bokeh, back lighting, and sharp images are some of my favourite things about photos and I am constantly trying to master the techniques to capturing these things in my photography.

Before I go into my photography tip, if anyone ever has a question regarding anything, and you can ask them anonymously, visit me here on this cool question answer site:

http://www.formspring.me/christinedenis

First off, what is a sharp image? For me, being a children photographer, it's that image that has the eyes 100% in focus, even when you zoom in to 100% in Photoshop.

My baby looking less than impressed to model for me!!
Recipie: 50mm 1.4, ISO 200, 1/160th

Here is the "before shot", not the best image, but the eyes were in focus SOOC (straight out of camera) - which is the most important thing!

Can you "fix" it in Photoshop to make them sharper if you didn't get them sharp in camera, unfortunately NO!!

Is it hard to get perfectly sharp images? YES, it's the most difficult technique to master because there is a lot at play to affect the sharpness of your image. I can admit, that of the hundreds of images I take maybe 10% are in focus. I'm constantly trying to improve that percentage, but it's hard!!!

So what are the tips for getting a sharper image in camera? (note that doing all this is going to help you get a sharper image, do you HAVE to do them all - no, but it's fun to practice!!)

1. Focus on the eyes, specifically the iris of the eye - or at least the thing that is most important for you to have sharp!

2. Use a fixed lens. Fixed lenses are always going to be sharper than zoom lenses by nature.

3. You need good glass!! the higher quality glass the lens has will give you a sharper image, and will, of course, cost more!! Luminous-Landscape gives a good overview of the different types of lenses for Canon users.

4. Light - in order to get those sharp images, you need great catchlights in your subjects eyes, so position them properly to maximize the catchlights giving great depth and sharpness in the eyes.

5. Shoot at the "sweet spot" for your lens. Generally two stops up from the bottom. So for my 50mm 1.4, I always start shooting at 2.8 then move down from there. For zoom lenses it's a bit different, so experiment with where the sweet spot is on your lens. For my 24-70 mm 2.8L, I've found that I get the best results at 50mm 5.6.

6. Don't shoot wide open, anything below 1.8 makes it super hard to nail that focus. When I shoot at 1.4 to get that nice blurry background, often one eye is in focus and the other is not, that is how shallow the D.O.F is.

7. When shooting wide open, toggle your focus points as opposed to locking your focus and recomposing. Toogle to the focus point that falls right on the eye and shoot. Repositioning can cause a slight change in the distance between your subject and the camera, and will throw the locked in focus.

8. ISO matters. It's hard for us shooting up here in Canada, when we only have "good" natural light for maybe 3-4 hours in the day. And even still, I am often forced to bump my ISO up to 400, which causes noise in my Canon 50D (unacceptable noise in my books, but I'm not able to do #9 yet!!). You want to minimize the noise as much as possible, this means shooting as low as you can, meaning 100 ISO when you can.

9. Invest in a better camera. Higher quality cameras will give you higher quality images. Even when you've got everything above bang on, and you compared two images side by side, one from a top of the line camera and another from an entry level SLR - you will see the difference!

10. Sharpen things up in Photoshop. While you can't "fix" an out of focus picture, you can enhance one that is bang on sharp in the camera, with the Unsharp mask or High Pass Sharpening.

11. Avoid camera shake and motion blur when shooting. Ensure your speed is at least 160th or 250th for this, light permitting!! Oh and don't drink copious amounts of coffee before a shoot - like I do!! :) A killer for those macro shots!

12. Practice, patience, and more practice! Trying to remember everything all at once is really hard, so work on a couple of these techniques over and over, until they have become second nature to you, then learn some more!!

Again, I'm happy to answer any questions I can, and I'll sometime post the detailed answers on my blog, just visit me at:

http://www.formspring.me/christinedenis

Good luck!

Kids + Winter = Colds + CHEO

I must say that before kids I loved winters. The more snow the better. The skiing, the skating, the beautiful crisp days were the best. Now with 3 little kids, the struggles of putting on winter clothes (especially for a defiant 2 1/2 year old), the whining once we are out that they each want the blue sled and the ultimate weeks of colds is really wearing us down! The girls caught a cold and the daycare last week and had to stay home, and ultimately passed it onto the baby, and now she has developed Bronchiolitis from RSV, and resulted in an 18 hour visit to the Dr. and CHEO. Apparently there was an outbreak of RSV over the weekend and as a result the Emerg. was filled to the capacity with babies who couldn't breath and kids with the Norovirus flu that is going around! After we checked in, they were quick to move us to the RSV room and so began the 14 hour ordeal for Madison of an oxygen mask with adrenaline medicine every 2 hours, 2 suctions and Tylenol. Unfortunately it's basically a cold that enters there tiny little lungs, so nothing can really be done.

So I apologize for my absence - I am here, just so tired so not really here!! I have more pictures to post from two session I did before this hit us, a Valentines day special and more but I may not get to it until tomorrow! In the mean time, stay healthy and winter will be over before we know it! :)

Christine

Newborn Baby "R" at 4 weeks old ~ Ottawa Newborn Photographer

The cutest little bundle came by for her first photo shoot last week! She was 4 weeks old and was so adorable you could just hug her all day!! She is the new proud baby of the HUSH girls and I'm sure she will be as stylish and beautiful as her mom when she grows up! Here is the much anticipated sneak peek for all you HUSH fans out there!

Baby "Q" and His Big Brown Eyes ~ Ottawa Baby Photographer

Not only did we have the pleasure of having Baby "A" from my last post, who had the big blue eyes, but we also were spoiled with Baby "Q", with the big brown eyes and priceless dimples! They were both model babies for a baby shoot, where I had an aspiring photographer shadowing me for the day - Nathalie Madore. Check out Nathalie's blog for some me in action shots and a few more of the babies form the shoot!

I will post more photos of baby "A", but for now, little "Q" gets the spotlight! Oh and you may remember this little cutie from his newborn session - back in July....

I'll have more of Baby "A" later on! Off to bed now...

Gorgeous Baby "A" ~ Ottawa Baby Photography

I found myself in baby heaven on Wednesday. I had my dear little Madison with me, and had the pleasure of two more babies come over for shoots! It was fun! We giggled and laughed listening to the "ABC song" and then laughed even harder when the Mommy forgot the words!! But most importantly, I captured some stunning images, and while I would love to post them all now, I only have one for a teaser (I need to sleep!). Here she is, gorgeous Baby "A" at 10 months old!

Meet and Greet Our Great Canadian Photogs #1 - Julie C Butler ~ Ottawa Photography

Whether working in a creative field or having a passion for a creative hobby, I believe the way we all grow, develop our style and improve is through inspiration from others. We may see something in the world that will spark our creative juices, excite the passion to try something different or break down the walls of creative block. For me, I derive my inspiration from other photographers and LOVE to follow their work by reading their blogs. One day, I thought it would be fun to find out who these talented individuals were, and what they were like in their business and in life, as I feel a certain connection to them. Being inspired by a certain blog I follow, I decided to adopt their idea of “interviewing” inspirational photographers and sharing it with you and their clients on my blog; and hopefully inspire some of you out there to try something new and learn along the way! I only had one rule regarding these posts and that was that the photographer had to be Canadian!

I’m so very honoured to introduce to you my very first “Great Canadian Photographer”:

Julie C Butler

Julie is an amazingly talented photographer specializing in wedding photography, and also loves to photograph maternity, newborn, children of all ages and their families. She grew up in the small town of Small town of St-Pascal de Baylon, ON, but now lives in Ottawa. She discovered her passion for photography when her first son was born 4 years ago. Then it grew into photographing other people’s children, and eventually a friends weddings, which she never thought she’d get into. Now weddings are her favourite thing to photograph.

Her work can be found on her website http://www.juliecbutlerphotography.com/ and her blog http://www.juliecbutlerphotography.com/blog/

Can you describe your style?
I will have to say that my style is candid .. simple!! I LOVE capturing moments. I LOVE capturing people/children for who they really are.
At weddings I want to capture every couple’s story. Each and every story is different, and special in their own way!!

How long have you been in business? And how did you start?
I have been in business for about 2.5 years. I started when some of my friends kept insisting I should photograph other people’s children.

What's in your camera bag? What is your favourite item in that bag?
First of all .. My bag is a Shootsac (Love my Shootsac). I shoot with a 5D Mark II. My 2 favorite lenses are the Canon 24-70mm L, which I use indoors mostly, and the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 which I use for weddings, and most anything outdoors!!
These 2 lenses are the only 2 lenses in my bag and I seem to be content with those!! Yes, I have a few lenses on my wish list including a macro lens for those wedding details, and I would also love to try the 85 1.2 ;-)
I also have a Canon 580 EX II flash.

Can you describe your PERFECT (imaginary) wedding to shoot?
Hmmmm … WOW!! Good question!!
I think that if I could photograph any kind of wedding it would have to be an eighteenth century wedding. It would happen in the gardens of a castle far, far away, on a beautiful sunny day. The grand ball room would be filled with hundreds of people, having a wonderful joyous time. And at the end of the night the bride and groom would take off in a beautiful white carousel.
I guess you can tell from this that I love fairytales!!

What is your favourite product that you offer your clients? What do you sell the most of?
I think I’m going to have to say my albums … and canvases!!

Are there any books or workshops that you have attended that have inspired you and helped you along the way of starting a new business in photography?
Book: “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson

Workshops:
1- Wendy Shulz (beginner class) http://www.wendyschulzphotography.com/
Wendy is a great teacher and she is always looking for ways to go above and beyond what is expected of her as teacher!! I love Wendy’s classes. I am actually signed up for Wendy’s “continuing education” class due to start in January!!

2- Audrey Woulard http://www.alwphotography.com/
Audrey’s workshop schedule changes all the time. I’m not sure if she still hosts workshops, although she should!! Audrey is amazing!!

3- Learnfest ’09 http://www.thelearnfest.com/
I am not sure if there will be more of these workshops, but it was hands down the best money spent on a workshop of this kind!! I left Learnfest with a gold mine. My mind was spinning with all of the information covered in this workshop, it was AMAZING!!!

What has been your best marketing idea?
Well, probably, like most photographers out there, word of mouth has been the best deal for me!!

What was your worst marketing idea?
Magazine ad, unfortunately I didn’t really benefit from it.

Who in the world of photography inspires you?
There are so many, but if I had to pick one I would have to say Jasmine Star. She is so true, simple, and genuine!!

Do you Facebook? Twitter?
Facebook yes .. http://www.facebook.com/juliecbutler
Twitter?? No .. I just can’t get into it.. I’ve tried a few times!!

Favourite Drink? Strawberry Zinfandel.
Favourite Restaurant? Milestones.
Married? Kids? Pets? Married 7.5 years. Two boys 16 months and 4 years.
Favourite thing to do on a Friday night? Have a nice diner and movie with a friend (or hubby when he is not working)

And in closing I want to give a huge thanks to Julie for playing along with me on this and before I sign off, I asked her to share a few of her favourite images. Here they are:

Our first baby ~ Chelsea Family Photography

About 6 years ago we got out first baby. We took him for walks, we played with him, brushed his teeth even. Today, 3 kids later... we're not sure if he is fed. But he remains to be the cute soccer ball dribbling lab we will always love, and remains faithful by our side in all the chaos! Meet Bender:

(anyone looking for a nice walk in the Chelsea backwoods, Bender makes for a great hiking partner... just contact me!)

Why invest in newborn photography and what to think about when considering it ~ Ottawa Newborn Photography

Recently I had these questions jumping around in my head because I’m often asked about newborn photography and why it’s such a big deal.

Basically, for me, it’s capturing a very sentimental event in parents’ and children’s lives; and it captures a period of our children’s lives that really only lasts for a few short weeks. Newborns are unique because they possess the characteristics of how they were while in their mother’s womb, but they only possess these for about 10 days. The “curl” and the ability to fold them up into a tiny ball, the purity of their skin, the sleepiness, and the tiny size are what we want to remember forever, because it really is a fleeting moment in terms of the life of a child.

When we seek out and choose a wedding photographer, we want to find the best fit possible to be present and capture the best images possible on one of the most important days of our lives. It only happens once, so you want to choose well. I would argue that the similar is true when choosing a newborn photographer, because your baby will only be like that for a short time, so you want to choose well.

So what should you consider, when thinking about investing in newborn photography?

1. First thing to consider is likely going to be your budget. There are options our there for everyone’s budget, from the $30 package at Loblaws to the $3000 package with the most talented high end pro photographer. So start with a ball park of what you are willing to spend for the whole thing – from session to prints.

2. Next thing to consider is style. What style of images are you looking to capture? Natural, posed, with props, textured, black and white, colour etc. There are a variety of different styles out there, so think about what you envision hanging on the walls in your nursery after your prints arrive.

3. Personal fit of the photographer, many photographers have blogs and you can get a sense of who they are by reading their blog posts. But the most important way to get an idea of how a photographer relates to their clients is to ask for references, or ask around to friends. Many of them have probably invested in a professional photo shoot in the past and may have someone to recommend.

4. Your willingness to travel mere days after giving birth. Find out if the photographer you are considering will do on-location sessions or only studio sessions.

5. Print products offered. Some photographers and studios, such as Loblaws and Walmart will only offer a few print size options; custom photographers can provide designed products such as storyboards, custom album designs and image boxes. It is also important to find out if the photographer will sell their digital images, and at what price.



In closing, regardless of what you decide, whether you hire a custom professional photographer, bring your baby to a studio, or just take the photos yourself, remember to take many photos in those first few weeks, because before you know it, they are all grown up and you’ll have those images to look back on and cherish!

International Model Search - Ottawa's Cutest Family ~ Ottawa Family Photography

I'm so excited to official kick off my participation in Sandy Puc's International Charity Model Search to find North America’s Cutest Family and to raise funds for the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. (NILMDTS.org)

Are your loved ones Ottawa's and North America’s Cutest Family? This model search will give you the opportunity to prove it! Many exciting prizes will be awarded on April 8th, and the grand prize winner receives a new car!

Model Search Special:

$125 session fee includes a 60-minute on-location model session and one image submitted to the national gallery. Special model search print packages are also available after our session, the prices ranging from $99 to $899.

Finalists will be determined by online votes. Each vote is $1 (no limit on the amount of votes you can cast), and all proceeds from votes benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS.org).

Grand prize international winner will be determined from the 52 city finalists. The winners will be selected from the finalist gallery by photography and modeling industry experts. The winning family also receives a session with the renowned portrait artist Sandy Puc’ and international recognition.

Contace me info [at] christinedenis.com now to enter your family in this exciting contest.

My work at HUSH ~ Ottawa Family Photographer

A while back while I was still pregnant with my baby girl, I walked into a very cool fashion boutique in Ottawa called HUSH. I was immediately attracted to the style of clothing they offered, the AMAZING locally made jewelery they offered and their wonderful (and very stylish) staff. I also noticed that their walls were a little bare and inquired about hanging some of my work and not only were they open to that, they suggested having a photographer come in and do "mini-shoots" one day for a special event. And, alas, the Halloween Mini-Sessions were born. Now, I'm proud to announce that my work is officially up on their walls, beautifying their children's clothing section!! Thanks so much to Angie and Alison for trusting me and valuing my work; and thanks to my little models for being so cute!! :)

Happy New Year

The new year is already a whole 5 days old and it's been a fantastic 5 days. I had the opportunity to strap on the hockey skates again and participate in the inaugural Chelsea Pond Hockey Tournament. The pond is the perfect setting for holding such an event, as it's big and picturesque. However I can't claim to have taken any photos, because I was busy holding a hockey stick instead of holding a camera! Luckily, my friend and mentor, Harry, came down and shot some amazing photos of all the action going on, even some pretty nice hockey hair - courtesy of moi! In the end we pretty much placed last in our division, the competition was pretty fierce, but I had a great time playing again after more than a year off! Mind you my knees don't agree with that...