Inspiration

I am constantly on the lookout for inspiration.  Let’s get real, who isn’t?  This could be for photographs, for work outs, for prayers/scripture, for eating healthier, for dressing nicer, for interesting date ideas, for places to go, or things to do. Whatever.  What’s a fantastic place for inspiration you ask?

Pinterest obviously.  Come on, bro. (Bro because you have either never heard of Pinterest somehow or have vowed to stay as far away from it as possible since that’s where girls waste half their lives pinning stuff for their dream wedding whether they have a ring or not and you don’t want to be a part of that).  I get it.  I was like that.  But after a long time (but finally caving) I’ve come to see that Pinterest is much more than wedding stuff.  Don’t get me wrong, you click on the popular tab on any given day and at least half of the results are wedding related, but you can find fantastic information on so much more.

As a photographer, Pinterest is a gold mine for great tips and tricks.  There is always something new I can learn from different people and articles.  I love reading through ‘The Mistakes of Beginner Photographers’, or ‘Tips and Tricks for Better Photography’.  There’s really no down side to reading this stuff.  If I’m reading along and know what the article is saying, great! I’m just reenforcing my knowledge and maybe even understanding it better.  If I’m reading and have never heard of what is being talked about. Even better!  I’m learning something new to make myself grow and become a better photographer.  And since Pinterest took me to this company or person’s site or blog I now have another resource for inspiration.

I’m not saying Pinterest should not be your only source of inspiration.  Far from it.  It should be one of the many places you look.  But don’t spend all your time on the internet looking for inspiration.  Going outside, talking to other people (in person), and actually shooting pictures are necessary also.  With that in mind, here are some photos I shot of my friend at Kennesaw Mountain after a little research on Pinterest (I don’t do a lot of bridal portraits so I searched for posing and lighting ideas).

      

Contests

Some advice: Enter your photos in contests.  If you win, great!  If you don’t, you can get criticism to make your photography better.

My junior year of school I had a photography professor that required all her classes to enter one contest.  You didn’t get a grade for it.  You didn’t have to win anything.  All you had to do was submit your work to a single contest.  The photo didn’t even have to be something you created for her class.  She gave us a list of websites and contests she knew about but even that was open.  If you found a contest that wasn’t on the list you just had to show her and have her approve it.

To some, this was just one more thing to add to the workload of their classes but I welcomed it.  I had never entered any contests before and was interested in how I would do.  The contest I chose was Photographer’s Forum Best of College and High School Photography (http://pfmagazine.com/photography-contest/next/).

Since it is such a big contest I wasn’t expecting to be a finalist.  The letter that would tell me if I was a finalist or not came later than a thought it would and by that time I had convinced myself that I didn’t get it.  The letter finally came and I jumped up and down and did a happy dance when I read that I was a finalist.

As a finalist I was published in Photographer’s Forum hardcover book, published on Photographer’s Forum website, and received a 2 month subscription to the magazine.  This magazine has great articles on fantastic photographers and is really inspiring.

I haven’t entered contests in a while but I am a member of ViewBug (http://www.viewbug.com/).  This website is full of contests and allows you to share your photos with other photographers and get constructive criticism.  I highly recommend it.  You can see amazing photos, find contests that work for you, and it’s free to join!

Happy entering!

-Lindsay

Mermaid Session

I got a crazy idea a few days ago that it would be fun to do an underwater shoot.  The only problem: I don’t have underwater housing for my camera nor do I have $1500 to get said housing.  However, I do have a Gopro Hero3 (best thing EVER!).

Side note:: If you don’t have a Gopro and like to do any kind of outdoor activities I will tell you to go out and get one immediately!  I’ve taken it hiking, snorkeling, horseback riding, running, etc.  Again I say, it’s awesome.

Anyway, I told my friend K.C. about my idea and in her words she is “always up for being a mermaid.”  So we went to Ross and got a cheap dress that I figured would look good underwater.  After shopping we realized she had an old prom dress in her closet that could work also so we brought them both.

Of course when we got to the pool I realized I forgot my goggles so I had to shoot ‘from the hip’ the whole time. Because I’ve used the Gopro like this before, I was able to compose the photos pretty well.

So here you go, a few of my favorites.  I feel like they came out pretty well for working with a camera that’s meant for action and not at all model photography.  We had a lot of fun regardless.

 

4th of July

What better way to celebrate July 4th than to buy a bunch of sparklers and take pictures with them?  Well this weekend that’s what we did.  If I want to do more wedding photography I need to know how to do sparkler photos since they are really popular and look great for the bride and groom portraits.

I’ve never photographed sparklers so this was an experiment that actually turned out pretty well.  I have, however, done a project with glow sticks (at the time I couldn’t find sparklers).  So from that project I knew the basics (small aperture and a long shutter speed).

I had help from some great people but there was a lot of ambient light and I didn’t have a very good tripod.  So when we did sparklers I managed to do it a little better.

 

Again I had great people helping me and sparklers are awesome.

Office is closed

The office is closed this week so I have devoted it to creating a Flkr account mainly for Fotografie Atlanta clients trying to decide who they want as a second shooter at their wedding (https://www.flickr.com/photos/125860171@N02/), editing anniversary photos, and ordering business cards (finally!). One of my friend’s parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this weekend.  It was a great party.  Music, dancing, great food, alcohol, corn-hole with DIY bean bags with the couples’ faces on them, a grand entrance that was met with silly string and flower petals, and decorations that were reminiscent of their 25 years together. Congratulations Patty and Ron Loveless! May you have at least another 25 years! Here are a few of shots from the night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Me

So here it is. My first blog post. The reason for this blog is to hold myself accountable. I want to research, shoot, or do something involving my personal photography at least once a week.  

An introduction:  My name is Lindsay Hartmann.  I went to Georgia Southern University.  I received a BA in art and I minored in journalism.  While I was there, I worked as the photo editor of Student Media and shot for the Statesboro Herald occasionally.  I’ve been interested in photography pretty much all my life.  My first camera was my mom’s 35mm Minolta camera.  Now I use Nikon (digital obviously).

Currently I am working as a photographer for HS Photo and a contract photographer for Fotografie Atlanta.  I’m still not sure which area of photography I want to keep doing but I’ve enjoyed it all so far: photojournalism, commercial, sports, weddings, kids, or school.

Right now with HS Photo, we are in the middle of senior season.  We go to different schools, set up our equipment, and shoot the rising seniors’ yearbook photos and casual photos.  I am the outside casual photographer.  This means I get the really pretty backgrounds (leaves, trees, flowers, bricks, etc.) but have to deal with the heat all day.  Despite the heat I do like it.  I’ve learned so much on this job.  I love when the seniors have researched photos on Pinterest and come in with their own ideas. The poses I usually do get old for me after a while so when they bring their own stuff it makes it more fun for the both of us.  Plus, it gives me more ideas for future shots. 

I know I can always get better and learn new things from other people or just learn from my own mistakes.  I believe this blog will help me do just that.  So here goes nothing.

 

-Lindsay