Anna, though, has the grace of a dancer and, like Wendy, pairs it with beauty and a sweet spirit. We think it comes through in her photos which we took at Columbia’s 701 Whaley.

After taking some more traditional senior shots, Anna changed clothes and showed us some of her moves.

It’s fun telling someone “Jump!” over and over again while clicking a shutter button.

If you enjoyed these, feel free to check out some more senior photos or, if you’d like to book a session, senior or otherwise, drop us a line.

]]> http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2012/02/senior-photos-anna/feed/ 0 http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2012/02/ken-megan-engagement-session/ http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2012/02/ken-megan-engagement-session/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:11:03 +0000 J.P. http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/?p=1503 Ooh, I’m having to rush to get my blog post in for the week!

Since I’m short on time, I’m also going to be short on words so I can get to the Professional Photographers of South Carolina convention on time! But let’s face it, what do I have to say that can compare with seeing two people wonderfully in love?

Here are Ken and Megan, two such people:

We love these guys and had a ton of fun at their wedding, but for now you’ll have to settle with this engagement-y taste. More to come next week!

The phone in a camera has certain strengths and certain weaknesses when compared to a dSLR or a decent point-and-shoot. For example:

Weaknesses:

• Lower-quality lens
• Smaller sensor (usually leading to more noise)
• Inability to zoom mechanically (fixed focal length)
• Shutter lag (a delay between pressing the shutter button and the photo being taken)
• Slow focus and/or limited ability to focus
• Very wide depth of field (usually)
• Limited (if any) control over exposure

Strengths:

• Always with you
• Ummm…

Weaknesses as Strengths

But it turns out that even the weaknesses of a camera phone can be strengths when thought of properly. Ask almost any artist and they’ll tell you that by placing limits on themselves they force themselves to grow. I’ve found that’s the case with photography.

A lower quality  lens and smaller, noisier sensor mean that the images I take with my iPhone aren’t going to stun anyone with their sharpness and purity of tone. As a result, I have to compensate. I have to use color, composition, and an interesting subject to create an image that has impact despite having slightly smudgy pixels (not a technical term).

Shutter lag and slow focus mean that I have to become excellent at timing my images–using techniques that film shooters may still remember like pre-focusing. That’s where you focus on the spot where you know your subject is going to be before they get there, then snap the frame when they arrive. It turns out that’s still a useful skill, even with a professional camera, because autofocus, even with the most expensive lens, is sometimes dumb, and doesn’t know that the child playing 20 feet away is more interesting than the shrubs 50 feet away.

The very wide depth of field on camera phones is probably the limitation that annoys me most often. Honestly, I could do without it. But that said, it reminds me of an important lesson that comes in handy when I’m shooting with my “real” cameras. Try this–focus your camera phone on something really close to the lens. It will probably take some adjusting to find out how close your phone can focus. Look at what happens to the background. It goes out of focus. You can’t do that further away, but reeeealy close to the lens it will work. Turns out the same optical principles are at work in a dSLR or a point-and-shoot. Here’s an example of this principle that I took using my iPhone and some monkeys:

Limited ability control exposure, while sometimes frustrating, means that I really have to think about light when I’m composing a shot with my phone. It also means that the shot I thought I wanted might not be possible at all, and I have to take an entirely different photo–perhaps a silhouette. Different ideas appear where I was previously fixated on one image.

Perhaps the most limiting and, therefore, most growth-inducing element of mobile photography is the inability to change the focal length of your lens. Much of the time, changing focal length means “zooming”, but it can also mean changing lenses on a dSLR. The problem with zooming is that it provides infinite different relationships between the subject, the photographer and the background. Yes, that’s tremendously important to me as a wedding photographer, but as someone who wants to grow in his art, it can become a stumbling block. This limitation forces me to break rules that I’ve generally photographed by–”fill the frame with faces”–and reinforces others–”don’t photograph people from too close”. It causes me to look for wide shots that wouldn’t have even been on my radar in the past. It also makes me get to know the focal length of my phone’s camera really well. At this point I know almost immediately whether a scene will look good with my iPhone or not, and that also gives me an idea of what lens to use if I want to photograph it with my “real” camera.

I hope you’re enjoying these little articles. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them. (To the smart-Alecs who will immediately want to ask a non-photography question, the answer is “42″.)

As it happens, Brandi did have a baby a few years later, but we’ll get to that little guy in a later post. See, Wendy and I photographed Danny and Becky’s wedding a few years ago, and this past summer, they added a little one to their family. Meet Amelia.

Precious, huh? Here’s another.

Remember guys, baby-curls will get your biceps ripped.

Of course, when adding a baby to your family’s number, there’s always the possibility that other family members will be apprehensive. That was the case with Emmy.

Fortunately, whatever doubts Emmy had she got over quickly, and now she and Amelia are great buds, even if Amelia does pull her ears from time to time.

Since we took these photos, Amelia has only gotten cuter, which is impressive given how cute she was to begin with.

I hope everyone is having a better week now that Wikipedia is back up. Remember to fight internet censorship, lest little ones like Amelia grow up in a world where they don’t even know the meaning of “Rickrolled.”

At that time, Rebekah was one of my students. It would be pretty well impossible to capture Rebekah’s awesomeness in a few words on a blog. Let’s just say she was instrumental in the Snuggie incident and leave it at that.

Rebekah loves to read, which, as someone who taught English for years, has a special appeal to me.  I liked the idea of this girl who loves to read, but also loves the outdoors, so even when the sun has gone down she hunkers down by a window with her book, unable to let go of the story despite the faded light. Rebekah was nice enough to play along.

It’s tough to believe Rebekah has already finished her first semester of college. (She’s doing fantastically, by the way.) It’s a good reminder, though, that time moves quickly, so you’d better hurry and read those good books while you can!

Of course, the best way to start off any week is with coffee.

Like Wendy and me, Ben and Angel spent a good bit of their courtship hanging out at a coffee shop together. However, while Wendy and I stared adoringly at each other over cups of Cool Beans coffee, Ben and Angel were doing much the same across the river at Cafe Strudel. So, tip one is: Start your week at a local coffee house. You’ll definitely find good coffee and you might find love…

Ben and Angel didn’t actually meet at Cafe Strudel, though. They met at a show at New Brooklyn Tavern. You might have guessed from the photo that Ben is a musician and you’d be right. (Sorry, Angel, for the times I monopolized your future husband talking about music!)

So, even if your Monday doesn’t get off to the greatest start, you can take the edge off by following tip #2: Listen to music that makes you feel good. (For bonus points, add “local” to this tip as well.)

If even the sweetness of caffeine and the sweet balm of melody can’t get you ready to face the week, I’d suggest tip #3: Do something kind for someone else.

Getting them a diamond engagement ring may be overdoing it…a cup of coffee or a smile will likely suffice.

If you’ve followed along the plan this far and still find yourself in the doldrums, you may be forced to engage in tip #4: Go outside.

Ah yes, the sun, the fresh air, the need to take a Claritin…

Finally, if you’re outside with a delicious cup of hot, local coffee, listening to great music while reflecting on the many old ladies you helped cross the street and the idea of a full week of work is still getting you down, the only tip left I have left is #5: Give your beloved a big kiss.

Yeah, that makes everything better.

We hope these tips were helpful and that you have a fantastic week to come! Come back to visit on Thursday and please, kiss responsibly.

“See, I write jokes for a living, man. I sit in my hotel at night and think of something that’s funny and then I go get a pen and write ‘em down. Or, if the pen’s too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain’t funny.”
-Mitch Hedburg

During the past year, I’ve taken a lot of photos with my phone that I normally would have taken with one of our professional dSLRs. Actually, that’s a lie. A big one. Over the past year, I’ve taken a lot of photos with my phone that, had I not had my phone with me, I wouldn’t have taken at all. See, a professional dSLR is heavy, expensive, and has many lenses and accessories that can help me craft an absolutely exceptional photo given the time and preparation. But when my nephew Ethan is sitting on a step with his new toy dinosaur Stanley, I don’t really have time to think about those things.

So, over the next few months, I’m going to share with you some of my thoughts on how to make the most of the camera you probably always have with you. For now, here are some of the joys I’ve found in mobile photography.

You will capture more memories

“The best camera is the one you have with you.”
-Chase Jarvis

There are beautiful sunsets, adorable children, fascinating people, interesting architecture and magical shafts of light all around us, yet even professional photographers miss a lot of them because we just don’t have our camera handy. Are you standing in front of beauty? Do you have your cell phone? Then take the picture! Might the picture look better with a fancier camera? Sure…in fifteen minutes, when you’ve picked your lens, grabbed your CF card, and metered for the light…if what you wanted to photograph is still there. Good luck with that with kids, by the way! Life moves too fast to bother with a lens cap.

It’s a great equalizer (sort of)

I’ve rarely ever met a photographer who didn’t suffer from gear lust. “If only I had that 300mm f/2.8 image-stabilized lens I could take amazing pictures!” I’ve certainly fallen into it, but it’s based on a lie, and it’s an expensive lie to believe. The lie is that better gear will make me a better photographer. That just isn’t true. Mobile photography drives this lesson home perhaps better than anything else, as I follow photographers who take breathtaking photos with cameras that cost more than the down payment on a house turn around and take breathtaking photos with their phones. When I see Zack Arias post a photo that knocks my socks off that he took with his iPhone—the same iPhone I have—I have to admit to myself that the difference between us isn’t the price of our gear, but the way that we see. Which leads me to…

It will make you a better photographer

If that’s what you’re going for.  I am. When I whip out my phone to take a photo of something I find interesting, I don’t have the option of a longer lens, or adding flash (well, technically I do,  but we’ll talk about that in another post), or fixing it in Photoshop—I have to think about the fundamentals of what makes a good photograph and either make them work in the situation or, well, fail. But that’s okay, too. The stakes are low. It’s just a phone pic. Which reminds me…

It will help you relax about photography

If you’ve worked with us, you know that we have a lot of fun on a shoot, but you might also have noticed that I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I’m always tweaking something to capture the best image possible. With a phone, my options are limited, which can be frustrating at times. But the longer I use my phone as a camera, the more I’ve come to enjoy the process and accept that not every shot is going to be a masterpiece. Heck, sometimes shots that I don’t think will possibly come out wind up delighting me. And that’s part of the fun of mobile photography, because when you’re photographing your life, you have to leave room for happy accidents.

The Lumos Studio blog has languished for far too long, and so, as a new year dawns, we’re returning to the web with a vengeance. We have a year’s worth of beautiful brides, cute couples, bouncing babies, wonderful weddings, and annoying alliteration to share with you, dear reader. But it’s not just photographs we have to share. Oh no! There will be glimpses behind the curtain at Lumos Studio, tips and tricks, and perhaps the occasional philosophical musing. So, as you plan for this new year, ripe with possibilities, we hope that you’ll include coming along with us on our journey and saying “hi” from time to time.

The first stop on our adventure takes us back to March, when we took these photos of Kendra around the campus of the University of South Carolina. I’ve known Kendra’s family since high school and even taught with her mom for a  time. They’re a great family that turns out beautiful, sweet daughters like it’s their job.

 I have a confession to make about this next photo: I didn’t think we could pull it off. My lovely wife Wendy, though, was more confident in my abilities than I was and gracefully persuaded me to keep working with it until we captured this frame. I suspect the little jig I danced when I looked at the back of the camera suggested to her that she was right all along, but a little public validation never hurts, does it?

Kendra had a long and gorgeous veil that I think gave an air of mystery to these photos.

It always feels good to repose after a long shoot in a fairly heavy dress. The Inn at USC is one great place in Columbia to find that.

Wendy and I hope that your new year is filled with joy and beauty that is uninterrupted by the Mayan calendar. There’s lots more coming up, so please join us on Wednesday for our next post!

Quite apart from the photography, I’m going to take credit for this marriage. (Not the wedding, the credit for that goes to the bride and to the charming and talented wedding planner Robin Cannon, who made sure that the whole lovely evening went off without a hitch.) No, I’m claiming the marriage. You see, several years ago, before David and Jess had even been on a single date, I told them jokingly that, because the two of them were about to begin leading a house church together, they were bound to get married. The two of them were sitting on a couch across from me and Jess responded to my prognostication by placing a throw pillow between the two of them. That pillow, though, couldn’t stop their love…

Seriously, though, everyone who knows these two knows that they’re made for each other. They are creative and funny, thoughtful and silly, and both look fantastic in black.

It’s always fun after a wedding when Wendy and I compare her pictures of the girls getting ready to my pictures of the guys getting ready. I was able to correctly predict in this case that the girls were not smoking hookah as they prepared for the ceremony.

The night before the wedding, the girls got together a collection of movies to watch in preparation…

…and so did the guys.

I like that Jessica and David had a color palette that even I can understand–red and black.

The very cool programs were designed by Laura Bousman and featured a quote from Mumford & Sons.

Based on the flower shots Wendy got at this wedding, I may never bother pointing my camera at another blossom again. Her work just leaves me in awe.

And here is the lovely bride!

I’ve never had more people tell me to take a picture than when the flower girl sat down next to this window. You can see why.

David and Jessica were married at Rutledge Chapel on the USC Horseshoe, the same place Wendy and I got married!

There isn’t much staging area at Rutledge Chapel, so Jess’s bridesmaids shielded her from prying eyes immediately before her big entrance.

After the ceremony, everybody headed over to the Columbia Marriott for the dinner, dancing and, of course, cake.

It’s worth noting that David and all the groomsmen wore matching black Chuck Taylors. That was cool. His mom in black Airwalks? That’s awesome.

Time to dance! (Hi, Britt!)

I’ve never felt more like a paparazzi (thank you spell-check) than when I took this photo. If you look closely, you can see the very edge of Jess’s dress peeking out from behind the elevator door. I think she was done having her picture taken for the night.

Goodnight.

Shooting a band is oh-so-slightly different than shooting a wedding, and it gives us a chance to play in ways we normally don’t. We love the playful aspect of shooting musicians, but the other side is that there are a lot of clichés to avoid (think railroad tracks and brick walls).  For this shot, we decided to draw inspiration from the same source that the band did.  The title of Divided by Friday’s new EP, The Constant, is a reference to Lost–specifically the fact that Penny (the one whose boat it isn’t) is Desmond’s constant–the thing that keeps him anchored in time/reality/whatever was going on. If you haven’t seen Lost, go ahead and watch all seven seasons. The rest of us will wait.

Okay, I guess you’re back. Wasn’t that great? Well, yeah, maybe not the last episode, but otherwise, awesome!

Anyway, Wendy and I were discussing the idea of a constant–something that draws you back to a central point, like home. We decided that food is something that draws people together (think holidays like Thanksgiving), and it could be cool to see the guys drifting away, yet pulled back together by the fellowship of a shared meal. Admittedly, I also liked the idea of putting a rock band in my mom’s kitchen (thanks, Mom!). This is what we got:

If you have some free time, feel free to use this like a Highlights magazine and circle all the floating food in the image.

If you prefer your band pictures with more gravity and fewer calories, here’s another from the shoot:

Now, the event that actually inspired this post is the release of Divided by Friday’s latest video, their version of “O Holy Night”. Are you looking forward to Christmas? Do you like to rock? Yes? Then check it out!

After that, go check out the rest of their music on Myspace.