Shooting in Low Light

On Friday I planned a set time for whoever wanted to come of some of my friends for a photo shoot. There was a lot of interest but only one person came.. which I was ok with, because really, Chelsea was so much fun to photograph and I didn't have to worry about fitting anyone else in. My photographer's eye loved Chelsea as a model!

I asked her to meet me at Maymont Park and we met near the petting zoo/ barn. Unfortunately it was a overcast Friday which is actually my preferred lighting for portraits because of the nice even natural light I get, but since the sun sets early these days and it was already 4 it was too dark to shoot hand held with the lenses I currently own. Enter my faithful sturdy tripod and sweet little Nikon remote shutter release. Over all it was a great and fun challenge to still get nicely exposed shots without motion blur since the shutter release speed was set so low. I shot all the images of Chelsea with my nikkor lense set to 50mm as I'm testing it out to see if I want to invest in the hefty price of a fixed 50mm lense. Thank you so much for coming and being a model for me Chelsea! I had so much fun and you are a beauty inside and out!!

A Sunset Session

Last weekend one of my best friends from college, Lauren came into town from Lynchburg to visit. We had a lot of fun catching up and discussing our favorite subject.. Art. I met Lauren at the beginning of my senior year at University of Mary Washington which was her junior year. We had Painting 1 and Photo 1 together. I remember having seen her around the year before but never interacted with her and what is funny is that our initial judgments of one another in those 1st two classes together were pretty much the same. We both of the other were kind of like "who is that girl? I'm the outspoken one during critiques, who does she think she is?" Haha, needless to say we quickly got over our prejudgments and became fast friends, a friendship we continued to nurture after my graduating and moving to Arkansas for a year while she finished her senior year and then my moving back home to Richmond and her to her home in Lynchburg. Lauren is now an elementary school art teacher and as far as I'm concerned.. thriving in her 2 years new job. She's the friend who keeps me accountable to my art, to creating, to never stopping what I'm passionate about.. and vice versa. Anyway, during her 2 day visit we went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the VMFA.. and wondered over the beautiful works and colors.. while I reminded her not to touch! Ha, Lauren is notorious for wanting to touch things in art galleries even though as artists we know better because she is very tactile. We also grabbed lunch at Garnett's and stopped by Rosewood Pottery Studio so I could show her around. On Saturday she tagged along with me very patiently while I shot Megan and Kristen. It was a fun girls adventure for the four of us! And then I insisted she let me shoot some photographs of her. She will be the 1st to tell you she doesn't like having her picture taken and isn't into documenting her life with pictures the way most of us do now a days. Its one of the places we differ artistically but it leads to some great, thoughtful discussions between us. All I can really say about this girl is that I love her as a friend, as a sister in art and in faith and that I think she is just incredibly beautiful and has great presence in front of the lense even though she is usually behind it!

The above image and left image below are straight from the camera. Lauren's images ended up being some test subjects for some new actions I downloaded recently from the CoffeeShop blog and then played with levels and deleted/ edited further to get to what I liked!

And just for fun.. one of us together..bein all artsy serious and shtuff! I used my Nikon remote... which is so worth the investment!

If you like what you see and are interested in getting some professional photographs of yourself or family like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SHEdesignswithgrace I will be posting very reasonable January sessions and prices in the next few days!!

Bundle Up!

Hope everyone had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I know I sure did! Just wanted to let you know I have some new items up in the Etsy shop so please stop by for some after Christmas shopping! You can spend some of that Christmas cash you got from Grandma or Auntie B! I will continue to be putting up some knit and crochet items over the next few weeks.. if you have anything specific in mind and would like a custom order please contact me so I can get to making it! Oh and I'll also be listing some lovely thrown pottery I've been making as well!

Happy Holidays!! Love- SHEdesignswithgrace

Sister Sister

Yesterday I went on an afternoon photo shoot with some of my favorite girls! I hadn't gotten to spend time with my little sisters in quit some time. I needed some model's so I could get nice images for my Etsy shop of the handmade knit and crochet items I've been making. In addition to modeling those, we also had a fun sister session! I've known Kristen and Megan since they moved in next door 13 years ago. They were about 3 & 6 back then and oh so adorable and I have had the pleasure of watching them grow up into absolutely beautiful young women! Kristen is now in college at Virginia Tech and Megan is in high school and driving! Geez, do I feel old! Here are some of the shots we took with them modeling some of my Etsy items for sale!

I have to say it was FREEZING yesterday! Not only cold but also VERY windy. These girls were troopers! And don't they have such gorgeous blonde locks!

I love candids as much if not more so than awareness shots!

Like I said, I've known these girls a long time, I've done many a dance recital, homecoming and prom updo for these lovelies and its such a joy to see how they have grown and matured not just on the outside but on the inside too. They are such thoughtful and loving young women and it's been so fun having spiritual conversations with them. Kristen and I have become especially close in the last few years and had many a good chat about our faith, relationships and friends.

Needless to say, it was a fun afternoon despite the chilly weather! Thanks Megs and Kristen for being such wonderful little sisters and so cooperative in the cold!

If you like what you see and are interested in getting some professional photographs of yourself or family like my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SHEdesignswithgrace I will be posting very reasonable January sessions and prices in the next few days!!

Rosewood Pottery Studio

So the contract job I was working ended about a month ago. I was not worried at all when this happened. In fact I had a peace that it was just meant to be for some greater purpose, for God's purpose! And since than so many things have been happening.. and all for the good!

The biggest one for sure has been Rosewood Pottery Studio. I 1st heard about this place when I purchased my kick wheel back in the spring. The guy I bought it from told me about the studio but wasn't sure where it was or if it was still in business. But it was enough to peak my interest. So I went home and thanks to modern technology found their website on the internet within a few minutes. Turns out they were still in business, but were moving their location and so were temporarily not up and running. So I checked back every now and then over the period of about 5 months. Until September. When driving downtown with my mom one Saturday afternoon we passed the new location with its big mural on the wall outside. So we stopped and went in and I met Janet. The co-owner with her partner Kathleen. She was so friendly and enthusiastic about her new space and clay. She spent an hour just showing me around and telling me all about the business, the classes offered, everything. I signed up that day for a class and was so super excited because I hadn't had the opportunity to touch clay since I'd graduated from college 2 years earlier.

Well, long story short... after my other job ended I went to Janet and Kathleen to ask them what they thought about me possible becoming their studio intern. It turns out they liked me as much as I liked them and we quickly agreed on a loose plan and I am now the Studio Intern at Rosewood. Which means not only do I get to keep playing with clay and making my artwork.. but I also now get to learn all about running a business, fixing wheels and changing out kiln elements. Oh and I get to make glazes! Thank you Professor Lorene for having your husband Jo teach a glaze chemistry class while I was in college!

I just needed to share because I am so enjoying this new group of friends I have found at Rosewood Pottery. Its so nice to have a creative space to be in again since graduating from college and to be getting muddy making pots! Here are some pieces I've made since getting back into clay. They will all be for sale at the Holiday Open House at Rosewood Pottery Studio tomorrow, Sunday December 9th from 12-6pm!

If you live in Richmond, Va or nearby I hope you can stop in for a visit to meet the warm and welcoming owners as well as all the great people who make Rosewood what it is!

"Yet you, Lord, are our Father.We are the clay, you are the potter;we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

"This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 'Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.' So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the LORD. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'" Jeremiah 18: 1-6