PHOTOGRAPHY T I P S

This blog has been a long time coming, and I am so thrilled to start this!

I still remember when I started this little photography endeavor and feeling like there was SO much to learn, thankfully I had an incredible friend who introduced me to LR (s/o to my BFF, Dervin) and all that it had to offer! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves ;)

Months ago I asked what you guys would like to know about the photography world and these are some of my most frequently asked questions:

WHAT PRESETS DO YOU USE?

After shooting my first wedding, Dervin showed me TONS of the presets that other photographers used. Everything from VSCO to other super popular ones that r e a l l y didn’t do the trick. I spent so much time searching for “perfect” preset that I could have easily finished editing that entire wedding instead of surfing through all the different options.

I ended up giving up because I literally didn’t like ANY. NONE. Z E R O.

Why?

Because I knew I wanted to keep the colors that the bride chose for her wedding day as natural as possible and make sure their skin tones were a priority. None of the preset that I came across, at the time, were doing that.

So, after hours of tweaking, I was FINALLY getting somewhere.

I met my new BFFS: HSL sliders, and SPLIT TONING.

At this point, I created my own preset that I use when importing my images into LR. This is what my HSL panel looks like from the start and I always tweak it depending on the subject and the lighting of the image.

I normally only change the shadows in the split toning panel to make the image slightly warmer or cooler, depending on the lighting of the image. This was something that varies so much, and for me it was just a matter of practicing and training my eye to notice when the image was too warm or too cool.

I encourage you to find an image of yours and try to see what you love about that image!

Write down the changes that you made and try to recreate the same preset on a completely different image with different lighting.

I am a firm believer in photography as an art, and I LOVE when I see someone’s unique style shine through their work. That’s what truly sets us all apart.

WHAT GEAR DO YOU USE?

I’m pretty much a minimalist when it comes to this! I shoot Canon (THE COLORS ARE * insert fire emoji *)

5D Mark IV with a lovely 50mm 1.2!

Exclusively.

Yes, I have used the 35mm, and I literally hated it! * GASP * Lol, I just love simple images and believe that less is more! The 50mm continuously reminds me to be intentional with my shots.

—Josiah is the master of all those wide shots that you guys see, and I don’t give him as much credit as he deserves! He uses Canon as well, and loves the 24-105mm lens.—

Other than that we use Canon’s Speedlite 600EX-II and the only other lens I would love to have is the 85mm. :)

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

This question deserves an entire video! lol

WITH PHOTOGRAPHY:

I directed my first photoshoot when I was five years old, after begging my parents for one of those amazing one time use 27-exposure Kodak cameras from the grocery store. Seriously.

We lived about 45min away from downtown, but I knew I wanted to have the session with the tall buildings in the background. I was always drawn to that gorgeous Houston skyline. <3

Ever since then I always asked for a camera! I was so happy when I could run around taking pictures with those disposable Kodaks! Fast forward to 15 year old Cindy when I finally received and ACTUAL camera. You know, the ones with the ability to change the iso, shutter speed, and exposure. :)

I was in HEAVEN with that camera, because of it I learned how to shoot in Manual and never went back.

IN WEDDINGS:

I was working as a cashier at Panera when my GM asked if I would cover her wedding! I was so surprised that she asked me, because I would only share photos of my downtown adventures, and I had never even considered getting into weddings.

I actually said no at first because I felt it was a huge responsibility, I had zero experience, and on top of that I only had a Canon Rebel t3i with a kit lens! There was just no way I could pull it off.

She continued to ask if I would do it, so after talking to Dervin about it he encouraged me to do it.

Plus, when she asked how much I would charge I told her $2000, which she agreed to— 18 year old Cindy was thrilled! haha!

I googled as much as I could about how to cover a wedding, but knowing nothing about wedding day timelines; I ended up showing up to her wedding day and realized that the ceremony was going to take place AFTER sunset. L. O. L.

So there I was with a little Canon Rebel and the it’s little on camera flash (PRAISE GOD!) covering my very first wedding. :)

The image below is of Shaneil, notice the subtle edits and the lovely blurriness of FB quality. Lol, I totally wish I would’ve kept the original files, but thankfully she had this on her FB still!

SO there ya have it!

Those are the top three questions I’ve received. I’m currently compiling a list of more questions to answer for you guys. I would love to answer them all! lol

If you haven’t already, go ahead and find me on YouTube where we will be going in more depth about editing, lighting, and photography in general!

Also, COMMENT with your questions!

EMAIL them.

DM them.

TEXT themmm!

I’m so excited for this! :)