Are you interested in donating your photography but still looking for an organization to work with?  A few months back we announced our new Non-Profit Program, created to help get information about different programs out to photographers.  What would be another way to help you learn about these wonderful organizations?  Interviews, of course!  Today we continue our Non-Profit Interviews with Sweet Nectar Society!

an interview with sweet nectar society

We’d love to learn about this special organization, Sweet Nectar Society.  What kind of charitable work do you do?

Sweet Nectar Society provides photos sessions for children who have serious disability, disorder and disease. At no cost to the families, we provide them with a photo session, an album of their images, and the digital files from their session. We also hope to raise awareness and provide support by sharing their stories on our website and give information about their ailments. In addition, Sweet Nectar Society holds many events throughout the year including fundraisers, blood and bone marrow drives, and awareness campaigns.

We understand that Sweet Nectar Society was birthed from a personal story.  Can you give us a little of the background of how this organization was created?

Yes, Sweet Nectar Society was started when founder Brittany Wilbur’s daughter had some unknown health issues at the age of one. Being photographers, we knew the worth preserving moments that pass by so quickly, and during this time that truth became even more apparent. When Brittany approached co-founder Carrie Anne Miranda with the idea to start this organization, having two cancer survivor parents herself and having been through some medical scares with her own son, Carrie jumped on board without hesitation.  In its first year, Sweet Nectar Society provided over 80 families with lasting memories.

What about families interested in participating in one of these special sessions?  Is there a way for them to connect with a photographer in their area?

As of right now, we are focused on the state of California, specifically the Central Valley region between Bakersfield and Sacramento where we work closely with the local Children’s Hospital.  Families can go online to our site at www.sweetnectarsociety.org and fill out a submission form.  From there we will connect them with a photographer in their area that best fits their needs.

You must meet some extraordinary people through these types of sessions.  Has there been a particular person or story that has been especially inspiring to you?

Every family that we meet is extraordinary in their own way. We have met so many families dealing with personal obstacles… some spending most of their child’s life in the hospital, some battling multiple health issues like Down Syndrome and cancer all at once, and some knowing their child is terminal and are looking to record memories that will outlive their children. We are touched by every single family that has crossed our path, and we learn something new with every one we meet.

I know you have a very exciting project going on right now with Sevenly.  Tell us a little about how they are partnering with you.

Yes, we are beyond thrilled about our Sevenly campaign!  If you haven’t heard of them, they are an AMAZING organization that uses their artistic talents to give back to non-profit charities.  Every week, they partner with a new non-profit by creating unique art and limited edition products for them that they sell exclusively on their website Sevenly.org.  Then, for every product sold, they give that week’s non-profit organization $7.  We are so excited that Sweet Nectar Society is Sevenly.org’s featured charity this week!  Every shirt you purchase will help provide priceless memories for these families.  The designs Sevenly has come up with for us seriously rock!

How can our readers join in and support you in your Sevenly project?

They can follow this link to find something in the Sevenly store that they love, and every single purchase will help to support Sweet Nectar Society!  It’s pretty rad to get a crazy cool item for yourself (or for a friend!) while making a difference to a family in need at the same time. We’re not talking some boring shirt either.  These are hand-designed typography style items, and we are so excited about what they’ve come up with for our cause!

What about local photographers who would like to be involved with Sweet Nectar Society?  Are you currently accepting applications for additional photographers to participate as volunteers?

Yes!  We are always looking for photographers with not only talent but a heart for the cause as well.  It takes a very strong, caring, loving and creative person to get across the message that we want to send to our families, so it’s not something that is a perfect fit for everyone.

I see that your network of photographers is located in Central California.  Are there any plans to expand this network to include photographers across the country?

As of right now, we are working this growth on a case by case basis . . . but who knows what the future may hold!  We have big dreams for Sweet Nectar Society, but we also want to take our time to ensure that our mission and the quality and care our families have come to expect from us are not compromised.  So for now, we are slowly adding photographers and seeing where it takes us!

Looking back at the photos that Sweet Nectar Society has been able to give families, what stands out as a significant thought about this journey?

We feel so blessed to be part of this experience at all.  We are so grateful for the families, the children, and the knowledge we have gained throughout it.   We’re so thankful that we have been given the opportunity to lend out talents for the greater good and meet some amazing people along the way.

Thank you so much for the great interview and the opportunity to learn more about your organization!  Don’t forget to learn visit our Non-Profit Program page on the CM website and visit the Sweet Nectar Society website as well.  You can also visit the Photography with a Purpose area within the photography forum to learn more!

The post sweet nectar society interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

It’s June (how?!) and we’re kicking off this month on the CMblog with an interview from CMpro of the Month, Elena Blair.  We are thrilled to have Elena here sharing her beautiful work and inspiring words!

june cmpro of the month | elena blair

by Melissa Koehler

Congratulations on being this month’s CMpro of the Month, Elena!  I’d love to start your interview with you telling us a little about yourself and how you became interested in photography.

Thank you so much, I am honored!  I have always been interested in photography.  About ten years ago my husband bought me a refurbished Canon FTb 35mm film camera along with a photography class.  I loved everything about it but assumed I would never have a dark room of my own.  After the class I put photography on the back burner.  Once our son was born, my interest was sparked once again as I wanted to capture his life beautifully.  I got my first DSLR in 2009 and never looked back!

You are a wife, mother and have a career outside of photography and seem to have a fabulous balance with everything. How do you find this beautiful balance?

I feel like this is something I have to be conscious of every day.  My family is my number one priority.  My husband and I made a firm decision that we would be the ones who cared for our children and that we would not rely on nannies or daycare.  We do co-operative preschool and I only work on the weekends or in the evening when my husband is home.  My career outside of photography is nursing which has very flexible hours, and I only work a small number of hours.  I take on limited sessions a month and stick to my limit.  I edit and work on my business early in the morning before everyone gets up for the day.  Being a wife and a mom always comes first.

Your images seem so full of life and emotion. How do you plan each session to achieve this?

I am not sure this is something that I plan, per-say.  I believe that I have a gift for being able to feel and see emotion, and I consider myself an intuitive person.  After my sessions get going, I get a feel for my subjects.  At that point, I stand back and observe, gently directing into good light, and subtly guiding their interactions.  This is why I love family and newborn photography.  I feel like there is innately so much emotion to be captured between loved ones.

You have been described as organic and it shows through in your images. What is your inspiration to photograph this way?

Organic is a way of life for me so it is not surprising that my work continuously gets described in that manner.  I am passionate about natural parenting and living.  I gave birth to our daughter at home, and I believe in extended breastfeeding and attachment parenting.  We have a big garden and keep chickens,and it is just a way of life for me and my family.  I live in Seattle, which is a very green and organic place to live.  Seattle has a vast diversity of natural and organic locations.  My photography is just an extension of the natural and organic person that I am.

You photograph a good number of newborns. Do you think your role as a nurse has helped make your newborn sessions easier or harder?

Yes, I do a lot of newborn work.  I am a NICU nurse and have worked in very high risk hospitals in my career where I have seen a lot of sick babies.  I think that having this background absolutely helps me with my newborn sessions.  I have been trained on positioning babies so that they are comfortable and safe.  I also have a deep understanding about just how precious a healthy newborn is.  This makes each session that much more special and meaningful for me.  I also feel like my clients trust me because they know I am a NICU nurse.

Your work on the Daily Project is always so emotive, moody and detailed. What inspires these photos?

My kids.  My children, and I think most children, are intense little creatures.  They have so much raw emotion just waiting to be captured.  A lot of my daily project work is me getting right up close to my kids and capturing what is happening throughout their day.  It is not always smiles and bright light, and is often deep and complicated and I think that is where the moodiness and emotion come from.  Being with kids day in and day out is beautiful but it is hard.  Photographing the intensity of childhood through a mother’s eye is all I am trying to do.

Running a business can be difficult.  What have been the biggest challenges that you have found pertaining to your business and how did you overcome them?

I find the business side of photography quite fascinating and I actually enjoy it very much.  I think you have to be as creative in business as you are in photography to make it in this industry.  My biggest challenge (I know I am not alone here) is comparing myself and my business to others.  Once I realized that my business was as unique as my photography, I really turned a corner.  I stopped comparing my business to others and did what felt right for me and my family.  I am proud to say that I am right where I want to be business wise, and have seen nothing but growth and success in the past year.  I learned that there are many ways to run a photography business, but that my way is the best for me.

What are your favorite subjects to photograph and why?

Families, children, and newborns.  I love the natural, organic emotion that is within all families.  All my sessions focus on connection.  While I do get some posed newborn shots, the natural connection shots are always my favorite part of the session.  My children are my favorite subjects, because I know them so intimately that it is not hard to capture who they are with my camera.

We love hearing advice from others!  What is some of the best advice that you have received and how has it affected your business?

I have been so fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and mentors in the photography community, many of whom I met on CM!  It is hard to pinpoint the best advice I have received. A wise and trusted photographer told me to believe in myself; to stand behind my style and brand, and that the right clients would soon come my way.  She was right. Because they have connected to my work, they connect to me, in turn allowing me to create emotive and natural images that they will treasure.

You’re working on a breakout for CM. Tell us about it!

Yes, over the past few months I have been working very hard on my breakout session!  I am so excited about it!  It is all about my approach to family portraiture.  I want photographers to know that family portraiture can satisfy your clients but also be fulfilling to you as an artist.  I will take my breakout participants through self-guided critique, give them my detailed approach to my family sessions, and explain how I capture authentic and emotive images.  I also go into my editing style and explain how I create the organic images I have become known for.  I also give tips on how I show my clients that their family can be a work of art.  You could benefit from my breakout session whether you are in business or not, because there is a big emphasis on self-critique and capturing emotion.  I hope to inspire and help as many photographers as I can!

Thank you Elena for the fantastic interview!  Make sure you head over to Elena’s website, blog,  facebook, and instagram to view the rest of her gorgeous work.  If you have a question for Elena, you can ask in the comments below or visit her ‘ask a pro’ thread within the photography forum.

Read all ‘CMpro of the Month’ interviews.

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We love photography interviews and today we are excited to bring you an interview with photographer and author David duChemin.  David is an incredible fine art photographer and the author of several of our favorite books here at CM.  We can’t tell you how excited we are to have him here today!

an interview with david duchemin

by Elle Walker

Your passion for photography is evident in all that you do. Can you tell us a little about where/how this journey started for you, and what goals you might have for the future?

I picked up a 35mm camera for the first time when I was 14 years old. An old Voigtlander rangefinder with a fixed lens, that first camera just seemed to make sense to me, allowed me to see the world differently and to show others how I saw it. Then I started reading Freeman Patterson and getting exposed to the photographers who’ve gone before us and I was hooked. I like cameras and working with my hands, but I’m less in love with the means of telling the stories than I am with the stories themselves. Photographs move me. They make the world simpler, and beauty easier to see. My future, like any of ours, is blurry. I want to keep traveling, seeing this world and her people. I want to keep working with my hands and making something I think to be beautiful, if only for the joy of looking at it myself and thinking, “I can’t believe I made this.”

Your new book ‘seven’ is currently being released for pre-order (it looks fabulous)! It has been described as a ‘fine art book’ – and the preview of images are truly inspiring. Can you share with us a little about your thought process on what elevates an image to be considered ‘fine art’?

I’m laughing as I respond to this because I’ve asked myself the same question without yet finding a real answer. Personally I use the term because much of what I’ve created, at least in terms of books, has been specifically educational. SEVEN was created for other reasons, though I think looking at photographs critically is the best way to learn about photographs. I made this book specifically to show my work . Art for art’s sake. But to be honest, if I were pushed on it, I’d have to admit that calling it “fine art” could be taken as a little pretentious. Art is art, fine or otherwise.

You have a workshop coming up in Mexico later this year, can you tell us a little more about this and whether you have plans to run more in -person workshops in the future (specifically Australia!).

Workshops are tough for me because while I’ve lead them over the last few years, and to some amazing places, I still wonder if learning something so intrinsically personal can be done in a group setting. So the workshops I’ve done have been more specifically marketed as photographic adventures. A lot of learning goes on, to be sure, but it’s more organic, and informal. I think most of us learn best when we get out there and make a lot of photographs, and have the room to fail, and try again. In the next half-year I’ve got workshops with Jeffrey Chapman to Oaxaca (Oct/Nov), Burma (December) and Lalibela, Ethiopia (Jan. 2014). I’ve nothing planned in Australia, but lets talk!

Your website describes you as a ‘world & humanitarian assignment photographer, best-selling author, international workshop leader, and accidental founder of Craft & Vision’… Is there an area of your work that you have a particularly soft spot for, or do you enjoy them all to similar degrees?

I love them all and need them all in order to keep me interested. Some matter more to my heart than others, but if I did only one I’d feel imbalanced. If I had to pick it’d kill me to choose between my love for the humanitarian work, the love of nature, and the thrill of creating a business that allows me to fund my travels and make a difference in the other two areas – either with my photography, or with the financial support of my company. Giving to great people doing great work is one of the things that gets me out of bed in the morning.

Your recent ‘Hokkaido’ portfolio is so wonderfully atmospheric and diverse, yet as a set it still feels very cohesive. Can you share with us some tips on creating a set of images that all feel as though they ‘belong’?

Thank you. I worked really hard to create a body of work that had some kind of visual cohesion. Other artists work with themes or colour palettes, and I wanted to play with that. Hokkaido in winter has the good fortune to be covered in snow, so that cohesion wasn’t hard to find. The rest was a matter of knowing where to look. In this case it was compositions that worked within a particular aspect ratio. I chose 16:9 because I’ve never intentionally worked with that constraint and I like the strong horizontality of it. I also began to see in the first images, suggestions of what my colour palette would be. What you see in the final collection isn’t just dumb luck, though. It’s got as much to do with the edit, and choosing the images that work together, as it does with the images I shot, of which there were thousands. I think sometimes we’re not ruthless enough, or intentional enough, with our editing.

In addition to your craft and vision publications, you have also written a range of hugely successful print publications. Your passion for teaching is evident in each and every one of these, do you have a favourite to date?

I think the last two are closest to my heart because I’ve finally got some of the cobwebs out of my brain about what I want to say, and how I want to say it. Photographically Speaking, and The Print and the Process also have what I consider to be stronger work in them. But then maybe it’s just stronger because I’m tired, like we all become, of some of my older work. Within The Frame will always be my baby. Nothing compares to the joy – and the angst – of that first book.

What or who do you look to for inspiration?

To inspire means literally to breathe in, and I find my creative oxygen everywhere – painting, architecture, galleries and museums, and the people and world around me. The longer I do this the more my inspiration comes from possibilities and the freedom of asking, “What if…?”  Some of those possibilities and questions from looking at the work of other photographers, and even though I adore colour, so much of that influence is from black and white photographers like Elliott Erwitt, Gianni Beregno Gardin, and most recently a guy named Hengki Koentjoro. For colour I look to painters like Van Gogh and Monet, and Canada’s Group of Seven.

What advice would you give to aspiring world/assignment photographers?

Fall in love with the world, with her people, and the joy of travel. Learn to tell amazing stories and learn the technology behind sharing those stories. At the beginning I spent so much time and money on gear, and I’m not remotely your typical gear freak. Just get out there and make photographs. Your gear is probably good enough, spend the money on travel, not more gear. Two bodies, a couple lenses, and a great tripod ought to be enough. It’s creating and sharing your work that will get you  more work, not a new lens.

Your use of colour is something that stands out in all of your work. Is colour something you are particularly drawn to, and are there any other specific elements you try to incorporate into your imagery?

I reduce the elements in my photographs to Lines, Light, and Moments. Colour is a function of light and I adore it for its strong emotional pull. We respond to colour in a profound way. But I’ll take a great moment over everything. You can blow your focus, make an imperfect go of your composition, but if you have an amazing moment, you can still make an excellent photograph. Of course I’d rather have a well-composed, and focused, photograph of that moment, but I think it speaks powerfully of great moments when you can look at older, iconic photographs and fall in love with them despite the imperfections.

There is such natural, honest feel to all of your images, and especially in your recent portfolio from Kenya. Do you have any tips on how to approach people when you are wanting to photograph them?

It all boils down to relationships: who you are, who they are, and how well you can connect the two. Respect and kindness can be communicated without a single word in a common language, and those two things alone will make for better connections, and therefore better photographs. It has nothing whatsoever to do with how comfortable you are doing it. I’m an introvert, and pretty reserved around strangers, but I’m also curious and that curiosity drives me. I’m always afraid of asking strangers if I can photograph them, but I’m more afraid of going home without the photograph I see in my mind’s eye. So I smile. I show interest and respect. And I genuinely value the experience more than a potential photograph. People first, cameras second. Always. In the case of the Kenya images you mentioned, I also have a friend working with me, and I ask him to have them tell their story. This gives them something to do, makes them animated, and takes their mind off the camera and trying to pose for me. They just return to being themselves.

How much/little do you direct your subjects when taking their photograph?

Not much, and less as the years go on. But I’m not afraid to guide them a little. It helps that I usually don’t speak the language so it’s easier to roll with it and see what happens, than it is to try to make any agenda of my own happen. And really, they know themselves better than I do, so I’d rather let them show me who they are and put my effort into being ready to respond with the camera.

What are your ‘must have’ gear items?

Less and less. If I had to travel with one kit, right now it would be the Fuji XE-1 and a 14mm lens. If I were taking my DSLR, it’d be the Nikon D3s and a 16-35/4.0 lens that I’ve been bashing around for a few years and love. I like wide lenses, they allow me to create a much more inclusive, intimate image if I’m willing to get close. A couple years ago I broke both my feet and my pelvis in a fall while shooting in Italy, and it’s harder to carry all the gear I used to, so lighter gear and less of it, has really freed me – not just physically but creatively. Add to that one of my Gitzo tripods and a couple filters (polarizer, solid and graduated NDs) and I’ve got what I need. The real work in photography is done with creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks. The rest is details.

You offer advice so openly on your blog, including free e-books, and editing tips. In your post on ‘editing hokkaido’ you mention coming back to images 6 months, and up to 1-2 years later. Can you tell us some more about your thought process on coming back to older work with fresh eyes?

Coming back to older work is the same as seeing new work for the first time. You look for the same things – great light, lines, moments. But you come at it later without the expectations you have when you first create the images. Those expectations and hopes have time to mature a little, and as they do you realize that some of the images you first loved are not as strong now, and others you skipped were in fact stronger. I think time gives us the freedom to re-imagine things because we’re not holding the work quite as tight, or demanding as much from it.

Thank you David for spending some time with us today and sharing your insights with us!

Would you like to see even more of David’s wonderful photography?  Make sure you visit his website, and facebook to view his images.  Don’t forget to also follow him on twitter!

Read all photography interviews.

The post david duchemin interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

Are you interested in donating your photography but still looking for an organization to work with?  A few months back we announced our new Non-Profit Program, created to help get information about different programs out to photographers.  What would be another way to help you learn about these wonderful organizations?  Interviews, of course!  Today we kick continue our Non-Profit Interviews with Critical Exposure!  Critical Exposure is a Finalist for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, which is presented by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities! This is the second year in a row that they’ve been a Finalist.

an interview with critical exposure

by Jodi Arego

We are so excited that Critical Exposure is part of the Clickin Moms Nonprofit Program.  Can you tell us a little about Critical Exposure and the mission of your organization?

We are so excited to be a part of the Clickin Moms Nonprofit Program!

Critical Exposure’s mission is to teach youth to use the power of photography and their own voices to become effective advocates for school reform and social change. We pursue our mission using a three-pronged strategy that focuses on youth empowerment, public engagement (through photography exhibits and other public displays of our students’ work), and social change. We seek to empower youth by encouraging them to explore their artistic and leadership potential.  What better way to give youth a voice than through images captured from their perspective?

How are youth able to become involved in your program?  In what ways have you seen Critical Exposure influence their lives?

Youth get involved in our program through a couple of different outlets, but mostly we reach youth by providing our curriculum in their schools or after school programs. We have established partnerships with many public schools to include our program in their regular art, civics, or elective classes. When we work in a school or after school program, we encourage the youth to think about an issue that affects them as a group (school nutrition, security policies, lack of transportation, etc) and to work as a team to document those issues and advocate for change within their schools and communities.

We have seen our program influence the lives of our students in many powerful ways. Some of our students have struggled in school in the past — several have repeatedly dropped out of school, and one has been suspended 16 times. These students have become some of the most engaged students in our programs, and typically become leaders among their peers. On a broader level, we’ve seen our students use our program to create much-needed change in their own schools and communities. Students have used our program to build a library in their school, get funding for a community garden in a food desert, and more.

Much of the student work produced through Critical Exposure is quite moving.  How do you approach educating the students about photography principles?

Students develop an understanding of the history of photography and advocacy by researching photographers and images that have influenced social justice movements in the past. They receive training on the principles of photography — framing, lighting, composition, etc. — and use the images of famous social change photographers like Gordon Parks and Dorothea Lange as guiding examples for creating their own work. Students receive cameras to carry at all times in order to have more opportunities to capture images that occur during the course of their daily lives.

Throughout the course of the program, students are visited by professional photographers who share their experiences in the field, give advice and feedback on the students’ photographs, and lead workshops on issues like storytelling and editing.

You have a big event approaching on May 22.  What is the Zoom In Exhibit all about?

Zoom In: National Lens, Local Focus is Critical Exposure’s 8th annual exhibit of student photography, multimedia, and writing. This exhibit is our big opportunity every year to premiere the best youth photography taken in our program, introduce the public to the issues depicted by our youth, and to facilitate a conversation between the public, public officials, and our students about the needs of youth in the D.C. community. It is also often the first time many of our students have been in an art gallery, much less as the exhibited artists.  This year’s exhibit theme is intended to address the connection between national education issues, and how they play out in the D.C. community.

We are hosting an opening reception on May 22nd from 6-8pm. All are welcome, and we do ask for a suggested donation of $35. We hope to see some local Clickin Moms there! Click here to register.

Your organization has a large presence in Washington D.C.  How might other cities join in with your efforts?

We have worked in many cities outside of D.C. – Albuquerque, Philadelphia, Baltimore, rural Mississippi and Arkansas, just to name a few – and are always interested in working with youth across the country. If there is a school or group that works with youth that is interested in bringing Critical Exposure to their city, they can email alison@criticalexposure.org to start that conversation!

How can others support you in your mission?  Are there ways for photographers to become involved with the work of Critical Exposure?

As a non-profit organization, we depend on the support of others to pursue our mission. Photographers can donate their work to our annual photo auction in October. If they are local, they can potentially work with youth in the classroom, on photo-walks, and in our multimedia boot camp.  Additionally, we depend on the work of volunteers to help us present exhibits, reach public officials, and more. You can see our volunteer opportunities here and sign up to help out!

We are always in need of financial support to provide cameras to students. You can click here to make a donation and to find out how your support can impact the life of one of our students. We are a 501c3, and all donations are tax-deductible.

What do you think is the most significant aspect of your organization?

We train youth to express themselves through photography, and to use their images to create a real and lasting social impact.  We are developing a new generation of community leaders that has the creativity to imagine new solutions to old problems, the belief that youth have the right and the agency to fight for those solutions, and the skills to hold communities and public officials accountable for taking action.

Thank you so much for the great interview and the opportunity to learn more about your organization!  Don’t forget to learn visit our Non-Profit Program page on the CM website and visit the Critical Exposure website as well.  You can also visit the Photography with a Purpose area within the photography forum to learn more!

The post critical exposure interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

We just love photography interviews here on the CMblog and today we have Kelly Brown here, a newborn photographer from Australia.  Kelly has a gorgeous yet simple style with her newborn portraits and we are thrilled to have the chance to ask her a few questions!

an interview with kelly brown

by April Nienhuis

Hi, Kelly, and thank you for joining us here today!  First of all, we’d love to hear a little about your story and where your love of photography comes from!

Hi, thank you so much for having me.  Well, I live in Brisbane Australia with my husband and 3 beautiful children.  My oldest daughter is 9 and the twins are 6.  I have always loved photography but it was after the arrival of my first baby that I simply couldn’t stop taking photos of her!  My husband was so encouraging and suggested that I study photography and not long after I started Little Pieces Photographing.

Of all the photography genres out there, you chose newborn photography.  Can you tell us a little about why newborns have your heart?

After photographing other genres for a few years and even working for a wedding photographer, it didn’t take long to realise how much more excited I became before every newborn session. But I believe it was when my twins arrived unexpectedly, just before 32wks, and they had to spend 6 ½ weeks in Special Care. It was there, surrounded everyday by so many precious little babies, that I knew I wanted to specialise in that field.

It is such a privilege being asked to photograph someone’s brand new baby.  And the look on their faces when they see their images is simply the best reward.

What piece of advice would you offer to those interested in getting into newborn photography?

I would definitely recommend attending a mentoring session with someone who has been photographing babies for a long time and is very safety conscious. Or watching CreativeLIVE this week.  And remember to have lots of patience.

Would you have any specific advice for those photographing multiples?

With every multiple session I try to get a least 2 -3 set ups of the babies together and then concentrate on photographing them separately.  When they’re all asleep that’s when I will photograph them together.

Your lighting is soft and beautiful.  Do you use natural or artificial light?  Or maybe a little of both?

Thank you.  I only use natural light.  I have a large South East facing window with a sheer curtain to diffuse the light.  I like to position my bag and props on an angle towards the light so it falls beautifully across the babies face.

Blogging can be a great and important tool for a business but many people struggle with keeping up with their blogs.  How do you keep up with blogging and keeping your facebook fans up to date?  Do you have help in the office?

I try to blog at least 5 images from every session as soon as I’ve finished editing that gallery.  And at the end of each session I edit one image to post on my facebook page so they can share it with their friends and family.  I find this is a great way of attracting more traffic through my page and it also gets the parents really excited to see more.   I’ve gotten a little behind on my blogging lately but will catch up soon.

You often have parents in the photos with the newborns but many moms don’t feel up to having their portrait taken so soon after delivery.  Is this something they often want or do you do some persuading?

There are definitely some moms who need a little more persuading then others and I reassure them how beautiful they are and how important this time is and try to make them as relaxed as possible, putting the focus on the baby.  I personally love the parent images and when they see the finished product they do too.

Newborn photography can be difficult to learn.  What has been your best form of education when it comes to taking gorgeous baby portraits?

I was able to attend a newborn workshop early on and really got a lot out of it.  I think it’s really important to understand babies and the environment they come from to get the most out of a session. And to practice…I have a doll that I used to practice on all the time.

Speaking of education, you’ll be teaching a newborn course at CreativeLive later this week (May 9-11 for those of you wondering).  Would you please tell us a little about what you’ll be teaching?

Over the three days, I will be teaching everything there is to know about working with babies. How to create the perfect environment for a newborn session, understanding babies and the environment they come from, how to interact and gain trust with clients, safety when working with babies and why it’s so important, using props, marketing and products, and I will be photographing six newborn sessions LIVE showing how to pose newborns and newborns with their family members.

And one last question before we let you go…you attended WPPI this year and won first place in both the Portrait Group Category and the Portrait Individual Category.  To you, what is the importance in entering photography competitions?

I love entering photography competitions; it really makes me strive to continually create a higher quality of photographic work.  And as much as I love photographing newborns I find entering the awards a way to really get creative and work on personal projects.   Every year I get more inspired by the work that is produced and on display by so many amazing photographers.

Thank you, Kelly, for spending some time with us today and sharing your insights with us!

Would you like to see even more of Kelly’s wonderful photography?  Make sure you visit her website, blog, and facebook to view his images.  Don’t forget to also follow her on twitter, pinterest, and instagram!  Also, make sure to check out her Creative Live newborn course!

Read all photography interviews.

The post kelly brown interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

Hello, May!  How lovely of you to sneak up on us like that!  Here on the Clickin Moms blog, we are going to start the month right by introducing you to a brand new CMpro of the Month, Pam Korman.  Pam is an incredible photographer and we are so excited to have her here on the CMblog to learn a little more about her!

may cmpro of the month | pam korman

by Melissa Gibson

Hello Pam! Can you start us off by telling everyone a bit about yourself?

Sure, I would love to! I live in the Philadelphia area and have been married to my amazing husband for 20 years. We have three teens, two boys and a girl. My oldest is heading off to college in the fall so this is an interesting time for my family. My business background is in advertising and marketing so I came to photography kind of late in life. I started shooting in June of 2010 and I don’t think I have put down my camera since. It has really become an all-consuming passion for me.

I see that you are a lover of all things film. It is surely getting more and more popular in the photography industry. How has film challenged you as an artist?

You are so right, I do love all things film and it is really exciting for me to be part of the resurgence. For me, I never felt I fully understood photography until I started to shoot film. It refined my understanding of exposure and really made me develop a much stronger eye for composition. It is true that you have to slow down when you shoot film and make each frame count, so I have become much more accountable for what I choose to include in the frame and why.

I noticed from your website that your image “Solace” was accepted into The Center for Fine Art Photography Exhibition.  Congratulations! What a lovely shot! Please tell us how you were introduced to the juried shows.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. It was very exciting for me and I have recently had three other images accepted into exhibitions. Two of those are film images so that was especially rewarding for me.

As to how I was introduced, that was through my good friend and fellow CMer, Sharon Kain. She is also a hobbyist and had found a lot of success in the juried show world and loved having that outlet for her work. She encouraged me to put my work out there (something that had not been easy for me) and I am glad she did.

Your One Bench series is just amazing and I noticed it featured in Click magazine! How wonderful to be published!  That project is so much about people watching for me, something that I personally love to do. Is that what kicked off the idea for One Bench?

First, I have to say how much I love Click. Truly! Each issue has been better than the last. And, it was an incredible honor for me that One Bench was included, along side projects from some amazing photographers, in the magazine.

I am like you and I love to people watch but that isn’t really how that series came to be. The series was actually born out of a workshop I did with Meg Bitton. I generally like to shoot single subjects in clean, uncluttered ways. She reminded me that the only way to grow is to constantly challenge ourselves so, for two weeks, she encouraged me to shoot only cluttered, messy, people-filled images and, from that, One Bench was born. I will be forever grateful for that experience because it opened me up to new ways of thinking about my work and has helped me create stronger images.

I read on the CMblog that you began a new personal project this year. Can you tell me about this new project that is entirely film based? Perhaps you could share an image or two as well.

It is a project on water called, at least for now, Water Memory. It is based on a strange, and unproven, idea that water has a memory of things that have been dissolved in it. My original intention was to have the project be entirely film based but I have found some digital work slipping in here and there. I happen to love water (must be that Pisces in me), and it represents life to me, so I am exploring it in a variety of ways through this project. Here are two film images that are currently part of the series. The first is one of the film images that I mentioned earlier was selected into a gallery.

Can you share your current favorite image with us and why?

Sure, I would be happy to although I seem to change my favorites quite frequently. I think at the moment this is my current favorite.

What do you find most inspirational? Light? Location? Mood?

Oh, this is an interesting question. I would have to actually add my own and say story (although light is a very close second). There is generally a story in my head that I am trying to tell with my images or, at least, a point of view I am trying to communicate and that is what motivates me. I have a number of ongoing themes I like to explore and so, even when you see a single image from me, many times it is part of an ongoing collection of images.

It seems that so many photographers struggle with being in business vs. being a hobbyist. Did you dip your toe into the business side of photography and how did you come about your final decision on being in business or not?

Yes I did, but very briefly, and I quickly decided it wasn’t for me. I truly love portrait photography and there are so many photographers who do it amazingly well.  I just don’t think I was cut out to be one of them.

What made you decide to apply for CMPro although you’re not in business, but rather a hobbyist photographer?

That is an easy one! I love CM and much of who I am as a photographer is thanks to this community. I am forever grateful to the members, the teachers and the mentors I have had and the friends I have made. There came a point when I wanted to give back to CM in new ways and becoming a CMPro has allowed me to do that. Also, as a hobbyist, it was a way of validating the quality of my work and that was important to me, and my personal growth.

I know many people would love to try film, myself included. Can you offer a few tips for those of us who are interested in experimenting?

Yes, I’d be happy to since I am always encouraging new filmies! I would start with a 35 mm film camera from the same brand as your digital camera. For me, I shoot Nikon so I would recommend the Nikon F100. You can pick up one in good condition for around $200 or so. What is nice about this is most of your lenses should work with the camera, most of the controls will be similar and there is a reliable light meter built into the camera so you don’t have to learn to use an external light meter. I would also encourage someone just starting out in film to pick up a copy of Jon Canlas’ Film Is Not Dead (FIND) book. It is a great resource.

Film is a pretty forgiving medium so you have to worry less about blowing your highlights. I would recommend starting with color film because it has more exposure latitude then B&W. I would recommend Kodak Portra 400 as a great color film to start with, plus it is my personal favorite. Generally, you want to shoot color film a stop or two overexposed.

Also, part of the key to great film images is a great lab. Developing a relationship with them so they know how you like your film developed is also important. Part of how your image looks is determined in the scanning process so if your lab understands your preferences, your images will be better.

Also, come on over to the film forum on CM. There is an active, passionate group of women there, many with vast experience, who are always willing to share what they know, offer advice and provide encouragement.

A little birdie told me that you’re getting ready to launch a breakout session and I am itching to know what that is all about. Can you please give us a little teaser on what’s to come?

I cannot even begin to tell you how giddy, excited and a touch nervous I am about my Breakout. It has been incredibly fun to put together. I promise it is chock full of helpful information that can be easily incorporated into anyone’s style or type of photography. It is called The Memorable Image | Developing a Critical Eye for Composition and Editing. My goal is to share ways of using fundamental compositional elements to create your most memorable images and to help you hone your critical eye when choosing your best work. I also talk about how to edit your images to strengthen the composition. I share my entire thought process in the Breakout. I really hold nothing back. I am pretty much an open book and it is my hope that what I talk about helps people create some of their best images.

Thank you Pam for the fantastic interview!  Make sure you head over to Pam’s website, blog, and facebook to view the rest of her gorgeous work.  If you have a question for Pam, you can ask in the comments below or visit her ‘ask a pro’ thread within the photography forum.

Read all ‘CMpro of the Month’ interviews.

The post interview with pam korman appeared first on Clickin Moms.

Are you interested in donating your photography but still looking for an organization to work with?  A few months back we announced our new Non-Profit Program, created to help get information about different programs out to photographers.  What would be another way to help you learn about these wonderful organizations?  Interviews, of course!  Today we kick off our first Non-Profit Interview with Letters to Holland!

letters to holland interview

by Jodi Arego

We’d love to learn about this special project, Letters from Holland. What can you tell us about its purpose?

When I first thought up Letters From Holland, I just wanted to begin a personal photography project. I knew I wanted to start a project that would help me grow as a photographer, but also as a person. I wanted the project to be something to inspire others.  One day, I was snapping photographs of my daughter, who was diagnosed with autism at two years old, and the idea just popped into my head. I could photograph special needs children. I could tell share their parents stories. I just wanted to convey that special needs children are still children. They play, they laugh, they are innocent, but most of all they love and want to be loved. I also wanted a place where parents could go to know they weren’t alone in their journey.

The name Letters from Holland is quite unique. Is there a particular story behind it?

The day my daughter was diagnosed with autism was a low point personally. I was introduced to another mother of autistic children. She shared the poem called “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kinsley. This poem talks about planning a trip to Italy, but when you step off the plane you discover you have been taken to Holland. You’re so upset because you’ve prepared for Italy. You’ve spend months learning the language. Your dream was going to Italy. Everyone else has gone to Italy, but you’re stuck in Holland. You go through a period of mourning. You go through a period of anger. You look at your friends who are in Italy and you are envious. However, in the end you realize that Holland is different, but just as beautiful.

I couldn’t have described the emotions of what I went through any better. It took me many, many months, but finally, I discovered that life in Holland, life with my autistic child, was amazing.

I wanted to share my stories and the stories of others. So, “Letters From Holland” is the stories of parents who are experiencing life with a special needs child. Most parents who have special needs children know the metaphor, but I also think that everyone can relate to the “Welcome to Holland” metaphor in some way.

We understand that Letters from Holland was birthed from personal experience. Can you give us a little of the background of why you decided to create this project?

My beautiful daughter, Kinzie, was born in 2008. When she was about a year and a half, I started noticing some traits that I had known to be associated with autism. I kept a close eye on those traits, but tried not to worry to much. I thought maybe I was just being paranoid. Then, they started getting a little worse. We had her evaluated by a neurologist, speech and occupational therapist who all agreed with an autism diagnosis. It was mild, but at that point there were no answers about how she would progress.

I mourned for many, many months. I cried every day. I mourned like I had lost a family member and I remember feeling like all of the dreams I had for my daughter were flushed away. No one could understand why I was so depressed because Kinzie was the same little girl she had always been. I wasn’t the same mother. I didn’t know how to be a mother to an autistic child. I had so many fears running through my mind. I feared I would never be able to talk to her. I wondered if she’d even be able to attend school. Would she be made fun of at school? Would she ever get married?

Finally, after months of mourning, i pulled out of the fog. I realized that Kinzie was going to be just fine because she had parents who loved her. We could do anything to help her succeed. I realized that my dreams for her life were MY dreams. Kinzie had to be allowed to live her life and create her own dreams. So, now we have given Kinzie all of the resources we can to help her on her journey in life. We will be there for her every step of the way. No matter what happens in her life, we will love her the same.

After looking back on my journey, I realized that I spent a lot of it alone. I didn’t know others going through the same things as me.  I didn’t know that everything I was experiencing was normal. I also didn’t know that less than a year later, I would be fine with that diagnosis.

Now, Kinzie is four and a half. She’s talking so much. She’s in pre-school. While she’s a little delayed, she is exceeding our expectations. She’s amazing.

Your blog posts each include tenderly written letters to accompany the images. Please tell us about these special letters.

I knew that I didn’t just want this project to be about photography. While, it is a photography project, I wanted this to be about the kids and their families. To go along with the theme “Letters From Holland,” I decided I would ask the parents to write a letter. They can write it to their child, or to friends, or even to themselves. The letter can say anything they wish. I wanted it to be like a digital postcard where people could go read these letters and know what life is really like for parents of special needs children {in Holland}.

I also have the parents fill out some interview questions so I can learn more about the child, their diagnosis and the range of emotions the parents experienced through their journey.

Are all the sessions featured on your blog ones that you have personally photographed? How might other photographers share their inspiring stories with your audience?

The sessions featured are a combination of my work and the work of other photographers. I would LOVE to have more photographers contribute. They can email me at cat@cat-herndon.com or contact me on the Letters From Holland website. I will have a section for featured photographers. Families can search to find a photographer in their area who wants to participate.

What about families interested in participating in one of these special sessions? Is there a way for them to connect with a photographer in their area?

They can contact me at the email address above. I will find a photographer in their area. Even if they don’t have images to share, they can always write a letter and I will post it on the website. There are buttons on the site for submitting a letter.

You must meet some extraordinary people through these types of sessions. Has there been a particular person or story that has been especially inspiring to you?

It’s hard for me to choose one story that inspires me more than another. When I read through these letters and interviews, I end up crying every time. I have heard stories from parents of children with a terminal diagnosis to more mild diagnosis. However, the stories are the same in that everyone mourns the loss of the life they planned, but also have learned to love the life they were given. Most of the letters are from the mother’s of special needs children. I am just amazed at their strength. Really, it’s just so inspirational and that is what I want other people to get from their stories.

What type of impact are you hoping these shared stories will make?

First, I want people to know that special needs children are children. That is what I hope to portray in the photographs. These children have favorite toys, love, laugh, live. They are innocent, beautiful children. From personal experience, after my daughter was diagnosed, people started to treat her different. I didn’t like that one bit. So, I wanted to share my story and photographs so people knew that she was still just a kid.

Second, I wanted to share the stories of parents so other parents who are just arriving in “Holland” will know they aren’t alone. Others have arrived before them and they have survived it.

Looking back at your experience creating Letters from Holland, what is your most significant thought about this journey?

In the poem “Welcome to Holland,” Emily Pearl Kingsley says, “If you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things…about Holland.”

Holland is such a wonderful, beautiful place. While the arrival may be rough and unplanned, the journey is amazing. I just want to share that journey with everyone.

Thank you so much for the great interview and the opportunity to learn more about your organization!  Don’t forget to learn visit our Non-Profit Program page on the CM website and visit the Letters to Holland website as well.  You can also visit the Photography with a Purpose area within the photography forum to learn more!

The post letters to holland interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

We love photography interviews and today we are excited to bring you an interview with photographer and author Michael Freeman.  Michael is a brilliant photographer and the writer of many of our favorite books here at CM.  We are pleased to have him here today to answer a few of our questions!

an interview with michael freeman

by Jodi Arego

Thank you for being here with us today Michael!  Many of us are followers of your work and have read many of your books.  We’d love to know, what made you pursue a career in photography?

It came a little late, which was no bad thing, but it was because British education in the days I suffered it had a very formal structure. I had always enjoyed both imagery and writing in general and in all forms, but hadn’t entertained photography as a career choice because the route went school-university-’real’ career. The school pushed for the top universities, so if you were bright enough, at age 15 you were taken off arts and made to study Latin (which was necessary then to get into Oxford or Cambridge). So that was it. Latin, then Oxford, which of course was fantastic, but didn’t lead to the arts. I went into advertising, enjoyed it, but the photography kept niggling away, and it took me some years to make the break. That’s another story in itself.

You’ve been in this business for many years and have seen quite the evolution of photography.  How do you feel photography has changed for the better?

Yes, it’s important to see the positive changes always, and I’m glad you added those last three words to the question. The most important way is that it has become truly universal, and we now have democratic photography in a way that even Susan Sontag hadn’t envisaged when she coined the phrase. Photography used to be very hierarchical. There were the professionals, such as those who worked for Life and the other big magazines, and then there were camera clubs with members, mainly men, who were especially fixated on equipment and on competitions, and finally there was everyone else doing family snaps. Well, that’s possibly an exaggerated view painted in very broad strokes, but what digital and the internet have enabled is quite seriously motivated photography by millions. And because so many people do take it seriously, that has raised the level of awareness of photography in general, and importantly, what it can be and what it can add to everyone’s life and perception. Some professionals feel threatened by this. I think it’s perfect.

Your documentary work has created opportunities for extensive foreign traveling.  How do you approach learning about an area’s people, customs, and landscape?

I studied Geography at Oxford, and had always had that curiosity about people and culture and diversity (that may even have been why I studied Geography in the first place). Part of the course included Anthropology, so that furthered my inquisitiveness about how people live. With this background, my approach is immersive — as much as is possible when you don’t live in a foreign country but just visit to shoot. That includes trying to learn something of the language, absorbing local customs, and generally digging in to understand the point of view of a culture different from my own. Food is important in this, by the way. I eat everything (don’t ask!), and one thing common to every culture everywhere is the importance of eating together. I’ve never been able to understand the idea of traveling and insisting on familiar food, but that’s very common, unfortunately. Just shows an unwillingness to enter into other people’s lives.

You’ve experienced the culture of many unique and memorable places around the globe.  Is there an area of the world you have developed a special affinity for?

More than one, to be honest. My wife is from Colombia and we spend six weeks there each year, and I have an affinity for Latin culture, and speak Spanish. But professionally, for historical reasons, I’ve tended to concentrate on Asia. It began when Time-Life sent me on a three-month assignment to photograph an ethnic minority, the Akha, living on the Thai-Burmese border (we couldn’t enter southwest China at that time). I found an affinity with southeast Asia, and particularly Thailand, and it became a kind of second base, although I’ve always lived in England. I speak Thai moderately well (Mandarin would have been more useful), and going back to your earlier question about learning, the language thing is really important. Even if you make the effort to learn only a few phrases, the pay-off is huge. You will be liked for making that effort, no doubt about it. A publisher friend of mine says that I have the language gene, but anyone can get a few phrases of another language under their belt within a week.

Through your extensive traveling, are there any universal discoveries have you made about mankind while observing and experiencing the different cultures?  How has your commissioned work shaped you or inspired you as an individual?

It’s no great observation and I’m hardly the first person to say it, but the more I travel, the more I see that hopes, fears and ambitions are the same the world over. The details may be different, but the underlying motives are identical. We talked a lot about this when I was doing the Sudan book with my old friend Tim Carney – the last US Ambassador to Sudan. We did the book partly to show how a nation that was on a political blacklist had a population that still wanted on a personal, family level safety, financial security, education for the children, and so on. However exotic a place may look — and photographers do usually try to enhance that — the current of life has more similarities than differences across the world. My opinion, anyway. If I’ve learned anything from the many foreign assignments I’ve had (many from the Smithsonian magazine, incidentally), I hope it’s a measure of understanding of people’s lives. And that’s ultimately more interesting than any mountain or desert landscape.

Your work portrays people in an up-close and personal way.  Have you ever found yourself in a dangerous or compromising situation while on a shooting assignment?

Not often. The general idea is to be alert to the dynamics of any situation, and to anticipate how people will react. This works for street photography and for more involved, engaged kind of shooting. Of course, you occasionally run into the unexpected, but if you anticipate problems, such as when we were in Darfur (for US Vogue, strangely), or in Cambodia when the civil war was still on, then you do a kind of due diligence. You check things out first. Actually, it’s less easy to get into predictable trouble than you might imagine. No-one wants a photographer, writer, or any kind of foreign national, getting into trouble on their watch, so they (police, military) try and stop you from getting near that trouble. There were one or two iffy moments over the years, but due mainly to poor judgment on my part.

Do you have any dreams of where your travels will take you next?  Is there a particular area of the world you would especially like to explore?

On balance, my most interesting assignments have been ones that I hadn’t thought of myself. Sudan was classic. Tim (mentioned above) and his wife Vicki, a journalist, suggested it one day when I was in DC. They wanted to show something more than the generally one-dimensional sound-bite picture of the country that most people had. In Tim’s words, ‘to complicate people’s minds’ about the country. I would never have thought of going myself, but the two years we spent traveling and shooting there were amazing. And we now have good Sudanese friends.

Please tell us about how you find inspiration for the photos you take.  Similarly, do you find yourself mostly shooting for assignments or do you make time to shoot for your own personal projects?

That first question is really too big for me have any success at answering. Inspiration for anything is quite elusive and very personal. I wish it were available out of a tap, but it’s pretty uncontrollable. However, I should add that in assignment photography, including self-assignment, it’s more important to get out there and just tackle it. You have a shooting script, a kind of list of pictures you need, and that needs to be worked at. Inspiration in the sense of sitting dreamily waiting for something to land in your brain doesn’t have much place in my kind of photography! As for generating assignments, it’s always been a mixture between magazine or book clients suggesting and proposals coming from me. In either case, I always work out in advance that there will be a publisher. My last big book (not counting the ones written about photography) was Tea Horse Road, about an ancient trade route between China and Tibet. A publisher friend suggested we find a new subject for a book together, and she was interested in China close to southeast Asia. I did my research, found two or three possible stories, including this one. The route, carrying tea to Tibet and war horses in return, started in the 7th century and continued until the mid-20th. It was obviously perfect for a photography book – hardly anyone in the West knew about it, but every Chinese schoolchild does, and it had everything, a journey, cultures, ethno-botany, and more.

Between offering workshops and writing many popular books, you spend a lot of time teaching others.  Why do you feel it’s important to educate others in photography? How did you first become involved with creating instructional materials?  Is there a particular book that you think every new photographer should read?

But I spend very little time physically teaching. I travel too much to be able to lecture at a college, and in any case, I have nagging doubts about the balance between doing and teaching. Well, education in all areas is how people grow, so it’s crucial. I’m not sure how much I contribute to that, though I should mention that one thing I am proud of is my involvement with the British Open College of the Arts, which is the younger, arts-oriented sibling of the Open University. It’s distance learning, I’ve written all the courses, and they now accumulate to a BA degree. We have tutors from all the good photography colleges in the UK for students to correspond with. So that was something within the educational system that I was able to do. As for which books, of course I’m banned from mentioning my own, but I think I’ll sneak in a reference to The Photographer’s Eye, which isn’t about equipment. But possibly more important than that is simply looking at photographs, good ones, devouring them, absorbing them. Every good photographer I’ve ever known does that.

Speaking of teaching, you have a new book being released soon.  Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Erm, more than one actually. But pretty well hot off the press is a small (meaning conveniently sized) book called the Black & White Photography Field Guide. It’s interesting that black and white is enjoying a revival, despite the fact that digital cameras produce color images. Technically, it’s because there is such an excellent choice in how you can render an image into black and white, with almost infinite control over the tones, but more than that, black and white has never lost its appeal as an expressive way of shooting. It starts at a slight distance from reality by rejecting color, and it allows the photographer to concentrate on such qualities as tonality, form and light.

Thank you Michael for spending some time with us today and sharing your insights with us!

Would you like to see even more of Michael’s wonderful photography?  Make sure you visit his website, blog, and facebook to view his images.  Don’t forget to also follow him on twitter!  Also, make sure to check out his newest books Black & White Photography Field Guide and Digital Image Editing & Special Effects over on Amazon.

Read all photography interviews.

The post michael freeman interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is here (whether it feels like it or not) and there’s a sense of newness around.  Not only is it time for new flowers, new grass, and fresh new leaves on the tree, but it’s also time for a new CMpro of the Month, Celeste Jones!  Celeste is a long time member of Clickin Moms and a brilliantly talented photographer.  Her work is full of honesty and emotion and we are thrilled to have her here today to answer a few of our burning questions!

april cmpro of the month | celeste jones

interview by Courtney Keim

There seems to be a resurgence in a love of film.  How has that affected your photography journey as your amazing portfolio embraces both digital and film portraits?

First, thank you for the compliment. Film actually helped me learn to slow down and take everything in. It’s so easy to have in your mind that you will take a few images or shoot a session and come home with over 300 images on your card. With film you can’t do that. You have to make every click of the shutter count. So, I had to think about what I wanted to shoot, and I make sure that there was no clutter in the frame unless the intention was to include it in the image.

Did you start out in film?

I’ve shot film before but didn’t have a good understanding of it because I would just shoot in auto mode and would be happy with a few images coming out good.

Do you photograph your sessions in film or just personal work?

It depends on the session. I mostly shoot digital, but I have shot sessions on film. The only thing is that I like my work to look cohesive and I see the difference in colors and clarity when shooting both.

How long was your transition from being a hobbyist to accepting clients?

It’s been a while, and I feel like I’m still transitioning. Things get better every year.

What did you learn through that transition that shaped your style?

I learned that I was never going to be like anyone else. I want to put out images that I can be proud of, and that is a true presentation of me as a person and as a photographer. I wouldn’t be able to accomplish that if I kept doing what everyone else was doing. I had to focus on being the best me that I could be.

Feedback from peers can be a great learning tool.  What has been the most constructive critique you have gotten?

For me, it wasn’t a critique, it was more in the form of advice. Someone told me that they could see that I was holding back in my work. They told me to take more chances, and so that’s what I started doing.

And how did that advice shape your future images?

It helped shape my work because for a long time I would hold back on how I documented things. I held back because I was afraid to fail. However, I was failing myself because I wasn’t being honest and daring in my work. The more chances I took and the more I showed the kind of work that made me happy the more my style started to emerge.

Inspiration can be found in so many forms.  Where do you draw inspiration from?

I am inspired by life. I’m inspired by the things that I see around me, the interactions that I see between people, and most importantly my family.

How does that translate into your work?

Well, I shoot a lot around the city, so I incorporate those things into my work. I want to show people that beauty can be found everywhere. I love to document interactions between people, because I want to tell their story. And, of course I love photographing my daughter, so that she can remember her childhood and I love to document childlike moments. I think all of these things work well together to help define my style, and my vision.

I adore checking out your Instagram feed and how creative your iPhone photos are.  Many photographers worry about putting ‘too much out there’ on the internet of their personal life. How do you balance showcasing work there and maintaining a level of privacy in your life?

Thank you! You know that’s something that I do struggle with especially because my daughter is throughout my portfolio and my Instagram feed. I share what I’m okay with sharing, and if I feel like it will cross a line then I don’t.

Can you show us your favorite digital, film and iPhone image(s) and why they are so meaningful?

Sure!

Favorites come and go for me, but there’s always some that have a story behind it that’s like a game changer for me either personally or professionally.

This image of my daughter with my hat on is an image that changed things for me. It’s actually close to one of the last frames that I took of her that day. She was playing with a flower in her hand, and I snapped it and I didn’t post it immediately either. I sat on this image for a while and then I posted it to my page and I was shocked at how well it was received. People really loved that image. I think I got 75 fans that day. Yes, I counted. That image went viral.

This is a medium format image. I was in the city and these children were playing with one another in the water, and I’m telling you I wanted to go over there too, and there was this little girl who was so tickled by her little bucket and that made me happy. Plus, she was in the perfect spot compositionally wise, and I had to capture that moment.

This image is of my daughter shot with my iPhone. I love the light and the fact that I can maintain my vision with any instrument. The light, the conversion and my favorite person in the world.

How has the Clickin Moms community shaped your journey as a photographer?

Wow, you know I love the women over on Clickin Moms. For a long time I felt like I was alone in my journey and then I found CM and people accepted me for me. The support that I have received from this forum has been huge in my journey. Not only have I learned a lot about photography, but I’ve met some great friends who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.

With so many new photographers emerging every day, what sets you apart from your competition?

I don’t know how to answer that one…lol. I feel like we are all doing the same things in a way, but we put our own little something special in it to set us apart from the rest. For example, it’s like when my mom makes potato salad. All of my aunts make potato salad, but it’s something different about hers that people can see and taste. We all have something that sets us apart from the rest, it’s just a matter of finding it and showing it. Once you do that, people will identify with it.

If you could work alongside any photographer for one day and pick their brain, who would it be and why?

Gordon Parks, because I learned from him how important the “story” is in photography. I see so many static images that are well processed, but the images that tell a story mean so much more to me. I love the images that make me wish I were there, or that I knew that person, or make me feel as though I can identify with that moment. Anyone can take a picture, however, there’s something special that happens when people identify or relate to your subjects, and he was able to do that because he told his subjects story.

You have a Breakout Session coming up. Can you provide our readers with a hint of what we can expect?

Well, the readers can expect for me to be honest about my own personal story. I share my struggles and insecurities and how overcoming those things helped me find my style. I also discuss how and why I convert my images to black and white and how that helps tell a story. I even share how I’m able to engage with my subjects to create images that have more impact than just a smile for the camera. So, yeah, I do a lot of talking.

Thank you Celeste for the fantastic interview!  Make sure you head over to Celeste’s website,  facebook, and Instagram to view the rest of her gorgeous work.  If you have a question for Celeste you can ask in the comments below or visit her ‘ask a pro’ thread within the photography forum.

Read all ‘CMpro of the Month’ interviews.

The post interview with celeste jones appeared first on Clickin Moms.

We love photography interviews and today we are excited to bring you an interview with photographer and blogger Erika Ray.  Erika has a very honest approach to her lifestyle photography that we just can’t get enough of.  Enjoy the insights that she has for you today!

an interview with erika ray

by Celeste Pavlik

Tell us a little bit about you and your photography journey, and maybe a little about what’s in your bag too!

I live in Columbus, OH and married my next-door neighbor from college. Nine years ago, he pushed for kids. A year later, I pushed out our first son, Cooper. Three years later, we had our second son, Becket. I’ve always been crafty and inherited my Grandma’s art gene. I can draw a mean giraffe, but photography only popped up about 4 years ago. I just upgraded to a Nikon D600, but the all of these photographs were shoot with my Nikon D90 and a 35 mm lens. Poor thing never came off the body.

You’re not shy about letting the world know that you refuse to clean up the mess before you snap the shutter. Can you tell us a little bit about this approach to your photography?

I won’t clean because I’m lazy. Our house is fairly tidy but isn’t spotless. If I cleaned or sanitized before each picture, I’d never get anything done let alone photographed. It also isn’t real-life. Our life isn’t pretty or sparkly. It’s messy because we live. Me showing anything else would be a lie and no one likes a liar. I approach photography the same way. I’m going to show you my life because I’m happy with it. I’m also lazy and trying to construct a frame to show a lie is too time consuming. I’ve got spreadsheets to fill out, laundry to fold, and boys to entertain. My life is what it is and that’s what you see.

Can you share what visually appeals to you as a photographer and why you shoot what you shoot?

I want real life. It’s that simple. Some people take amazing portraits, but I can’t look at portraits all day. Show me what happened on the way to the session! I’m inspired by a photo that tells a story, not just a pretty face. I have a major in journalism and a talent for gab. Both of those skills translate to my style of photography. And it’s those things that I look for in a good photo. Make me care and I’ll come back to your photos. I want to do the same. I want you to care.

What or whom are your photography muses and what inspires you?

I’d be an awful Mom if I didn’t say my sons, wouldn’t I? There’s the default Good Mom answer. When I see a good story, I fall in love with the photographer. I’m not putting down portrait photographers, there’s some amazing ones out there. It’s a talent I don’t have. I just need more to get my juices flowing. I love CJ Nicolai’s style and blunt honesty about the craft. I love David duChemin’s ability to share his skills and his emphasis for vision and not just shutter snaps. I think it’s extremely important to find muses outside of photography. For me it can be dangerous to let photographers be your muse. It can be overwhelming, almost dilutes the talent pool, and eventually crushing to your own creativity. Cheryl Strayed, Caitlin Moran, and Howard Stern’s unapologetic honesty about life really does shape the way I photograph just as much as some of my favorite photographers.

You are a wife and mother in addition to working full time. How do you find time for and balance photography and blogging?

Ahh, the full time working gig… The day after Valentine’s Day, I was laid off. So let’s pretend like I still have that job, because for the past four years, I did photography and blogging with that job. Photography and blogging are things I must do, not “have to do” so that makes it easy to create a balance. I didn’t work in an office so that helped. I also spent a lot of time on the road. Long car rides help draft blog posts and hotel stays can act as uninterrupted editing time. More important, I have an equal partner in parenting. Just because I’m MOM doesn’t mean he can’t give baths, fix dinner, play games, act as referee. My kids have two parents and I believe in being as close to 50/50 as you can get. No matter how equal we aim to be, being MOM still means I handle more of the parenting duties. Trust me, I push them off when I can and squeeze in some edits and blogging. Some day we’ll get to 50/50… but back to present day where I’m unemployed! My readers are either going to get sick of my ramped up postings or they will love it! Being unemployed means I need to figure out my next move in life. And when I don’t know what to do, I photograph it and I write about it. It’s going to be a fun little journey on my blog.

With such a busy life, how do you keep up your momentum in shooting almost daily and then blogging about it?

Everyone has a busy life, it’s what we choose to be busy with. My kids aren’t in after-school activities, so that helps. But I’m guessing that’s going to change soon. I choose to be busy with photography and blogging. It’s how I remember our life. It’s how I get through our life. When I wasn’t blogging or photographing it, life seemed to get very narrow: motherhood and work. That’s it. But picking up the camera forced me to look at life and made me appreciate the chaos or the narrowness that I was staring down. Writing helps me to connect with other people in the same rat race. Those two simple acts made me see that my mundane life was a vast pool of
gorgeousness. I had to change my perception and the camera did that for me.

There’s definitely an art to making something honest and artistic to lifestyle photography versus just snapshots of everyday life. How do you achieve this and make it look so effortless?

I’m not sure. I’ve been struggling with this for a while now. Someone will ask and I’ll shrug and say, “I just shoot my life.” Let’s be honest, the details of my life aren’t breathtaking. We don’t have a house full of vintage objects and wooden toys. We’re full of plastic battery-operated toys and Ikea furniture. Nothing is truly special. Maybe it’s recognizing that fact and saying, “We’re good enough to be art.”

What advice would you offer to photographers that would like to get into lifestyle photography?

Shoot in your house. And shoot some more. Think the light is crappy? Shoot anyways. Push the ISO. Learn and use spot-metering. And please don’t think that you can shoot clients in a Lifestyle manner because you shoot your own family “lifestyle”. You know your family. Practice on a different family and go with a plan. And then practice some more. With your own family, put your iPhone away and use your camera. Yes, the iPhone is a fantastic camera. Please don’t smack me or send hate mail via your iPhone, but use your big camera in your house. An iPhone can scream “Snapshot!” I’m not putting down those photos. We have tons of them and I cherish those photos. But if you want to make your life art, treat it like art and use the best possible camera to showcase it. Use your camera.

From time to time many photographers find themselves in a creative rut or uninspired to shoot. Does this ever happen to you and if so how do you overcome these phases?

Recently, I wallowed in a huge Rut. It made me question the hobby: Did I care enough? Was I good enough? What makes me different from the thousands of photographers out there? Where did the passion go? There is nothing worse than facing those questions. Lingering with them for too long or trying to shoot out of it pulls me down harder. For myself, I have to make a cut. I have to put the camera down. I definitely need to stop looking at photographers online. I need to push photography away. If not, I’m doing it like a resentful habit, sort of like flossing my teeth. I want to look at it as a necessary habit like good food or long chats with a friend. So I just stop and trust that all the passion will come back. I read, quilt, or just veg out not worrying about snapping frames. It always comes back because it’s a part of me. I just need a break.

How many clients do you typically take each month?

I didn’t take clients. That’s a lie. If a birth client called, I did everything I could to make their birth. If a friend asks me or refers me, I’m more than happy to pop over. But sessions were never my focus. I have a family, had a full-time job, friends I enjoy seeing, photography, a blog, and a ton of other things to keep me busy. Marketing and building a business wasn’t something I could handle. It’s so much hard work that you need a desire in order for it to succeed. There’s also a ton of photographers around who are really on top of the business end of photography. But with no job, I need to figure something out. Does that mean take family sessions? I’m not
sure. I do know that I’d love to take on as many birth clients as possible. I believe so strongly that this is the one moment in a family’s life that absolutely should be photographed.

What’s on your photography horizon for 2013, any special projects you’re working on? Maybe a breakout session for Clickin Moms?

On January 1, it felt like 2013 was going to be electric. I had no concrete reason why this was the case. Maybe because our family was in a new home, but something made me feel giddy about 2013. I’m not a giddy or optimistic person, but I couldn’t talk myself out of it. You’d think losing a job you’ve had for 13 years might squash some of that excitement, but it hasn’t. I still feel something bubbling and I just need to tap into it. On the day we close on our old home, I’m going to start my third 365. Nothing pushes me like a 365 (I like the torture…). I figured the closing day is a symbolic date for me to start photographing our daily lives in a new house.

I am working on a break out session and I’m really excited/nervous about it! Clickin Moms is letting me talk about Honest and Real photography! Seriously? If you were sitting across from me, you’d see me doing a little dance just because I mentioned it. It gives me the perfect amount of fear and happiness. It will be part motivational and partially packed with some info I’ve picked up. I think building your confidence and accepting yourself as an artist is key to bringing honesty to your photos. Saying to people, “This is who I am, flaws and all. Love me or don’t” isn’t easy for everyone, but I wish it was. Imagine how kickass the world would be?!

Thank you Erika for spending some time with us today and sharing your insights with us!

Would you like to see even more of Erika’s beautiful photography?  Make sure you visit her website, blog, facebook, and instagram to view her images.  Don’t forget to also follow her on twitter and pinterest!  And if you don’t want to miss her breakout session, sign up here to be notified when it’s available!

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The post erika ray interview appeared first on Clickin Moms.