It’s time for another installment of one of our favorite blog series, a peek inside.  Today, we have new CMmentor to feature, Stacey Vukelj.  Stacey is one of CM’s newest mentors and an incredible street photographer out of New York City.  We are thrilled to get a glimpse into her life today!
a peek inside | stacey vukelj
It is a little embarrassing to say this out loud, but I love options. True for clothes, true for bags, true for books, true(…)

by Monica Wilkinson

Like many of you, when I started my journey into photography, my favorite subjects to shoot were my two daughters. They were young and I wanted to capture as many memories as possible. As time passed by,
I still found joy in photographing them, but I felt myself succumbing to the pressures of getting it just right in camera. I felt overwhelmed with all the rules of photography. I would hear things like the skin tones are off, they(…)

by April Nienhuis

Do you struggle with who you are as a photographer?  Are you afraid to be yourself with your photography even it means shooting unlike everyone else? When raising children, we teach them that who they are is good enough. Even at a young age, peer pressure is around and we never want them to conform to others in an effort to ‘fit in’. Our goal as parents is to encourage the uniqueness that we see in each of(…)

It’s time for another installment of one of our favorite blog series, a peek inside.  Today, we have new CMmentor to feature, Celeste Pavlik.  Celeste is a brilliant hobbyist photographer who with a particularly appealing approach to lighting with some of the most beautiful black and white conversions out there.  We are so excited to have her on the CMblog today and know you will be too!
a peek inside | celeste pavlik
I upgraded from the Canon 7D (which I used(…)

by Megan Squires

RAW vs jpeg. If this is something you’ve pondered recently, chances are you are currently shooting in jpeg. And if you are shooting in jpeg, chances are you feel like you should be shooting in RAW. Just like that diet you committed to as your New Year’s resolution, you know you should do it, you know you’ll feel and look better if you do, and you know the end result will be something you’re so proud of.

But does(…)

It’s easy to get preoccupied with what everyone else is shooting and how.  What we have to do, as cliche as it sounds, is stay true to ourselves.  Once you have the basics down, you have to shoot what you love and in your own way.  Just because one photographer sees a subject in a certain way doesn’t mean that you have to see that same subject in the exact same way as there are many, many correct ways to(…)

by Melissa Gibson
I know I’ve mentioned this before and I’m certain you all know this by now, but  I really dig Adobe Photoshop Elements.  If you are a beginner looking for editing software, this is the one for you.  On the other hand, if you are more advanced in your photography journey, this may also be the software for you.  In fact, I know loads of extremely talented photographers who use Elements.  It is an editing program that is highly(…)

by Emma Wood
  

It’s amazing how different crops can change the mood of an image or even just enhance them.  By just making a few little changes, you can add a lot more impact and drama.   I try as much as possible to think about cropping and where I want to place my subject within an image before I shoot.  But there are times when I realize during processing, how much more powerful an image would become with a certain(…)

It’s time for another installment of one of our favorite blog series, a peek inside.  Today, we have new CMmentor Sarah Vaughn here to share her world with us!  Sarah is always generous to share her knowledge on the forum and she is an incredible photographer (I know I’m not the only one always drooling over her stunning beach photography!).  And hands down, I think Sarah has the best office view I’ve ever seen – check it out below to(…)

Personal photography projects can be incredibly beneficial to your growth as a photographer.  Whether it be a 365 or a series of self-portraits, it will stretch you beyond your safety zone.  And what could be more fun than seeing what personal projects the CMpros are up to?!  In this new series, we’ll feature a different CMpro and follow along as they show off some of their images and share about their unique project.  Today we are excited to have Lisa Tichané(…)

by Kristin Ingalls
While some of my favorite portraits don’t have eye contact, or maybe even show a face, there’s no denying that strong eye contact is a great way to pull your viewers into your image. It can really help a viewer to connect with your subject. With older cooperative subjects it’s usually easy to get a mix of images with eye contact and without, but with the littlest ones it can be tricky. Here are some of my favorite(…)

by Stacey Haslem

Not too long ago, I was looking through all my images. As I continued to go through images taken over the last few years, I couldn’t help but notice all the images that originated in the bathroom. I had a beautiful collection of memories and stages of my little girl.
When approaching any image, whether it be in the bathroom or not, I always think about what it is I actually want to capture. Is there something in particular(…)

by Courtney Keim
I think I always had this idea of dads and family portraits.  I think it started when I was young.  It’s not that my dad was not there.  He just was not in the photos.  He always told me it was the memories not the photo.  Then I married my husband.  And unfortunately, he is seriously just as bad when it comes to family portrait time.  To him, he’d rather be subjected to anything torture-filled if it meant(…)

It’s easy to get preoccupied with what everyone else is shooting and how.  What we have to do, as cliche as it sounds, is stay true to ourselves.  Once you have the basics down, you have to shoot what you love and in your own way.  Just because one photographer sees a subject in a certain way doesn’t mean that you have to see that same subject in the exact same way as there are many, many correct ways to(…)

There’s no doubt that our CMpros are busy.  They have families to care for, jobs to maintain, many have businesses to look after, and they all know how to take stunning photographs.  Have you ever wondered what a day looks like for one of the CMpros?  How do they manage their time?  When do they get it all done?  You loved Sara’s ‘A Day In The Life’ post so much that we decided to make it a regular new series(…)

by Melissa Gibson
I am a mom and I am a photographer.  Since I am not a business owner, I am a considered a “hobbyist”.  However, I am not “just a hobbyist”.

I am an artist.

Even more than an artist?

I am a storyteller.

Seven months before my first girl was born, I was writing about her.  I wrote letters to her in her own journal.  Skipping by my old personal journal to now jot down notes about her life instead.  I remember putting(…)

Happy New Year friends!  There are a lot of great things in store for the Clickin Moms photography forum in 2013 and we couldn’t imagine a better way to start it off than by adding a few new mentors to an already amazing team?!  We received an unprecedented number of applications from fabulously passionate, helpful, and talented CMpros, and from among them we selected seven to join the team this year.  Congratulations ladies and thank you for all that you(…)

Today we’re bringing you another ‘peek inside’ of one of our fabulous CMteam members!  This time, we get to learn a little more about CM’s Director of Vendor Relations and instructor of CM’s Lifestyle Photography with Kids workshop Ashley Spaulding.  Ashley is one of the kindest people you will ever meet and she’s a remarkable photographer (if you’re a member of the CM photography forum then this is all old news to you).  If you know Ashley then you’re one(…)

by Lisa Harrison
So are you still undecided about making the jump to Adobe Photoshop CS6? Go for it!  You’ll love it! If you’re familiar with CS4 or CS5, you really won’t have much of a learning curve at all. The main thing that is different is how the adjustment panel works. You still have an adjustment panel but you now have a Properties Panel where you make changes to your chosen adjustment. You still choose your adjustments from the adjustment(…)

Next up in our ‘peek inside’ series on our photography blog is CMmentor Stacey Haslem.  Stacey is kind, helpful, incredibly talented, and has created some of the most beautiful black and white images we’ve seen!  She also helps field questions in the Help Desk in our photography forum and is a teaching assistant for many of our online photography workshops.  Stacey is an all around great person and friend and we are thrilled to have her as part of the(…)

by Lisa Tichane

When I decided to work seriously on my SEO, I did some research and decided that my goal was to rank as high as possible as “child photographer” and “baby photographer” in my area. I worked on a few other key words such as “family photographer” and “newborn photographer” as well.  After many months of working on it and blogging regularly, I was proud to show up on Google’s first page for these expressions but a few of(…)

by Elle Walker

The majority of the time, I’m a big believer in story telling and waiting for those special ‘in between’ moments to occur.  I love to capture the little details and am more than content to just watch and wait for a story to unfold.  Sometimes, however, for whatever the reason, it just feels like there isn’t enough time in the day and it seems the older my kiddos get the more time we seem to spend in the(…)

Get to know your CMteam! We are so often asked what we shoot with, what’s “in our bag”, what bag we carry and so on and so forth. So we’re giving you all a little peek behind the scenes to get to know your CMteam better. A couple of times a month throughout this year and into 2013 we’ll feature a different CMteam member and give you “a peek inside” – a peek inside their bag, their workspace and a(…)

by Sara Seeton
Every photographer has their own unique style as well as their own way of processing images.  There are so many different ways to achieve certain looks whether it be in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), Lightroom, Photoshop or a combination of these.  I don’t claim to be a Photoshop genius by any means.  A lot of what I have learned has been from trial and error, tutorials from other photographers just like this one (there are TONS right here(…)

Get to know your CMteam! We are so often asked what we shoot with, what’s “in our bag”, what bag we carry and so on and so forth. So we’re giving you all a little peek behind the scenes to get to know your CMteam better. A couple of times a month throughout this year and into 2013 we’ll feature a different CMteam member and give you “a peek inside” – a peek inside their bag, their workspace and a(…)

Get to know your CMteam! We are so often asked what we shoot with, what’s “in our bag”, what bag we carry and so on and so forth. So we’re giving you all a little peek behind the scenes to get to know your CMteam better. A couple of times a month throughout this year and into 2013 we’ll feature a different CMteam member and give you “a peek inside” – a peek inside their bag, their workspace and a(…)

by Megan Moore
You’ve spent hours researching the perfect family vacation. Beach? City? New destination or your favorite spot that you return to annually? Wherever you decide to go, inevitably the subject of “what should I bring for gear” pops up – usually around 10pm the night before you leave, if you’re anything like me.  It’s one of those decisions I always put off until the last minute, changing my mind over and over again before I hastily toss a few(…)

by Melissa Gibson
Have you searched and searched for the perfect storyboard for your blog?  I know I have.  I remember looking for just the right template for my images and always ended up making purchases that I didn’t really need.  In the end, I’d only use one template out of the ten that came in the bundle.

How frustrating!

Did you know that you can make custom collage templates in PSE?

Here’s how you can create your own storyboards for use in printing(…)

Get to know your CMteam! We are so often asked what we shoot with, what’s “in our bag”, what bag we carry and so on and so forth. So we’re giving you all a little peek behind the scenes to get to know your CMteam better. A couple of times a month throughout this year and into 2013 we’ll feature a different CMteam member and give you “a peek inside” – a peek inside their bag, their workspace and a(…)

Congratulations to our CMPro of the Month, Kristin Ingalls! Kristin has created a mini-breakout session that is full of beautiful imagery, plus great tips and suggestions for those of you who are working to perfect sooc image composition and basic light use. By covering how she uses the same lighting situation in several different ways, Kristin offers you ideas on how to add wonderful variety to any session in a short amount of time.
Getting it Right in Camera | Considerations(…)