Buy Tip: Need a DSLR? Check out this kit with an INSTANT REBATE

I just helped a friend buy this deal.  Not bad!!

Canon T2i Rebel w/ 18-135mm for $949.99


***AND add this 55-250mm lens for just $100 more (Regularly $299)

Total: $1049.99 after you check your basket.  Pretty sweet deal!


Canon has a bunch of instant rebates and both B&H Photo and Adorama honors them.

Tips: Things I look for after a good rain

Written last fall but never posted until now:
While I was on my retreat, we had a downpour.  As I took a friend around to shoot, he asked me what to look for.  I shared with him that after a good rain, it's great to shoot reflections in water, to shoot landscape because the colors are brighter, and leaves are clean.  I also shared how I like it before the storm too because you have great dramatic skies.  I love converting them to black and whites.

I like the reflection of things after a good rain.

I love the contrast in the sky!

How to get babies to look at the camera.

• Best tip I've ran across is to tell everyone to have everyone move away from behind the camera and so that you are the only one behind the camera.  You don't want the baby to look at other faces, just your camera. 
• Have your camera mounted on a tripod and hooked up to a remote if possible (optional) you WILL get better shots.  However, this shot below was actually without a tripod, and the others not shown here were blurry. 
• KEY: not pun intended :) then dangle your car keys above the camera and like magic the baby will look.  If for some crazy the baby does not look, then dangle the keys in front of their face to catch there attention first, then move back to the camera.  Works like a charm for me at least.

See my older blog for more technical information:
http://shellyauphotography.blogspot.com/2010/04/tips-how-to-take-your-family-picture.html

Never show your bad shots!

One of the things I tell new photographers is NOT to show your bad pictures if you don't want too.  Many times I get requests, "hey Shel, can you just copy all the pics to my USB drive?"  Don't worry, you don't have to edit it.  Deep inside something feels wrong within me.  I only want to showcase the pictures I love.  Also I shoot in RAW with a Canon 5D Mark II meaning that each image is about 25 MB, and the camera does not interpret the image, so if I were to give someone the raw file, it will come out bland.  So that is another reason why I don't give all my images to people.  And yes, you SHOULD be shooting in RAW is my best advice.

So bottom line, only show the pictures you love.  This young girl above, I must have shot about 30-40 pictures of her where I got about 5-10 decent ones, and about 3-5 really good ones.

Technique: KISS Method (Keeping it Simple Stupid)

Pictures look boring?  Try moving/zoom closer to your subject.

Here is a shot that is further away:

Here is a shot as I pulled in on that roof:

Notice the Dept of Field I got as well?

Tips: Birthday Party Pictures or Video

So it was my sons 3rd birthday and I was faced with the dilemma of taking pictures or shooting a video of the Happy Birthday song.  I choose to shoot pictures.  Then when it was done I said, okay everybody, lets light the candle again and sing happy birthday again!  So I did, but this time I shot the video with my DSLR.  The reason I wanted to shoot pictures in the first place was to get him blowing the candle out.  But the video is what the kids really want to watch years from now.  So this way you can get both.

Tips: It's all around us, just try it.

So I'm sitting down at lunch with my friends, and I have my camera.  I think to myself, lets find something to shoot in here.  Boom, I see the tea cup and the tea pot, and say I want that picture.

It took me a few try's and different shots, but I like this best with the tilted glass.

My point is simple.  These kinds of shots are all around us.  It just takes the time to pause and see what can I shoot here and how can I capture it in a way that is unique.

Want to go shoot but don't know what to shoot?

If you are traveling or wanting to go out and shoot, try this simple method to help you SEE where you are not looking.  Pick a topic to shoot such as today I'm going to shoot SHOES.  Get peoples feet on subways, walking, in motion, stopped.  Everything you can think of from different angles.  Even try get some way down at ground level.  Find some where people are walking on glass and go underneath and shoot that.

Another idea is shooting weeds that are popping out of cement or something.

Try shooting something with a reflection whether it's in your house or outside.

Try shooting something with a shadow.  All day long shoot shadows.

Traveling?  shoot window displays. 

Stuck at home? go around your house and stage shots in your kitchen or best of all with your kids toys at ground level.

My hope is that you train your eye to see things you don't normally see.