Fathers Day is but a bittersweet memory for me.  It is a day of sadness, loss, and remembrance.  With remembrance comes tears and then smiles and quiet laughs.

My father passed away three years ago, on July 6th, losing his battle to cancer.  He lived a long, hard, fun life and taught me everything I know about life.  His battle was one that I never wish for anyone to have to witness, but his battle also taught me many life lessons.

Because of my father, I am emotionally raw.  Like him, I emotionally involve myself in everyday life and the things/people I love.  It’s something he taught me to never be ashamed of – my emotions.  We love wildly, we laughed until our face and stomach hurts and we’re gasping for air.  We mourn deeply when sadness strikes and we carry words spoken to us like spare change in our pockets, being reminded of them throughout the day and taking them out and putting them to rest at night.  We emotionally involve ourselves in those things that affect us personally, and I can’t say it’s the best or easiest personality trait to have – but it’s ours, and we understood and learned to cherish it.

My father was a farmer and a Sheriff.  He was old school and old fashioned.  He had hands of leather but a heart of gold.  He was a teacher and a preacher.  He was a listener and a story teller.  He was the biggest part of my life growing up – my sunshine.  I was definitely daddy’s little girl and I still am.

I could write all day, but I’ll stop here.  Daddy, I love you and thank you for the gift of emotions and wisdom that you have taught me.  Though I still struggle with some (like patience and listening) on a daily basis – they are but a reminder of your biggest lesson of all.  To love and give where you can.

You may be wondering where a few of the posts went, especially the boudoir related ones.  Well, after much deliberation and hard work, I have made a sister site specifically for my boudoir clients.

simply-boudoir.com

In recent months, I have began building quite the boudoir portfolio and while my main focus is still on lifestyle portrait photography, I kind of wanted to separate the boudoir part for a few different reasons.  One, is to give my boudoir clients a small place of their own.  A nifty looking site that is feminine, a little more private and fun.  I know, it’s still the internet and you can only be SO private – but boudoir photography is very personal.  Clients interested in having a boudoir session done are searching the internet for boudoir photography and ideas, not family or pet portraits.  This way, the boudoir content is easier to find for those interested in it, as well as it being easier for me to list for potential boudoir clients.

Don’t panic, though – I’m not leaving!  I will still be here, the same ‘ol Stacey Lynn, natural light portrait photographer, updating semi-daily.  I just wanted to move my boudoir photos to a more prominent place of their own.  If you are a past or present boudoir client, feel free to bookmark the new website, as that is where all new boudoir content will be posted from here on out.

Just to prove I still love ya, here’s a sneak peek from a super cute summer shoot to be posted soon!

It goes without saying that I adore Kari.  She has a genuine, but free spirited personality about her that I really enjoy.  She’s such a smart girl, and there’s no doubt that her other half has to be equally amazing.

Although I had spoken with Kentrell on the phone before, this was the first time I had met him.  I have heard nothing but great things for the year or so I’ve known Kari, and Kentrell didn’t let me down in the least.  He seemed to bring out the best in Kari and his patience was seen in him right off the bat.  He was fun, carefree and adored Kari.  Maybe a little more than I do.  MAYBE.

This shoot only lasted about 10 minutes because I swear it was 100 degrees outside.  It was planned almost last minute, as Kentrell has been out of town a lot lately and was finally back.  You may recognize him if you look close enough.  He is part of the Swagger Crew that was on last seasons America’s Best Dance Crew!  He is an amazing dancer and while it was WAY too hot to get all sweaty while busting moves on our shoot – I love hearing the passion in his voice as he and Kari talk about dance.  I have been wanting to photograph these two together for  awhile now, and I got my chance!  I promised not to keep them out for long, so we took a few snaps and they invited me to eat sushi with them!  While I sipped on my sweet tea, I listened to the story of how they met, and I know these two were special for each other.  They just went together so perfectly and really complimented each other in all the best ways.

Kari and Kentrell – here’s to you!  To inspiring me to have fun in my own relationship.  To stay young and to be silly.  I adore you two and I wish you nothing but the absolute best!

I get emails pretty often asking for tips, advice and technical questions.  Since it’s pretty much impossible to reply back to every single one, I make posts here and let my readers, even those whom haven’t emailed but still have the same questions, get some answers.

As always, I never claim to know everything.  There’s actually a lot I still learn every week from other photographer’s FAQs.  I never claim my way is the RIGHT way or the easiest – but it works for me.  My biggest answer, no matter how many times I repeat it is “practice, practice, practice”.

Selena asked – “Your works are truly amazing. I just recently got a SLR camera, but I’m having difficulties with it. Can you give me few tips?”

When I got my first DSLR, I took it out of the package, put my batteries in it, turned it on and looked at all of the buttons, turned it off, put it back into the box and didn’t touch it for a week.  I was so intimidated and scared.  Then one day I decided to jump in head first.  Needless to say, there are a lot of photos of Andy and the cats from those first few months.  Anytime something exciting was happening outside – a pretty sunset, a storm, a stray dog in the yard – I grabbed my camera and I tried different shooting methods and combination to learn what worked and what I liked.

I also read a lot of information online and started quite the collection of photography books.  The biggest thing I did was when frustrated, I pushed through.  I took a photo of the cat with the light on, then the light off, to test my ISO.  I took photos at night, at music gigs, while out with friends.  I finally got the hang of it, and now – I’m addicted.

Jeanette asked – “…I just love the way your shots look and wanted to know (please) whether you have any special Photoshop secrets for making the skin look so amazing.”

I used to smooth the skin quite a bit on my subjects, but have since stepped away from doing so.  Not only did it look fake, but it also took a lot of time, and time is money.  I wasn’t being compensated from models to make their skin look flawless – and at the same time, I began to appreciate beauty.  When you snap a photo, you see your subject in person and at a distance.  When editing images, you’re very up close and personal with your subject and their skin.  You see the flaws, the pores, the scars, the blemishes.  While I do now spot heal blemishes that aren’t a normal part of the person’s skin, I do not remove scars, freckles or wrinkles.  I appreciate these things in all of my subjects, and after all, I want them to look human.  Maybe I’ve been blessed with great clients that have amazing skin already – but I accept them for how they are, and they are much more appreciative for that.

Jeanette also asked – “…I’m also worried about the lighting.  I have a flash but it is very harsh and wanted more natural lighting, which of course inside isn’t possible, or at least I don’t think it is.  I am completely new to taking photos of people.  If you do have some Photoshop actions like the flare ones, I’d gladly buy them.”

Being a natural light photographer, I am obviously a huge fan of natural light.  It’s what I practiced with, learned to manipulate and work FOR me and it is what I will continue to use.  I, also, own a flash – but never use it unless I absolutely have to.  It can be a bit tricky when shooting inside, but the key is to have lots of windows/doors and open them if you need to!  You’d be surprised how much a simple pane of glass can reflect the light away from you.  Open up the doors, pull aside the shades, up your ISO and shoot wide open.  Natural light CAN be used – but it has to be available, first.

I have made a set of Photoshop Actions which will help a bit with flare and to lighten your images – and they can be found here if interested.

Debbie asked – “Shooting wide open to isolate your subject, do you worry about your histogram, blown highlights? Are you controlling that by exposure compensation or are you just dialing a faster shutter speed in? I saw where you shoot manual, I mostly do to but sometimes I use Aperture mode.”

I honestly never pay attention to my histogram.  I know in certain lighting situations that in order not to blow out my highlights, I need to shoot at a higher shutter speed.  I also shoot in open shade, which helps 95% of the time.  I do shoot manual, and if I do have a blown highlight every now and again, I can always adjust it in Photoshop if it isn’t too major.  Depending on who you asked, most people would probably say most of my highlights are blown – but I know what I like and what my clientele are hiring me for, so I don’t change it.

Debbie also asked – “Is some areas where I shoot. like in alley ways for example the eyes look dead because there isn’t a catch light in them, does that bother you as well? If so how do you create one?”

It doesn’t really bother me if the eyes of my subjects don’t have a catch light.  I try to focus more on the whole photo itself – surroundings, pose, clothes, hair and makeup.  I don’t think the client will notice that there isn’t a catch light in their eyes.  These are technical aspects that only the photographer notices, because we know that part of the business.  We know the technicalities behind taking a photo, so we often see things that other people would never notice.  Like a blown highlight, for example.  I think there is much more to making a photo stand out than the catch light in my client’s eyes.  If it is a big deal, you could always use a reflector, or use natural reflectors such as white/silver buildings, windows or even cars.

John asked – “… and what type of metering, any special Manual camera settings?”

Depending on my situation, I either shoot center weighted or matrix metering.  If I have to shoot outside and there aren’t very many shade options, I will shoot center weighted, as to keep my subjects properly exposed.  As far as manual settings, I shoot +5 contrast (Nikon) and that’s about it.  I usually shoot wide open and at ISO 250 or below.

I hope this little FAQ helps at least a few people.  If anyone else has any further questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I’ll get to them on my next FAQ!  And since posts are more fun with photos, here is a sneak peek of my shoot with Kari and Kentrell – an awesome and inspiring couple.  Their full shoot will be up soon!

Manual, 50mm, 1/400, F/2.0, ISO-250.