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      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

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      December 13, 2018

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      December 6, 2018

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      November 27, 2018

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      November 19, 2018

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Canon 6D

Pictures From Inside The White House- Free To Download
PhotographyTravel

Pictures From Inside The White House- Free To Download

by Jill March 18, 2016
written by Jill

It is not lost on me how incredibly fortunate and lucky I am to have been invited to the White House this week, to share space with the First Lady, and to walk through rooms bursting with our nation’s rich history.

I know this isn’t the same as being able to bring you with me (I wish!) but I’d love to share some of my favorite pictures from my visit. If you click the “download” link below each one, you’ll be able to download a hi-res/non-watermarked version of that photo that’s suitable for printing up to an 8×10. These are free for your personal use. I just ask that you don’t sell them or use them to create anything for sale or any marketing materials. Please do not edit or crop, and if you re-share online, please link back to me.

Details on camera settings and lenses at the bottom of the post.

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The view of the Kennedy Garden and the National Monument from the East Colonnade.

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Look closely to the bottom right of the screen and you can see the presidential doggies Bo and Sunny out to play. I also love that I caught a couple men mid-handshake in front of the portico.

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A sign in the White House Garden.

 

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No caption needed. #flawless

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This was the first bookshelf I walked up to in the White House Library and I found it to be quite symbolic and hopeful. It’s my favorite picture.

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Another amazing collection of books representing so much of what our country is about and has endured was directly to the right.

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The White House library in cloudy morning light.

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A sconce in the White House library.

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A portrait of Nancy Reagan in one of the halls… can’t remember which one.

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Portrait of John F. Kennedy in the Cross Halls.

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Looking into the Red Room.

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Portrait of Dolley Madison over the fireplace in the Red Room.

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Looking out of the Red Room into the Cross Halls at a portrait of Ronald Reagan.

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Looking up at the chandelier in the Red Room.

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A bouquet of flowers in the green room.

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A French vase on the fireplace mantle in the Blue Room.

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A clock on the fireplace mantle in the Blue Room.

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The seat of a blue & gold chair in the Blue Room.

There was never a doubt in my mind that I would bring my “fancy” camera (Canon 6d), though I wondered what lens I should bring. Ultimately, I’m glad I left my most used lens- the Sigma 35 1.4– at home and opted to bring my 40 mm 2.8 pancake lens so that I’d also have enough room to bring my 85 1.8. The pictures from within the parlor rooms were all shot with my pancake lens (oh, how I love that lens for traveling), but when we got to our table, I switched to my 85.

It was the perfect focal length for pictures that felt up-close. It also didn’t hurt that I happened to land at a table at the front of the room. I used this lens for the outdoor pictures, too.

If I’m never invited back to the White House again, at least I’ll always have these pictures. I treasure them so much! I plan to print copies of them for each of the kids, and will store them in their memory boxes.

To view and download the entire gallery, click here.

You can find all the settings I used and which lens in the slideshow at the bottom of the post (you won’t be able to see that if you’re viewing this from my app, unfortunately). 

March 18, 2016 0 comment
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My 4 Year Photography Journey
Photography

My 4 Year Photography Journey

by Jill December 18, 2014
written by Jill

This is one of the last pictures I took with our old point and shoot camera, about 4 years ago, right before I received my first DSLR as an early Christmas gift.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I know it’s easy to look at this and think, “Goodness, why would you need an upgrade?” It’s truly spectacular in all it’s grainy, blurry, poorly exposed glory. But, well, I had a hunch I could do better.

Here are a few of my favorite most recent pics…

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

It’s been a long 4 years, and I still don’t consider myself an expert at any of this. I look at pictures I take now, and still see so much room for improvement. It’s why I hesitate to write too much about the technical side of photography over here. I just don’t view myself as someone who knows enough to tell others how to do this.

But, even I can see how far I’ve come, and at least I can share that with you all.

This is a popular time of year for leaps into the wonderful world of DSLRs. I know how exciting it is to get your hands on that big, heavy camera for the first time. There is so much joy that comes from seeing simply the pictures that come from it on auto, but then that tends to turn to angst as we try to figure out just a fraction of it’s vast capabilities.

I think so many get overwhelmed by where others are in their photography journey in comparison to themselves, forgetting that it takes a lot of work and time to get there. So here’s a not brief at all history of my photography journey.

This is one of the very first I took 4 years ago with my Canon Rebel T2i and 50 1.4 lens, right after I got my battery charged and knew NOTHING about how it worked.

DECEMBER 2010 – Canon Rebel T2i, 50 mm 1.4, iPhoto

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

This picture was PERFECTION to me then. And it still is. There was no way I could pull that off with any other camera I had at the time.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I was quite happy with these pics for a while, and was even happier when I figured out how to set my camera on AV (aperture priority) with my aperture set around 2.8.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Leyna was born just weeks after I got the camera, and I was thrilled with the pictures we got of her first few hours, and days…

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

And weeks.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

In the beginning, I obviously didn’t have much time to learn about photography beyond keeping my fancy camera on AV. The newborn and toddler at home were keeping me quite busy.

As time passed, though, I found myself experimenting with light and composure a bit more.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I quickly learned that the pictures I took in natural light looked best. I struggled with low light and artificial light. White balance issues plagued me from the start.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Around March of 2011 I read the book Understanding Exposure, and forced myself to put the camera on manual and never let it go back to auto again. I was determined to wrap my head around the exposure triangle.

It was also around this time I began to immerse myself in the tutorials section over on Clickin Moms. To this day, I owe so much of what I know about photography to them.

It took a couple months of a lot of really awful pictures, and a few beautiful ones, for me to finally grasp the way shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work together to properly expose a picture.

MARCH 2011- Shooting on manual 100% of the time, Clickin Moms tutorials

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I was still missing focus and ending up with soft pictures quite a bit (mostly because my shutter speed was often way too low since I was afraid of pumping my ISO up).

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

But I was finally starting to find the light, and learn how to position my subjects to take advantage of it.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

That summer, I also took a Beyond Snapshots workshop with the amazing Rachel Devine, and practically memorized her book.

It would be a while before I found a consistent personal style, but you can see hints of it start to peek through my early pictures as I played around with back lighting, bright colors, and composition.

SUMMER 2011- Beyond Snapshots workshop and book

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

At the end of 2011, just about a year after I got my camera, I got Lightroom for Christmas, and my first set of presets (similar to actions for Photoshop). This opened a whole new world for me. Post-processing remains one of my favorite steps in the photography process.

I took these pictures for our Christmas cards that year. (You can learn more about how I did them here and here.)

DECEMBER 2011- Lightroom and Clickin Moms presets

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

So now we’re up to 2012. This year was when I really started experimenting, not just with techniques, but with my style. I also added a new lens- the Sigma 30 1.4.

FEBRUARY 2012- Sigma 30 1.4

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I was intrigued by posed/propped photography, and even contemplated setting up a mini studio in our office, complete with lots of cute backdrops.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

The lifestyle stuff continued to draw me in, though.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comBy this point, I had a pretty good grasp on how the exposure triangle worked, and many times I got great images after just a little thought (and a lot of chimping- looking at the back of my camera after taking a shot).

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

But I was often making mistakes like underexposing…

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Or overexposing…

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

And trying to fix these things in post or cover them up with the use of presets and black and white conversions.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Mostly, though, 2012 was a year of pretty fantastic growth for me. So much magic happened once I was really comfortable with putting my camera in manual.

Plus, at this point, I had a pretty good grasp on how to edit pictures in Lightroom beyond just slapping a preset over them, focusing on keeping skin tones as natural as possible.
My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Though I did experiment quite a bit with some creative post-processing techniques. I spent a lot of hours learning the ins and outs of Lightroom that year. I also really loved me some vignetting. 😉

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

OCTOBER 2012- Upgrade to Canon 5D MK II and 50 1.4 lens

After nearly 2 years with my trusty Rebel, I was ready for a big upgrade- to a full-frame 5D MK II. This upgrade meant I had to get rid of my favorite lens- the Sigma 30 1.4– and was back to just my 50.  In the beginning, I was so excited about the possibilities, the clarity, the low-light capabilities.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

 

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

While I still struggled with things like white balance, that were entirely my fault… (Hello, green daughter.)

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I was also missing focus. A lot. To the point that there was no way that was 100% my fault.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I’m pretty confident I got a rotten refurb from a company I’ll never endorse again.

I struggled through the rest of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 with that camera body until I finally gave up and got a new Canon body I’d heard a lot of great things about- the 6D.

FEBRUARY 2013- Canon 6D and 50 1.4 lens

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com
My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

It was pretty immediate love between the 6D and I. I feel like I found my camera soulmate. It was so easy to get the technical stuff right with this camera, that I was finally able to focus on overcoming the more advanced hurdles I needed to work on.

Around the spring of 2013, I replaced my 50 1.4 with a DREAM lens- the Sigma 35 1.4. 

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

It was time to perfect my editing, and hone in on my personal style. I knew I had to start working on mastering white balance to get the colors I truly wanted.

But first, I had to have a baby.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Having an immobile, ADORABLE infant really helped me get my photography mojo back. I spent hours practicing with him, and learned how much I truly love a crisp white bed as backdrop.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

And sun-drenched little toes and fingers.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

But I continued to struggle with that pesky white balance on occaision , relying on auto WB way too much since it was simply impractical for me to haul out a gray card all the time, and Kelvin WB hadn’t quite clicked for me yet.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

FALL 2013- Canon 6D, Sigma 35 1.4, added 40mm pancake lens

I finally felt like I had a good grasp on my personal style. The muted, vintage filters and presets no longer felt right on my work. I enjoy bright colors, some contrast, lots of light, with a focus on life’s littlest big moments.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

In the fall of 2013, right after the government shutdown (putting my gov. employed husband on furlough for a month), I experimented with the business side of photography, taking on a few clients for holiday pictures.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I quickly learned, though, that while I love taking pictures of other people, I don’t enjoy doing it as a business model. I just like to call my friends up when I get an idea, or when I want to practice, and offer them a free session in exchange for their willing participation.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

2014- Mastered Kelvin White Balance, added 85 1.8 lens and 40 mm pancake lens, and 430EX II Speedlite

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

I’m happy to say 2014 is the year I’ve finally figured out my White Balance issues! And the answer is KELVIN!!

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

Of course, it had to be the one approach that took the most time to figure out and store in my brain, but it’s there permanently now. No having to rush around and look for a disc or a gray card every time the lighting changes.

You can read more about Kelvin White Balance here, to get a start.

I had all the numbers memorized for various lighting situations in our old house.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

This is also the year I added the Canon 40 mm pancake lens, which is my go-to travel lens.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.comMy 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

And the 85 1.8…

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

(not my kid, but a willing participant who couldn’t walk/run yet)

I dipped my toe in the flash waters with the 430EX II speedlite when I was hired to photograph an event for Flipside Experience with Grumpy Cat.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

And that brings me to now. Now, I’m having to refigure everything in the new place, and having to re-find the light here, learning where it streams in at what time of day, and how it reflects off the top of my children’s heads and bounces off their eyes.

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

There is always something about photography that challenges me and keeps me on my toes. In 2015, I look forward to telling a more unique perspective through my images.

For those of you who’ve scrolled through all of this, I hope you enjoyed it. If you get your first DSLR this month, go easy on yourself.. but not too easy. I mean, try to start challenging yourself as soon as you can, but also let yourself make A LOT of mistakes, and trust that they are all a part of the process.

Don’t you let that fancy camera stay in auto too long!

 My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

My 4 Year Photography Journey | BabyRabies.com

December 18, 2014 19 comments
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PhotographyThe Story

Bath Bomb With Musical Accompaniment

by Jill March 20, 2013
written by Jill

I’ve been focusing on maintaining a level of sanity around here this week that has required me to neglect blogging. It seems that I can only have 2 of these 3- happy kids, clean house, updated blog and all things related to that. Typically, it’s the house the loses out, but I’m craving some clean around here lately. Blame the nesting. So, sorry blog.

What I can do for you, though, is present you with a photo bomb post and this sweet video of Leyna singing. Enjoy.

March 20, 2013 5 comments
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PhotographyThe Story

They Sleep So We Can Regroup

by Jill March 5, 2013
written by Jill

Let’s do better tomorrow, little man. Both of us. Let’s do better tomorrow.

Taken with my Canon 6D, uploaded to and edited on my iPhone with the Snapseed app. Technology makes me happy. Pushy 4 year olds and limited tempers from both of us do not. Here’s to another day.

March 5, 2013 11 comments
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PhotographyThe Story

That Time I Took A Broken Camera To Florida

by Jill February 28, 2013
written by Jill

You may have noticed things were a little quiet around here last week… or maybe you didn’t.

Either way, I gave myself the week off to enjoy a trip to the TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida, and to celebrate my birthday.

 

The lovely Palm Court Italian Grill at TradeWinds surprised me with cake and an amazing dinner on my birthday.

I had super grand plans for this trip I was covering for 5 Minutes For Mom (full review to be posted over there shortly- you’ll LOVE this place if you need a great beach escape for your whole family). The biggest of my plans was spending time taking gorgeous pictures.

It’s so rare that I get a chance to really focus on the act of photography. Most of the time, I try to snap something really quick, giving a little thought to exposure and the technical details, but never having much time to think creatively about posing and lighting before a kid tries to grab my camera or one of them needs me to do something that requires me putting it safely away.

This time, I was going to rent wide angle and macro lenses. I was going to bring a tripod and a remote. I was going to experiment and get creative, spending my days on the beach at sunset, dreaming of getting the perfect shot to blow up and put on a canvas to hang in our room.

And then my plans started to fall apart. My already finicky Canon MK II started giving me a error a couple weeks before the trip. I looked into sending it off to get fixed, but I wouldn’t get it back in time for the trip, and I had other projects I needed to complete with it. I fidgeted and fussed with it to get it to work 30% of the time. I figured if I can only get 30% of the pictures I wanted in Florida, that would be okay. I had 3 days, after all.

I chose not to rent the lenses because I was going to need to save that money… to buy a new camera. Yup. I. was. done. with my MK II. We’ve had a rocky relationship from day one, and I was sick of it. I did a ton of research on the 6D, a new full frame camera by Canon that has wifi capabilities! I knew we were meant to be soul mates.

Scott waited in line with all the kids to go down the TradeWinds big beach slide. Thrill seeker.

Problem? By the time I could order it, it wouldn’t be delivered until 2 days into our trip. I did NOT want to risk having it delivered to the resort, so I prayed my MK II would give me one final run and at least a handful of decent shots.

Nope.

It didn’t work the ENTIRE time we were there. My tripod, my remote, my plans were all for nothing. I took it out on a sunset sail with us, in hopes I would get just ONE random, lucky shot out of it (because, remember, it WAS working 30% of the time before we got to Florida). Scott’s words as we were heading out of the hotel:

“I don’t think you should bring that. I’m worried it’s not going to work, and you’re going to throw it into the ocean.”

It’s like I throw things, or something, when I get mad. What?

So our entire, gorgeous trip to the beautiful St. Pete Beach and Tradewinds Resort is all documented via iPhone. And you know what? I’m not that upset. It was a great challenge to rock what I had, to not rely on fancy technology or Photoshop and Lightroom (though I did process these with Snapseed and then some more in Instagram for a few).

Of course, I had to indulge in a (virgin) beachy drink. The baby really enjoyed it.

Maybe I enjoyed the experiences more not lugging around my big camera? I don’t know, but that little iPhone camera sure was handy and did a great job. Can’t wait to print the pics using some of my favorite ways to get pictures off my phone and into my home.

Dolphins at sunset on my birthday. AMAZING.  

Stay tuned for the introduction of my new Canon lovah- the 6D! OMG, making out with it so hard right now.

Huge thanks to TradeWinds Resort for sending us out there and giving me all these great photo opps, regardless of the camera I had to use. I’ll let you all know when I do the full review for 5 Minutes For Mom.

February 28, 2013 17 comments
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