CarolineJensen

I also love the vintage effect with the dirt on the windows!

What a wonderful and peaceful scene! Lovely!

Gorgeous work! I need to learn from you! Your work is the epitome of peaceful tranquility!

Great depth and colors!

One really helpful thing is to have education in the book. Eye candy is awesome, but if you can incorporate behind the scenes and how-to information, it would likely sell even better. 🙂

Night images are magical!

Hi, everyone! I love to help people find their visual voice and style. It is hard to find yourself when we are bombarded with so much beauty everyday! It is easy to get lost in the shuffle of photography trends and fads too. One of my favorite tricks for digging down to find someone's visual voice is to determine the primary energy level of their work. Do they prefer high energy or calm? Most people prefer one or the other. Here are some cues: HIGH ENERGY bright lights, bright or saturated colors, clashing colors, busy scenes, crowds, quick movement, direct eye contact with camera, light trails, motion blur, frozen motion, extreme emotions (from despair to bubbly joy), multiple subjects in the frame, multiple focal points that move the eye of the viewer around the frame, tight spaces, stormy weather, subjects very close to one another, etc. LOW ENERGY negative space, single subjects, muted colors, still subjects, monochrome settings, harmonious or analogous colors, quiet moments, contemplative subjects, no direct eye contact, camera as observer, stepped back, quiet, calm weather, etc. We can definitely do both as photographers, but which are you most drawn to? I am definitely a low energy shooter! It is hard for me to find high energy images anywhere in my portfolio. 😂 Here are a couple of examples from my own work: High energy: Low Energy: Share a picture below so we can together analyze the energy level in your work! Feel free to share up to three images in one post. 🙂 NOTE: There are photographers who comfortably bridge both, but analyzing your work for your PRIMARY energy level can help so much!

Emotion is so important! It transcends time and even talent sometimes. There are many 'perfect' photos, technically speaking, but they don't draw people in emotionally. We want to connect to images. There are two types of connection in photography....connection within the image and connection with the viewer. Even inanimate objects can have emotional impact! One of our biggest tasks as photographers is clarifying our message and conveying emotion. What feelings are you looking to share with the viewers of your images? That is a great place to start! My main objective with nearly all of my images is to convey peace. Once you know what goals you have, then you can work to integrate composition and style elements that buoy that objective.

What is your biggest frustration so far? You could share some of your images here. That will give us a better idea of what directions to offer. Please, share!

Yes, you need a selfie book! I love that you do this!

I adore this camera too! I call it my 'crafty camera' because I shoot little vignettes of life and make little paintings from the images. Do you know how to shoot in manual?

I really love night photography! I generally make night images in the winter and in snow.  I get bored in the winter and like to find trees that are backlit by street lights.

This is so amazing, Drew! I definitely have to try this!

...and these are wonderful, Brooke! The second one is a great example of a 'table top' flower. I love those kinds of flowers because the butterfly sits in a predictable way!

Hi! I have a small studio with a dark grey wall. I used Dutch Boy paint in the color Iron Chains to paint the way. It is dark, but not too dark. Black would be a black hole, but a deep gray lets me lighten it with my lights or darken it by keeping the light off of it.

Butterflies are genuinely hard! The thing that helps me the most is the shooting early in the morning. They often have a bit of dew on their wings and it takes them a bit to get going. That helps make it much easier to capture them! My second tip is to look for flowers that have either a flat top surface or are stick like---things like zinnias or liatris. The reason I like flat top flowers and spikey flowers is that they tend to sit on them in a way that makes them easier to capture. I have more trouble with flowers that fan out in all directions, which means I end up getting a wonky angle on the butterfly.

I completely agree! I got the 50 1.2 and thought I would use it frequently, but I had no idea it would literally never leave my camera! I adore it and use it everyday.

Thank you so much!

Aw! Thank you!

Thank you so much, Michaela!

I am a huge fan of intimate landscapes and the in-between moments. This is lovely and just what I would love to photograph!

These are STUNNING! Your style is so elegant!

In addition to the great advice above, I would suggest offering short and individual chats (15 minutes or so in private) with each participant. Just make sure they aren’t feeling overwhelmed, bored, lonely, confused…all the things. It helps to head off any issues that might be missed.

Kando is an amazing event where Sony ambassadors get to connect in real life. Tonight I got to hug this amazing friend again after three years! Love you, MeRa! Who did you connect with at Kando? Share your selfies below!

Me too! I'm excited to have this space!