WE MOVED

This blog is full of lots of old fun entries, but I've moved.  Check me out at...

http://www.lovebugphotos.net

and on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/lovebugphotosbymaryhorne

:) 

My first senior session! (pic heavy)

A little background info:  Savannah (the gorgeous gal in the photos) is the daughter of my very favortie teacher's assistant ever.  Yes, I'm partial.  I adored her then and I adore her now.  I have met few people in my life with a heart as huge as hers.  When she asked me to do her daughter's senior portraits, I was over the moon excited!  I was even more thrilled after our shoots were over!  These images are some of my absolute favorites that I've taken to date.  I got to play around a lot with my camera and with the light (which was perfect both days!) and Savannah was oh-so-patient.  I couldn't have asked for a better subject.  She smiled easily and seemed so carefree.  I remember myself at that age, feeling so unsure of myself and awkward in my own skin.  If she felt that way, I certainly never saw it. 

The first photo session was down at Fort Fisher.  What an amazing location!  If someone knows of a place similar to this in Charleston, please do tell!  Love, love, LOVE this images...

 This is where I started to really enjoy the beautiful light...

 Savannah and her mom...

Their love for one another was so inspiring.  I can only hope to have such a wonderful relationship with my own daughters when they are this age.

Our second photo shoot was at the Carolina Beach boardwalk.  The color at this place is fabulous! 

Savannah and her dad...

So simple and sweet.  You can easily tell that these two adore eachother and it melts my heart. 

This session was awesome on so many levels...the people, the photos, the love...and I got to be a part of it!  Yay me!  :) 

A few tips for beginners

One of the best things about learning something new is getting to share that with other people.  Maybe it's just the teacher in me, but I adore it!  While it seems kind of odd to be giving tips, since I'm only a beginner myself, I thought it'd be fun.  Here goes...

* Natural light is almost always the best light (in my opinion).  If you can't get outside, shoot near a window. 

* If you are shooting outside, the best time would be early in the morning and late in the evening.  Bryan Peterson said it best in "Understanding Exposure" (buy this book!  it's fabulous!) when he said that 11am-3pm are poolside hours...meaning that if you have a pool, that's where you should be.  It's not a great time for photo ops.

* Play with your light...use it for front light, side light, or back light.

*Focus on your subject.  Get rid of background clutter and distracting items. 

*Don't be afraid to make mistakes.  Shoot away and LEARN from the bad ones...and then delete them!  No one has to see your photo failures. 

And as always, I'll save the best for last...

*READ YOUR MANUAL!!!  If you don't know how to use your camera, nothing is going to make you a better photographer. 

Oh, and just because I hate to post without a picture...

Here's a recent favorite from my very first senior session.  I'll be posting about it soon!!  :)

cameras and such

I can't tell you the number of times someone has seen a picture that I took and immediately said, "Wow, you must have a really nice camera!  What is it?".  Some people have a HUGE misconception that once you own an expensive camera, then you'll take beautiful photographs.  The truth is, you won't...at least not consistently.  My answer to the question above is this...I have a very basic DSLR - a Canon Rebel.  It is not considered a "professional" camera, but more of a hobbyist or beginner camera.  Sure, it was expensive, but it is not even comparable to my dream camera! 

I also have an 80 dollar Canon that I bought on sale at WalMart.  The pictures in this post are from my little camera.  While I'm not claiming to be an amazing photog, I adore these photos...just as much as those that I have taken with my DSLR. 

I am oh-so-tempted to go off on a tangent here and explain that cameras don't make photographs, people do.  If you'd like to read more about that topic, read here:  http://www.ourlittlethings.com/?p=2370  Natalie sums it up just right!  My husband would swear that I wrote that post  :) 

But my point of this post is not that....it's this:  YOU can take great pictures too!  You just can't expect the camera to do it for you.  You'll have to read and educate yourself, ask questions, experiment, and then do it all over again.  I still consider myself to be a beginner when it comes to photography.  I have learned SO much in the past few years, but I know I have so much more to learn.  One of the things I enjoy most about photography is that you never know it all.  You can always learn more, you can always grow, you can always adjust your style, you can always be better tomorrow than you are today. 

This topic is to be continued...but for now, enjoy some photos from my cheap camera!  :)

It's been some time

...since I've had a few quiet moments to update this blog.  Ah, the life of a stay-at-home-mom to three little ones, is certainly a busy one...but I can't imagine enjoying another job quite this much!  Oh sure, there are days when I simply can't wait until 7pm rolls arounds and the house is quiet for at least a few hours, but all in all, staying at home with my girls is the most amazing and rewarding job there is.  Plus, they get to be the center of all of my photography antics  :)  I've been really working hard the last few months in learning more about my camera, the post-editing, and even some website work (my next big goal).  Here is some of my recent work...

Mal Grace is up first.  I can't believe this little girl is already 3...and going on 13!  :)  It is SUPER hard to get any shots of her lately so I'm always thrilled when I get just a few!

And here's Madison, my almost 2 year old!!!  Yikes!  This kid is talking up a storm and her personality is hysterical!  She's also pretty non-stop action so getting photos of her isn't much easier!

And finally, Morgan.  She gets the most pictures because she sits still  :)  I forgot how fun it was to take photos of kids that couldn't run away!! 



Oh and just for fun, here are a few photos I took when we were on vacation in Beech Mountain.  They are all taken from the front porch of our little condo  :)