Lareina's Photography Blog

My new 30mm f1.4 lens...

2010-01-08T22:28:00.002-07:00

Well, I got a wonderful new lens and as such, I had to have a "playdate" with Jenn and her cuties to try it out! Here's the results!

Isaac even got one of me that I'm not scared to post! (And I got one of him being scared of me! hehehe)

April's Little Sweety

2009-12-20T01:08:00.003-07:00

Krista's Cutie

2009-12-20T01:08:00.001-07:00

Chantelle's Little Beauty

2009-12-20T01:07:00.003-07:00

Dana's Cute Little Guy and Gal

2009-12-20T01:07:00.001-07:00

My friend Lisa's Family...

2009-12-20T01:06:00.004-07:00

Michelle's Lovely Ladies

2009-12-20T01:06:00.003-07:00

My good friend Isabel's daughter's wedding...

2009-12-20T01:05:00.003-07:00

K's First Birthday

2009-12-20T01:05:00.001-07:00

Jade's New Little Guy

2009-12-20T01:04:00.001-07:00

My Magnificent Photographer Friends

2009-11-10T11:31:00.010-07:00

Okay, here are the long awaited pictures from our Photography weekend... I'm sorry they are so late but you probably all know that's me by now (hehehe)... I figured if I don't get them up here before my little man arrives, then it's going to be at least another month and then I'll really be in trouble! (hehehe)

First up is my ever so talented photography mentor, Hope - she has so many stories and so much knowledge to impart so for her the only word that would suit is "Wise"...

From Photography Retreat

Next up is Heather... to me she epitomizes the word "Bubbly" - she's always laughing and smiling - You could never tell that she was in excruciating pain all weekend because she just kept smiling and laughing along with the rest of us and I love that about her...

From Photography Retreat

Amber... the images that she got SOOC amazed me... I am soooo in awe and wish to be that creative someday... and so, the only word that fit was "Creative"...

From Photography Retreat

My friend Christine... all I can say is that she inspires me... the life that she has lived and how she has come out on top and worked so hard to get there keeps me going and helps me to remember that I can do it too... so to me, she is "Inspiring"...

From Photography Retreat

Amy... she always has this huge grin on her face and just makes me want to smile every time I see her... she is so upbeat and always on the go so for her, the word I chose was "Jubilant"...

From Photography Retreat

And last but not least, Lisa! We got to drive down to the retreat together and it was the MOST FUN I've had in a long time. We got lost... several times... but laughed all the way. For her, the word I thought of first was "Mom" and that encompasses so many things so I had to be more specific... She is such a dedicated and caring person. You can tell she really feels for you when you are talking to her and you KNOW that she cares... so for my beautiful blue eyed Lisa, your word is "Compassionate"...

From Photography Retreat

My best bud J's little fuss-fuss (and his cute sister S)!

2009-07-02T00:38:00.002-06:00

Y's New Little One

2009-07-02T00:38:00.001-06:00

K's Family

2009-06-10T15:53:00.002-06:00

A's Family

2009-06-10T15:53:00.001-06:00

My First Wedding

2009-06-04T00:14:00.004-06:00

I could not pay homage to my first wedding ever (with help from my wonderful assistant photographer, Christina) with just a few photos... so here's the slideshow...

Why I Relay...

2009-06-03T15:30:00.003-06:00

I had the privilege of attending the Relay for Life in Edmonton again this year as one of the official photographers for the Canadian Cancer Society. I started doing this last year with my friend, Hope, and every year, there is a beautiful sight to behold in the "Survivor Lap" that starts each relay and reminds me of why I'm there and why everyone else there is fighting for a cure for cancer. Here is this years winning moment for me:

This woman came around the track in the Survivor Lap and just in front of me around the track were her two daughters (I believe) waiting for her and cheering her on. She called them to come out and they walked hand in hand and I captured this beautiful photo of them. It was so wonderful to see this beautiful inspiring woman on the track and her children at her side, celebrating life and working for a cure together. I hope that they do find a cure in my lifetime, not only for my family, but for all the families out there so that we all can share a beautiful survivor moment like this one with our children someday.

All photos in this post are copyright of the Canadian Cancer Society.

My sis, Janice and her family

2009-05-27T09:17:00.001-06:00

Maternity Session with Y.

2009-03-31T16:21:00.002-06:00

My second indoor maternity session... went A LOT better with my spiffy new ladder!! YAY!

My first indoor maternity shoot!

2009-03-15T21:31:00.003-06:00

Hi all,

I had my first maternity shoot indoors and I was really able to play around a bit and try tons of different things. We had a blast! They were both really fun to work with and I think it went fairly well looking at the final result.

Marrah's First Snow Day at Grandpa's

2008-12-27T18:27:00.003-07:00

Hi all,

We went to see my Dad on for a few days and Marrah got her first real try at playing in the snow. She wasn't much into it but I'm sure it'll grow on her. Mike had her covered up in the sleigh so much so you could barely see her little eyeballs - but at least she was warm... hehehe! Hope you like 'em!

From Marrah's Snow Day at Grandpa's

C's Family - Dec 2008

2008-12-18T20:43:00.001-07:00

This is my friend's little girl... the same one that was trying to eat my camera about 6 months ago... she's such a cutie.

E's Family

2008-12-16T12:42:00.001-07:00

My friend C's super cutie-pie!

2008-12-07T23:11:00.003-07:00

One of this weekend's photography sessions with a super cutie-pie!

N. and Little N.

2008-11-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

T's Family

2008-11-23T00:00:00.001-07:00

L's Family

2008-11-16T21:36:00.001-07:00

K's Newborn Photos

2008-11-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the slideshow of my first newborn shoot!!

Yet more new stuff...

2008-11-13T18:08:00.001-07:00

More new stuff...

2008-11-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

My most recent stuff...

2008-11-13T12:48:00.002-07:00

I have had a million things going on the past few months - going back to work, getting Marrah ready for going to the dayhome, my husband's granny passed away, and life has just been crazy. So finally here are some of my shoots...

More to come soon!

I have a website!!!

2008-08-31T23:02:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone,

For the past few days I have been solely working on getting my website up and running and it is done!! I am so excited to show it to you all. It took a LOT of work but it was all worth it!

Check it out: http://unforgettableimages.ca

YAY!

Some long awaited photos - Session 1 - D, M and baby M

2008-08-25T23:45:00.003-06:00

As promised, here are some of my favourite pictures from a recent shoot (still 3 more to edit!!) and a link to the album... I got to use my bucket and my basket (although the sweet little gal was almost too big for the basket)... let me know what you think!

View Album

Get your own

Okay... my trip to Calgary was busy!

2008-08-25T08:25:00.001-06:00

Hi all,

I know, I know... you're waiting for new pictures... BUT I was busy, busy, busy while we were in Calgary and got NO time to edit any pictures... then, Marrah got sick on Monday last week with Roseola and was a bear all week with a high fever and only wanting to cuddle with Mommy all day so I got none done last week either. I will be working on them this week (on my fancy new computer - YAY!) and will have some posted ASAP!

TTFN.

Wow, I've been busy!

2008-08-10T20:36:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone,

I have been a busy bee the past 2 weeks... I've had 3 photo shoots and 1 personal shoot over the past little bit and have TONS of editing to do!! EEK! I'm heading to Calgary WITH my laptop so hopefully I'll get some done while Marrah is napping. I'll post some as soon as I get a set done! Can't wait to show you guys! I think I got some really great shots to share!

Lareina

My first maternity session with a beautiful Mother-to-be

2008-08-03T20:47:00.005-06:00

As promised, here are beautiful mother-to-be B. and her husband D.'s photographs just before the birth of their first child. Here are a few of my favourites from our session. A slideshow (and link to the album) of the rest of the photos is at the bottom.

My first Maternity Shoot!!

2008-07-21T16:59:00.003-06:00

Hi all,

Well, I had my first maternity shoot yesterday and it went great. It was a hot day so that made it a little more challenging but I think I got some great shots of the mommy and daddy-to-be. I will try to post a few "sneak peeks" soon (I promise)!

Now I wish I had a studio so I could do some cute bare belly shots but the park with all the people around was not conducive to that. I think that will be my goal for this winter... by the time, the snow flies, I want to have some backdrops and a couple strobes... we will see!

Exciting news!!!

2008-07-15T22:51:00.002-06:00

Okay, I have to share my exciting news... not necessarily photography related but I GOT FLOOR SEATS, ROW 4 FOR DAVID COPPERFIELD ON OCTOBER 30TH!!! ROW 4!!! ROW 4!!! DID YA GET THAT?? ROW 4!!!

I've seen him before at the Jubilee but I was in the nosebleeds and could hardly see anything... it was good but I always said if I ever went back I'd want to be on the same floor as the stage at least... and now I will be! YAY! I have watched his shows since I was a little kid on TV and think it's very cool. So I'm excited (if ya couldn't tell)!

Also, another exciting tidbit is that Rebecca was kind enough to share a few of her portfolio shoots with me since her baby is coming soon and I have the possibility of 4 sessions in the near future, one being a maternity shoot! I'm sooo excited and very nervous all at the same time! It's going to be for people I don't know so that makes me nervous... All the sessions so far have been for friends and family so at least if I totally screwed it up, they wouldn't be too hard on me... They are free sessions so it's not like they can be too picky but I hope I do a good job for them! Thanks again Rebecca for the referrals!!

Hope to have some new pictures for you soon!

And the winner is...

2008-07-02T21:23:00.005-06:00

I know most people liked Scriptina and I like it but since everyone else seems to use it too and I am sooo not a follower... I picked another one that really called to me... and here it is!

(And a big thanks to Jenn for capturing my Marrah's first time on a swing, on my camera, when she wouldn't let anyone but mommy give her a little push!)

And here's a couple of my favourites from my sister's family portraits...

Okay, now that you have all voted on my other choices...

2008-06-26T15:56:00.012-06:00

Hello everyone,

I have now found several other fonts that I like too... arrgghhh.... so please tell me what you think... I still really like the Scriptina but EVERYONE seems to use it... Please vote for your favourite(s) in the poll to the right. Thanks again!!

Font: Becks

Font: Pops2

Font: Scriptina

Font: SP Inspired

Font: TXT Delicate Script

Font: TXT Sloppy Script

Watermark anyone?

2008-06-19T14:00:00.006-06:00

Hello everyone,

So I have decided on my business name - Unforgettable Images!! I like it a lot and can't get it out of my brain so I figure that's a good thing. Now that I've decided my name, I'm trying to decide on a watermark... there are two fonts I really like but I'm not sure which I like better so I need your input...

Watermark 1

Watermark 2 ("Images" off-center)

Watermark 3

Watermark 4 ("Images" off-center)

So take your pick and let me know... Also, check out my most recent photoshoot at my new blog: http://unforgettable-images.blogspot.com and let me know what you think!

Lareina

Ok... how about "Unforgettable Images"??

2008-05-19T08:40:00.003-06:00

With Hope's suggestions, I kept thinking and came up with "Unforgettable Images"? What does everyone think? It's short but sweet and then I could use "You're Gonna Miss This" as my catch phrase.

And does anyone have suggestions for registering a domain name? If I finally get a name picked out. I'd love to get a web address registered for it if it's still available out there.

You're Gonna Miss This Photography

2008-05-12T23:09:00.006-06:00

Okay, after I finished task #1 today I started thinking about what I'd like my business to be called and I came up with "You're Gonna Miss This Photography"... so far it's just an idea but tell me what you think. I was reading on another site someone that was trying to think of a name for her photography business and someone suggested using song lyrics...

The song "You're Gonna Miss This" popped into my head at exactly that moment. I love that song and the emotion it makes me feel whenever I hear it... I really do take pictures so that when I'm missing the things that happened in my past, I can take a look at the pictures and still feel that connection to it. So what do you think? Is it too long of a name? Is it too different? Does it sound funny if you don't know the connection to the song? Give me your honest opinion. I'm not totally set on it yet but I do really like it.

Here's the song if you've never heard it. It's absolutely beautiful.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Why I take pictures...

2008-05-12T21:12:00.003-06:00

Task #1. I want you to think really really hard about why you want to take pictures. I want you to write down in point form on a piece of paper all the reasons photography appeals to you. You aren't being judged or marked on this, and you don't even have to share your list if you don't want. Dream big, be brutally honest with yourself about what you consider the benefits of taking pictures are; whatever it is, write it down.

I love being able to look at a picture and remember the feelings and memories of that time in my life.
Capturing a special moment.
Getting to see my baby growing and going through all of life's beautiful ages and stages.
The feeling of awe when something turns out just right.
Doesn't take a lot of time. I could never sit down and paint or draw or anything like that (even though I've tried) because I just don't have the patience.
I can take 30 pictures at a time and I know that one of them will turn out beautiful. If you wreck a painting, you have to start all over from scratch and it takes a lot of time to get back to the point you were at when everything went wrong.
People amaze me... I love capturing their expressions and emotions.
Babies... Babies... Babies... I'm a baby stealer and have been since I was small. With photography, I get to play with babies and don't have to worry that their parents will think I'm weird for wanting to.

Do you plan to make an income from it and have it as your new career?

I would love to make an income from it but I don't ever want to price myself out of the family market. I know some people can afford a bazillion bucks for the perfect photo shoot but I know how I felt when I thought I couldn't afford to capture those beautiful first weeks of my babies life.

I was so jealous of everyone else's pictures and thought there was no way I could afford having such beautiful moments captured without going broke and then I found Tasha. She took beautiful pictures of my baby and our family when she was 6 weeks old. Marrah was crying the entire time and I thought there was no way we would get anything good but Tasha got beautiful pictures anyways. I want to be there and do that for another family who thought they couldn't afford something so beautiful.

Do you plan to enter contests so that you are internationally recognized?

I don't know if I ever will enter contests... it would have to be an amazing picture before I would feel confident enough to even send it in.

Are you wanting to be a boutique photographer or do you think you see yourself as more the studio type?

Probably more of a boutique photographer. I think at some point, I'll invest in some good lighting and some backdrops just for variety's sake but not yet.

If you become wildly successful as a photographer, what will that look like for you - a studio, professional designations, and $berzillion gigabuck workshops?

A billion beautiful pictures of beautiful children... other than that, everything else would icing on the cake.

Are you planning to photograph people or things?

Mostly people. I think photographing things would just be spur of the moment as the mood arises thing for me.

Do you fantasize about a small home-based business with just enough income to stabilize your income or offset your mortgage or maybe even just a humble hobby that pays for itself?

I would love my photography to at least pay for Marrah's daycare so I can work part-time comfortably and have time for my daughter as well. For now, just having a hobby that pays for itself would be great since I've made no money so far... hehehe.

You would be wise to explore the photography of others already established in the industry - who inspires you?

I love Anne Geddes! Even though they are not candid's in the slightest, I love the idea of such adorable ideas for different ways to see a baby. I think eventually I'll have a whole room full of different cutesie things for the babies and kids to play with just to make things more interesting.

What is it about those pictures that you admire? Are they technically perfect? Are they effective at drawing an emotional response? Are they breathtaking or mind-boggling? Are they seriously fun? Funny?

Other than that there are babies in them, I don't know what exactly it is that I admire. I love that they are all different and there are so many interesting things to look at in them. I love that all these neat ideas are out there for me to look at and get ideas from. I read her biography and why she does what she does and it inspired me. I love the images of the mothers and their newborn babies and how they look almost a part of them. I love the colours she uses and the emotions they evoke in people that see them.

After all is said and done, you should be able to answer this question for yourself: WHY do you want to take pictures?

I guess I want to take pictures because I want to experience all the emotions life has to offer. I want to meet families and see their children grow from teeny, tiny babies to wonderful little people to adulthood with children of their own. I want to capture moments that take my breath away. I want to capture those special moments in my own children's lives. I want those memories to look back at when I'm old and gray and to say that I did something important in more lives than my own.

My poor baby has a cold...

2008-05-08T20:46:00.003-06:00

Well, so much for my picture a day idea... my daughter has a horrible terrible cold and/or is teething (don't know whether one created the other or not) so she hasn't let me put her down for more than 5 minutes at a time if that. My dishes are overflowing out of my sink. She won't eat anything except Baby Mum Mums and wants to drink pretty much 24/7 so mommy is a very tired lady...

I have a headache to top it all of since I haven't drank enough water today and haven't eaten anything good for me since I can't set her down to make something... Thank goodness, my dh went and bought A & W on the way home or I'd still be starving.

Marrah in her jumperoo when she thought I was coming to pick her up:

And about 2 seconds later when she realized I was taking her picture instead... poor grumpy-puss...

Our Event didn't quite work out...

2008-05-07T23:52:00.003-06:00

Well, my "Event" didn't really work out the way I planned it... everything was just too rushed and then I was worried about taking my camera with me on the run since I forgot it's case... so I got a few good ones but nothing spectacular but here they are since I promised I'd post em...

Okay, I'm going to try to post more...

2008-05-04T22:56:00.005-06:00

I know I've been pretty lax on my posting so I promise to try to post more... I just have a hard time finding time to sit here and go through my pictures and find something I deem worthy of posting (I'm very critical of myself)... I got Cara's family done because she needed them right away for a Mother's Day present for her family but everything else takes a back seat lately...

I'm going to try to do my "event" tomorrow with Marrah since we are starting jogging with our friends tomorrow and it'll be the first time we have done it together so it'll be a good thing to document for her baby book too (I get two birds with one stone...) to show her that we didn't stay inside the house for the whole first year of her life!

AND I'm going to go out sometime this week and buy myself a good card reader for my computer since I hate searching out the plug in for my camera and then precariously balancing my camera on the couch arm (my laptop's home is on my end table) while it transfers all the pictures and defending it against my DD's curious hands... Hopefully, this way, I will be able to try another suggestion that was mentioned in class and to post a picture a day... we will see if I can keep it up! Wish me luck!

P.S. Here's a few pictures you may not have seen yet (bad flash shadow, I know, but she's too cute in these not to share)...

My latest photo shoot...

2008-04-29T21:14:00.006-06:00

My friend Cara gave me the opportunity to take pictures of her family and here are the shots... It was a blast! Delia was chasing me around on the floor while I was taking pictures of her so we had a good giggle at that and got some really cute shots of her... This is her "I'm gonna eat your camera" shot. She is such a cutie-patootie!

Here are a few others and the link to the album.

What I did on a snowy Saturday...

2008-04-05T19:50:00.007-06:00

Well, here's what I did on a snowy Saturday in Fort Saskatchewan... I played with my new sewing machine and here is what I made...

And this is Marrah telling Mommy how much she likes her new poncho...

My first official photo shoot...

2008-03-23T21:03:00.005-06:00

My friend Kathy was kind enough to let me take pictures of her and her little girl this week. They turned out excellent and I learned many, many things from taking their pictures.

It's amazing how all of Hope's lessons come flooding back when you start actually taking pictures of people and realize what you're doing wrong! hehehe... It was a great day though and I'm glad they let me get some experience with them. Take a look and tell me what you think!

My little girl Marrah's TV Debut

2008-03-15T17:19:00.004-06:00

Here is the long awaited footage of my baby girl and her very first TV appearance. Enjoy!

Our first field trip - the Muttart Conservatory

2008-02-24T20:01:00.013-07:00

Well, we had our first field trip today and it went pretty good. The Muttart was excellent for taking pictures in and I got some great shots so I thought I should post a few here... so here goes...

I think this next one could have used a larger depth of field so I could've gotten Marrah's cousin, Mackenzie more in focus but nothing I can do about it now... it's still one of my favourite shots though...

For some reason, I'm not able to post more pictures... I will have to investigate to find out why and then I'll get around to posting some more...

Update: Here's a link to my shots from today... still not sure why I can't add more pics but I uploaded most of them so take a peek... (Can you guess who my favourite subject is??)

What Marrah did while I took pictures...

2008-01-23T15:24:00.002-07:00

And I totally forgot to add one of my little gal, Marrah, and what she was doing while Mommy was so diligently doing her homework... hehehe... so here she is...

Task 2

2008-01-23T14:34:00.001-07:00

This one turned out pretty good... interesting to look at anyways... I didn't get a chance to do the Bokeh twist but maybe next time I'm out for a walk with a napping baby...

Disable your flash, set your camera to MF, AV f3.5, ISO200. Find a long edge - your table, a countertop, the fence in your backyard, a bannister, a windowsill. Standing in the same spot at one end, manually focus so that you have 3 images with distinctly different focal points along that straight edge. If you're feeling adventurous and want to take your shooting to the street, this would be a really fun one to do in a grocery store in the soup aisle or in the library along the bookshelves! If you really want to challenge yourself, find a table or countertop that has a distinct end - something about 6-8 feet long. Try adjusting your aperture so that the entire length of the edge is in focus, but drops off suddenly at the end so everything beyond he table fades off into Bokeh oblivion...

Task 1

2008-01-23T14:10:00.002-07:00

Okay, here we go... baby is sleeping (yay!) so Mom has time to post her results from her DLS Exercises:

For task 1: I used baby toys in my kitchen simply because that was the most readily available item and a tidy enough area to set them up in - not necessarily pleasing to the eye but it works... Had to use a tripod to deal with camera shake but it seemed to help and I didn't have to up my ISO. The pictures aren't perfect but they are done...

TASK 1

Find a nice bright spot to take a picture - a kitchen, bedroom, or living room floor with lots of natural light would be ideal, or this could be done outside. Set up a series of 7 similar or identical items in a row, each about 12 - 18" apart from each other. Be as creative as you like - they could be anything from beer bottles to baby bottles, Hotwheels, Barbie shoes. You could make a train of some sort with your kids. You could put pinecones on the snow. You could ask 7 friends to stand in a row. Really, the sky is the limit...

Disable your flash, set your camera to MF, AV f3.5, ISO 200. (Remember, your zoom may need to be at the widest angle to get to f3.5!) Standing at one end of the row, focus on the object closest to you. Take one picture. Note how many of the objects are in focus at f3.5, and adjust your aperture one f-stop at a time until ALL the objects are in focus, WITHOUT readjusting your focus. How many f-stops did it take you? Note the light and what the camera set your shutter speeds at - did you have to deal with camera shake at all? If you had trouble getting pictures with higher f-stops, what would your options be for increasing the shutter speed without altering the depth of field? Hint - law of reciprocity only has 3 parts: light intensity (aperture) sensitivity (film speed) and duration (shutter speed).

My favourite photos from my last photography lesson...

2008-01-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Thought I would post a few of the photos I had taken at my last photography lesson... so here... have a peek!

P.S. Hope, I am still trying to work on the exercises... but fussy babies make homework difficult! ARRGGHHH! (hehehe)

My first post...

2008-01-16T19:09:00.001-07:00

Hello all,

Well here is my first official post. I am taking photography courses and our instructor encouraged us to start a blog to showcase our pictures and how things are going so i thought "why not?" and here it is.

Feel free to take a look at my pictures and critique them. I'm still learning so they are not going to be perfect but I can always use some constructive criticism. I've added a couple pics that I have taken of my DD and DH that I like... DD is getting tired of me taking pictures of her but now that I've turned off the AF flash, she's a little happier! (Thanks Hope!)