2012 was oh-so GREAT !!

And that's all because of you!  Erin and I wanted to extend a heart felt Thank You to everyone out there that has supported us in our journey this year.  We have done more than I think either of us expected.  So whether we had the privilege to photograph your family or you have enjoyed reading our blog, we thank you!  We have big plans for 2013;  more workshops, equipment, experiments!  All things you can read about here.  :) 

Now to enjoy my final few pictures of 2012.  Enjoy!

 

 

What I will be enjoying over the next week!  Yum!

 

See you all in the New Year!  xoxo, Erin and Vicki

Love every day

Finishing this week's assignment has been a little challenging, not because we didn't have so many people and things that we love, but because we have been spending so much extra time loving on our little ones lately.  I have absolutely no words to express my sorrow for the loss of so many little, beautiful lives and equally no words to express my gratitude for all my many blessings.  So, instead of taking photographs for this assignment, I chose to spend my time looking through old photographs of all the little ones in my family.  I then decided it would be nice to put together a slide show of past Christmas pictures using one of my all time favorite Christmas songs.  I know that this song is a little obscure but hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.  Enjoy spending lots of time together this holiday season and we are going to take a little holiday break but look for us to resume the weekly photo challenge in January!

Here's a link to the video:

https://vimeo.com/55885664

Erin

Oh Pinterest, you make it look so easy....

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, then you have more than likely heard of a website called Pinterest.  And if not, here's a little intro.  It's a fabulous idea really.  A place where you can share recipes, fashion ideas, decorating ideas, how-to's, jokes, pictures, etc.  The list goes on and on and if you dare to explore you may just find yourself several hours later with a to-do list longer than imaginable.  As for me, I currently have 439 "pins".  Things that I saw online or from others on the site that I deemed worthy of saving.  Saving with the intention of trying.  I wouldn't necesarrily classify myself as a crafty person.  But my online profile certainly makes me appear that way.  So of these 439 pins I have probably tried a dozen or so.  Don't tell my husband this......he is under the impression that the mindless hours of web surfing are put in to use almost immediately.  :)  I'll get to most of them I'm sure, just not today.  lol 

So this week's challenge came from Pinterest.  If you've searched for anything holiday related chances are you have come across the "how-to photograph in front of your tree" pins.  There are several different versions and all claim to make your holidays photos POP!  So we've decided to put them to the test and see how these ideas work.  Here's how things turned out.....

 

Above Images by Erin

 

 

This is Happy Birthday season for my family so Christmas trees have not really been the focus of the majority of my attention. My husband and I decided when we got married that we would make sure to avoid December babies since both of us have December birthdays. Life has a sense of humor and two kids later, we all celebrate our birthdays during holiday season. My daughter was the only one who managed to swing a November birthday, but being the 29th it might as well be December! My son and I share a birthday and then my husband is just a few days before Christmas, whew!! Adding to that my niece was born a day before my son and I, and her father is a few days afterward (My head is spinning again just writing it all down :-). So we have been in full party mode around here and I realized on Saturday during my beautiful niece's birthday party that I had not taken the pictures for this post. Luckily for me, there happened to be a Christmas tree at the house so I took a couple of pictures that included the tree. Everyone just happened to put the gifts in the room with the tree so I grabbed the chance to photograph them. The other picture is of a precious little one at the party who kept climbing up and down these steps with the tree in the background...too cute!

 

Now, I know I was supposed to read up on how to photograph in front of the Christmas tree and I will be perfectly honest that I read nothing..epic fail on my part!! What I did for both of these pictures was simple put some space between my subject and the Christmas tree, set my camera on the lowest aperture (my lens was 2.8), back up on my subject and then use my lens to zoom in on my subject, then focus on my subject and click!

 

 

 

 

 

Above Images by Vicki 

So here is my take on this little experiment.  I tried it with and without flash.  My intentions were to get that glowing tree look.  No overhead lighting, just the warmth of the tree.  I knew this would be particularly tricky since that would require my subjects (a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old) to remain still.  Nearly impossible.  According to Pinterest I needed to have my ISO as high as possible, which for my camera is 3200.   Aperture at it's lowest, using my Tamron lens that is 2.8 and then shutter speed adjusted accordingly.  Keeping my camera set to Aperture priority, the shutter speed determined by my camera ended up at 1/5 a second.  Sounds fast, right?  Not nearly fast enough to stop a moving 2 year old.  So what resulted in my first 2 pictures is a little bit of grain and some slight blurring.  After about 50 shots, these first 2 are the only resulting usable images.  The last picture of the tiniest Hautop actually turned out quite sharp.  I asked him to pretend as if he were sleeping like Daddy.  Something he loves to imitate.  If this had been video imaging you would hear his funny impression of snoring.  But it kept him still long enough for me to snap one photo.  Looking at the pictures side-by-side you can tell what a difference a still subject makes. 

My final thoughts on this Pinterest project.  Sure, it can be done.  With the right equipment, and some understanding of the functions on your camera, you too can take amazing holiday photographs.  But don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen on the first try.  As with most things, it's not quite as easy as it looks!

Our assignment for next week is to photograph someone or something that we love this holiday season.  Should be fun! As always, let us know what you think!! We would love to hear your comments. Or send us you own holiday lights photos.   Email us at hautopblog@gmail.com! 

Please, don't say "Cheese"

You may have noticed that Take Two has taken two weeks off.   Our family beach trip produced (as you can image) hundreds of photos.  The Grandmothers just love having two camera-loving crazies in the family.  :)  And we are happy to oblige.  However, for us that means burning the candle at both ends to try and edit all of these lovely photos in time for their Christmas cards.  Not to mention the countless other sessions we are working on this holiday season.  Oh and don't forget our own cards....yeah! 

So you are probably wondering what has happened to our weekly creative posts.   Well, don't you worry they are still here!  This week after reflecting back on the trip we decided that our topic would be a product of our experience rather than a task.  Picture this, 8 children under the age of 7 yrs old and 14 adults tired of hearing the "1,2,3 smile!" routine.  How did we sustain photographing 5 days of a family vacation?  By capturing the anti-cheese moment.  And with that I give you this week's topic. 

We've all heard it entirely too many times. 
        "Say Cheese" 
        "look at the camera"
        " I'll give you a ___Insert your favorite snack___ if you smile!" 

This holiday season as we are gathered with family and friends we are taking a new approach!  Capture the fun and excitement, the laughter and details all as they happen.  Whether your subject is looking at you or not.  It's actually quite the challenge.  Here's a few snapshots from our first try at the "Anti-cheese movement"!

 

   

                  

It's back to business this week.  Our topic is one you've all probably seen on Pinterest.  How to take those pictures in front of your Christmas tree!  We are looking for that beautiful, out of focus, sparkle in the background.  What the pros call bokeh.  It's time to put those how-to's to test and see if these techniques really work!  Check back in next Monday to see how things turn out. 

Happy Holidays!