Critiquing Photograph's from 2012/2013

This week I decided to take a look back at some of the photograph's I took when I was first starting out and give them a bit of a critique. I chose seven of the ones I felt I could have improved best from the 2012/2013 years.

This photograph was taken of Brady at one of the walking trails in Washington. In this one I don't really care for the background and I also don't like the floating leash. Obviously on a trail it would be risky to take his leash off, but if I could have somehow strategically hidden it or edited it out that would have been better. I also don't like how he's not looking at the camera. 

This was taken of Emily at our house in Washington. I remember being so in love with this shot but now I look at it and am questioning why. I was trying to get a cool hair flip shot, but most of her hair isn't even in frame. I also don't like the way I over edited this shot. 

 This was taken of my mom and Brady at Peace Arch Park in Washington. I don't like how far back this shot was taken. I could have fixed this by moving in closer so that we could at least see their faces. I also wish I had moved a bit to the left so that the road wasn't in the shot. Lastly, again with the over editing. Clearly I had a heavy edit finger!

 This one was taken of Ashton and Elliott during his proposal to her in 2013. I did not capture the special moment very well and this is still one of my biggest photography flops in my opinion. I should have moved to the other side so I could have captured it better but everything happened so fast and it was my first time doing a proposal shoot so I wasn't really sure what to expect and how to capture the special moment without ruining the surprise.

 This was taken of Emily again at our house in Washington. This one could use A LOT of improvement. For one, the area around her eyes is way too dark. I don't remember if that has to do with the way I edited it or what but the eyes should alway be noticeable. Not being able to see her eyes makes the photograph look creepy, which was not the intention with this piece.

 This one was taken in 2013 at my Great Grandma's old house in New York. In this one I probably would have omitted the filter I chose. It's not bad but it isn't my preferred style anymore. I also would have just gotten rid of the mirror because it isn't adding anything to the image. I probably would have changed the background as well. It isn't a bad shot, I just would have done it a bit differently now.

Lastly, this one was taken of my cousin Maddie during her cake smash birthday party at my Nana and   Papa's old house in New York. This one again, I would omit the editing. I would also back up a bit so that her head wasn't getting partially cut out of the photograph. Also, I would have made sure she was looking at the camera before taking the shot. 

Valentine's Shoot 2019 - Brady

This year I decided to shoot some Valentine's pictures of my lovely dog, Brady. He had just gotten a fresh haircut a few days prior, so I figured it would be the perfect time to shoot (before he got dirty or messed up his hair). I set him up in a basket filled with blankets downstairs because the lighting was perfectly bright down there at the time I was shooting. For props I decided to use some balloons, pink and red cardboard hearts, a cardboard mailbox, a heart shaped chalkboard, an old teddy bear,  and a Valentine's handkerchief that Brady's groomer gave him. I also had shot some photographs with a heart lamp and a heart pillow, but those didn't make the final cut. Without further ado, here are (in my opinion) the best photographs I've taken of him to date -

In order to get him to sit still for an extended amount of time, I offered him a treat after every pose/prop change. I also let him rest in between shots and when he was ready to stop I didn't push him for more. Pet photography is all about reading the signs they give you and making sure to follow them!

My First NSFW Shoot

This week I decided to try something different and shoot my first set of NSFW portraits. Going into this shoot and knowing I was going to be posting them, I felt a bit nervous about the reaction to them.  Looking at them though, I am realizing that they aren't even that "inappropriate". It's no different than what we see in magazines and in the media. I love these shots and feel that they are so empowering. I had Emily dress in a pair of loose ripped jeans, a bralette, and a flannel. I also had her curl her hair, and we decided to shoot these in black and white to give them a timeless look.

I think these shots are gorgeous and love the casual look of them!