2¢

Every artist has a shadow and I know that imitation is a form of flattery. But, unfortunately, my shadow has completely made me reconsider mentoring grown-ups stuck in an office job hoping to become a kids photographer. This "artist" has copied my work, my locations and even my language. My entire brand that I worked tirelessly on for years. I know it's part of the digital age — it's just so easy to copy instead of creating your own art and building your own vision. The latter is harder and takes time. 
    
I hope that this person finds their own voice and grows into their own comfortable skin. It's the journey that is part of the art — not just the final photograph. It's knowing you evolved in to that creative body. That's my two cents.
    
I will continue to mentor young artists. That will never change. I am working with one child right now that will be having her own show in her living room/gallery. She's working toward ten photographs before school starts. She's a remarkable young photographer and I'll post about her amazing summer journey soon! She's more dedicated than anyone I know!!

    
[  Click here to read the artist Marina Abramovic's Manifesto. ] 

2¢

Well I'm going out on a limb with this one, I thought everyone already knew this, but when you're shooting young kids please make sure there are no naked grown men frollicing nearby. 
   
For the full article, follow this link to Gawker.com. 
   

(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

Make sure the models you're shooting or are about to shoot have had a nap because being photographed is hard work. Especially when you're two. 
   
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)
   

Photographers on Photography Interview

Alison McCreery of Photographers on Photography interviewed me recently.

 POP: Why did you decide to focus on kids? KL: Grown ups don’t like me. Well, that’s not entirely true, a couple do—my parents, and I'm not 100% sure of that even—but I’m okay with that. First of all, kids are way more fun than grown-ups. When was the last time an adult stopped playing with a toy to pick their nose right out in the open or when have you ever made a grown-up so happy they literally started jumping right in front of you? 

  

Click here to read the entire interview on POP. Be warned—you may feel like flying a kite afterward or giving someone you love a noogie. 

  

2¢

When shooting kids, always have a back-up plan and then have a back-up plan to that back-up plan. Kids are unpredictable and moody. Rarely will they go for your first idea. So start off with your second idea then go back to the first so your second is really your first. Know what I mean? 
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. click on "two cents" in the "go directly to" bar to the right to view more)

2¢

So... before you order 2000 promos, think about the cost to mail those 2000 promos. Uh, I forgot about that part. Let's do the math — 2000 x 44 = no, not 2 cents, it's $880.


(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)
  

2¢

If you're a professional photographer and your website has more words on it than photos—either change your site or change your career. (I was an art director for 10 years so I'm a Know-it-all, I mean, I feel I can post about this sort of thing. My blood will always be one-part art director.)   
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo-ad industry tips. enjoy!)

2¢

As an art director, I loved when a photographer inspired me with their promotional pieces not just harassed me. Those are the pieces that stayed clear of the trash bin. And they don't have to be fancy, just interesting. So my two cents, don't just send a pretty photograph—send an idea, send a piece of yourself with your work. (A piece of your mind, you big silly, not an arm or a toenail. Most people won't like that.)  
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo-ad industry tips. enjoy!)

2¢

Stand out in a crowd—brand yourself, not just your photography. You're a whole package, corny as that sounds. Your business cards, your promos, your website, your blog, and your book should all be in sync. Not all creative directors/art buyers/etc. notice but the good ones do. 
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

Shoot all the time. Shoot whenever and whatever you can. Now I'm not saying shoot in every style. Shoot in your own style, have your own voice, but shoot all the time. You'd be surprised at how much you can grow in a very short time. I set up test shoots for myself all the time just to keep myself sharp and active. 

(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

I think it's great if you've got a blog. For me, I'm able to sort through my thoughts and ideas and remain focused, kind of out loud though (good for me, bad for you). So if you have a blog, have fun with it, but make sure to set email posts to never publish emails immediately. It's not a pretty thing when the specified email address you're using is swiped. Your blog will then be attacked by spammers, like mine this week. Sorry folks, all fixed! (I'm sure none of you need viagra or coreldraw, at least not at the same time anyway.) 

2¢

If you want to be a great kids shooter, then I highly recommend popping out a couple kids of your own. Really. Kids change how you see the entire world and they will inspire every step into it. My work has grown into a completely different animal in the past couple years, an animal I feel totally in sync with. And I've never been so connected to my work and so focused.    
 
(and if you don't have kids or aren't planning on having any then steal your friends' — the more kids you spend your free time with the better the kids photographer you'll be)
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

It's one thing to be inspired by a fellow photographer or artist's work, another to copy those ideas. Why not let their work inspire you to delve deeper into your creative soul and motivate you to produce something better? But not the same, it's just bad business. That's my two cents.    
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

Photograph personality not just pretty faces. Cast accordingly.

2¢

If you're a photographer pulling together a website or portfolio, please hire a pair of eyes other than your own to edit your work. Editing for my new site is proving to be a huge challenge and I'm my worst enemy. The art director in me is fighting with the photographer in me and neither one is winning. (They've gotten along so well in the past.) So if you have a designer, art director or art buyer as a friend then ask for help otherwise you could be editing for months and months and months... (well, I have lots of all three so maybe it's best not to take my 2 cents, disregard everything I've said and navigate away from this blog as fast as you can)


I like these shots, but do I love them? Are they website-worthy? Are they too cute, not funny enough, not interesting enough? The light's nice but the content is mediocre? Have you seen them before? At this rate, I'll have a new website in 2012 and there will be two photos on it.  
     

2¢ (my photo tips)

However you're shooting, do the opposite. So if you're shooting a person from above, do that, but then shoot them from below too. If you're shooting a person with light on their face, then shoot them with light from behind as well. And if you're shooting a sunset, turn around and shoot the opposite side of the sky. Sometimes you can totally miss the shot if you don't look at your subject 2 different ways. And I usually get nice photographs when I do what comes natural, but I get great photographs when I do the exact opposite.

  

(the on-going 2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

Every serious photographer can benefit from a design class. It makes a huge difference in your work, trust me. You will begin to use your frame differently, see shapes instead of objects, understand light better. You will compose a shot, not just take a picture. Right now, as I'm editing for my new site, I have some really nice shots — great light, great model — unfortunately the composition is weak so I can't use those shots. Well, I could, but I won't. 
 
A basic design class, one semester, at any art school. Just my two cents.
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢

So if a picture's worth a thousand words, why are so many photographers' blogs filled with words and not pictures? At least for me (the art director side of me), when I stop on a photographer's blog, it's to see photos. My two cents, stop writing and start shooting. Stay focused (pardon the pun).
 
(with the exception of rodney smith. he can write as much as he wants. if you're as great a photographer as he is, then you can write as much as you want too.)

2¢

One of my photography teachers told me that if you get one good shot out of a roll of film, then it was a good day shooting. This has stuck with me over the years. So for every 30 digital captures, not all will be good, maybe not even one will be good. And not all should be good. (If you think you have 20 great shots on one roll, definitely look again.) So, my point I guess, take more than one shot, especially when shooting kids. Kids move alot, they move quickly, they blink, they grimace, they talk, they talk, they talk. It's impossible to get that one special photograph if you only give yourself one try.

(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

2¢ (my photo tips)

(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

Never leave home without your camera bag if you're serious about shooting. Never, never, never. You will always miss the shot of your life if you leave home without your camera. Also, it comes in handy for snapping shots of places you may want to remember for future shoots. If I see a specific place, with special light, at a certain time of day, season, etc. I grab a quick shot so I'll know when and where to return to for a real shoot. And I keep a "scouting" folder on my computer to reference these places later. (Yeah, I'm a little crazy. Drive my husband nuts.)