Shutter Sisters

landmark

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Every city has its share of important landmarks, but certain iconic spots seem to be more photogenic than others. This is certainly true about the “passageway” in downtown Omaha’s old market district. It’s a must-see for anyone, but especially magical for photographers. I’ve been there countless times and still find myself reaching for my camera. Tourists love the passageway for it’s shops and restaurants, but photographers are drawn in to the combination of rough brick, luscious greenery and twinkling lights paired with the daylight flooding down from the skylights. With surroundings this beautiful, a photographer can’t go wrong. So if you’re ever in Nebraska, the Old Market passageway would be one of my top photo-worthy recommendations.

Do you find your camera drawn to certain landmarks in your city? Give us your recommendations so we can take advantage on our next road trip.

sun soaked

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Every sunny moment is a gift these days, and we’re all soaking up the rays when possible. My cat Roxy especially loves snuggling up in a sun-drenched spot and sleeping the day away. And I have to admit that a bright, sunny day inspires me to pick up my camera and start using all the natural light to my advantage. It’s refreshing to set the ISO a bit lower and up the shutter speed without worrying about exposure issues. I’m hoping to continue to utilize these rare sunny days to keep my camera warmed up until spring returns.

Are you focusing on sunny spots too? Share them with us and brighten our day!

extra light

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I am keenly aware that the days are getting longer now and each extra moment of sunlight in the evening matters to me. But in case I forget to take note of the extra light, mother nature has been reminding me with beautiful sunsets this week. Now that we’ve gotten over the hump and are moving into a new year, I feel like I can start the count down to spring (nothing against you winter, but I am not a big fan of yours). I’m getting my hopes up that warmer days are just around the corner. A girl can dream.

What’s bringing you hope right now? Share your images with us.

‘Twas the night before Christmas

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Christmas Eve is magical, and I am looking forward to this time next year. At that point my husband and I will be sharing the holiday with our new child and developing traditions for our family. We each have wonderful Christmas memories from our childhood and will truly enjoy passing that on to our little one.

What are some Christmas Eve traditions you grew up with or have since started with your family?

bundle

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Photographing newborns is one of the best things about my job. I absolutely adore babies and always get excited when I hear from an expectant parent asking me to capture their little ones’ first moments. The sessions themselves are hard work and I rarely even have time to hold the babies as much as I would like. But I get just as much satisfaction out of editing the photos later and ‘ooohing’ and ‘aaahing’ over the tiny toes and sweet little faces.

The last newborn session was even more special than usual because now I am expecting my own little bundle of joy. Being around such a brand new baby really made me realize how soon I will become a mother.

Since I was 4 years old I have known one thing for certain: someday I will be a mommy and have a babies of my own. I spent the majority of my childhood taking care of Cabbage Patch Dolls and babysitting neighborhood kids, dreaming about my future family. But at the time, I didn’t know that reaching those dreams would be more difficult than expected. Like so many other couples, my husband and I struggled through years of infertility, heartbreak and disappointment. And even when we finally got the good news that we were expecting, it took some time before we felt confident enough to celebrate. By now though, enough time has passed and we are overjoyed to meet our baby this spring.

Being pregnant and becoming a mother will undoubtedly give me a new perspective when it comes to photographing babies in the future because I will know first-hand how important those moments truly are to a parent.

Today, please share your own photos of babies so we can all ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ together.

Familiar

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I love meeting new families and creating beautiful, lasting images of their children. My goal is always to try to capture their true personality, but it can be difficult. Depending on the child, meeting a new person can be intimidating, not to mention a person with a big black camera pointed in their direction. I try to remind myself to slow down and relax, so the kids (and parents) can come out of their shell a bit. And at the end of the day, I hope I did a good job.

As I edit the photos, I am aware of certain expressions and faces that I love. But sometimes I wonder if they are typical for that child. Having only known the child for an hour, how can I be sure that I captured the personality that mom and dad know and love? I did my best.

Recently I was able to do a full photo session with the son of our dear friends. Even though they live in another state, we manage to get together three to four times a year. I have gotten to know their little boy since he was just a few days old and love to snap a few pictures of him every time I see him. So it was refreshing to go back reflect on these latest photos and know that his real personality shines through.

switching it up

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Every year, like many photographers, my fall schedule fills up with family sessions. It’s always fun to meet new families and visit with past clients. For the parents, the main goal is usually to get the holiday card photo and I’m happy to be able to provide that classic family portrait because I love them too! But sometimes I need to remind myself to keep the creativity flowing or I’ll find myself in a rut.

I enjoy my job and it’s important for me to continue to have fun with it. So I find it necessary to give myself permission to find those different angles and interesting perspectives. It’s okay if the family isn’t always looking at the camera or smiling. And it’s okay to play with images that are more expressive and less posed.

Today, show us your most recent expressive photo, whatever that means in your world.

2011 photo calendar templates

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Sharing these photo calendar templates has become a yearly tradition at Shutter Sisters. They are a great way to use your own photos to create a custom gift for the holidays. The calendars are compact, cute, and something you can easily print and assemble at home.

Click here to download the zipped Photoshop files.

The files include basic instructions for creating your custom calendar pages in Photoshop. Then just print them on some photo paper or cardstock and cut them out.

These templates are sized to fit in a cd jewel case, but they can also be fastened together with a binder clip and hung on the wall (see photo below). If you choose to use a cd jewel case, you’ll just need to carefully take apart the case and put it back together so that it stands up like the photo above.

I hope you enjoy creating your own photo calendar! Your friends and family will be thrilled to see something custom and handmade everyday. There’s nothing better than a gift made with love.

horizon: a bel kai necklace for the capture collection (giveaway!)

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Living in the Midwest has provided me with a lifetime of different seasons and ever-changing landscapes. We live through the long, harsh winters just to be rewarded with the stunning beauty of spring, summer and fall. The colors around me are constantly changing, but my favorite combination in nature and life is aqua blue, grass green and rich brown. My own logo and marketing materials utilize this combo and I am often drawn to these colors in clothing. So of course, my camera lens is always on the hunt for these hues.

I’m excited to share my Bel Kai Designs necklace, the latest addition to the Capture Collection of Shutter Sisters photographic jewelry. This piece combines all three of my favorite colors and upon closer inspection the layers of color reveal an image of a wide open green field and blue sky near my hometown. I can’t think of a better way to remind me of growth and life throughout the long winter months (and the rest of the year).

We are delighted to be giving away one of these beauties today. Just leave your comment here by Saturday at midnight EST. Just tell us your favorite color scheme.

UPDATE: Congrats to Erin Faye for winning a Horizon necklace!

color blocks

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One of my favorite artists is Mark Rothko, who is famous for his colorful, abstract paintings. His work is often made up of blocks of color, softly blended together. They range from dark and moody to bright and airy, but all have the same calming effect on me. I’m often reminded of landscapes when I see his work and vice versa. So it’s no surprise that I find myself drawn to photography that mimicks that same idea. If you squint your eyes, the landscape photo above could easily be translated into an color-blocked painting with greens, blues and golds, all coming together somewhat graphically.

Today please share your Rothko-like photographs with us. Who knows, it may inspire us all to get out the paintbrushes and create some color block paintings.