{ Beba Photo Tip -- Finding Open Shade } -- Mesa / Phoenix, AZ Photographer

Harsh Lighting = BAD

Don't Do This:

Open Shade = GOOD
Do This Instead:

This is a quick little tip that's easy to remember and one that will make a world of difference.

When you're shooting your subject, whether it be a person or object...make sure that you're shooting in good open shade and NOT direct sunlight.

These two pictures are SOOC{ Straight Out Of Camera }--no color or lighting has been changed.

Do you see the difference? One is harshly lit and the other is softly lit.

Aim to find "open shade"--an area that is well lit, but covered by an overhang or shoot on the backside of a wall when it's still bright out so that you don't get those harsh shadows and highlights.

Before you photograph your subjects, make sure you take a moment to see how the lighting is falling across their faces and their bodies and the scene around them. Are there any harsh shadows and highlights? Search around and move them into an area that has open shade and your pictures will be transformed!

A small detail that's sometimes overlooked, but that make pictures look ever-so-much better when you find that right light.

{ Flash and Lighting Techniques -- Photo Tip } -- Mesa / Phoenix, AZ Photographer

{ You Light Up My Life }

When you're using an angled, external flash, which direction should you point it? It all depends on what kind of affect you are looking for and are trying to create. I'm going to be using my little bear friend as a model for this tutorial on lighting. You can use a similar item to practice your flash lighting or also use a real { person } model. The key is to practice so that you get used to what your flash is doing. All of these photos are lit from two light sources. The first light source was an overhead ceiling fan light behind me to the left, facing the bear. The second source in each photo is described below each photo.

In this photo, I positioned the swivel head of my flash so that the light coming from my flash first "bounced" off the wall and then fell softly back on my bear subject. This is a way of softening the light on your subject. Rather than being a harsh, direct light from a flash that's pointed directly towards the subject, it's softened by lighting the wall first and only having the residual light fall back onto the subject.

Shooting with your flash angeled to the right will have the same effect that bouncing the light from the left will do, only it will light the other side of your subject. One thing to keep in mind when you're bouncing light from the left or the right is that it creates shadowing on the other side of your subject. To fully understand shadowing, place a 3 dimensional object on a table and turn the lights off. Then, take a flashlight and position it so that it's lighting from only one direction of your subject. You'll notice that the other side is in { mostly, if not all } darkness. This is because your subject partially or totally blocks the light source. Any solid object will block light.

This is an example of light pointed above and towards the subject. It's that direct light that isn't very pretty. It's why most photographers use an external flash, so they can bounce the light and make it more artistic. I'm not fond of direct light because it's so stark--it is harsh and blunt, taking away too many of the shadows and making my subject look a little too flat.

You can also angle your flash straight up and this will bounce the light from the ceiling { if you're shooting indoors } and fall back over your subject. The shadows will fall underneath your subject. Can you see that in the photo?

This is my favorite kind of light. I turned my flash head around and bounced it off the wall and ceiling BEHIND me. This really took the light source away from my subject and allowed the light to fall back more evenly, filling my subject, but not harshly. All the shadows seem to be in the right places. This is a great tip for when you're shooting inside because there is something to bounce the light off of.

After you have gone through this tutorial, go back through each picture and study the shadows and lighting in each one. You'll start to "see" the way that lighting has an affect on photos. It's an important and fundamental key for photographers to understand as they're lighting their subjects. Hope this is a great help to many of you! : )!

Happy Lighting!

{ Sales 101 -- The Unconventional Approach To Sales } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ The Unconventional Salesperson }

Photo courtesy of Beth Obermeyer of Lizzie Bee Photography / www.lizziebeephotography.com

This is me.

Beba.
(pronounced "Bee-Buh")

I'm probably the most backwards person when it comes to sales.

I am not a pushy salesperson.

It is not the most important thing for me to make sales.

Yet, I still stay in business and do make sales.

Why is that?

I think that it's a shift of focus that's totally unconventional from what traditional salespeople will tell you. Here's what I think makes the difference:

I'm more interested in making a connection than I am in closing a sale. I'm more interested in investing an experience and friendship into that person than I am in getting something back from them.

Scary thought as a salesperson, right?

Not really.

The truth is that people will be walk away happier because they will have been invested in and they will have products that they love and won't have buyer's remorse for being pushed into a sale.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a business woman, so I still set minimums on my packages that clients sign contracts for......They know ahead of time what they're going to be paying for when they hire me as their photographer, so there are no questions......but I don't push for more once they meet their minimum.

Wait!

Shouldn't I be? Shouldn't I be trying to "sell" them?

In my opinion, no.

Of course I want sales--I'm in business. But for me, it's more important for me to make a genuine connection with that person. My end goal is different. I want my clients to walk away with an experience--a happy memory--and not just pictures. I want there to be an incredible memory of, "We had so much fun that day!" rather than "That girl was such a pushy salesperson--I bought a ton of extra stuff that I didn't want."

Do my clients end up buying extra photos? In almost every case, yes. But not because I pushed them. After they meet their minimum, I leave it up to them to decide what they want.

Is it counter cultural?

You betcha.

But is it more satisfying and fulfilling as a business person?

YES.

I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to know that you've made someone's day brighter or the thought that you've just made a new friend with someone who was a stranger just a week ago.

Many of my clients have now become my dear friends.

For me, that's the best "sell" in the world--it costs nothing and gives the greatest return.

Sales are momentary, but creating friendships and lasting memories are priceless.

So, go out there and sell....but make sure that you're investing more into the lives of people who are giving their business back to you. : )

{ More Sales 101 tips at my upcoming 1 Day Workshop for those of you who are interested }
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/note.php?note_id=223103164403652

{ Love Me } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Love Me }

As a photographer, your heart wants to scream out to others:

"Please love my work!"

"Please like my Facebook page and read my blog!"

"Please choose me!"

"Please find joy in viewing my work!"

There's something so wonderful about sharing your heart and gift with the world and having people respond back in a positive way. I know it blesses each of us as photographers and as artists.

But is it just me or is it sometimes easy to get too focused on whether or not people like your work and not stay focused on your love and passion for what you do?

I'm talking to you other photographers out there.

And I'm talking to myself, too.

Right now, I'm enjoying the busy season--I'm booking a lot of sessions.

But there are times { when it's not busy season } that it's tempting for me to question my work when people aren't responding as much as they are right now.

I know that I am not alone.

I've heard other photographers say, "I'm not as good enough, so I'm quitting."

Wait! Throw on the brakes! What?!

I realized long ago, that I love this dream too much to let it go, no matter how I feel. Emotions come and go, but passion lives on.

Even though I sometimes get in that funky rut, I fight it off with a vengeance because I know that validation should always come from experiencing joy in what I do and not from the outside. Sure, it's great to have people love my work--it feels amazing when people find joy in what I do. I'm sure that you feel the same way too. You delight when people love what you're pouring out from your heart, through your camera and into your pictures.

But even when the crowd is gone and the band has gone home....can you still hear the sweet chords of music playing from your camera? Can you still hear the song from inside stirring your heart to want to capture the world in all it's beauty and to capture the magic in and between people?

I sure hope you do.

I do.

It keeps me moving forward during these easy times that I'm experiencing right now and it keeps me moving forward during the hard times too.

Stand on that empty stage and sing the song you were meant to sing.

Stand and sing even if no one is listening....

...because in time, they will.

And in the meantime, you'll be doing what you love the most.

Hope this encourages those of you who are feeling discouraged tonight.

I believe in you and am applauding you.

{ Photoshop & Lightroom Magic } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Magic }

I'm a sucker for Lightroom and Photoshop magic and have been having fun trying new techniques with my work! I love doing basic edits in Lightroom and more detailed edits in Photoshop.

Editing magic can take a photo from average to wow:

Photoshop magic is really just a series of layers and adjusting them and individual parts of your photo one step at a time.

I realized after joining Pinterest that I'm very drawn to Fall colors:

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/changing-seasons-fall/

and warmth:

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/golden-light/

and I really wanted to start bringing a lot of that warmth into my photos. That is why I chose to change the leaf colors behind the little girl to a golden color instead of green and why her skin tone has a slight sepia to it.

Each photographer interprets a photo that suites his or her own style and this golden tone happens to be mine.

What is your editing style?

Do you like warm and rich?

Light and airy?

Vintage-y and textured?

Colorful and fun?

Contrasted and black and white?

I'd love for you to share! :)

{ Be An Original } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ Be An Original }

"Be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else."

--Audrey Hepburn

I love seeing all of the different styles that photographers have created and interwoven throughout their work. There is a magical charm about each style and it's fun to see the personalities of each digital artist coming out through the work that they are presenting. The truly masterful have created a style set apart from the rest.

As a photographer, it is vital to develop a style that is uniquely and intensely "you" -- something that sets you apart from the rest as different and something that echoes the ramblings of your heart at its very core.

Too often, photographers are tempted to go with the popular and many a time, a person will find themselves looking at a series of photos that look entirely beautiful....but all the same.

The same props.

The same lighting.

The same costumes.

The same poses.

Though beautiful, it becomes repetitive and in time, it's hard to distinguish one photographer from the next because everything is shared and the same.

When Anne Geddes first arrived on the scene, babies everywhere started getting put into giant flowerpots with flowers on their heads. It was a nice gesture to Ms. Geddes and I'm sure quite flattering....but the creativity of so many photographers became stagnated by copying ideas for their own work. It was probably just as beautiful as Ms. Geddes work, but the same, nonetheless.

That's not to say that a photographer cannot glean inspiration from photos that he or she likes.

But they key is analyzing what makes the photo so appealing -- the individual elements that unify together to make it so pleasing to the eye -- and trying to capture the essence of those things and put them together into his or her own work with a personal spin on it. The goal should be to glean techniques from and not to replicate. To capture the essence and the feeling of what's being displayed without copying it.

It's a challenge for sure!

But it's oh, so worth it! Each person and each photographer is so uniquely different and the variations in people's work is so refreshing and appealing to one's senses to see.

What makes you, "you?"

What is your own personal style?

What do you look at and say, "That's SO me!

Everything about it describes my personality and who I am as a person!"?

What do people see in you and say, "That's so "you"?

That is an important key to finding your own individualized photography style. Finding out your own style first.

I'm starting to offer $15 mini style sessions to photographers who are struggling to find what makes them, "them." I accomplish this through a special questionaire and then spending time researching photos, colors, design applications and ideas online and putting them together into a style board on Pinterest which can then be repinned, placed into a pdf and/or printed out as a hard copy.

I did a test group with photographers and there were multiple style matches.

Here are two quick examples:

Photographer: V.G.

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/v-concept/

"I loved the images and they really reflect where I want my brand to go. I had already pinned some images on pinterest and the ones you found for me matched exactly the ones I had found already. I could help go ooh and ahh at every pin. Thanks again!"

Photographer: A.G.

http://pinterest.com/bebaphotography/a-concept/

No official statement has been written yet but she said it in a separate message that it was a perfect match!

If you would like to hire me to find your style and what makes you "you," then email me at:

alicia@BebaPhotography.com

{ The Eyes Have It } -- Mesa, AZ Photographer

{ I'm Convinced He Must Be Part Human }



I have never seen a dog with more expressive eyes than Roscoe. Sometimes I look at him and have to try and convince myself that he's NOT human.

I photograph him often because I love capturing the eyes on my subjects. Whether it be pets or people, there's something so stirring about eyes to me. When I was an art major in college, eyes were my favorite thing to draw because there's so much depth that's hidden there. There is a story in every person's eyes and you can see so much about a person when you look into them.

I find myself wondering:

"What has this person's eyes seen in his or her life?"

"Has it been good things?"

"Has it been bad?"

"Have these eyes filled with tears?"

"Have they lighted with joy?"

"What places around the world have these eyes seen?"

"Have they seen the birth of someone they love?"

"Have they looked into the eyes of another and seen love

 reflected back?"

"Do these eyes lower in shyness, flash in anger or twinkle with delight?"

"Do these pair of eyes see dreams unfolding or shrinking back?"

SO many questions.

SO many thoughts to ponder.

SO many stories in one pair of eyes.

Whether it be a puppy's eyes or a client's eyes.....I feel like I can best hear the story when I capture their eyes in my pictures.

People often say that the "eyes are the window to the soul" and I totally agree.

Each set of eyes, whether blue or brown, green or gray, black, hazel or violet....each tells it's own special narrative and each are like little pools that reflect the waters of emotion in a person's heart.

The joy of being a photographer is that I get to capture the reflection with my lens. It's kind of like looking into a mirror that's bounced off another mirror, that's bounced off another mirror:

The eyes reflect what the heart sees.

The camera lens reflects what the eyes see.

And the world reflects what my pictures see.