I miss Europe but it feels great to be back.

We’re staying in lovely Palm Beach, Florida with my husband’s grandparents and loving every minute. The weather is perfect. The beaches are gorgeous. Our current pace of life is exactly what we needed. I’d like to call it a vacation but there isn’t much relaxation when little ones are afoot. We are having a blast though. London was amazing but the sunshine feels incredible. The London weather took a horrible turn prior to our departure. It was cold, blustery, and wet.

We can’t get enough of this lovely, warm Florida spring season.

It took me a hot minute to adjust to the time change. It hit me hard. Each day at about 7:00 p.m  (midnight in London before the recent daylight savings change) I’d start to fall apart. I fought the fatigue as best I could. I consumed the usual obscene quantities of coffee and handled all necessary business but I abandoned my favorite extracurriculars (blogging, photography, reading, etc). I survived but I’m glad it’s behind me. I dislike being tired and if you’ve been here a while you know I whine about exhaustion constantly.

I don’t like.

I haven’t fully processed our stay in London, visit to Paris, or the somewhat harsh reality that the next few months will be among the most challenging of our lives. I’m sifting through the memories slowly and the facts at record speed. Right now we’re focused on updating my résumé. I’ve decided to return to the outside of the home workforce (if I find the right role) and am currently applying to a few positions I’m interested in. I’m excited but it’s also a scary prospect.

Many changes are coming.

You do know we’re moving to Indianapolis, right? It’s finally a done deal. We’re buying a house. Enrolling Preston in pre-school and Cameron in the on-site daycare at my husband’s office. We’re finally settling down for a bit. It’s surreal. My husband graduates from Cornell next month and immediately after we’re Indy bound.

We’ve got a lot going on. Doesn’t everyone? Aside from being overwhelmed I’m great. I lost 15+ pounds while in London, I’m running regularly again (I missed it so much), and the kids are (mostly) sleeping through the night in their own room on their own beds at great grandma and grandpa’s where they’re spoiled beyond belief.

Things are fabulous over here. How are you?

Don’t judge me, I’m part of another blog circle. Just one more. I promise. I couldn’t help myself. Melissa of Throo the Lens Photography invited me to take part and I couldn’t say no. Her work is lovely and I’ve been a fan for a hot minute.

I absolutely adore meeting new photographers and clicking through blog circles so when I’m asked to take part I have a hard time saying no. This is it for me though. Last one.

Our blog circle’s theme is: For the love of… its open to interpretation which is cool because on posting day it’s a big surprise. I don’t know how the other photographers will interpret the theme and am excited to find out.

This month I chose: For the love of London.

I mentioned yesterday that a piece of my heart will stay here. Here are a few reasons why.

Energy: London has a distinct feeling I can’t quite articulate. I feel like I’m given a reason to smile by a stranger nearly each time I leave my house.

Playgrounds: her face says it all doesn’t it? Green space in the middle of winter. Lovely. Spectacular. Makes the kids tremendously happy.

Food: British food doesn’t have the best reputation but it’s unwarranted. The food here is great if you know where to go. I adore British food.

Another perk? Diversity. You can try anything here and if you are willing to spend some cash you can have the best of any international cuisine you desire. If you’re adventurous you can find a ton of multicultural spots on the cheap too.

Can’t lose either way.

Coffee: it’s everywhere. I made an adventure of it. I haven’t yet grown tired of trying new coffee spots. London is a coffee lovers dream.

Holland Park: our neighborhood. Busy but not crowded. Full of families. Close enough to the center of London to enjoy it’s most popular amenities but far enough away to maintain a sense of calm in a crazy busy city.

I love London.

Next up in the circle is Melissa. Grab a cup of coffee and get to know some amazing photographers.

xo

*Note: If you’re wondering what’s going on with the Intro to iPhoneography series I had to temporarily pause the posts. A certain little girl doesn’t sleep at night and I haven’t been able to finish the last few. Everything should be back on track next week. Thanks for the all the love. I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed them.*

You might remember Marissa Gifford from the amazing photography tutorial she graciously shared here last year. Marissa has been busy running a successful portrait business and developing some incredible Photoshop actions (Elements too!). I’ve been tinkering with them and am impressed.

I’ve gone through several phases with Photoshop actions. First as a new photographer who knew nothing about light let alone how to properly use an action and as a result had some inconsistent and unflattering post processing due to an unbridled enthusiasm for any actions I could get my hands on.

Yikes.

(more…)

Photography is a huge part of my life but I try not to let it become intrusive. Fiddling with a camera during a special moment is not my idea of a good time. I save experimentation and self-teaching for when I have one of those magical yet rare moments to myself.

When I’m out and about with my family I don’t want to miss out on the fun because I’m adjusting settings or looking down at my camera screen. An easy to use and adaptable camera fits perfectly into our lifestyle. The Panasonic Lumix G5 is an impressive camera that’s packed with powerful features but also simple to use. I’m a photography nerd and read the full Lumix manual before shooting my first picture. The advanced features this innocent little camera was packing blew me away.

If you’re a hands-on learner that’s totally fine too. The G5 is extra user-friendly straight out of the box. No steep learning curve involved which is convenient especially around the holiday season. Unpack and get shooting. Whether you’re the occasional photographer or a professional looking for a practical addition to your gear lineup you’re bound to fall in love with some of the features.

I was psyched about the color temperature and white balance settings, ability to shoot in RAW, and LCD touch panel. My husband, the occasional non obsessive photographer in the family, liked the small size, easy to use menu, and the scene guide.

The scene guide is amazing. It showcases 23 different images taken by professional photographers in different settings to help you choose the scene that most resembles what you’re shooting. Scenes include backlit softness, sweet child’s face, vivid sunset glow, appetizing food, and more. It’s a great feature for beginner, casual, or amateur photographers that allows you to learn while you practice.

As awesome as the scene guide is it’s not the most exciting feature on the camera. The Lumix G5 has 14 built in creative filters to give you creative control of your photo processing as you shoot. It’s incredible. Preview the finished product on the gorgeous touch screen and shoot. Options include: toy effect, miniature effect, low-key, and sepia. Fourteen fun filters to choose from and inspire you to have fun with your photography.

I turned the Panasonic Lumix G5 over to Preston for a little fun. I love that he has taken an interest in photography and I wasn’t nervous sharing the Lumix with him because it’s a manageable camera. Its size is one of my favorite things about it. I have small hands and it fits perfectly. Preston had no problems handling the camera and had a blast playing with the different filters.

No filter

Impressive Art

Sepia

One Point Color

Toy Effect

Preston had a lot of fun using mommy’s “fancy camera”. He liked the different effects the filters had on his pictures too. My favorite filter is the Dynamic Monochrome. It’s a black and white filter but I used it as a self-teaching tool. Monochrome shooting helped me pay closer attention to light and shows in my images. Preston liked making his colors pop and enjoyed using the High Dynamic filter.

The Lumix G5 performs well in low light. The kit lens is silent, versatile, and focuses quickly but there are other lens options as well. My pictures were noise free and the resolution is phenomenal. There is a pop up flash if you need it but in most conditions it wasn’t necessary. If you enjoy making home movies the full HD 1080 60P video capture is perfect for you. You can selectively focus by touching the screen for professional results. It’s truly impressive yet simple to use. You can use filters while shooting movies too.

You can get free shipping at Panasonic.com until December, 31 2012!

How would a Panasonic Lumix G5 help you and your family take more creative pictures? Answer in a comment to be entered for a chance to win a Panasonic Lumix G5 camera! (Please note that a winner will be chosen from a pool of all participating reviewers’ blogs.)

Photography-speak can be mind-numbingly technical and leave you more confused than you were before you asked a question. I don’t want to do that. I want to show you the secrets of good exposure, how to use your camera’s light meter effectively, and motivate you to grab your camera (any camera!) and get shooting. I approach photography writing as if I were speaking to my former self. I figure if I’ve struggled with something then there has to be someone out there who has too.

This is your light meter and a photo of my camera’s LCD screen. Please ignore the mess.

Your camera’s light meter tells you how much light is coming into your camera. Your meter reading will change depending on the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings when you’re shooting in manual. Watching the behavior of your light meter as you switch settings is a great way to learn the exposure triangle, which is fancy talk for the way aperture, shutter speed, and ISO affect each other and subsequently your exposure.

Each number represents a full stop. The lines in between are partial stops, also known as exposure level increments. I set my camera to aperture priority (meaning I set a specific aperture that will not change, and the camera automatically sets the shutter speed) before shooting the picture above so that my meter would stop jumping around for the purpose of taking the photo. However, a centered line in the middle does not automatically equal perfect exposure. Universal perfect exposure does not exist.

There is only one perfect exposure and that is the one that you have chosen after giving thought to the kind of image you are trying to create and the message you wish to convey.

The first three photos I’m using in this post are straight out of the camera with the exception of sharpening, resizing, and adding my business watermark. I did no tinkering with exposure, saturation, or anything else.

The photo above was dead center on my light meter. Does that shot look perfect to you? Not at all. The top left of the photo is overexposed and Preston’s face is underexposed. My son is cute, but the photo is technically unappealing.

This shot was overexposed by half a stop. It’s better, but not where I want to be. The top left of the shot is overexposed. The light on his face is more even and there is great light in his eyes, but the shot is still flat. I’ve learned from trial and error that to get the best exposure for Preston’s skin I need to overexpose a full stop.

Perfect! I turned a little to avoid the spot on the left that was overexposed and set my meter to overexpose by one full stop. There is a tiny spot that is blown out, meaning overexposed to the point that detail is lost, on the blanket under his left cheek. This is not distracting, though, and doesn’t take away from the photo, so I left it alone. This shot is what I was going for. Nice light in his eyes, creamy skin tone, and no loss of important detail.

Photography is a subjective and personal art. What you consider perfect exposure may not be universally accepted. When shooting portraits, I expose for the darkest spot on the face, I like to expose to the right, and my portraits tend to be bright and luminous. Many of my photos are on the brink of overexposure but with no loss of detail. It’s my preference, personal style, and can differ depending on subject. Experiment and find your own preference and style. Eventually you’ll memorize the right spot to meter for people, objects, or places you shoot often and won’t have to spend time experimenting with different exposures.

If you’re just starting out and want to keep things as simple as possible, consider checking your camera settings and changing them to AEB (auto exposure bracketing) mode. AEB allows you to take a series of photos at differing exposures of your choosing so that you can later decide which exposure works best for your photo. You either check your shots on your screen as you shoot and adjust accordingly, or wait until you’ve uploaded them to your computer.

Here’s what bracketing looks like on my camera.

AEB shoots one exposure to the left (underexposed), one in the middle (“perfectly” exposed), and one to the right (overexposed). You can choose how far left and right you want your shots to go.

An example of three straight out-of-the-camera shots taken with the AEB setting.

The best way to nail exposure is to practice. Hopefully my tricks and secrets help you along the way.

This post is part of BlogHer’s Pro Photography Tips editorial series, made possibly by Panasonic.