I was out viewing a property for an upcoming photoshoot recently and while talking with the property owner, she shared a story that really stuck with me. Another photographer had shown up with a group of high school seniors, pulled over on the side of the road, and began taking photos on private property — having the students sit on people’s fences, hang from posts and signs, and use décor as props. Unfortunately, the students ended up damaging several signs and decorations. I cannot stress this enough: please adopt a “leave no trace” practice — and if you’re shooting on private property, GET PERMISSION. Imagine if it were your home and a photographer you don’t know brought clients onto your front lawn, posed them on your porch, moved your furniture around, and had people standing on your chairs. My guess is you’d be more than a little upset. This doesn’t only apply to homes. We see it often with popular outdoor locations too — beautiful flower fields or scenic areas where photographers allow clients to trample flowers or climb structures. What was once a gorgeous location becomes unusable for everyone else. When you hear photographers talk about “gatekeeping,” this is often why. It’s usually not about competition — it’s about protecting locations from being damaged or shut down entirely due to repeated misuse. Recently, I photographed a college graduate at our local library. I didn’t just show up and start shooting. I called ahead and obtained permission. I’ve done this with many locations. Asking goes a long way. Some places may require: *Prior approval *A location fee *Proof of liability insurance It’s always better to ask first than to show up, get kicked out, or worse — damage someone’s property and hurt our industry’s reputation. If we want to be treated as professionals, we have to act like professionals — even when no one is watching.

Did you know that understanding your camera settings you can completely change the look of your photo? Here’s an example of a photo taking in broad daylight. I noticed the sun was behind a cloud and wanted to capture that. Because of the change in settings, it actually looks like a night photo, but it was definitely bright with sunglasses needed! In this particular case I did have an ND filter on my lens to help stop that light down.

Family photos are their own kind of thing. Your settings could vary greatly because of the number of people and the distance to your family. And if you have little, you may need to be willing to take several photos because you just can’t predict how the littles will respond to you. I personally like to just take some time and let the littles get associated with me before I even try to take a photo of them. You definitely need to know your gear for these as they can be so unpredictable! That said, I absolutely love the shots with major attitude or silly faces. Parents may not like it in the moment, but trust that when they look back, they will be transported to moments with their kids that remind them of those strong little personalities! Feel free to ask me any questions! And if you’re practicing, we can even set up a call or zoom!

Is anyone here interested in studio photography? This is an area I truly love and spend a lot of time in. I’ve added a couple examples of studio images I’ve taken so you can see the style and lighting approach. If this is something you want to learn or improve on, I’m happy to help: • Understanding studio lighting setups • What gear you actually need (and what you don’t) • How to use the gear you already have more effectively I’m also open to setting up a Zoom call to walk through your specific gear and answer questions in real time. Drop a comment or reaction if this would be helpful for you 👇