Laura Vegas

let me say up front … for the most part, i have no idea what i’m doing. and i don’t all the technical mumbo-jumbo. i don’t know much about lenses … the ones i have are because i read about their rave reviews from other scrappers/photographers.

i got my canon digital rebet xt about 2 1/2 years ago. came with a regular kit lens that i never use. the first lens i bought was the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM … because i knew i needed a good zoom for soccer games. my next lens was the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM … i think this is a great overall lens. this is the lens that i use when we’re in the house, taking pics of layouts and projects, and even sometimes outside. next up was the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM … awesome portrait lens. this is the lens i use for about 70% of my photos … but mostly with portrait style shots. most of the close-up shots you’ve seen here have all been with this lens. no zoom on it … so you have to actually be the cameras zoom and move around to get what you want. i also have the speedlite 430 EX external flash … which for me is a must have for indoors. i still struggle with where to bounce the flash off … but i usually just play with it until it looks right … usually off the ceiling or a side wall.

when it comes to camera settings? i shoot on "P" mode … still gives you some choices, but figures out all the hard stuff for you. i don’t even pretend to understand aperature, shutter speeds, white balance, etc. seriously … i read up on it … but it just hasn’t clicked in my head yet. i also just havn’t taken the time to really sit down and give it my attention … so part of it is laziness. i want to shoot in "AP" mode … aperature priority … and someday i will. but for now "P" mode it is.

i really only change a few things. i have my exposure bumped up +1.5 stops all the time … from what i understand canon’s are known for underexposing. and i like my photos to be light. so i bumped it up and have left it there ever since. almost 90% of the time, my ISO is at 400 … no idea why, that’s just where it is. on occasion, i may take it down to 200 … in fact the ones of alyssa from tuesday were on 200. but almost always it’s at 400 ISO. i leave my white balance on auto … not what i should be doing … but that’s where it’s at all the time.

that being said … i shoot in RAW format 90% of the time. unless it’s sports or something. otherwise, i always shoot in RAW. so when i pull up my photos … i can fix anything that is not right. not the best idea … i should really learn to get the shot better right out of the camera. it would maybe save some time on editing. but until i understand all the other stuff … RAW saves me!!! that is where i can adjust my white balance, my exposure, my temperatures, etc. so in some ways i’m just being lazy again … because i know that i CAN adjust it later.

another big thing is focus. i’m not always great on my focus … sometimes i don’t get as much in focus as i would like. but i don’t think it’s all that bad. i always focus on the inside of the eye closet to me … then hold the button down part-way … and then recompose the shot to what i want. always focus on the eye … and then recompose. every single time. it’s quick and easy once you get the hang of it.

i know … none of that probably made sense. lol! and it just shows you how little i know. i know the editing i do makes a huge difference. i don’t know much about editing either … and i only use a few steps. but if you saw my photos before and after … you’d realize how much editing plays in it. that one of alyssa from tuesday … it was actually really dark. i would show it to you … but i don’t know that i know enough to be handing out editing tips. lol! actually, i have handed out some tips to friends … but it’s different putting them out there where i come off as knowing what i’m doing. so if you’re interested … email me or leave me a comment. i have some info typed up and saved … so it’s easy to pass along. just the basics … nothing crazy.

there are so many great sites for photography and camera information. but sometimes it’s a lot of stuff to weed through to find what you want. a few of my favorite spots to go for some good and easy to understand info are karen russell’s blog (i linked it to her section on photography tips which you’ll find on the sidebar) and the BHG photo blog. i’ve also been printing out the 2peas 12 weeks to better photography coarse that has been going on. havn’t read them yet … but they’re there when i’m ready.

somehow, i’m not sure any of that was helpful. lol! at least you know what equipment i use if nothing else. lol! feel free to ask me anything else … i’ll answer if i can … or send you to where you can find out!