penny take 2

i mentioned before that my setting was totally off and i will try something different the next time i take of penny. this time around, it was so much better. super clear and i was most happy with how it came out. this picture above is my favorite from all the photos i took of her because it's more of a far distance. one of the habit that i always do is taking pictures close up and i need to be more versatile and this picture shows just that. penny is not too close to my lens and the view is pretty nice as well. i am very satisfy with this picture right here. ehehe. 

logan

i was at my sister's place and because she have a camera and a better lens (i'm currently using my kit lens), i decided to take a picture of her dog, logan. it's nice to be able to get him to look my way and not move so much and this picture captured him perfectly. a nice bright room created a hazy, dreamy look to this picture and of course the lens did it's job as well. 

immediately, i had to transfer the picture into her computer and upload it into my facebook because i love this picture so much! also, i didn't need to edit the crap out of this picture because the raw picture already looked great. it just need a little bit of color and it was good to go.  i am so satisfy with this. 

penny

yes, it's been a whole month since i've taken a picture. i've wanted to take a picture of my boyfriend's dog, penny, for quite some time now and it was so hard bc of course, dogs move alot and this dog loves to run. she run so fast that it's so hard to capture a good picture of her. out of maybe 100 takes, i was able to find about 10 or less that is actually decent enough to edit.

but, it was my fault, i forgot to change my setting to tv mode (of course, i could've just change the speed) but i wasn't thinking. soon, i promise i will get something right. ehehe. it's still a great start.

yes, i am aware that this picture is not clear but i just love this picture and i love that it's black and white. i wished it was clear but there's always a next time! i'm so looking forward to shooting her again soon. at first, i didn't care for black and white pictures because i feel like it's so boring but after watching "froknowsphoto" on youtube, black and white pictures grew on me. ehehe. 

finding a theme for my photoshoot

about a week ago, a coworker came to me and suggested i think of a theme for my second photoshoot. at first, i didn't know what theme i wanted. all i know is that i just want to shoot someone and become a good photographer.

i finally came up with the idea that i wanted to do a hippie theme photoshoot. a girl in an open field, with a maxi skirt, flowy top and a flower crown. i have it all pictured in my head, i just need to learn how to draft it on a piece of paper.

and who is going to be in front of my camera this time? my coworker. i've seen her pictures taken by a friend of hers and she know how to pose so i figured, i should shoot her since she's used to these posing stuff (i don't know how to direct a person).

i'm hoping to have a photoshoot with her soon!

my plan for using my camera?
for my first photoshoot, i decided to use my camera in manual mode and i find it kind of difficult and took a bit of time trying to focus the camera on the person. this time around? i'm going to shoot in autofocus mode on aperture priority. i've done my research about autofocus and i've learned a lot especially when i was trying to understand how the autofocus and recomposing thing work. i noticed that a lot of photographers use the autofocus and recomposing method so this time around, i'm going to try it and see how that goes.

-gaolouyang

my first photoshoot

remember just a month ago, i mentioned how  i only had one week until my photoshoot with my cousin? well, that that was a total fail and i was desperate. desperate to have a face in front of my camera and shoot! i was going around friends and family asking to shoot them but i was shot down one by one. i finally got a 'yes' from two friends.

just last weekend, i finally did my first photoshoot with two friends! i'm so grateful to know such girls who would actually agree to be a part of my first photoshoot! i knew the photoshoot would take longer than an hour but it took two and a half hours! of course, they got kind of tired but it was a fun and successful shoot!

shooting was actually harder than i thought! i mean, you can't just expect to have the person to pose for you. you have to direct them. although it was kind of hard to direct these two lovely girls, i was able to get some nice pictures from them.

the fun part? editing! it had been a month or so since i've edited pictures because i didn't have any pictures to edit and when i finally get to edit my first photo, i was having a trouble trying to remember how to edit pictures, in general. of course, i finally got a hang of this photo editing thing again. i wish i have photoshop so i can really edit these photos especially so i can upload my raw pictures. i've only used gimp and for now, it still does its job and i was still able to edit these photos perfectly!

above is a before and after picture. it took me more than an hour to edit and i cannot be happier with the end result. there may be some imperfections but i still think i did a pretty good job for a beginner. i am looking forward to making this hobby more than just a hobby.

now, i'm in need of another face. maybe a couple this time?

-gaolouyang

i want to be a photographer!

for a long while, i have been so addicted to photography. i go on pinterest (currently my new best friend) to look at the photography section and i have found such beautiful photos. these photographers are amazing and so creative. i've always thought to myself, "it's so easy to be a photographer. you just point and shoot. how hard can it be?" boy am i wrong. photography is so much more than just pointing the camera and shooting. you have to bring out your creativity, adjust the aperture, iso, etc. to catch the right amount of light. you have to have an image in your head of how you want your model to pose. and not just that, you need to edit! of course, i am super new at this but i hope to grow from this and become a great photographer! 

i finally went out today, drove straight ahead on bruceville rd and came to an end. the field is such a beauty! birds that i haven't seen for a really long time, soaring through the wind in packs. it's their home.

i decided to play with my aperture and focus on the flower (picture above) and i think it came a ok.

do you see how dead this plant is? yeah, i love the look of it. a tiny edit and voila! a picture good enough to go online. ehehe. 

i have exactly one wk from today to do my first ever photoshoot of my cousin and her boyfriend along with their two dogs. i feel so honor to have them agree to such a task! fingers cross that this upcoming shoot will turn out what i have in mind. 

-gaolouyang