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Welcome
Welcome to my blog! My name is Farrah Braniff and I am a portrait photographer in Houston, Texas. I specialize in contemporary portraits of babies and children. This blog is a place for me to feature my own personal imagery, images from my studio, my travels and the news and happenings of my family. I have two little boys (ages 5 and 6). You will see them a lot on this blog. They are my inspiration in so many ways. This is a great place to learn a little about me and my work. I hope you'll take a moment and look around. Use the navigation links at the top to find the entries by category, check out the FAQ, jump to my websites and so on. Thanks for stopping by! |
My poor blog has been ignored over the past couple of weeks. We have been busy bees at the studio. Halloween came and went in a flash and now we're working hard on holiday cards and family portraits.
Just before Halloween, Lily and her little sister Abby came in for holiday card images and Lily's 4 year old portrait. I'm going to hold back on showing you the girl's holiday images so Elizabeth's holiday card can be a fun surprise for everyone but I could not resist sharing little Miss Lily with you.
She brought her Halloween costume too, which I love! Kids in their costumes is a favorite of mine. It's just too cute. Lily had fun showing me how a fairy flies through the forest and uses her wand. She also pretended to be a flower, which meant she balled up on the floor and slowly came up, unfurled her arms leaves and bloomed. It was very sweet.
I've got a lot of images to blog from the last few weeks. We took a family vacation to Disneyworld for Halloween so that'll be up next!
Just before Halloween, Lily and her little sister Abby came in for holiday card images and Lily's 4 year old portrait. I'm going to hold back on showing you the girl's holiday images so Elizabeth's holiday card can be a fun surprise for everyone but I could not resist sharing little Miss Lily with you.
She brought her Halloween costume too, which I love! Kids in their costumes is a favorite of mine. It's just too cute. Lily had fun showing me how a fairy flies through the forest and uses her wand. She also pretended to be a flower, which meant she balled up on the floor and slowly came up, unfurled her I've got a lot of images to blog from the last few weeks. We took a family vacation to Disneyworld for Halloween so that'll be up next!
One of the most common questions that people ask me is what lens I use when I photograph my kids. The lens that I use to chase my kids around is not the same lens that I use at the studio. When I am photographing my kids out in the world, my lens needs to be multi-purpose (a zoom) and have a fast f-stop (F2.8) so that I can get great depth of field. The reason to have a different lens than what ships with most DSLR camera kits is that you can get better depth of field. This allows you to make your backgrounds soft and out of focus and shoot in lower light conditions. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, take a moment and read over the Monday Lesson on depth of field.
My favorite lens is the Canon 24-70 F2.8. It's expensive lens and it is heavy but it is an awesome lens! If you want to try this type of lens out without the $1500 price tag, try Tamron's version or Sigma's version. Tamron and Sigma make lenses for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and others. When you shop for a Tamron or Sigma lens, make sure it is compatible with your camera! The folks over at B&H Photo Video are really helpful, just call them and let them know what you are looking for.
From my BFF Danny Clark...he likes Tamron because they are fast-focusing and he thinks they do a good job of gathering light. He also told me that the F2.8 Tamrons are a little lighter as well, which makes a big difference. He does admit that Nikon will be superior to Tamron is some ways and uses his Nikon lenses in the studio but, like me, uses different lenses for chasing his kids around or working on location. He is a Nikon shooter and likes this one and this one.
Would you like to know more about lenses, your camera and taking better photographs of your children, friends and family? We have just announced a new class at the studio!
What: Going Beyond P, how to take better photographs with your digital SLR camera
When: January 30, 2010, 10 am to 4 pm with an hour and a half break for lunch
Where: My studio in the Montrose / River Oaks area, 1210 W. Clay, Loft 18, Houston, 77019
How much: $95 per person
The class fills up really fast so please call and reserve your spot today!
Meet Lola! I had a great time photographing her this morning. She was all smiles and big blue eyes. I also got to use my brand new tutu that I got last week, isn't it perfect!
Do you love the new blue wall? I do!
Happy Thursday everyone!
Carly Filippov says:
I LOVE the new blue wall! And, Lola is a sweetheart!!
(10.15.09 @ 08:07 PM)
Ana Jones says:
That's my beautiful niece! She is so beautiful and smart. I am proud of being your TIA , Lola.
(10.15.09 @ 08:49 PM)
Hilary Helton says:
What beautiful photos! Great work as always, and I love the blue wall.
(10.16.09 @ 09:03 PM)
I know, I know...it's not Monday. Let's just call this a wednesday lesson then. The holiday season is in full swing here at the studio and it's getting busy here!
On monday I had a basic photography class at my studio for the members of the Bellaire Young Mothers organization. One of the things that I talked about was how, when we grab our cameras and go to take some pictures of our kids, we often meddle with and stop the very activity that they are doing that inspired us to photograph them. We start directing them and asking them to do this and move over here and look up. They get annoyed, give us that cheesy grin to make us go away and we end up frustrated. Ever been there?
I would like to challenge you to try something different. The next time you look over and see the kids playing or doing something cute, go secret agent style with your camera. Grab the camera and use your zoom lens to get close to them (but stay back) and photograph them as they are without direction. If you can be really sneaky, grab the camera and sit down with them and play a little while you shoot them doing whatever they are doing. The big key here is minimal direction and interference!
When we were on vacation this past summer, the house that we rented has a little garden in the front and it was full of snails. One of the kid's favorite activities was collecting the snails and making a "snail home" as they called it. One afternoon I heard them chit chatting away out there and peeked out. The sky was overcast (a great time to shoot by the way) and they were playing happily together (not always the case). So, I grabbed my camera and went outside and just watched them and photographed them playing. The only direction that I gave them was, at one point, I said "Cool! Show me your snail, hold it up so I can see!". I didn't move them or ask them get closer or "look up and smile!" or anything like that.
We all want the image of our kids looking straight at the camera and smiling. We want the picture of all 3 or both of them (or however many you have) together and looking up and smiling. Keep chasing that shot but, while you're at it, try this too. Your kids will appreciate less meddling and you will get some nice candid shots. I would love to hear how you do with it.
(On a technical note, I shot these on AV (aperture priority mode) on my Canon 5D Mark II. I have not photoshopped these and I was not using a flash or any other light source.)
And this is the snail home that they made...
Now it's your turn...think stealth, spy-like, unobtrusive, a journalist! Have fun and I'd love to hear how it goes.
Lee-ANn says:
well, you did a great job on these!! I tend to snap under cover. I love the shots that show who a person truly is!
(10.14.09 @ 01:22 PM)
Rhonda Kasowski says:
Love your work & follow your blog! In the images above, what type of lens were you using at the time? Your work is always so beautiful!
(10.19.09 @ 06:06 AM)
Farrah says:
For the info on my lens of choice, see the Monday lesson above on lenses. For these, I used my canon 24-70 F2.8.
(10.20.09 @ 04:15 PM)
Would you like to see a seriously amazing pair of blue eyes?
This is Aislinn (pronounced Ash-lin). She is one of my First Year Collection babies. I have been photographing her since she still inside Mom's belly.
Little Aislinn just started preschool this past week so I know Pam (her Mom) has been worrying about her. Everyone who has had to drop a child off at a new day care, school or babysitter knows how hard the initial adjustment (crying) can be. They look at you like you're never coming back. It's rough! So hopefully seeing little Aislinn's smiling face will help you get through the afternoon Pam! And for everyone else, how can you not love this sweet, sweet face. She's like a little doll.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Pam says:
Thanks for making my day, Farrah!! These are beautiful and I cannot wait to see more soon! :)
(10.07.09 @ 04:57 PM)
Jennifer says:
Those pictures of Aislinn are great
(10.07.09 @ 04:58 PM)
Cathi Sulak says:
That's my beautiful goddaughter!!!! Look at how red her hair looks!!!! I see Allison's pic up on top, too, Jennifer. You do amazing work, Farrah!
(10.08.09 @ 04:26 AM)