Long Time No See!

Well, it's only been nearly a year since I've updated this blog... Ha, at least I have plenty to blog about!

I began working with models soon after my senior year of high school started (Modelmayhem.com ftw!), my 7 deadly sins shoot being the first time with Caroline Mathis.

Since then I have worked with many others and actually have started getting paid for my work, and finally have begun to build a more professional portfolio. (Huzzah!)

[You can see an extended version of it on my flickr]

Oh! And did I forget to mention that I made a Facebook page for Emily Austin Photography??
Well, I did. :) I also updated my actual website (www.emilyaustinphotography.com) if you'd like to check that out!




AAAlright! Now that I've got all that boring stuff out of the way, time for my actual blogging intention: My latest shoot with my friends Grete and Sana:

(Grete)
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    V

(Sana)

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V

You can see more images here on my Facebook page.

We literally had no idea what we were going to do when we started shooting. We had originally planned to have sort of a "candy" shoot, and have fun with bright colours and exciting shennanigans like that... but we only had about an hour to actually shoot, so any sort of extravagant option was out of the question.

So, there we were, two beautiful girls and a photographer... Guess we'll just see what happens! 

I had a reflector, my SB-900 flash, my Nikon D7000, and my (NEW! :D) 70-200 mm F. 2.8 lens. At first, I just wanted to see what we could do with the reflector, but I just wasn't satisfied... it lacked drama, it lacked that special "something" to bring a viewer into an image. 

(Reflector held underneath Sana's face and to her left)

My reflector holding assistant goofing around ;)

Not to mention, I couldn't get my shutter speed high enough to reduce the blur to save my life! (we were in a shaded area) Also, I was getting frustrated by the uneven lighting due to the trees above us (as you can see on Sana's nose). So after a few minutes of failures, I decided to bring out my SB-900... but not in this setting... It was too... obvious. I wanted something we could play with, perhaps get a sense of "Where IS she?"

We walked a little bit, and we eventually came to a covered, but outdoor, apartment hallway. It was a narrow hallway, and suddenly I was inspired by the texture of the walls (Weird, I know...)! I knew right away that I wanted dramatic lighting, so I started out with some angled back light.

I liked it, but the image didn't make any sense to me. What was it about? The colours all looked good together, but as a whole how does it make any sense? It doesn't.







We moved a little further down the hallway, so that there was less ambient light coming from the open hall. I started to have Sana move the flash around a little bit, to see what we could get. We ended up getting a very flattering "sun" effect!

I was much, much happier with this. The lighting fit her expression and went well with the colours. Even though the lines you see are from the stairs, they could be a window to an oblivious viewer. Then we carried on the try different lighting and setups in the same area. (Resulting in the first image I posted on this blog, and this one here:)

Now this blog is running a tad long, so I'm just going to skip ahead to the point and the "Bloopers," if you will. :)

We later went outside and found a nice bench, where I placed my flash behind to light up the bush, toyed with reflectors and different angles. Any lighting coming from the left of the image is from my flash, anything coming from the right is from the sun.

Now for some.... "out takes" ;)

New Beginnings

I'm sure going through a lot of those lately... but I'm enjoying the adventure :)

So much has happened and I'm just so excited!

For starters, my brother decided to get old and graduate... and now he's driving AND going to college... who would have thunk?
So I just got my new lights in and I couldn't be happier! I would describe them as... sort of entry level studio strobes? I guess... Anyways, they work for what I want, and not at a bad price either (they also came with stands and umbrellas). I actually wanted to get the umbrellas separately, but it was cheaper this way, and I can always DIY it ;)
I also bought a new lens! The 70-300mm f4.5-5.6. I was dying for a better zoom lens (mainly for horses), and considering I can certainly NOT afford the 70-200mm f.2.8, I just figured I'd settle with this lens until I can afford something better ;). It works for me for now anyways!
Anyhooo, for the picture above of my brother and I, I used one Delicacy 180 strobe with an umbrella to our right. I would have liked a reflector or something to brighten up that bottom corner, but I loved the picture too much not to post it!

Poor thing never saw it coming... muahahahaha


So aside from everyone getting old on me, I went on a road trip with my mom and Vance! It was actually my first road trip that I will really remember... and I loved every second of it. I would post more pictures... but this thing is so slow I just can't.

This is from Niagara Falls at night...

I know it doesn't exactly look like Niagara Falls, but I got some photos that you can really tell what it is, and I just don't like them as much. I like this sort of abstract, smokey image. This was the last picture I took, actually... the tour bus was leaving and I decided I could squeeze in one more long exposure shot... so I did!
I had it set to bulb mode, on a tripod, with a cable release. I took about 2 seconds on the actual waterfall, then I decided to do something random and pan over to the lights that were illuminating the waterfalls. The end result was this! I really like it because of where the lights ended up... I just think it adds something to it.

Then we had to take the scenic route home, and we drove along Blue Ridge Parkway... Which was amazing, beautiful, and terrifying all at the same time!

Here are some from that:

Wow, I really uploaded nothing from BRP o.O Oh well. Funny story about these butterflies, actually...

So all over the parkway were these trails that you could hike to go see various sights, and my brother and I decided to take the one that led to a really cool waterfall. It was all going great, really enjoying the sights... until Vance hears the creek. We kinda took a detour off the trail to go check it out, and it was just a wonderful creek! It was like I was looking at a moving picture from the magazines. I got some good pictures (which I'm too lazy to upload :/), but I decided oh hey! Wouldn't it be an AMAZING idea to walk on the stones in the creek and get some shots like that? :D 

Well it seemed like it, until I slipped and my camera hit the water. Luckily for me, it just barely got wet... but it got wet enough to scare me. The camera was just fine, but the lens (I was using my kit lens) decided to stop working. The camera began to act as if it wasn't there... which scared me. We got back to the car and I switched lenses sadly, but just after I did that we stopped at a lookout point where there were these most beautiful butterflies nomming on some flowers. It was actually my first butterfly/flower shots... so I was excited! I really liked the results :) 

Anyways, just a short update! :D 

I'm such a horrible blogger ! :) 

Stroll Down Memory Lane

"Stroll Down Memory Lane"

Oh such fun I had with the lighting! The sun was in the perfect position for some pretty glares and backlights... Personally, it's my favourite type of lighting. :) 

Isabelle came over yesterday for some photos as a favour, and they came out really well, I believe! I decided on a few that I might put in my personal portfolio... I really liked the one above because it can have a lot of meaning... if you analyze it. Or maybe that's just me making an excuse because I love the lighting and the composition so much... but there is a sewer that clearly says "foul sewer" kind of right next to her... *sigh* Oh well! 

Aside from that one... This portrait really caught my eye:

Then here are the other two that I just find pretty ! :)

Such a cute dress x]

I had so much fun, thanks Isabelle! :D 

On a side note...

I'm in the Amsterdam airport right now... nomnomnoming on mini chocolate muffins ! about 6 months to go until I see the sand filled skies of Bahrain again... so, very, bittersweet... 

Now just to wait and see what life has in store. :)

Behind These Doors

So I've seen a bunch of pictures from the Bahrain fort and I've always wanted to go, but I've never had the time. Well, I finally got time!

I still haven't gone to the Bahrain fort... heh... but I did go to the Arad fort. :D Shaddin suggested we go there instead since she had been to both Arad fort and Bahrain fort and preferred Arad. It was such a cute place! Wonderful textures everywhere and lots of possible photo areas... We didn't stay long, so I only got about 100 pictures (hehe... only).

I managed to pick out three that I really liked... this one is my favourite!

"Behind These Doors" 

These are the other two:

Shaddin, being as amazing as she is, walked around in that beautiful Bahraini traditional dress (which I forgot the name of), providing some very nice contrast. 

On a side note,

 I've been here in Bahrain for the past couple of weeks wrapping things up after our sudden move. Since we moved at such an awkward time school wise, we weren't sure how my brother was going to graduate... luckily things worked out and he was allowed to walk across the stage at the Bahrain School graduation! 

I can't believe he's graduated... and that I'm graduating in LESS than a year now! I remember when it was 'only four more years'! 

I still can't believe he's 18 and out of high school... since he doesn't read these blogs, I can admit it! I'm going to miss the moron :/

Biggest Fear

My biggest fear: Being generic.

I shudder at the thought of blending into the crowd... Photography wise, that is. There are a lot of photographers out there, which inevitably leads to many photos looking the same. I can't stand it when I look through a photographers gallery and it's basically the same thing repeated over, and over, and over again.

Because of this fear, I find myself getting stuck... a lot.
This happened today while taking my brother's senior pictures... he doesn't know this yet, but I'm going to take him out again tomorrow to redo them ;).
It's not that they're bad... it's just that I feel like I've seen them before. They're just so... generic.
I managed to find one that I thought was alright... but I'm not sending it to the yearbook lady, she can wait a day :D.

Since I can't post without posting a picture, I'll post the picture we chose xP.

Now, aside from generic blah boring photos, I managed to take a couple which I thought were pretty... interesting xP

Here's one! :O

Oh, how epic my brother is ;D

Cutest Baby in the World!

So my cousins came over today for a late Easter. :)
Now these are some super amazing ridiculously awesome cousins... why?
Because they made the freaking CUTEST baby EVER!!!

Bailey the baby :D

And wait for it, just wait for ittt....

BABY + CANDY =

I don't know if I can take the cuteness much longer :'). 

And just look at those eyes... my goodness! 

I just felt I should share the cuteness :) 

Oh yeah, and I particularly like this picture... Perhaps it's the connection between parent and child? I don't know, but I think it's just adorable :)

Remember When?

So I just got home after a rather l  o  n  g day.
But it was amazing!

So the other day I went on a field trip with my art class to this magical land called George Ranch. I was SUPER excited when I found out what this place was all about! I had my camera and my SD cards, my flash and all my accessories I might need... I was set!

...Except when I went to take my first picture and my camera died...
Aren't I a genius? :)

Anyways, I went back again today so I could get pictures for the class.... I'm so glad my camera died! The first time was great, but this time was great too in different ways! My mom and I walked around on our own, so we weren't under a time constraint or anything... the only thing was that this swarm of photographers came along too... not that I mind other photographers... but some of them were so bleh. The guy actually said that many photographers come along and just take pictures and don't even talk... I find that sad. :( The place is so interesting! How could you not want to talk to people?!

So let me give you a rundown on what this place actually is:

The ranch is a working 23,000 acre ranch, it's MASSIVE. Inside this ranch, are four time periods: 1830's, 1860's, 1930's, and 19...something's. The people who work there dress/act/and live in the time period while they are on the ranch. The first guy I met in the first time period said it perfectly:

"From 7 A.M. to 6 P.M. weekdays and Saturday I live and work in the 1830's. The rest of the time, I'm a husband and a dad to three wonderful kids." 

Now that you have a basic idea... time for photos! 8D

The main issue I ran into while taking photos was that I couldn't really see my screen while reviewing photos (the sun was really bright), so quite a few of them came out just a tad more exposed than I would like. Not overexposed, but what ever. :)

We skipped the 1860's accidentally :( But here is the 1830's :)

1830's

This is actually one of my favoutite pictures... I mean it's nothing special... but something about the hanging fabric and messed up bed just... ahh I don't know. Just enjoy the stupid thing x]
This was their bed in the 1860's!

I really really love how the wide angle distorted the... the... the thinggy that covers the window. I think it adds some character to the photo :) 

ahhh I can NOT decide which one I like better! I quite like them both! I think the second one is a bit creepier though... Hm...

Just a picture I took of some wicker :P I know it's simple but I really like it! This isn't actually the better one, this one has a glare. But I'm far too lazy to upload it again, so you'll just have to deal ;)

1930's 

This house was so pretty! even though there was no AC, I could have lived there. I don't use mine anyways xP

My favourite part about this time period and house is the lace curtains! They made for some of my favourite photos! Like the second window picture. I saw the piece of curtain flying and I thought it looked so pretty...

More flying lace...

This is by far one of my favourites. I think it's such an interesting picture... I love how it's framed with the lace. What this is is a window that was partial open, the lace was flying out like in the last picture but this is an inside view. :)  The roof is a cover over the walkway that connected the kitchen/dining room area to the main house. :)

This is inside the children's room. Don't ask me why I like it, I just do! :)
Did you know that the saying "sleep tight" actually came from this time period? You can't see it here, but the beds are held up by ropes, rather than boards. Every night before they went to bed they had to make sure the ropes were pulled tight, or else they may end up on the floor! :P So every night, people made sure to say "Sleep tight" :).

I wanted to take that top hat home with me!!!!

Again, I like the distortion. :) I know it's very subtle, but it's enough. Also, ignore my knee ;)

Now, on a side note...

A foal was just born at my stables!!!! :D!!!

Her name is Fiera (isn't it a pretty name?), and her mom is HUGE!! Her mom is stunning as well, and is owned by Sandra, the owner of the stables. :)

Kisses from Sandra <3

Big mama!

And this is the horse that I lease, Katy She's the best! 

...To put Charisma's (the mom) size in perspective, here is a picture of Sandra next to her: