I get some questions from other photographers, so I thought I would go ahead and combine them all in one place! Here we go…

1. What equipment do you use?

The cameras I work with are Canon 5Ds (both Mark I and Mark II), which are in my opinion the best camera in the world for weddings and portraits, and are easily considered the industry standard for Canon digital shooters. As far as lenses, I have TONS but my favorites are definitely my primes, the 50 1.2, 85 1.2, 24 1.4! The 16-35 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 100 2.8 macro all from Canon.  I use Canon 580 EX Flashes. The other thing I love is my Jill-E bag and my Shootsac.  It’s nice that someone is bringing fun to womens camera bags.

2. How do you light your images?

I don’t use flash at all during the day. I am constantly looking for beautiful light to bounce off anywhere. Or under trees can be beautiful for soft light too.  I love to use a bit of fill with a white reflector if I am doing a back-lit shot, my favorite look!  I bring out my flash for the reception once the sun has set. I like to diffuse my flash using Gary Fongs flash diffuser and bounce off the white tents.

3. Do you shoot RAW or JPEG?

I’ve am a HUGE advocate of shooting jpeg. I have worked really hard to be able to nail shots in camera jpeg all the time. Here are my primary issues with RAW: I shoot so fast that my CF cards can’t keep up with me. I don’t like doing excess work on images that don’t NEED excess work. Shooting RAW causes a space issue because the files are so big. I also have not seen any quality loss on my images.

5. What is your work-flow like?

Definitely not the fun or creative part of the process! After shooting a wedding with thousands of images and gigabytes of data, I upload them into PhotoMechanic to edit down (sometimes up to 6000)! I then work my way through hours of reviewing, cataloging, and organizing my files. Once I have gone through all my images I burn them to a DVD to keep safe.  I then have  narrowed down to about 1000 -1500 images I put into folders; getting ready, ceremony, reception, etc. Then I upload into PhotoShop Bridge to do my final edit on images using my actions, burn again to a DVD, then FTP images to Pictage.com. I like to have 500 - 750 AMAZING well edited photos that the clients LOVE. (I used to show them everything - thousands of images - what a nightmare for them to go through all of them)! Then begin the process of pre-designing their wedding album to make it simpler for the bride and groom, album usually takes 6 weeks from start to end.  Of course then I blog the wedding asap, upload favs to my website, finish their slideshow put to music using Showit Web.  Send off  the clients (and parents) their Hi-Res CD and ‘brag books’ for them to carry around and share their fabulous day to the world (:

4. Do you use any actions or special programs?

I use actions! The best thing about Kubota actions is that you can–and should–use them to define your style. It’s awesome to look to other photographers as inspiration, but always keep in mind Photoshop actions should only be used to enhance a photo. There are so many it can get crazy, so I have narrowed it down to my favorites to keep work flow simple and fast. Here they are; daily multi vitamin, x process combo, vignette, digital fill flash on most my photos. I also use the healing brush in PS to get perfect skin. Secret weapon for us ladies is the Liquify Filter also in PS, magically can take away 10 to 20 lbs off us! I run these actions and then go back and tweak them or lower the opacity. I love mixing actions so they don’t look like I simply clicked a button and made it into something that looks like thousands of other photos. You really just need to play around to make it your own. I feel that post processing, whether people like to admit it or not, makes or breaks a photographer.

5. Have you had any formal training?

Not really.  I have been in LOVE with photography since Jr. high school. I would spend all my time in the darkroom during lunch and whenever I had a free period. It has been a long road for me to get where I am today (that’s another story) But, I did take some classes at Rocky Mountain School of Photography based in Missoula, Montana – this was back in the day using film. The best thing a photographer starting out can do, is assist with a professional photographer! Also reading books (I recommend Scott Kelby’s books), websites, and blogs, and working with photographers whose work I admire. I also shoot a LOT, which I think is the number one way to learn. The more you shoot, the better you’ll get, that’s all there is to it! A favorite tip? I’d have to say that when it comes to photographing people, flatter them first. So many photographers these days are trying so hard to make a photo “cool” that they forget about making their clients look good which is sort of the whole point of portraiture for most people.

If you want to ask me something specific, you are welcome to leave a comment on my blog, and I will try my hardest to answer your question. – THANKS!

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent…”  ~ Calvin Coolidge

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ~ Mark Twain

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.  ~ Charles Swindoll