Aerial is particularly excited.  She kept going into preterm labor, but her doctor has successfully stopped her labor.  She is 36 weeks today!  We expect her baby Daniel to wait at least one more week before he makes his entrance into the world.

Aerial’s husband is serving our nation in the Army. Yesterday, he received a promotion to PFC and graduated with honors at the top of his class!  He is going to San Antonio for 2 more months of training.  He hopes to get emergency leave for the birth of their first child.  Aerial has been strong through these 8 months of her pregnancy while her husband works hard to provide a good life for them.  Everyone is hoping that they will finally be able to live together as a family as soon as he completes this next round of school.

Here are some window light only pictures.  Notice the beautiful reflections in the children’s eyes and how the light gently wraps around the subject.

All of these Photographs are copyrighted by Jill Scott Stewart Photography.

One of the favorite locations in Baldwin County Alabama and the Fairhope Duck Pond.

Original Image

4 Images Processed 4 different ways using Actions

And of course, there is always classic Black and White.

I didn’t look very far into the session to find an image to post.  Lots more will be coming in the next day or two.

I love to look at and photograph mushrooms.  There are so many varieties, and they come in so many colors.  I was walking in downtown Daphne, Alabama when I came across this small patch.  Of course I had to stop, lay down on the HOT and DIRTY sidewalk and photograph them.  I did not bother to clean the area up around the mushrooms before the shot because I didn’t want to lower my heart rate.  I was walking for exercise after all!  I automatically assume that any mushroom not in a grocery store or farmer’s market will kill me or give me a really bad trip and are not edible!  I know that is faulty thinking, but I do not have proper edible fungi education.  Therefore, I believe that all wild mushrooms are to be photographed and not eaten.

The lesson in this is I did use the Rule of Thirds and an equal perspective (getting on “eye” level with the subject).  My camera setting is ISO 100, F-13, 1/80 sec & the white balance was Daylight

Now the cave is appropriately name.  It is D.A.R.K.!  I photographed all the black and white and some of the color images in 6400 ISO, and as you know, that makes for some seriously grainy images!  Since it was a praise and worship concert, I didn’t want to disturb the church with much flash.  In a situation like this, the best time to move to another spot is between songs.  The aperture was 1.2-1.4  (depending on the lens I had on my camera).  The shutter speed was 1/30.

Meet Jeff Griffin~Drums – Percussion & Vocals

Meet Louis Bustin ~ Bass Guitar

Meet David Wright ~ Lead, Rhythm, Acoustic Guitar & Vocals

Meet Greg Stewart ~ Lead and Rhythm Guitar & Vocals

To find out more about the band, visit their website and Facebook page.

If you divide your image into 9 equal parts, by dividing the horizontal area into 3 sections and the vertical area into 3 sections, you have a grid.  Most Digital SLR cameras have a grid that can be turned off or on.  Check your camera’s manual to find out how to do that.

When you are preparing to photograph and image, think about breaking your image up into the 9 equal parts.  The grid above shows the 4 main points of focus in an image.  An interesting place to put your subject is on one of the 4 intersecting points.  Another interesting place to put your subject in along one of the 4 lines.  Two are vertical and two are horizontal.  Before pressing the shutter, frame and reframe you image to see what pleases your eye the most.

Studies have shown that when images  are being viewed, the viewer’s eyes usually travel to one of the intersection points and then follow the subject and other points of interest, and not the center of the shot.  So by using the rule of thirds, the photographer can effectively help the viewer use their natural way of viewing a photograph and not working against it; therefore,  if you place your subject in the intersections or along the lines that your image is more balanced and  enables the view the image not only the way the photographer intends, but the way their eyes prefer to view it.

Before pressing the shutter, ask yourself:

• What are the points of interest in this shot?
• Where am I intentionally placing them?

PHOTOGRAPHING A BANANA TREE SPIDER USING THE RULE OF THIRDS

I found this very tiny banana spider in my yard when looking for subjects in my yard to show the Rule of Thirds.  She must have just hatched and was still very skittish.  When I got close, she ran to the leaf and turned her bottom end up toward the camera.

NOT USING THE RULE OF THIRDS

I intentionally broke the rule with this image.  The leading lines of the green stem and the brown leaves, as well as the straight lines of the web draw the viewer’s eye around the image.  The first place that the eye naturally looks is that in focus brown stem and not the spider.  That focal point is not only wrong, but very distracting!

PHOTOGRAPHING A BANANA SPIDER USING THE UPPER 3RD OF THE VIEWING AREA

These images are much more pleasing.  The one on the left has just the top left in focus so the viewer notices the spider.  The image on the right would be even better if that pesky brown stem wasn’t in focus.  There wonderful lines through the image that makes the viewer’s eye move around the image.

I really like the image on the left.  The focus remains on the spider because of all the negative space to the top and right of the spider.  The image on the right would be my favorite if that brown stem were not in focus.  Time to bring it into Photoshop and blur the leaf and stem.

Play with your camera and find out which settings you prefer for various lighting situations.

The following are an examples of outdoor floral photography using all the white balance buttons.  The little flowers were photographed in full sun, and the white flower was photographed in full shade.

AUTO WHITE BALANCE

TUNGSTEN

Use this setting when the majority of the light is coming from regular light bulbs.

FLUORESCENT

Use this setting when photographing under fluorescent lights.

DAYLIGHT

This setting has a bluish normal color.  It is a great setting for studio lights.

FLASH

Almost identical to cloudy but sometimes redder depending on the camera. Use this setting for the little on-camera flashes.

CLOUDY/SUNSET/TWILIGHT

It’s a little warmer than the daylight setting and best for most shots outdoors in direct sunlight,  under overcast, twilight or shady conditions

SHADE

Very orange. This is perfect for shooting in shade, since shade is so blue. It’s also for shooting when you are under a cloud on a partly cloudy day since most of the light is coming from the blue sky. It’s also for shooting in backlight, again since the subject is lit more by the blue sky instead of the direct sunlight.

CUSTOM