I was learning that aperture gave me my creative "edge" and that it helped bring in more light...but, I still had to figure out how that combined with the shutterspeed and ISO (that exposure triangle if you will) ...especially for active, young daughters!

This was before I read up that you should probably never go below 1/250 of a second for shutterspeed when photographing kiddos...YUP, that would be very helpful in the future!

Once I started to learn about how light came into my camera, how it was measured and how I could control it with that "exposure triangle"...it helped me to start understanding the ways to use my settings to may advantage when in low light situations, but still be able to capture action when I needed.

**fixes: use the cheat sheet to help you remember what settings do on your camera, know your lighting

3. OVER and UNDER Processing

When I first discovered photoshop, I was overwhelmed...But, after I learned a few things, well I just thought I was the cat's meow! What I still hadn't grasped was how to properly expose an image...white balance wasn't even in my vocabulary...and I was over compensating for the fact that my pictures weren't coming straight out of my camera correctly.

I slowly discovered that the better my pictures came SOOC, the less I had to fiddle with them...and the more natural and beautiful they became. Learning how to slighting adjust for exposure compensation and/or white balance issues was immensely helpful as well.

4. Not Understanding Light

I thought that if the sun was shining, then I ought to get out there and take a picture!  I didn't recognize the shadows and angle of light.  I didn't even know about reflective light or "color" of light for that matter.  I look back on these pictures and can't believe I was satisfied with the shadows on their faces, and the over exposed highlights.  Learning to understand histograms and becoming a student of light has helped propel me in the right direction...to make sure I use light to my advantage instead of letting it hurt my photographs. 

**fixes: become a student of light...notice shadows in your home or in your yard at certain times of day...look for walls, water, things that reflect light to help you in lower light situations.  When outdoors, adjust your subjects accordingly, but also be aware of YOU having to move if your kids are playing outside so that YOUR angle will give you the best contrasts/brightness in your camera

5. Clueless about Depth of Field

Don't you love that branch coming out of my daughter's head?  Yes, aperture & depth of field were  enigmas to me for a very long time.  Remember the story about how I put vaseline on my lens so that I could get the blur?  The fstop numbers correlating with the aperture ring...UGH, you might as well have been talking Chinese in the beginning.  

However, once I began to get the slightest grasp on how my positioning of myself a certain distance from my subject, combined with the fstop setting and then combining that with the distance my subject was from another object...when I started to put it together in baby steps...that's when I started to see change in my images! 

**fixes: Know what your lenses are capable of with regards to f-stop...once you have a grasp on that, you will be able to position yourself and your subjects a correct distance away in order to best utilize what you are able to do...if you have a lens with 1.4 or 1.8 f stops, be mindful of your focal points and your movement

Another area that I can see being a "blunder" is: 

6. Not Intentionally Composing a Moment I didn't understand, at first, that there were actual "rules" and "tips"...I've always seen a "story" through my camera lens, but it was helpful to start forming a list in my head so that I covered all the main parts of my "story" during the moments of my family's life.  

You can check out the current state of my photography on my facebook page or back at the HOME page of the blog. However, I know that I still have so much more to learn...and my subjects are always changing...telling different stories...and that's my challenge...the goal to which I aspire...to continually be growing with them...so that their story is captured in the moments!

This was by no means an exhaustive list, nor was it filled with fail-proof, specific remedies for these situations.  These were just examples of things that I noticed in my pictures early on...and that now, I have seen a change in the way I see life through the lens as well as what I focus on currently in order to make the pictures into what I envision in my mind!

If YOU want to learn your camera...as in REALLY understand HOW it works so that you can actually TELL IT WHAT TO DO...then click HERE to get the scoop on a Snapshop and then contact me at ctphotomemories@gmail.com and put SNAPSHOP in the subject line...Let's get you signed up and on your way to taking Ahhhhhmazing pictures of your kids!!!