Hi ladies! My name is Nikki and I am a portrait and wedding photographer based out of Starkville, MS. I live with my husband and our two puppies (who are gradually becoming well trained dogs) and we are slowly updating our first home. I drink too much coffee, am currently reading Harry Potter for the first time, and love horse riding. Before I get started, I want to give a quick shout out to Erin for letting me share with you all. I’m excited to be here. 🙂  You can follow me on : FACEBOOK | INSTGRAM
Quick disclaimer: I want to start by saying that I specialize in lifestyle/documentary photography. My focus is primarily capturing real moments as they unfold so if this interests you, read on. If you’re looking for perfectly posed moments, this probably won’t be much help for you.
Look for Light
The word photography literally means to draw with light. Your camera isn’t seeing cute moments and fun expression, it’s reading light. So, if your light is bad, then it doesn’t matter how great your moment is, you’re only going to get a so-so photo. I shoot 90% of all my sessions in what is know as golden hour because light is traveling horizontally rather vertically. However that isn’t always an option so learn to look for highlights.
Observation, not Orchestration
The most beautiful moments of kids I have ever captured are when I have let them do their thing, and I simply stood their waiting. If you have some photos in your head that you want to make, I want to encourage you to wait for it to happen rather than force it. You may have to get the camera out on ten separate occasions to finally get a shot you’re happy with or for the particular event you want to document.  You may even find that one you love most isn’t the one you envisioned at all.
Moments > Perfection
Particularly with little kids, life happens fast. This means that blurry photos happen and everything isn’t in sharp focus. And, that’s ok! Some of my favorite photos, both professional and personal, have blur, even on the main subject. I find that it can help convey mood and emotion beautifully so learn to embrace it and keep on shooting.
Know what you’ll do with the photos you’re taking
It doesn’t matter if you’re taking them with a professional camera, or the device that also functions as a phone. Take time to organize your photos (preaching to myself here). Regularly (once a week or at least once a month) get a scoop of ice cream, and look over your photos. Delete the ones you know you’ll never use, make a folder of those you want prints of, and another folder for ones you may want prints of.  Then, make some prints! One of my all time favorite places to shop for photo products is Artifact Uprising. Their quality is second to none and they have awesome sales regularly.
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