Frequently Asked Five - Photoshop Actions, Cropping, and More!

1. What are your opinion on Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets? Do you use them?

I remember when I first started out, I would find a photographer I loved, stalk their website only to find they didn't use photoshop actions. I'd stare at the computer, tears in my eyes, receipts in hand for all the actions I just bought to make myself a certified photographer. Okay, dramatic imagery aside, that was me. I relied a lot on Photoshop actions to get me started. Totally Rad and Florabella were my go-tos.

Now, years on in, I find myself expressing the same sentiment as those photographers that I used to look up to. I no longer rely on actions in my work. I've created a number of my own simply to quicken my workload - a lot of layer masking. I'm able to do this because my in-camera work has come so far in the past few years.

However, using the actions helped me become more familiar with what photoshop was capable of surrounding my images - incredibly helpful coming from a graphic designer background.

2. I love image X, but can you crop out the extra space?

This is a question I get from clients occasionally as they begin ordering their images. Luckily, all of my clients can adjust the crop from within their ordering galleries to whatever they prefer. However, there is a reason behind all that "space". Images in camera are taken at a 2:3 ratio, like that of a 4x6. You’ll notice a 4x6 is rectangular, while an 8x10 is closer to a square. As a result, much of the image is cropped, which is why it is sometimes necessary to leave negative space around my subjects. Not making sense? Visuals for the win!

3. What would you say is the least "fun" part of your job?

Wow. This could be a dangerous question. I had to think about it for a minute. My answer: I can't ever leave work at the office. One of the best parts of my job (not the question Kelli...) is that I make my own schedule and get to spend the day at home with my kids. I still very much consider myself a stay at home mom and family will always come first. As a result, when the kids go to sleep - I go to work. Most working professionals, while they may work late hours, can come home and relax without guilt. There are nights when I'd much rather snuggle on the couch with a blanket and ice cream, but I head to the computer instead. If I take a few hours off at night, it's like missing an entire day of work. I can usually gauge how busy my shooting schedule is by how full my DVR is!

That being said, at this point in my career I have found a healthy balance between family/work/me time. I usually edit and work for a few hours after the kids have gone to bed while simultaneously watching my favorite shows and movies online (bless dual monitors). I make a goal for when I'd like to finish a particular task, and break it up into nightly check lists. Once I've "done good" for the night, I often retreat to the couch or bed and indulge in a little guilty pleasure waiting for me on TV.

Loving what you do is all about balance.

4. How has the crazy DC weather impacted your spring session calendar?

I'm booked, ready and anxious to shoot, but I've already had to reschedule a few sessions because I think we (meteorologists included) all thought it would be warmer by now! Some afternoons I literally want to bang my head on my desk because I am SO DYING TO SHOOT.

5. What is the one thing you never leave behind when heading to a newborn session?

My heater. Hands down. Even with lifestyle sessions, babies spend most of their sessions in a diaper or even in their birthday suit. While you and I might feel fine, it's important to remember babies just spent the past 9 months in a toasty 98.7 degree environment. I have found that the warmer the environment I'm shooting in, the better a baby sleeps when I'm attempting to get those shots of just baby.

More of my must haves for a session will be detailed in my upcoming newborn behind the scenes post that I'm currently working on!

Public Service Announcement

Take a look at these images from my years of shooting below. Any idea what they have in common?

They're illegal.

That's right. All of the above pictures are illegal. (You didn't know I was such a hooligan, did ya?) Did you know it is "unlawful in Virginia for anyone to go upon the track of a railroad other than to pass over the track at a public or private crossing without the consent of the railroad company, or person operating the railroad"? You can actually be arrested. Now that would certainly make for an interesting story to tell following a shoot, but also it'd be CRAZY embarrassing.

Photographing on train tracks is not a new idea. In fact, it's quite popular in photography, to the point where it's become cliche. I always knew it was dangerous. In fact, during one of the sessions above we were on the tracks when a train came barreling around the corner. We ran off the tracks as quick as we could and had a great laugh - not realizing how dangerous, or illegal, what we were doing was. 

It wasn't until over the past year I educated myself through the better example of other photographers that this practice is illegal. In one set of train tracks above, there have already been 2 deaths in the surrounding area for 2014... and it's only March. 

So, to my clients, if in the future you ask me to photograph you and your loved ones on the train tracks, I will politely decline for the reasons above and in this article regarding photography and train tracks. I don't want to risk my safety or the safety of you, my client. We can certainly incorporate the tracks in the background or use the amazing train station in Manassas as a backdrop, but the tracks themselves will be off limits. 

I'd be a pansy in jail anyway. 

How I Became A Photographer

In the photography industry right now, there are a lot of heated debates about how individuals referred to as momtogs or fauxtographers are hurting the market. These individuals buy a nice camera (sometimes not even that) and decide they want to take up photography as a side business or hobby. They offer their services at rock bottom prices, hurting photographers who are trying to run a legitimate business and in turn skewing public expectations of what they should invest in quality, professional services. I'm not here to talk about those people or even the argument itself. However, since it is something that comes up a lot when discussing photographers and how they run their business, I thought I would use it as an opportunity to tell my story.

I did not become a professional photographer to make money. I did not become a professional photographer to have a job or something to keep me busy. My business certainly does all of those things, but that isn't why I started my business.

I still remember my first camera. It was a hot pink 110 camera. You know those long, rectangular cameras? I took it everywhere. I took pictures of everything. My next camera was a basic 35mm Powershot type camera. It had a zoom, a flash, and it automatically loaded the film itself. I thought I was pretty hot stuff. That camera carried me through my high school years and into college, when digital cameras became the next big thing.

Growing up, in middle school, I couldn't just have a sleepover - no, we had to do our hair and makeup, put on clothes we'd never wear out in public and take pictures of each other. In high school, I was a scrapbooker. I didn't party in my teen years - I was very much a homebody (I still am) and a night of fun was all about scrapbooking in my room with music or the TV on. When I was in high school, I was asked to photograph a bride and groom shortly after their LDS Temple ceremony. They didn't hire a photographer, but they wanted nice photos of their family altogether outside the venue. Their parents knew I liked photography and taking pictures, asked me, and I was happy to do it. I think I even got to miss school for it! I was paid $40 for my services, which at the time was unexpected and awesome. $40 was a lot of money as a teenager! When I went off to college and eventually got married, I was still always carrying my camera with me everywhere. It wasn't long before I was years behind in my scrapbooks, because I couldn't keep up with the number of images I was taking. Once I got my first digital camera, forget about it.

When Facebook was created, pictures were now more accessible than ever on the internet. It wasn't just my private blog anymore or through email. I started to see more digital images than ever before, and it wasn't long before I wanted to upgrade my camera.

Admittedly, I did very little research when I bought my first SLR. I had friends that were in the beginnings of a photography business. I liked what their pictures looked like, so that's the camera I bought. I had no concept of full-frame or cropped sensor. I just knew to buy a Nikon D80 and a 50mm 1.8 lens.

My very first pictures taken with that camera were of my makeup. Playing with depth of field, or making really cool blurry backgrounds. Oh, the blurry backgrounds... I was in love. There was only so much I could do with my self-timer, taking pictures of myself, and my husband wasn't exactly a willing model. So, I began to take pictures of my friends. Anyone who was willing so I would have photos to edit and play with. In that time I did many fake engagement sessions with married couples or family photos with my friends from high school who still lived in the area. I learned so much in those first few years. It was then that I broke free from Auto and learned what manual could do, and all the many, many, many features of an SLR.

It wasn't until 7 years ago that one of my very best friends called me and asked me if I would be willing to photograph her wedding, and if so, what would I charge.

Um... what?

You want to PAY me?

I remember very vividly yelling for my husband and gasping at him, explaining the proposition that had just been made. I remember being a bit panicked. Wedding pictures? That was a big deal! That's a huge responsibility! I still feel that way today, 7 years later. But my husband, who is still my biggest cheerleader and nothing but proud of my talents, told me to go for it. And I did.

My first portrait session - Engagements with Morgan and Stacy

I made $500 for that very first wedding. Engagements, bridals, and wedding coverage. To this day, I am still incredibly proud of that very first engagement session. The images are still timeless and classic - my style evolved from that first session. I didn't have a clue about posing - there weren't guides on the internet, there was no Pinterest and not nearly as many photography websites available for me to emulate. I learned so much from Morgan and Stacy's coverage and I am eternally grateful to my friend for having enough faith in me to break me out of my comfort zone.

After we moved back East and I had my little girl, I finally created a real website. I decided that this is something I wanted to do. I loved photography. I loved coming from from a session and editing the images. To this day, that's still my favorite part. I still love seeing what develops from a session and then manipulating and going over each image.

I've always focused on the artistic, editing side of photography, but I have learned a lot about camera equipment over the years, studied photography tricks that involve manipulating my camera instead of relying on my extensive knowledge of Photoshop. I now know the difference between a full-frame and a cropped sensor (I now shoot full frame) and my lens collection is quite a bit more expansive than a 50 mm. I've been forced to become a business woman, an accountant, a human resources department, a shipping manager, an administrative assistant... all this on top of being a stay at home mom. I love every minute of it. I've always found my way into leadership positions at any job I've worked at because I love to do well, be organized and make customers happy. Being my own brand and my own boss is just another extension of that; doing something I love.

Do I think I would have ended up doing photography professionally if I hadn't been asked to shoot that wedding? Well, there's really no way to tell. One thing I know for certain is that I would still most definitely be taking pictures. Long after my business closes or I find a new passion, I will always, always have a camera in my hand.

Behind the Scenes - 2013 Edition

Well, 2013 has come to a close. I spent my New Years at home with sick kids and starting to feel a little sickness coming on myself. I guess I'm getting old... I also have taken the past few days to reflect back on 2013 from a business stand point. As I said in my previous post, professionally, I met all of my goals and then some. I couldn't have asked for more this year without just plain being greedy. I'm so grateful that as I've grown professionally so many of you have stuck with me and continued to trust me over and over again with your memories. I'm repaying that trust by welcoming you to a behind the scenes look at Kelli Brewer Photography, and to share with you some of my experiences over the past year. More specifically, a look at one of the two weddings I shot this year.



As a budding photographer, these kinds of posts were my favorite - seeing a photographer in action and learning from them, whether it was positive or negative. As a client or reader, I hope you find the inside scoop behind what I do at least informative if not fascinating. Every photographer is a bit different, but this is how I run things behind the show.

Before we delve too far into this post, I have to thank Chance Hammock for all the awesome photos of me in action.

As my second shooter, I rely on Chance a lot. He's the "safety net" for me in many ways: If I get ill, or another 'act of God' prevents me from being where I need to be, he provides extra equipment and assistance with my own equipment, he helps me split up shots to cut down on shooting time, we bounce ideas off each other and quite frankly, it just wouldn't be as fun without him. Just imagine being a guest at a wedding where all you know is the bride and groom, and you're in a room full of strangers all night. I can mingle with the best of them, but it's so nice to have a buddy to share the job with.

Chance saved me in more than one regard at Katie and Ryan's wedding. Yes, photographers make mistakes (at least this one does) and gear fails. Just as we were about to get things underway I was double checking my equipment, primarily my flash. Suddenly, it wasn't turning on. I cursed my husband under my breath for probably giving me faulty batteries after a long debate of using rechargeable ones vs. buying tried and true new ones at the store. I tried another set from Chance and still, nothing. We really didn't have a lot of time and I was weighing my options when Chance pulls a second flash out of his bag. I ended up shooting with it all night. He saved my butt big time.

Also - batteries can corrode inside a flash unit, just an FYI.

I was at the front of the chapel capturing the big "Mr. and Mrs. Gorman!" moment when I realized the ceremony was over.

By the time I got to the back of the chapel, this is where the bride and groom were. See Chance? Yeah, he caught that awesome shot on the right. Giving the bride and groom two angles of the same moment.

A lot of bride and grooms don't realize just how special it is to have two photographers at your wedding. I've said it before: I can't be in two places at once. Especially in large locations, I can't literally be running from one end of the chapel to the other (though I have given some mall speed walkers a run for their money). Chance and I seem to just know where to be. We have a "game plan" before we begin, but we seemingly end up at opposite points of the room, capturing the moments from different angles. It's because of this we're able to see things happening the other can't and we don't miss out on so much happening around us. 

I was never here. You saw nothing.

When I'm shooting the ceremony of the wedding, I only get one opportunity to capture it all. It's really hard to know how long the ceremony will be - if it's only 5 minutes and I've taken my time, I might only end up with 10 usable shots. Better to go crazy with the shutter than say "thanks for paying me your life savings, here are your 10 photos"!

Because I'm having to move so fast, I can be all over the place during a ceremony. However, the trick is to be quiet (I wear shoes with rubber soles), get low (my thighs usually hurt come the next day - photography is a great workout) and stay out of the guest's way. I always touch base with the Officiant prior to the wedding to know where I can and cannot go and if they have any requests for behavior on my part. The last thing any photographer wants is for this to happen to them. For example, during Katie and Ryan's Catholic Mass, I could not go down the aisle more than a few feet, I had to stay two rows back on either side, I could not go onto/behind the altar and I could not use my flash. Did you get all that? I'll admit, I was absolutely petrified I was going to make a mistake and some big bodyguards were going to tackle me to the ground.

Following their ceremony however, I spoke with the Officiant as we waited for the family to gather for formal portraits. He thanked me for my services, and told me that he never noticed me throughout the Mass. He told me that was the mark of a good photographer - being unseen. SUCCESS!

For the women reading, let's dive into FASHION!

A lot of new photographers wonder what kind of dress code is required at their shoots. Since we run our own business, a uniform is up to us. For family sessions, I go pretty casual. Jeans and a nice shirt will normally do. I don't usually do sleeveless or low cut items - mainly because I don't when I'm off the clock. In reality, nobody wants to see my pits when I'm raising my arms to shoot or see 'the ladies' when I'm crawling on the ground to get the shot.

Wow, that's a lot of imagery in one sentence.

With weddings, my dress code is usually the same - dark dress pants and a semi-dressy top. Whatever I do wear, I make sure that it's long so that it covers me when I'm squatting and that it's comfortable in the arms. I can't have something too tight that doesn't allow me to move. Nobody should be looking at me, so it's about comfort, not fashion. Would I ever wear jeans to a wedding? No. Not even a hoe-down. Would I ever wear shorts? Nope. I just don't think it's professional. This is purely my opinion. Even in the hot June heat, I opt for dress slacks. That, and I really don't have nice legs. They're blindingly white, and I don't want to draw attention away from the bride.

Have you ever found yourself browsing a photography blog and read or seen the term "Uncle Bob"? Or what about a wedding planning blog suggesting you ask guests to "unplug"? There's a big burst right now in digital camera sales and improvements in cell phone cameras. Everyone is taking pictures - and that's a great thing. At a wedding, it can be a bit more complicated.

You see, photographers (long before my time) coined the term "Uncle Bob" to refer to a wedding guest who does one or many of these things: brings their camera to an event and gets in the way by hovering over a photographer, directing guests to look at them instead of the hired professional, attempt to "talk shop" with the hired photographer, photo bombs images, ruins images by firing their flash at inopportune times, etc.

See the photo above? There are 5 other cameras going during formals. 5 that you can SEE. Now, when you hire me as your photographer, you hire someone flexible. As long as "Uncle Bob" doesn't prevent me from doing my job, I'm all for allowing guests to take images. Occasionally I did have to ask the guests to step back, but I'm not afraid to ask - and ask politely. I've never run into a guest who didn't oblige my request. In fact, when I've gotten the shots I need, more often than not I step aside and allow "Bob" to get his shots as well. We can all work together!

Bridal Party shots can be intimidating when you're working with large groups and a lot of personalities. More than family members at a wedding, I find bridal parties to be the most anxious to get to the cocktail hour and be done with photos. I have to move fast and I have to keep the atmosphere light.

I'm doing my best to describe what I'm looking for, and trying to be sarcastic and funny about it to get some genuine smiles outta these handsome guys.

It must have worked, because pretty soon these guys had all of us laughing!

It can be hard to keep bridal party formals fresh and new. The poses I can create depend largely on the personalities of the bridal party. For this particular wedding, I could have asked them to create a circus routine and they would have done it gladly - and spectacularly.

Finished image. These guys were amazing!

I try my best to think on my feet. A lot of photographers keep inspiration boards on Pinterest or even on their phones of poses they want to try or photos that inspire them. I do this too.

The problem?

I often completely blank at a session. Maybe not... totally blank. Out of ten poses I told myself YES I'M GOING TO DO THIS!! I remember two. I often fall into the same habits and same poses because I blank. That and I don't want to disengage with my client because I'm scanning my mental pin board. This is probably for the best. Creatively I can't rely on work someone else has done. While I can be inspired by others work, blanking helps me make my sessions and weddings my own. It's something I'm always working on and looking to improve.

Deciding... Deciding... "Okay guys, this is what we're gonna do!"

I love the formals that follow a ceremony because it's a nice bit of quiet, one-on-one time with my bride and groom. Being able to spend the first few moments with people after they've become husband and wife is a great honor. Everyone is going to want to attack these two for the rest of the reception, and I get to whisk them away and have them all to myself! There's been so much leading up to this moment and it's over in minutes. The ease and generally feeling of "we did it!" is infectious.

Behind the scenes fact: I am absolutely terrified of detailed ring shots.

I can take images of rings on the bride and groom's hands until the cows come home. But when they place their rings into my hand and let me scurry off with them... that terrifies me. You see, I'm convinced that I'm going to lose them, drop them into any number of crevasses, return them with a missing stone, or heck, maybe I'll even swallow one somehow. There is no greater relief than doing my duty and returning those rings to their rightful owners, safe and sound.

A couple weeks ago I was in the midst of some email exchanges with a potential bride, that I'm so excited to be working with in May. She sent me a series of questions to answer, one of which was "You have attended countless weddings. What is your favorite part?" I replied: I like the reception. It's not formal like the ceremony. The "hard part" for me is over - I just get to capture candids and people having fun. I love the food, the toasts - you really learn more about a couple when you hear from their friends and can feel the love in the room. Who doesn't love a good party?

It was a very honest answer. After the ceremony I can breathe a sigh of relief. The most crucial part of my coverage is over. I get to let down my guard a bit and breathe a sigh of relief with the bride and groom, as well and share in their joy. I get to spend the rest of the night capturing moments of joy and love, eat amazing food and eat some great cake. And in some cases, great cinnabuns.

Next year, I hope to invite you behind the scenes into a wider variety of sessions - families, newborns, seniors, you name it. We're only a week into 2014 and I'm already blown away by the opportunities it has brought me. I could have never imagined the girl who was paid $40 to shoot a few wedding shots after a ceremony in high school would be running the business she is today.

Who knew, right?

The Genho Family - Northern Virginia Photographer

A few weeks ago I had a whole day experience shooting with the Genho family. Lynnie is an old friend, and she invited us down to shoot on their farm. Over 7,000 acres, it's a beautiful property. Going somewhere else to shoot her family would have made ZERO sense. I headed down early in the afternoon and into the Shenandoahs (for you locals, you can see Old Rag from her property) to find "Clover Hill", an 18th century farm house and plantation.

We drove around the mountain (literally, in the red Toyota you'll see pictured) to find some of their favorite spots; Lynnie's husband John operates the 7,000 farm. The sky was amazing that night - from a beautiful sunset to bright blue clouds to a dark overcast - there was a little of everything as the session progressed and our amazing backdrops changed.

Following the session, we rode the horses, fed the sheep and chased after the chickens. I got a full tour of the house (including the super creepy basement) and Lynnie and John prepared a delicious breakfast spread for dinner, with the most amazing Pumpkin Pancakes you will ever eat! We sat around the kitchen and laughed, enjoying the night well into the dark. It was such a blast hanging out in their little piece of Heaven. What an amazing place to call home! Thanks so much Lynnie for having me!