Free wheeling © Tim Pannell Photography

Registration for the 8 week class is now closed and registration for the new 4 week workshop begins right now.

If you have a digital camera and want to take better photographs of your kids, but aren’t sure how to set up your camera settings or what lenses to use, or what f-stop and shutter speed combinations to use, then this is a great workshop for you.

Enjoy learning at your own pace with the weekly lesson modules. Every week brings new lessons with new tasks or assignments to help teach you the ins and outs of taking better photographs of your children.

You’ll learn how to make your subject really stand out from your background. I’ll teach you how to find better backgrounds. Learn about props, wardrobe and how to choose colors.

Learn how to use available light to your best advantage.

More than anything, this workshop is designed to be fun and informative. Take advantage early and sign up now. The cost for the 4 week workshop is only $150.

Week #1 – Introduction to Photography

* A Day In Our Life
* Techno Geek vs. Creative Freak
* Equipment – Basic Camera Settings
* Go Out and Play – (1st assignment)

Week #2 – Exposure Control

* Shooting Modes
* Histograms – (Polaroid was so over-rated)
* ISO
* Picking an Aperture
* Depth of Field
* Shooting Action
* Aperture vs. Shutter Speed – (2nd assignment)

Week #3 – The Art of Seeing

* Lens Choice
* Viewpoint
* Rule of Thirds
* Cropping
* Background options
* Developing Your Creativity – (3rd assignment)

Week #4 – Storyboard

* A Week in Your Children’s Lives
* Using available light
* Props, wardrobe and colors
* Shoot, shoot and shoot some more
* Edit, edit and edit some more – Use the Hatchet, be tough!
* Unleash the Creative Beast! – (4th assignment)

The 4 week photo workshop begins November 9th, just in time to get you ready to take great shots of your kids during the holidays.

Registration gets you access to the Photo Mommies Forum where you will get lots of positive feedback from fellow Photo Mommies as well as myself.

So go ahead and take advantage of this great opportunity and register today, just follow this link:   Photo Mommies Workshop Registration

I’ll see you in the forum!

Trick or Treat © Tim Pannell Photography

I love taking Halloween photos of kids.  There’s nothing cuter than a little bitty kid in a totally killer costume.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s because that’s about the time we start getting amazing weather here in Arizona.

I love the crispness in the air, the colors, the costumes, the candy. I love it all.

© Tim Pannell Photography

There are so many great opportunities to take great pictures too. From carving the pumpkins and making cookies, to the obvious cute costumes and trick or treating.

You can use available light outdoors and get all kinds of great looking light. If you’re outside early enough, try doing some back-lighting.  All these images were done just with available light.

No reflectors, no strobes, no nothing. Just work on understanding where your light is coming from and do your best to get some nice highlights on your heroes.

Carving © Tim Pannell Photography

The other really nice thing about Halloween is that the kids are so excited about what’s going on that they don’t get too wrapped up in the camera being around.

© Tim Pannell Photography

They eventually stop paying attention to you and start getting wrapped up in whatever it is they’re doing. Usually, that’s the best stuff.

Just keep it simple.  Use a fairly open f-stop to blow out your backgrounds and don’t get too crazy with the props.

Be sure to check out the Photo Mommies Online Photography Workshop that starts on October 21st and register before it gets filled up.

© Tim Pannell Photography

Well, it’s finally here.  We had a couple little hiccups with the website this last week, but we’re ready to begin registration for the Photo Mommies Online Photography Workshop.

The workshop begins on October 19th.  It goes on for 8 weeks.  If you want to see the curriculum, just follow this link: Photo Mommies Workshop.

This comprehensive workshop is designed to help the amateur photographer that wants to get more out of their digital camera.  If you have kids and want to take better photographs of them, this is the workshop for you.

Learn what it takes to create beautiful photographs of your children.  From how to navigate your way through all the bells and whistles on today’s cameras, to using available light, to simple composition and how to find good backgrounds and props.

You’ll also learn basic Photoshop and retouching techniques, digital workflow and how to store your files properly.

There will be weekly modules available to download with the lessons so you can learn at your own pace throughout the week.  There will be tasks  and assignments to challenge you each week to grow and stretch beyond your current comfort zone.

The fee for the 8 week workshop is just $299.  Get registered now.  www.photomommies.com/workshop

Little Cuties © Tim Pannell Photography

I got to shoot two little girls yesterday. What a hoot! The youngest is one and her older sister is 2 1/2. They are adorable.

Their parents are friends of ours from church. I see them every week, but I didn’t really know much about their 2 little cuties.

Sisters © Tim Pannell Photography

The first time I shoot with kids, I try not to push too hard for a preconceived shot. It rarely works out the way you plan. It’s better to just kind of go with the flow.

The younger they are, the shorter window of opportunity you will typically have. We shot for under 2 hours, which is a long time for 2 little ones of their ages.

Try to find a couple places that have good available light and backgrounds. Find some props to help keep them from paying too much attention to you and then start shooting away.

We started out with a little kitchen set. Eden, the 2 year old loves to bake! This was the easiest way to get her into shooting without “posing” for the camera.

Eden the Chef © Tim Pannell Photography

Eventually, they get used to you and you can get some natural looking shots of the kids just being kids.

The struggles with available light are almost always focus related. I have great lenses and yet they still struggle to lock on sometimes when the subject has lots of “energy.”

"Popular" © Tim Pannell Photography

Shoot anyway. Even if they’re moving in and out of focus. Sometimes you can get some happy little accidents. Blurry isn’t always a bad thing.

I shot most of these images at f2 between 1/125th and 1/200th of a second, ISO rating of 800. No fill lights, no reflectors. I wanted to show what can be done with no additional lighting.

Little Chef © Tim Pannell Photography

Most people starting out in photography just have the camera and a couple of lenses. Sometimes people mistakenly believe they can’t get great photographs without a lot of “stuff.” You don’t have to have fancy studio lighting equipment to get great shots.

© Tim Pannell Photography

You can add additional lighting to your “kit” in due time. There’s nothing wrong with taking baby steps in the beginning.

© Tim Pannell Photography

The most important thing to remember when shooting little kids is to try to make it fun and no big deal. It’s not life or death if you don’t end up getting an amazing shot.

© Tim Pannell Photography

If you try to force the situation you could ruin a lot of your chances for getting great shots the next time. You don’t want your kids going AWOL any time they see you pull your camera out.

© Tim Pannell Photography

Remember, Just have FUN!
Registration for the Photo Mommies Online Photography Workshop begins on Tuesday, September 22nd.  Be sure to sign up, there will only be 125 spaces.

day in the life A © Tim Pannell Photography

Have you ever started taking photographs of your family in the morning and shot throughout the day til bedtime? “A day in the life” coverage can be a whole lot of fun.

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that unless something special is going on, there’s nothing worth shooting. You don’t need any “special events” to get great pictures.

Just for kicks, try shooting some of the more mundane events of your day and see what happens.

I think you’re in for a surprise. There’s no pressure when you’re just shooting ordinary stuff. Play around, have a little fun. Be loose. Be freewheeling.

Your kid’s eating pancakes……photo. Your kid’s walking out the front door with her oversized backpack…….photo. Your child’s playing video games…….photo. Your little munchkin is doing her homework……photo.

Day in the Life B © Tim Pannell Photography

Keep your camera handy throughout the day and see how many great shots you can make in a given day.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Photo Mommies Online Workshop.  Registration begins next Tuesday – September 22nd.  Classes start on October 19th.

© Tim Pannell Photography

Last week, my youngest daughter moved away from home to start her Sophomore year at college and ripped my heart out.

Today, my oldest son ended his summer visit and left home to begin his Junior year in college and stomped what was left of my heart into little squishy pieces.

What a week!  He went to college right out of high school for a year, went to Cambodia for 2 years as a missionary, came back and finished his Sophomore year at college and came home this summer for 4 months.

Having everyone home for the summer one last time was a treat for all of us.  I’m so glad we had this time together.  (cue Carol Burnett)

© Tim Pannell Photography

It’s funny to watch the big changes in life as they come at you screaming at the top of their lungs.  The 2 of them leaving for college within a week of each other signals a major shift in our lives and our family dynamic will never be the same.

I’m not saying it’s a bad “thing”, it’s clearly not. We’re thrilled our kids are heading out, growing up,  setting goals and making plans.   It’s just a different “thing”, a different stage.

Now we’re preparing to downsize out of our “dream home,” the home we raised all 5 of our kids in.

We only have 2 left at home and it’s just too big of a house for our needs.  It’s been a great home in a wonderful neighborhood, with neighbors that are more like family members.

This has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make in our lives.  Kids leaving home, starting a couple new businesses, continuing the old photography business, packing, de-cluttering, I’m exhausted just writing it all down.

Clearly, we have a lot on our plates at the moment and the emotions my wife and I are feeling are all over the board.

As part of the overall “clean up” I was going through countless boxes of transparencies from my 24 year career.  Many of my best selling images over the years have  been shots of my kids.  One minute I’m helping my 22 year old son pack workout stuff, a guitar, design and art supplies and the next minute I’m looking at pictures of him when he was 4 years old playing basketball.

© Tim Pannell Photography

The beauty of photographs is the crispness of the memories they actually preserve.  As I look at all these pictures of him tracing his growth from a baby to young man I can clearly remember so much of the events surrounding those images.

I can remember the stores we went to together shopping for props or wardrobe.  I can remember the bribes I occasionally had to use to get some shots.  I can remember almost complete conversations we had  at the time.

I’m so glad we have all these photographs to remember all of our family’s adventures together.

My wife and I have quite a few friends that are in their 20′s and 30′s, starting their own little families and I’m envious of them.  I would love to have another chance to document and make art out of a family’s journey together.

I guess that’s why I’m so excited about the Photo Mommies Workshop.  It’ll give me a chance to help others get the same amount of joy that I’ve received over the years taking pictures of our kids.

There’s nothing quite as cool as catching that “perfect” moment with your baby or toddler or teenager.  That shot that captures who they really are, you know, when you just nail it and can look at it forever.

Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to capture these moments.  When our kids were little, we used film cameras and that got so expensive.  The digital age has changed the entire landscape of family pictures.

© Tim Pannell Photography

Once you have a camera and a computer it doesn’t cost you a dime to shoot.  Take advantage of that.

Shoot your kids like crazy.  Take it from me, they don’t stay little forever.  You may have a 2 year old today, but you’re going to blink one day and they will be driving off in a fully loaded car to another state, going away to college.

You’ll be so happy and excited for them, and yet at the same time it’ll be breaking your heart.  The ultimate “bittersweet.”

I’ve written enough.  Now I have to go and look through more of my “old school” transparencies and stroll through memory lane with my kids.

Baby June © Tim Pannell Photography

This is one of my favorite baby photos.  It’s just one of those dumb, happy accidents.  It totally reminds me of those goofy chewing gum commercials and the 9 out of 10 dentists prefer Trident.

She looks like a little “pitchman.”  Here, look at this, look at how cute I am……now buy my crap!

This was a really simple portrait lighting setup.  Basically I found a room with great natural light.  I positioned the baby so the light would flatter her and be interesting.

I also made sure the background was visually pleasing, without competing with the baby.  I did that primarily by choosing a wide open f-stop, in this case it was f-2 and picking a background that had nice light, shadows and shapes.

The real trick, as always with babies is to recognize that ultimately they are in charge.

I sat her on the floor and laid down a few feet in front of her.  I got some simple props for her to play with.  She picked what she liked and did her thing.  I played with her for a few minutes so she would get used to me and hopefully, not pay much attention to me.

She was having a good time with her little block and then she glanced up with “that” look and knocked me out of my shoes.  I’ve shot tons of pictures of this little girl, she’s now 5 years old.  This is still my favorite…it just cracks me up.

It’s not any more complicated than that.  You shoot as much variety and for as long as the baby will tolerate your strange behavior.  Try to squeeze a little more out of her after the first “obvious” fussing noises.

With the 2nd set of “I’m growing weary of you” sounds, you pack your things and call it a day.