© Tim Pannell Photography

Shoot through stuff guys…..now that’s real technical sounding isn’t it?  If any of you have watched the show “24″…..they do it all the time.  There is almost always something very out of focus in the foreground of most of their shots.

If gives the image a little bit of mystery, a little bit of depth and a little more interest than just a straight photograph.

I love depth in imagery.  I usually want my images to look as 3 dimensional as possible.

For this shot of my neighbor’s daughter I thought it would be much more interesting if I shot the image through the French door rather than on the inside of the room with Jillian.

She’s by far the cutest little girl on the planet….she comes over and visits 4 or 5 times a week to eat “white” cheese and “good” pickles…”not the icky kind.”

When we lived in Arizona we had neighbors with 2 little kids that would come over and visit us as well…..we miss them dearly…..Jillian’s visits have helped us through our “withdrawal” period from Trenten and Cadyn.

As always, when shooting 2 or 3 year olds you can’t get too technical in terms of directions……gently nudging is about all you can do.  Let them have fun….see what they naturally come up with……you’ll be surprised what great images you can make just observing what a 2 year old invents on the spot.

The next time you shoot, find some different objects with varying degrees of opacity to set really close to your lens in the foreground.  See what happens to your image when you shoot through it.  Play around with different things until you find something you like.  Shoot through windows……play around with reflections.

If you go too far with something, just dial it back a little.  Experiment with different depths or distances from your lens.  Try different f-stops……typically wide open, or close to wide open works best, but try stopping for a few if only just to see what it does.

Most of all…..just have fun playing around with your photos.  The beauty of digital is that it costs you nothing but your time to experiment.

Good luck!

© TIM PANNELL PHOTOGRAPHY

How do you take pictures of a snowball fight?

How do you do it without getting snow all over your gear?

In my experience…….you don’t.

I spent the last 5 days working on a stock photography assignment.

The subject was winter family fun.

I had my good friend Pete come in from L.A. to art direct for me.

I just got back from dropping him off at the airport this morning.

It’s so nice to have that extra pair of eyes, especially when we had so many people in most of the shots we did.

Obviously, this shoot was done differently than if I was just out shooting my own kids or creating images of someone’s family for them.

You wont’ have an art director, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an extra pair of eyes to help you.

Use your spouse, use a friend, use one of your other kids.

Don’t be afraid of biting off more than you can chew.

Give the kids a little encouragement and some guidelines and then jump right in.

© Tim Pannell Photography

Get close to the action and shoot a bunch.  Don’t worry if a lot of the shots stink, that’s going to happen no matter what with this much action.

There’s just too much going on to get a great shot every time.  Don’t focus on the missed shots, focus on the great ones that you get.

If you always play it safe, you’ll never get anything great.  Push yourself, take chances, you’ll be greatly rewarded.

It’s really easy to make excuses to not shoot in the snow, or rain or just plain old winter.

Don’t make that mistake.  Take advantage of the winter weather.

If your kids are like my kids, it won’t take any encouragement at all to get them to go play in the snow.

The next time they go out to make a snowman, build a snow fort or have a snowball fight, follow them out and take a bunch of pictures.

Enjoy the cold winter weather, it won’t be around much longer.

We’re still settling in to the new place and getting caught up on some other business obligations so the next Photo Mommies Workshop will be pushed back another couple of weeks more than I wanted.

To all of you who are patiently waiting…..I apologize, but I thank you for your patience.

The workshop is coming and as soon as I can guarantee a start date I will.  It should take place within the next month.

In the meantime……….keep shooting!

As promised, here’s a little photoshop tutorial that will show you how to salvage an image by using a piece of another image.

The base image is the one I want to use, but I have a leaf covering the boy’s eye.  I found another image from the series where his eyes are free from any leaves.

All I have to do is isolate the area I want to use and drag it to my “base” image to hide the “offensive” leaf.

The tutorial is a bit simplified.  If I were doing this for the client I would spend more time massaging the final image.

This is at the very least a good place to start.  If you’re looking to get more in depth instruction you should consider registering for one of my upcoming Photo Mommies Workshops.

The tutorials for the workshop are more detail oriented.

Once you understand the principles behind this stuff you can play around with all kinds of options and variables.

In any case, have some fun with it……I hope it helps.

Autumn Leaves © Tim Pannell Photography

Our family just got back from a trip to Utah.  The autumn leaves were incredible!  I love this time of year.

We have 2 older children that are going to college up there and my wife and I both have extended family there as well.

It was nice to go up and see everyone as well as get out of the surprise 100 degree weather that showed back up here in Arizona last week.

We had a great time visiting with family and wish we were still up there.

One of the things I enjoy most about the Fall is the colors.  It’s so much fun seeing all the vibrant colors and how quickly they change from day to day.

We took advantage of the weather and shot lots of pictures of our kids with their cousins.

I purposely shot as simply as possible this week because I wanted to use these images as instructional pictures for my Photo Mommies Workshop that starts on November 9th.

Red Leaf © Tim Pannell Photography

Sometimes when the scenery is so pretty, it’s hard to not overdo things and get an image that becomes cluttered with no real direction to it.

If you’re shooting your kids, be sure to keep them strong in the photograph.  It’s about them, make sure the photos you take reflect that.

Find activities that the kids like to do and capture them doing it.

Help Your Sister! © Tim Pannell Photography

Be sure to shoot at the optimal times of day…..just after sunrise and just before sunset.  If you have to shoot in the middle of the day do your best to shoot in open shade.

You can also take advantage of backlighting which makes the colors in your backgrounds really pop.  The sun stays lower in the sky this time of year so the quality of light is better than during summer months.

The colors don’t last long so be sure not to procrastinate.  Get out there and shoot like crazy while the colors are still there.

Be sure to register for the next Photo Mommies Online Workshop if you haven’t already.  It starts on November 9th, runs for 4 weeks and only costs $150. I hope to see you all there in the forum.

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

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.

Day at the Beach © Tim Pannell Photography

Everybody I know wants to be able to take better pictures of their families.  We have all kinds of important occasions in our families that we want to record and be able to look back on.

Think of all the holidays, birthdays, vacations, family reunions, school plays, sports programs, not to mention all of the everyday “ordinary” activities that can provide extraordinary opportunities to make great photographs.

My wife and I are at a point in our lives when our kids are moving out of the house.  It’s very bittersweet.  We’re excited to see our kids growing up and moving off to college to take on the world, but there’s a rather large piece of us that yearns for those days, not so long ago, when we had everyone at home in our own little nuclear family.

I recently went through the last 18 years of transparencies from my career, organizing them and boxing them up for long term storage.  To say that it was memory lane would be an understatement.

I have all of my children’s lives documented in these boxes.  It’s hard to believe how quickly they have grown up.  We have 2 left at home, a 16 year old son and an 11 year old son.  There’s really not much time left until they will be moving on as well.

It makes me want to take advantage of that time and make sure we create some wonderful memories to take with us into the future.

If you have a digital camera, use it.  Keep it handy so it’s easily accessible.  If something fun starts happening at home, grab it and start shooting.  Don’t stop whats happening and have people look into the camera, that can seriously interrupt the flow of the moment.

The Toss © Tim Pannell Photography

The first couple of times you do this, your kids may be a bit self conscious, but as they get used to you whipping out that camera, they’ll learn to almost completely ignore you and you’ll be able to create some wonderful candid photographic moments.

Not everything has to be set up with extra lighting.  Natural light is wonderful when you know how to use it properly.  The more you shoot, the more you start understanding how best to position yourself with respect to the available light.

Some of my favorite shots I’ve taken over the years are some of my simplest setups.  The “daddy – daughter” shot in this post was available light only, no reflectors or anything.  i just wanted to be a fly on the wall and get them just being together.

No elaborate setup, no over the top emotions or expressions.  It’s a simple, classic look and feel.  I love shooting at the beach more than just about anything.  The sound of the surf coming in and going out is very relaxing and lends itself to feelings of timelessness.

If you’re interested in learning more about lighting, f-stops, shutter speeds, composition and just photography in general, be sure to sign up below for the Photo Mommies Online Photography Workshop.  Registration begins in just 2 weeks – September 22nd.  The 8 week class starts on October 19th.  Enrollment is just $300.

© Tim Pannell Photography

I’m getting ready for the October 19th launch of my Photo Mommies Online Photography Workshop.  The goal is to help moms use their cameras better and get better pictures of their kids.  It’s been a lot of fun creating the curriculum.

I’ll also be creating Camtasia videos showing step by step Photoshop techniques at the end of August once the software is available for Macs.

So, if you’re a mom that is passionate about photography and your kids and want to take your photo skills to a higher level, this is the perfect photo workshop for you.

I’ve been a successful commercial photographer for over 24 years and will be sharing insights, tips and secrets I’ve learned over those years as I’ve worked with thousands of kids.

Here’s what  some people I’ve worked with over the last decade or two say:

Pete Schnaitmann

Peter Schnaitmann – Executive Producer – Corbis

“Tim and I have worked together for over six years at Corbis and I have enjoyed every minute of it!  He is an amazing photographer who has the ability to work with people of all ages and get them to relax and be comfortable in front of the camera which enables him to create images that show true emotion and feeling.   Tim is solution oriented and always looking for new ways to light and to create images that are unique and stand apart from the rest.  His positive energy and determination to always create the best image for the project helps to make every shoot a success.”

Ellen Herbert – Producer/Freelance Art Buyer – Former Sr. Director of Photographer Relations, Jupiterimages.

“It is rare to work with a photographer like Tim Pannell. In my 25 years of producing, directing, licensing and buying imagery, he is number one on my list of photographers to call for any project. I know he will bring a creative vision that will take any concept, no matter how staid and overdone, a new slant. Every member of every crew that has ever shot with Tim finds themselves doing their best work when on set with him, inspired not only by the creative process, but by Tim’s supportive, positive and enthusiastic energy and his optimistic outlook. His images are among the top income producing in all the major stock agencies and he is in high demand. He is one of the most respected photographers in our industry. He makes it look easy. Its not, but he makes it look that way. I can’t wait for the opportunity to work with him again.”

The workshop will be available online starting October 19th and will run for 8 weeks.  Each participant will be able to download each week’s lesson at the beginning of the week.  They can then study and work at their own pace throughout the week.  Assignments will be done over the weekends applying the principles learned throughout the week.  I will be giving you personalized feedback on the numerous images  you create throughout the entire course.

Here’s the curriculum as of today:        (It may change between now and the start of the photo workshop)

Week #1 –        Introduction to Photography

A Day In Our Life

Techno Geek vs. Creative Freak

Equipment – Basic Camera Settings

Go Out and Play – (1^st 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 – (2^nd assignment)

Week #3 -       The Art of Seeing

Lens Choice

Viewpoint

Rule of Thirds

Cropping

Background options

Developing Your Creativity – (3^rd assignment)

Week #4 -       Working With Light

Lighting is the Bomb

Styles of Lighting

Outdoor lighting Techniques

Indoor Lighting Techniques

Out With the Bad Light, In With the Good! – (4^th assignment)

Week #5 – Importance of Editing

Candids vs. Portraits

Interacting With Your “Victims”

Indoors vs. Outdoors

Tight and Tidy vs. Loose and Sloppy – (5^th assignment)

Week #6 -       Color Management

Photoshop Settings

Photoshop Actions

Basic Image Enhancement

Workflow

Before and Afters – (6^th assignment)

Week #7 – Storyboard

A Week in Your Children’s Lives

Shoot, shoot and shoot some more

Edit, edit and edit some more – Use the Hatchet, be tough!

Unleash the Creative Beast! – (7^th assignment)

Week #8 –       Share the Wealth

Best of the Best

Wrap It Up, I’ll Take It

The photography workshop will be limited to the first 125 people.  The cost for the 8 week course is $300.00 payable in full at time of registration which is set to begin on September 22nd.  To make sure you’re up to date on workshop registration info and on our latest tips and techniques just fill out the form below with your name and email address.