Featured on: Lights and Colours

One of my underwater photos was just featured on Lights and Colours. Its a great post about the Canon Powershot D10, my little point and shoot underwater camera! Read up and enjoy!

Even if you're not sure you need an underwater camera, this is a great little point and shoot! The only downside is that it doesn't fit into my pocket, but that doesn't really bother me because it has a handy wrist strap AND I usually carry a purse (plus I am a weirdo that used to carry a film SLR with her, so a bulky point and shoot is still WAY smaller than my old Minolta SLR).

more underwater kids

I obviously like taking pictures of kids. I also think that I happen to be pretty good at it. So over the last few weeks, I have been trying to figure out how to possibly turn taking children's portraits into a job. I have been doing a little bit of research on the photography end of things:

• I asked photographers I know what they charge for a portrait session and what the client gets for that charge
• I googled prices
• I read articles on DPS about what people charge and what other new photographers have learned from starting up

Then I have been talking to parents, trying to feel out if there is some need that isn't being met out there. One of the things that I think really prevents people from hiring a photographer is the cost. I totally get that, and I think I have figured a way to bring that down. Another thing that was mentioned is that a lot of parents just want someone at events to take pictures so that they don't have to. I'm a little on the fence about this, but that is certainly a need that isn't being met, as far as I can tell.



So that's what I'm working on at the moment. You can also buy these prints through my smugmug.

Swim Kids

I love taking pictures of my swim lesson kids with my waterproof point and shoot camera. It's a great reward for the kiddies and it lets me practice some of my editing skills, since underwater shots require quite a bit of touching up!

Last summer I used to go underwater and look at the screen to try to get the shots I wanted. This was actually pretty frustrating, because it was really a crap shoot as to if I could get a great shot. I mean, taking pictures of 3 and 4 year olds is hard enough... try doing it underwater!

This year I learned to just set the camera on continuous exposure, submerge it pointed at the kids, and hold down the button! Chances are you'll get a good shot! Sure, I'd put more time and effort in if I was hired to take some underwater portraits, but for snapshots, I think these are pretty darn good!

I still haven't figured out a better way to edit underwater shots than picnik. It's just so easy to paint on effects that really make the shots stand out. I use the "eye bright" effect on goggles and on some of the high lights on the water. Then I burn the mid-tones on the water to make it look shiny! Its also fun to paint a blue tint on the water to make the pool look even bluer!