1) You and your partner (…), who is American have recently been married, you both decide against having a honeymoon until you have your first chile, because you want to go as an entire family unit. You discovered you were pregnant before you got married, a couple of months later you give birth to a baby girl, her initials are T.K http://www.bowesphotography.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/calgary-cute-baby-girl-2.jpg

2) A year after your daughter is born, you and your husband decide to go on your honeymoon, while you are there you realise you are pregnant yet again, several months later you give birth to a baby boy, his first name honours the place he was conceived and you choose an American state for his middle name. http://www.baby-lane.com/imgs/baby-boy-birth-announcements.jpg

3) It’s been 3 years since your first child was born, your daughter is 4 and your son is 3, you and your partner have been talking about having another child, you find out a couple of months later you are pregnant again. Only this time you find out you are having twins. You give birth to a boy and girl, you give them random first names but their middle names honour family members. http://www.windwardskies.com/remember/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/hawaii-newborn-photography-boy-girl-twins.jpg

4) A year after your twins are born, your daughter asks if she can get a pet, you decide to buy her kitten, you let her name it. http://astachenko.co.uk/show%20TO%20NAV%20AND%20NANNY/test/Sidebox-Kitten-Thinks-R.jpg

5) 6 months later, you and your husband decide to take a family holiday to Malawi, while you are there your daughter becomes close friends with a little boy, not being able to bear seeing them being taken apart you decide to talk to his family, they are struggling and agree to let you adopt him. You give him a traditional African first name and a classic English middle name. http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/FSA/FSA002/male-toddler-12-15_~x22176320.jpg

6) You and your husband decide to have no more children, but after watching an appeal for Haiti you can’t bear to see all those children hurt and you both decide to adopt a baby girl, her name means ‘hope’ http://whatiffoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/haiti-girl1.jpg

7) You and your husband are happy with your family.

Hope you had fun

xox

1) Thea Kate (Fay-ah)

2) Brooklyn George (After Georgia)

3) Lucas Jacob & Isobel Sara
Names after my brother and sister – Jake & Sarah.

4) Desta Henry

5) I’d just keep Hope. (:

I guess my question would be I have a canon 7D kit that includes 28-135mm, a memory flash card, and I purchased a 430EX II flash… is there anything else I need to purchase. There seems to be plethora of different gadgets you can purchase to make your picture better such as flash diffuser, uv lens, lens hood, uv filters, different grades of memory cards, etc etc… Kind of at a lost at so many different options you can add on…

As an avid photographer for the last 25 years, here’s my take on it…

Use a UV filter. It won’t add much to your pictures – a cheap, uncoated filter can even deteriorate image quality – but it will protect the lens from abuse. I own a Nikon dSLR with four lenses and only use a UV filter on one of those: the one that constantly gets tiny jam-covered finger prints on it. Your girl isn’t that old yet, you say. Haha, trust me, she’s already deadly. Before my son was mobile he had already destroyed the track pad on a Dell laptop with spit-up. He nearly took out the entire laptop. (I blame my wife for that one.)

Get a lens cleaning kit. At least a proper lens cloth and some cleaning fluid. A more complete kit with a brush is also nice, but a bulb blower is not needed. In time you might want to get a sensor cleaning kit (with a bulb blower) but as long as you’re only using the one lens, there’s not much chance of getting dust on the lens in the first place.

More filters? The only other filters you might want are ND filters and a circular polarizer. ND filters let you use slower than normal shutter speeds. A CP filter will reduce glare and make the sky a deeper shade of blue. These are both specialty items that you’d only use rarely. You don’t need to get them now and you might never need them. Other kinds of filters (colored filters, effect filters) are mostly a waste of money with digital cameras – you can achieve these effects in an image editor.

Image editor. I’m assuming you already have something that works fine.

Use a lens hood. On my standard zoom I keep the lens hood permanently attached. In part because it improves image quality (when a bright light such as say, oooh, the sun, hits the front of the lens it can mute colors or create flare/ reflection). And like a UV filter, a lens hood offers cheap protection against physical abuse to the front element.

Additional flash modifiers… I’d experiment without. Outdoors and at close range I often use the standard diffuser that came with my flash. Indoors I usually bounce the flash instead:
* off the ceiling, usually at 60 degrees with the little white bounce card sticking out to create a catch light (twinkle in the eyes).
* off a wall often creates a pleasant effect.
* pointing backwards over my head for very even illumination.
When I’m feeling creative and have time to set things up, I sometimes use the flash off-camera on a tripod. (I can use the pop-up flash on my Nikon D200 to trigger the SB-900 flash remotely, so this didn’t require any additional investment.) With all of these options, I have not found it necessary to invest in flash brackets, snoots, diffusers, reflectors, etc. You could buy a ton of stuff on a whim, but work with what you have first. (If/ when you run into limitations, you’ll know what to buy next.) You can also improvise various types of modifiers with household items before spending good cash on eg a Gary Fong lightsphere.

Memory cards…. For me, the main advantage of using faster cards is the transfer speed when I upload images to the computer (with a card reader). If your 7D gets sluggish when shooting video clips, upgrade to a faster card. If your card is full after 50 shots, get a bigger one. Otherwise, it’s not much of an issue. Maybe get spares so you can always grab the camera & go. I always keep a spare memory card (empty) and battery (charged) in my camera bag.

Camera bag… not a required item with your limited amount of gear.

A tripod? You’ll know if you need one. I’ve gotten years of good use out of a $100 tripod by SLIK. I only recently decided to invest in a "proper" setup (Markins M10 ballhead + Gitzo legs).

Additional lenses. The 7D is a fantastic camera and it’s only a matter of time before lens lust sets in. With Canon’s range of expensive L-lenses, you really should have taken care of this BEFORE your daughter was born
Some lenses that would go very well with your camera:
* A macro lens to take close-ups of these adorable tiny hands and feet
* A lens with more wide angle coverage for indoor shots, landscapes, etc.
* A portrait lens. Actually, the inexpensive Canon 50mm f/1.8 might suffice.
But for now, the 28-135mm will do fine. As with the flash, what to get next will become obvious with time.
—
Casperskitty,

I was still typing my answer when you posted yours. When I bring just the camera with attached lens I tend to put it in my day pack or just carry it over my shoulder. I’m protective of my lenses’ optics but admittedly not of the cosmetic condition of my gear. When I bring extra lenses and perhaps the flash or tripod, I do use a camera bag. For convenience.

As you may know, I went on a round-the-world trip in 2007-8 and for that trip I converted a Crumpler camera bag into a day pack. That also worked well. But I personally wouldn’t buy a camera bag that could only hold one camera+ lens.

My Super Ikonta C is a different matter – that always travels in its never ready case.

I guess my question would be I have a canon 7D kit that includes 28-135mm, a memory flash card, and I purchased a 430EX II flash… is there anything else I need to purchase. There seems to be plethora of different gadgets you can purchase to make your picture better such as flash diffuser, uv lens, lens hood, uv filters, different grades of memory cards, etc etc… Kind of at a lost at so many different options you can add on…

As an avid photographer for the last 25 years, here’s my take on it…

Use a UV filter. It won’t add much to your pictures – a cheap, uncoated filter can even deteriorate image quality – but it will protect the lens from abuse. I own a Nikon dSLR with four lenses and only use a UV filter on one of those: the one that constantly gets tiny jam-covered finger prints on it. Your girl isn’t that old yet, you say. Haha, trust me, she’s already deadly. Before my son was mobile he had already destroyed the track pad on a Dell laptop with spit-up. He nearly took out the entire laptop. (I blame my wife for that one.)

Get a lens cleaning kit. At least a proper lens cloth and some cleaning fluid. A more complete kit with a brush is also nice, but a bulb blower is not needed. In time you might want to get a sensor cleaning kit (with a bulb blower) but as long as you’re only using the one lens, there’s not much chance of getting dust on the lens in the first place.

More filters? The only other filters you might want are ND filters and a circular polarizer. ND filters let you use slower than normal shutter speeds. A CP filter will reduce glare and make the sky a deeper shade of blue. These are both specialty items that you’d only use rarely. You don’t need to get them now and you might never need them. Other kinds of filters (colored filters, effect filters) are mostly a waste of money with digital cameras – you can achieve these effects in an image editor.

Image editor. I’m assuming you already have something that works fine.

Use a lens hood. On my standard zoom I keep the lens hood permanently attached. In part because it improves image quality (when a bright light such as say, oooh, the sun, hits the front of the lens it can mute colors or create flare/ reflection). And like a UV filter, a lens hood offers cheap protection against physical abuse to the front element.

Additional flash modifiers… I’d experiment without. Outdoors and at close range I often use the standard diffuser that came with my flash. Indoors I usually bounce the flash instead:
* off the ceiling, usually at 60 degrees with the little white bounce card sticking out to create a catch light (twinkle in the eyes).
* off a wall often creates a pleasant effect.
* pointing backwards over my head for very even illumination.
When I’m feeling creative and have time to set things up, I sometimes use the flash off-camera on a tripod. (I can use the pop-up flash on my Nikon D200 to trigger the SB-900 flash remotely, so this didn’t require any additional investment.) With all of these options, I have not found it necessary to invest in flash brackets, snoots, diffusers, reflectors, etc. You could buy a ton of stuff on a whim, but work with what you have first. (If/ when you run into limitations, you’ll know what to buy next.) You can also improvise various types of modifiers with household items before spending good cash on eg a Gary Fong lightsphere.

Memory cards…. For me, the main advantage of using faster cards is the transfer speed when I upload images to the computer (with a card reader). If your 7D gets sluggish when shooting video clips, upgrade to a faster card. If your card is full after 50 shots, get a bigger one. Otherwise, it’s not much of an issue. Maybe get spares so you can always grab the camera & go. I always keep a spare memory card (empty) and battery (charged) in my camera bag.

Camera bag… not a required item with your limited amount of gear.

A tripod? You’ll know if you need one. I’ve gotten years of good use out of a $100 tripod by SLIK. I only recently decided to invest in a "proper" setup (Markins M10 ballhead + Gitzo legs).

Additional lenses. The 7D is a fantastic camera and it’s only a matter of time before lens lust sets in. With Canon’s range of expensive L-lenses, you really should have taken care of this BEFORE your daughter was born
Some lenses that would go very well with your camera:
* A macro lens to take close-ups of these adorable tiny hands and feet
* A lens with more wide angle coverage for indoor shots, landscapes, etc.
* A portrait lens. Actually, the inexpensive Canon 50mm f/1.8 might suffice.
But for now, the 28-135mm will do fine. As with the flash, what to get next will become obvious with time.
—
Casperskitty,

I was still typing my answer when you posted yours. When I bring just the camera with attached lens I tend to put it in my day pack or just carry it over my shoulder. I’m protective of my lenses’ optics but admittedly not of the cosmetic condition of my gear. When I bring extra lenses and perhaps the flash or tripod, I do use a camera bag. For convenience.

As you may know, I went on a round-the-world trip in 2007-8 and for that trip I converted a Crumpler camera bag into a day pack. That also worked well. But I personally wouldn’t buy a camera bag that could only hold one camera+ lens.

My Super Ikonta C is a different matter – that always travels in its never ready case.

Alien Bees are also good, but they have some deceptive marketing which makes me not like them as much…..but that’s more based on principle…I’ve bought products from them and their service is top notch as well. Actually, now would probably get a good time to scoop up an Alien Bee used on eBay or somewhere like fredmiranda.com in the buy/sell section. They are beginning to distribute their new Einstein light and I’m seeing a lot of alien bees on a forum I frequent at not so bad prices.

Don’t forget that you will also need a way to trigger the lights once you get them. Alien Bees has the cybersyncs. I owned them for a while and LOVED them. Great product and you can use them with other brands of lights as well.

Thank you!

Here’s what I like: very cute use of the bear.

Now for dislikes:

I’m not a fan of strong vignetting.

Also make sure to completely iron out wrinkles, they’re kinda distracting.

Your cropping seems weird, one time you cut off a third of the baby’s head, another time you cut off his body so only his head was on the bear and he’s looking away from the camera so it seems weird.

I think you should get a nice piece of foamcore to use as a reflector to make the shadows less harsh

Thank you!

Here’s what I like: very cute use of the bear.

Now for dislikes:

I’m not a fan of strong vignetting.

Also make sure to completely iron out wrinkles, they’re kinda distracting.

Your cropping seems weird, one time you cut off a third of the baby’s head, another time you cut off his body so only his head was on the bear and he’s looking away from the camera so it seems weird.

I think you should get a nice piece of foamcore to use as a reflector to make the shadows less harsh

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Technorati Tags: 6339, Zi6

Duration : 0:5:42

Technorati Tags: Jacky, Serfontein

Duration : 0:0:32

Technorati Tags: animoto, newborn, photography

2. How would you spell the name ZO-ee (Zoey), and what middle name would you put with it?

BQ1: What would you name this little girl?

http://www.nmbphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/damask-blog.jpg

BQ2: What would you name these twin boys?

http://www.kaylaphoto.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/newborn-twin-photography-3.bmp

1. I love it, it’s on my list. My combo is Eden Juliet

2. I prefer the original spelling, so Zoe. I like:

Zoe Serena
Zoe Rose
Zoe Sophia
Zoe Lila
Zoe Matilda
Zoe Willow

BQ1: Scarlet Lila

BQ2: Jude River and Michael August

Adorable pictures