5 Things I Want To Photograph Better

Who doesn't love beautiful photos?  I do.  However, capturing the "money shot" has always been something I've struggled with.  I feel like no matter how many photos I shoot, getting a gorgeous shot is always more of a hit and miss situation for me.  As a blogger and a someone who genuinely wants to be good at photography this is beyond frustrating.  In 2016, here are five things that I want to get better at photographing.

My Family

When I was little, my mom was very rarely without one of her cameras in tow.  And on the rare occasions that she had forgotten her cameras at home, she didn't hesitate to stop by Walmart to pick up a three pack of disposable ones.  (Man disposable cameras were dirt cheap during the '90s.)  Like me, my mom is a creative.  However, unlike me, she always seemed to be able to snap the perfect pictures of us.

Even today, she will make us pose and repose a million times to capture the perfect photo on her iPhone.  She's also the master of taking beautiful candids as well.  Being a mom and wife, I want to fill picture books with gorgeous photos for Moo, JJ and their future siblings to look back on when they're older.  So capturing better photos of us as a family is definitely at the very top of my list for next year.

Food

If you haven't noticed, I've been doing a lot of food blogging lately.  It's so awesome to share my recipes and more of my passion for cooking with on this space.  But I'm going to be honest and say that my food photography skills suck big time.  My dishes always come too dark.  Then there's whole styling aspect before you even pick up the camera.

Once I feel like I have that nailed down as best I can, I struggle with what angle to best shoot from.  I'm determined though to get the hang of photographing my dishes because I don't want to stop sharing this side of me with y'all.  Part of what I love about being a Southerner is our love for food and how we share that our loved ones.  Food down here is used to show so many things- compassion, sympathy, appreciation, etc.

Nature

Being from the country, I learned to appreciate being surrounded by nature.  When I first came to live in the Queen City, I had to get used to being surrounded by more concrete than trees and open fields.  I grew up used to seeing deers, rabbits and even a few bobcats run through our yard.  My childhood home was surrounded by trees in the back and in the Spring, wild flowers would pop up in the front. 

It wasn't unusual to go to someone's house and see a mini farm in the back.  Several of my great cousins and one of my uncles had their own farms.  There this one time we went to my great uncle's house and we chased his chickens until they finally got fed up and started chasing us back.  It's one of my fondest memories and a reminder of how carefree nature has always made me feel.  I want to be capture the beauty that nature is and hang those photos throughout my home.

Selfies

I've said on here a few times that I'm camera shy, which is crazy considering how photos I've posed for as kid and that once dabbled in modeling.  I think I started to become camera shy and avoiding being in front of the camera because I never mastered the art of taking great selfies/self portraits. But I don't want to look back down line at all the photos of everyone else and regret not being in more of them or having more pictures of just me.  If I'm going to work hard to get better at capturing the beauty around me, shouldn't I work on capturing the beauty within in me as well?

Products

Product reviews are another thing that I do quite a bit of on this blog.  As the holidays draw nearer, more and more companies start to send out pitches.  And for the most part, I enjoy doing them.  What's not to like?  I get free products for myself and sometimes my family.  We try them out and I get to share my experiences and recommendations here for other families.  The part I'm not so nuts about is, you guessed it, photographing the products.

Again, I often struggle with finding the right angles or staging.  Other times, it's trying to find decent lighting.  Needless to say, I want to make sure I'm putting my absolute best foot forward and making the best possible impression when I'm working with brands.  So, bringing it when it comes to my product reviews photos is a must for me.

There you have it.  I know that I have my work cut out for me when it comes to becoming a better photographer, but I'm more than up for the challenge.  I'm not one to shy away from learning a new skill or working on the areas that I have weakness in.  Stay tuned to my NaBloPoMo posts because I'll be talking more about my photography quest later on this month and sharing what steps I'll be taking to be improve my skills.

When it comes to photography, what is your favorite subject/thing to photograph?