:: valentine's day cards | washington dc portrait photographer ::

What could you do with photos from the Spring Mini Portrait Session? Valentine's Day cards!!! Customize these B+N {PHOTOGRAPHY} luxe greeting cards with your colors, fonts and your child(ren)'s beautiful face(s)!

**get 5% off Valentine's Day cards & Easter cards (coming soon) when you book a Spring Mini**

Luxe cards from left to right: 5x7 Scalloped | 3x3 Leaf | 5x5 Ornate

:: exercise #1: pictures in 10 minutes | 30 People Pictures ::

SPECS

• Goal: 10 portraits in 10 minutes.
• Tools: Camera with normal or slightly telephoto lens (50 mm - 100 mm); F/2.8 or lower.
• Light: Natural light.
• Location: Indoors or outdoors.
• Theme: Back to the basics = minimal gear.
• Duration: 15 minutes total.
• Subject(s): Friend or acquaintance.

CHALLENGES

• Shoot in Manual (not Auto or Aperture Priority)
• Manual focus
• Short shoot duration
• Capture images that are real as opposed to stylized

PRODUCT

• Select ONE image that you like best and create a print of it. Show it to a few friends (**ALTERNATIVELY, post a digital on blog or FB**). Explain that the goal was to create an authentic image in a short amount of time. Ask for feedback and consider their thoughts.

For more tips and inspiration, please read Chris Orwig's "People Pictures."

Some of my fellow photographers have accepted the challenge and are eager to join me on this journey. They will post their results on their blog/Facebook fan page and I will provide the link to ONE photog's site; that photographer will then link to ANOTHER photog's blog site/Facebook fan page -- and so on and so forth.  I am going to post my results here next Monday. After seeing my results(and leaving comments, hopefully!), please continue clicking through the different photographer's links so that you can see the complete circle and find your way back to me :-) I will introduce Exercise #2: Clarifying Your Craft next Tuesday.

:: people pictures | washington dc portrait photographer ::

I'm an avid non-fiction reader and documentary film junkie. Just check out the list of books on my virtual book shelf at the bottom of this page. I read scientific non-fiction & technical photography books like they're going out of style (were they ever in style???).

Recently, some of my fellow photographer friends recommended a more soulful alternative to my usual genre --"People Pictures: 30 Exercises for Creating Authentic Photographs" by photographer Chris Orwig. I devoured it in ONE day.

Book cover photo by Chris Orwig

It is a beautiful book -- in both words and images. It really emphasizes and reinforces the importance of an emotional connection between the photographer and the subject(s). The author guides the reader through a journey of personal exploration and growth using 30 experimental exercises. The emphasis is on developing a unique point of view and changing the way you see and evaluate pictures.

This book really speaks to me because when I look at a photograph (whether by me or others), I am always looking for greater meaning and connection beyond the technical aspects of photography (composition, exposure, sharpness, processing etc). There is no doubt mastering the essential techniques is important to the development of a photographer. However, I believe it is even more important to discover the uniqueness of {everyday stories} and capture the inherent beauty within each of my subjects by really "seeing" beyond what is in front of the lens.

For the next 30 weeks, I will introduce a new exercise from the book on this blog every Monday and post the results the following Monday. Download the book now! I'd love it if you would consider joining me. Please feel free to email me your results at leslie@binkiesandnoseprints.com or post your photos (+ tagging yourself) on my Facebook fan page.

I look forward to sharing this photographic journey with you. We'll start the first exercise in the next post!

~L~

**Spring Mini Sessions open now, limited spots, please email me or read yesterday's post for more info**

:: spring minis | washington dc portrait photographer ::

Global warming or not, I love the spring-like weather we've had. High, puffy clouds (of the cirrocumulus variety, as my son reminded me today) on a crystal blue background, with the sparkliest sunshine...ahhh, life is good!

SOOO........let's jump start the Season of Love and Easter Bunnies with the BINKIES+NOSEPRINTS Spring Mini Portrait Sessions! Only offered TWICE a year, Mini Sessions are perfect for busy families who may not have the time to sit for a full Signature Portrait Session. Please see details below:

For more information and/or to reserve your 

SPRING MINI PORTRAIT SESSION

please click here.

**PERKS**

"LIKE" my Facebook fan page (& leave a comment if you please!), for special promotional codes

AND

"SHARE" the FB fan page link to this post with your FB friends for a chance to win a complementary mini session! (must be able to see the 'Share' on the fan page)

AND

Receive a complementary mini session if 5 of your family/friends book a mini session (total of 5 sessions)

LASTLY

Subscribe to my blog using the RSS feed and/or email by clicking on links below the posts.

:: my music playlist | washington dc portrait photographer ::

When I edit a session, I love listening to my iTunes playlist. To share some of my favorites with you, I've added a tab above called "PLAYLIST." Enjoy! I hope these songs help add a little more spring in your steps!
**Unfortunately, the playlist tab does not work on the iPad or iPhone (darn Flash player!)**

:: year of the dragon | washington dc iPhone photographer ::

Happy Chinese New Year! I know it is technically the Lunar New Year, but I'm biased :-) Here's to good health and prosperity in the Year of the Dragon!

Photo of a Red Envelope taken with the Olloclip macro lens iPhone attachment, using the Camera+ app.

:: tooth fairy | washington dc children's portrait photographer ::

Sniff, sniff, wipe, wipe...O just lost her first baby tooth today. Seriously, it is LITERALLY the first baby tooth that came in when she was just a few months old. I suppose now we have to add one more fantastical character to our friendly entourage of make-believe :-)

Thank goodness Grandpappy took this picture for us.

Very excited about the Tooth Fairy's visit.

:: tradition | washington dc special events photographer ::

Regardless of how a particular religion or culture celebrates the incredible miracle of birth, one thing is certain : joy is universal. It is evident how much Baby E, his Daddy (Jac) and Aba (Steve) are adored by everyone at the Brit Milah ceremony and vice versa. Warmest wishes, J & S, you and your son are loved :-)

P.S. Steve is part of the incredible architectural team that designed and built this gorgeous space.

Proud parents

Proud Grandpa

Proud Grandma

Jac's parents could not be there physically due to health reasons, but celebrated with everyone in spirit.

Please check out of my FB fan page for more photos of this event!www.facebook.com/binkiesandnoseprints

:: miracle baby | washington dc newborn photographer ::

For Steve and Jac, their newborn son, E, is indeed a miracle and the best gift anyone could receive. Late last week, the adoption agency, with whom they've been working for over 2-1/2 years, called them with the most amazing news. They have a healthy baby boy for them, and he can be theirs the following Tuesday! Caught completely off guard, S & J had to prepare for the new arrival in under a week -- purchase the essentials, prepare their home and tell their bosses that they'll be on paternity leave for the next three months (yes! it's about time fathers get the same treatment :-). Around the same time they received this miracle, Steve had a birthday and it was the couple's 16th Anniversary. Talk about the perfect gift!

I met them this Saturday in their home for a newborn session. While I was on the verge of tears the entire time, the lucky fathers were calm, serene and cracking jokes like they've been doing this for ages. It couldn't have been a more wonderful experience and I am so incredibly grateful to have captured these images for them. Steve & Jac, Baby E is perfect! You guys are so lucky to have each other...XO

Steve & Jac's "first born", Ruby the Beagle, looking on.

:: social what?! | washington dc portrait photographer ::

These days, it's hardly enough to have a nicely designed website to promote a service or product. There are now Social Media Extraordinaires who write book after book telling you that, in order to have a successfully marketed business in the digital age, you must employ their strategies across multiple platforms. There's Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Linked-In, Foursquare, blogging...how does one keep track of all this?!?!?! Not to mention the amount of time and effort it takes to update all of them!

Never fear. I came across this diagram on the blog of one of the said Extraordinaires and knew I had to share:

Time to update my Wall!

:: typical washington weekend | washington dc lifestyle photographer ::

I have been a Washingtonian for nearly 30 years. It is such a culturally rich city. Sure, it's not New York or San Fran, but it certainly has its own distinct charm. Every 4 years (or 8, depending on who's in the White House), the city is completely transformed with the departure of the old and the arrival of the new. I like the energy, I like hearing different points-of-view and perspectives, and I like all the beautiful museums that are FREE to ALL. This weekend, I took full advantage of the unusually warm winter weather by happily snapping away on my iPhone. This is a collage of Hipstamatic, Camera+ and Instagram images that I took around town. Sure beats lugging around my Canon :-)

**'LIKE' my Facebook fan page for a chance to participate in the upcoming online contest!**

New 'Welcom!' image for B+N Facebook fan page

Online contests coming soon!

Stay tuned for a chance to win

a 1:1 mentorship!!!

:: the finer things | washington dc children's photographer ::

I know I'm not alone when I say this -- sometimes I just wish my children were more CIVILIZED! I know, I know...they're young and trying to figure out how to navigate this world, but come on...

So, it is a rare moment for me to watch my son sitting and eating nicely at a restaurant. Who knew a soft-boiled egg could be so captivating?

:: new year's resolution | washington dc portrait photographer ::

As the saying goes: "If you don’t have time to write down your goals, where are you going to find the time to accomplish them?"

So here are my goals for 2012:

1. Expand my business to include clients of adult size -- engagements and weddings! For those of you who know me, you know that I swore up and down when I started that I'd NEVER do weddings -- not because I hate weddings, but because the enormous responsibility of capturing one of the most important days in someone's life is so humbling. So to start, I will be taking a limited number of engagement/wedding bookings this year. Please e-mail me for more info on engagement/wedding packages.
2. Create a line of Photoshop templates -- stationary, photo cards & forms/documents pertinent to a photography business. After working with my clients on their holiday cards this year, I am hooked! The products will include downloadable Photoshop templates that are easily customizable. Look for them in Spring 2012!
3. Start a series of workshops aimed to help moms, dads and/or aspiring photographers take beautiful photographs of their little ones. The series will include on-location photo sessions and in-studio workshops on basic digital processing techniques.
4. Start a series of editing/processing workshops for photographers. We will delve into the fabulous ins and outs of Lightroom and Photoshop -- I will show you how to streamline your workflow using these incredibly powerful tools. Many thanks to my fellow photographer and friend, JJ, for kick starting this goal for me :-).
5. And FINALLY -- I'd like to eat healthier to include more of the major food groups :-), and to spend more time playing with my growing children and taking walks with my aging hounds. And most importantly, to make sure I thank Architectdad more often for his support and love. XO

What are your goals for 2012???

Architectdad was finally able to take a pic of me (not without a big camera stuck to my face!) during our trip to Assateaque National Seashore this holiday season.