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Hey all! Today I have the amazing privilege of sharing my interview with Katie Hollstein of Katie Grace Photography, and the fabulous lifestyle blog, Bungalows and Olives. If you haven't checked out her work already, I'd highly encourage you to. Her work is beautiful! But first, let's take a moment and appreciate how beautiful she is. :) Isn't she gorgeous? She sent me these pictures and I couldn't decide which one to use..so I used all of them.:) And now, for the interview. Tell me about yourself. (Name, current hometown, when did you launch your photography business, etc.) Hello! My name is Katie! I am lucky enough to a born and raised Michigander and call Grand Rapids home. I am a craft-hopper, food network watcher, Target shopper, and two years ago I launched a wedding photography business and lifestyle blog which is now my full-time job. I get the privilege of working with couples on the happiest (and sometimes craziest) day of their life and documenting that part of their love story. It is hectic and fast paced and full of so much joy! How long have you been taking pictures? I have always been drawn to the creative world, but in 8th grade my hands settled on a camera. I spent most of high school pursuing this hobby, but it wasn't until after I graduated that I considered pursuing it as a career. A close friend of mine asked me to shoot her wedding and I was sold! After shooting hers, I knew it was what I wanted to do! What kind of equipment do you use (brand, type of camera, etc.)? I am a Canon girl through and through! My main camera body is a Canon 5D Mark III and is basically my child. You will rarely find me without it. I shoot with several different Canon lenses, 50mm 1.2, 70-200 2.8, 85mm, and 24-70mm and switch them out to best fit the need of the current shoot! I also like to mix film into my shoots to add a different color profile and dynamic. For film, I shoot on a Mamiya 645 with an 80mm 2.8 lens and stick to Portra 400 as my film of choice! What is your favorite lens to shoot with? Why? This is an easy one for me! My 50mm 1.2 is my go to without a doubt! This is the lens that is most often on my camera. If I could only have one lens it would be this! It is the focal length that I prefer most, it feels like a natural representation of what I see just slightly tighter. I like to play with my aperture a lot and be really specific about what is in focus, so the fact that it will go down to 1.2 is a dream for me! There is something so creamy about the way it blurs out backgrounds! This also was one of my first nice lenses, so I feel like we have a special bond. What is one thing you wish you would have known when you started photography? Hmm, this is a hard one! I think I wish I would have known that it would all turn out completely different than I expected and that it would be for the better. Maybe then I would have stopped trying to figure it all out on my own! That is the wonderful part about a life with Christ. He sees the whole story when we only see part. I’ve realized now (though I am still very bad at it) that trying to guess His plan never works, but trusting in Him, leaning on Him, and knowing that His plan is far better than yours is the sweetest place to be. What are some important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career? I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to keep my eyes on my own paper! I think there is almost nothing more important than staying true to yourself. This corny piece of advice was something I had heard a thousand times, but it didn’t become real until I started a business. There are so many beautiful styles of photography out there, so many beautiful images that it can be very hard to know what style is yours. How you pose, shoot, and edit, can differentiate you from other photographers, and give you a voice, but you can’t find that by looking to other people. You have to find it in yourself. The Lord created YOU unique! No one can mimic that. This gives you something to offer a client that no one else has! Rather than being a lower quality photocopy of another photographer, appreciate and embrace your unique style! For me, this is always easier if I don’t follow any photographers on social media. Following other photographers and looking at their work can be inspiring, but it can drain you and make it hard to find your style! If you need to take a break from looking at other photographers, do it. Get out there and shoot, play in your editing software until you find something that strikes a chord in your heart. Find your style not by what you love looking at, but by what you love creating. What is your favorite part of your job? There is a time right before a wedding reception starts when the whole bridal party enters the room. Typically they play music and dance in while everyone cheers. I have absolutely no idea why, but this is always my favorite part of a wedding day, and for some odd reason may even be my favorite part of my job. I believe very strongly in celebrating, and this is the moment that I feel sums everything up. The meeting, dating, falling in love. He proposed, they planned, and they joined together as one. The Lord brought them together, united them in a way that no man can separate. Now, it’s time to celebrate. Friends and family gather around to take in this first moment as husband and wife, and for some reason it makes me giddy. Not every wedding is filled with joy, friends, family, and the presence of the Lord, but this moment is always special for me. This is always the moment where after 8 hours on my feet carrying heavy gear, I remember why I do this. I am obsessed with capturing the love stories that the Father crafts. I’m obsessed with celebrating them. If you could take pictures (wedding, engagement, etc.) in any place, where would you go? Why? Does a fictional place count? I’m going to pretend it does and say it’s a tie between the Secret Garden, and Wonderland. Children's fairytales have always inspired me. From elementary school till now, these have been my two favorite books and are always my starting point for inspiration. Sounds weird I know! Hands down, if I could shoot anywhere it would be one of those places! What is a goal you have for your photography business? I am not totally sure yet! Everything in my business happened in a way that I didn’t see it coming. I’ve honestly never sat down and made goals for my business. If I did I think it would be to keep following the path that the Lord has for my business, wherever it may lead! I was a high school girl with no plan for after graduation and He turned me into a business owner. If He can do that, I’m pretty sure I want to stick with Him! What is your favorite picture you have taken? Why? I have an insane amount of love for Christmas. Some might call it out of control. The first snow is always especially exciting for me. My junior year of High School on the first snow I created kind of a makeshift macro lens for my camera and was determined to get some pictures of the snowflakes. What I didn’t expect was for the Lord to use that day to teach me a whole lot about life. I was born with a chronic illness that has drastically affected my entire life. At 19 years old I have spent plenty of time in a hospital, had over 30 surgeries, and at one point was in a coma. All of this presented a fairly large challenge through high school and was one of the main reasons I decided not to go to college. At the time that I took this picture, I was incredibly lost, confused, and frustrated. But then I started to see my illness as a snowflake.If you think about it, snow creates chaos. Blizzards are cold and cause car accidents and once we hit January the fact that snow is horrible becomes all anyone can talk about. But I believe the truth is we are just blind. Our eyes are too weak to even understand because you pick up a camera which allows us to see clearly and you find yourself staring at something so beautiful and perfectly handcrafted that you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. You can’t help but feel loved and appreciated because if He took the time to put so much love and detail into something as microscopic as a snowflake you can only imagine what is He doing in us. Something so hated and seen as a horrible thing is beautiful, and brings so much glory to our Father and Creator. The things I have learned through my medical problems are invaluable to me. This illness isn’t a crutch, it's a reminder every minute of the day to rely on the Lord's strength and not my own. I think trials are hard, but sometimes are also beautiful and detailed and carefully crafted to bring glory to our Father. So for me, this picture serves as a reminder of that. Another thing I love about Katie's business is that it is focused around her faith and God's plan for her life. It's awesome to hear from other Christians who have the same passion!
If you haven't checked out Katie's blog and photography already, PLEASE do so.:) Her photography is HERE and her lifestyle blog is HERE. And also check her out on social media...Facebook, Instagram, Periscope. Thanks so much for sharing, Katie! - Leah
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Hey all! Not a lot going on today. Just editing a TON of pictures from the REGIONAL championship game! Here are a few! Enjoy! - Leah *All photos credit to Leah Rachelle Photography. Please do not use without permission I've been thinking about buying a GoPro and I found a few awesome videos that have made me want to buy one even more! If any of you have any suggestions about buying a GoPro, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll take all of the advice I can get!:) And here's the camera I want to get: http://shop.gopro.com/cameras/hero/CHDHA-301.html Here's some world-wide GoPro awesomeness... GoPro from around the world...why not? Cliff golf in Tennessee/Georgia cause it's a great place to hit some golf balls off of a cliff! Hawaii surfing (think Alana Blanchard) because who doesn't want to experience it at least once in life?: Hey everyone!
It's been another long week here at Leah Rachelle Photography! I've been doing a ton of shooting and editing, and I'm working on updating my home page on my website, as well as updating the gallery. Check it out! Today, I'll be talking about using the Shutter Priority Mode on the Nikon D3200. Basics: - Shutter speed determines how long your camera sensor is exposed to light. - The longer the shutter is open, the more light it can gather - Shorter speeds: 1/30 (longer time for light), 1/250 (shorter time for light) When to use: - When shooting fast-moving objects (speed around 1/1250) - Emphasizing movement with subject blur (speed around 1/80) - Using a long exposure to gather light for a long period of time (speed around 1/8) - Capturing moving water (1/2.5) More info: - Subject of your photo determines whether or not you can use shutter priority - Know what speeds represent: in some circumstances, you can't go back and ask the athlete (or whoever) to redo what they did because your shot was blurry - On the Nikon D3200, the shutter speed ranges from 30 seconds to 1/1400 of a second - Shutter priority mode is semi-automatic: you control the shutter speed while your camera controls the rest - Know the capacities and limitations of your lens, its capabilities, and your surroundings and subjects; don't over expose or under expose your shot All thoughts from this post come from this article: http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1930034&seqNum=4 Thanks for reading, and have a great week! - Leah |
Leah RachelleLover of Jesus, photography, meeting new people, tea, books, and weddings. Archives
April 2016
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