Free Range Photography Blog

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

I thought to start the new year, I would post some of my favorite shots from last year....

This is a composite shot (meaning 2 shots photoshopped together)! Never prop a newborn's head up without assistance! But this is one of my favorites from 2011!

This shot was from a session I did called a "Gender Reveal"! I had SO much fun with this- this awesome couple had their ultrasound, then had the tech mail the results to me!! I knew what they were having and they didn't! I set up the balloons in the box and then got to snap away as they found out they were having a GIRL! It was one of my most memorable sessions to date.

This one is from an engagement shoot last summer! This couple is awesome, and has so much great energy and love, I couldn't pass this shot up. I can't wait to shoot their wedding!

This family was SO much fun! Four little boys- can you imagine the energy in that house on a daily basis? Great family- I love this road and I love the peeking sun.

This is a shot from a Rock the Dress session. This couple was amazing to work with- lots of love & fun & laughter!

My last "favorite" of 2011. This is one of my best friends, her beautiful daughter, and their big news for 2012! I am so pumped about their news- and look forward to some maternity & newborn pictures in 2012! :)

What were YOUR favorite moments from 2011? What do you look most forward to in 2012?

Free Range Changes for 2012

2011-12-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

What an awesome year 2011 has been for Free Range Photography! Celebrating my third year in business and continuing to build a successful client base following a state-changing move have been two accomplishments I'm the most proud of. As Free Range continues to develop and progress as a business and a personal & emotional investment of mine, I take several things into consideration when I decide to make changes that affect my clients- because after all, without you none of what I love is possible!
I have spent a lot of time considering the future of Free Range, and the changes that will come as my business grows and I strive to deliver the highest quality products to my clients. 2012 will bring about a few changes to Free Range and the product delivery, all with the ultimate goal of giving clients the best possible service and products.
In the new year, all session fees will be due at the time of booking the session. This secures the date, and allows the day of the photography to be free of any 'business' other than simply having your picture taken. Rescheduling the session may be done without loss of this fee, and I kindly ask 24 hours notice in the event of rescheduling a shoot.
Every session will be taken and edited, and a secure online album will be available for viewing and ordering prints. The albums will be online for 30 days to allow plenty of time for review and choosing of an order. I am happy to arrange an in-person gallery review and order submission for anyone who would prefer that option. Every session will include a low-resolution 'keepsake' CD of the images, which are suitable for posting to facebook and e-mailing to friends and family. High-resolution copies will be available for purchase as well, however will not be included in the session fee. This is to help control the quality of the images being printed and to help ensure the highest print quality available when ordered directly from my website.
My new session fee prices will be available on my website by the first day of January.

I appreciate being able to continue to serve clients in the Kearney, Nebraska area as well as the Hays, Kansas area, and look forward to 2012 being the best year for Free Range Photography yet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sarah

City Girl, Farm Shoot....

2011-10-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

Let me set the scene for you....

It's a warm summer day, and I'm doing a senior photo shoot on a farm in rural Kansas. Having been raised in the very town we moved back to, I feel like I know a lot about "farm life" without having been raised on a farm. This beautiful senior happened to do much of her work & play on the family farm, which made the shoot even more special.

We rock some shots in a wheat field, a tractor tire, and some old buildings. We wander over by a truck, and as the sun sets behind her, I snap a handful of fun, hazy pictures by the old broken down truck. Some of them were those "ah-ha!" shots that you know you're going to love.

As we walk away from the truck I'm feeling pretty good about the images we captured on it.

She says to me, "My dad is going to love those pictures!" My heart kind of swells a bit with excitement and I say, "Oh, good! Why? Is that his old truck?"

"No." She replies, "He's going to love them because that truck is a manure spreader!"

I guess this "city girl" has a few more things to learn about posing seniors on "farm shoots"!!

A Free Range Giveaway

2011-10-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am participating in a giveaway sponsored by Becky Windholz, an independent consultant for a company called Rodan + Fields. The company is a skin care solutions business, and my part of the "giveaway" is a FREE session called "Rock the Dress".
This is a semi-new session for me, where the winner receives a 2 hour session in a dress of their choice (wedding, prom, vintage) with a selection of a scene set up for them (a picnic, dance, etc). The value of the prize I'm donating is $150. This is part of a prize package that she is setting up around a bridal fair, but has graciously agreed to let me open the entries up to my fans & clients as well.

Here is what you need to do to be "entered":

1) visit this site: https://beckywindholz.myrandf.com/Pages/OurProducts/GetAdvice/SolutionsTool and take the Skin Care Solutions quiz. After the quiz it tells you the suggested products, and you have a couple more "next" screens to click through before entering your e-mail address. A copy of your suggested products will be e-mailed to you, and this is how you enter yourself in the giveaway. (You MUST complete the quiz, through the "e-mail me my results" screen to be entered!)
You are NOT required to purchase skin care products from Becky- only to complete the survey and have it e-mailed to you.

2) You must "like" my facebook photography fan page.

3) If you are NOT attending the bridal fair, leave a comment here with what kind of dress you'd like to rock!

This contest ends October 15th. The winner will be drawn for and announced the week following.

You do not have to be a bride to participate. You just have to be willing to ROCK an amazing DRESS of any kind. :) You also have to be willing to travel to the Hays, KS or Kearney, NE areas, or willing to compensate me for travel to YOUR area.

Thanks, and GOOD LUCK!

The gasp shots...

2011-10-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen an image that makes you feel an emotion? Maybe a tug at a heart string, a surge of sudden joy, or a lump in your throat? As a photographer, have you ever taken that image?
Sometimes the moment you realize that you captured the image is instantaneous. You know right away, and when you look at your screen, you see exactly what you wanted and what you know you were after. Those moments are a fantastic feeling. This image, for example, had me literally jump up and yell "YES!" I wish I was more professional than that, but I'm not. {the letter is a note from her husband that he gave her on their wedding day}

I want to re-create this picture when she holds their newborn babies, when she holds their grandbabies and when they've been married 60 years and they're old and grey.

Sometimes, I become so engrossed in the shoot and the situation at hand that I don't often know I have a gem until I'm sorting pictures and I'm alone with my computer. I will come across an image and gasp, then whisper "yessss!" to nobody in particular. Newborn photography brings out the delayed gratification shots the most. I think because I become engrossed in the comfort & safety of the newborn, the light, my plan for this shot, the next shot, and the mother's comfort level. Also because newborns always smile when you've got your camera down and your hands full (it's a rule they invented). This next image is one that I only noticed after downloading and beginning the sorting process. I wouldn't have believed that this mama gave birth less than two weeks prior unless I had seen her big round belly myself.

There's something about chill mothers that produce chill babies. Does it not look like she just carries him around naked like this all day? Motherhood is her mojo. I love this image- I hope she does too.

It's shots that evoke emotion- any emotion- that keep me behind the lens.

What kind of shots move you?

Before & After

2011-09-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Before I get into the before & after part of the post, I'd like to point out my purpose with these shots and why I feel they are helpful to photographers and people who like to edit their own personal pictures.

When I chose to "go Pro" and open up shop as a legitimate business, it involved a lot more than just taking good pictures. Executing great shots consistently is only a part of the whole package. Post-processing- (the work done after my shutter clicks and before you hang that beautiful image of your family above your fireplace)- that is what you really pay me for. Because any nice camera set to the same settings as mine could have gotten you that same picture. It's having the know-how and the fine touch to make that picture pop that makes a great photographer worth their sitting fee.

That much being said, not every single picture a professional takes is perfect. One of my favorite kinds of sessions are toddlers- they are SO expressive, excitable, and typically hilarious! It also means that sometimes, you shoot on the fly! The before & after I'm going to post is from one of my very favorite girls to photograph. We were at a local park, and she was on the move. She wanted nothing to do with my camera and would turn her back to me every time I brought it to my eye. This was not the session where every setting could be perfect- in fact, most of my SOOC images from this shoot are a result of the "sneak and shoot" method! Here's the SOOC image I'm using as my example:

It's obviously too dark & the white balance is off. But she was looking at me, and I loved the way you could really see her hair highlights. I knew I could likely keep it, as long as my post processing could help. Photographing toddlers is sometimes like trying to sweep feathers... in a tornado. :) You just take what you get, and work with what you got!

A little bit about photoshop and post processing work. Each edit (or step) is it's own process. Each step takes time, and if I'm doing the same sequence of brightening the exposure, balancing the color, smoothing the skin and sharpening the portrait, then that's a lot of clicks and a lot of time. So photographers will often talk about "actions"- which is basically a recipe card that you use to enhance an image. Actions are "run" on images and it takes one click and a few seconds to get the desired results. Then you can tweak the layers and finish an image's edit in a few minutes.

Let me post the after image:

This image was run through an action called "Creamy Madness" by Photographer's Bling. I tweaked the layers a bit to my liking and in less than 5 minutes I had my final image.

Here are the two images, side by side:

The SOOC was nothing stellar but with a few tweaks, it's a presentable image. Sometimes when photographing toddlers on the move, the easiest method is to focus on capturing as great of an image as you can, and fixing the correctable issues in post-processing!

You can buy the action I used from Photographer's Bling, or find them on facebook here to download a free action just by "liking" their page!

You can also find me on facebook here!

Welcome!

2011-09-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the Free Range Photography blog page! I hope to update this periodically with articles, insight, session information and things that are fun for both the clients and other photographers!

Maybe I should start with an introduction? Indeed....
Hi! I'm Sarah! I'm a twenty-something Western Kansas girl who fell in love with photography from a young age. I got my first camera (a purple 110 mm) for my eighth birthday and have been happily clicking away ever since. I think I got my love of photography from my father and my creativity from my mother.

My business, Free Range Photography, was born not long after my daughter was! I realized that I wanted to provide fantastic images for parents and families to treasure forever, without breaking the bank. I strive to be creative; my goal is to provide images that make you feel like you know the subject a little better by just having viewed them. I have found a special place in my heart for photographing newborns and weddings. One of the best compliments I've ever received about my work to date is "I printed my (wedding) pictures and everyone got goosebumps looking at them." <3 It reassures me that I am using the talents I've been given.

Would you like to know anything else about me? I'm an open book!

Thanks for stopping by- hope to see you again soon!