This Week in Photo

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On Today’s episode of TWiP Family I talk with Lucy Baber. Lucy is a mother and family photographer in the Philadelphia area. I love hearing about personal projects and using photography to shine a light on a topic someone cares about. That is exactly what Lucy is doing. Lucy writes, "My new project is called 100 Black Dads, and it was born out of my need to contribute to the current Black Lives Matter movement with my voice as a photographer.  My goal is simple: I want to change the conversation about black men in America.  The black men I know are not "criminals, drug addicts, and rapists".  They are hard-working fathers, they are nurturers, and at the end of the day they are getting down on the ground and building Legos and having princess tea parties with their kids just like every other dad I know.  As a lifestyle family photographer, I'm using my voice to help tell their stories in a way that is authentic, optimistic, and culturally sensitive."

On today’s show we discuss how her project started, how it has changed since the idea came to hear and what her hopes are for the future of the project.

More about Lucy and her project:Website, Instagram, Facebook

More about Jenny: Website, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, The Family Photographer

This is my last episode as host of TWiP Family. Thank you to Frederick Van Johnson and everyone at the TWiP network who  helped create and share TWiP Family.

Listen to my new family photography podcast, The Family Photographer.

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I’m sharing my interview with Jenna Shouldice on documenting the birth process. Jenna is a documentary photography and mother of an adorable 11 month old. I was introduced to her work while watching Kirsten Lewis on Creative Live. Jenna joined Kirsten to talk about birth photography.

On today’s show we start by talking about her birth photography. It’s a topic I usually find irresistable and it's even more so at this moment being just a few months away from giving birth myself. We also talk about why Jenna enjoys documentary photography, and how watching and photographing other families has given her perspective with her own little girl. Jenna talks about capturing moments that are hard in a beautiful way, how she and her husband work together and what she loves about the workshops she does with Kirsten Lewis.

Jenna's Instagrams: One, Two, Three

Connect with Jenny: Website, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook

Do you have a family photography question? A guest suggestion or topic you’d like to hear about on this family photography podcast? You can contact me on the TWiP Family Facebook page and join theTWiP Family Facebook group or send an email to [email protected]

Join the 365 Group!

 

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This week’s show is a conversation with photographer Garen Marguerian about learning the language of photography. Garen has posted photos daily in the TWiP Family 365 Project group on Flickr along with other listeners this year. The topic of feedback and criticism comes up in the group discussions from time to time. I loved what Garen had to say about both giving and receiving feedback and wanted to hear more.

Garen talks about the ways he’s learned to speak the language of the image. First he learned from brutally honest Flickr groups, then a local group of photographers and the Arcanum. We talk about the vulnerability of both the person sharing their image for feedback and the person who is giving feedback.

See more from Garen: Flickr, 500px, Google+

More about Jenny: Website, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook

Do you have a family photography question? A guest suggestion or topic you’d like to hear about on this family photography podcast? You can contact me on the TWiP Family Facebook page and join theTWiP Family Facebook group or send an email to [email protected]

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This week on TWiP Family it's an interview with Danielle Hatcher. Danielle is a mother, teacher and photographer. She loves photographing families in their homes. Danielle tells us about how a rejection early in her photography journey stung at first and then inspired her to be a better photographer. We also talk about how she made the transition from from photographing families outside in parks to inside their homes.

Danielle lives in California and the homes she often photographs in are well lit. It sounds like a photographer’s dream. Danielle tells us what she likes about the plentiful flat light in the homes and how it has helped her be more creative in her work. We talk about different kinds of light - flat light, directional light and backlight. We discuss the what each kind of light is and how best to use it when photographing families.

If you’d like to learn more about how Danielle works, she teaches a workshop through the Click Photo School - Life Inside - In-Home Lifestyle Photography.

More about Danielle: Website, Instagram, Facebook

More about Jenny: Website, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook

365 Project

Danielle and I talked about her 365 that she didn't finish but she still learned from it. Since January 1, 2016, I've been posting photos daily along with an amazing group of TWiP Family listeners. You can see my project and the 365 projects of other TWiP Family listeners in theTWiP Family 365 Project 2016 group on Flickr. It’s not too late to start a project or start thinking about starting on in 2017.

Back on Episode 56 with Simon Ringsmuth, we talked about the value of a photo blog. Since then, I've been thinking about starting to write on a blog l...

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This week, it’s Jon Canlas on family and film. Jon knows kids. He’s got six of his own. He creates beautiful family portraits whether the kids are cooperating or melting down. And, he does it using film.

In this interview with Jon Canlas, he tells us how he works with families to get photos that shine with love and connection. Does he take them from one location to another to vary the backgrounds? Nope. Why not? It opens the door to more chaos. And, Jon says, ”Connection trumps background any day.”

I have friends that photograph families for their work but don’t feel like they take enough of their own families. I tell Jon about my friends and he says, “To me, that’s just crazy.” He takes more photos for himself than his clients. We talk about how important his personal work is to developing his voice as a photographer.

Jon does all his work on film. He tells us why he loves film. (He started the FIND film lab.) Jon does not let his photos just sit on his hard drive. He feels very strongly about printing work. That disk of photos you have from a few years back? You can’t use it in your Apple computer today.

Jon’s Simple Tip:

The number one thing is lighting. Don’t shoot in the dark nooks and crannies of your bedroom. Bring them to a window. If you don’t have a reflector, use a white sheet. Ask one of your other kids to hold up the sheet. Or, ask them to put it over their head and pretend to be a ghost.

Jon’s cameras:

Pentax 6×7 and Rolleiflex 2.8F.

(The Rolleiflex is a twin lens reflex. This is why a DSLR is called a digital single lens reflex.)

FIND: Family Guide and FIND: Biz Guide Use code OHANA that takes 35% off until the 19th of November

Connect with Jon: Website, Instagram

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jon Canlas on this family photography podcast.

 

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In this week’s interview with Patrick Moreau, we talk about telling remarkable stories. Patrick is co-founder of Stillmotion. He’s won Emmy’s, worked with big companies like Apple, Canon, and Toyota as well as the NFL, and made a documentaries like one about a nine year old girl who sold lemonade to fight child slavery. And, he created Muse Storytelling to help people tell their stories in a way that will move them and lead them to action.

My question for Patrick: how do we make family movies that aren’t boring?Patrick talks about the four pillars of storytelling: person, place, purpose and plot. Patrick says if we take time before we begin shooting to think about the story we can take less photos or video footage that comes together more quickly and means more to the people who watch it.

If you want to make family movies that are fun to make and interesting to watch, Patrick suggests Smartphone Storyteller by Grant Peelle. Head over and sign up to get the details when the course launches. Mention TWiP Family podcast for 50% off the course.

Watch:

https://vimeo.com/81006438

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ1TJ4KARkI

More about Patrick: Stillmotion, Muse

Find Jenny on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

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This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Michelle Gardella. I was introduced to Michelle’s work in Click magazine. The article was about her River Stories which are beautiful, mostly black and white photos, of people in rivers.  I saw Michelle taught a course through the Define School on black and white photography. I wanted to do a show focusing on black and white photos and got in touch with Michelle. A black and white photography show may be in the future, but this conversation followed a different route.

We started our conversation talking about how Michelle came to love rivers, the first time she experienced photographing a woman in a river and how she was drawn to doing more photos of people in the water. Michelle talks about how her work making these photographs is healing for her, for her subjects and for people all over the world who view the photos. She travelled the country telling more stories and gathered the photos and her writing about them in a book. Michelle has a special announcement about her book in the show.

Besides being an accomplished photographer, author and teacher, Michelle is a mother, she makes pottery every day and she feels strongly that she has a responsibility to not just tell the perfected story of her life but tell about her life honestly - warts and all. In that spirit, this interview is being shared with you as it happened without the rough edges smoothed. The show you’re used to hearing is mostly how it happened but when I can’t hear a guest or a child comes in the room to screaming, my wonderful editor, Russell, cuts that out so you can get to the good stuff. Not this time. I asked him to leave it as it happened.

More about Michelle: Website, Instagram, Facebook

Find Jenny on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

I’m doing a daily photo project. You can see my project and the 365 projects of other TWiP Family listeners in theTWiP Family 365 Project 2016 group on Flickr. It’s not too late to start a project. Join us.Do you have a family photography question? A guest suggestion or topic you’d like to hear about on this family photography podcast? Use the Contact Us button to send me an email. Or contact me on the

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In this episode, I interview with Kirsten Lewis on documenting family life. Kirsten spends all day with the families she photographs. She wakes up before the kids do and captures images of the soft and cuddly morning hours. And she stays all day, through evening melt downs and bedtime.

The resulting images are honest, funny and tender. Her work lets parents see how hard they work and how much their kids appreciate and love them.

In our interview, Kirsten shares how she got into day in the life sessions. She also shares how many images she takes in a day with her families. (Thousands!)

If you want to know more about Kirsten Lewis and how she works, she taught two fabulous Creative Live classes.

Kirsten has a great sense of humor and really understands families. I am excited for you to hear our conversation on this family photography podcast.

More about Kirsten: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Find Jenny on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

 

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In this interview with Sandra Coan, we talk about studio lighting, maternity photos and the wonders of film. Sandra photographs families and newborns in her Seattle studio. She is the mother of twin boys and in addition to running her own photography business, she founded the family photography website, Little Bellows. Sandra also teaches courses about studio lighting for film photographers and how to run a successful photography business.

Sandra loves studio lighting. In our conversation we talk about how she started out photographing with natural light in clients’ homes and now photographs in her studio with strobes. Sandra talks about why how using film is a different process and why she teaches classes specifically for film photographers.

Find out more about Sandra:Website, Instagram, Facebook

Find Jenny on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

 

I’m doing a daily photo project. You can see my project and the 365 projects of other TWiP Family listeners in the TWiP Family 365 Project 2016 group on Flickr. It’s not too late to start a project. Join us.

Do you have a family photography question? A guest suggestion or topic you’d like to hear about on this family photography podcast? Use the Contact Us button to send me an email. Or contact me on the

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This week is an interview with Ginger Unzueta. I was drawn to the way Ginger captures the beauty in her everyday life in both her photos and her writing. Ginger is a mother of four and teaches photography both in person and online in her Everyday Beauty class.

Ginger tells us how she photographs the same daily routine in different ways. An example we talk about is giving her baby a sink bath. She photographs the scene at different times of day, with different lenses and from a different perspective. Seeing her daily life in the is way reminds her that life isn’t happening somewhere else. It’s happening right here. Also, each day has something new to offer if we keep our eyes open.

Ginger teaches an online class, Everyday Beauty, and recently taught her first class in person to local people who wanted learn photography basics. Her Everyday Beauty class starts next week on September 26.

More about Ginger: Website, Instagram, Facebook

Find Jenny on Flickr, Instagram, Facebook