What An Image Means to a Photographer: Top 3 Reasons

What being a photographer means to me.

An image should speak to YOU the audience. It should delight, or make you sad... perhaps, even make you laugh.  An image should reflect an emotion for the viewer. This is what makes a photographer... showing emotion.. love, sadness, joy and in the moment... It's why we do the things we do.Every image I put out there is with my love, my passion, my heart. Every image is hand edited to give you the best in what I can offer and I don't like using any presets or actions. I've been trained in various editing techniques and it would be a sin to waste all this training by running an action. I spend hours among hours weekly learning my camera and bettering myself.My colors are vibrant, soft, dreamy and my posing is very relaxed and casual. I want to capture the true self at heart. I do tone it down a bit for family photos, but still add my flavor to them.  Everything else, in terms of the edit... depends on the light, the articles of clothing, props, time of year.

What An Image Means to a Photographer: Top 3 Reasons

As a photographer, an image holds immense significance and serves as a powerful medium of artistic expression and communication. Here are the top three reasons why an image means so much to those behind the lens:

1. Visual Storytelling: An image is a photographer's narrative captured in a frame. It represents their unique perspective, emotions, and experiences at a specific moment in time. Through composition, lighting, and subject matter, photographers weave compelling stories that resonate with viewers on a deep, emotional level. Each image is a visual testament to the photographer's ability to convey a message or evoke a specific mood, making it a profoundly personal and meaningful creation.

2. Artistic Fulfillment: For a photographer, an image is a tangible manifestation of their artistic vision and creative prowess. It is the culmination of their technical skills, aesthetic sensibilities, and conceptual ideas. Every aspect of image-making, from the initial concept to the final post-processing, reflects the photographer's devotion to their craft. The satisfaction derived from producing a visually stunning and thought-provoking image fuels their passion and drives them to continually refine their skills, seeking new ways to convey their artistic voice through photography.

3. Memorable Moments and Connections: Photographers cherish images as enduring reminders of significant moments, both personal and collective. Whether capturing a breathtaking landscape, a candid portrait, or a historical event, each image symbolizes a unique connection between the photographer and the subject. These photographic mementos serve as a testament to the fleeting nature of time, preserving otherwise ephemeral moments for posterity. Moreover, photographers often form deep bonds with their subjects, and the images taken become a testament to those relationships, fostering a sense of nostalgia and connection with the past.

In conclusion, an image holds profound significance for a photographer, representing their ability to tell stories, fulfill their artistic aspirations, and immortalize meaningful moments. It is a medium through which they share their perspective, evoke emotions, and leave a lasting imprint on the world.

absolutely stunning! A nude maternity shoot at the shore. Obviously, cannot show you the goodies, but it was a beautiful shoot!

A maternity silhouette… beautiful skies and clouds around.

Each image, has their own special sauce as you see and isn't like what you see out there.In moving forward with this photography business, I am cutting back a bit and have decided to go down to part time. I was going it at full time for a bit and it completely wiped me out. I will now reducing my sessions down to about 4-6 sessions a month to give myself a life and to also give 100% to my customers. Btw, I gave 100% to my last spree and it put me in the hospital! My body is telling me to slow down and I will now be listening to it!

As a photographer, I am realizing you can't always be the best... There are others who are better out there, who make more money and charge more, who have more experience... and then there are others just getting into the business and starting from scratch... maybe they're learning the insides and outs to their camera and starting manual.What I am getting at is, I am not the best.. I will never be the best and realizing I can only be the best I can be. As photographers, we see others' works out there and feel we can't live up, that we'll never be good enough and we feel like giving up. This whole field is about learning and growing! Don't give it up! Learn to just be you and do your thang!

Don't worry about what others are doing!! Once you do this and let that go, you will grow as an artist.And.... What I am telling you, my potential customers, is that I will do MY BEST for you! I will go above and beyond and always keep upping my game. I will keep investing in education and in workshops to be a better photographer for YOU. After all, it is YOU that helps to pay for this education, gear and workshops!!! It is you that has kept me in business for almost a year now... and it is YOU who motivates me to do better as I move forward!I want my images to speak to my clients!I have a game plan going forward and am now starting to head in the direction that I always envisioned!  Watch out South Jersey! Here I come!!

Happy Shooting, my friends!

Dee

Color, color, color, everywhere! Defining your style... What's it going to be?

I love the summer and spring and the colors of the lush greens, blooming flowers and trees.... the long sunny days!  The pastels and lots and lots of color! I love sunlight! This is my style. Bright, vibrant and colorful!Let me tell you how long it has taken me to get to where I currently am... I can't tell you how hard it is to be a photographer... It really truly is!  I had NO CLUE what I was in for. None, whatsoever.  I knew editing was involved. I knew you needed to know your camera settings and how to work in certain scenarios... and I knew poses.. but I have learned a lot since them!Within the last few months, I have truly tried to define MY STYLE.  It took a ton of practice and hard work. I live and breathe photography. It's really sad. I know.On a typical day.. say I don't have clients... I will probably go out and shoot for an hour, I usually edit for 1-2 hours on old photographs to brush up on skills and keep them fresh, and then I top the night off with about an hour of learning from the greats by watching videos... and/or reading... that's a regular day. Now, when it is busy, like now... I may spend up to 3-4 hours editing a night... with about an hour of education... Still.  Not to mention, back and forth communication with clients. Scheduling session days and times.

Kids having fun in a peony field.

Little tongue pusher!

An engagement session I did a looong time ago.

 Confirming and consulting on locations, what to wear, props and the business side of things. It can be a full 12-14 hour day that you put into this.My greatest asset thus far in this photography journey has been education, education, education.. hands down!  Whether it be a new technique in camera or learning how to edit.. It has been the best investment in this journey... NOT CAMERA EQUIPMENT.  In fact, I just upgraded AGAIN... My third camera upgrade within about 8 months and I've barely taken it out yet. I'm still comfortable with my old one and will gradually ease my way into the new with photo sessions... The new camera is technically the more "superior" camera... cost three times more than the one I am replacing it with... but you see I know my old camera much better... so until I start practicing a bit more with the new one and it becomes an extension of my body, like my old one.. then I will start to utilize it more.

Anywho, in terms of finding your style as a photographer... Honestly, it's all practice.  I would say try not to emulate what you see out there and try doing your own thing... you don't want to look like everyone else. Just learn to perfect your own thing...I use to play it safe and then realized I wasn't happy. I did clean edits. It was just blah to me and it kind of sucked my creativity and joy. Once I started to just not care what others thought or should I do this or that... basically, not second guessing yourself... Is when you will see your style to emerge. It's about breaking your barriers.Your style is going to take some time and probably at least 200-500 hours of just work. Then all of a sudden one day... it hits you like bam! Then you have it!I look back at some of my older work and I can see the direction I wanted to go, but it was difficult  for me to fully execute.  I saw the "look" I wanted to go in my head, but I just couldn't figure it totally out in Photoshop.  I didn't have a clear sense in what I wanted from beginning to end.. from the first click.. to the end.   Now, I can shoot from start to finish with the look I want.  I go into every shoot knowing what I want to do and how I want it to look.

Thus far, it's been a great year and I look back and see the growth I have done in just a short amount of time, but I finally feel that I have a style... My style.  There's honestly no looking back. Business is busy and I'm enjoying what I do.. I'm enjoying learning (as I always will) and I genuinely feel warm and fuzzy inside when folks want me to capture their engagement sessions, weddings, maternity photos... They trust me to be behind the camera. I feel honored and blessed to do those things for them.So here is my style... I don't like staged cheesy smiles... I will do some of these from time to time... however, I like natural poses... natural smiles, I like when someone naturally sits... or when someone looks at their significant either with just "that look".. in what I call the look of love.  My style is playful..

In terms of children, I capture childhood.. In terms of when I work with adults, I capture true moments, their hearts, their personalities.. their dreams.I love bokeh.. and my style is all about it... If there is not bokeh... there's probably something wrong with me that day.I get everything right in camera.I love sunlight... I have a way of capturing it...and I love color.. vibrancy, warmth, pastels.and once in awhile... that dark and moody edit...and I love skies.. colorful gorgeous skies.And that's it.. that's me!What's your style!?!?! Are you a clean edit type... or are you bold and daring?! What is it that you will offer to the table.. that others in your area don't?!Aha.. you see that right there!! All my blabbering got you here! Take that last question in right now.. seriously take it in...It's going to be your aha moment!  As it was for me!

Happy Shooting, my friends!-Dee

My First Maternity Shoot In South Jersey!

Pregnancy is a crazy time! Many new and exciting things lie ahead!

I love road shots!

Happy for her new arrival! She looks gorgeous!

Stunning at the Westville Wheelabrator site!

Mom is glowing!

I love getting these candid shots!

A little haze an artistic flair was used here!

Another artistic shot!

Mom and daddy to be!

Gorgeous couple celebrating their soon to be new arrival!

Beautiful mama!

And then they kissed!

Can you take a guess at what they are having?

On a picturesque day in the heart of New Jersey, Shooting Star Photography LLC embarked on a captivating photo shoot at the Westville Wheelabrator Reserve. Nestled amidst the serene beauty of nature, this location was the epitome of rustic charm. As the sun's soft rays filtered through the vibrant foliage, our team eagerly set up our equipment to capture the essence of this hidden gem. The reserve's lush greenery, winding trails, and tranquil ponds provided the perfect backdrop for our subjects. We effortlessly framed shots that blended the grandeur of the Reserve with the subtle grace of our models, creating striking compositions. With every click of the shutter, we immortalized the raw beauty that Westville Wheelabrator Reserve had to offer, leaving us enchanted by the magic we had created.

Welcome to Westville, here in South Jersey!

Ladies and Gentlemen this is my one of my most favorite places in the entire world! It is one of my favorite spots because1.  Not too many folks know about it... You'll never see many folks here.

2.  Butterflies, butterflies... butterflies.. thousands of them... oh my! In the spring and summer it is SWARMING with monarch butterflies. It's like right out of a movie. I have traveled all over South Jersey and have never seen anything like it.  There is also a native butterfly garden here, but I can't imagine that's all that is drawing them in!

3.  Great hiking trails to watch wildlife

4.  On historic grounds, once the home to George Washington while his house was being built in Philadelphia and then the world's greatest pleasure resort resided on these premises.  Unfortunately, nothing remains today, but is still really cool.

5.  Different "boardwalks" that hover over various scenery throughout the area.

6.  A large dirt road to wander on.

7.  A really nice beach right on the Delaware River.  It is clean and a nice private area to watch the ships coming and going.I figured this would be a perfect place for a shoot and it was! I'm so glad I got to have my first maternity shoot here as it is truly a very special place to me!

There's nothing more beautiful than a mother when she is expecting her first child!  There are fears and joys throughout the entire pregnancy journey. Very high ups and some lows as what life is about.It's true what they say your life will never be the same... There's 100% truth to that. Sometimes, days are just wretched and you want to pull your hair out or jump off a bridge, but on other days, you see what life is about, by looking at your very own, that you were able to produce and bring into this world.

It's an indescribable feeling.As a mother myself, I can't imagine my life without my children in it.  They make this world a joy to wake up to every single day.So... This lovely couple braved the elements in this very cold South Jersey winter.  Mom-to-be was 7 1/2 months along and another challenge to boot... We photographed in midday sun.

This was a total joy to shoot, as this was my first maternity session.  We headed out to one of my hundreds of scouted locations, the Westville Wheelabrator Wildlife Management Area.I've always been very fond of it  in regards to its intriguing history.  It was known as "Fancy Hill" pre-revolutionary days and owned by the notorious Howell family in South Jersey.George Washington stayed here as his home was being built in Philadelphia after the first election of the United States of America. He became our first president.

It then became an amusement park in the late 1800s to early 1900s and was called, Washington Amusement Park. This area was known as the largest pleasure resort in the world in its time and also heralding the largest Ferris wheel in the world, in its day.Basically, the area is beautiful for any shoot.  It has meadows, old dirt roads, a ton of woods and trails and a beautiful pebble beach along the Delaware River.

In any sense, a perfect location for a photo shoot.It was 1pm sun, which means a big "challenge" in the photography field.  However, it takes a pro to overcome all obstacles and that we did!We had a great time and I was very happy to do this session for two amazing folks!  I can't wait to utilize one of those beautiful maternity gowns for a future shoot. However, for my first maternity shoot, I  I did a decent job.  I can't wait for the next one!  I have so many new ideas to share!

Happy Shooting, my friends!

Dee