How to photograph your kids better | Wilmington NC Family Photographer

So, if your a reader of my blog you know I always talk about the importance of capturing the memories of your children and family. I understand that not everyone can afford a family photographer so I am here to teach you how to better photograph your children. There was an amazing photographer, George Lange, on the Today Show this morning. He talks about this very subject, that I am so passionate about. Check out the interview here. I love how he talks about the feeling of the photo and what the meaning of the photo is about in that moment is more important then what the photo looks like. I love this and completely agree! Below you will see two photos of my daughter... the first time she slept in her crib and eating cake at her first birthday! Both of these photos probably don't mean much to you but they mean the world to me and they will be moments I keep with me always. So whenever there is a wonderful moment happening in your child's life make sure you capture it because its those photos you will be looking back in the years to come.

To see family photography please visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com. 

Best of 2013 | Wilmington NC Wedding Photographer | Wilmington NC Family Photography

I can't even believe it… It's 2014! This year flew by and it has been a blast. Despite me going part time due to Olivia's arrival, Lesley Veronika Photography has been a huge success! The company has grown by leaps and bounds and I know 2014 will be even better! Thank you to everyone who has made Lesley Veronika Photography what it is today. I want to thank all of my clients who help make my dreams come true every day! I love photography and I could not imagine doing any other job. I am truly blessed. Below are all the weddings and sessions that helped make 2013 a success!

 Sorry everyone but I have to say my first and favorite session of the year…. Olivia's newborn session.

and a very close second is my nephew's newborn session... Evan. :) 

How to photograph your Christmas lights Part 2 | Wilmington NC Family Photography

So on Friday I talked a little about how to photograph your house Christmas lights. You can read that post here. Today I am going to teach you how to photograph your Christmas tree. My absolute favorite Christmas tradition…. decorating the Christmas tree! I just love reminiscing every year about where we got that or this ornament. We have so many sentimental ones. John still has his baby's first Christmas ornament and there's my favorite snowman ornament my parents bought me when I was in middle school. This year we have a few new ones… our new house key. I saw a pin on pinterest and fell in love with the idea! Click here for the pin. And this year we bought Olivia's Baby First Christmas ornament, its pictured below.

So lets talk shop.. how to photograph your tree…

Step 1: Use a tripod. So I talked about this on Friday also. You will get the sharpest photo by using a tripod. You will not be able to hand hold a low shutter speed. Believe me.. Ive tried… Ive also messed up a hell of a lot of photos because of it. :( Flash will not work in this situation. This brings us to step 2...

Step 2: So typically in a low light setting I would recommend an off camera flash. However, in this case you want the lights of the tree to illuminate the photo. So turn that flash off!

Step 3: Close and open your aperture. So, you are probably scratching your head right now and saying "huh". We talked a little about closing your aperture on Friday. You can see in the first photo the lights are little starbursts. I used a closed aperture of f/10 for that photo.  I highly recommend closing your aperture down to do a full length photo. The photo will be nice and sharp and you get those pretty little starburst. When you open your aperture nice and wide you will get that blurry back round and fuzzy lights effect. My aperture was f/1.4 in this photo. You can see the blurry lights right behind Olivia's Christmas ornament in the second photo. I highly recommend opening your aperture up when doing close ups of your tree.

Check in next week. I will be talking about how to photograph your kids better in front of the Christmas tree! Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com for more family photography.

How to Photograph Christmas Lights Part 1 | Wilmington NC Family Photographer

I've been a bit behind on posts lately. With the arrival of my nephew, Ive been back and forth to Durham in the last 2 weeks. So its been a little nuts for me trying to get ready for Christmas and finish all my client orders they purchased as Christmas gifts.

I just love this time of the year. And now that we are officially a family, with a little one of our own, John and I are even more excited to pass on our childhood traditions and start some of our own. Decorating our new house is one of my favorites, John and I planned out how we were going to decorate the house together and then of course, John decorated the outside…. I did the wreath on the door… ok John helped a little! lol! So, I am going to tell you how I photographed the photos below and how to get the best photos of the Christmas lights on your house.

Step 1. Use a tripod. You will get the sharpest photo if you use a tripod. Because it is dark outside you will need to use a low shutter speed. There is no way you can handhold a shutter speed of an eighth of a second. Its too slow. You will get motion blur.

Step 2. Turn your flash off. You want the lights of the house to illuminate the house. The flash will over power everything and you will end up with a washed out photo.

Step 3. Close your aperture. So with aperture the smaller the hole the less light that will be allowed into your lens. With the aperture the bigger the number the smaller the hole. I would recommend using at least f/10. In the photos below I used a f/10 aperture and in the close up photo you can see the little burst of lights. I just love it!

Step 4. Go out 20 - 30 minutes after the sun has set. Most people think that they need to wait until it is completely dark outside. However, it is actually best when there is still a little light in the sky. You can see in the first photo below, it looks dark, however you can still see that blue sky! You will also see more of the surrounding details.

Next week I will tell you how to photograph your Christmas tree! Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com.

Thanksgiving Last Year | Wilmington NC Family Portraits

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is my favorite time of the year. Great food, quality time with family and the start of the Holiday season! I thought since its Thanksgiving I'd share our Thanksgiving photos from last year. We always love getting together and of course I'm there with my camera. I am so thankful this year. We are celebrating Olivia's first Thanksgiving and my brand new nephew's first Thanksgiving too! Our family is perfect!

Its so great! Everyone chips in and helps with Thanksgiving dinner. This is my sister and brother in law preparing the turkey! YUM!

Even John (who is not a cook…at all) helps. He makes delicious hard apple cider. Yum!

Our little snowman keeps the apple cider warm. 

 I love this one of my mom drinking mulled hot apple cider!

My dad carving the Turkey!

This was my plate... Full of food! And I ate it all! :) 

To see more family portraits check out www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com.