Mugs for Jugs at Front Street Brewery | Wilmington NC Family Photography| Wilmington NC Event Photography

Every year I photograph the Mugs for Jugs event at Front Street Brewery (Except for last year because I was 9 months pregnant! lol!) This year Mugs for Jugs is on January 25th and not only am I photographing it, I will have my very own display in the evening with my own donation bucket! For every $50. I raise, I am giving a family portrait session and wall portrait to a family affected by breast cancer! So come on down to Front Street Brewery on January 25th and make a donation to help those in need. Don't forget to get a beer while your there! A portion of the proceeds from the beer sales will go to New Hanover Regional Medical Center!

Visit my website at www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com.

How to photograph your kids better in front of the Christmas tree | Wilmington NC Family Photographer

I can't even believe it.. Christmas is only a few days away! Last Monday I talked about how to photograph your Christmas tree. Check out that post here. Today I want to take those rules and apply them to portraits. I will show you how to photograph your kids better in front of the Christmas tree. There are several ways you can do it. I am going to show you two ways… The first way is how many professional photographers would recommend…

The set of photos below were actually taken during the day. I am lucky enough to have so much light in my living room…. we have four windows! I closed the blinds and curtains to all the windows except for one. Then I sat Olivia in front of the window with the tree behind her. The window is off camera to the left. I turned on the Christmas tree lights and made sure the flash on my camera was turned off. I opened my aperture almost as wide as it could go…. it was at f1.8, my iso was jacked all the way up! lol! And then I adjusted my shutter speed accordingly. Because there was so much light coming in the window my shutter speed was still pretty fast. It was 500th of a second. Then I clicked away. I gave Olivia a decorative "HoHoHo" sign to catch her attention and make sure she wouldn't wiggle around. :) So to recap:

1. Turn off your flash

2. Place your child in front of a window

3. Turn your camera to a low aperture

If you are not lucky enough to have a window in your living room or in a convenient spot you could always move the tree… but really... what a pain! lol! Or you could photograph at night. The photos below were taken at night… All the some of the same rules apply

1. Turn off your flash

2. Turn your camera to a low aperture

Except…

This time your shutter speed will be much slower. I would recommend turning your aperture to the lowest setting, jacking your ISO as high as it will go and turn down your shutter speed as low as you can go with out getting motion blur. For me that is 160th of a second. It might be a little higher for you until you get the hang of it. The only way to tell is practice! You can even turn on some over head lights to help the lighting situation. It probably won't be much of a difference but Christmas lights are a lot brighter then you would think. :) And viola, photos in front of the tree! My husband even took the second photo below! Thats how easy it is! Wish I could've taken credit for that one. Its one of my favorites! Again, I gave her a plastic ornament to grab her attention for a little while. 

Leave a comment below letting me know which lighting situation you like better. And post your photos of your kids in front of the christmas tree on my Facebook page here. Visit my website for more children photography at www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com.

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. 

Canon Rebel T3 Review | North Carolina Children Photography

Tuesday I talked a little about how to photograph your kids better. See that post here. I mentioned that a DSLR is a great way to get good photos. The Canon Rebel T3 is a great starter camera! And guess what, its on sale on Black Friday at Target! They are doing a bundle.

Canon T3 DSLR Bundle, $449
Includes: Canon T3 Camera, 18-55 mm Lens, 75-300 mm lens, 8GB SD Card, & Canon DSLR Bag

http://www.blackfriday.fm/adscan/target?page=18

It's a great deal! The Canon Rebel T3 is a great entry level DSLR camera. It has a great battery life and good image quality. Its a favorite among women because of the smaller, lightweight size and the grip is on the small size as well. Its not as heavy as some of the higher end Canon cameras. The Canon Rebel T3 also does much better in low light situations compared to some of the other Canon Rebel models. Many photos can be printed up to 20x30 prints. Generally its a good image quality for the price. That is why it makes a great entry level camera for that beginner photographer or mom who wants to take better photos of her children. ;)

Check out www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com

Family Portraits | Wilmington NC Family Photography

Kids grow up so fast. What a better way to preserve those memories then with a children portrait session! 

Family Photography  is one of the most important investments you can make. Allow me to tell you about the Lesley Veronika photography experience!  Don't you want the experience and the photos that will show your love for your family for generations to come. I would love to meet you and hear more about your children. Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com to book your complimentary consultation today! 

 You can choose from several different collections that can help save you money! Or you can build your own custom collection, thats just for you! You will get exactly what you want. We understand how expensive family photography can be, so we offer payment plans as low as 50. a month! 

2013 Giveaway! | Family Portrait Session

I love doing family portrait sessions. Capturing that time in your family's life creates memories that you will remember for a lifetime! I enjoy it so much, I've decided to do a FREE family portrait session giveaway in the new year! Check out the link below to enter! Good Luck!

Click here to enter to win! Check out some family sessions I did last year! 

Click here to enter to win your family portrait session!! 

Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com to see more family portrait sessions.

Holiday Portraits | Wilmington NC Family Portraits

It seems crazy doesn't it! Christmas is only 3 months away! Now is the time to book your holiday family portraits! Book by November 22nd and receive 25 holiday cards for free! A $59. value! Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com or call 845.532.5870 to schedule your session today! 

Anderson Family Portraits | Oak Island NC Family Photography

I had the privilege of photographing the Anderson Family a couple weeks ago at Oak Island. They were so much fun... the kids were a blast to photograph! 

 Isn't she adorable! I love this photo!

Visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com/kids for more info! 

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Jessica Rodriguez Easter Family Session | Wilmington NC Family Photography

I photographed Jessica and her family last weekend for Easter at Fort Fisher! Jessica told me this was their first family session since the baby was born! What! Kalai is now at 15 months! I had so much fun photographing them. Here are some of my favorites... 

This is my favorite photo ever!!! 

I just love Kalai's cute, little face! What a gorgeous family!


To see all her photos click here...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.212412968819143.50788.176496202410820&type=1

and here...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.227799720613801.54858.176496202410820&type=1

For more info on Family photos visit www.lesleyveronikaphotography.com/kids!

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