Welcome to His Hands Photographs!

We're a husband and wife photography team who specialize in weddings and family portraits. I'm Samantha Ferguson and my husband is Cory. We have a son and daughter, Elijah and Sarah, who are the reasons we started photography. We love pictures and we love to see things a little differently. We didn't grow up wanting to be photographers but both fully beleive this is what God made us to do. Please take a little time to read through the blog and get to know us! You will see a little bit of everything from our personal life to my favorites from the awesome families and couples that we serve!!! Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Comments make my day!




Mom with a Camera Workshop and Photoshop Editing Class – 2012 Classes!!

Posted on December 13, 2011

Is our “Mom with a Camera” workshop for you???

Did you…

…beg your husband for months for a new “fancy” camera so you could take perfect pictures of your kiddos? Did you open up the camera, turn it on, and start shooting only to learn…. the pictures looked pretty much the same as your last camera? Are you beginning to wonder why you spent so much money on this new camera if it doesn’t take awesome pictures???

Or have you…

…had your camera for a while now. You turn on the power button and shoot in Auto mode, but you aren’t getting the results you want consistently.  You know your DSLR camera can take better pictures, but when you decide to try out shooting in Manual mode (or anything else) everything is either BLACK, solid WHITE, or just plain looks horrible. Out of frustration you turn that pretty little dial back to Auto because you know you can at least get a good picture or two. Yet still, you know there is a better way…..

Or maybe…

…you know what you LOVE in a picture.  When the conditions are perfect, your composition is wonderful.  When you take a perfect picture everyone raves and asks you if you could take pictures of them.  But, you decline because you know that you took 100 pictures that day and only 5 turned out useable.  You think to yourself, “Maybe one day I can start a photography business, but I have to get the basics down first, practice a lot, etc., etc…”

Did you see yourself in any of the above scenarios? If so, then our “Mom with a Camera” Workshop is for you! We had a blast in our last workshops and it’s awesome to see so many of our moms now shooting in Manual mode getting the pictures they REALLY want of their kids! We understand that what you really want is to know how to take great pictures of everyday life: your kids playing sports, doing dance, making faces, crying, being smart, being silly, and any other milestone that’s important to you!  As parents we feel that it’s our job to document who our children are as people while they grow up in front of our eyes.  There are a lot of ways we try to do this, and for me it started out as baby books, one of which I never finished and the other I never started.  But, one thing that stays constistent is, like most parents, I continue to take pictures!

PLEASE NOTE: You do NOT have to be a mom to take our class! Our class is to help people take better pictures of children and how to use your camera in manual mode. We had a few people in our last class that were not moms.

What you will learn?

Photography Basics – What each part of good photograph is (f-stop or aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, etc.) and how those elements work together to make great pictures!

Composition – Once you learn how to operate your camera, composition will teach you how to make a good picture in practically any environment.  Or, it can show you how you can take an everyday picture and make it one of a kind.

Tip and Tricks – suggestions on how to photograph every age group, how to choose the right location, how to use your external flash if you have one (or how to turn your off your pop-up flash if you don’t :-P ), how to shoot in difficult lighting, basic editing after the picture is taken, and so much more!!

We will also have an hour of question and answer time with YOUR camera. This was a big hit in our last workshop!

Our workshop is taught by both Cory and I so you get a great mix of both of our skills. Cory is crazy smart about the technical part of photography and I have lots of tricks about how to work with your kids and strange lighting situations. The heart of our class is that you walk away with an understanding of how to work YOUR camera and capture all the priceless moments from your family.

What do I need for the class?

A DSLR Camera and the camera manual!! That is all! No experience needed. If you have external flash or extra lenses, please bring them but they are not required!

All the details:
Dates:

February 18, 2012 for Birmingham Workshop (Will be held in the Mountain Brook area)

AND

March 10th, 2012 for Tuscaloosa area (workshop will be held in the Northport area).

Schedule for the day:

9:00 – Class starts – “Photography Basics” and everything you ever wanted to know about your camera.

11:30 – “Question and Answer” time including lunch with us!

1:00 –    “Hands On” class –This will put into practice all we’ve just learned with us providing models of several age groups along with personal guidance from each of us. Cory and I both will be available to help with all your camera settings, composition, etc.

3:00 – Class Ends and you go home the new, hip photographer mom that you are OR you stick around for our photoshop class!!

Cost: $250 for 5 hours of instruction and a lovely catered lunch. : )

We’ll also have a lot of stuff to take home with you! We will be giving out a great book with everything we taught, but we have a few extras we are going to throw in too! We want you to have everything you need once you leave the workshop!

Photoshop Editing Class

AND, as requested, we are going to add an extra class covering photo editing using Adobe Photoshop or Elements.  There is an extra cost for this class and it’s open to anyone.  It will start at 3:30 and go until 5:30 and, just to be clear, you do not have to attend our first class to attend our Photoshop class.  During the class, we will be editing a set of pictures from beginning until the end! You are welcome to bring your laptop and edit along with us using YOUR pictures!  You will go home knowing how I edit my pictures along with a take-home sheet of quick tips showing what we covered in the class!

Details:

February18th and March 10th  3:00 – 5:00
Cost: $100
You need: Adobe Photoshop 7.0+ or Photoshop Elements

Here is what some of our mom’s that attended our last class had to say:

”I attended Samantha’s first ‘Mom with a camera workshop.’ It was a phenomenal and filled with a ton of information. I was very impressed with its overall organization. Samantha and her husband Cory share a deep passion for photography and it shows! It is always a breath of fresh air to come in contact with someone that is as talented as these two who are willing to share some of their ‘secrets.’ I would recommend this workshop to anyone, whether you are simply a mom with a camera or if you are like me, a mom with a camera who wants to start a business. ‘Mom with a Camera Workshop’ is the place to be!!” – Jenifer

“I am a huge fan of His Hands Photographs, so when I heard about the Moms with a camera class, I was sure to sign up. I am very pleased with the outcome. I definitely feel my photography has improved since the class. I now feel even more comfortable with my camera: I am able to effectively shoot in Manual mode (and know the reasons why I should) and I now know how to post a clearer picture online! In addition, we learned about the camera functions, shooting/posing techniques and digital editing. I highly recommend the class for beginner and intermediate level photo  enthusiasts!” – Shauna

“I learned so much from Sam & Cory during my class! I have a Canon Rebel xs and have wanted to take that next step in knowledge of photography and I knew there was no one better to learn from. I mainly shot all my pics in Sports mode or the regular Auto step that most cameras are set on when you get them. I had been told that shooting in RAW you could get so much more from your pictures & still have the ability to adjust levels & lighting in them, but I was just scared! During my class I took the leap of faith & I have not looked back since! Shooting in manual gives me the ability to make a picture wonderful that you wouldn’t have the chance to do if it was done in Auto function. Everything just came together so nicely in the class and they were both so great with hands on help too! It was great to have them there & put you in a session style situation and be there offering their help, knowledge and guidance on taking that great photo! To make it even better is they put together a great book of everything we went over in our class and taking the pics too. I personally look at mine all the time because I don’t have the greatest memory in the world! The next thing I am looking forward to is an editing class! I need something to speed up my process! I would highly recommend to those of you that are wanting to try and become a photographer and also to all the Mom’s like me who want those great pictures of our kids! Thanks So Much Sam & Cory!” – Stephanie

Whew…. That’s it! Are you READY? Our last class was full within 10 days!! I expect this workshop to do the same! We are limiting the class size again so you can get the most out of it along with one-on-one attention!

To book our class, email me at sam @ hishandsphotographs.com or 205-862-3374 and we will get an invoice to you right away. $100 nonrefundable retainer is due to hold your spot in the class. The remaining balance is due Jan. 30, 2012. Retainer must be paid within 7 days of requesting spot for class.

And since it is a class on how to take great pictures of your kiddos, I will subject you to pictures of my kids and my friends kids from Thanksgiving and from the zoo. You are welcome. I know they are cute.



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12 Days of Weddings – Day 12 – The Bride and Groom – Birmingham Wedding Photographer

Posted on December 12, 2011

Our last day… I hope you have enjoyed out 12 days of weddings! I had the best time preparing the blog posts and looking through the weddings from the last year. It has been an amazing year with the greatest couples. Cory and I both seriously love our jobs! We are ending our wedding features with the most important part of the wedding… the couple. It all started because two people fell in love. Cory and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this month and I have to share that it gets better and better. I am so grateful to work with my husband creating a legacy of images that the bride and groom will treasure for a lifetime.



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12 Days of Weddings – Day 11 – The Bride – Birmingham Wedding Photographer

Posted on December 12, 2011

Every single bride I see takes my breath away. I do not say that lightly. I am blessed to be in the room when the bride puts on her dress. Once the dress goes on, the mood in the room changes. She looks amazing and everyone that sees her knows it. I always feel like taking beautiful images of the bride is the easiest part of the day. She is beautiful, she is glowing. Perfect.

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