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Boy Meets Girl – Hoover Alabama Engagement Photographer

Posted on March 12, 2013

I am so excited to share this engagement with our blog readers. When I met with this couple to talk about the wedding day and engagement session I love hearing their story about how they met and fell in love. We were talking about ideas for the engagement session when I suggested we met up at several of the significant places in there relationship. I had the best time on the most perfect day weather wise running around the city!

Here is their story…

Boy meets girl. (Hoover High School where they met)

Boy and girl go on first date… (First Date at New York Pizza in Homewood)

 

Boy and girl fall in love… (Star Lake where they spent many dates!)

 

Boy asks his girl to marry him! (At Moss Rock Preserve where he asked her to marry him!)

 

Boy will marry girl… (The couple will host a reception for friends and family at Vulcan after they marry at the brides home church!)

Love it!! Here are a few more from our stops around town!

Spring Mini Sessions!

Posted on February 8, 2013

I love our mini sessions! It is wonderful to see new families and see how much the families from the past have grown! Spring mini sessions are always so colorful and bright!! This is perfect for Mother’s day gifts! Email me if you are interested in reserving a spot for your family or children! These always go fast, don’t miss out!!

Here are the details:

 

Here are a few more favorites from our spring mini sessions last year!

DSLR Camera Workshop

Posted on December 29, 2012

Is our “DSLR Camera” workshop for you???

Did you…
…beg your husband or wife 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 “DSLR Camera” Workshop is for you! We had a blast in our last workshops and it’s awesome to see so many of our attendees now shooting in manual mode getting the pictures they REALLY want! 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 consistent is, like most parents, I continue to take pictures!

PLEASE NOTE: In the past this class has been geared towards moms but after several classes with dads and people who are not parents, we have decided to change the name. This class is offered to anyone who wants to learn how to use their DSLR camera in manual and to take better pictures consistently!!

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 off your pop-up flash if you don’t  ), 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. You sit with your camera in front of you and we find every button on your camera and how to use what you are learning during the class!!

Plus, we have a facebook group that you become a member of after the class to ask questions! This is wonderful for when you go home and start practicing and have questions on how to use what you learn!

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 any subject 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 life.

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:

February 16th, 2013

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

Schedule for the day:

8:30 – Class starts – “Photography Basics” and everything you ever wanted to know about your camera.

11:00– “Question and Answer” time including lunch with us!

12:00 –    “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.

1:30 – Class Ends and you go home the new, hip photographer that you are OR you stick around for our photoshop class!!

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 2:00 and go until 4:00 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:

February 16th
Cost: $100 + tax
You need: Adobe Photoshop 7.0+ or Photoshop Elements

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

”I attended Samantha’s first 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 this DSLR Camera Workshop is the place to be!!” – Jenifer

“I am a huge fan of His Hands Photographs, so when I heard about the 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 reserve a spot in our class email me at sam@hishandsphotographs.com or call 205-862-3374 (Email is the easiest way to contact us!). Cory will send you an invoice for the class and you have 7 days to pay the invoice to secure your spot in the class.

And because I can’t have a post without pictures, I will share our family Christmas card on our blog. We went with funny with year for the back of our card.

I am so excited to see who will join us for this class!

 

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