Adria Peaden Photography

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Posted in Personal, Photography

Welcome to my blogsite!!  It is exciting for me to be able to bring my photography to those of you in my hometown of Panama City, FL as well as the whole world with this new blog format.  

Using this blogsite to show you who I am is what I think suits my business best.  I want my clients to feel like they can be my friend and therefore it excites me to document their lives.  Sharing with the whole world is my favorite part.  Each picture comes with a personal story and my hope is to be eloquent enough to get half of the feeling in words as I can in a picture.  For me a picture really is worth a 1000 words.  

Besides client escapades, I like to share my personal life.  My hope is that this will help you get to know me.  Be open with me as I am with you and comment to your hearts content.  For those who are seeking more information about my services, please click on the Contact button above.  You will be able to email me directly with any questions you may have.

St. Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach, FL : Wedding Photographer

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Posted in Florida, Panama City Beach, Photography, St. Andrews State Park, Wedding

This was my first wedding at St. Andrew’s State Park and I’m lovin’ it. We did the ceremony near the pier inside the park…my mind was fresh with inspiration. The pillars under the pier offer such a great backdrop for pictures. I will be taking more people there to experiment.

The weather wasn’t the best thanks to Tropical Storm Bonnie in the waters but we didn’t have any rain during the event which is all that matters. Of course there is still no oil on the beaches which made it that much sweeter for this couple traveling down from Illinois I believe. The crowd looked like a group of extras from a Jason Mraz video, they were so stylish. I felt a little out of place in my khakis, polo and braided hair.

Thanks again to Coastal Beach Weddings for the setup. I am pretty sure they got rained on trying to set up and were drenched when I got there. What troopers.

The couple wrote their own vows.  Emotions were written all over their faces as they read them, especially the groom.The best bride/groom kiss I have seen thus far.  So sweet.

by adriapeaden

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Tippin’ on Tuesday : Fuzzy Backgrounds

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Posted in Tippin' on Tuesday

Ever wonder how to get those pictures where the subject is in focus and everything else is really blurry? That was the first question I wanted to answer for myself when I decided to venture in to this photography thing. I logged many hours reading from several other photographers willing to share on how to create this effect. Here was what they basically all said.

#1 Learn how to shoot in Manual Mode.
#2 Change your camera settings so you can adjust where the AF point is manually.
#3 Set your aperture to the lowest number.

Shooting in manual mode can be really scary but it becomes less so with practice. I don’t recommend the first time you try being with someone who is paying you. In fact, learn manual mode before you expect to get paid. Most photographers will tell you that the only way to learn is to read your camera’s manual and practice. I will also add to learn what aperture, ISO, and shutter speed do to your pictures. You basically need to learn out of the three how they let in more or less light. If you are in the full sun then you don’t need as much light hitting the camera as if you were in a low light situation.

The AF points on your camera are those dots you see in the view finder that light up when you focus. I can only speak to Canon but they are red dots in the frame. If you leave the factory settings as is then those points are automatically chosen by the camera, choosing the item closest to you. Change these settings in your menu so that you can manually select the AF point before you shoot. This way if you want to focus on the eye of a person or the hands of a person you choose, not the camera. This option can dramatically change the feel of the image.

To get the fuzzy background so fuzzy on am image, you need to change the aperture to be on its lowest number or wide open as the term is used. My favorite lens right now is my 35mm f/1.4. The 1.4 represents the lowest number for the aperture. At 1.4 the focal point in the image is in focus and most the rest of the image is really blurry. It creates a very dreamy effect that I love. This lens is pretty costly but you can get some decent lenses that have f stops at 1.8 which is a great beginner.

One of my recent shoots was with a family and their baby boy. He had just learned how to sit up so I had him in front and his parents within arms reach behind him. I did this to purposely use the fuzzy effect on the parents and keep baby in focus. It turned out super cute and this is why investigating and learning how to use that super expensive camera is worth it.

by adriapeaden

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My Boys

Friday, July 23, 2010 Posted in Personal

We are all sharing a head cold in the Peaden house this week. Gillian is getting over it and she is in that I feel better but not 100% so I want to act crazy but get grumpy because I still don’t feel good stage. It is the worse day in my opinion of a kid getting sick. They feel so much better but act incredibly crazy running around the house, not listening…ugh.

Well Stephen was feeling somewhat ok and I hadn’t gotten the full brunt of the cold yet so we decided to let her burn some energy at the park. I took along my 70-200mm f/2.8 L that I borrowed from www.borrowlenses.com. If you ever want to try out a lens or you are not sure if you should purchase one lens over another, borrow it first. You save so much money trying it out ahead of time to make sure you need it. They also will sell their used inventory a couple times a year so get on their mailing list and hit up those events. That is where I got my 35mm f/1.4….yum.

This weekend I have 2 weddings so I figured since one was a beach wedding and the other in a church that now would be the best time to test out this lens. Check it out here at Canon.

by adriapeaden

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Tippin’ on Tuesday: Start with the easy shot…

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Posted in Photography, Tippin' on Tuesday

Sometimes you only have a limited amount of time with a subject. To make the most of it, I always go for the safe/easy shot first. These are typically the ones where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling the “cheese” smile. I do this because when kids are present or (I hate to say this) impatient men they are usually their best the first couple of minutes and getting those safe shots out of the way ensures you have a decent picture where everyone is looking at the camera. These are the pictures most traditional families want to pass out to family and friends.

Let’s back up and visit the impatient man comment. I say this because next to kids, men are the other group that will loose focus in a photo shoot and cause the shoot to be over. Think about it, women are the caretakers of the family and the ones wanting to document growth…women like to get the family all spruced up…women like to see their family smiling and happy.  Everyone else is there because mom wants them to be.  Now of course there are exceptions to every rule.

After the safe shot is out of the way, I will then scan for more locations, groupings, and poses depending on the family.  Keep your options open.

Not everyone has to look at the camera.

Not everyone has to be in focus.

Not everyone has to be sitting or standing together.

Sometimes just parts of the body in the picture can speak to the family…hands, feet, backs of the heads

In other words, get your safe traditional shots first. After that use the remainder of the time to pin point your style by experimenting. I have found that initially a family will ask for the very traditional and then after seeing the more photo-journalistic style shots they tend to choose those. Those fun different shots are the ones that show off kids as they really are, or show people with their real smiles not their “cheese” smiles.

by adriapeaden

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Laura + Jeff : Santa Rosa Beach, FL : Wedding Photographer

Monday, July 19, 2010 Posted in Florida, Photography, Santa Rosa Beach, Wedding

With all of the oil talk in the news, we in the gulf coast states have had many cancellations in the wedding business.  Honestly, there’s no need to cancel at least in the Florida panhandle.  Thank goodness Laura and Jeff had confidence to continue with their plans because they had a perfect day on the beach for their wedding.

The wedding started with the setting sun and a cloudless sky.  Usually I would prefer a cloud or two to act as a natural filter against the sun but that day it worked so well with her amazing dress.  She had a train that was shear embellished with bead work.  Take that against the pure white sand and add a brilliant sun and now I am left with amazing pictures.  Beach weddings usually don’t have trains because of well….sand.

Thanks again to Coastal Beach Weddings for setting up Laura and Jeff’s amazing destination wedding. Elegant as always.

by adriapeaden

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