Danielle Huddleston Photography

New Website/Blog!

2009-11-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

I have a new home, come and check it out!

daniellehuddlestonphotography.com

Working!

2009-11-26T08:12:00.001-08:00

Sorry that I have not posted anything in a while! I almost have my new website up and put my two latest sessions on that one thinking it would be up and going. I am hoping to corner my husband this weekend and make him fix a couple problems (I may have caused) on the site. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The beauty of Motherhood

2009-11-20T07:54:00.000-08:00

I learned a couple valuable lessons during my first shoot at my house, never get rid of your baby monitor and never wake up your toddler when he is napping. I left my youngest in the house while we were shooting outside and when I went inside to check on him decided to just wake him up so he could come out. He screamed at my feet the whole time! Thankfully this is this mother's second and she was very understanding but I felt horrible! That is how good this mother is though! You would never know from looking at the pictures that a child was screaming in her ear for most of them! I feel so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to take her maternity pictures, I know this baby is going to be loved and blessed.

Beautiful People+beautiful cloudy skies

2009-11-18T04:46:00.001-08:00

=Breathtaking Pictures! I loved taking pictures of this family, they braved the cloudy and cold weather to get some pictures taken. And they made my job so easy! The mom is Gorgeous and the boy is a little doll and the dad was such a good sport! The little boy loved to attack his mom while I was taking pictures, I love it when children feel free to play around during a photo shoot, their genuine happiness makes me want to snap pics of them forever. You can see how much this family loves each other! When I found out the husband is from Montana in the beginning I knew that it was going to be an awesome shoot! I have been in love with Montana since I was a teen and I tend to love anyone that comes from there! If they have lived in that beautiful country they have to be awesome, right?

Dripping Springs Rendezvous

2009-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting a whole year to go to the Dripping Springs Rendezvous! We went last year and did not bring enough cash to get the boys anything, so I have been wanting to buy them wooden swords for a year. I live vicariously through my boys...the swords are cool! My oldest was like, "I want a gun mommy" I said, no you are getting a sword. They did have a blast though and he and his brother carried them around all night. Now I just need to find a nice PG film with sword play for them since they have no clue how to hold them! I really do love this event and if you like living history and live in the Tulsa, Ok area make it a point to go next year in the fall. It is in Okmulgee, Ok at Dripping Springs State Park. I love history and try to expose the boys to it every chance I get, I believe it takes so much more then history books to learn about history. If you can smell the smoke from the guns fired how much more real are the battlefield description from the civil war going to be. If you have touched a coon skin cap and seen the buckskins Davy Crocket is suddenly a touchable person that you can see before you as you read about him. I love events like this and want to thank everyone that is a part of them!

NEW LENS!!!

2009-11-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

My husband surprised me for my birthday with a new lens! It is a Nikon 50mm 1.8 prime lens, and the depth of field is awesome! I was giddy while taking pictures, one of the best gifts ever!

session cancelled

2009-11-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

The session I had tonight cancelled so I decided to not waste all that anticipation and took pictures of my youngest. I am pretty sure he is the cutest one year old in the world. If you don't believe me ask his Grandma...

Snakes!

2009-11-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

I was watching a program on PBS about Black Mambas and part of the footage showed two snakes fighting, as I am watching two extemely deadly snakes fight each other all I can think is how beautiful they look in that lighting and how awesome it would be to get a low tight shot of them...I had to mentally keep telling myself that "they are POISONOUS and you do not want to lay down next them just to get a shot Danielle!" My husband and I found a none poisenious snake a couple months back and before confirming that it was indeed harmless I went out barefoot and took pictures of it but in my defence it was an awesome looking snake! I can not help it if I have photography on the brain, at least I stop myself from approaching strangers and asking them if I can take pictures of them or their children...pretty sure that would scare people. I have almost done it though!

Forgotten

2009-11-07T15:08:00.001-08:00

I took this picture while waiting in a park to do a family session this last summer, I forgot about it until recently. I thought with most of the flowers gone and winter fast approaching they would bring a smile. I find taking pictures of flowers, bugs and buildings to be so soothing. One of the best things I have read about improving your shooting was to try lots of different angels, even if I like a shot I try different angles and sometimes I am surprised by a shot I did not think I would like and end up loving! Wow, I just reread this post and realized it was kind of random and not connected. I tend to talk like that too, I think that the conversation that I have been having in my head was spoken and everyone can just follow along. So far, I have found only one person that follows my broken up train of thought and that is my closest in age sister. Oh well...

Little Men

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

I got to take pictures of these boys in the spring of this year http://daniellehuddlestonphotography.blogspot.com/2009/05/mitchell-boys.html and was so happy that I got a chance to capture pictures of them again! They are such fun, happy little boys and love to run around exploring, giving me lots of oppertunities for great shots! I do not know if I have ever met a little boy as polite as the oldest and the youngest is my little model. I had so much fun and would gladley take pictures of them all day (I would just need a couple naps to recover from trying to follow them around!).

Second look

2009-11-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

First one

One I found on second look

I liked the bridge shot I chose from the Mother & Daughter shoot but was not as thrilled about it as I thought I could be. So I went for a second look to see what else I had and found this one! I do not know how I missed it but I am so glad I looked again!

Mother & Daughter

2009-11-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

I had such a blast tonight with these ladies! And the light was beautiful! I did not want to stop until it was all gone, I took pity on them though and did not make them stay until dark.

Sugar and Spice

2009-10-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

This baby girl could not have made my job any easier! She seemed to know what to do right away and would just position herself like a perfect little model. She made it a little too easy...I could not stop taking pictures of her! I have decided I love taking pictures of newborns, they do not run out of the shot and they do not care that I am taking hundreds of pictures of them! It was a pleasant surprise that I liked the pictures since I try to use only natural light and when I went to take the pictures of her there was not any available! The skies were black and it is was raining, I tried to use the little light coming in from a window but it was not enough. I ended up using a flash and bouncing it off of the ceiling and I loved how they turned out, go figure. Here are a couple pictures of the little angel that I got the privilege of taking pictures of...okay so more than a couple :)

Genuine

2009-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

I love looking at photographers websites but sometimes it leaves me thinking that I will never be able to be like that. I love taking pictures of people but I am not good at the whole making people give genuine smiles. I love people and want them to look there best but what I love taking pictures of the most is a pure and sweet moment that is not staged. I love when a child is truly delighted or when a couple looks into each others eyes and kiss. I can be a little bit of a hopeless romantic but there has to be more of us out there! There have been times in my life that I wish a someone had taken a picture! Like the time Nick and I were still dating and we went to the park and Nick sat down and leaned back against a tree and I leaned back against his chest and just enjoyed being together. It is burned into my memory forever but man it would have been a beautiful picture! I really need to figure out how to get pictures like this, it cannot be only me that wants that perfect moment captured forever to look back on in the not so perfect moments...like looking at a beautiful picture of the boys while they are throwing fits, it makes everything feel balanced.

DPS Window

2009-10-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

The Digital photography School assignment this week was windows, I knew that I wanted a reflection shot, I just did not know how to get my son to cooperate! I finally decided to teach him something that could mean more work for me in the very near future, kissing the window. Oh well, at least I got the shot I wanted :)

Little Robot

2009-10-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

So my three year old sons imagination seems to really be kicking in lately, for someone that already has a vivid imagination of their own it is awesome to see! He was a Robot in these pictures if you could not tell :)

Bokeh

2009-10-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

So I am not really going to try to define Bokeh because others have already done that and much better then I can (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh). I went out looking for some nice back lighting on an interesting subject and ended up finding this little spider in his home with some beautiful grass with dew covering it all around him. So therefore he became my unwitting subject! I got a little wetter then I had planned since I decided the only way to get the shot I wanted was to lay on the ground (happens a lot) and it had just rained all day yesterday. My only regret was thinking I did not need to bring my tripod out, when I looked at some of the pictures I could see that I should have used one. By the time I went back out my window of oppertunity was closed. I still like my shots and I went ahead and entered one for my DPS (http://digital-photography-school.com/) assignment. It is amazing how free you can feel when looking through a viewfinder, it makes me feel so creative and I come away feeling like I overcame a challenge.

Brown Eyes

2009-10-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

This little man was making faces at me from the very beginning! I loved it and am so thankful that I got to take pictures of this family. I am working on my family portrait type pictures, I do not get as much practice family pictures as I do documenting little people. With two little boys of my own, I feel like taking pictures of kids just being themselves is one of my best subjects. I have to keep reminding myself all I need is knowledge and practice. That is what these families are so kind to give me, lots of practice! Thanks for the patience!

Baby, Baby, Baby

2009-09-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

You know what I love about newborns? Their complete trust, they rely solely on their caregiver to feed them, protect them, and do what is right by them. I was overwhelmed after each of my boys were born with the desire to protect every baby in the world from any harm. I would burst into tears at the thought of someone harming a beautiful trusting baby. They expect you to take care of them and having pain or discomfort is a complete shock. The thought of what a little baby is going through as someone is trying to snuff out its life is too horrible for me to think about, this includes abortion in my mind. The faith of a child is such a beautiful thing to see and I fear for the person that takes that faith away. I know this might not seems to be about photography but this is what is going through my mind as I look into the eyes of a child.

1st Maternity Session!

2009-09-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

I had fun, this family is awesome, I could take pictures of them all day. That pretty much sums it up.

Shutter Speed

2009-09-16T13:19:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I am a little bit hard headed about some things and watching my shutter speed was one of them (how long the shutter is open to take the picture). My husband kept telling me that I could eliminate camera shake if I would just learn what shutter speed went with what lens length but thought it would be too hard to keep the numbers in my head. I do not know why but numbers just do not stick around in my mind for very long. I was looking at a tutorial on shutter speeds and it just clicked! I need to keep the same number on my shutter speed as the number on my lens (150/1 for a 150mm lens). I went outside and practiced keeping my numbers the same, I took this shot on a cloudy day in Manuel Mode without a tripod! I ended up using what I learned for my shoot that night and it took a lot of the frustration that came with blurry pictures out of the equation! Maybe I should listen to my husband more often? Of course if I always listened life might be too easy!

Karina's Family

2009-09-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

This is the second family that is not in my Stay At Home Mom's group that actually contacted me to take pictures of them. It was so awesome for someone to actually try to find who I was so I could take pictures of there family. It is amazing to me that families will welcome you into their lives for an hour to document those precious moments. Thank you!

Indiana

2009-09-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pictures from our Indiana visit, I thought they summed up the trip rather well.

1st Senior Shoot

2009-09-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, senior shoots are a lot of fun! I can see why people enjoy them so much, 17 and 18 year old will do a lot of things most adults THINK they have grown to "mature" to do. This senior even let me take pictures of her soaking wet!

Session & Reception

2009-08-25T21:50:00.001-07:00

My sister had a small ceremony and then a big reception a week later, we stayed the week with family then left right after the reception. I think I love weddings! The couple is so happy and loving that it is easy to shoot them, it makes up for how tiring they are (mostly). I feel privileged to have gotten to document there big day and hopefully I gave them some pictures that will help capture that moment for a lifetime.

Wedding Bells

2009-08-25T21:37:00.001-07:00

The reason I started taking portraits of people is that my sister asked me to take pictures for her wedding! Not something I wanted to ruin, so I started reading up on lots of material and practicing. I feel like I just took a test I have been preparing for for months! I have been given so much by this request, it pushed me to do things I would not think it possible for me to do and I feel like in the end I was the one given a gift.

Gatesway Hot Air Balloon Festival

2009-08-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

There was too much wind for them to put all of the balloons in the air but I still had fun and love some of the pictures I was able to get! I can not wait for next year!

Album Cover?

2009-08-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

My forum assignment this week was album cover, this shot took a little planning and more than a little adjusting but I had fun! I do not think I will win since they are big on creativity and this is not thee most creative shot. But I enjoy the learning experience of the assignments. I had to get up and move the camera over twenty times but it helped me figure out the how best to use my remote and not have it show up in the shot. I wish I had brought my shoulders down some, it is a little hard to pose yourself when you can not see it until after you take the shot. Hmm, maybe I need to start hooking it up to the laptop so I can see it real time?

Obsession

2009-07-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

So I might be a little obsessed with the whole photography thing, I think in pictures! I see a falling down decaying building and think what a great place to take senior pictures, everytime I see a pretty sunset I wish I was doing a photography session in the beautiful light, I see an hawk and wish I had brought the camera, hear about someone going on vacation and wish I was going so I could take pictures! Yep, I see the world through a viewfinder. I was out on my new enclosed porch enjoying my breakfast before the boys got up and looking out the window at the beautiful morning. Finally I could not take it anymore, I had to go out and take some pics in the beautiful morning light! Sickness, possibly but it is worth it! By the way, I never knew that bugs were such attention seekers, I seem to always find the one that is hamming it up for the camera .

Assignment Machinery

2009-07-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

My forum assignment for this week was Machinery, I wanted variety so I took pictures of a couple of different "machines". My husband actually picked the one I used, it is an old Tank. He pulled up to a museum we were passing and stopped the truck, I asked what he was doing and he said there is your machine for your assignment. He is pretty great like that! I do not remember what the gun is called and the one just above that is part of the gun that I took and "messed it up" (I forgot that I had it in Manuel mode), I ended up liking it a lot. The top one is an Oil Derrick that was moved onto a concrete platform in a park, I wanted one of some kind of oil drilling equipment since most of the towns around here were built on the oil drilling industry. What do you think? What screams Machinery to you?

American Cowboy Traders Days

2009-07-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

I had no clue that there was such a thing as National Cowboy Day, but when I found out it existed I knew that I had to do something to celebrate it. So we went to the American Cowboy Traders Days in Pryor, it was a little warm but a beautiful day, lots of nice people and interesting things to see. I try to take pictures of the festival that will tell the story of what it is about. Unfortunately I do not always feel like I succeed, I forgot to take a really good picture of one of the hundreds of saddles that lined the park! Oops!

Not what they seem

2009-07-20T08:01:00.001-07:00

Original

Finished picture

These two little girls were far away and not going to wait for me to get close to get a picture. I decided to snap the shots and not miss the moment and work on them in post processing. I am actually very happy with the finished picture! I am trying more and more to get the picture how I want it when I take it though because too much of this makes for long hours of post processing. These girls were very active though and I figured out early on that I if I wanted to get the shot I had to take it right then because they were not going to wait around for me to get set up! Thankfully I am used to this, my boys do not know the meaning of sit still.

Porter Peach Festival

2009-07-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Festival's!!! This one was VERY small but I still had fun because I got to take pictures!

Noah

2009-07-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

This little boy has some very soulful eyes, they seem like they are looking right at you through the pictures. I also ended up loving one of my "mistakes" (the middle picture), he turned his head just as I took the picture. But with the way the light is falling on half of his face and his hair made me fall in love with it. I am so glad I learned early on not to delete any mistakes until I got a chance to really look at them.

The Ligard's

2009-07-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Beautiful little girls and so sweet! I feel so privileged to get to capture these little faces that will be so different in a year from now! I still feel I have a long way to go with posing but I am thankful that I have so many people willing to let me practice on them.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-06-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

I am part of a forum that gives out photography assignments and this weeks is f/16, it is an Aperture setting, on (some not all) camera's. It lets you adjust how much is in focus. I went out yesterday afternoon while my husband watched the boys and took some pictures for the assignment. The only problem I have now is deciding which one I want to enter!

Three become one

2009-06-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

This shot looks like a nice family shot and look everyone is looking! Things are not always what they seem, the three shots below came together to make this one shot. But hey, at least it appears like I am just that good.
This is my base, I kept the mom and oldest girl from this one.
Baby from this one
And finally the Dad from this one!

The Meek Family

2009-06-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

This shoot was a little more of a challenge for me but I loved how the pictures turned out, so maybe a challenge is a good thing!

Boys will be Boys

2009-06-16T11:49:00.001-07:00

These boys were so energetic, it took a lot for me to keep up with them and gave me a glimpse of what my life will be like in a couple years. My boys are still a little slower paced. I loved the lighting on this shoot (I did it around an hour later then normal), I think I will try to do the rest of my shoots at this time of day (6:30pm). I knew that I liked the light better at this time of day but I thought it might be to late for people.

Bethany's Family

2009-06-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

With this shoot I think I may have finally figured out what I need to have all my camera settings at, my ISO was not high enough this time and some of the pictures were not as crisp as I would have liked. I have to keep reminding myself that I am practising and that I will make some mistakes, I am really bothered by mistakes so that is hard for me to swallow. These boys were so cute that they really made it hard to not take a good picture though. I think one year olds might just be the easiest age for me to shoot.

Esther's Baby

2009-06-10T19:20:00.001-07:00

I looked up a lot of shots before I did my first baby shoot and finally decided to keep it as simple as possible. That does not mean I might not try one or two of those cute little shots that make you go "ah" later on, but I knew that if I tried too much I would have a greater risk of something going really wrong. So I played it safe, as my first time using a sheet and not having those beautiful park backgrounds I thought I did okay. I figured out that I should have actually tried using the sheet before and that is why I used my boys as guinea pigs that same night. She really was the sweetest little girl, and I have to admit that I have actually forgotten what a seven week old is capable of or not capable of already! I did not think it was that long ago that my youngest was that age but most of that knowledge had to go to make way for Frogs, Sharks, and dirt. I think this is just one of those things that I will need to practice, and that is just one of the reasons I am so thankful for the Stay at home Mom group at my church giving of their time to help me practice, THANK YOU!

My little model

2009-06-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

I had my first more studio type shoot and realized I had no clue how to work around the sheet and how to position the baby. I thought I could use some practice with using a "studio"(aka, white sheet) setting, so I set one up in the living room with a stool and a bunch of hats and let my boys run rampant. My oldest was in rare form and I loved the shots I got of him, he had to wear that one hat and would not put on any of the others but I still am very happy with what came out. I got to practice bouncing my flash also which is one of the only ways I will use a flash. In these shots I was bouncing it off of a side wall and it gave some awesome shadows on his face. I am so glad that my boys are so different, because if one of them wants nothing to do with something the other one will usually jump right in!

Father's Day

2009-06-07T17:13:00.001-07:00

Our Church is doing a special Father's Day clip and requested pictures from the congregation of the Father's and their sons. I was looking over my pictures trying to find one I liked (Nick does not like posing for me) and came across this one. It is from November 2008 and I have learned a lot about photography since then but it is still one of my favorites. We had just gone on a long hike and were letting the boys run off some steam before traveling back home. Nick had Justin on his shoulders and Caden (you cannot really see him) in his arms, it was kind of a happy accident that it turned into a silhouette, I am so glad it did. The strength of Nick's character just seems to jump out of this picture. I am so glad I have this man in my life, my goal is that the boys will turn out just like him. He has to be one of the most solid people I know, he cannot be moved and will always be a strong and secure presence in the boys lives.

Route 66 Festival

2009-06-06T19:26:00.001-07:00

I am really trying hard to get over my hesitancy to take pictures at festivals, I always feel like I am intruding for having people I do not know in the shots. This is the first festival I have been a little more at ease about that and I really think the crowd makes some of the shots.

Dillard's

2009-06-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

Such a great family and I finally figured out why I was having problems with motion blur, my OS (stabilizer) on my camera was turned off! It was so much easier to get nice crisp and clean pictures this time.

Wimara

2009-06-01T11:18:00.001-07:00

Such a beautiful family! I always wanted a darked haired little girl, I guess I just will have to settle with taking pictures of one.

Anderson's

2009-06-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

These boys were really cute, I did figure out that three boys plus my two make it a little difficult to take pictures.

Lilly

2009-05-27T09:51:00.001-07:00

This little girl was so cute and easy, she looked right at the camera. The parents were awesome at getting her to laugh also, I can see where an assistant would come in handy.

2009-05-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine(who does photography as a profession) redid some of the pictures I took to be higher contrast. I learned how to use my editing software partly from meetthegimp.com and the guy that teaches it always talks about the importance of not editing so much that anyone can tell you did anything. So I had it stuck in my head to not "over" do any of my editing, my friends editing if beautiful though and I trust her judgment. So I went ahead and bumped up the contrast of this picture and tweaked the White Balance so it would be a little warmer, I really like it. (Oh yeah, and I messed with the eyes some so they would stand out) What do you think? Do you like pictures with high contrast?

The Mitchell Boys

2009-05-20T19:31:00.001-07:00

I had the best time taking pictures of these two little boys! The littlest one is so photogenic that I had a really hard time figuring out which pictures I wanted to keep, I hope to have many repeats of that same problem in the future.

Even more collages

2009-05-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

I really need to get a book with collages, I am not really sure what works and what does not. I checked out a wedding photography book from the Library a little while ago but skipped over the collage section, thinking I would not need it. Really wish I did not do that!

Borders

2009-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

My husband showed me how to put border around the smaller pictures and I am hoping too find an even easier way of making collages soon!

Cassie's Girls

2009-05-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of taking pictures of two very cute little girls! They were so much fun and made my job really easy, I am glad that I learned the about bringing fun props for little kids. It is amazing what a bottle of bubbles will do!

More Collages

2009-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

I am trying to improve at making collages of photos, I like these but think they could be better?

Edit, Edit, Edit

2009-05-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

This picture may look a little familiar, that is because it is the same one I already posted but with a little difference. They are all looking! The one I previously posted was not the original either, I took the little boy from a different picture and put him in this one. This time I took the little girl from a different picture and put it in the this one. There are other things like a piece of grass on the moms eyelid and having to put the little boy in again, I love The Gimp (my editing program)!

The Groves Family

2009-05-11T08:51:00.001-07:00

My Stay at home moms group is helping me get practice for my sisters wedding that is in a few months (I am taking pictures for her), by letting me take pictures of their families. This is the group leader, such an awesome family. It is great to have so many great Christian women in my life!

1st Family Session

2009-05-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

I had the best time taking pictures of this family! And I learned a lot, hope I can remember everything I learned to apply to the next one.

Animals

2009-05-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

I go to the zoo a lot with my sons and wanted to improve my pictures of the animals. I read a tutorial on the Digital Photography School site about knowing what story you want to tell with your pictures and tried to keep that in mind while taking pictures. I saw these Elephants playing with each other and knew I wanted to convey there closeness, hopefully that is what this pictures conveys.

Collage

2009-04-26T17:41:00.001-07:00

I am trying to get some practice at making collages, I love seeing all the different faces my sons make in one place!

Portaits

2009-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am trying to improve on my portrait taking ability, my sons do not always enjoy my need for "models".

Digital Photography School Entries

2009-04-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

I enter a digital photography contest, they give out new assignments once a week and this gives me a chance to stretch my comfort zones and learn something new.

Always Learning

2009-04-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

I just figured out how to do a new effect on my photo editing software, I love look of the photos after using it!