menuclose

Recent Posts

Photography Tip Tuesday- Importance of Professional Development | Marietta, Atlanta Newborn Photographer

photographytiptuesdaywatermark

This month’s Photography Tip Tuesday is less about actual photography tips, and more about stressing the importance of continued education.  Continued education is so important in any craft that you choose, but especially photography.  The only way to get better is to study, learn, and practice, practice, practice.

There are so many workshops out there, both online as well as in-person, giving us photographers tons of ways to gain professional development depending on our budget and/or photography needs.  I have done online as well as in-person workshops, and I have to say that, if you can afford it, in-person is definitely the way to go. However, I have also greatly benefited from the various online workshops that I have taken as well.

I wanted to show my growth, specifically in newborn photography, over the years before and after the various workshops that I have attended.  It’s crazy to look back at the progression, but it helps to illustrate the benefit of professional development in perfecting one’s craft.

A Photography Journey: 

2012

This image was from one of my very first newborn sessions ever.  I thought I was so good at the time, and I definitely thought I knew exactly what I was doing.  Although newborn safety was still always my number one priority, I wasn’t aware of various little nuances, such as flattening the hands or shooting down from the head towards the feet. It almost makes me cringe looking back on these early images, but it’s a good reminder of how far I’ve come 🙂 (ahh and the tilted horizon just adds to the loveliness).

2016-04-01_0004

2013

I took an online newborn photography course in the Summer of 2013 (link here) to prepare to take my own baby’s newborn pictures when he was due to arrive in September.  This is the image that I used for his birth announcements.  Still not what I would call “awesome”, but MUCH better than the image from the previous year.  I learned how to pose, how to place hands, how to prepare the room (heat, light angles, etc.), how to properly light the subject, flattering angles of the subject, and somewhat how to edit skin tones (although it drives me crazy now that his feet look so gray to me).

2016-04-01_0005

2014

Early in 2014, I attended a photography retreat where I learned about many aspects of photography (business tips, marketing strategies, packaging, social media, shooting, post-processing, and styling).  The links to the blog post from the retreat are here: {part one} and {part two}.  This retreat was the motivation I needed to completely re-vamp my business model to increase my profits.

2014 was also the year that I moved into my current studio.  I attended a workshop by hosted by Kimmy Howard Photography in the late Summer of this year as well, and below are a few images that I took shortly after the workshop. Here is the link to the blog posts that I wrote about the workshop: {part one} and {part two} .  I learned SO much about newborn photography from Kimmy, yet there was {is} still much to learn about styling sets, posing (that little hand that isn’t quite flat), and post processing at this point in my photography journey (ex: baby in the top images looks a little yellow, and I now know how to fix that).

2016-04-04_0001

2016-04-04_0002

2015

This was the second year using my current studio for sessions, and I was still learning and perfecting my studio light technique.  I was having much more success with the consistency of the studio lighting as well as being able to control the temperature in the studio, which made a huge difference in the success and speed of my newborn sessions.  I was also finding that I much preferred neutral tones to bright, bold colors and started incorporating those color schemes into my newborn photography.  I attended a Mama Workshop by Jenny Cruger Photography in the Fall of 2015 and was so motivated and inspired by her neutral tones and baby-led posing techniques, that I also began incorporating more of a lifestyle look to my newborn sessions.

2016-04-01_0007

2016-04-04_0003

2016

I signed up for another newborn workshop taking place in October of this year with one of the top newborn photographers in the country, and I am so excited to continue learning this craft.  There is so much to learn about posing, lighting, styling, and editing when it comes to photography, especially newborn photography, and I am excited to continue to pursue this passion.

2016-04-01_0008

2016-04-04_0004

Newborn photography isn’t the only area of my work that has improved over the years, but it has only improved because I have put in my time and resources needed to learn this craft.  The thing that I love most about photography is that there is always ways to learn, improve, and grow as an artist.

KariBeth, owner and photographer of KBG Photography, is a proud member of NAPCP (National Association of Professional Child Photographers) and is based out of the Northwest Atlanta, Georgia area.  KBG Photography primarily serves, but is not limited to the following cities: Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Powder Springs, Smyrna, Vinings, Roswell, and Atlanta.

Find us on Facebook

See what we’re up to on Instagram

KBG Photography specializes in maternity, newborn, baby, and family photography in the Atlanta area, including Marietta, Vinings, Buckhead, Midtown, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Roswell, and Alpharetta.

kbg photography

atlanta, georgia

Serving the Atlanta, Georgia area, including Marietta, Buckhead, Midtown, Vinings, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Roswell, and Alpharetta.

 

KBG PHOTOGRAPHY

 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Serving the Atlanta, Georgia area, including Marietta, Buckhead, Midtown, Vinings, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Roswell, and Alpharetta.