I took a little time to take a few photos of my two boys recently. I’m glad I made the effort. The changes in my boys are much more obvious when I look at their photographs. It is yet another reminder of how time just flies by. That is why I always believe that we should live for the moment. (My husband always teases me about that because he thinks it’s just another excuse I give for spending money, lol.)

It sometimes does take quite a bit of effort for me to take photos of my own children, but in the end I am always glad I did. I cherish so much all the photographs I have of Nathan – even the really crappy, out of focus ones that my husband took during Nathan’s first few days of life. I feel especially guilty about Nathan because I never did take that many photographs of him up until about a year ago. So I’ve been making up for it ever since, though I so wish I have more photos of him as a newborn and when he was 6-8 months. I vowed not to make the same mistake with Matthew, and so far, I think I’m doing much better this time around.

Indeed. This beautiful mom is expecting twins.

I remember the overwhelming feeling of love I felt the second I laid eyes on both my boys after they were born – it is simply indescribable and in some ways incomprehensible. When my first was born, I was shocked at how much love I felt for him. When I was pregnant with my second, I was worried that I would not have enough love left to give to another child, and could not imagine loving my second the way I love my first. Boy was I wrong. After my second boy was born, it was as if my heart created a totally separate space to encompass that love for him. There is simply no better feeling – this extreme happiness and love I felt the moment I saw both of my sons. There is a point to this.

To mom: you are so lucky that you get to experience this most wonderful, indescribable feeling of love and happiness two-fold. I promise you that the day your twins are born, when you get to hold them both in your arm, will be one of the happiest days of your life. Congratulations again.

I can say that of all the questions that clients ask me about photography, this one is usually the first (the other common question is “how can I take better pictures” and I will address that in a separate post). The answer depends on your goal – do you want a simple camera that you don’t have to think much except to point and shoot? If so you would want to pick up a point and shoot camera (aptly named!) as opposed to a SLR, or single-lens reflex, camera. The former is compact and does not allow interchangeable lenses. They are generally very easy to operate, and do not usually have too many manual functions. Do not underestimate these cameras! They can produce quite wonderful images. The great thing is that they are small enough that you can put one in your shirt pocket or purse and thus will almost always have it with you.

Before I go on, let me add that for this article, I will be assuming that you are looking for a digital and not a film camera.

With DSLRs (digital SLRs), you will definitely be able to do more from a creative standpoint. You can use different lens, you can set the camera at certain settings (using aperture and shutter speed, for example) to achieve certain looks you may be after. Essentially, with a single lens reflex camera, you will be able to exert much more control over your images. However, they are also much bulkier, so you have to make sure that if you do invest in a DSLR that you will take it with you. If you have the best camera out there but don’t take it with you because it is too big, then you are much better off buying a cheap little camera that you will have with you so that you won’t miss out on photo opportunities.

So your first decision will be – do you want a point and shoot or a DSLR?

If you want a point and shoot, my recommendation at this time would be any of the Canon Powershots. I use the SD950IS, while my husband uses the SD870IS. I’m not going to go into great lengths as to their specs, which I’m sure you can find via Google (or dpreview.com). But both of these cameras make relatively beautiful images without much work. They are small and very pocketable, and are well-made. The SD1000 is also terrific – not only is it very reasonably priced, images that come out of this little camera is outstanding for a point and shoot. It is also beautifully designed, and even smaller than the SD950 and 870. To illustrate, here is a photo that I took of one of my sons using my Canon point and shoot. All I did was point and shot and the only thing that crossed my mind briefly was the framing/composition of the photograph. I did do a little bit of post-processing, namely, turned the photograph into black and white, ran a noise reduction software, and sharpened it a little bit. (It sounds way more complicated than it is, and the image would’ve been fine without any of the above as I’ll demonstrate as well).

Here is my black and white image:

And here is the same image but only cropped and then slightly adjusted for colour, i.e., a “levels adjustment.” (I find that more often than not the colours straight out of the camera, whether it is a P&S or a top-of-the-line DSLR, is not exactly to my liking so I always tweak it a bit.)

See what I mean? This photograph of my son may not win any awards, but I think that it is not too shabby coming out of a pocket-sized point and shoot camera!

Now, if you are getting quite serious about photography and would like more control of your photographs, then you would want to look into investing in a DSLR. What do I mean by control? Well, with my point and shoot, at least the model I have, I cannot change the shutter speed or the aperture. All those decisions are made by the camera. There is a semi-manual mode where I can choose the ISO, but that is about it. Oh, and I can also tell the camera whether I want flash or not. But essentially that is pretty much it. There are many “dummy modes” otherwise – like portrait, landscape, aquarium, snow, etc. So if you are a super control freak about your camera then a point and shoot may not be for you, lol.

So say you have decided that you need a DSLR. This is when you will have to think about which “system” you’d like to invest in. Do you already have lenses from before? For example, if you already have an arsenal of Nikon lenses (e.g., from your old film cameras), then it would make sense to invest in a Nikon DSLR. If you are starting from scratch, then you have a little bit more of a decision to make. I will suggest some recommendations, but please keep in mind that this is a very subjective list. (It is quite hilarious how people can get very defensive about the cameras they have purchased, and will do anything to convince you to buy the same one.)

You have a few choices as far as brands are concerned: the obvious ones are Nikon and Canon. The not-so-obvious are Sony, Olympus and Fujifilm. There are others but these are the most “mainstream” ones for lack of a better term.

In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with either Canon or Nikon. They both have outstanding cameras and lenses. There seems to be those who are most definitely in the Nikon camp and those who are in the Canon camp. Either one will do just fine, and they both have entry-level SLRs all the way to the top-of-the-line, take-out-a-second-mortgage cameras. If you’re new to SLRs, I would suggest the Nikon D40 or D80, or Canon’s Rebel XTi or 40D. If you would like to spend more money, then you can’t go wrong with the Nikon D300 or Canon’s 40D.

I can’t say much about Sony and Olympus because I am not as familiar with their DSLRs, but I can say that neither of those brands will give you the wide arsenal of lenses that Canon and Nikon will give you. So in my opinion, I’d stick with either Canon or Nikon.

Fujifilm has an interesting camera – the S5. Though Fuji makes the camera, the S5 has a Nikon lens-mount. In other words, the camera will take Nikon’s lenses! The S5 is also an excellent camera, and one that I can recommend. It arguably produces the best skin tones straight out of the camera (SOOC) compared with either Nikon or Canon. Furthermore, the S5 is also known for its dynamic range (ability to record the range of highlights to shadows). However, it remains a bit of a niche camera, popular with wedding photographers due to the camera’s beautiful rendition of skin tones.

Bottom line is this: if you’re looking for a DSLR, you can’t go wrong with Nikon or Canon. Ultimately, it is the glass that makes the difference, and both companies make fantastic glass. It is better to invest in a cheaper camera and better glass. So if you are caught between purchasing a Nikon D40 or a D300, go with the D40 if this means you can spend the rest of your money on a good lens. I’ll do a separate article on lens but basically try to stay away from “consumer zoom lens” and instead stick with a prime lens (fixed focal lens), or if budget allows, a pro-quality zoom (these usually have a fixed aperture of 2.8).

Finally, I highly recommend Downtown Camera, which is located on Queen Street just east of Yonge Street. I buy most of my equipment there myself and find the staff super knowledgeable and helpful, plus, they usually have stock! Ask for Jack or Stan. (No, I do not get any kickbacks from them!!)

Hope this was somewhat helpful! More to follow. Keep yourselves posted.

Meet 7-day old Baby J. He was a perfect gentleman at his session. He was awake just enough for me to take some open-eyed portraits, then slept and allowed me to mold him into all sorts of positions. He also was considerate enough to not pee or poop on either mom or dad, which is a rarity at my studio, lol! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my morning with J.

A brand new baby for my brand new blog – how appropriate!

This little one is super special to me (mom and dad you know why!). She was so content at her photo session – sleepy and very cooperative! She didn’t seem to mind all the different positions into which I was molding her, all for the sake of some adorable photographs! I will venture to say that I think she quite liked my warm studio and plush blankets. You can see here how content she was. And what a beautiful baby she is! Mom and dad – thank you too as you were both so wonderful to work with. I hope you will find these photographs as precious as I find them. Can’t wait to show you the rest of them!

This is fun! It’s kinda like having a new toy with which to play. I really like this blog software quite a lot better than my old one as this one is much more flexible. I hope you will all agree that the interface is more user friendly!

So the new year has begun. I will miss 2007 – it was a blast and you, my cherished clients, have all contributed to 2007 being such a wonderful year for me and for Macy Mills Photography. However, looking ahead, I promise that 2008 will be even more fun-filled. I am excited about the new year!

To begin with, this blog will not only showcase session previews, but will also be chock full of information. Some of the most frequently asked question, for example, will be answered here. Not only about sessions at my studio, but also on photography in general. I would say that most, if not all, of my clients love photography themselves. They not only appreciate photography as an art, but they also want to be able to capture their children and family when they are at home. In a previous post (on my old blog) I had said that I was going to start a series on “how to take better pictures,” but the arrival of my son Matthew put a slight pause to that plan. However, better late than never! I will start the series with an article to answer the age-old question, “what camera should I buy?”

Interspersed between my hopefully helpful and informative articles will of course be sneak peeks of your sessions. I know this is something most of you look forward to the most!

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line or an email if you have any comments or suggestions! .