NEW BLOG @ www.audreycurranblog.com

I am no longer using this blog - please see my new blog at www.audreycurranblog.com! I look forward to seeing you over there!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Please excuse my blog mess! It may stay messy for a little while as I work on my blog and logo design.

Closing Out 2010

     2010 will always be a special year for me. It's the year I got my first DSLR camera - the Canon Rebel T1i. I didn't know the first thing about photography other than I liked taking pictures and I enjoyed looking through other photographer's websites and blogs. I (along with so many others like myself) thought that by having a $900 camera I would automatically be able to take professional looking pictures. Yes, they did look better than any point and shoot I've ever owned. But it didn't take me long to realize how much time and hard work goes into creating a great image. About one month from now will officially mark my one year anniversary from the date I started using my Canon Rebel. I can't wait until my anniversary so I can show all of you my progression over the past year! The pictures I thought were so "awesome" then were basically glorified snapshots that are pretty embarrassing to me now. But I love them. And I am hoping the pictures I take now will pale in comparison to the images I  create over the next year. That's the great thing about photography - you can always get BETTER.  

    Since purchasing my first camera, I have upgraded to the Canon 5D.  The Rebel was a great camera to start on, but there is a cropped sensor on it that drove me insane!  A friend of mine let me borrow his 5D often and I felt like the images had a higher quality to them....some people would argue that, it's just my opinion.  I was able to purchase the 5D from my friend at a good price and hopefully will satisfy me until I can afford the Mark II - or whatever "next" camera is out there when I'm ready to upgrade.  I also sold the kit lens that came with the Rebel and have purchased the 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 lenses.  

     This blog is supposed to share my photography journey with you.  That's all.  I am a newbie photographer.  All I can share with you is what I've learned so far along the way.  I'll be making some changes to my blog for 2011.  Not only will I continue to show some photos from my sessions, but I want to share more about myself.  That may be annoying to some people.  If that's the case, then please don't read!  :)   I love to write/blog, but honestly don't have enough time to manage more than one blog.  So I'll be combining my personal blog (which could be about anything!) with my professional blog.  But either way there will always be pictures!

Here are a few images from some of the last sessions I did in 2010.  Hope you enjoy!  

Best Friends

These last few images are some that I took while assisting Yuri Ayers during a couple of his photo sessions:

Awaiting Israel

Words escape me as I am sitting at my computer trying to blog about this adorable couple and the soon arrival of their first baby...a girl.  This image says so many things that I am just not eloquent enough of a writer to put them into words as beautifully as I would like.  Amanda is about to become a mother for the first time.  The arms now wrapped around her growing belly will soon be wrapped around a tiny infant who will depend on Amanda for everything....literally for her life.  Amanda will learn a love that she never even knew existed within her as soon as she lays eyes on her baby girl.  A mother's love is so intensely powerful, amazing, and beautiful - and in just a few short weeks Amanda will finally experience this new kind of love.

I can tell Amanda is ready now.  It's time to meet Israel..."Izzy"...and start their new life together.

Ian and Amanda were so sweet with each other - loving, fun and energetic.  Israel is so lucky to be able to call them mom and dad!  They are about to step into a new life together from a sweet married couple to a family of three.

Here are a few more images from Amanda's session....enjoy!

My Christmas Wish List....keep on dreamin', eh?

Every photographer has a running wish list. There is ALWAYS something else to buy. A new lens, strobe, camera bag, software, etc. You name it - I probably want it...slash need it.

So I thought I'd share with my fellow photog friends out there some items that are high on my list of want/needs for my photography passion. Here goes:

1. ) Epiphanie Camera Bag, The Ginger (in black) - they're all adorable and functional, but I've got my eye on the "Ginger" seen in the far right photo here.  Unfortunately the Ginger only comes in brown with teal interior or black with bright pink interior.  I'm naturally drawn to red or yellow bags, but I think the Ginger would stand the test of time.  I think I choose black because it can be dressed up a bit if I am doing weddings or formal functions....otherwise I'm more of a brown leather kind of girl!


2.)  Elinchrom Ranger Quadra - so, ok....I'm not gonna lie.  I wouldn't have the first CLUE what to do with this contraption!  lol!  BUT I want to learn.  (This is NOT cheap!)


It goes with my third item:

3.)  Westcot Softbox - yep.  Enough with the "I'm a natural light ONLY photographer"....I want to learn it all!  The softbox isn't expensive at all - only about $60!


4.)  I'd like a funky/cool camera strap that'll fit my 5D but give me enough room that I don't feel all tangled up in it....and I'd like it to hold my lens cap also.  I don't have a particular one picked out yet...so if anyone out there knows of one I'd love - please let me know!

5.)  Adobe Lightroom - saves on editing time!  I'm currently using Adobe Bridge & PS CS4 only.  It's my understanding that LR would turn my world upsidedown in a good way.  Help me cut WAY back on editing time.  I like more time with my family, thank you.  :)


6.)  My next lens:  Canon 50mm 1.4 - I do have the "nifty fifty" 1.8 lens, but I really feel like that's a great lens for beginners who are just starting to learn.  I've used my friends 1.4 lens many times and have been super happy with the images.  Of course I'd LOVE to have the 50mm 1.2......however, there's only about a $1,000 price difference!  Yikes! 

(My next, next lens on my list would be the 35mm 1.4 wide-angle lens....but let's not get ahead of ourselves!)

7.)  Ok, and I hate to really even put this on a list because it's going to cost a lot of money, but I'm going to need to upgrade to it SOON....ugh!  I need a new computer.  I love the Mac I have now but there is not NEARLY enough memory - I shouldn't even have photoshop on it!  So a photo that should only take 1 minute to edit takes me closer to 5 minutes or so....I just click and wait and wait while my computer tries to process.  I think the computer I need is about $3,000?  Something like that.  I'm not even going to post a link....

8.)  My final item is going to have to be a new blogsite!  I want to do it through ProPhoto Blogs. 

I'm so excited to have a blog that is easy to design and really make my own.  I've only heard great things about ProPhoto and from all of the researching I do on other photographer's blogs it seems to be used by a majority of the photographers out there.  So, I'm next.  :)

It's late.  I need to go to bed.  I'm staying at my parent's house this week in Tennessee....can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner!  Woot! 

Happy Thanksgiving and many, many blessings to you all!

Party of Five

Dreamy. Yummy. Delicious. Everything about this session was perfect. The weather, the light, the outfits, the adorable children, the personalities, the location. Any photographer would consider themselves lucky to have a session like this! Some people are uncomfortable in front of the camera...not this family! Some kids shy away from the camera...not these kids! It probably helps that I am friends with this family - they know me well. I photographed them in the summer as well, but Stacey pulled out all the stops when she prepared for this photo shoot! I think it paid off. Now she has pictures of her gorgeous family that will last a lifetime. It's worth it.

Channing...

Rylee & Harper...


Stacey...




Mark &Stacey...




The Family - Party of Five...

Down on the Farm

(The Grandkids)

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Franklin, TN. The weather was cool, but the sun was still shining. Nothing beats an autumn day in Tennessee. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect location for a family session. When Debbie told me she wanted to get some family photos at the farm for Christmas cards and Christmas gifts, I was stoked! This family was so sweet and easy going...and beautiful! I had a great time with them.