Photo Tip Friday: 5 Minute Photography Challenge

by Mary Denman              Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Recently, my photography business has been taking off! 

It's been amazing!

Also, I've thrown myself into  learning more about photography by being in the Headshot Crew run by Peter Hurley. It's been amazing as well! 

Sadly, my blog has suffered, but I'm getting a handle on balancing everything. I've thought about my blog and you, a lot, though. 

One thing Peter keeps saying is, "Get people in front of your camera." It's his way of telling us how to get better doing headshots. 

Then, it dawned me, I could apply that here. 

Monday's Musings: Mountaintop Memories

by Mary Denman              Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Mountaintop Memories by Mary Denman Photography

Don't you love a good mountaintop experience? 

You know, a time where life is at it's fullest. 

Your work is going well. 

You get confirmation that you're on the right track. 

You know that God really does love you. 

We love being on the mountaintop, but we can't stay there forever, no matter how much we want or try! 

It always comes to an end. 

And the only way to leave a mountaintop is by going down the mountain. But this doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Part of learning from a mountaintop experience is knowing how to take that experience with us back down to the valley. 

Photo Tip Friday: Tips for Taking Great Mother's Day Photos

by Mary Denman              Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I wanted to share some tips for taking great Mother's Day's photos. With a little thought, you can add some special pictures to your photo albums. 

While it's great to get a family shot if everyone is together, think about some other pictures to take to remember the special day by. 

Pull your camera out and document the day! 

Let's get started. 

Wordless Wednesday: Bright Spring Flowers

by Mary Denman              Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Monday's Musings: How Traveling Changes my Perspective

Monday's Musings: How Traveling Changes my Perspective

by Mary Denman                   Twitter: @MaryDenman              Instagram: @MaryFDenman

I love traveling. 

But I especially love flying. And pretty much everything about it. From planning a trip to booking a window seat. From arriving at the airport to finally getting to my destination. 

Why?

Because flying and traveling is one the times in my life where I can walk out of my daily routine and experience something so different. I walk away from all the "I should be doing [fill in this blank]" and into a different mindset. 

Traveling changes my perspective.

Photo Tip Friday: Backgrounds in Photography

by Mary Denman                   Twitter: @MaryDenman              Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Backgrounds make a lot of difference in photography. 

While they can show context of the picture, sometimes, they distract from the true focus of the subject. 

Today, I want to show you an incredibly simple technique to play with different backgrounds. This exercise will help teach you 2 things. 

1) How much of a difference the background can make. 

2) How lighting changes as you move an object around, or, as you move around the object. 

Let's get started. 

Wordless Wednesday: Beautiful Skies

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Monday's Musings: 3 Things Instagram Taught Me About Beauty

Monday's Musings: 3 Things Instagram Taught me About Beauty

by Mary Denman                 Twitter: @MaryDenman              Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Heard the phrase "Pinterest Perfect?" 

It means a life, or make-up, or hair that's perfect and pinned on Pinterest, inspiring others.

Or, it means someone else's life looks perfect on Pinterest compared to yours! 

Instagram can do the same thing.

However, as I've used it more, 
Instagram has taught me 3 things about finding beauty all around me. 

You'll see the very rare selfie on my feed and I generally don't follow celebs. Instead, you'll see the beauty I spot. 

Here's what I've learned:

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty in Pink

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Recent Photo Tip Post: Move to Get a Better Shot

Recent Monday's Musings: Life Lessons I've Learned from my Dog

Recent Monday's Musings: Broken, but Beautifully Strong

Spring is cranking up here! 

Oh, how I love flowers!! 

The yellows of spring have given way to pinks

Wordless Wednesday: Fun Shots from a Fun Photo Shoot

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Recent Photo Tip Post: Move to Get a Better Shot

Recent Monday's Musings: Life Lessons I've Learned from my Dog

Recent Monday's Musings: Broken, but Beautifully Strong

These are a from a photo shoot I did recently! 

It was so much fun! 

Monday's Musings: Life Lessons I've Learned from my Dog

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Up until a year ago, I was a pretty much a cat person. 

I really wasn't interested in having a puppy and there was no way I'd ever think I could learn life lessons from a dog. 

Sure, we had dogs growing up, but I wasn't interested in all the work.

I always thought of cats as easier to care for than dogs. I just wasn't interested in having to take a dog out for walks and clean up after him. 
Cats are quiet and dogs bark. 
Cats keep themselves clean and dogs need baths. 

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Yellows

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram:@MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Recent Photo Tip Post: Move to Get a Better Shot

Recent Monday's Musings: Broken, but Beautifully Strong

Monday's Musings: Broken but Beautifully Strong

by Mary Denman                   Twitter: @MaryDenman                 Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Broken, but beautifully strong.

I love butterflies. My mom did, too. They have such an incredible beauty. 

Iridescent scales on their wings. A lightness as you watch them fly. Bright colors that catch your attention. 

As a photographer, it's so fun to try and get shots of butterflies. They move so quickly and sometimes erratically, which makes it a challenge. But the good kind of challenge. 

However, not every picture I get showcases a perfect butterfly. 

Photo Tip Friday: Move to get a Better Shot

by Mary Denman                   Twitter: @MaryDenman                 Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Often, when we're taking pictures, we simple take photos from where we stand. While this can yield some good photos, here are some tips to help you think more about how to get good shots. 

The overall tips? Move to get a better shot. And, learn to brace your camera to get a better shot.

Here are some poses and ideas you can use. 

Let's get started.

Photo Tip Friday: 5 Tips for Taking Better Cell Phone Food Shots

by Mary Denman                         Twitter: @MaryDenman                     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Coffee by Mary Denman Photography

Today's photography tips are going to be about taking better restaurant food pictures with your cell phone camera. 

There's been an explosion of people doing both undercover food reviews for their blogs and more people wanting to do reviews for sites like TripAdvisor. Both of these require photos to do justice to the food and reviews. 

So, let's go over some tips on how to get great restaurant food shots and what to watch out for! 

Wordless Wednesday: Abyssinian Cats

by Mary Denman                Twitter: @MaryDenman            Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday! 

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Recently, I saw my sister and her cool cats! 

They're Abyssinian and very interesting.

Monday's Musings: Who's Supporting you in Life?

by Mary Denman                        Twitter: @MaryDenman                   Instagram: @MaryFDenman

In downtown Greenville, SC, there's a great park built around a beautiful waterfall on the Reedy River. 

But this wasn't always the case. 

You see, back in the 50's or so, an engineer decided to put a road right through the falls. One of the columns was in the middle of the waterfall. It wasn't a pretty bridge at all. It was just a sturdy road that wasn't even utilized that much. 

The park that was beneath it was neglected and actually a bit dangerous to go to since it was so isolated. 

Finally, city planners decided to revitalize the downtown area. A contest began for a new pedestrian bridge to be built and the old bridge cars used was torn down. They wanted to showcase the waterfall to visitors and not have the walking bridge detract from the Reedy River. 

They chose the winning design well.  

It's a suspension bridge. There are no support columns directly beneath it. 

Wordless Wednesday: Winter Warmth

by Mary Denman       Twitter: @MaryDenman     Instagram: @MaryFDenman

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!

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This Friday, the photography tips will be about how to hold your camera to get better shots! 

I've had a social media break and I'm happy to be back blogging! 

I attended a photography conference in early January in San Antonio, Texas. 

It was amazing! 

I met some incredible people and I'm so excited to improve my craft and teach you what I'm learning. 

Here are a couple of shots of my daughter when the weather was nice and cold! 

Enjoy!