Ask...

...and you shall receive! Wow! Your questions are so fun!! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! (Trust me, you don't want to hear me sing!) Some of them have provoked enough thought that they will receive their own post, some are similar so I will combine them, and some have fun, silly, easy answers so I'll post a bunch of those together. I'll probably only do 1 post per day, so if you don't see the answer to your question right away, stay tuned! I will answer them all, as long as they aren't too personal, over the next week or so. Please keep the questions comin' because this is a total blast!!

Anyway, one of the questions I got was, "What kind of camera do you use?" Good question! I don't think I've posted about that before.

My baby is a Canon 30D digital SLR.
She's not cheap folks, and I am so so so blessed to have an amazing hubby who bought this for me as a Christmas gift in 2007. I have a Canon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Standard Zoom lens and a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens (LOVE IT) for her and she is absolutely fantastic! This is what I use most often, and it's rare to find a time when she is not hanging from my neck.

I also have a point and shoot Minolta DiMAGE Xg.
There are all sorts of point and shoot cameras out now that have more features and megapixels than this camera does, but I DON'T CARE. I've had this camera for years and I love, love, LOVE it! I will use it until it dies (when that happens I'll probably cry because it's been discontinued) and then I may even consider trying to find another one on the internet somewhere to buy. This is the camera that's usually in my purse or that I'll take with me on the rare occasion that I have a crazy night out with friends. It's small enough to fit in my pocket, takes great quality pictures and I just love it.

I don't know much about all the new cameras out because I haven't looked. I'm perfectly happy with this one for the amount of time I use it. I'm sure if you're looking for a new camera, there are better ones out there, so I guess I'm not much help there! My suggestion is to do your research!! Find one you think you like and read the reviews online. People do not hold back what they're feeling. Also, go to a store and hold the camera before you buy it. It's often cheaper to buy it online, which is great, but hold it and play around with it in a store first to make sure you like it!

I also have 2 film cameras. One is a Minolta MAXXUM STsi.
Don't get me wrong, I love digital. But every once in awhile I get in the mood to dust off this camera. It's nothing too special, but there is something about film that will never quite compare to digital.

I also have an old school Asahi Pentax K1000.

I didn't buy this, I think I found it in my grandparents' attic or at a tag sale or something. I've had it since high school and despite looking pretty beat up, it still takes pretty good pictures. In addition to being a film camera, it's also fully manual, which is pretty cool and fun to play around with. It makes you appreciate all that cameras can do today and really makes you take the picture instead of letting the camera do most of the work. (I once took what I thought would be a bunch of really amazing photos before realizing that there was no film in it! LOL There's no sensor to remind you. Lesson learned!)

So, there you have it! Those are my cameras. Not much help to those of you that are looking to buy a new camera, but even though I'm far from an expert, I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have, if I can.

Similarly, in another photography related question, I was asked if it's better to have your kids face the sun or have their backs to the sun to prevent them from looking washed out. Again, I'm no expert, but I prefer having their backs to the sun or having them in full shade. This works better to me for 2 reasons. First, it helps prevent squinty, watery eyes - something that always happens to me with my sensitive baby blues. Second, I really like the look of back lighting, but that could just be a personal thing.

Another quick tip, the light is best in the early morning and evening, not in the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky. It will give a prettier, softer look to your photos and help do away with the washing out effect. I'm actually reading a really great book for my photography course that I think a lot of you moms would enjoy! It's called Photographing Children and Babies: How to Take Great Pictures by Michal Heron.

It's written for you, the mom, and not only is it FULL of really great tips, it's super easy to understand! I would highly recommend it!

Phew! That was fun but I think that's it for today. Stop by again tomorrow and I'll answer some more! And keep those questions coming in my original post!