Rachel Shoemaker: Sneak Peek

I just got back from an all-day shoot with a really fun girl with a really unique style. Rachel Shoemaker traveled 4 hours — 4 hours! — to do a photo shoot with me today. Rachel graduated from high school with my sister and we’ve kept in touch through the wonderful Facecbook and MySpace, so when I posted something about free photo shoots, I was totally flattered that she wanted to travel all this way to take advantage of it. Add to that the fact that she’d never seen my work. Talk about faith!

We started at about 9 a.m. this morning in Chandler, then worked our way to Evansville and Newburgh. She was up for anything and was totally at ease in front of the camera. She wanted to try some really funky makeup for her photos, so I let her do her thing. She even helped me scout out some unique locations and pose ideas. It was totally fun!

This image was taken behind a church in Newburgh. We were both totally shocked to find that bamboo can grow in southern Indiana, but it sure made for some pretty images. And love that light! Can you believe this image has no Photoshop editing to it at all?

Copyright Nicole Neff Photography

Thanks, Rachel, for a totally fun day. I can’t wait to post ALL of your pictures, because the camera totally loves you!

 

Women’s Spa Day

I had the wonderful opportunity to not only photograph the women’s spa day at my church this past Sunday, but also to share the day with my mom, who was there to help the women accessorize with Lia Sophia jewelry. The spa day was a kick-off to the women’s group that will be launching very soon, but it also gave me a chance to work with my camera and practice shooting women applying makeup, which will come in very handy for shooting weddings. (All of the following images have no Photoshopping done to them)

Misty Majors started the day by leading the women through Mary Kay facials and makeup application. You may recognize Misty. I did her family pictures a few weeks ago, but since then, she’s changed a bit. In these pictures, you can see she has a little bun in the oven. Isaac is going to have a baby sister before this year is over!

Mary Kay consultant Misty Majors

Here are some pictures of the women using the Mary Kay products:

I loved capturing the mothers and daughters bonding by being girly.

Amy and Beth

Amy and Alyssa

Speaking of moms, here’s my mom applying mascara:

Mom applying mascara

Mom looking in the mirror

Rachel applying makeup

Josie applying makeup

Cathy applying makeup

My mom is a Lia Sophia advisor, so she was there to show the ladies how to accessorize with jewelry. My good friend Rachel, a Creative Memories consultant, helped the ladies create picture frames in which they could put the images I took after they had their makeup done and jewelry on. Head over to my church’s web site to see more pictures of the fun day.

And as always, I was behind the camera the entire day, so this is the only picture of me.

Me!

 

New, New, New!

So I have a new ‘do! It was way too hot with my thick and long hair, so I chopped it off today. I was totally nervous as the hair kept getting shorter and shorter, but I really love it. This picture totally doesn’t do it justice because you can’t see the back of it (and I’m horrible at taking self-pictures). The back is kind if stacked, so it’s even shorter than the front.

My new 'do!

I’m so excited about this new style. Now that I’m pursuing a fun profession, I wanted my hairstyle to match. I think this fun, trendy, and functional style totally did the trick! Thanks to Ashley at Uptown Salon in Boonville for the great cut. You should go see her because she really does a great job!

There are a lot of other fun new things to be blogged, so check back soon for:

1) Warped Tour pictures

2) Majors family photos

3) Causey family photos

 

Road Trippin’!

Tomorrow, Tyler and I are taking a day off of work to head to Indy for the Warped Tour! It’s about a 4-hour trip for us to the Verizon Wireless Music Center, but we are fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of people. And everyone says we should do this kind of thing while we’re young…and don’t have kids. So why not?

Plus, the tickets were free! My boss won the tickets on the radio for me (I was trying to call in, but didn’t get through…she did, and I’m so happy!); I’m widely known as the girl who wins stuff on the radio…seriously, I’ve seen live Gretchen Wilson (and met her backstage…I have the picture to prove it), Brad Paisley, Dancing with the Stars and Larry the Cable Guy. All from calling in to the radio. But this time, I owe it to her.

We may not seem like Warped Tour kind of people. I think it’s a little more punk/alternative than we normally would like, but since my husband is a musician, we try to see as many musical acts as possible. It’s good for the creative juices and opens your mind up to other styles to infuse into your own music. Or so I’m told. I’m not the musical one in the family.

Most of the acts, we’ve never heard of. However, one of our favorite Christian bands, RelientK, is going to be there. The “I Kissed a Girl” girl, Katy Perry, is going to be there, too. I’m not crazy about her, but Tyler likes her. Gee, couldn’t imagine why. ; ) I’m also going to try to catch Gymclass Heroes and Angels and Airwaves.

It’s going to be a hot one, for sure, but I love stuff like this. What’s better than being with your favorite guy, hitting the road and seeing some awesome musical acts for free?

And because I love putting pictures in my posts, here’s one from last weekend when my mom and dad were in town. We made our annual trip to Holiday World, and man was it a hot one. We spent a lot of time at the water park, not only because it was hot, but also because my sister is prego and can’t ride rides. Doesn’t she look so cute with her little belly pooch?

Family outing to Holiday World

And here’s one of me…and Tyler groping Santa. What am I going to do with that husband of mine?

The Neffs with Santa

 

Photography Self-Challenge

Anyone who knows me will probably tell you I’m passionate about photography. Anytime there is an event worth remembering, I’ll probably be found with my camera in hand. I’m often begging people to let me take their picture. Everyday, I peruse tons of blogs to learn new techniques, poses and tips. Yup, I’m obsessed.

While I’ve learned a lot in the short time I’ve done photography, there is still something I’ve yet to do — shoot completely in manual mode. I dabbled with it in my photography class this past year, but hadn’t learned it well enough to be confident with it. I’ve been shooting in shutter- or aperture-priority modes for ages now. I’ve wanted to go manual for quite some time, but never quite found the right opportunity to practice it; I’ve been too afraid to do it one an actual photo shoot. But this past Sunday at our church picnic, I challened myself to shoot completely manual. There was no pressure, so I could play around with it and not worry about not capturing certain shots. And I have to say, I love it! You have so much more control over how your images turn out. Not sure I’ll ever go back now! (All of these images are straight out of the camera; no Photoshopping at all)

Here are some pictures of my hubby Tyler at the picnic this past Sunday. Isn’t he cute?

Tyler

 

Tyler shooting skeet

 

Tyler cooling off by the fan

Here are a couple pictures of Elana that I captured that day, too.

Elana on the trampoline

I love the way the sunlight looks in this one, as well as how the fast shutter speed captured the little grains of sand. The lower the ISO, the better color saturation you get in your pictures (thank you, Me Ra Koh!). The faster your shutter speed, the more it freezes the motion.

Elana in the sandbox

Here’s another one that I like because of the splattering of the egg. I made it a little bigger so you could see the goop…

Yolky mess

You can see more of this fun picnic on my church’s blog.

So what challenge are you really wanting to take on but are too afraid to try? I’d encourage you to get out there and try, try and try again. The worst you could do is fail, but every failure is a learning experience. Which means, really, you actually succeed!

 

Portrait Bonus!

Because I want my clients to be able to have great prints to hang up on their walls after our sessions, I’ve decided to add in a little bonus to my portrait prices…$100 in ordering credit! That means that you get the 2 hours session time, at least 15 images professionally edited, online proofing and ordering, and $100 in products of your choice. How awesome is that?

This would be especially great for seniors and families to take advantage of before school starts up again. Fill out the contact page of my web site and set up a portrait session right away…this deal may not last forever!

And because it’s rare to find a picture of me since I’m always behind the camera, here’s a little picture that David of Cathy+David Photography took of me at a meeting in Indy this past week. Thanks for capturing me when I’m not making one of my many silly/animated faces, David!

Photo by David of Cathy+David Photography

 

Majors Family: Sneak Peek

Location: Downtown Evansville.

Family: Clint, Misty and Isaac Majors.

Weather: Muggy, hot and hazy.

Pictures: AWESOME! Aren’t they a cute family? Made my job easy!

Seriously, I had so much fun taking this family’s pictures. They let me do some crazy things with them to experiment with angles, compositions and locations. We were all hot and sunburned after we were done, but I think it was worth it; I couldn’t be any more pleased with the outcome.

Our first stop was at a Methodist church in Evansville that had these amazing stained glass windows. We walked up to the church and Misty admitted she really wasn’t sure the location was going to work. But I’ve driven past it several times on the way home from work, envisioning this very next shot. What do you think?

Majors family photo shoot by Nicole Neff Photography

There were SO many other great shots that I think we’re going to have a hard time narrowing it down. Tough problem to have, right?

(Image straight out of the camera, no photoshopping)

 

Causey Family: Sneak Peek

Last weekend, I went with the Causey family to the Newburgh Lock and Dam to take some fun family photos. It was a hot, hot evening, but we got a lot of really fun shots. Because I wanted to snap a few more group photos of the three, they took me up on my begging to go to downtown Newburgh after church on Sunday to grab a few more. I’m so glad that they were okay with it, because we got one of my very favorite shots. Amy says the image below pretty much sums up her life with two kids. I think a lot of parents can relate.

Without further ado, meet the Causeys: Alyssa, Amy and Grant. Thanks so much, you guys, for putting up with me and having so much fun in front of my camera. You guys are awesome!

Causey family photo shoot by Nicole Neff Photography

(Image straight out of camera, no photoshopping)

 

The Good, Bad and Ugly of Owning a Small Business

Yesterday, I was reading my monthly Glamour magazine and came across exactly what I needed. It wasn’t the latest gossip, the latest way to seduce your man, the hottest fashion accessory. No, it was words of inspiration that any lady with hopes of making a go of small business can take to heart. The headline had me interested: “Yes, you can start your own business. And if anyone tries to tell you differently, hit ‘em with these facts:” I was intrigued, so I read on:

• 87 percent of freelancers and entrepeneurs say they’re satisfied with their jobs
• $2,000 – The median cost to women who start up a business — you don’t have to be rich (My thought…thank goodness)
• $143, 726 – The average net worth of a female entrepeneur (I’m not there yet, but wouldn’t that be fab?)
• 7% – The annual rate at which women’s net business income grows (that’s nearly twice as fast as men’s)
• 42% – The rise in the number of women-owned businesses over the past decade. In 1997, there were 5.4 million, today nearly 7.7 million.

Some people might criticize me for being so open about the struggles of having a small business, and that’s fine. Honesty is the best policy, and I’ve learned so much from other people that I think that any glimpse I can give into the realities of owning your own business might help someone out there struggling with the same things as I am.

We’re not alone in this. There are more people than we realize in the same boat. Granted, I just started my biz and I have a full-time job that supports me and my family. But being a professional photographer is a dream I’ve had for some time now. It would be awesome to be able to do that for a living; how much fun would that be?

But on a more serious note, I’ve been a little disappointed lately that my business hasn’t take off faster than it has. I want to be buzzing with business, but right now I’m setting a few shoots here and there. Which, truly, is great because I have some absolutely FABULOUS clients. But I’m the kind of person who likes things to happen at warp speed, so this has been a lesson of faith and patience. I’ve been praying every single night about my business and asking God to grant me patience (I’ve been told that’s a big no-no, but I can’t help it). Specifically, I’ve been praying for awesome people to see my passion, creativity and potential and want to book me. My biggest goal is to book a wedding.

I’ve been doing all of the groundwork for my business, so once the clients start coming in, I’ll be ready. I’ve been researching so much lately that my head is spinning: pose/location ideas, contracts, print prices, album prices, design, accounting. The last one is the worst because I’m horrible with finances, but it’s also probably the most important since it can make or break you in the business world.

Owning a small business is not all roses, but it can be very fulfilling. I hope that others out there, especially women, can gain a little something from the fact that there are others out there going through the same things we are and that many of them, in fact, do succeed.

So as I go to tonight’s shoot to capture the love and happiness of a great family from my church, I’ll go armed with the knowledge that I can do this. Not only can I do this, but YES. I. WILL! Watch out world, here I come….

(Sorry, no picture this time. I think the words in this post deserve the focus instead. It’s all weighed heavy on my mind and heart lately.)

 

Fun Ringtone for Photographers

Hey, photogs! I just downloaded a really fun ringtone from Sprint. It’s Swizz Beats’ “Take a Picture.” I’d heard this song months ago and just recvently remembered it. I’ve been wanting a new ringtone for a couple of weeks, and this one is perfect for where I’m at in my life right now. I have my photography business on the mind 24/7, it seems.

I think your ringtone can say a lot about you. I’m usually surprised by what ringtone a person chooses…sometimes it can be pretty humorous!

What is your ringtone, and what does it say about you?

And because I always try to include a picture in my posts, here’s a picture I took last week. I loved all of the hay bales in this field. I couldn’t pass it up!

Baled Hay