Long exposures and the last week of July.

The other night Katie, Tylere, and I tooled around downtown Cleveland and took some long exposure shots and it was fun!
I shot these portraits using the Canon Mark Deuce, a tripod, and my 430 Speedlite.









Needless to say (but I will say it nevertheless), I find Cleveland to be a place of immense beauty.



My friend Michael B. and I have been working on the apartment SO MUCH lately. Safe to say, it needs a thorough cleaning. And while we were at it, why not paint some too?


This is Michael chipping away the ice from this ancient fridge. We completely cleaned it out, unplugged it, and now use it as a pantry for the pots&pans.




Tagging the wall before we painted it completely red.




&we painted on each other. all over.




It has been an awesome week thus far. Cleaning, curtain shopping, painting, riding my bicycle through the living room, etc.

Now I'm getting ready to go to Spokane, WA to photography a lovely 20's theme wedding. I can't wait! And I booked it so that I have a week there to hang out with my friends! Gah! Good times, here I cooooome!!!

Post-processing& the importance of:

In a photography world that is all digital, everyone is a photographer.

We all have that Uncle that has a Canon or Nikon DLSR and shoots all the time.
I could probably talk your ear off about this kind of thing, but I'm just going to focus on the post-processing aspect.
IT IS KEY!

Getting things right in camera is the all-time best way to go. It saves you time and stress.
But no matter how right you get it, if you are shooting RAW (which I hope you are), then you have to post-process to a varying degree.

There are different workflows you can have, and I am a Lightroom and Photoshop girl. Give me the curves and levels adjustment layers! And High Pass (on 3.0 with the opacity of the layer turned down low so that it is just enough sharpening).

One of my biggest frustrations as a photographer is that people think the only time you spend working on a shoot is the time you're on making the images. But little do they know...the time spent on the computer is far more extensive! Especially when it's a wedding shoot!

I am going to post some before and afters.
I didn't feel right about posting anyone else's photos, so I posted myself again (sorry!)
Since people need varying degrees of work done to their faces it's a toss up on how much retouching needs to be done.

These photos are mainly colour/tone/levels adjustments but there are little bumps and lines I removed, and I took out the shadow from the moustache in the second set.
(You can click on the image to make it larger.)






All I'm trying to say is: post-processing workflow is huge. It is vital. It can make or break the image.

Self with a stache.

Same background as the previous post.
And my brother got my fake moustaches on sticks! How wonderful!!
They are really nice. Gourmet mustaches, if you will. They are hand-carved and a great touch to any outfit.













I was just posting these as I downloaded the images from today's INCREDIBLE wedding.
Now that it's done...I'm taking a trip to sleep city.

Andy D. Goodner

If there's one thing I'm good at, it is home making.
Decorating, arranging, cleaning, ironing, painting (walls, not canvases), sweeping, mopping...I enjoy doing these things. Mainly because I can't live/work/be happy in a place that isn't clean. Like Michelle Branch's album "Spirit Room," that is what my home is.

I found this wooden piece of wall in an old storage room I was cleaning out, and I want to use it for more portraits I take in my home. The window light during the day is ideal! These portraits were taken with straight up window light at about 11am, with the Mark Deuce, and the 85mm.

I asked Andy to take his shirt off because it was neon orange. And I don't like neon, super bright trendy colours in my photos. That, and cars. I will do anything I can to avoid having cars in the backgrounds of my photos. It dates the photo and...I want my photos to be timeless. No cars cluttering my backgrounds!


Andy! (check out his KILLER design work by clicking on his name)








I have a wedding today and it is going to be sooooooo good!
Gosh! I'm stoked. This couple is rad and they both love art and the wedding will reflect that.


I have been riding my bicycle (with it's red glitter and brown pleather seat) every night. Mainly just around Lee, but through the streets of Cleveland as well. What a thrill! I love it. What a good investment.
Alright, Hobby Lobby is having a sale on frames so...I'm going to go nab some.

CLEVELAND, TN

Dear Cleveland, TN (&all residents& those who are close),

I am home!
I am officially a Bradley County resident and it feels incredible to be back.
The heat feels like a constant hug, wrapped close and always comfortable. The train is as playful as always &I rode my bicycle with it tonight, trying to keep up as it flew by.

As of yesterday, I have a TN license and plates.
The DMV spelled my name wrong, which turned my three and a half hour wait into a comical experience for me.

Also, I have been leaving the make-up alone for a while, as this photo reflects. It feels so good to be able to rub my eyes and not worry about mascara. And my contacts last so much longer when I don't wear makeup.

You could say (and it would be an understatement) that I am happy to be home. In Cleveland, TN.

And I am available for booking photo sessions for weddings, senior portraits, engagements, maternity, family, and baby.
Just send me an e-mail at sararenee@sararenee.com to get the ball rolling!

Speaking of booking weddings...
here is a sneak peek of Tyler&Rachel Garvey's wedding that I flew back to TN for last month.
It was at the Grandview up on Lookout Mountain (which is one of my favourite wedding venues) and this wedding was BEAUTIFUL! I love these people.




















Tomorrow I am going to Kentucky for a wedding, and I anticipate great things!
Good-night all over the world.

My hero: Sir Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes.

Sir Conan Doyle:


This man is my hero. He invented the character (who is based very much on his own person) Sherlock Holmes. He was incredible! Read up on him!

This is what his tombstone says:
STEEL TRUE
BLADE STRAIGHT
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
KNIGHT
PATRIOT, PHYSICIAN & MAN OF LETTERS


I'm not a big girl into quotes, ever...BUT Sherlock Holmes gets me. We have so much in common! We would have been such great partners. friends. colleagues. etc.etc.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:
"I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."

"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or th emost intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltaion."

&my favourite:
"Life is infinitely stranger than anything the mind could invent."

Mmmm...Sherlock Holmes. My hero.

Brother&Becca

Here are some portraits of my brother and Becca taken in Newport, Rhode Island earlier this week.
















We tramped around, went to mansion(s), ate great food, drove Oceean Drive, tried to fly a kite (i tangled the string mighty bad, see photo below), and just hung out. I liked it very much.

Photos I did not take, but instead are in.

(you are not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition).


Here are the photos that should go with a blog 2 blogs deep.
I am so sick! My face probably weighs 7 extra pounds with all the fluid that is in there.
Newport, RI was my destination vacation and it's cold, rainy, and I am sicksick.

But I got to see the Brothers Bloom last night which is a great movie!
I am attracted to big noses on boys.