What are your top 5 blogs that you stalk?

First off, sorry it has taken me a couple of days to answer this!

Besides friends, family, and the other 365ers on the right, I really like:

The Nester
http://www.thenester.com/

I Heart Faces
http://www.iheartfaces.com/

ClickinMoms Blog
http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/

Jenny, the Military Spouse
http://jennyspouse.com/

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I realize this isn't 5 but I have about 20 friends, family, and other 365ers blogs that keep me pretty busy :O)

What are your favorite blogs???

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How do you organize all your photos?

I am a bit over obsessed with organization (you should see the girls toy bins). I number each album (1,2,3,4 and so on) as well as giving them a few word title (emma playing with toys). This way all of my albums are in order by when they were taken and I have a little caption to see what is in each album. Right now, they are all on my hard drive, but with my recent switch to taking photos in RAW (for my workshop) I am storing them on my external hard drive. Lightroom is also amazing for organizing! When I edit my pictures I have a print version and a web version that I save. (dsc0002web.jeg or dsc0002print). However, again, now that I am using Lightroom, it will save my edited images in the same folder (and is so much easier to edit batch and batch save) so I will save them in a subfolder in the original folder titled "edit print" or "edit web". I have them by year as well. I'm actually thinking of instead of numbering them (1,2,3) just using today's date. Mmm...decisions :O) Hope this helps!! How do you organize your photos?? Anyone have any better ideas??

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Who are your photographer inspirations? Who's work do you admire?

Goodness, there are so many! All the amazing women whose 365 blogs I follow on the right hand side :O) They are constant day to day inspirations and challenge me!! So glad I found their blogs :O)

I am also inspired by photographers I see on clickinmoms.com and iheartfaces.com. Also, there have been a ton of amazing photographers in my workshops that inspire and challenge me :O)

Some individual photographers that I love:

Love her beach photos:
http://kristinrachellephotography.com/blog/

Love her black and whites:
http://www.pattischmidtblog.com/

A local photographer: Love her locations and creativity!
http://aviva-photography.com/blog/

Love her fresh colors:

Lynne http://www.lynnerigby.com/ (she has been my teacher for two workshops! Love her!)

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Have you ever tried using strobes or off camera flash?

No. I have thought about getting a big old fancy flash for my camera like a speed light, but it just isn't that high on my list. Do you think I need one??? I can be convinced to get many things :O) he he

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Do you plan on having more kids?

I would LOVE to have more kids :O) My husband and I agreed to hold off having the "next kid" talk until Emma was 18 months, that is next month. Ian still hasn't decided if he wants a 3rd child. I do, though :O) We will have to wait and see what God has in store for us :O)

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Are you familiar with using Photoshop Elements? I purchased it a few months back, but am a little overwhelmed by it. It seems complicated, so I haven&

Honestly, no :O) I know how to upload and use actions but that is about it. I am super overwhelmed by all PP software especially PSE :O) I am taking a class that explains Lightroom with videos and lots of Q & A! I know there is someone who teaches PSE classes online. I have not had the chance to take one yet but I have heard nothing but good things.

http://everydayelementsonline.com/workshops/

Otherwise, I would say check out forums like Clickinmoms.com. They have an entire forum section for PSE and PS. I wish I had some better advice :O) Good luck!! If you figure out the secret to PSE please share :O)

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Do you have plans on turning professional?

Right now, I would say no :O) I love taking pictures don't get me wrong. However, even when I just take pictures for friends at my own request I get so stressed that I will mess it up :O) I can't imagine the anxiety I would have if someone was paying me :O) My first love is teaching and I have thought if the day comes where I am good enough, I would actually love to teach photography on the side. All of that is so far away though. Just trying to perfect my skills right now :O)

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On average, how many shots do you take each day?

I usually take somewhere between 100-200. However, if I go out with the intention of taking photos then it can be as many as 500. As you can tell I can be very trigger happy :O) Unfortunately, even if I take about 100 I usually get somewhere between 5-10 I like. I don't know if it is just me but when shooting kids, especially my two, I have to take tons to get the right expression, right lighting, right composition, etc :O) I do however, edit and delete them as soon as I upload them. I found if I don't do this the same day then it becomes overwhelming and I don't want to mess with it. I guess that is one of the many things this 365 project has taught me :O)

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How long have you been into photography? What are your favorite things to shoot, besides family?

I have always loved photography. When we first got married I thought I got the nicest camera. It was really just a fancy point and shoot :O) 5 years later, when I was 10 minutes from going into the OR to have my c-section with Emma, Ian accidently broke my camera. The next day I had him go out and get me my first DSLR. It wasn't until I saw my friend Megan's pictures that I knew I wanted to learn to shoot on manual. Her pictures are amazing! I started shooting on manual a year ago this month and am so glad I did!!

I like to capture relationships and people in the moment. So, I guess I like shooting people. I don't have much time to shoot anything other then my family. But now you have me thinking...what else do I like to shoot?? Mmm...I need to explore this a little more. Thanks for making me stop and think!!!

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What actions do you run on your photos?

Mainly I use the free set from The Pioneer Woman. Here is the link to her actions:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/download-files-for-pioneer-woman-actions-elements-version/

I like the: "slight light" and "fresh color"

I also bought the black and white set from Florabella. I really love these a lot more then the typical "convert to black and white" button which sometimes looks more "gray and gray" then "black and white".

http://florabellacollection.blogspot.com/2009/11/florabella-actions.html

To sharpen my pictures I use this one:

http://ilovephotography.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=246253&hl=

Then I change the opacity to somewhere between 70%-75%.

*You need to be signed into www.ilovephotography.com to view this one. It is a free sign up :O)

Hope that helps!!

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i knew what SOOC meant, but what does PP mean?

PP means "post processing". For example, using Photoshop or another program to edit your pictures. I have PSE8 but I don't know how to use it other then actions. I want to get LightRoom!! I hope to take a PSE8 class here soon so I can learn to make my pictures really POP!!

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What equipment do you take with you daily? Do you PP every pic?

I have a Nikon d90 and a Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 and a 50mm 1.8. Until I got my Tamron in June I only used my 50mm. Since then, I typically shoot with my Tamron. I sharpen all pictures for the web but I would say about 75% of my pictures are SOOC (straight out of the camera) I'm not very good at PP. That is my goal for next year :O)

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