Shooting with Erin Cobb (the season finale)

I post this picture of Erin only because:

- That's the canned grin she likes to throw your way when you point a camera at her.  (I don't know many photographers who like having a camera pointed at them)

- It reminds me of the German Chocolate cake we ate right after scarfing down a couple of calzones.  (I was trying to fatten her up while she was here because she's a skinny chick...and I am not.)

- We both started crying while eating our cake...which totally ruins a good cake.

- It reminds me that I should never tell a sad story while eating German Chocolate cake.

- It looks like she's sporting a halo.

And just a few thoughts/details/answers about my time with her...

- I like genuine, down-to-earth girls.  (And Erin is exactly that.)

- I miss Canon lenses.  (Again, I like my Nikon D700 camera body better than the Canon 5D Mark II I had been shooting with and am happy with that switch, but Nikon just doesn't have as good of a lens selection and it makes me sad.)

- You should have seen my husband's face when Erin told him I ordered all new Canon gear.  (If I wanted to switch back to Canon, I'd have to be willing to divorce my frugal husband who just about had a coronary when I switched to Nikon.)

- I am going to be better about setting custom White Balance settings and am going to rely less on my White Balance presets.

- I am going to try to think outside of my box more in regards to creative compositions.

- I am going to 'try' to shoot more vertical images.  (I love horizontal images and Erin loves vertical images.)

- I am pretty happy with my current technical abilities (after being able to confirm a few things with Erin) but am always going to be striving to learn more.

- I am not happy with my current editing abilities and am going to pour more time/energy into that.  (If only I loved my computer as much as I love my camera.)

- I'm still not ready to join Facebook or Twitter.  (Sorry Charlie.)

- Erin is really good with kids.  She sings songs with their name in it.  She plays games like 'Stop & Go' (similar to Red Light, Green Light) and 'Do what I do.'  She fake-sneezes and pretends that her pop-up gray card flew out of her nose.  She talks to them a lot.  She cracks funny jokes.  She's a natural with kids.

- I am not a natural with kids.  (I'm not sure if the four that I'm raising even like me.)

- I overshoot out of fear of missing a good shot and am going to try to shoot fewer frames.  (No sense trying to weed your way through 1600 images when you could have just taken 400 and still got the same thing.)

- I feel really excited about shooting right now.

- My kids won't quit pestering me to get an iPhone.  (I can't even figure out the stupid phone I've got...so I'm definitely not getting an iPhone.)

- I temporarily switched back to shooting JPEGs (from shooting RAW images.)  I figure that if my exposure and my white balance are usually correct, what's the point in shooting RAW images and taking up all that file space?  If I were shooting a wedding or something, I wouldn't risk it and would stick with RAW images.  But why shoot RAW images if I'm not seeing any benefit from it?  I'm still undecided but 30 days won't hurt anything so I'm going for it.

- All the images shot in my house were taken without flash.

- The blinds in my house are thin, white, roller shades with a scalloped border that we ordered at Lowe's.  (Did you know that Lowe's gives 10% off of EVERY purchase to military members?...I love Lowe's.)  I love them because their thin enough to let in light when they're closed and they don't get dirty because we got the kind that requires a chain to open/close them.

- My couch is NOT white.  (I have 4 kids!)  It's blue-ish green.

- Erin shot everything with a Canon 50mm f1.2 lens (about $1500) because that was the only lens she brought.  For her regular portrait shoots, she usually uses an Canon 85mm f1.2 and is even finding that she loves the Canon 135mm f2 which she had wanted to sell awhile back.  (The 85mm f1.8 is also a great lens and is much more affordable than the 85mm f1.2.)

- I shot everything with a Nikon 50mm f1.4G (about $450) because I wanted to shoot at the same focal length in order to best compare our images.  (And unfortunately, Nikon doesn't make a 50mm f1.2.)

- In optimal light, I think my lens performed as well as hers.  In lower light, I think her images were a little sharper than mine.  But the majority of the images I posted yesterday (which we taken in my house at nighttime) were taken with my $450 Nikon 50mm f1.4G lens, so YES, you can most definitely get those kinds of images in low light with a lens that doesn't cost $1500.

- When I shot Canon, I had the 50mm f1.2 and loved it.

- I LOVED getting to shoot with another photographer for two days and highly recommend it to anyone.  (Just find someone in your local area who loves photography like you do and go out on a couple of shoots together - I'm actually doing that with my friend Coral later today.

- Annie asked when Erin was coming back again this morning.

- So Erin, when are you coming back?  (We miss you.)

- And if you can't come back, can you at least send us your iPhone?

- That's all I can think of.  Hope I didn't miss anyone's questions.

- You can read Erin's post about our visit, here.

Comments

[Davinie]

This is a silly question, but where did you get your floor lamp? I am on the hunt for a floor lamp and I like that one. It doesn't look cheap, and it isn't too contemporary.

You and Erin BOTH shoot very well! I love seeing your life through your lens, and now I have Erin's blog bookmarked too.

:)

[Addie]

You're so full of good information! Looks like Erin has brought out some new changes in you! I like it! P.S. Tell Josh Diamond will be thawed out soon! Yahoo!

[karlalala]

just a comment about the iPhone... i've got one, and my grandboy LOVES it more than me... so yeah, don't get one. your kidlets will only USE you to play with your phone!! and its expensive too!! wink!!

[Cate O'Malley]

Love the picture of Erin with all the lighting going on in the background - sounds like you had a great time!

[Julie McD]

Karen, you posted, "I LOVED getting to shoot with another photographer for two days and highly recommend it to anyone. (Just find someone in your local area who loves photography like you do and go out on a couple of shoots together -" ... I want to be YOUR friend and hang out and shoot with you (it would be even better than taking your online class)! ha ha...Great posts. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the video tutorial. Glad you had a great time; make it a great weekend.

[Jaimie]

You two are BOTH so very talented!

[Karen]

I asked a question yesterday about lightbulbs :) you didn't answer. Maybe it was just a stupid one ;). What kind do you use in your lamps? Are they normal incandescent ones? THANKS FOR SHARING!

[Lauren]

Love the finale with Erin. Thanks for sharing so much about Photography and also your sweet life and family! I can always tell by reading that you, too, are a genuine-down-to-earth girl!

[erin cobb]

Girl, you are ROCKING the skin softening technique! (thanks for that)

Loved reading the recap from your perspective.

I miss german chocolate cake.

And I miss you guys too. Let's plan something again!

[Cathy]

Love that lighting!

[Sandy Brown]

Thanks so much for sharing your time with Erin, and introducing me to another great photographic blog. You both inspire me!! And as for the iphone -- get it -- you will love it almost as much as you love your Nikon!

[Tracy]

I'm with you girl...haven't gone to the facebook side yet either. Sounds like you two ( or should I say three...miss annie too) had a great time. What fun!!

[Dina]

Thanks for sharing! I am glad that I am not the only one that "overshoots"! Okay, you got to shoot with Erin! Now, I'd like to shoot with you and pick your brain! ;) By the way, you will love the iPhone!

[caro]

just re-reading this. Love the bit about nikon vs canon. I'm hooked on my alpha, but definitely coveting a new fixed lens and so on . . .

[Gretchen]

love, LOVE the photos!! can you share your settings? did you shoot wide open since you said you took these at night?

[Kelli]

I love how even you, Karen Russell, admits to having to learn stuff! There's hope. You rock!

[heather]

Thanks for sharing Karen! Love the info on your time with Erin. You definitely have brought the love of photography in me with just sharing ur experiences. Now I have to go practice! U r the best!

[Lorena]

Love all the info. You mentioned you went from Canon to Nikon, do you still have the Canon and are you selling it?

[{vicki}]

i like vertical too

and I agree with you on the whole facebook/twitter thing!

[Melanie]

Both of your girls are ROCK STARS!

[sharon]

Hi Karen,

About this: - My kids won't quit pestering me to get an iPhone. (I can't even figure out the stupid phone I've got...so I'm definitely not getting an iPhone.) I just have to tell you that is the EXACT reason you need to get an iPhone! I could never figure out other phones at all and now that I have an iPhone, I cant' be without it. First, it really is so intuitive, it's easy to use. Second, it's way more than a phone. As a smartphone, you'll use it to read or send email, surf the web, snap a quick pic or video, get all kinds of info through the apps (and there are over 100,000 different apps available). I read the news each morning on mine, check the weather, play a quick game of mah jong, watch snippets of Ellen and Oprah, check for garage sales on Craigsphone app... oh, and listen to music as it's also an iPod! Theres so much more and trust me, it's EASY. This coming from a techno-phobe -haha! Have I convinced you yet? ;-)

[Linda Gibney]

Can I fly YOU to the East Coast? So many classes, big improvement, but I can so appreciate what the one on one does. I had to take a small break (daughter with cancer) but things are as back to normal as they are probably going to get for a while, so throwing myself back in and enjoying every second of it. Can't thank you enough for sparking my interest, which now is, years ago, but mostly, for driving me forward and the therapy that photography has given me.

[Monica]

Finally, someone else who isn't really into the Facebook/Twitter/IPhone thing! I had been feeling like I was from another planet (or century)...