I am a wife, and a mother to two rambunctious, all boy, boys. I have a very small, natural light, photography business that I do here and there around my family schedule. We reside in Las Vegas, NV.

Like many others, my journey began when I was younger and really became pronounced when I had my first child in 2006. I wanted to capture every moment. I loved and valued my professional portrait experiences. I wanted that skill level of photographs to beautifully document everything of my own kiddos, but knew unless I learned it myself it couldn’t happen. I got a better camera, and practiced some, but was overwhelmed with the whole thing in addition to having new baby and a job to do. In 2009, right after my second son was born, I was given the opportunity to mentor with a lifestyle photographer for a short time. The timing was right and that hands on experience was all I needed to really launch me into the depths of learning and honing my skills.

1/5000 | f/2.8 | ISO 320 | 28mm

Spend time taking pictures, lot’s of them. Look at them. See how they differ from images you aspire to take. Is the lighting different? Is it the depth of field? Is it how the camera is angled at the subject (shooting straight on vs shooting down). Study and try changing little things here and there to get closer to what you are trying to achieve. Don’t be afraid to practice on a still object such as a toy or stuffed animal.

1/640 | f/2.8 | ISO 640 | 175mm

Of course my kids are my first favorite. However, because I only have boys, I do relish when I have sessions with beautiful little girls with flowing hair and cute outfits!

I find my desert location so different than many of the images that I love. So, often times it is really the light, make it magical. I do find it is more about the light shining through the hair, getting the big catch lights in the eyes, or using the shadows for a moody black and white.

1/400 | f/2.0 | ISO 250 | 85mm

I had a mentor for a couple of months. She really helped me over the hump of learning the beast of a new “big” camera and just getting a general idea of shooting in manual mode. From there, I have been self taught along with a couple of in person workshops, many on-line classes and forums.

1/50 | f/2.5 | ISO 2500 | 50mm

I am not tied to any projects at this time. I am looking to get involved in shooting my everyday life with some sort of regularity and commitment. It’s on my to do list for sure. I did spend the month of January playing catch up and I did just finish up the overwhelming task of my 125 plus page family albums from 2013 & 2104.

1/160 | f/2.8 | ISO 200 | 200mm

That is a tough one. I would settle on my 85mm 1.8. It’s not too big and I can’t get enough of the bokeh!!!

How to Use the Interval Timer with Your Camera – Because we were there too! Get in the picture!

Comparing Different Lenses – So good to view when you are shopping for your next little gem to play with.

Photoshop Headswap – A not so hard thing to do, but often necessary when you are shooting larger families.

1/320 | f/2.8 | ISO 500 | 200mm

I love this image of my youngest son, Carter. He is 5 1/2. Look at the intensity in his face! This image shows how little he is still, but how he is turning into a big boy doing tricks and such.

1/1600 | f/2.8 | ISO 250 | 200mm

I have a Nikon D700. I have a 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.4, 28-75mm 2.8, and my newest a baby a 70-200mm 2.8.

I am loving the stunning portraits from Anja Photography. I am also very inspired by the fresh approach that Summer Murdock Photography has capturing images of her children and surroundings.

1/4000 | f/2.8 | ISO 250 | 200mm

My biggest challenge has been that I am too much of a perfectionist with my pictures. Over the last few years I have really tried hard to learn how to make beautiful, perfect, images. I am comfortable with where I am at right now with that aspect. The problem is, life is messy, my boys are chaotic. I have had a hard time stepping back and taking pictures of our real life; they just weren’t pretty enough. I am working on that. I don’t want to miss documenting all of it…that is why I started it all to begin with.

1/1000 | f/2.0 | ISO 250 | 85mm

I take a lot of pictures of my family. I probably keep about 3000 a year include phone pictures. I try to print canvases at least every two years. I try to do a big family album every year (I love Blurb). And I do have a photo wall that I try to add or update occasionally. It really takes effort to get those images off the computer, but I always feel really good when I do, and smile often when I see them on the walls.

Baby wipes…you never know when some kiddo has dried nose crud or something they need cleaned off.

SEO for my photography website.

1/320 | f/2.0 | ISO 1600 | 50m

We have many areas I could use (spare bedroom, nook area) but I like being able to work and be around my family or kiddos and yes – drive my husband crazy and show him every amazing image. It also allows me to pop in here and there and get editing done without being completely removed from the kids.

I would love to have you visit my website Lisa J Photography or my page on Facebook.