I wanted one fast so I found one locally on ksl.com. But you can find them everywhere, and make sure you don't pay more than $250! I got mine for $250, but I'm sure I could've found a better deal if I was more patient. :)

Film is wonderful, and the best part of the workshop was really learning the ins and outs and realizing film isn't as scary and messy as I thought. It's a LOT simpler, especially exposing. Because it's so different from digital. You don't need to take a workshop to learn film. It really is simple. I just wanted to jump right in head first and learn everything I could in the shortest amount of time. It was pretty costly, but I'm happy I did it. I would recommend starting out with a 35mm in the type of camera line you own (like a Nikon F100 so you can use all your nikon lenses, or a Canon one, for example). Buy a light meter FOR SURE, since that's the only way to get an accurate reading. Medium format is definitely the prettiest, in my opinion, but 35mm is great to learn on, and also it's great to have all of your normal lenses to use when you need (I have the Contax 645, but I just got a Nikon F100 so I can use all my lenses for some variety).

I used to think you shoot film and your images are perfect straight out of the camera. But it's not like that. Because it TOTALLY depends on where you send your film to get developed and scanned. Only choose quality places that will work with your taste (if it comes back not how you wanted, ask them to make adjustments next time, like if you like it warmer or more magenta, or more contrasty, etc.). And even great labs take a bit to really get it exactly how you want. I've used several labs, and I usually make a few quick tweaks (like dust removal if I need to....but lots of labs will take care of that for you), and minor adjustments in color balance if it's not exactly how I want it. But my goal is to find the perfect lab for me and communicate with them until they've created a custom profile to send me back my film exactly how I like it. And then I won't have to touch anything at all, hopefully! :)

I have a hard time with the bride's gown, too. I just expose for the skin, and then if I feel it needs to be adjusted in photoshop (if it's too blown out white), I'll sometimes layer it by opening up the RAW file separately and darkening it from RAW and bumping up the recovery and then painting that layer over the edited photo. I hope that makes sense. So I edit everything normally, and then I go through at the end and layer some photos here and there to darken the dress a bit. I don't do it a lot, but maybe a lot of my photos do have too much blown out white dresses. :) I just think the most important thing is to expose for the face so the face looks perfectly lit. It is tricky with those white dresses, for sure!

I use my 50mm 1.4 for a large part of the wedding, but I do like to use the 24-70 for getting wide shots of the venues/buildings in and out, and also for group work when I'm constantly needing to move from big groups to small. I just like having the option of a wide angle, mostly. They're super cheap to rent, so I'd suggest that!

Do you mean when I said I don't use manual focus on anything but my newer film work (where I have to do manual focus with my Contax)? I always use auto focus because I've never had a problem with that - it's worked great, and I love getting fast candids, so it works well for me.

**This is not to be confused with shooting in MANUAL MODE, which I do! And we should all learn to do on our cameras so we have full control! ;)

And I always shoot with a shallow depth of field when I can, and always focus on the eyes and let everything else blur out softly. It can still look crisp in the important areas and soft everywhere else. Everyone should buy the 50mm 1.4! Or if you can't afford that, the 50mm 1.8 is great, too.

I love using as low of an f-stop as I can (so I usually keep my 50mm on at 1.4 or 1.6 unless I need more than one person in focus). I love the blurred look...like even if multiple people are interacting in a photo, if they're not looking at the camera, then I like to keep it low so there's a lot of softness.

When you say "the edges of my subject are not in focus", do you mean the eyes are in focus and then everything else fades softly? Because that's what I LOVE. :)

I can totally relate - I grew up very introverted and it has taken a lot of work to get out of my own self-concious mind. But the less I think about ME and focus more on the people I'm with, it becomes easier to create all kinds of friendships - even if it's meeting a couple for the first time for a one-time shoot and never seeing them again. But I always leave feeling like I have new friends.

As a photographer you wear many hats, and it is important to be social, happy, and confident. Especially if you're shooting weddings, you will want to develop these abilities as you'll be leading large groups, putting people at ease, and networking with all kinds of people (clients, vendors, etc.). Just know it is part of your job, and you can pretend you're playing a character on stage - have fun with it, and then come back home and curl up quietly to your favorite book as you're back to your normal self. :)

I use GoDaddy.com to host my website. I bought a bludomain.com template for my website, and a tofurious.com template for my blog. Those are just one-time fees to purchase the templates and create your sites. The hosting company has you pay an annual fee to keep the site live online.

If I were starting fresh, I'd recommend a blogsite (blog + website combo). I'll eventually switch to one of those. I haven't looked into them, but I'm sure you can google them to find some good options!

What do you mean by an "engagement sneak attack shoot"? If it's a secret proposal that you're trying to capture, I'd recommend renting a zoom, like the 70-200mm 2.8. That's a beautiful lens and allows you to hide far away from the subject. :)

Haha, I usually grab whatever I can with a toddler and baby in tow. Which is usually Target. :) Or Old Navy and Down East...quick and easy stops with kids. How I would love to go shopping alone at the mall. Maybe when the kids are grown and out of the house. ;)

Haha, I do think about it...but I hate it when amateurs offer "workshops" with little ground to base off of. I have a strong desire to really figure all the ins and outs of how to succeed WHILE enjoying a peaceful, whole, balanced life - especially as mothers - and once I finally finish putting the puzzle pieces together for that, I may offer a workshop. I feel so strongly that it's important to do what you love and not sacrifice that when you have children and a family...HOWEVER, it can be easy to let that consume you and run your life...and eventually run you into the ground. I've been learning and growing every year and becoming closer to where I want to be. So I hope I can get to the point of feeling like I have something special to share. :)

I currently offer one-on-one mentoring for $100/hr with a minimum of 2 hrs. If you're like me and learn best hands-on, we can work together on things such as:

-shooting manual
-lighting
-posing
-composition
-stylized shoots
-blog features
-photoshop
-batch editing
-web-prep
-blogging/wordpress
-SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
-business organization
-packaging
-marketing material
-wedding expos
-album design
-printing companies
-pricing

We can also go out on a mini shoot with a model. Email for more info at ariaphotographyonline {at} gmail {dot} com.

Kew's Camera in Provo. It's about $50 to get your sensor cleaned, and I go every 6 months about.

50mm 1.4. My favorite lens, and so versatile. And SO beautiful.

Do you mean if there was another photographer at the same location? There sometimes is, and I'm never bothered really, I just wait until they're done in that spot, or visa versa. There's always plenty to shoot around, usually, so I'm never waiting and doing nothing. :)

Yeah, that's the same for me. For back-lit, I try to hide the sun, either with my hand or the subject, and then once it's in focus and ready to go, I reposition and take the photo.

Yeah, it took forever to figure out the best web prep for showcasing online images. Make sure your images are set to sRGB color space, and then I also slightly saturate them before sharpening/resizing for web. I have an awesome action I found a while ago free online that sharpens and resizes, and I created an action that first saturates and flattens then runs that action. You can email me if you'd like it at ariaphotographyonline {at} gmail {dot} com.

The 50mm is my favorite for newborns! That's all I've ever used for newborns. If you want to get really close details, you can buy close-up filters or plus filters that screw onto the lens and help magnify it so you can get in closer.

Hm, I'm not sure why some would still be out of focus...I guess it depends on how close you were standing to them. I don't ever shoot manually unless I have to (with my film Contax). Just make sure you're focussing on someone in the middle and that their heads are relatively in the same plane of distance from you.

You can get those giant balloons from Zurchers party stores (they have them all over Utah). I think they're 3 ft. You can ask them to be blown up smaller.

You can look up monitor calibrators, like the Spider or things like that. I haven't used one, I just print often and compare my prints (from professional labs) to my computer screen.

I recommend iprintcanvas.com (in Lehi, Utah), for local clients, but other than that I tell them to avoid Costco and Wallmart and choose nicer photo/camera stores.