getting RAW with Michael Willems.

I think he looks a bit like House...

Phew. Is that life starting to settle back into some semblance of a routine? Or maybe I'm just going stir crazy from being stuck in the house with Max (who is STILL barfing). Either way, I am finally finding time to play with my new camera equipment while also digesting all of the stuff I learned from Michael Willems (the handsome fellow in the mosaic above) at the Henry's Nikon Part 2 course back in December.  I should add that I haven't mastered all of things I learned in the Part 1 course yet either.

nobody is safe when mom has her camera out!

It was a tonne of information and I need to spend some time reading the training materials again.  The main thing I took away from the course was to never delete photos because the ones that don't turn out are the ones that teach you the most and help you improve.  Michael's suggestion was to look at the settings you took the photo with (viewable on your camera and computer once you download them) and see just what the heck was going on for the photo to turn out that way.  Then compare it to a photo that turned out great and see what the difference was.  He also got us all shooting in RAW format which allows for a lot more flexibility in post production.  Other tips?  The flash is your friend - learn how to use it and Adobe Photoshop Elements is the program use for editing your photos.  Lucky for me, I got a new flash for Christmas from Santa Scott and my mom hooked me up with the Elements program.  Be warned, if you come over to our house, you will probably have your picture taken...I'm in desperate need of models!