Lenspiration Blog
Welcome! Wherever you are on your photography journey, learn to take better photos through the photography tips and stories you'll find in the following free articles. By learning from the experience of others, you can also start taking pictures that you're excited to share with others!
Is A Bug’s-Eye View The Ideal Perspective In Photography?
I do a lot of traveling and I have seen a lot of places. Let me tell you about one recent trip from my perspective! I don't think many people wake up with branches arching above them and a window-view of orange leaves at their feet, but I am used to waking up in...
How Do I Expose Properly for Christmas Lights?
I rushed out into the cold, winter night. Blue hour was quickly slipping away. But before it did, I wanted to capture the amazing display of Christmas lights that my brother had put on the house! The contrast between the lights on the house and the darkness around...
Photographing As A Group Revealed These 4 Interesting Things
It's hard to believe it's been over a year since the St. Simons Island photography workshop! As I was editing my photos from that excursion the other day, I started to notice something interesting. During the day, the group of us 5 photographers were shooting the...
On Assignment: Young Person Preparing Food (and Tips for Great Lighting!)
It's not very often that we receive a photo request from a publisher who goes into great detail about the kind of photo they are looking for. Usually, a publisher doesn't need something ultra specific, so a typical request can tend to be broad and brief. However,...
First Impressions of the Canon R6
In a previous blog post, I shared some autumn photos from a pleasant, October excursion to Swallow Falls State Park with my new Canon R6 mirrorless camera. It was my first excursion with that camera. But now that several weeks have passed and I have had opportunity...
A Day of Surprises in Indiana
It's now becoming almost commonplace to meet up with folks I've never met (in addition to long time friends, sometimes) in the dead of night in abandoned parking lots or along deserted streets. I have to admit, it does feel kinda strange to introduce myself by...
How Not to Clean a Focus Screen
For a while now, I've considered upgrading my camera to a mirrorless. I wanted to have at least one mirrorless camera to help with teaching and creating photography material, and I knew technology had advanced enough now to know that using a mirrorless camera could...
A Rare Photography Opportunity
Wow, the month of October flew by so quickly! So much happened, and there were so many opportunities for photography, but this has been the first week I've been able to sit down and actually edit some of my photos from October! So, let me start at the beginning . ....
On Assignment: Christian Womanhood
"Should we leave on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday?" The EXPLORE Waterfalls & Gorges of Western Indiana workshop was happening on Tuesday. To get to Indiana would be about an 8hr drive. I prefer not to travel on Sundays, and we were hoping to spend some time with...
One and a Half Years Later
One and a half years ago, in April, 2023, a group of photographers gathered for two photography workshops in western Indiana. After the workshop, I edited the team photos, picked out some of my favorite photos, edited them, and sent them off to the students. And...
On Assignment: Inspiring Manhood
At first, when I read the details for this assignment, I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. How to capture “honesty”, “integrity”....”manhood”? But when I actually went out to photograph it, I found that although there were some challenges to work through, it...
The Reasoning Behind the 12 Intricate Cutouts
After carefully going over the results of the survey I sent out the other week, I have chosen the 12 photographs and overall theme for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar! But choosing the 12 main images is only the beginning of the calendar creation process...
Revealing the Best (and Worst) Photos from the 2025 Calendar Survey!
The results are in! You took the time to provide your input on the 50 photos I was considering for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar, and now it’s time to look at the results! One fun fact is that there were considerably more participants this year than last year. 36%...
Why I’m Looking for Your Input
One of my favorite tasks in the year is to gather new photos for the next Lenspiration calendar! But it might come as a surprise to you from which corner of my collection of photos those new candidates come from! This year I’m putting together Lenspiration’s 2025...
7 Steps to Choosing Calendar-Worthy Photographs
How often do you feel like all of your photos from the year are organized and edited by the time you reach the end of the year? If you’re like me, it’s practically never. I love taking photos! But when it comes to processing them? It takes time and discipline to do...
How Important is Location Scouting?
In the past, I’ve had mixed feelings about the benefits of scouting out a location before a portrait shoot. So many times I have put effort into checking out a location, thinking through the angles of light at a specific time of day, noting shadows, and jotting...
A Precarious Adventure In the Gorge
In my last blog post, I talked about our early morning excursion to Overlook #6 and the surprises that that morning had brought to us. Well, there were more surprises in store for us that day . . . and one precarious experience that was unlike any other in my...
An Underwhelming Sunrise
For a week, I had been wondering what the sunrise was going to be like on Saturday morning of that weekend! I had everything planned out perfectly. We would leave the house at 4:45am, meet up with several other photographers outside the park at 5:40am, hike in the...
Tips for Photographing an Event
The last homeschool convention we traveled to this year was in Atlanta. I’ve been going to the Southeast Homeschool Expo for about 4 years now, and have spoken on the topic of photography there every time. However, this year was a little different. I was asked...
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New month - new photo assignment! And this one is pretty sweet. 🙂 Our goal is to take beautiful photos that reflect the truths of Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Get all the details at the link in bio!
Another behind the scenes shot....thanks to @real_lukas_n Though I usually use a tripod for landscape photography, there was no time in this situation where it was literally raining. When I saw the distant mountains after pulling in for only a short time at this open-to-the-public farm, I knew there was a shot somewhere. This vast field of flooded strawberry plants was the foreground I was looking for, offering perfect leading lines to the triangular peak framed by the sweeping mist.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#farm #landscapephotographer #shootingintherain #rainyday #behindtheshot
New blog post! The last bit of light after sunset doesn`t take long to disappear. Sparkling stars were peering through the pinyon pine boughs above us. We were in the deep shadows of dusk as we picked our way down the rock strewn trail back to the parking lot. Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Behind the shot photo.... When it`s rainy, and you`re not on lights`s time table, there`s time to chat with friends while you`re out in the field! 🤩 Thanks @real_lukas_n for the second photo! --
Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#outdoorphoto #lowkey #mystery #photographyfriends #explorenc
Happy Memorial Day! Let us honor their sacrifice by using our freedoms not to do as we please, but to live as we ought. #freedom #integrity #selfcontrol #memorialday #Godblessamerica
New blog post! Rain poured down in torrential waves as we made our way through the Smoky Mountains. We had gotten up insanely early—long before dawn—to make the most of our time photographing at the high-elevation overlooks before the storm. But now the rain was coming down so hard that even the most dedicated among us didn’t feel like stepping out of the car for a photo. Until we rounded a bend and saw... Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, May 26 as we look at "Glowing Scenery" photos. . . Register at link in bio!
Foreground element, framing, leading lines, human element, vibrant color.... Definitely one of my favorite shots from EXPLORE Springtime in the Smokies.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#photographycomposition #photoworkshop #composition #landscapephotography #springtime @greatsmokynps @blueridgenps
Before/after....look at the difference! A little editing is just what it needed to make it pop (IMO). What do you think?
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills." Deuteronomy 8:7-9 Every time I photograph a waterfall I should thank the Lord for letting me live in such a blessed land.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#waterfall #verseoftheday #landscapephoto #thankful #godsblessing
New blog post! The photographer who makes decisions based on comfort won’t get out in the field, even in a place like the Smokies—and therefore won’t come home with any photos. Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
The photo assignment for May is live! Take beautiful, landscape photos that have a warm, glowing sense to them. Photos could include warm sunlight glowing at the end of a path, over water, over a stream, in a field, or over a mountain. Details at link in bio.
New blog post! Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Someone got a photo of me taking the group photo at Family Conference last week! @familyconfs @alertacademy #familyconference #eventphotography #groupphoto #eventphotographer #adventurous
A quick stop in Paris for a selfie! 😄 #paristexas #travel #selfietime #texas
So much fun to photograph a family conference as an actual family! (Thank you Rebekah for the photo!)
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#family #behindthescenes #together #teamwork #wvphotographer
On the lookout for puddles on a rainy first day of Conference!
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Family-friendly place to learn photography! www.lenspiration.com
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#rainyday #homeschool #conference #familylife #puddlejumping
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, April 28! Register at link in bio.
