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!
On Assignment: . . .you’ll never guess!
For a while now, there’s been a particular object/concept that I’ve been wanting to photograph for a Shoot to Serve Photo Assignment. I’ve talked with many publishers who describe the type of photo they need . . . audio book, Christmas, fatherhood, balloons, etc....
Outward Beauty Isn’t Enough
In my last blog post, I talked about covered bridges. As nostalgic, iconic subjects worthy to be included in the Scouting Guide, they were just the perfect thing to blog about in light of the current assignment. So, when it came time to think about what to blog...
A North American Icon
In May, a wedding shoot took me to Pennsylvania. The couple I would be photographing wanted rustic charm in their wedding photos and, besides a weathered barn, what is more iconic and charming than an old covered bridge?! The particular covered bridge at which they...
On Assignment: Picturesque Places
Where is the most beautiful place you have ever been? Did you snap a high-quality photo or two while you were there? If so, you may already have some prime material for this month’s assignment! Or perhaps there’s a picturesque spot nearby you’ve always wanted to...
Take Better Photos at the Zoo!
If you’ve been following the blog, you would know that I went to the zoo for the Fatherhood assignment awhile back. It was a great place to photograph that assignment! But how could I be at a zoo and take only pictures of people doing things? I wanted to make sure...
Experimenting With Lightroom’s New Denoise Feature
I totally didn’t feel like getting up that drizzly, spring morning in Texas. We had just come off a 5 day Photography Team at the Family Conference and I was very tired after having gone to bed after midnight almost every night for a week. But this was the one and...
Inspired in Richmond
I grew up as a homeschooler in Manassas, Virginia. It was in the 1990s, and I didn’t think twice about it. I would hear Dad talk about speaking on homeschool-related topics at City Council meetings. And there was a time or two that Dad went to Richmond. I think....
On Assignment: Listening to an Audiobook
Have you ever tried to portray, in a photograph, the idea of someone listening to something? I never had! So that made this assignment a unique one for me. To begin with, I had one idea for how to photograph someone “listening to an audiobook”, so I started with...
The April 8, 2024, Total Solar Eclipse
A solar eclipse is almost a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe more like a once-in-every-ten-or-twenty-or-thirty-years experience, but because they don’t happen every day, it is certainly a unique photography opportunity! The first time I ever tried photographing...
The Ugly Spot
It was dawn when I woke up.The early April air was crisp and cold as I climbed out of the Outback at our primitive campsite in central Arkansas. The air was filled with bird calls and sounds of the swamp. There wasn’t a single ripple on the inky black water that...
Unexpected Kentucky Landscape
I can still remember the feeling, driving down the “beaten path” on I24 through Kentucky on that cool, breezy afternoon. We were headed to Texas for the total solar eclipse and I was enjoying the scenery as we spun along in our Subaru. Julianna needed a place to...
On Assignment: Fatherhood
The assignment for this month is “Fatherhood”. Family Conferences will be doing a social media post on Father’s Day, so they are looking for a nice, authentic photo that illustrates anything that has to do with being a Dad. Since I was visiting my brother and his...
Full Moon Over Ohio
Have you been wondering about the intriguing subject I mentioned at the end of my last blog post? We were on our way back from the IAHE convention in Indiana, driving east through Ohio. We had enjoyed a visit with friends over a delicious and filling meal. We made...
Mounds State Park Sunrise
I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past 15 years. I’ve pitched my tent in the snow-laden wilderness. I’ve hiked back from epic mountain overlooks for miles in the dark. I’ve camped in my car underneath a canopy of green by the side of National Forest roads...
Ready for a Celebration?
I watched my first Lenspiration Photo Coaching Webinar in 2018. I had submitted a photo of "the silky water effect" that I was soo excited about—the water did indeed look silky! Uh, it also looked kinda slimy…which is exactly what James said in his critique of my...
Easter Sunday
Last Sunday was Easter Sunday. And what do you do on Easter Sunday afternoon? We take nice family portraits while we are all dressed up in our Sunday best!I was looking forward to our Easter photo this year, now that we are a little family. I asked my brother...
On Assignment: Party Backgrounds!
When I first found out what the theme would be for the photo assignment we would be shooting for Homeschool Summits in April, I got a wild idea in my head for what to photograph. However, I had a very difficult time figuring out how I would actually go about...
The “Exceptional” Is Always Just a Handful
In February, God provided the opportunity to photograph a wedding for a friend in Pennsylvania!Of the thousands of photos that Lydia and I will take at a wedding, only hundreds are good enough to be delivered to the couple. And scattered throughout the good ones is...
Do I Really Need A Wide Angle Lens?
“Let me think. Should I bring my wide angle lens with me?” One of my responsibilities at the family conference last weekend was to take family portraits. “No, I wouldn’t need a wide angle lens for that.” Also, even though the conference was all the way down in...
On Assignment: Prayer
Photographing something so broad as “Prayer” might seem kinda boring. However, when I got to thinking about how I would photograph it, I started getting excited! Instead of being limited to a certain subject, style, or location, I could take the assignment wherever...
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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.
