#52weeksofawesomeness

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The challenge for Week 11 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Small vs Large Depth of Field”. Small Depth of Field (1st photo) vs Large Depth of Field (2nd photo) 135mm | ISO 50 | f/2.0 | 1/400 | vs 135mm | ISO 5000 | f/32.0 | 1/100 | My parents have been in town for a little over a week and it has been awesome watching them interact with Paxton. The last time they visited, Paxton was only 3 weeks old. It is unreal how much he’s grown since then! I figured they would be perfect models to help me showcase Depth of Field and our beautiful desert landscape. Thankfully, they were incredibly willing (just part of why they are so amazing) to help me! I love how much my parents love my son! My photography is almost solely based on small depth of field. I love presenting my subjects in a way that separates them from their background. For the first image, I shot at my maximum aperture of f/32. Honestly, I’ve never shot anything at f/32. You can see how flat that image is because so much of it is in focus. The second image is how I shoot most. The aperture set at f/2 causes the background to be dramatically blurred, called bokeh. Though the light changed in the few seconds after the first photo, I think you can still see the difference in depth of field! I shoot this way because with wedding/event photography, sometimes you don’t have time to go to the most beautiful locations and so by shooting with a small DoF, I can minimize the location and focus more on my clients’ relationship. The challenge for Week 12 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Loss”! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge (at La Brisa Photography)

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The challenge for Week 9 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Shoes”. Paxton’s first pair of shoes were these adorable moccasins purchased by Brisa. Initially, I was like, why would Paxton wear moccasins? We don’t live in the tundra!!! Yes, I’m incredibly fashionable, obviously. But, after we received them, I realized how cute they are! I still can’t believe our little dude fit in these shoes. They are so tiny! I also love how pristine his shoes are. Funny that he has shoes even though he’s never taken a step! I wanted to create a commercial product look to show the stark difference in size, cleanliness and ridiculousness between my shoe and Paxton’s. By positioning the shoes on 13”x19” photo paper and using our whitefish painted walls, I was able to create a white seamless look. Then, I shot at night in the pitch black so that my flash was the only light source. I used an on camera flash with a #MagBounce from #MagMod because I wanted the light to drop off fairly quickly. In contrast to my previous #52WoA images, it only took 11 images to create this image. #StoryBehindTheImage 100mm | ISO 200 | f/4.5 | 1/50 | Feel free to ask any questions! The challenge for Week 10 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Mom”! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/05/10/week-9-shoes-52-weeks-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge (at La Brisa Photography)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 7 - "Siblings" One of our concerns about Paxton's arrival was how his canine and feline siblings would accept him. The day we arrived home from the hospital, while still in his carseat, we set Paxton on the floor and one by one, #FritzHsieh, #BauerHsieh, #PorkBunHsieh, #PazHsieh and #FigginsHsieh approached him, sniffed him and then carried on with their normal activities of sleeping, eating and cleaning themselves. Over the past 9 weeks, all of the Hsieh kids get along swimmingly! 50mm | ISO 400 | f/2.8 | 1/125 | with on camera flash and fill card. Feel free to ask any questions! The challenge for Week 8 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Out of Focus (OOF)“! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/04/27/week-7-siblings-52-weeks-of-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge (at La Brisa Photography)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 6 - “Natural Light vs Artificial Light”. One of the most unexpected things about having Paxton is the outpouring of generosity from others. Brisa and I have been overwhelmed with gifts for Paxton from all across the country. Of all the gifts we received, this wooden personalized toy camera from Kayla is my absolute favorite! Her thoughtfulness astounds me. When I opened the box, I was flabbergasted. By far, it was the perfect gift for my son. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Kayla! For my Week 6, Natural Light vs Artificial Light image, I wanted to showcase Kayla’s awesome gift and share the importance of light in photography. Regardless if you prefer to use natural or artificial light in your photography, your ability to find, sculpt and manipulate light is what separates photographers. I photographed Paxton within minutes of each other using natural light and then using only artificial light aka flash. By adjusting my ISO from 3200 to 200, I was able to keep all other settings the same between the two images by adding flash. What’s nice about using flash/artificial light is that I can shoot at a lower ISO which means there is less grain/noise in the image. Plus, my two flash setup helped to make the reflections more prominent. Of the two images, I honestly don’t know which one I prefer. That’s what I love about photography…so many ways/perspectives to photograph the same thing! The challenge for Week 7 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is "Siblings"! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/04/19/week-6-natural-light-vs-artificial-light-52-weeks-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge #PhotographerDad (at La Brisa Photography)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 5 - “Spring”. When Paxton was 2 weeks old, Brisa bought him this onesie in preparation for Spring/Easter. I told her she was crazy. Why would we need to buy this NOW? Fast forward 5 weeks later and this is the perfect adorable onesie to celebrate Spring! Well, as always (approximately 92% of the time), Brisa was right. I've never considered myself to be particularly funny, but I hope I can make Paxton laugh for the rest of his life! =) In all, I took 230 photos to get this one. I tried different light setups and finally decided that natural light was what I liked the best! For all of you photographers, here were my exposure settings 50mm | ISO 3200 | f/1.2 | 1/250th The challenge for Week 6 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is "Artificial Light vs Natural Light (2 images)"! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/04/12/week-5-spring-52-weeks-awesomeness/ #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge #PaxtonHsieh (at La Brisa Photography)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 4 - “Spring”. Six and a half weeks ago, this little dude entered my life. He has not spoken to me or hugged me, yet I know he loves me unconditionally. My relationship with Paxton grows everyday almost as quickly as he's physically growing (he just reached 12 pounds!). It's cliche, but I now can't imagine my life without him in it. I love my Paxton so much! Paxton will soon realize his own relationship with my camera. Over his lifetime, I've already photographed him a ton! I love seeing him through my camera and waiting for his myriad of adorable expressions. Maybe, someday, he'll enjoy photography as much as his dad! =) The challenge for Week 5 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is “Spring”! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/04/05/week-4-relationship-52-weeks-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge (at La Brisa Photography)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 3 - “Backlighting”. Paxton sat on Stormy for the first time! Brisa rode a horse before she could walk. Looks like Paxton will be the same way! For this image, I wish I had a little more directional light, but by the time Stormy and Paxton were ready, the morning light had transitioned to nearly high noon light. No worries though as the light still beautifully framed Brisa, Paxton and Stormy! =) The challenge for Week 4 of 52 Weeks of Awesomeness is "Relationship"! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/03/29/week-3-backlighting-52-weeks-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #Newborn #Horse #SpanishMustang #NotAPony #StormyHsieh #52WeeksOfAwesomeness #WeeklyPhotoChallenge (at Spirit Dog Ranch)

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52 Weeks of Awesomeness: Week 2 - “Green”. CHEERS! Little Paxton celebrated St. Patrick's Day awesomely! The challenge for Week 3 is “Backlighting”! Excited to find your submissions via #52WoA on social media! Interested in joining me in 52 Weeks of Awesomeness? More details here - http://www.labrisaphotography.com/2017/03/22/week-2-green-52-weeks-awesomeness/ (link in profile) #LaBrisaPhotography #PreserveRelationships #stpatricksday #ForgetLuckImJustAwesome #Newborn #Cheers #Irish #WeeklyPhotoChallenge #52weeksofawesomeness (at La Brisa Photography)