What is my problem with portraits?

I know that I'm a beginner and have a lot of learning ahead of me. But for some reason I just can't seem to get a tack sharp picture of my family. One or two came out including this one of my niece. I take lots of picture, needless to say, a lot of them are bad. I took my "portrait studio" stuff to my family at Thanksgiving. Things were clear but the lighting was just plain icky! Shooting in RAW helps but when you blow out a picture, no amount of post-processing is going to help. Hey, but what can I say, it is a learning experience. I now know how to better use those lights. The problem is that my family doesn't have much patience for my practice, with the exception of my youngest sister, her daughter and my son.

We learn basic portrait and object lighting next sememster.....hooray. I went back at Christmas...Happy Birthday Jesus...and tried again sans the "studio in the box" and my lighting and composition were pretty good but I was trying to hand-hold a 5D with a 75-300 IS USM and just wasn't getting it. I used the bar top with my elbows to steady myself, which helped a little. I used the flash that I had to get for school and put it down to 50% power and aimed it to bounce off of the ceiling. I got it to work pretty well, but you may be thinking, why didn't I just use a tripod. I had it and it was in the car and I was being lazy....yes, I admit it....lazy. Christmas day dawned with a hard icy cold rain and I just didn't want to go out to the car, which was parked on the road because the driveway at my Dad's house was covered in iced over snow slush. I tend to be a bit clutsy and was afraid I was going to take a nose dive on the pavement.

I am going to be a photojournalism major so I need to figure out how to get people in focus! Ok, more to come later.

Oh gosh, I haven't posted

So, this is supposed to be a blog of my journey from photography hobbyist to photography professional via the program at Randolph Community College. Let me say that I have, in fact, survived my first semester. Yes, survived is right but it has been more than survived...I would have to include grown, transformed, and refined my photography.

A little background...I have a BA and a MS degree, so school, or at least academics, have been relatively easy, sure hard work, but academically and grade-wise, I have been successful, mostly A's with one B between the two degrees. However, I was not prepared for the rigors of this particular program.

There is a reason this program has a national reputation. It is tough. My first grade was an "F"...OMG...that just doesn't happen to me...and needless to say, I was devastated. The instructors have decades of experience in their areas of expertise. I always thought I was a good photographer...but much like boot camp, I had a lot of bad habits to UN-LEARN! So they break you down and then teach you how to do things the right way. One great thing that they do is still teach film photography and processing. I can now process black & white film and print from the ensuing negatives. Is my processing perfect...no, I still have trouble rolling film and end up with little crescent moons on the ends...my fellow students know what I mean. Are my prints perfect, no...but they are getting better and I have a better "eye" for what a good and what a crappy print is.

Another thing that I have discovered is that some of my instructors are willing to go above and beyond to offer advice, constructive criticism, and time and it has nothing to do with my grade. The instructor that gave me the lowest grade is the first one I go to for advice. The bar has been set high and I plan on meeting it and exceeding it.

OK, so I cried a lot of tears this semester and have had to really change (it is a work in progress) the way I look at grades. The good news, one A, one B & one C. Any other time and this would have been horrendous but I am thrilled with these grades because I really had to work my butt off to get them and most importantly, my work has improved and the level of my finished product that I will turn in is much pickier.

Well, next semester, is going to be even tougher, but I suspect even more rewarding. I promise to post more often with the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. I have been taking pictures on my digital camera like crazy during the Christmas break, so check out http://www.daylilydreamsphoto.com/ and see what I've been up to. Hopefully see things improve as I learn more.

Thanks!

Lisa