We recently took a trip to Charleston, SC which is where family lives and I brought along my camera. There have been times in the past where I wouldn’t bother, but I am taking a documentary photography class, so I was more motivated than usual. Also, though, I recently bought a used Sony A7iii and it is so much lighter to carry than my Nikon D750. That makes a big difference in me being able to even bring a camera. When it’s heavy, it hurts my shoulder to carry on a long day of walking, and when I wear it on a strap, it inevitably hits one of my kids in the head. My Sony is so much lighter and can easily fit into my purse. I wanted to share some of the images that I took on this trip as well as my process for why I took them.
Gear
Both of the images above were taken with the Lensbaby Trio on the Velvet setting. My camera, as I mentioned above, is a Sony A7iii. I brought 2 lenses, the Lensbaby Trio 28 and the Sony 28mm f/2.0. Earlier in my photography career, I would bring a ton of lenses, but I try to be more minimal now. It helps with decision fatigue and truly, as a documentary photographer, it really is best to stick with a 24, 28, or 35mm.
I have written about this before somewhere, but finding the balance between the family historian and the artist can be challenging. I want to insure that I am actually capturing my family and what we are doing, but I also want to get more artistic shots. I can usually do both, but I have to be cognizant of the first because I can easily come home with pictures of the city and nothing else. And what’s even more unfortunate is that I am never in them.
All of the pool images were taken with the Lensbaby. This is a situation where I was able to blend the activity we were doing with creativity. I will say that my lensbaby lenses make that part a lot easier.
This was the only self portrait I got with the kids in Charleston. I love using windows as a reflection because it adds visual interest to the story. If you’ve been to Charleston, you have probably seen the food/drink trucks where you can buy alcoholic drinks. They are stationed near College of Charleston, shockingly. Kidding, not shockingly.
I am actually also really bad about taking pictures of my husband on our trip as well. I have no excuse.
On any trip, I try to take wide shots, landscape/urbanscape shots, and detail shots. I try to focus on interesting compositions, using layering, leading lines, framing, and reflections. I play with intentional blur and slow shutter speed, and use creative lenses like the trio 28 or edge 35. Vacation is always a great time for photography because I am more inspired by all the new things and I have an opportunity to play a lot more.
Just a reminder that I do offer family documentary sessions where I take pictures like this. These types of images can be displayed in a gallery and give a glimpse into the personalities of family members which is why I fell in love with this genre. I am also a Lensbaby Ambassador, so if you are wanting to try Lensbaby out, you can use my code for 10% off, WMAtt.
