S Fredieu Photography

     I am so excited for the 4th to be here.  The fire roasted hotdogs and smores,  smoked meats, the smell of grills being cooked on, friends and family all gathered around in the backyard, fire pit swings (yes the Pinterest one I'm so very lucky to have a husband that loves building things) and of course FIREWORKS.        You might be thinking "I can't take good firework pictures I just have a phone not a fancy dlsr."  Well my friend, you can't be more wrong.  You can capture great firework shots on your phone.  The secret? Slow your shutter speed!  What the heck am I talking about?  Haha I will show you.  Samsung users can use their normal camera app.  iPhone users will have to get a new app like "Slow Shutter Cam" or "Camera+" You will also need some way to steady your phone on a tripod or some make shift device that insures your phone will not move.  You will not be able to hand hold your phone, it will not turn out.  For Samsung g

      Are you getting ready to travel and don't know what to bring and how?  I'll walk you through what I bring.  I'm on the go a lot.  Usually going to where ever my husband is working at the time.  I pack the kids up after school on Fridays (or which ever day is getting out for the weekend that week) and head to visit daddy.  We all know I can't go anywhere with out my camera.  I have this awesome little backpack the fits my body, two lenses, extra CF and SD cards, my shot log so I can keep track of my camera settings, filters, batteries, chargers and a remote shutter.  It may seem like a lot but this little backpack holds it all.  I bring my EF 24-105mm 1.4 L lens and a EF 75-300mm 1.4 lens so I am covered for anything I may need to shoot.  The 24-105mm lens is good for shoots in the truck or even the airplane if you are flying.  If you are going to be close to your subject I would have this lens on the camera.  It's good for rainy days and you are stuck in the h

Some of the most useful books that I have are these two books.  Understanding Exposure helped me out when I was just beginning.  The book of Legal Forms I use all the time and keep it on hand for references.      Some more books I use all the time are the 500 posing series.  I look over them almost every session I have to get fresh ideas.    These next two are older books that were given to me early in my photography journey.  Photographing Children is not one that I would recommended today.  It's outdated and has some controversial images for today's world.   The Art of Black and White Photography is outdated but has some really good information and some great black and white photos.  I love a good black and white.     What photography books do love and hate? Comment below.         Subscribe above for more photo sessions, tips, and more about my journey in photography.

      My first session was for a business I was volunteering for.   I was soo nervous and excited to finally have a session and this was for a few families and individuals.  I can hardly remember the details, but I do remember being soo excited and had so much fun taking their pictures and having them displayed on their wall showing everyone was such an honor.  I don't even have the images anymore 😖  I do have my first paid photo shoot, it was a senior session and I still have my first dollar.  It's suppose to be good luck right :) That session was so much fun we went into the mountains (I lived in Montana at the time) and used an old building in town.  Here are a couple shots from that session.

     I knew I wanted to be a photographer around the time my son turned 4.  Plus, I grew up with my dad always into photography and videography, he was always my inspiration.  So I got a cheap point and shoot camera and started shooting.  My first photos of my son I took I fell in love with and thought I was just born for photography. hahaha yea I look back on them and just laugh.  Now they were not horrible by any means but they definitely not the quality I believed them to be.  In the last 10 years I have grown soo much.  9 years ago, with the help of a group of very special ladies, I started taking photography classes and haven't stopped, some of them include NYIP, Rocky Mnt college, and through various other professional photographers.  I highly believe in you can never stop learning and if you stop learning you'll never grow.    Here is a picture of when I first started taking pictures. And here is where I am at today with the same subject (my son haha)

       I got the privilege to photograph this beautiful young lady this last weekend.  She is so photogenic it made my job so easy.         Congratulations Miss H!! I know you worked hard to get here and I know you will go far. Don't forget to subscribe to the page, don't worry your email is safe with me I will never share or sell it!

     Have you ever had a vision in your head, and when you went to execute that idea it totally fails?  Yea I'm totally there today.  It is so frustrating, I want to throw my computer haha.  I have visions of this beautiful flowing dress.  What it looks like now?  I don't know words can't describe whats on my screen right now definitely not beautiful and flowing haha. What are some projects you have worked on that have been a challenge?  Comment below and as always enter your email above to follow me on my photography journey.  

    Do you wonder what you can change to make your photos a little better for your fridge, scrap book, photo albums, or to even post on social media?       I'll be sharing some tips over the next few weeks to help you take better everyday images that you can be proud of.  Todays Tip is How to shoot in full sun      Today is a fairly easy tip.  The best tip I could give you to shoot on a full sun sunny day, is get out of the sun and into the shade.  Well sometimes I know it is harder then it looks.  So how do you shoot in the sun when you don't have any shade to go to?  you turn them so your subjects face is not in the sun.  For  example, the top photo the sun is almost right on top and to the right of the children,  it is giving off horrible shadows on half their face and eyes.  The middle image is a little better but the sun in front of them is still giving off a bad shadow in their eyes, under the hat, and under their noses.  And the child is squinting.  The

     I try to live by this quote everyday along with rolling with the punches.  Tell myself don't stress the little stuff, it's all little stuff.  I don't tend to stress very much and love living day to day.  I don't worry to much about past events or events that are going/might happen in the future, I deal with them when they get here.  When I do feel stressed use many different forms of art like drawing, coloring, crocheting and painting to quickly relax and destress.  What do you do to reduce your stress?  Comment below.

      Do you wonder what you can change to make your photos a little better for your fridge, scrap book, photo albums, or to even post on social media?       I'll be sharing some tips over the next few weeks to help you take better everyday images that you can be proud of. Today's Tip is Fill the Frame           Today we are going to be talking about filling the frame of your lens.  By this I am saying get in close and have your subject fill edge to edge as you are looking it the viewfinder or screen you are looking through.  By doing so you are eliminating distractions in your photo.   For example you see in my first shot that there are dishes drying on the counter, my daughter cup and her ball laying on the floor.  Non of these things help tell your story so I filled my frame with just her in my second picture.  Great shot but didn't tell me what she was doing at that very moment in time and pulled back just a little bit and filled the frame with her kindl

     Last weekend I shot a personal project of my uncle-in-laws 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  It was so beautiful and inspiring.  Everything was perfect, the colors,  family, friends, stories and love!  We did group shots through out the whole ceremony as family or friends would show up.  Of course in true southern fashion there was not a shortage of yummy delicious food and cake to be ate.  I came out with a huge respect for event photographers let me tell you.  I was exhausted after only 3 hours of shooting.  It takes a lot more endurance then a 3 hour senior shoot.  Here are some of the detail shots I captured just to show how beautiful it was.

      Do you wonder what you can change to make your photos a little better for your fridge, scrap book, photo albums, or to even post on social media?       I'll be sharing some tips over the next few weeks to help you take better everyday images that you can be proud of. Today's Tip is Light      Today we will be talking about light.  Because what is a photograph without light?  Nothing.  I live in the south so as much as it bugs me my windows are closed up with energy saving curtains.  You know the kind, they let in 0 light.  Does wonders for the electric bill but wrecks havoc on my pictures.  When I know I will be taking photos in my house I open the door and all the curtains to let in all the  wonderful light.  For this Tip I only left my front door open to show you how light can work for you.  The top image she was between me and the door, but not directly between, so her hair and a little part of her face is highlighted but the rest of her face is

     Do you wonder what you can change to make your photos a little better for your fridge, scrap book, photo albums, or to even post on social media?       I'll be sharing some tips over the next few weeks to help you take better everyday images that you can be proud of. Today's tip is  Shoot in thirds       Photographers call this Rule of Thirds and it is one of the most recognized tools in photography.  Most cameras have a cheat on them (including phones) that give you 4 lines much like a # on your screen to easily use this rule.  This rule keeps your photos visually balanced, as most people go to one of the intersections of a photo instead of the middle.  How you use this easy tip is simply place your subject between two intersections, or on one of the 4 lines.  This applies to either vertically or horizontally.  I used the vertical lines in the photo above.  If you are taking a photo, of say a landscape, simply place have the sky in the top third of the imag

    When this young man came up to me and said he wanted to do a gangster styled shoot.  I thought no way.  He told me "No ma'am, not a thug, a real gangster!!!" YES!!! Yes I can do that!!! We had so much fun styling and shooting this session.  With the gold pinned suit and gold tie, complete with a fedora!!! Just check these out!!! Pretty awesome right???  What y'all think?  Feel free to comment below 😍😍😍

I'm sure we have all had days like this.  

      Do you take photos like this and wonder what you can change to make them a little better for your fridge, scrap book, photo albums, or to even post on social media?       I'll be sharing some tips over the next few weeks to help you take better everyday images that you can be proud of.      Today's tip is  Remove Clutter      Now I am not talking about cleaning your house.  Lord knows mine has its share of clutter, hello, I have a two year old and a teenager.  But you can move it to the side out of your shot.  If you are trying to capture a special moment you can try these tips to remove clutter too. Get closer or zoom in Move to a different point of view, like from above or different angle.      That is all for today, thank you for joining me!!!  If you want more tips and do not want to miss them, make sure you subscribe to my page, its right there at the top.   Can't wait to share more tips for shooting amazing everyday pho

   Is there anything better then dresses and trucks!?  Probably so, but it is up there in my top 10 things I love.  I'm a tom boy at heart and can go from mascara to mud in 5 seconds flat and back again.  This young lady is no different.  We had a blast at her prom photo shoot.  I always have a great time during my shoots with my seniors, they are so full of life and have soo much to offer this world.  Subscribe to my website so you don't miss more coming from this amazing shoot and many more.

Sitting here trying to think of my first blog post. I think I will just leave ya'll with this quote. I have no script, nothing planned out, just living day to day doing what I love, soaking in all the knowledge I can.