Summer Photo Fun

Stephen Dent Photography Studios will be hosting a series of photography classes this summer for kiddos in Southern Cali! Sign your kids up today for our youth centered classes running from July-August with Photography super-star Stephen Dent! We will be doing a variety of techniques and shoots during the course of the kid classes, including indoor and outdoor shots, motion shots, portraits, and micro shots.

We will be accepting 20 children ages 9-16, and you must sign up by June 30th. Class space is extremely limited, so don’t wait and miss the opportunity to enrich your child’s summer! Contact Stephen Dent Photography Studios at www.stephendentphotos.com.

Stephen Dent Sugar Valentine Pics!

Have you scheduled Valentine's Day Picture shoot with Stephen Dent and your best Sugar Daddy or Sugar Momma? There is still time to have your Pictures taken and printed by Valentine's Day, which is the perfect gift idea that will last a lifetime. Stephen Dent Studios only use archive quality paper which means your photos will never fade. Whether you want quality pics of your children, wedding photos, or a pregnancy shoot, Stephen Dent is your one stop photo shop!

Ringing in the New Year with Stephen Dent

Stephen Dent, Photographer and owner of Stephen Dent Photography, wants to wish all of our loyal readers a wonderful New Year. 2012 holds all the opportunities you may have lost in 2011, and we believe you have the power to accomplish anything this year. Whether your resolution is to take more or better photographs, or to lose weight, quit smoking, get promoted at work, or anything else, we support you 100%! Thank you to all our current readers and customers, and we hope to see you at Stephen Dent Photography soon!

Follow us on Twitter @ Stephendent10

Or on our website www.stephendentphotos.com

Get the Best Possible Holiday Pics

Stephen Dent knows your camera is going to be snapping and flashing away like crazy over the next few weeks, no matter what holiday you and your family will be celebrating. Whether you have hired Stephen Dent as your photographer for family holiday photos (www.stephendentphotos.com), or if you simply enjoy Stephen Dent's photography tips and tricks, we want to make sure you get great holiday photos this year and every year from now on. That's why we take the time to run this blog, because we know people across the world love taking their own photographs. Digital cameras have put the ability to take great pictures into the hands of the general public, not matter how much (or how little!) photography experience you may have.

The best advice we can give to novice photographers always starts with getting to know your camera. Digital cameras have more features than most people ever learn how to use, which is a shame because most people pick out and buy their camera based on these features, then never learn how to use them. Check out your camera's user manual, or if you are a more visual person, log onto websites like youtube that may have "how to" videos explaining your exact camera make and model. We know pushing buttons mindlessly on your camera can be scary, and we don't really recommend it, but do seek out a guide and learn which buttons you should be pushing, and when.

Once you know how to use your camera to its maximum potential, get over your fear of pulling your camera out in public. Many people say they regret not getting a photo because they felt embarrassed or felt like a tourist when they used their camera in public. Probably, no one around you actually notices (unless you are taking pictures in a movie theatre or something, which you shouldn't do), and it is far better to be embarrassed for a moment, and have a picture you will cherish forever, then to lose your picture and spare a moment of discomfort!

Charge your batteries often, and if you are traveling, consider buying a back up battery, just in case. Using the flash can drain the battery quickly, and you don't want to be stuck charging in the kitchen when the party is really starting. Motion shots, which are ideal for photographing small children who move quickly and fidget often, also are a huge drain on your camera battery, so be mindful and turn off the motion shot feature when shooting adults or landscapes.

Most of all, Stephen Dent wants you to remember to have fun with your camera. If you enjoy taking the pictures, people will enjoy looking at them! Enjoy your holiday season, extra time with family, and the potential a new year brings! Happy holidays from Stephen Dent Photography!

Taking your camera on vacation

Stephen Dent photography studios has always strived to help our clients take the best photos possible, which is why we maintain this blog. If you would rather hire a photographer than take your own pictures, please visit our main website at www.stephendentphotos.com. If you want fun and easy ideas on how to improve your photography skills and your entire photography experience, please subscribe to our blog so you will always be up to date on Stephen Dent news and advice.

Today, Stephen Dent has some advice for taking your camera on vacation, and how to get the best possible pictures while you’re gone. Some common mistakes that people make when they go on vacation are forgetting to buy and take a spare battery, taking the strap off their camera, and not bringing a hood to block excessive sun rays. Most of these problems are simply a matter of forgetting. It can be stressful to plan a vacation, especially if you have a family, or are leaving the country. There are many important details to attend to, and thinking about your camera can fall to the bottom of the list. Just remember these few easy tips when packing your camera.

You probably will want a spare battery at some point during your trip, especially if you are going to be gone for more than a week. Taking many pictures can drain the battery quickly, and some batteries can take hours to charge. In that time, you might miss the picture of a lifetime! A spare battery means you will never be left without your camera whenever that perfect shot comes.

Leaving on, or putting the strap that came with your camera is probably a good idea. Carrying your camera around can become tiresome, especially when taking tours or walking long distances. If you are able to hang your camera around your neck or on your wrist, it will seem less burdensome, and you will be more likely to take it out with you everywhere you go.

Many cameras that have interchangeable lenses come with an attachment called a hood. If your camera has an interchangeable lens but didn’t come with a hood, they are available for purchase and a pretty inexpensive. A hood is a plastic ring that attaches to the end of your lens to help block out excessive sun. This is particularly helpful when taking pictures in the afternoon, taking pictures towards the sun, or when visiting beaches, going sailing, etc. When you use a hood, you are less likely to have pictures that are overwhelmed with sunlight, giving you instead a clearer, more natural picture.

Remember, Stephen Dent is your source for all things photo and video, including advice, lessons, and photo shoots on site or in the studio. Visit our main website at www.stephendentphotos.com, or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/stephendent10.

Find Photos with Stephen Dent

The Stephen Dent Photograph blog has always strived to bring our followers new, fun photography ideas, along with keeping you in the loop about our new promotions and services. Today, we are going to do both! Stephen Dent has a great new limited time offer for back to school pictures. Until the end of the month, we will be doing two back to school pictures for the price of one, which you can use to get two different poses for the same child, or you can pay for one child and get a second child’s photographs for free! We know the economy is a little rough right now, and that many struggling parents have a difficult time with the hefty cost of school supplies, so Stephen Dent wants to cut all those hard working parents out there a break. Please visit our website for more information about how to contact us and the locations of our studios at www.stephendentphotos.com.

For today’s photography tips and tricks, Stephen Dent wants to share the simple but not always obvious trick of looking at great photographs to use as a guide for your photography adventures. There are thousands of photography books, websites, and magazines to use for ideas, and often you can easily find very famous photos online. These are great points of reference, even if you aren’t looking at a famous picture. Any picture you like is a great study tool!

It can be really fun to try to imitate a famous or favorite photograph. Look at the picture and think about what the lighting conditions are, how crisp the photo is in the foreground and background, what the subject matter is, and how far the picture is taken from the subject. Then go out and try to reproduce these conditions and see what effect it has on the overall outcome of the pictures. Do you like what you came up with, or are you happier with the pictures you took in your own style?

Another fun and creative way to take pictures is to include other photos in your photo. For instance, it can be cool to snap a picture of someone holding an interesting or important photograph, or to get a picture of another person taking a picture. This can change the context of the photograph and create an interesting discussion piece, especially because those behind the camera so rarely end up in front of it.

These as always are only suggestions! Grab your camera and go out into the world (or stay inside and explore the details of your home you never pay attention to!) and see what new ways your camera can help you see the world in. Be creative and don’t be afraid to experiment with new styles or to push buttons and change settings on your camera; great things can come from exploration!

If you want more photograph help, or would like to hire Stephen Dent to photograph or film any special even in your life, please visit our website, then come on down to any of our Southern California studios. You can find Stephen Dent at www.stephendentphotos.com.

Taking Great Pictures of Your Family

Hello photography fans! Stephen Dent Photography hopes you are all having an amazing summer and snapping some really great pictures of your adventures! If this is your first time on Stephen Dent’s blog, here is a little bit out Stephen Dent and the company. Stephen Dent is a professional photographer in southern California, who currently owns and operates several studios throughout the southern half of the state. Stephen Dent photographers can be hired to photograph or video record any occasion of your choice, from summer fun to wedding day gatherings. Stephen Dent also offers photography lessons both in studio and on site, helping you meet your photography needs in every way possible. We ask that as a part of the free services provided here on the blog, that you take a moment to at least look at our website, Stephen Dent Photos, and keep us in mind for future photography needs!

Stephen Dent knows that the summer is often the season when we spend the most time with our families, children are home from school and return from college, everyone gets together for vacations, reunions, and celebrations while the weather is nice. This is the perfect time to capture all your family moments, and there are a few easy tips for taking great family pictures. Read on to learn how to put your camera to work for your family…

Candid photos-candid pictures can be fun to take, but they do have the tendency to catch people making embarrassing faces as they speak. The best advice for taking great candid photos is to try to avoid taking pictures of family members while they are speaking. It can also be very helpful to snap a candid photo from a slightly greater distance than you would for a posed picture; this way you get more context in the image, helping you remember why you took that photo in that moment. If you get too much background, you can always crop it out later, but you can never add background that didn’t make it in to the picture in the first place!

Posed photos-posing family members for pictures is an awesome way to make sure that you get the entire family in one picture, and that everyone is looking at the camera, and hopefully smiling, with their eyes open (we all know that at least one person is bound to have their eyes closed at the wrong moment!). Stephen Dent recommends that you be creative in your posed pictures, rather than just having everyone line up in front of the same couch or wall every year. Try taking the family around the grill for some silly merriment, or take a dramatic night picture around the fire pit. These are just suggestions, use your creative power to frame lasting memories that you love!

Thanks for stopping by the Stephen Dent Photography blog, where we strive to provide awesome and free tips and tricks to photography fans world wide. Again, please take a moment to view our website at Stephen Dent Photos, and keep us in mind for any and all photography needs!