I have hopefully just completed my final domain change. I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to register my name, just in case it ever became worthwhile. This was way before I even started my photography business. But I usually blew it off because I have such a weird, or so I thought, last name. When I decided to start a photography business I went to register my name (stevenhodgson.com) only to find out someone from Australia had nabbed it just ONE MONTH before me. I was determined to have a dot com name, so I’ve been through a couple of them only to end up full circle deciding that a dot net address was OK too. This is in large part to very popular photographer Jessica Claire who uses jessicaclaire.net. I figured if it’s good enough for her it’s good enough for me. So here I am now at stevenhodgson.net. If you happen to have linked to my site would you mind updating the link? 
It will make Google like me better.
Domain Change
Percle Family
Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well! After a nice break from everything I’m starting to get back into the swing of things.
Here’s one from before the holidays. They are such a nice and friendly family. The boys weren’t too into getting their pictures taken but I think by the end of the session they were starting to loosen up a little – dare I say even having a little fun. I love the earth tones their mom picked out. I thought they blended so well with the fall/winter season.
My First Christmas
This Christmas is really special to us because it’s our daughter’s first Christmas. She is sitting up well and is almost ready to crawl. Her favorite thing to play with is an old magazine that she can rip up and crumple, so I think it’s going to be really fun with all of the wrapping paper. Halie and I have been having discussions here and there about how to raise her to make sure that she understands that Jesus is really what everything is about and not Santa Claus. We’re still not sure how we want to handle Santa, but our goal is for her to know the real reason we celebrate Christmas. This is a picture we took of her this weekend in front of our Christmas tree. I love the outfit Halie picked out for her. What a great Christmas this will be for our families. She is the perfect gift for us!
For the photographers out there, I thought I’d share how this picture was taken. It’s a pretty simple setup, but a few things to keep in mind. Generally when you take pictures in Auto mode you camera will meter off the dark tree and fire off the flash. This makes the tree look bright, but it looks like the lights are off. Instead you need to switch to manual mode so you can control the exposure. Meter off the tree and take a few test shots until you get the tree exposed like you want. Once you do that, the subject will be underexposed. In order to bring the subject back up you’ve got to use some other light. In this case I’ve used a speedlight in a softbox gelled with 1/2 cut of CTO to match the color temperature of the Christmas lights. The flash was powered at 1/32 + 2/3 stop. The camera settings were 1/50th at f/1.8 and ISO 320. I used Daylight white balance to warm it up a bit. Once you get your lighting right, it’s just a matter of waiting for the perfect expression!
December 14, 2009 - 11:50 am - love this pic! she is such a cutie! thanks for the tips...I will try to get a good shot this weekend in front of the tree.
Graham – Class of 2010
I have known Graham for almost 4 years now. He is in my small group at church. Not only is Graham a very talented musician, but he’s also a stud swimmer. I got to see him break his high school’s (5A) 50yd freestyle record a couple weeks ago. We didn’t get to incorporate swimming in his pictures, but he probably wouldn’t want pictures in his speedo showing up on the internet either. We took these pictures down in Deep Ellum and had a great time doing it. It was pretty cold, but we toughed it out.
December 7, 2009 - 9:59 pm - Steve...your pictures get better every time I take a peek....you are doing such a great job!! I love checking the blog and seeing who is posing for the camera! L
Stacie + Robert + Michael(2)
I photographed this cute family just a little ago. I definitely got my exercise chasing little Michael around! He was all boy and loved being off on his own exploring. I did get to use my new 1950s vintage Radio Flyer wagon, though. Whenever we mentioned that he was going to get to play with it his eyes lit up. I think it really adds character to the photos.
Referral Discount!
Your pictures just got a little bit cheaper! I’m introducing a referral discount. If you refer a new customer to me I will give you coupon for 1o% off of your next print order. Just have your referral mention your name when they schedule their session.
The Holland Family
The Holland’s little twins are really growing up! I pulled into our location to find that Rita already had her family there getting unloaded and prepped for pictures. My kind of clients! This is the second time I’ve gotten to shoot the Holland family and she always does a great job of coordinating their outfits. I like that their not identical, but they all go together. Their kids are so cute and have such a good disposition. Little L never quite got used to the camera I always brought near her, but her brother was OK with me after a while. I always enjoy getting the kids to warm up to me and befriending them. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.
The Cobbs Family
Josh and Jenny are long time friends of ours from Prestonwood Baptist Church. They met and got married about a year before Halie and me. This was our second attempt at some “field” pictures. The first time there were bugs or itchy plants that made for a very short session. Both of their little ones were in much better spirits this time! They were really hamming it up for the camera. Jenny’s parents came to help pull out the smiles. Her dad was so funny he was making me laugh! Jenny is 34 weeks pregnant with their 3rd child, so I’m glad we got these done in time. Don’t you just love the warmth in these pictures?
November 22, 2009 - 4:52 pm - Steve, We LOVE our pictures! Thank you so much for capturing these precious memories:) We'll be calling on you again after #3 arrives!
by Steven
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