Building confidence

One of the things I am complimented on most frequently are my photos. It makes me super happy to hear the compliments and I hope I accept them graciously. I try hard not to do that stereotypical girl thing by writing off all my positives by qualifying them with negatives. (C'mon, you know you've done it and know exactly what I'm talking about.)

I do like my photos too. Otherwise, I likely wouldn't be sharing them here. But. Yes, but.

1. A lot of time and effort goes into my images. I work really hard to be constantly improving. Unfortunately, the learning process means I am extremely critical of my work. I feel like I have to be. If I'm not looking for ways to make it better, how will I learn and grow?

2. It is not an accident that most of the photos I've shared are taken indoors. Go ahead, look through my archives. The outdoor photos are very few and far between. I know and understand my indoor lighting at almost every moment of the day and evening. But goodness help me, when outside I am completely baffled and frustrated with my camera.

So what's a self-critical, wanting to grow, confused outside girl to do? Take a class!

This image was taken outside this morning. The Peanut is taking Little Pea for a very short-lived walk. They're holding hands and my heart is melting. I see a million things right about this image: my 2 girls being sweet, the Peanut wearing her shoes on the wrong feet, Little Pea thrilled to be out on her own walking.

But I also see all the lighting issues. Time of day was awful, the series of photos I took had them going in and out of the shade and messed with exposure. This picture took a lot of editing before I felt ok sharing it.

Monday morning I'm starting Natural Light 101, a Clickin'Moms workshop. I've been looking foward to this class since my birthday last month. I want to capture these cuties outside with pumpkins and fall leaves and winter hats and snow boots. I'm tired of being frustrated and I'm off to fix it.

I'm going to be busy for the next 4 weeks learning. Posting might be a little bit more sporadic but I will do my best to keep things moving here.

If you're feeling like you're not getting enough of a Peanut Blossom fix:

1. Friend me over on Facebook

2. Follow me on Pinterest

You can be assured I'll be active over there no matter what! I'd love to have you join the discussions happening on both those sites.