Diane Jarvis-Schuller

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{These tips are provided as general interest plus as a service to my clients and the general public. Enjoy!}

Flowers are such a popular subject to photograph, even when we’re in the midst of winter and months away from spring — or maybe for that very reason. Since flowers are such a popular subject for photographing, whether you’re an amateur who simply loves flowers and uses a basic point-and-shoot or you have a DSLR or even an old film camera, I feel this is an ideal subject for experimentation or stretching your wings.

Notice how I’ve focused on the buds of this vibrant Amaryllis rather than the flamboyant blooms. Another thing I did with this image was to use strictly natural light, ensuring the light was streaming in from the side, providing a nice focus on the details of the folds of the buds. I never ever use the on-camera flash — for anything. On-camera flash can be okay, in a pinch, to use as fill if taking photos outside in the shade, but I still don’t like it even then. Most people naturally seem to want to take advantage of lots of streaming daylight. Again, I’ve gone against that by shooting in shutter-priority mode so that I could reduce the amount of light coming in. I wanted to have a more dramatic look and feel to these buds. That’s how I got this result which has an abstract feel to it as well.

Next time you’re taking photos of flowers, whether indoors or outside, I encourage you to consider focusing on something other than the ‘normal’ face-on blooms, play around with the light, and play around with your settings. That’s the beauty of digital cameras; we can experiment to our hearts content and delete the ones that don’t work yet keep the ones we like the most.

In the image below, I’ve done a few things to make this more original or artistic. Again, I used natural light but had my shutter speed adjusted to let in more light so that more of the veining was apparent on the flower. The other thing you can see I did was capture the back of the bloom instead of the face of it. There is so much pretty detail to the back. There is also emphasis on all those lovely curves. The final thing I did was accomplished in post processing: I added a light vintage hue to the entire image and then cropped it square. Again, the result is entirely different from the way most people would automatically tend to take a photo of a flower. Even if you don’t have post processing software, you can create a unique and artistic image simply by changing what you focus on and how you use the available light. Give it a try!

I have other photography tips in the archives and will do my best to include more posts in the near future on a wide range of tips and suggestions. To see the ones that are in the archives, simply use the “Categories” tab at the top menu bar, scroll to “Photography Tips” and click on that to bring up the list. For those in the Grande Prairie area, become a fan of my Facebook photography business page to learn about an upcoming photography workshop I will be conducting.

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Diane is a freelance photographer available for commercial, environmental – editorial, and portrait assignments. Visit her website to view her portfolio or to contact her.

I’m so far behind that I haven’t posted some of the beautiful client products for a while. Here is one more sample of the custom Christmas cards that recently arrived. The back of their card is all red but I didn’t think it was necessary to include a visual of that. I am so pleased with these and so are my happy clients, right L & M? with a wink.

I’m still anxiously awaiting the gorgeous 24×36 canvas of these two beautiful girls. I’ll make a point of taking pictures of the canvas when it arrives. I have two more sets of cards I haven’t posted yet. I’ll try and slip those in shortly.

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer serving Grande Prairie and Edmonton, Alberta and uses natural light to illuminate her happy clients. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

As some of you know, part way through the year, I implemented a bonus opportunity for my clients with their sneak peeks. At the end of my sneak peek post I add a comment that encourages people to share the post with friends, family, and others so that if a particular sneak peek gets 15 or more comments (from different people), that client receives a complimentary 8×10. I’m thrilled to announce the first ‘winner’ of one of those complimentary 8×10′s. The amazing couple who I photographed last month which was a surprise set up by their daughter-in-law for their 30th anniversary are the fortunate couple.

I’m heading to Edmonton in an hour or so. Enjoy your weekend and your family. ‘See’ you on Monday!

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer using natural light to capture the essence of individuals and families. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs to view her portfolio and for further information.

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”  ~Author Unknown

Such a beautiful family in such a beautiful setting.



I hope you enjoy this sneak peek. I’ll let you know when your private viewing gallery of proofs is ready. Thank you again for such a fantastic weekend!

“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ~Desmond Tutu
“Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future.” ~Gail Lumet Buckley

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Albertans: As I do with everyone, If this post receives 15 or more comments, from different people, this beautiful young family will receive a free 8×10. To make it easy you can use the [email a friend] link to share this post with friends and family.

Diane is a natural light, on-location lifestyle photographer serving central and northern Alberta including Edmonton & area. Visit Diane Schuller Photography to view her portfolio.

Imagine having a daughter-in-law who arranges a surprise photo shoot for your 30th wedding anniversary to recreate part of the day! Then imagine a warm, smiling couple who are still very much in love. This is the same tree they stood before on their wedding day, but 30 years later. Just as strong and well rooted as the couple standing in front.

Yes, they hold hands without anyone prompting or suggesting it! I took way too many of these ones but just couldn’t help myself! A really warm couple — a warm family.

And having fun is definitely something they seem to do with ease — it just comes naturally to these two. Thank you M for planning this special day and thank you to the anniversary couple for allowing me to share this part of your special day. It was an honour and such a pleasure! I hope you’ll enjoy your sneak peek and the proofs that are yet to come.

ALBERTA RESIDENTS, SHARE THIS POST: If this post receives 15 or more comments (from different people), the client receives a free 8×10 print! (To make it easy, you can use the [email a friend] link to share this post with friends or family.)

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Diane is a natural light, on-location lifestyle photographer serving central and northern Alberta and BC. Visit her portfolio at Diane Schuller Photography.

What a wonderful Saturday I enjoyed capturing this couple and their family in Edmonton. It was actually their 10th wedding anniversary and they renewed their wedding vows. What a beautiful and loving couple they are. Oh and two darling boys as well.

Thank you Dave & Marcie for entrusting me to capture your special day. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek and I wish to thank you and your family for such a wonderful day and evening! I can hardly wait to show you the rest.

ALBERTA RESIDENTS, SHARE THIS POST: If this post receives 15 or more comments (from different people), the client receives a free 8×10 print! (To make it easy, you can use the [email a friend] link to share this post with friends or family.)
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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer in Alberta using natural light to capture your special memories. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs to view her portfolio.

[caption id="attachment_1052" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Maggie: English Springer Spaniel, field breeding""][/caption]

Busy, busy, busy. I missed sharing one of my photo shoot sneak peeks with you — I’ll pop a post in for that missing photo shoot in a few days. In the meantime, I did get that journal entry written about being careful if posting photos of children to photo sharing sites. I’m going to warn you now, it’s incredibly frank and you’ll see how strongly I feel about the practice. I’ll publish it here tomorrow. I also have some uplifting news about an organization I recently learned of and have just been accepted into — I’ll share that with you in the next day or two as well.

This gal is nearly 11 years old, trim and fit, with a tenderness as soft as a newborn babe. This was taken at the very end of the day, just as the last sliver of golden sun was about to settle and sigh beneath the horizon. I captured her basking in the last rays of the golden hour just in the nick of time. For those who are familiar with the other type of English Springer Spaniel, both types (field breeding and show breeding) are purebred and registered as the same breed. I’m not as keen on the show lines because they have been bred for outward appearance: those droopy eyes, long flowing coat, heavier bone & body, longer and thicker ears, and so on. The field lines breed for intelligence, stamina, moderate coat (so it doesn’t get all tangled in the bushes), tight skin around the eyes (so they aren’t prone to injury or catching dust/burrs), and maintaining that nice sleek body so necessary for working in the fields and for swimming.

Another reason my dogs are not fat is because they are not fed carbohydrates (no commercial dog food). (If only I was so disciplined ) They are fed a species-appropriate diet and receive daily exercise. If anyone is ever interested in more information, I can direct you to some credible information (both on the web plus in books) about feeding the way  nature intended.

Dogs Naturally is Diane’s Canine Blog (mostly archives at the moment)

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer in Alberta using natural light. She’ll take photos of you, your family, pets & livestock, or hobbies and activities. Visit Diane Schuller Photographs.

In Edmonton, I didn’t have to look far to locate a tree-climbing princess.

[caption id="attachment_903" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="tree climbing princess"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="598" caption="serendipity ... or could that have been a dream?"][/caption]

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Diane is an on-location lifestyle photographer based near Grande Prairie but serving all of Alberta. Visit Diane Schuller Photography.

Enjoyed lunch with friends two days in a row. Can’t beat that.

All this talk and discussion around food reminded me to pop by and visit Susan at FoodBlogga — if you love food, love to cook, or simply to drool at the sight of beautiful food … you must pay her a visit (the BEST food blog on the planet!)

I love the light at this time of day — well night really — it’s 10:00 PM up here north of 55 and oh it is perfect for taking photos (like this birch tree in our front yard ‘lit’ by the warm evening light).

Love the smell of the sap from the trees. The leaves are all opening up the past few days so it smells sweet and absolutely divine. I’m writing this from my office, sitting beside the window, inhaling as I type.

Compressed week, heavy workload, but not stressing.

I love seeing images where people take a fresh perspective on interesting or even everyday things, moments, situations, or perhaps the abstract. Some images tell a story. And not one has a hint of a flower.

On that note (notice I thought to add some chimes?), I’ll bid you adieu until Monday. I’m headed to Edmonton for a few days (mostly a working trip) so have yourself a wonderful weekend. Next week I have lots to share: some encouragement for using your photos (whether you take some family snaps with a point-and-shoot or are a more serious photographer) and more sneak peeks too. Thank you to all you wonderful gals and guys who have left such wonderful and encouraging comments this week — you’ve warmed my Alberta cockles!