An Interview with Claire Porter of Wilhelmina Photography – Earth

The first time I saw the image from Claire Porter of Wilhelmina Photography I fell in love.  All I could imagine was the fairies sitting on the toadstools, kind of along the lines of Tinkerbell.  This image not only captured my attention but it captured the attention of blog contributor Kim Sidwell.  We wanted to know more about Claire and so I connected with her and asked her if she would answer some questions.

Tell us about yourself.  Are you a hobbyist or a pro? 

I live in Winchester Hampshire in the UK, although I have traveled a bit when younger as my father was in the army.

I am married with three children.  I have been with my husband for 18 years and married for 11.  My children are aged 15, 10 and 4.  My 10 year old daughter has Asperger’s Syndrome.

I am a hobbyist photographer, but would one day love to go pro, however, due to my health though that may may never be possible.  I have Sjogren’s Syndrome which is affecting my eyes and MS which impacts greatly on my life, but I still work as a Healthcare Assistant and have for 20 years.  I am also a volunteer photographer for the charity “Remember my baby”, photographing babies born sleeping.

I adore this image of my youngest and my oldest together. They have such an amazing and sweet bond. Its beautiful to watch them interact together.

 

What will we find in your camera bag?

I have a Canon 1100D and two kit lenses, the 18-55mm and 75-300mm.  I also have a 50mm 1.4, 28-135mm and a Lensbaby Composer Pro with the Sweet 35 and Sweet 50 optics.

This was the first picture I took with the 50mm 1.4. It’s far from perfect but I love it anyway. I love the softness around the edges but the sharpness of the eyes.

 

Who inspires you?

There are many Photographers that inspire me – Kate Vellocott of Kate Vellocott Pictures amazes me with her Lifestyle Photography and almost story book feel to her images.

I’m actually inspired greatly by Old Photographers from a different time. I love looking at the photographs from old LIFE magazine subscriptions and I am hugely influenced by the 1800’s photographer Julia Margaret Cameron who was the first photographer to purposefully photograph her subject out of focus. I love her style of close up portraits and that is what I mainly do

Close up portraits in black and white are what I love doing most. The feel of this with the wind in her hair reminds be of a time gone by.

 

What inspired you to pick up your camera initially?

I actually started my photography using an iPhone only.  I had lenses that clipped onto the iPhone and took photos mainly of bugs and flowers.  My husband then bought me the Canon DSLR camera and things progressed from there.  I have only been taking photos for around 2 years now.

Flowers and Nature are something I photograph a lot and to be truthful I am probably better at this than I am at taking portraits etc. I just adored the pink against the light in this photo.

 

Photoshop or Lightroom? and why that choice?

I use Photoshop Elements 14.  Elements is what I learned on so I suppose that is why I find it the easiest to use.

I am determined this year to crack Photoshop CC but do find it complicated. I start in ACR and then transfer over to Elements to finish off.

I attempted to edit this in Photoshop cc and I love the results although I can see my mistakes I feel it’s the only way to get better. Life is full of mistakes but that’s how we learn.

 

If you had to choose one area of specialization, what would it be?

I would love to have a go at Birth Photography.  To capture all the emotions and joy of that moment would be the most wonderful thing ever and a complete contrast to the voluntary work I do.

I also love Lifestyle photography so doing lifestyle sessions in your home would be an honor to do.

I had the pleasure of taking some breast feeding photos for my sister in law and it was the most amazing thing I have done. My niece would feed whenever my sister in law put on her morning makeup sitting up on the dressing table each morning.

You can follow Wilhemina Photography at the links below:

Facebook    Instagram

 

Share Six has the theme Kitchen for the month of July.  Join us on our Facebook page or our Instagram  (#sharesix or #sharesix_kitchen) page and share your images for the theme kitchen.

Blog Contributor Interview: Woodsy Wonders Photography

Erica Williams of Woodsy Wonders Photography, is our second blog contributor interview.  I asked Erica to share something with us about who she is.

Tell us a bit about yourself? and Are you a hobbyist or a pro?

I am a Texas girl. I grew up in different parts of Southeast Texas. I am married and have 3 amazing kids. I started my photography career in 2008. I am a full-time photographer and specialize in children, families and newborns. I love lifestyle documentary images capture true emotion and connection between people. I am a member of Clickin Moms and a CMpro.

This is one of my favorite images EVER. It is blown up on a huge canvas and framed with barn wood in my office. This is an image from our first year back in our home state of Texas. I took my youngest daughter to go pick tulips at the local Tulip field. We have never seen such a beautiful site. So many colors, just rows of beauty. So I had to get a picture of my little cowgirl in the tulip field. (Nikon 50mm 1.4, f2, 1/1600s, ISO200)

 

What will we find in your camera bag?

Nikon D700, Nikon 50mm 1.4 & Sigma 35mm 1.4 lens

My kids inspire me every day. This is my oldest daughter. I love documenting different stages of their lives. In these images I feel like she has become more of a young woman and less like a little kid. She looks beautiful and happy. I love all the details. Her eye lashes, to her freckles to the movement in her hair. Just like I want to always remember her. (Nikon 50mm, f1.4, 1/1000s, ISO200)

 

Who inspires you?

Other photographers, I love being a part of the Clickin Moms group. There is so much positive inspiration and support for fellow photographers.

We love supporting our local farms. Our family loves to go to farmer’s markets in the summer and see what cool finds we end up with. This was taken at our favorite local farm here in our town. They sell fresh yard eggs and other fresh produce. I had to get some photos with my farm girls. I hope to own a small farm of my own one day. (Nikon 50mm, f1.4, 1/800s, ISO200)

 

What inspired you to pick up your camera initially.

My kids. I wanted to capture them while they were little. I wanted to remember them that way forever.

I love lifestyle sessions. They are so much fun. I love just capture a story through my lens. I love shooting indoors because you can manipulate light. Watching how the light falls on the subject and how it can create a mood for your images. I love how the soft light from the window falls and highlights her face and hair. (Nikon 50mm, f1.6, 1/500s, ISO640)

 

Photoshop or Lightroom? and why that choice?

Both. I use Lightroom for most of my editing and then bring them into Photoshop for the final touches.

Sometimes you just have to let everything go and capture the moments. This is one of my recent favorites. I had the pleasure of photographing another photographer and her gorgeous girls. I just love photographing families. The connection, the bond, the joy that comes through the images is something you can’t describe. It something you feel when you look at the image. That is why I do what I do. (Nikon 50mm, f1.4, 1/400s, ISO200)

 

If you had to choose one area of specialization what would that be and why?

Shooting in-home family sessions. I love capturing the emotion and connection between families. It is easiest to do this at their home where they are comfortable and relaxed. The kids have a great time and it is a stress-free place.

This is one of my favorite images of my girls. We had went to Port Aransas beach in Texas on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate my oldest daughter’s birthday. They were so excited to get to the beach and play. We also got to spend the day checking out Corpus Christi and went to the Texas State Aquarium and watched dolphins do tricks. It was a very memorable moment and I love that I have this image to remember our time together as a family.

 

To follow Erica, you can click on the links below:

Website & Blog    Facebook    Instagram

 

Share Six has the theme Kitchen for the month of July.  Head on over to our Facebookpage or our Instagram page and share your images for the theme kitchen.  You may be the person whose is chosen as our featured photographer

 

Guest Highlight: June 2016: Earth

We are thrilled to see your images in our feed and how you have shared them on Facebook and on Instagram.  We love having you join us.  Thank You!!  I have to confess that I am so glad I do not have to choose the images on my own.  It would be extremely hard.  There were so many stunning images this month.

Kim Sidwell of Kim Sidewell Photography chose our theme for June.  I asked her to share why she had chosen the theme Earth.  Here are her thoughts:

“I chose the theme EARTH for June as this is the month when we typically really get into the gardening mode. The sun warms the dormant earth during this time of planning and planting. Working the earth and anticipating the harvest to come… therapeutic, calming, relaxing… connecting to the natural world in a meaning way…”

Congratulations to Claire Porter of Wilhelmina Photography your image has been selected as the featured image, and it will be highlighted on the Facebook page and on this webpage as well.

Wilhelmina Photography

What Kim loved about your image was:   I have chosen this image as I am intrigued by the mystery found in the secret places of earth. This image seems magical to me.

Here are some links to connect you with Wilhelmina Photography

Facebook    Instagram

 

The blog team each chose an image and they are here below in no particular order.  Click on the images to link to the photographers Facebook page.  Go and like them, you will enjoy seeing their images in your feed. Congratulations to you all.

Roots and Twigs Photography

Vicki Winston Photography

Lynette Marie Photography

Sweet Dimples Photography

Below we have the blog contributors share for the theme Earth for the month of June.  If you have not visited their webpages we encourage you to do so.

BHansen Studios

Woodsy Wonders Photography

Cobert Photography

Kim Sidwell Photography

Sharleen N Stuart Photography

 

Now it is your turn – Submit your images to the Share Six’s  Facebook Page or Instagram Page on the theme Kitchen.  There will be an opportunity to be featured in August on the Facebook banner page as well as the webpage.  The guest photographer chosen will also have the opportunity to share a little bit about their self in an interview, and finally join the blog team to submit for the following month’s theme. Don’t forget to tag #sharesix and #sharesix_kitchen on your Instagram page.

Look out for our interview with blog contributor Erica Williams from Woodsy Wonders Photography later this month as well as an interview with this month’s featured artist,  Claire Porter of Wilhelmina Photography later in the month.

July 2016: Kitchen

June is gone and we are already halfway through the year.  What a pleasure it was to see all your amazing Earth images.  Thank you for sharing with us.

This month’s theme has been chosen by Erica Williams of Woodsy Wonders Photography and she decided on KITCHEN.  Her thoughts on why she chose this theme are below:

I chose “kitchen” because it is where I spend most of my days. Cooking and baking treats for the family. It is a place where families can get together and share a meal. The place me and my kids bond. It is the heart of the home ❤

This month Aubrey Dettmer of Applewood Photography will be joining us as our guest blogger.

To view the Share Six photographers blogs you can click on each image or you can click on the first image and move from the first blog to the second by clicking on the link on the page that you are reading.  Come hang out with us Kitchen

Erica Williams / Woodsy Wonders Photography.

 

Aubrey Dettmer / Applewood Photography.

 

Sharleen Stuart / Sharleen N Stuart Photography

 

Katherine Cobert / Cobert Photography

 

Kim Sidwell / Kim Sidwell Photography

 

Brandi Hansen / BHansen Studios

 

For the rest of the month of July and up until August 5th the theme is “Kitchen”

We look forward to seeing your images on the topic kitchen on our Facebook page and our Instagram page.  Don’t forget to tag the Instagram posts with #sharesix and #sharesix_kitchen. Each month we feature one artist on our Facebook and Webpage banner.  We will also do an interview with the featured artist and invited them to blog with us in the following period, so share your images to be a part of this opportunity.

Look out for the new theme on August 6.

We will be posting the Featured photographer and blog group choice at the early next week so keep a lookout for the blog.