Happy Birthday E! - 2 Year Photos

So since we splurged on newborn photos for Molly not too long ago we didn't have much in the budget for 2 year photos for Ethan on top of what we were spending for his party. Yeah, we could have gone to a picture place like Picture People, JC Pennys or Sears but I really don't like the studio photo look. I definitely don't knock it and it works for most people but I love the way pictures look in a natural setting outside.

With the outside in mind I decided to take him out to Balboa Park two weeks ago to see what I could do behind the camera. Now I want to put it out there that I am in NO way even close to being a pro photographer. Nor do I want to be. I'll leave that to the experts.

But I am very interested in photography and in getting the best pictures I can of my kids when behind the camera. I mean, that's why we invested in a nice DSLR, right? So I've taken a class, read tutorials and am now starting to practice more and more to get better shots. The shots below have their flaws (like one being out of focus, others may not have the right lighting) but that's what I love about photography. You can't get better without practice.

So I took photos of Ethan. Lots and lots of photos. In manual. Yup... my 50mm lens doesn't have the option to take photos in auto so I HAVE to focus manually and I have to remember to change the settings. And boy is that hard to remember when you don't do it every day. It made me stop and consciously think about the settings I had and what to do to make a better picture depending on the light, E's position, etc.

And below is the result. These photos (and a handful of others) were the best that I got from the 200 shots I took...

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons

Photo by Danielle Simmons