Welcome to the Little Story Studio blog! There's something here for everyone: for the lifestyle or documentary photographer searching for online photography education or tutorials, and for the mom and dad with a camera trying to beautifully document their son or daughter's childhood.
Andrea Moffatt is a Pittsburgh PA family photographer, serving Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas through family photography sessions and photography education workshops.
I thought it would fun to take my new Lensbaby Trio 28 with us to our local fair, because all the fun sights and colors would pair well with this creative and rather unpredictable lens. I wasn't really planning on getting any "important" shots of my boys, because from experience, I know that due to the tight space and the crowds I usually end up with a bunch of the same types of waiting-for-the-ride-to-start shots.
Read MoreHere comes April, and there it goes! I'm a third of the way through my 2017 365 stories project (what?!) and less than a half a month from now my Click Photo School breakout is DUE! So far, my main PDF is over 100 pages, my videos total around an hour and I've made two bonus PDFs. I'm ready to share! (And to put my feet up!)
Read MoreMy son was busy saving the world in his favorite costume the other day, but he couldn't find the cape. Of course, everything had to stop while he located the exact one that came with the costume. (Absolutely no substitutions acceptable!) I had been taking pictures of him jumping off of things- a staple in our house- so I already had my camera as I followed him up to his room to look for the cape. He was pretty sure it was at the very bottom of a big tupperware toy tub (where else?), so he started digging and taking toys out amassing a bigger and bigger pile as he searched.
While he looked, I thought about how I could use the very low, back light in his room.
Read MoreI shot this image today, on one of the first warm days of 2017! Everyone wanted to get outside and so we went over to visit Mimi and Pap we schlepped out allllll the toys. Everyone was playing with different things at the same time. (Isn't that what happens at your house when the weather breaks and all the kids and adults shed their winter bonds?)
Of course, because everyone was playing with different toys at the same time, I have a camera card full of one child flying a kit, one launching a helicopter with pap, etc... A while it's nice to have images of these memories, in the end, I like to pick one image for my 365 project (and eventually for printing). Because I know one image will be printed, I prefer to choose the one I feel will best help me hold onto the essence of the day. Today, this was the image I chose because it captured a few stories at once.
Read MoreEarlier this week, my little superhero was coming to my aid as he likes to do. This time, making my coffee. He was sitting up on the counter alone and even though I knew he was big enough to sit there without falling, when I shot the photo at first, I was in a rush because I wanted to make sure he was steady up there. So my first image wasn't very thought-through and this how it looked:
Read MoreYou can probably tell that an image like this is all about perspective. I set my camera on the table and, using a low aperture, shot through all the layers on the table. I purposely framed him so that he would be on the right hand third of the image, because I wanted him to look like just another thing at the table: glass, salt shaker, boy, glass...
Read MorePhotography education post showing two images and discussing how a small change in perspective can make a big impact!
Read MoreI shot this image at my father in law's birthday celebration a few weeks ago. The goal was to get a shot of the way the three little ones "help" with the birthday candle tradition. I'm always drawn to photographing the things in my kids' childhoods that are becoming traditions and/or things they'll certainly remember when they grow up and have kids of their own. And I'm pretty sure this is one of them, because I remember sitting on laps and offering my expert assistance to my own aunts, uncles, and grandparents... perhaps more than blowing out my own!
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