I Love What I do - Dana Titus - Photographer

Soon it will mark a year since I started this immensely fun adventure -- of professional photography, that is. For those who don't know, I first picked up a DSLR in 2003 and then forgot to put it down (haha, that's an old joke I tell ALL the time). But my kids always came first so instead of jumping into the profession at that point, I waited for the right time, and was fortunate enough to have many mentors to help and inspire me along the way. For years, I helped people capture special moments not for any financial gain of my own but simply because I was passionate about it. Fast forward to last year, I finally took the plunge after receiving a TON of support and encouragement from other professional photographers, my friends, and most importantly my husband and kids. I can't believe it's been almost a year of capturing my clients and their families, giving them priceless works of art for their homes, by being able to freeze those moments that they hold so dear.

What do I love most about portrait and lifestyle photography? Well that is summed up better in a photo than in any words I could express, but it's truly rewarding to capture a genuine moments between two or more people. This image was basically an "out-take" from a Teen Session; when I noticed her mom was looking at her so adoringly during our session and with so much pride, I asked her to step into the shot for a picture together. She could not even bring herself to take her eyes off her daughter to look at the camera for a moment. Genuine moments like this is what it's all about.

Dana Titus: Join the Momtogs www.tresorimages.com

I get this question all the time: How can I take better pictures of my kids? Naturally, not everyone can afford to hire a pro photographer, and much of the time you don't need to. This is usually reserved for special occasions, milestones, or a just once a year type of thing. When I go into a session with a client, I am always more than happy to have them bring their camera and after the session, I show them a few tricks on how to take better pictures on a daily basis.

It occured to me that it would be great to start a forum where moms (and dads of course) can share their ideas on how to take better pictures. Talk about equipment, talk about when to use a flash and when not to, and talk about how to get the best angle. There really isn't such a website right now that I could find where moms talk to each other about this. So... I created one! Now, I envision one day having a full-blown website for this purpose (I own the domain name http://www.momtogs.com/ but I have not developed it yet). For now I am so busy with my own photography sessions that I don't have the time to devote to a website. BUT, I am encouraging anyone who is interested to join my group of meetup.com and starting posting your questions on the messageboard. Here is a direct link to the messageboard: http://www.meetup.com/Momtogs/messages/boards/forum/1128302

If you have questions, feel free to post them, and I will answer them as time permits... or you may get a response from another mom or photographer. This is brand new so please be patient as the messageboard will take time to develop but I truly think you will gain something by posting on it!

Dana Titus: Fun with a new lens

I'm lucky to have such willing models living in my home... although I happily took the summer off from any "paid" work, it was not even possible for me to put away my camera and collection of 6 lenses. My husband never complains when he has to carry my very heavy camera bag (more like a suitcase) up to Tahoe on the occasional weekend when I bring it with me. This weekend I am demo-ing a new lens. I will probably buy it and add to my ever-growing collection of lenses. A few samples are above... (cannot for anything figure out how to make photos appear AFTER my text... oh well, no biggie).

Dana Titus: The Greatest Gift

At the beginning of last summer, my 10 year old sat down with a piece of paper and told me she was going to write down some thoughts about me. Nothing really spurred her to do it, she said she just felt like writing down her thoughts. I was busily preparing for the weekend and didn't pay much attention. Well, when she handed me the paper, I read it and by the time I was done, tears were flowing down my face. It was the sweetest thing she has ever written and her thoughts seemed to "raw" and genuine. About a month later, I typed it up verbatim and printed it on some decorative paper. Then the summer went by fast... I meant to frame it, but never seemed to find the time. There is sat on my desk, a daily reminder of how lucky I am to be the mom of such a wonderful daughter. A few days ago, I came across a portrait of Madison that I had taken last spring, right around the time she had written that beautiful letter to me. I had take the portrait in honor of her 10th birthday and had not ordered the print yet from my vendor. Well, I put "2 and 2" together and realized the letter and the portrait would look great side by side. Today I finally got my act together and here is the finished project. It is now one of my most cherished posessions and I plan to hang it in my bedroom where I can look at it every morning when I wake up.

Dana Titus: Back to school = Back to Work www.tresorimages.com

I did something spontaneous back in June. I looked at my calendar and realized I had no bookings yet for July. Hmmm... but I was getting client inquiries. I had a short window of opportunity to decide whether to take summer bookings OR take the summer off. Tick tock, tick tock. Had to decide. Hubby and kids did not want me to work; we have a vacation home at Lake Tahoe and without me working, we would have more freedom to go up there. Tick tock. Still had to decide. I love what I do, and would probably work for free even if no one paid me to do it (but shhh, don't tell my clients that).Finally, I decided: take the summer off. Yes my business was relatively new, having only been at it about a year, and yes I "should" have taken those bookings because word of mouth is everything in this business. But, my family is everything to me. I only have 3 more years with my son at home before he heads off to college -- that's 3 more summers where he "has" to be with us, then it's off with his buddies for summer fun, most likely. My younger two won't be young forever either. So I put down my camera in June and here it is mid-August, almost time for the kids to go back to school. And I'm ready to take on my clients feeling refreshed and happy that I took the summer off to be goofy with my kids. Would I make the same decision again? For sure. Will I make the same decision again next summer? You betcha!!!

Dana Titus: I love me some 50mm

Yeah that's me, going on again about my newest toy... I just bought the 50mm 1.4 for my 5D and I am loving the focal length. I had about 5 minutes to work with it the other day before one of my kids needed me; but I can already see the benefits of this lens. It will be great for my senior portrait sessions! Have a look at one I took with it:

Now, granted, my little model is adorable and I barely had to edit this image. It is pretty much SOOC. I can't wait to start using it during my sessions.

Summer heat... both good and bad

The nice thing about summer is, well, it's warm. And that's a good thing usually. But sometimes when it climbs up to 100 degrees you don't exactly want to be outside. This is when I crawl into my home office and spend all of my "free time" (I say that with a smile because I have 3 kids, and don't have much free time) re-editing past sessions. I am always happy when I do this because I undoubtedly find images that I overlooked the first time. My workflow is very rigid and that occasionally leads me to skip over some images that are really worth editing to get just right... such as these two:

Yaaay, fall is almost here... and so is back to school

I can't help but get excited about a whole new school year starting. Not sure my kids would say the same but once they get back into the routine, even they will be happy about it. And me, I'm looking forward to getting back to work. I took the entire summer off, woohoo, and it was fantabulous! I am looking forward to the softer lighting that fall brings.

Pleasanton Photographer - Book now for the Holidays!

Don't forget that the holidays are just around the corner... you'll no doubt want to include a lovely family photo or at least one of the kids with your holiday card. Professional pictures always make it look your cards look so much nicer. To book, please call me at 925-922-4670

Dana Titus Photographer

Welcome to my blog... Some samples of my work