CandiceSmithPhoto

As I share these photos from my latest session, I thought I would explain the significance with you all. This shoot was done in honor and awareness for 2 conditions that affect our families (mine and my models) for which purple is the awareness color.

I wear purple in honor, awareness, and support for Pancreatic Cancer which has affected my great-grandmother and both her sons, my great-uncles. One of those uncle's is currently in a fight against it as I post this. And my model, Connie, wears purple in honor, awareness, and support for her father who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Because of the significance this session has for the both of us, I'd like to thank you all for the love and support you have shown towards it. I'm happy we were able to share our images with you and that they have been so well received.

As nice as it might be, I don't get paid to sit on DA and accept or decline group submissions. I find it sad that I must inform people of such and inform them that I have a life that doesn't revolve around this site. I'm a professional photographer, I own my own business, I don't have time to waste hours on end here. That said, I do visit every couple of days and I check in on my group (accept some, decline some, read notes etc) but I haven't been able to do so in the last 2 weeks and here is why...

Not that it's any of your business but...my uncle was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer 2 weeks ago and has been in the ICU ever since. Not only have I not been on DA, I've barely even been on the computer to do anything on the internet including things related to my own business. I even referred clients out because I wasn't sure I'd be in a position to shoot their sessions.

I shouldn't be harassed simply because I didn't answer a question quick enough to someone's liking. People need to learn to appreciate the volunteer members on this site, they need to learn to take critique if they're submitting to groups that have a voting process, they need to learn patience while staff members are deciding on their image, and they need to learn patience when they ask questions related to why an image was declined. Not all groups offer that last option yet I get no appreciation for my responses simply because they didn't get them fast enough. Really? I don't HAVE to offer that option, yet I do, be happy with that or stop submitting to groups that are more selective than others. There are plenty of groups out there that auto-accept or have a less strenuous voting process than we do and they'd be more than happy to accept your work.

And lastly, NONE of my staff members even have the option to view members let alone remove them from the group (myself included). Only the founder of the group ever had that option and her DA account was hacked 2+ years ago. After DA refused to acknowledge the issue and help her fix it, she left DA. The rest of us have limited options and haven't been able to fully function the group since her departure. We can't even journal in the group to let the members know that this is happening.

We're doing the best we can between the group limitations and having a life that doesn't revolve around this site. Forgive me if my life, family, friends, and money are more important than this.

www.nikonusa.com/Service-And-S…

Nikon has issued a notice regarding the battery packs for the Nikon D7000, D800, and D800E SLRs. This recall is for specific batch numbers only. To determine if your battery pack is affected by this recall, simply look for the 14 digit lot number on the back of the pack. If the 9th digit is either an "E" or an "F", you are affected by this recall. The batteries were sold between March 2012 and present, and are reportedly causing short circuiting.

Some of my images have been stored or removed from DA. I wasn't originally going to explain the reasoning behind this, but I have since decided that it needs to be shared (for personal reasons). Some of my favorite children's portraits, along with my most recent engagement session are the images in question and are no longer available for viewing. Why?

A lack of written agreement, that's why! I didn't think I'd need one, after all, we'd been friends for 11 years. BLAH BLAH BLAH! I don't care if you're shooting personal work with a friend. I don't care how much you deny that your friend could ever turn on you. Get everything in WRITING! Trust me, you'll save yourself a ton of hassle if you simply cover all of your bases, friend or not. You can surely hope it never comes to that, but wouldn't you rather have a way to cover yourself in the event things go South? Yea, I should have taken my own advice. Because I didn't, I'm no longer able to post those images. Lesson learned.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was trying to convince my very sweet boyfriend to rent me a lens through Borrow Lenses. After reminding him of this, because I'd like the rented lens for a shoot that I have planned ON my birthday, he informed me that he believed he had an even better idea.

As much as he knows I should try the 85mm that I want to try, he wants to spend money on something else that I need. Instead of a rental, I'd own this present outright. My options: the 85mm rental...OR...(for the same price) a reflectors and diffusers kit since I shoot in natural light only. I decided to leave the option to him, but since the reflectors and diffusers were HIS idea, I know what he'll get me

I'll be sure to update once I've been able to use them. I can't wait!