Adrienne Brand Photography

Profile of a Cousin , a photo by PhotoGraphicGirl on Flickr. For five years I ran a large photography Meetup group in New York. One of the lessons that I took from the group still resonates with me today: Don't bother to try to keep up with the Joneses. If you haven't heard the phrase, "Keeping up with the Joneses," it basically means that you're trying to advance yourself at the same rate as others in your life. Which, for most of us, is a pointless endeavor because everyone's life is different, with different challenges and needs. I recall countless members purchasing new equipment when they hadn't learned how to use the previous piece. Not being a professional photographer, I often said nothing, but tried to absorb the information they'd happily give, and I'd be grateful for that. Most recently I realized that I too was trying to keep up with the Joneses, but not with equipment... with the end result. I'd peruse galleries on various sites, ...

Funny things can happen when you attempt to go pro. I've started shooting more on the weekends, whether paid or not paid, I'm trying to be as professional as possible. Upon arriving at a client's home, I toured the residence to survey the lighting, then revisited my car to get equipment. I brought everything into their house and began shooting. Fairly soon into the shoot I decided it would be best to set up my lights... Now if only I BROUGHT them. I had my umbrellas, my stands, reflector, boom arm, dimmer, light meter... You'd think I'd actually remember to bring the lights. And the beauty of it is that the clients were stellar. "We're so sorry our house is so dark!" I wanted to hug them. Where else could you find clients who apologize for the low lighting in their house when in actuality it was my fault that I forgot one of the most necessary items to photograph portraits? And so taking it as a lesson, I continued the shoot by incorporating everyt...

I've got friends who say, "You should bring your camera with you everywhere." And while that sounds spectacular, the reality of it is that unless you're a professional photographer (those whose main source of income is photography), you're not likely to haul around your "rig" (as a friend of mine calls it) every day. Chances are that most of us only get time to shoot on the weekends. Enter the iPhone. I pondered the iPhone for a long time while I had other phones, thinking that supporting the underdog was my thing. As time went on and syncing became problematic, I came to the conclusion that supporting the underdog was ... well, it was my father's thing. I just happened to be supporting my father by supporting his 1950's beliefs. And so with newly shed guilt I switched to iPhone when my previous phone died an unsavory death by accidental crushing. And as far as phones are concerned, I haven't looked back. I don't think the point ...

I was walking down the platform at the train station and noticed that everyone looks miserable. One girl smiled as I walked by so I quickly said how angry everyone looks. "It's Monday," she laughed. I have to agree. Commuters have an added layer of torture every Monday Morning that photojournalists have yet to tap into...

I think I've stumbled upon a variation in the soft photography look. I've seen a lot of great, seasoned child and newborn photographers use the soft lighting, pastel technique on their portraits, and it lends a sense of innocence to the portrait. Perfect for children. This coming weekend I'm going to photograph a pregnancy on the beach. I'll let you know how it goes using my newfound technique. If it works well I'll try to get a tutorial up soon. Happy Shooting! Adrienne

Remember the old slogan, "Just do it!" from Nike? According to Greek mythology, "Nike" is actually the goddess of victory, so I'm guessing their subliminal message is that if you wear Nike sneakers, you'll be victorious. Well what about, "Just find the time!" What product will make me victorious in finding time? My friends would all agree that the most whining I do is over my lack of time. They've got a million great ideas that would help with my freelance graphic design and photography, but my response is usually, "Awesome. Now if I can only find the time." A project manager friend of mine told me to just prioritize whats on my list. Awesome. Now if I can find the time to do that ... and does "prioritize my to-do list" go on the top of my to-do list? So far I've done an outstanding job rewriting those to-do lists. I've read several hundred times that creating lists only gets you so far — at some point you'...

Ah, it's the most wonderful time of the year! The summer is in full swing, your kids are outside in the sprinkler and you're contemplating your calendar for the start of a new school year. So why would you be thinking, "When is the best time to hire a photographer for our holiday cards?" Because most photographers start booking their fall calendars in the summer. Is it too early to photograph my holiday photos in the fall? Absolutely not! Fall foliage is an awesome backdrop for photos! The only other time that would be better for holiday photos is in the winter, but you'd have to hire the photographer AFTER the holidays are over, and that's obviously too late if you want to mail holiday photo cards to family and friends. So when should I hire the photographer? When should I book the photographer? One of the biggest issues that folks have when hiring photographers is actually the initial contact. It's difficult to ask a photographer what y...