Your FAQ’s answered! Part Two (Amanda Keeys)

Last week we asked you guys to submit questions you wanted answered on our personal blogs (Amanda’s, Kara’s). Well, as promised, we are posting our answers here on the Embrace Workshop blog. We had a lot of fun answering them and we hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about us!

And now we have Amanda’s answers!:

(Note: I kind of chopped up some of the questions as there were a fair few doubles that came in comments & emails!)

Will you ever teach a workshop in Melbourne?
I hope so! Do you want to host it? Actually, there are no “plans” right now, just vague ideas for where and what I (or we) want to teach. I’ve been saying Sydney later this year, but Melbourne is a possibility too.

Can you see yourself being a photographer for a long time, or is there other avenues you would like to pursue (I know you are already a super talented knitter!)?
Photography is my heart. I say this as I have “pursued” many different forms of creativity throughout my life. Without going too long-winded, my Mum always encouraged me to express myself. Our house was never without an abundant supply of craft supplies, paint, whatever. I did ceramics, I’ve made porcelain dolls, I wanted to be an author (not of kntiting books – although that came about!) and have many stories written (and deleted… haha). When I first got my hands on a tiny little 1megapixel canon camera (TRULY!!) there was no going back. Photography dug it’s roots into my heart and soul and I don’t want to ever give it up. With that in mind, I won’t “work” (in photography) EVER just for the money. EVER.

What do you eat for breakfast?
Coffee Oh…does that count as food? I am so bad… I always “forget” to eat until late afternoon, if not dinnertime when I’m suddenly like, CRAP I still haven’t eaten today!

Where do you shop/could advise to shop for knitting thingies in Sydney/internet?
I do most of my knitting shopping online. There is a neat shop in the City called Morris & Sons that I like to go to, but it’s not very convenient. I also find them to be a little more expensive than others places (but at the same time, great because you can see and feel the yarn in person). For ‘net stores, I really like Tangled Yarns, The Wool Shack and Yarns Galore.

Is there a chance for photoshoot (or just few portraits!) with you as a model again?
Hahaha. Oh this made me laugh After five kids, countless sleepless nights, and a super hectic schedule… umm…. let’s just say I would not be the most fun/photogenic person to photograph

Silly question – what has happened to your lip ring, you just changed your style and decided to take it off, or it made problem to clients/other people?
Actually, I never once had a client ask me about it or even seem to notice it! I took it out about 2 years ago now because I got up one day, looked in the mirror and thought “Boring, I’m over it” and took it out.

Are you planning more children in the future?
Whatever God blesses our family with, I am happy with Simple enough? Hehe.

Will you make more ps actions available at your store?
Perhaps! I use lightroom for processing much more now. I do most of my pp in lightroom, followed by tweaking afterwards in photoshop if needed. I will perhaps add some more LR presets when I have time to properly prepare them for others.

How you “do” your day with 5 kids and the job. Do you have a proper schedule?
Umm…!!! I ask myself this every single day. We have our schedules of course (school, sports, etc etc) and my Husband is studying full time at uni. So… in that sense we have a schedule of things that we MUST do. Apart from that…not really.

What is your favourite lens/aperture for kid shoots?
85mm1.2L without a doubt. But I loved my old 1.8 just as much (Umm…sometimes more, it was faster!!). I typically shoot at 2.8.

Just wondering how did you know when to take the leap from hobby to pro?
It wasn’t a self concious thing, really. I never set out to become a “professional” photographer. I took photos because I HAD to take photos. I couldn’t NOT take photos. My website originally showcased personal work, and only personal work. It was there… because I wanted to “show my stuff”. And then people started to ask me for shoots, other photographers told me to go pro… yada yada. The rest is history.

Do you have any “go-to” settings when you do portraits? Do you shoot in RAW and what do you use to convert those files to jpeg? What are your favorite actions of yours to use?
Nope! No “go to” settings. I shoot in raw about 90% of the time now, just because I prefer processing raw files. I like the warmth I can really put into the photos that way – I’ve tried doing it with JPGs, but just can’t get that same amount of depth and… well….WARMTH!! My fav action set of mine is pretty basics. If I’m shooting JPGs, that one gets a workout. I love that it’s so “tweakable”.

What is your favorite time of day to shoot?
Late afternoon! Most of my clients have LITTLE kids tho, and don’t like late afternoon… I still try not to book earlier than 3.30pm in the summer/spring, and 2.30pm in the winter/autumn. I will only do morning shoots in autumn and winter… it’s too harsh for morning shoots in spring summer in Australia!

What do you do to get babies’ attention? How do you get babies to STTN?
Talk to them! Peek-a-boo, jingly toys (if I need to pull out all the stops). Babies are naturally curious, so if you start doing something funny, they will generally look at you. That does not count for Photographers Kids. I have to do all sorts of stupid ridiculous things to get my own babies attention (and even then it rarely works.. ha!). Sorry I don’t know what STTN is!!

Where in the world would you live if not where you are now?
Tamworth! Well…I guess. We are moving 6 hrs away to Tamworth at the end of the year. If I was dreaming… then Ireland. Sigh.

If you could be famous for something (other than photography or knitting), what would it be?
Well, I used to think I wanted to be an Actress. And an author. Umm.. let’s say a famous author. That would suit me.

What do you think your kids will do when they are grown up?
I have NO IDEA!! Isaiah (nearly 5 years old) tells me he wants to be a monster truck driver and a fireman Lilly wants to be a Mama and have babies, Zoe of course is too little to tell me.. Jakob is quite smart… and Madison is incredibly athletic (she is doing competitive gymnastics – tramp and tumbling – this year). SO… who knows??

How did you and Matt meet?
He and I went to the same church youth group. He was the best friend of a guy whose family was good friends with my family… umm… long story short, I could not STAND him until we were at a church camp… and then WOAH

What’s the hardest part about being a career photographer?
Balancing work and family. One part of me wants to do nothing but be at home with my babies, and another part of me fiercely wants to succeed and go as far as I can. While my children as still young, I am letting the “be at home as much as possible” part of me win. That doesn’t mean it is easy however. The other thing that is kind of hard….having to do what the client wants! I am an artist at heart – I don’t want to take photos just to get paid. I’d rather NOT get paid, and be able to photograph because I WANT to, because I can give somebody a GIFT, because this is what I LOVE TO DO… than feel my soul being sucked away because I “have to” do this.

Ok, where did you get the wooden kanu looking prop Zoe is sitting on?
This one? . It is a wooden dough trencher. I googled “wooden trencher” or something similar and found one online. It’s a reproduction one, and to have it shipped here from the USA I think it cost me around $100.

How do you get such great backlit shots?
Practice! Kind of I have settings that I will generally use… I know how to “see” light, I know what I like, I know what works for me… I know what works for my backlit shots. It’s hard to explain in writing, and much easier to “show” in person. (Oh and to answer the other part, yes I use all manual settings).

Where i can buy your knitting book?
I have been told in the USA it is in just about every book store. It’s harder to find in Australia (altho you can special order it at Borders!). You can get it on Amazon, Fishpond, Book Depository, etc etc.

I’d love to know a bit more about you and your great family. Are you looking forward to your new life in Tamworth? Do you think you’ll finally get your license this year? Is a new car on the agenda for 2010?
Yes, yes, and… maybe

How many photo shoots do you do a month?
I try not to take on any more than four. I know to some that will seem like an incredibly small amount, but as I mentioned, right now I am at the stage in our lives (mine, my children’s, our family) where I NEED to be at home. For me, quantity AND quality time with my kids is SO important. I do some smaller shoots (that don’t require me to be away from the kids) as well, that does not count as my “4 per month” rule as well, when I’m able.

I’m wondering how much sleep you typically get? You are the most productive person I know so I’m thinking you must do ok with little sleep? I don’t know how you do it:)
Any tips for taking fab self portraits?
I get enough sleep. I am almost NEVER in bed before 1am, and when school & uni are on I am up before 8am. When holidays are on, my husband lets me sleep in I am MUCH more productive at night after the kids have all gone to bed (well..most of them. Zoe is often up with me). As for self portraits… umm.. when I used to take a lot (and I mean a LOT haha) I had a tripod and the timer on my camera was my best friend. I couldn’t afford a remote! If I was doing them now I’d DEFINITELY get a remote!!! I had a big stuffed dog toy that was my “stand in” for focusing. I’d focus the camera, do all my settings, press the shutter and RUN!!!! chuck that stupid stuffed toy out of the way, and try to compose myself into a nice pose/expression/whatever in the few seconds I had. And over and over until I got what I wanted!

Well we hope you enjoyed reading a little more about us!
xox Amanda & Kara

(P.s Kara’s answers are in the previous post, scroll down!)

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