Monthly Archives: October 2016

The one question I get asked all the time and I dread explaining the answer is such a simple question and a statement all at the same time:  Girl… This picture is amazing, what camera do you use?!  I dread it because it’s such a simple answer but with so much feeling behind it!

Every photographer everywhere gets asked this same question and honestly the answer is the same!  The camera body doesn’t matter, it’s how you use the camera itself!

This is the best likeness/explanation I’ve ever heard and I can’t remember who explained it to me this way but they are a genius!  It’s like this…

Imagine you were eating at a restaurant, whether it’s a sweets cafe or the best meal you’ve ever eaten, and you just loved and adored this amazing meal!  For this example, let’s just say it was the BEST piece of chocolate cake you’ve ever had in your life!

You would never say to the baker… “Oh my gosh, this was the best piece of chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted… what type of oven do you use?!”

I mean that just sounds silly right?!  Heck, I don’t even know the different types of ovens there are.

But you would maybe ask for the recipe!  It’s not the oven that made that delicious cake… it was the baker!  It was her skill and how she crafted the recipe and all the love she placed into her baking!  And to your own credit, if you wanted to make your own delicious chocolate cake to share with friends and family, you wouldn’t run out and purchase the same oven (well you might…) but you would also take the time to learn and perfect the recipe!

It’s the exact same (sort of) with photography!  An image doesn’t turn out beautiful or interesting or captivating based on the camera make or model!  An image comes together because of the skill of the photographer behind the camera body and also the love the photographer puts into each and every click of the camera (much like the love a baker or chef puts into the food!)

So whether you just love photography and are getting started, are a photographer who is asked this same question all the time like me or whether you are someone who just loves photography and having their photo taken… keep this in mind!  Everyone has to start somewhere and starting just means finding that love first and foremost… just like a baker or chef!  That love is what ignites to fire to learn and learning is something that never ends… for anyone!  The equipment just fosters the creativity that is inside!

As photographers we will always be learning no matter how great our equipment is!  We are always striving to learn our cameras inside and out.  We are always learning our editing software and our environments.  As soon as we feel we have conquered our equipment, the world of photography changes and we start all over again learning new equipment and the latest trends!  This is what keeps us excited and on our toes!  It’s also what fosters our community and forges friendships with like minded creatives.

I wanted to blog about this today because I think it’s important to not only to educate those that are interested in pursuing photography further that it’s the photographer that works not the camera; but also to remind us professional photographers too!  It’s sometimes easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the equipment world!  But guess what… you don’t need a lot to make it work at first, just yourself!

Many of us started out with a decent camera and a ton of heart!  We had a need to learn all we could and so we researched and read our manuals and got out there and practiced!  We learned by trial and error and befriended a photographer who was maybe more experienced than us who was willing to share their “secrets”.  We stayed up late and read blogs.  We got excited when we learned new tricks and when manual photography finally clicked… man we celebrated!

We need to remember these days so that when others ask us for help or ask us questions we always remain humble and helpful! Because… we all started somewhere and we all started off in the same place!

Photography is very similar to baking… we all need guidance navigating those “recipes”!  🙂  We all need help seeing that it’s not the oven that develops those amazing results… it’s the chef/photographer and the heart and love that it takes to create them!

Each chef/photographer is different and that is what makes us special!  You don’t have to be fancy.  You don’ t have to have a background in it.  Some are self taught, some are professionally trained and some just have a natural love with no desire to be “professional”.  But we all share the same desire and that’s to create a legacy!

Will you help someone else learn the trade?! Brooke-Tucker-Blog-Family-Photographer

 

 

 

 

After 6 years of marriage A LOT changes!  We no longer worry about the small stuff and by that I mean I no longer worry about using the bathroom in front of him! 🙂  😉 😉  You see I truly used to worry about that!  In fact, I have to tell you a funny story… I worried so much about that in the beginning that Tuck threatened to take all the doors off the hinges the day we got back from our honeymoon!  He’s a big believer in the couple that has no barriers stays together!

Tuck has always been the one in all of our six years together to break down walls and barriers!  He’s always been the solid one where I have always been the dreamer and the one who feels we should be enjoying sushi dates and picnic dinners on the floor!  This is why we work though because while he’s the one that has his feet so solidly on the ground it allows me to bring in the crazy fun and sometimes the bit that isn’t so realistic!  Now don’t get me wrong… he’s nuts as well!  He has the craziest dance moves and often can be heard singing loudly with much bravado to Linc’s dismay!  I’m also sure that when Linc’s a teen, daddy will be the one that is causing all the embarrassing scenes (and I will live for those days!)

This is what marriage is though!  Sometimes I think we tend to get marriage all wrong and I’m not sure photography helps all that much.  Now trust me… I love love LOVE all the wedding images, especially the dreamy romantic portrait images and I wish that I had prioritized them more on the day of my own wedding, but truth be told it was windy and I was a baby and cold.  I also knew I had a trash the dress the next day!  I love those romantic images and they totally filled our house for the longest time!  But after six years of marriage to my true best friend, I do believe that we get marriage a bit mixed up!  It’s not easy!  It’s not all nuzzles and kisses and romantic walks in fields of green grass with sunsets and golden hours.  In fact, that golden hour sets and the real world comes fast and hard… it especially did for us and we have had it really easy compared to a lot of people!   We learned that you have to make your own golden hours and find your grassy fields and figure out how to navigate through some of the rain storms to find that peaceful place where you can sit and have your dinner picnic!

After six years of marriage, I’ve learned that marrying someone who makes you laugh is one of the best gifts I could have ever been given!  I’ve learned that laughter can heal anything in the world! I’ve learned that someone who is willing to take doors of the hinges is willing to take on any problem in life!  After six years of marriage I’ve learned that having an argument is sometimes the best way to get through to the laughter (and trust me we’ve had some arguments… mostly about legos on the floor… damn those things hurt and what’s for dinner).  After six years of marriage I’ve learned to respect his scrooge like ways and to appreciate his ability to plan for the future!  He’s learned to appreciate my excitability and my “family first can’t take it with you” approach to life.  We’ve learned together how amazingly we balance each other out!

After six years of marriage we have learned we always need poo-pouri in our house! 😉

After six years of marriage we have learned to set aside time for each other and what that means in terms of each other’s “love language”!

That’s important!

So here’s to another sixty more years my best friend!!!

We were such babies in theses images!  It makes me giggle!  Thank you Andi and Zoe grant for capturing these!!!

 

 

Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker

Happy Friday everyone!!!  Hooray for the weekend right?!

I’m so excited this morning to share this beautiful beachy session with a family that I just adore!  Where do I even begin with the incredibly fun, beach loving family?!  I’ve known Krystin and Vince for a while now and I have been incredibly blessed to be a part of some truly magical moments with them from their wedding to all the firsts with G and again with baby N!  Krystin and Vince have believed in me and supported me in truly taking children and family photography to more than just one session at a time!  They are the foundation of my belief in becoming a “lifetime photographer!”

These guys are the absolute coolest parents, when I grow up I kind of want to be them!  They invite life and adventure into their world and family with full acceptance!  They travel the world and grow their family at the same time!  They live each day fully and enjoy every detail from the tiniest to the big and wild!

I was so excited to be able to spend time with them when I went back home to Virginia Beach in September!  We had a bit of a time trying to nail down a time to meet thanks to tropical storm Hermine but when we were finally able to get together we couldn’t have asked for a better night at the beach! Here are some of my very favorite images from our play time together!  I can’t believe how big the littles are getting!  I know it happens but I kind of want these two especially to stay this little forever!  I also want Krystin and Vince to make all the babies because seriously, aren’t this littles adorable?!!!

Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker

Oh this hat! Isn’t she just the cutest thing ever in this sun hat?!!!

Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker Children and Family Lifestyle Photographer Brooke Tucker
Krystin and Vince: Thank you both so much for inviting me into your family! Thank you for meeting me all the way out in Back Bay in the midst of a tropical storm! Thank you for playing in the sand and the waves! I love you all so so much and I can’t wait to see you soon!
xo