There was a long time during our time in California the Lily would walk into our bedroom at 3AM and say outloud like we were awake reading “I can’t sleep I’m scared”.  Sam sleeps 20 times lighter than I do so most of the time she woke up and I did not.

I’d wake up and look around to see who had ended up in our room. Lily found her way onto the floor on a couple of large pillows. By the look of the sheets on the bed it was a hectic morning.

Life with little kids is like nothing else.

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Photo tips, technical information and philosophical musings.

Shot with Canon Eos 1n on tri-x film. Exposure unknown. Probably 1/4 second at f4.

It was quite dark here and I didn’t have a cable release for a while so I had to set my self-timer and hope that Lily held still. She usually holds still.

The moment was right here for a photograph and having my camera on its tripod in my bedroom paid off nicely. It wasn’t planned, it just happens when you are prepared with the camera and skill.

I might add here that all, and I mean nearly 95% of my photographs that don’t involve sunlight, get their exposure value via a Minolta Autometer IV F. I have owned 4 of these meters since 1995 when I started at Brooks Institute. If you want to get great photographs and you are using the in camera meter you are operating at a dire disadvantage.

Your in camera meter, no matter how complex and no matter what the claim from the manafacturer happens to be is OK at best. The in camera meter doesn’t know the situation, the colors, what you are attempting to emphasize or any other information than how bright the light flowing into the lens. Its job is to read the intensity of the light reflecting off the object you are photographing and make it 18 percent gray or Photo Gray. Learning how to uses a great meter like my trusty Minolta is so, so important…You’ll be absolutely shocked at how much better your photos will look with perfect exposures.

-Jon Ball is a portrait photographer who writes about his photographic experiences in hopes to help other photographers further their photographic experiences. He is also a professional photographer who has a website filled with portraits www.studiojonball.com