By Kat Knuth

Longmont Family Photographer

Like many professional photographers, I’ve been obsessed with taking pictures for a long time, long before becoming a Longmont family photographer. I’ve always been the girl with a camera, capturing everything from party pictures that should have never been taken (sorry college friends) to gorgeous travel scenes I hope I never forget. Along the way, I developed an eye for a good shot, something that only comes with practice.

So, when my husband decided to invest in a Canon DSLR before our honeymoon, I was ecstatic. Finally! I’d have a camera that matched my growing photography skillset! Professional photographer here I come!

In auto mode, I was fantastic but my shots were still only good 50-70% of the time. What gives? Surely the fancy new camera would just…make me a good photographer? That’s all it takes, right?

Not even close.

When my son came along, like many new parents/millennials, I became obsessed with documenting every milestone. I set up elaborate sets in my apartment living room, photographing everything and learning more and more each time. I learned how to light a set indoors, how to adjust my settings to help, how to edit shadows in photoshop if I missed something, etc.

But when something wasn’t working, or my kiddo wasn’t cooperating, I’d abandon what I was learning and switch right back to auto mode.

I’d abandon what I was learning and switch right back to auto mode.

It wasn’t until I became brave enough to post my first model call and begin pursuing photography in Longmont, Colorado, professionally that I really started to understand my camera and how it worked. I was preparing for my first set of models and I took my little family out to Barefoot Lakes in Firestone, Colorado. During the ever so perfect golden hour, I took some of my favorite images I’ve ever shot. Completely in manual mode to make sure I captured all that beautiful golden light, I followed my son around as he explored wildflowers and enjoyed the evening glow.

What I’d photographed…was so lovely, so natural, it didn’t need to be over processed and over produced. It just needed to exist as I shot it.

For the first time when I went back to edit my photos that night, I didn’t overedit. I didn’t have to. What I’d photographed in Firestone, Colorado, was so lovely, so natural, it didn’t need to be over processed and over produced. It just needed to exist as I shot it.

That’s how I prefer to shoot now. I nudge my camera along with the manual settings, usually focusing on aperture, to get the shot I want the first time, before photoshop takes over and I process the images to give them that sweet airbrushed touch. This results in much more natural, true-to-life images that have come to define my style.