119 - SOOC

Ok, so, if you're wondering what in the world "SOOC" means... don't worry. You're not alone! SOOC is one of those terms photographers throw around on forums, in articles, and on blogs a lot, and it looks sorta crazy and sorta intimidating. But really, it's quite simple. All it means is "Straight Out Of the Camera". Not too bad, right?

Straight out of the camera refers to a photo that hasn't been touched up at all. In the age of digital photography where if you took as many breaths in a minute as a camera can take in 3 seconds you'd be hyperventilating all over the place, and the way you can edit and manipulate a photo is more impressive than the before and after shots of Michael Jackson, you don't see photos coming "SOOC" at you much anymore. 

Yet shots coming right at you without any editing also seem to be a big deal. Go figure, right? Anyway, I'm one of those late bloomers who hardly uses any photo editing software, and who up until a couple weeks ago had only used... dare I admit it... Picasa (ek! I did it!) to "edit" my photos. Which really just meant maybe going black & white, or upping the exposure, or small things like that. 

So. I'm pretty familiar with SOOC shots, even if by default. However, I haven't done a whole lot of indoor shooting completely in manual before... and those are the hardest shots to let go unedited. 

Well, that's one thing that changed after the conference last weekend. These are a few more pictures of beautiful Anika. Seriously, this little girl was so darn cute! But, as you catch glimpses of Mom & Dad, you can see there's no guesswork as to where she came by her great looks.

Now, this short set could be considered to be overexposed... but you know, I kinda like the dreamy quality. And for a set of "SOOC" shots for my first indoor, manual shoot... I think they're pretty alright.