Emily's family at Sweet Flower Home

Here is Emily Gipper and her family at Sweet Flower Home, the farm in Buckeye that plants acres and acres of sunflowers that bloom in October. It was early October 2022 and I had just got my new Canon 5D Mark 4 in the mail and wanted to photograph models before I tried out my new camera on clients. There are significant differences between my old 5D and the new 5DM4. One of the significant differences is that the M4 has way higher ISO, which is sensitivity to light. So I was eager to find out what my new camera could do when it was almost completely dark outside.

I’d say the first photo here was taken during the blue hour and the last image was taken when there was barely any light left at all in the sky, like almost completely dark. I have to admit, I did not use the ISO on my camera this night as well as I should have. Being completely new to such high ISOs, I just didn’t think to use it at a higher ISO. After this I went and read a lot about the 5DM4 and ISOs. And I shot this whole session in JPEG!! UGHHHHH was I soooo upset when I realized I hadn’t shot it in RAW. RAW is so much better/easier to edit. But that is why I photographed this family as models with my new camera before I used my new camera to photograph clients. I learned a ton right away from this photo shoot.

There is always soooooo much to learn when it comes to photography. I both enjoy the challenge and somehow wish I could just download all the world’s info about photography and cameras and editing and just know it and never have to look it up, and especially never have to relook it up. For me, it’s not like riding a bike. It’s one of those things you just have to constantly practise and learn and relearn. And of course, technology changes, new products come out, and there is always something new to learn.

Emily is a doula and photographer who specializes in birth photography and we did this shoot the day before her birthday. I’m so glad she and her family were able to make it out the sunflower fields in Buckeye and be my models. Thanks Emily! Check out her website, especially if you are expecting and would like to have your baby’s birth documented.

If you would like to have me photograph you/you + family/friends at the Buckeye sunflower fields in October 2023, fill out this form and I will make sure you are on my list of people first to know about sunflower photo sessions when I figure out when they will be.

Rocker 7 Sunflowers

It’s April 2023 as I write this. I find myself thinking about the sunflowers in Buckeye. I know I will be photographing there again this fall. I have made the decision that I will only photograph on Thursday and Friday evenings so that I can best serve my clients and give them a fantastic experience. It’s less crowded on Thursday and Friday evenings and so we can wander around and not get in anyone’s way for photos. There will be limited spots available. Available dates are usually the middle to end of October. If you are interested in sunflower portrait session in Buckeye this fall with me, drop me a message here!

Sunflowers at Sunrise

Sunflowers at Sunrise ~ My client and her daughter met up with me early in the morning, not long after 6 AM, in the middle of October 2022 at Sweet Flower Home in Buckeye, Arizona. I’d only ever done one other sunrise session (with twin toddlers and their mom at the Agritopia peach orchards.)

This session made me decide that I will probably do sunflower sunrise sessions again in the future. There was something absolutely magical about being out there in the dawn twilight just as the sun was rising. I see a lot of sunsets, but in the morning I’m usually so busy getting ready for the day that I don’t concentrate on the rising sun. Seeing the morning golden hour was very memorable.

I check the weather a LOT. I have three different weather apps on my phone (two that I pay for because of all the great info they provide to me as a photographer) and so I know that the coldest time of day is usually daybreak.

My client and her daughter and I got photos in the morning blue hour as we walked further back into the sunflowers. We saw that the sun was just about to break over the horizon and so we looked east to watch and for just a few quick seconds it was like the sun rise sent a wave of air towards us, like a breeze hit us and the temperature dropped a few degrees. Such a surreal experience!

I really want to go back in the early hours to see if I experience that again!

Are you a photographer thinking of photographing at Sweet Flower Home during sunflower season in Fall 2023?

Here is some info for you!

• Follow @sweetflowerhome on Instagram. That is how I found out when the owner announced that she was opening booking for sunflower sessions.

• In 2022, sunflower season was very late September until the end of October. The sunflowers are at their tallest the last two weeks of October.

• In 2022, the cost was $65 per one client or $100 for 2 or more clients.

• The best weekends (mid October) fill up quickly. So if you want those time slots, be prepared.

• Mondays and Tuesdays seem to be the least crowded days, so they are a great choice if you want a lot of room to wander around and not have other people in your shots! If you really want the place all to yourself, try sunrise sessions!

• The fields can be really, really muddy. I saw photographers wearing irrigation boots and thought this was a fantastic idea. Warn your clients/set expectations about how they will probably get muddy feet (maybe bring extra shoes to change into.)

• Speaking of setting expectations, let your clients know that there are plenty of bees and insects in the sunflower fields.

• The sunflower field is VAST. The first few times I went there, I photographed on the north side, because that is where you enter the parking lot. Later on I realized I would find a lot of great sunflowers if I went south.

ARE YOU A PHOTOGRAPHER WHO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SUNFLOWER SESSIONS? SEND ME A MESSAGE! ARE YOU A POTENTIAL CLIENT WHO WOULD LIKE SUNFLOWER PORTRAITS IN OCTOBER 2023? SEND ME A MESSAGE!

Find me at Rocker 7!

Hi there!

I am writing this blog post for my 2022 clients to help them find me at the Rocker 7 Farm Patch for their sunflower photo shoot coming up in mid October.

The day of your photo shoot I will text you a photo of me, just to help you find me. See the aerial map below - I like to photograph where the red Xs are. This is where we will do your photo shoot, so look for me here.

Rocker 7 Farm Patch is located at 19601 W Broadway Rd, Buckeye, AZ 85326. Entry is $8 per person, including babies and kids.

I see other photographers out at the Rocker 7 Farm Patch and sometimes they are really dressed up. They look as good as their clients. While I would love to look that good and professional, you will usually find me wearing sneakers (I had spinal fusion surgery in 2014 and after that New Balance zero drop sneakers are the only thing that are truly comfortable for me to wear - plus, as a working farm, the sunflower fields do get muddy and dusty.) I’ll be wearing a T-shirt (frequently the T-shirt that Rocker 7 Farm Patch sells) and probably black basketball shorts, because they are the best thing to be able to wear while it’s hot and also sit or lay down on the ground for some shots.

I will have a black wagon with me, full of gear. I bring a step ladder, little chairs for kids to sit on, a little bench for kids and adults to sit on, a big gold reflector and a big white light modifier (see the pics below.)

Side note: frequently kids are intrigued by the big gold reflector and want to pick it up and play with it. If your kid does this, that is totally, completely fine! These things are indestructible. I am absolutely not worried about a kid picking them up, they can’t hurt them.

Here’s some pics of me taken in 2020 and 2021.

This one is with my stepson, who sometimes comes out to the sunflowers to assist me. I was wearing Rocker 7 Farm Patch’s T-shirt that day. I like wearing it because it is such a bright yellow shirt that it makes it pretty easy for people to find me. Side bonus is some of the people working at Rocker 7 think I’m part of the crew and are chatty with me.

Here’s a video of me photographing my cousins at the end of their photo shoot in 2020. My bonus son is filming it and that’s who you hear talking. This is back in 2020. Wearing a mask and I had pink hair. Seeing this makes me want pink hair again.

I do not love this photo of me! This was taken after sessions were over one evening last year. I was walking by a woman and her daughter. She asked me to snap some pics of them and then asked if I wanted pics. Thinking of how dirty I was (can you see the dirt on my knees? haha) I started to say no, but then changed my mind because I want to remember this, no matter how dirty I was. Someday i need to get dressed up and have photos taken of me in the sunflowers!