#NikonMOMents part I: The K Man’s 6th birthday party (sponsored post)

We are blessed. All but one child at The K Man’s birthday party lives in our neighbourhood (the other is a friend’s son whom The K Man’s known since birth). We decided that this would be the last year we wouldn’t invite school friends to his birthday party. I wish they could all stay this little forever.

When I was invited to be a Nikon Mom, I came in ready to learn. After owning a Canon T3i DSLR for the past two years, I still knew how to do exactly two things: take photographs using the “auto” option and take a video with a resolution so high that it took an hour to upload a two-minute clip to my YouTube channel.

I was really more enamoured with the idea of a full day of training than with a new camera, to be honest. I figured I would simply learn what aperture is, how to shoot into the sun and how to make fast-paced action shots freeze in time and then give the Nikon D3300 digital DSLR away.

So, that’s not happening. I love this camera. It feels better in my small hands than my Canon ever did, and the 24 megapixel photos are beyond spectacular. When I get it just right, that is, which now that I’m not shooting on auto every day of the week is taking a bit of practice. I’m getting there. And the payoff is definitely worth the experimentation. Additionally, thanks to a good understanding of exposure compensation, I barely need to do any post-production editing to brighten or sharpen photos.

During the next year, I’ll be photographing some of our family’s most memorable moments. To start, take a wander through this slideshow to see just a few of the 400 or so shots I took during The K Man’s sixth birthday. (And, by the way, if you’re an amateur photographer like me and you want to know any of the camera settings, just leave a comment and I’ll gladly look it up for you.)