About Saadia Me*Chel Carnes
Welcome!
I am an Atlanta based, wedding photographer but more importantly I am an artist. I believe that there is beauty in everything and that life, itself, is beautiful in all of its uncertainty. My camera serves as a powerful tool, allowing me to express my creativity in amazing, sometimes unconventional ways. I am able to use the medium of photography to capture the magnificence and beauty of the world as well as the people in it.
I look forward to meeting you, reading your comments, and sharing my work with you. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. I hope you come back soon and often! To book the studio email us at studio@saadiamechel.com
~Saadia Me*Chel
Photo of me © 2010 Ross Oscar Knight. All rights reserved
My sister and I are as different as night and day however, I love her! I may yell at her too much and not tell her I care about her enough but… she is my little sister and there for half of me.
Always being the willing model, we took a walk around the neighborhood so I could snap some photos of her. This is my favorite from the day. Love you lil sis!
~Saadia Me*Chel
Every story has a beginning, here is mine…
Will Smith in his movie “Hitch,” says something that is resonating me with me now. In truth, every since I saw the move, this particular line often comes back to me a various times. The statement is:
“Life is not about the amount of breaths you take but the moments that take your breathe away”
A simple, yet complex statement. We all experience so much in our lives from the day we are born. In actuality, most people (God willing) are afforded 925,600 minutes in one year; we are given 925,600 different moments in a year to experience something that is breathtaking. Realistically speaking, all of those minutes do not equate to breathtaking moments. There are times in life where we are literally, just breathing. In other words, we are going from minute to minute, day to day, moment to moment where nothing spectacular or breathtaking happens. However, if we are lucky, at some point in our lives we are able to have moments that “take our breath away.” I am fortunate to have experienced such a moment.
It was the end of 2008 and I was more confused than ever about my purpose in life. After discovering I truly didn’t enjoy grad school, I didn’t want to pursue my PhD to become a professor, and I didn’t enjoy PR as much as I should I was completely lost as to what came next for me. I thrive on plans, on structure, and for once in my live… I had neither. I must admit I was frightened, I’m still a little a frightened. However, God already knew what was in store for me. After talking with everyone I knew, I still didn’t have any clarity so I turned within. I searched within myself to discover whatever it was that I truly enjoyed, unfortunately, I could come up with nothing. The fear began to intensify, I was completely lost. However, my decent into the dark abyss of uncertainty, in hindsight, was short lived.
One of my Facebook friends tag me in a note that changed my life. It was THAT moment, the moment that “took my breathe away.” I am forever grateful for that moment in time, the one moment out of the 925, 600 that I was given that year. The title of the note was: “The Engagement – A Beautiful Young Couple from Georgia.” There was a link (http://www.photosbyknight.com/gray/) to a slide show attached, a slide show filled with photographs by Ross Oscar Knight. I thought the photographs as well as the story behind them were amazing. As a highly impressed spectator, I googled Ross Knight, found his blog and began to check it periodically from then on.
I truly enjoyed Ross’ blog. I’m a little embarrassed to say this but I read every single post within a week. After that, I checked his blog every other day, waiting anxiously to see new pictures. I had fallen in love with photography. At this time, I was merely a spectator, casually looking and admiring the artistry of it all. This continued for about year. Within that year, I played around with the idea of purchasing a DSLR but I didn’t have the money or really the confidence to actually buy one. However, something changed… I found my mother’s old SLR cameras, put some film in them, and began taking pictures. It was another one of my breathtaking moments which lead me to the eventual purchase of my first DSLR in Sept. 2009. I’ve been taking pictures every since.
Although I am still a novice in the world of photography, my love and my passion for it runs through my body to the depths of my soul. I finally feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, doing what I’m meant to do. I realize that the Lord is not done with me yet, that I have a lot more learning and growing to do but I’m excited to see where this road leads me. This is only the beginning of my story…
~Saadia Me*Chel
The picture at the top of this post as well as the one below are the very first pictures I took with my DSLR. It so happened to also be another breathtaking moment. After I took these pictures I realized I could be something more, something extraordinary, something spectacular… *neither of these photos have been edited in Photoshop or Lightroom. This was before I knew anything about photo editing*
I truly enjoy coming across locations or things that most people would never think as beautiful and finding the beauty in it. I’m a firm believer that there is beauty in everything and everyone. These unconventional things are the things I seek out to photograph; this is where I create my art. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE taking pictures of people however, I also enjoy taking pictures of things we see in our everyday lives and using my artistic eye to transform it into art, my brand of art. Today, on this beautiful day in the ATL, I found somebeauty in a few unconventional places. Until next time, enjoy!
~Saadia Me*Chel
The sun peered through my bedroom window and softly kissed me on my cheek. “Good morning Sunshine!” I exclaimed as I stretched my arms, welcoming the beginning of a new day. “Today is going to be a good day.” I declared and I fully believed it in my heart. I thanked God for another day and then I was on my way. As I backed my car out of the driveway, I looked towards the sun and smile. “I’ll find you later Sunshine…”
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The best advice I have gotten since I’ve started on this journey of developing a photography business is to, “find the light,” “be a lover of the light,” “follow the light,” “become a master of light”… you get the idea. Lighting is what makes photography work and proper use of light (whether it’s artificial or natural) is what takes a picture from ordinary to extraordinary.
There are three factors (‘exposure triangle’) that impact how much or how little light the camera recieves: aperture shutter speed, and ISO. Manipulation of these elements determine how the camera sensor will expose the image. I’m going to discuss the aperture first because it may be the hardest to understand out of the three. It is my belief that if one can master aperture, the rest will probably come a lot easier. Now, I am by no means declaring to be an expert on aperture but I have a good grasp on what it is and how important it is to photography.
The aperture, simply put, is the size of the opening in the lens when a pictures is taken. Aperture is measured in f-stops, which is often written as f/(number). Now, here is the confusing part… the higher the f-stop (i.e. f/11) number the smaller the lens opening, the lower the f-stop (i.e. f/1.4) number the larger (wider) the lens opening. So larger f-stop numbers provide less light to the camera’s sensor and smaller f-stop numbers provide more light. Confusing right??? The way our brains think about numbers (i.e. larger numbers normally equal more) can make it difficult for new photographers to wrap their heads around aperture settings. Unfortunately, there is no eaasy way to remember this. Only thing I can say, that has proved to be helpful for me, is that I think in opposites when dealing with my apertures settings. This way I can trick my brain.
Test your knowledge: Place the following f-stops in order from which will give you the most light to which will give you the least light. Answer at the bottom of this post
f/2.8, f/11, f/1.4, f/1.8, f/22, f/8
Aperture also controls the depth of field (DOF). The DOF is basically how much of the shot will be in focus. A Large depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus whether it’s close to your camera or far away. In order to produce large DOF one will need to have their camera set at a smaller aperture (higher f-stop number), i.e. f/22. Small (or shallow) depth of field means that only part of the image will be in focus and the rest will be fuzzy. As you probably have guessed by now, larger apertures (smaller f-stop numbers) produce shallow depths of field. It can be a little confusing at first but the way I remember it is that small numbers mean small DOF and large numbers mean large DOF.
I hope this helps those newbies, like myself, understand aperture a little better. Next, I will be discussing shutter speed.
Answer: f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.8, f/8, f/11. f/22
~Saadia Me*Chel
When I say I absolutely LOVE my iPhone, I’m not kidding. With a plethora of smartphones on the market you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have a smart phone these days. The reason I love my iPhone so much is that it’s like having a computer that is small enough to fit in my pocket. Truth be told, I’m not always able to get to a computer when I need to but, as long as I have my iPhone in my pocket, I am able to access stuff that I never would have been able to 5 years ago. It really has everything you need, right at your fingertips… email, Internet, music, games ( I mean is there anything this phone can’t do?!). Now if I could figure out a way to lower my cell phone bill I’d be in heaven 
Until next time,
Saadia Me*Chel
I have known Charles for a very long time (since elementary school!). On a cool fall day, he and Kenisha exchanged vows in front of their friends and family. Although the day was cool, it could not squelch the warmth that surrounded the ceremony and the couple. Love was definitely in the air! I will be doing a shoot with Mr. & Mrs. Parker in the near future but until then… here are a few photos from their wedding day.
~Saadia Me*Chel
Her beauty illuminated the space. “Wow, she is gorgeous” I thought. I introduced myself and, after some conversation, realized that her beauty is only matched by a gentle soul. As she talked about breast cancer research, her husband, and wearing a pink ribbon everyday in honor of her mother, I had my camera ready to capture the essence of an amazing woman.
It was a pleasure meeting and photographing you Dr. Mrs. Knight. You and your husband (Ross Knight) have touched my life in an unimaginable way.
~ Saadia Me*Chel
Life is simple we make it more complicated than it has to be… maybe it’s time we become more like children in this regard.
~Saadia Me*Chel
“Are you a photographer?” She asked politely, pointing to my camera. I quickly snapped the photo, lowered the camera from my eye and replied, “Well… ummm… yes… I suppose I am.” She smiled curtly and walked away. Her question, however, has lingered with me.
Am I a photographer? What does that mean exactly?
Does the right to be able to call myself a photographer exist within my ability to make money for my pictures? Or does simply owning a camera qualify me to tote that title? I believe it is neither of these although, I’m sure that both help to establish validity to the claim of being a photographer (I mean could one really call themselves a photographer if they don’t have a camera or take pictures?). I still haven’t quite figured out exactly what it means to be a “photographer” but I must say that I find solace in the fact that photographer is one of my many titles. I take a lot of pictures and the world inspires me. I am now able to see things completely different through my lens. I am a photographer…
~ Saadia Me*Chel
“Oh please, pretty please. I want this more than anything!” I asked. I was begging, pleading for something wonderful to happen; for heaven to open up and pour me out an immediate blessing. However, there was no such luck because most blessings, I’ve learned, are not immediate at all. “These things take time sometimes. You just have to be patient and endure so that you can have the victory.” This is what my father tells me but I must admit I’m just so darn impatient. I don’t know (or maybe I don’t want to know) how to wait for anything. I have been this way since I was a child and my parent’s constant ability to give me exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it, hasn’t helped with my patience much.
However, the good thing about my little to no patience is that I will work diligently and persistently until I accomplish whatever it is that I want. In this case, I have decided that I want to be a photographer. A real-life breathing, working, functioning, contributing, creative, inspirational, kick-ass photographer. I couldn’t possibly think of anything else I would like to do with my life. I eat, sleep, breathe… even dream photography. I finally feel like I’m right where I am meant to be. Is it going to be hard? Probably, however, I know that I have everything, within in me, that I need to succeed. Now… if I could just work on my patience
A “speed limit of 25″ is a little diffcult for me to handle but it’s exactly what I need. The Bible teaches that the race is not given to the swift or the strong but to the one that endure to the end (Ecclesiastes 9:11; Matthew 24:13). This is patience my friends…
~Saadia Me*Chel
