Saturday, July 31, 2010

Wow...

I am so very excited today!  Tracey Clark from the Picture Summer class I was taking asked if I would like to be featured in a post for Shutter Sisters!  Holy cow, that is so stinking cool.  What a compliment! 

On a very different note, I have been messing around with my blog...not so good at HTML code!!!  I ended up just going for one of the free custome templates and am just going to leave it alone.  I really want to have those little page buttons under the header, but can't figure it out.  One day, maybe...

Here is a picture I took of Kya the other day, just something fun to look at...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Spinning Tutorial.


Here is an image that was taken this morning after a prompt from Tracey Clark's Picture Summer class over at BigPictureScrapbooking.com. She wanted us to take pictures that were spinning. To do this she said we needed a slow shutter speed and to turn the camera carefully as we take the shot. I am going to look a little more into other tips and techniques later today, but I thought I would go ahead and post a picture I took of my hubby with our daughter Isa.

Give Away From Paislee Press.

Here is a link to add a commet to win this really cute paper kit over at Paislee Press! Good Luck!
www.paisleepress.blogspot/2010/07/sneak-peek-wishing-jar.html

Shutter Sisters chose one of my pictures!!!!

Here is a link to Shutter Sisters who is displaying one of my pictures...too bad it isn't one of my favorites, but hey...I was selected.

www.shuttersisters.com/picturesummer/2010/7/28/day-27-jamiesolorio.html

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Silhouettes.

Silhouettes can be magical and last night I tried with my tripod and my husband to create something special. Here are some of the tips that I found online that helped me create this.

1. Position your subject in front of the bright light source, for this image that would be the sun. But you can use anything. You don't have to have the sun/light source peaking out like I do here, It will be more silhouette like with the sun directly behind the subject.

2. Do not use Flash.

3. Early Morning or Sunset produce the best results, but this can be done at anytime.

4. Try to keep your subjects not too clustered or confusing. The more simple the better. Also, profiles of people are nice, since you can see more details. I tried to take some of my daughter earlier in the day and when she looked straight at me with her arms close to her sides...she just looked like a blob.

5. If you have the option to spot or use center weighted metering, meter off the brightest part of the sky. Then push your shutter half way down and take your shot with the subject. Be sure to already have the focus set the way you want for your final composition. This will help trick your camera into thinking that the most interesting part of the picture is the bright light.

6. Try bracketing the exposure when shooting. I tried 3 frames at 0.3 +/- each way.

7. I used ISO of 200 to 400 later as the sun got closer to the horizon. Set my white balance to cloudy.

8. It is recommended to use A higher f/stop, this way everything is in sharp focus. On the picture above I used a lower stop, f/3.5 and I did this because I wanted the weeds in the foreground to be in sharp focus while the silhouette of me and my hubby to be a little soft. I did this because I thought it would look cool.

9. Best silhouette occur when the sun is closest to the horizon, and right after the sun sets.

10. Keep subject large enough so it doesn't get lost in the picture also.

I think that is all of what I gathered yesterday. If anybody happens to actually read this and you have other tips, please post them in the comments so I can add it to the tutorial.

This really was fun to experiment with what I researched last night, and I am in love with this picture. A sucessful experiment!!!! ")

Here is another sihouette tutorial I found today that is very useful!
 http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/?p=671



Sunday, July 25, 2010

Triptych


Triptych, such a strange word.  It is pronounced TRIP-tic, and I think I am in love with this type of photography(art) composition.  Tri-means three and ptych-means folds, like panels.  I was told by Tracey Clark from Picture Summer that the three photos should tell a story.  In the above image I think it is clear that this about the bond between a mother and her daughter.
Some triptych tips that I found out there on line.
1. Make sure the lighting matches through out all three photos.
2. If there is a horizon, try to have it connect through all three photos.
3.  If you feature people, try to make them all the same size.
4.  The two outer photos need to turn in towards the middle one.  The reason for this is the eye will want to follow the photo off the page instead toward the middle photograph.  That is why I have both end photos turned in sorta diagonal towards the middle picture.
5.  I also read that you can have a triptych photo from one photo, which looks really cool too.
6.  I know this photo hardly has a boarder, but I think a wider boarder will look much nicer.  I will add that to the bottom of this post so you can see for yourself.

Shot of the Day...


Shadows in the parking lot...

Friday, July 23, 2010

Shot of the Day....


I have to give my hubby credit for this shot! Darn it!!! I love everything about it, plus it is so Kya. Our daughter is in the pool at her Nonnie and Papa's from early morning until night. Hardly getting out to eat, drink, and pee in the backyard...why not, boys can do it! ") I do have to take some credit though, I did photoshop it...so it is my creation too.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

First Photography Shoot Continued...
















Here are some of the pictures taken last night....










If you have ANY feedback, I would love it....totally fine if it is more on the critique side too"). There is only way to improve and that is by hearing the cold hard truth, and I WANT to hear it. So far, I have been told that the photographs were too warm. Also, that the colors weren't saturated enough. Tell me what you think, please. ")

First Photography Shoot...


I thought I would post one of the pictures I took today...once I get permission from my friend I will post some more. This one is really cute, I thought. I like how the little girl is playing with Mom's necklace, reminding me of how my daughters each have a special thing, place they like to touch on me. This must be one of her daughter's favorites.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Scrapbooking...


Here is the latest scrapbook page....

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Shot of the Day...


Today's prompt over at Tracey Clark's Summer Photography class was playtime. Here is a shot I took about a week ago of my daughter's "Butt Monkey". I know that sounds awful, but have you ever noticed the booty on these stuffed animals?
On a different note, we went to Mt. Lassen today with the girls and I think I took the most AWFUL pictures of my life. Funny, here I am trying to be this great photographer one day and most of my shots looked like junk! Oh well, more reason to do more research and keep on trying!!!! ")

Friday, July 16, 2010

Shot of the Day...


Harsh light during the afternoon...

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Shot of the Day...


Trying to make a photo look like an old postcard...

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Shot of the Day...

Limes, one of my favorite summer flavors!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Shot of the Day...


Here is a shot I took at a Rihanna concert, my daughter's first concert...

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Shot of the Day...




Trying to be subtle, not typically my style...but it was fun.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Landscape Photography Tips....


So, I need to take a picture of a landscape and I have done this in the past. However, I am going to do a little research first and then try to visualize my shot before I go and just start taking a billion pictures around town. This is a little list that I am going to use to guide me through the process.


1. Use a small Aperture-keep most of shot in focus(F-11 or F-16)

2. Polarizing filters are useful to bring out the details in the sky and saturates color

3. Shoot in early morning or sunset...anybody that knows me, knows I will be shooting at sunset.

4. Shoot in RAW for no camera compression

5. Try a panorama for more dramatic effect

6. Place something in the foreground to create more visual interest and helps the sense of depth

7. Use a tripod

8. Use a wide-angle lens...I do not have one, but I would jot this down anyhow.
9. Try changing your point of view, maybe put your camera on the ground and slightly angle upwards and see what you get.
10. Think about your horizon. If the sky is bland and boring position the horizon at the upper third of your photo. However, if the sky is spectacular and moody...try placing the horizon in the lower third of the photo. Horizons in the center of the photo aren't usually suggested(per the reading I did) BUT if you have a super great photo and it works, then break the rule.
11. Speaking of horizons, most of the sites I visited suggested keeping them straight. However, Tracy Clark from this class I am taking now said to try angling it a little for a different approach. I personally like the idea of having a little angle, especially if the picture has a person in it.
12. Try slowing down your shutter speed to show movement. Maybe you can get waves crashing, fog rolling in, clouds moving, etc. However, when you slow your shutter speed you will have to compensate with less light being let in. You can do this using a filter (which I really don't know anything about) or by taking your picture when there is less light out.



Well, I didn't get time to take the picture...but maybe some time this week. This picture I took of the dandelions is from a couple of weeks ago during mid-day. I didn't follow most of these guidelines, but I think it is nice still. I look forward to planning a real landscape photograph...maybe this weekend.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Shot of the Day...

This is from Tracy Clark's prompt today...all about your favorite drink and summer. Here is my shot.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Shot of the Day...


In the backyard tonight after the fireworks! My friends brought a ton of glow necklaces for all the children and here is what we did with them!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Shot of the Day...




Still doing Tracy Clark's Picture Summer class and having fun doing it. Today she wanted a Center Weighted Photo, so here are the two that I choose to post in her gallery.






I did a little bit of research on center weighted photos. I read only from a couple of sites... that you still want to fill the frame with your image, but okay to have negative space. If you choose to go with negative space to be mindful of what is in that space...is it relevant to your photograph? That there should only be one center of interest, if you have to many items in your photograph it could confuse the viewer. Also things that attract the human eye are lines, human figures, texture, light, and tone. I will do more research on this a little later when I have time, but I have to tend to some potato salad now for a BBQ.






On one of my photos, the one that is of the Sago...I think that it is sort of a boring picture, but I liked that it was weighted in the center by darkness. The rocks are appealing to me, since they remind me of my father-in-law who will stack rocks and the lake. Whenever we go to the lake you see some pretty impressive stacks of rocks left by VERY patient people.






Friday, July 2, 2010

Shot of the Day...




So, I am taking this photo class over at BigPictureScrapbooking.com and this was today's challenge...
Take a picture involving water. Pretty easy, but with five kids roaming the backyard, trying to get a good shot was a little bit of a challenge. Trying not to get tagged by incoming streams of water shot from my grinning 3 year old's water launcher was quite the feat! Here are the two shots I liked best today.