{365} Flash Practice with a Head!

Okay, here is day 3 of the 365 project...starting with Flash Photography.  I did take several pictures last night, but didn't put the effort into getting them off my card to the net.  Here is todays test!

I bought a head for $4.00 at the local beauty store and thought I would start practicing on her instead of my hubby.  He was getting a little tired of being flashed all the time.  Anyhow, this will work just fine and when I feel closer to getting a technique down I will use a better looking subject! lol!

This was taken around 4pm in my front living room.  The sky was mostly blue with some clouds.  ISO 400 F/1.8 Spot Metering 1/200th for the flash shots and 1/160th for the no flash shot.  On the flash shots I bounced the flash to my left at a 45 degree angle with a black foamy thing attached.  While was practicing I metered off the brightest part of the head, since it was blowing out in the histogram.  I also tried moving the flash more behind me and at different angles...this was the one I liked the best.

Yes, pretty boring stuff...but...this is how I learn!  Practicing and then writing about it here in my little photography diary!  More interesting pictures to soon come!  I still have a newborn session to edit and a new little guy to take pictures of this Friday...as long as I am no longer sick!

{365} Day One

Flash practice is still in full swing!  So, even though Jesse and I are tired, hung over, and freezing...since I procrastinated til 10pm to do my picture today...we still got a shot in!  I would like to figure out how to get this type of look quickly and I hope to figure it out soon!  Any hoo...this was todays shot...barely! lol!

365 Flash Practice

Okay, here I go again...trying to do another 365!  Anyhow, this month is 100 % dedicated to Flash Photography.  So, my plan is to research a new technique each day and try it out and post my results here.  The pictures might not be the greatest as far as composition or interest...though they will hopefully show me where I went wrong, right, or who knows!

This image was taken around 3pm on a some what overcast day.  The first image was taken with my 180mm lens at F 2.8.  I used center metering, though I usually would spot meter.  Kya was standing under our patio in the shade with bright light right behind her.  The first shot was taken in manual mode at ISO 400 1/250th F2.8 WB Cloudy and no flash.  In t he second image Kya is standing exactly the same, the only difference is I metered off the ambient light in the background hitting our grey fence in the backyard.  The result was ISO 100 1/250th(max scyn speed for flash on my camera) F 2.8 WB Cloudy TTL Flash with -2.0.

These images are SOOC, so the WB would of been adjusted on them...the patio has a red/pink color and you can see that being reflected on Kya's skin.  I actually like the catch lights in the first picture(no flash) best and the detail on her hat.  Other than that, I like the flash picture better in all ways.

I of course still need to work on my flash, but for a first attempt...I am pleased. :)

To see some of my natural light photography please visit my site www.jamiesoloriophotography.com.

My Adorable Little Girls - Jamie Solorio Photography of Redding, CA

My adorable little girls, the light was perfect on our way home from the coast late this summer.  I love this picture of them, it makes me smile.

Dutch Bros. of Redding, CA is Having a Photo Contest - Jamie Solorio Photography

Here is an image I took of my very favorite drink offered at Dutch Bros. of Redding, CA.  Gotta love the Strawberry Infused Redbull! ;)

365 - Not So Much

Yes, this is a strange picture!  A little dark and one that might make you take a second look. Usually, I love to take pictures that are warm and give me that nice cozy feeling inside...this is not the norm!  It is an image of my youngest hanging out by her bedroom door holding a stuffed monkey.  I took this photograph around 2:30 in the afternoon yesterday as I noticed how pretty the light was hitting the floor.  Really, I would like to do a 365 project and have tried several times...but failed!  So, I figure when I do take those random shots daily or not, might as well post them.  To see more of my images please check out my site http://www.jamiesoloriophotography.com/.

!!! I was just invited to sell some of my images of Getty Images !!!   How stoked am I?  Seriously stoked! :)

I Heart Photography Challenge - Friendship - Jamie Solorio Photography of Redding, CA

This weeks challenge over at I Heart Faces is "Friendship".  Friendship is so wonderful and I am so happy for my daughter, Kya (the one in yellow) to have such a special friend, like Trinity.  Here is an image of the two of them near sunset tonight at Trinity's house.  Both girls are so beautiful inside and out!  More to come from this shoot soon...

Plus, I got to count this cute photo of two very special girls in my new 365 Project that I am attempting to do again! :)

Almost Failed Already! 365 Project is Still Alive!

Almost didn't take my picture today...why?  Well, we spent the weekend in Shingletown, CA at our friends cabin in the woods.  It was perfect, lots of relaxing, hiking, hanging out with family and friends...the perfect weekend.  I should of just brought my camera with me to Lassen National Park...plenty of opportunities for great  pictures during our hike...but I didn't!  So, I went outside late tonight with my ISO cranked and too this picture of the moon through the plant on my walkway.  Day two is complete...can I do day three?

365? Can I do it? Hmmm....I AM!

Can I do a 365 project?  Not too sure, but am willing to give it a shot again.  Last time I only made it 70 days....so, we shall see! :)  Feel free to leave a comment and links to your 365 Projects!

Daily Inspirational E-mails from Tracey Clark of Picture Inspiration 52

This weeks prompt is all about the selfie!  Here are two that I actually liked. 

So, I tried something new on the bottom image.  I went outside around 2pm, not my usual "golden hour"...an hour or so before sunset.  Trying to broaden my skills...lol.  Anyhow, I took this shot with the light source, aka the sun right behind me up pretty high in the sky still.  Since this was a self portrait, I was difficult to spot meter myself, so I had my youngest fill in for me.  After I set my exposure off of her, I took my first shot.  It was okay, but my face was too much in the shadows...since it was so bright out.

Well, the other day I made myself some poor girl reflectors out of cardboard boxes.  I have 3 white large pieces, 1 huge gold spray painted piece, and 1 silver spray painted one.  Maybe I will take a picture of them and post them tomorrow for you to see.  Anyhow, I propped the gold one to my right against a potted plant, then held the white ones to my left.  You can actually see the catch lights they produced in my eyes.  The biggest catch light is from my big gold reflector and the little ones are from the white reflector.  The gold reflector really added some light back into my face and with a nice warmth to it.

After I took the pictures I did use an action to create that sorta vintage feel.  Shooting in less ideal light  was fun, and a good learning experience.  Though, I forgot to turn my ISO ALL the way down, I did use ISO 200 though.  I could of also tried under exposing the picture too! :)  Maybe I will try again later!  All in all, I was happy with the results.

Today's 365 Picture - Lighter Uploads on Flickr and How I Darkened the Image.

Well, really it was yesterdays 365 picture, but just got to loading it this afternoon.  I have noticed when I load things onto the Internet (Flickr) that they come out a little bit lighter then when I processed them in Adobe Camera Raw.  As a quick fix in CS5 Photoshop I duplicated my layer (control + J) and then added a blending mode of  "Multiply" at 100% opacity  to darken it, make it closer to what I saw while editing.

OR I just did some research and found this to be more effective.

Back to Life...Back to Reality!

Back to normal life.  Just got back from Las Vegas for the weekend with a couple of my girl friends.  It was so fun, but I am so glad to be home with my family.  Getting those breaks from "routine life" is awesome, but at the same time...I miss it.  I missed my husband, missed my girls, missed my normal life.  Funny, it is so glamorous in Vegas and FAST...but that life is not for me...well, maybe every 8 months or so it is for me. 

What I like about this picture is this is what it is really like around my house.  Kids pulling off their clothes off and dumping them at their feet.  The fights in the bath tub between the two girls..."stop splashing me, stop spitting water on me, stop, stop, stop!  Mommy!"  The night time routine, bath, brushing of teeth...then telling the oldest to go do it again and this time actually brush and floss.  The night time milk and relaxing cartoon for the youngest.  Then tucking them into bed for the night and getting to sit back and relax with my husband who I love so very much.  Life is good, even if it can be a little slow and mundane at times. :)

Behind A Day on My 365 Project.

Well, I got behind a day on my 365 project...but took a couple extra shots today to make up for it.  Plus, won't be blogging for the next couple of days....going on a girl trip and my hubby is taking care of the family for me!!

Love this picture of the girls waiting for the ice cream truck.  It was so sad...they sat there for a good 15 minutes and that truck never did show.  They could hear it's music all down the streets, just teasing them. Poor things! :)  Another thing that I love about this picture is that it captures just a regular moment on a regular day.  My youngest wearing her prized possession...the "Fox Costume" that we special ordered from Hong Kong!  Do you know how hard it is to find a fox costume?  Well, thank goodness for EBay! :)  What was nice was that she at least had the costume on.  The other day she heard the truck and with wide eyes and a huge smile was jumping up and down running out the door with a t-shirt on and just a pair of undies!  Too cute!  Especially since she is pretty modest about showing her little bootie.  But, when it comes to ice cream she is willing to reconsider that modesty!

The End.

The End....bummer!  Today was the very last day of Tracey Clark's Picture Winter Class.  If you aren't familiar with her classes, or ones like this...let me tell you about it now.  In  her class she sends a daily email to all the class members with an inspirational prompt.  You then take that prompt in the direction of your choice and compose a photograph that is meaningful to you.  Here are just a few of the photographs from her class that I took.  There are many more, but I was being lazy and only did one template.  Speaking of templates, if you would like to learn how to create a template like this in Photoshop or Elements...HERE is a link with a free template from Simply Tiffany Design and instructions on how to create the clipping masks.

Thanks for taking the time to take a peak at some of my pictures!  I had fun taking them, and hopefully can stay motivated for the REST of the Year!!!!!

365 Project - Weekly Inspiration Ideas

Okay, so my daily inspiration class ends today.  Bummer, though it was fun while it lasted.  So, now I need to come up with my own prompts for my daily pictures.  I am thinking that each week I will write down a couple ideas to keep me motivated. :)

Here are my ideas for this week not in any type of order:

1. Love
2. Ordinary
3. Preparation
4. Family
5. Closeness
6. Bokeh
7. Emotion

I created a group on flickr to display our daily photographs.  Who knows if anybody will want to do this with me, but I thought it could be fun.  I already uploaded my first 31 images for the year. You can click HERE to join the group and submit your photos.  If you do decide to participate, it would be great to leave constructive criticism on the pictures...one great way to improve is to hear the truth...the good and the bad. :)

Balanced or Not So Balanced Toddler....

Here is today's 365 photograph of my three year old in some leg warmers.  In Tracy Clark's Inspirational Picture Winter Class the prompt for the day was  "Balance".  I bribed my little one to let me paint her toes, throw on some leg warmers and balance on a wooden stool in our bathroom.  Why the bathroom?  I liked the light shining through, so went ahead and gave it a shot.  There were some tears, of course!  She fell once as the stool tipped and I wasn't fast enough to catch her.  But, we got the shot and she got a spoonful of chocolate fudge ice cream topping. 

On a different note, I went to the 2nd Saturday Art Hop this weekend and had a great time!  I will hopefully post the pictures and information tonight.

Day 5 of 2011 365 Project - Daily Routine

Here is Day 5 of my take a picture every day in the year 2011.  Ignore my crazy bed head!!!!  Does anybody out there know what this is called?  I wanted to find a tutorial online and post the link.  For this one I just used multiple layers with different pictures and then added an adjustment layer to each photo and brushed myself on with a soft brush via the adjustment layer mask.  I am sure there is a better way, but this was the only way I could think of how to do it without knowing the name of it.