Next photo shoot ideas...

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I am going to be taking some pictures of my little sister and her son, my nephew Cody this Thursday.  So, what am I going to do about poses?  Just the two of them...hmmmm....  I have decided to start this post and just write down ideas that are floating around in my head as the week goes on.  Hopefully, by Thursday I will have several ideas so we aren't just staring at each other. :)  Another reason I like to do this is when I can visualize the outcome of the photo before I take it...it usually ends up being a pretty good shot.

1.  Holding hands in a field, silhouette/and the blank farmer like stare...you know the one from the old guy and his wife holding the pitch fork picture.
2.  My sister kissing Cody's forehead with the sun setting in the background, close-up.
3. My sister's arms wrapping around Cody's neck and torso in a bear hug from behind.  Hopefully he will be giggling during this embrace.
4.  My sisters arm around Cody's shoulder and his had holding her hand/both standing straight towards camera and her head looking off to the side too.
5. Walking hand in hand down a path from the front/side and from behind/ have subjects off center.  Also have each one look towards me while other looking down path.  Several shots can be taken here.
6. Erin standing looking at something(back to me) while holding Cody's hand.  Have Cody turn and look my way.
7. Both Cody and Erin back to back holding hands, crop off Erin's head so hands and Cody are the focal points.  Angled picture.
8. If both are comfortable with this one, have Cody rest his head on Erin's upper chest...pictures of him looking at me, off to the distance, and eyes looking down.  Erin either looking straight at camera, off to side, or head down kissing his with her eyes closed.
9. Forehead to forehead, no laughing!!!! Right, smiles and giggles are what I am after here.
10.  Back to back while sitting, one looking off in distance other looking at camera.  Can have Cody's feet straight out in front of him, my sisters in a triangle or visa versa.  Cody fiddling with something, like a tall weed and not paying attention...Erin looking my direction.
11. Close up full frame filled with cheek to cheek, second person off in distance in soft focus.  Both looking same direction and one person sitting just a bit taller in the background.  To see their profiles next to each other to show their likeness.
12. A picture of them sitting on something tall and their knees and feet dangling down.
13. Running hand in hand down a weed like hill, one person barley in front of the other.
14. Jumping Silhouettes are fun too.
15. Cody in foreground off center in sharp focus with thumbs in pant pockets with cool kid pose looking off and straight to camera, my sister in background off center in other direction with coolish pose.  I can see it in my  mind, but hard to describe their poses.  Coolish pose sounds pretty cheese ball, but I think this will be a fun shot.

Well, I guess that is all for tonight.  I think my tapping on the keyboard as my hubby is trying to sleep next to me in bed is a little disturbing.  Speaking of my hubby, he bought me CS5 today!!!!  Super excited to try it out!!!!

Face and Feet.

Sometimes just hanging out and snapping a picture of your child on the most normal of normal days is something very special.  Here are a couple of shots from our livingroom, I think turning them black and white really helps make them more timeless and interesting.

Taking Still Life...I think?

            

            

So, my brother-in-law, Steven is quite the pottery guy.  He owns a store in Red Bluff, California called Village Pottery, and he is currently an apprentice under a Master Potter.  He wanted some pictures of some of his work to show some of his customers, so he asked if I could help out.  I am always willing to experiment with anything photography related...so last night that is exactly what we did. 

It was quite difficult for me to fit all the pieces he wanted in a shot.  I think I would do better with just a few items in each shot, but here are a few that I got.  I think that I need to do a little research and see what tips there are out there for this type of photography.  Later this week after some research, I will be adding a new tutorial to the blog about still life photography, assuming that is what this type of photography is even called.

I am still in the process of building my blog buttons and links.  Currently the Tutorial button will actually take you to a list of my tutorials...super cool that I figured out how to do that!  I now have an About Me button, not super exciting, but it does work.  I am still working on the Photo and Life buttons.  Funny to think that I was the girl who couldn't even attach a photo to a email a couple months ago, to now getting a blog going and running Photoshop Elements with SOME ease. ")

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.

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....

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.

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.

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!!!! ")

Shot of the Day...

Harsh light during the afternoon...

Shot of the Day...

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

Shot of the Day...

Limes, one of my favorite summer flavors!

Shot of the Day...

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

Shot of the Day...

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

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.

Shot of the Day...

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

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.

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.

Shot of the Day...

This photo was taken at sunset with my

trusty 50mm lens. The frame used was by House of Three.

Shot of the Day...

Pure Joy.

Shot of the Day...

Yes, it has been a crazy long time since I posted ANYTHING. Life... Anyhow, here is a shot of my oldest daughter before a performance at our Convention Center. This shot was taken at 6pm in the shade. I used my 50mm lens on the D90, f-stop used was 4.5, exposure 1/100th sec, white balance set to cloudy, no flash, ISO was set to 200.

I also edited this a bit in photoshop, by adding the vingette and bumping up the hue/saturation to a 7.