12 Weeks To Better Photos...Week 11

Is all about our daily environment. This week is all about documenting those places, people, and things we're around day in and day out, and paying special attention to what might be neglected or missing in our photography because it's such a part of our routine that we take it for granted. I'm super excited about this challenge because this is the very reason I wanted to learn to take better photos. I want to capture the everyday moments in a beautiful and creative way. I want to document the ordinary. Like the saying goes..."Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things." I hope to record the little things with my photography along with my scrapbooking (click her to visit my scrapbooking blog).

I encourage you to be observant as you go about your day. Carry your camera with you: take it to work, take it out to eat, take it to the grocery store. I almost always have a camera in my purse. Now that I have a larger DSLR it is more tricky to keep it on me at all times but I make do.
A trip to the store...

These were taken with my old camera back in September, back when my baby girl still had hair for cute pig tails!

A fun way to record your daily environment is to create a visual diary of your day -for one entire day take photos of your normal routine.
For example, consider photographing your typical morning:
your alarm clock, bathroom, toothbrush, bedhead, bathrobe, slippers, workout,
your home, vehicles, school bus, sidewalk, mailbox, morning paper or morning walk, your commute to work, office, cubicle, studio, scrapbooking spot, retail space, favorite chair, cereal bowl, box of doughnuts...whatever you see, touch, or use every morning.
If a whole day feels overwhelming to you, start with an hour or 30 minutes of your day, or even just one snippet of your day. Last year I took this picture of our kitchen table and scrapbooked about it, documenting our morning routine at the time.

It is amazing how quickly some of your routines change while others may continue for years to come. Our routine has completely changed since then. Now all the kids have breakfast at home in the morning...if we aren't running too late.

According to wikipedia documentary photography is a type of photojournalism where "the photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. The pictures usually depict a certain perspective of the photographer."
Be a photojournalist-use photos to document your lives.

I enjoy technically perfect photos, of course, that is what taking this photography course is all about, but emotionally perfect photos speak to the heart. I am a mom with a camera and a scrapbooker who truly feels like one of the most important things that I do for my family is to document our lives through photography (and scrapbooking :wink:). My favorite photos to capture and scrapbook are those little, everyday moments that will mean so much when you look back...a typical morning around our house, the kids playing in an empty cardboard box, the smiles, the laughs, the connections...because, to me, it’s all those little moments, those moments we sometimes miss in the hustle and bustle of it all, that really make us who we are. As much as I enjoy capturing the technically perfect picture, there is something missing...a story, a memory, a connection. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be able to capture technically and emotionally perfect photos all in one (which is my ultimate goal) but if I had to choose just one...emotionally perfect is the one for me.

So here's an overload of recent pictures straight off of the camera that simply make my heart happy...













The Challenge

Embrace your daily life!
1. Capture a small snippet of your life that usually goes unnoticed
2. Create a visual record of your day

Check out 2 Peas in a Bucket if you want more info on this course. This was the last real challenge, next week is all about lenses.

Enjoy capturing the little things!

12 Weeks To Better Photos...Week 10

Landscapes:
Since we will be shooting outside we should choose a lower ISO for more clarity in our picture. We also want an f/stop around f/22 so our beautiful landscape will be in focus. I've learned that using a lower shutter speed helps catch better sun flare.
Use the available light to your advantage outdoors. Shadows and light can help create stark, rich landscape shots filled with depth and emotion. Pay attention to the location of the light and where the light creates the most impact and use it to your advantage.
Also important is your Composition. Landscapes are nice, but it’s always good to have something in the image to grab your attention. Pay special attention to the horizon -- its position in your shot can give your photos a dramatic sense of isolation or openness. Remember the rule of thirds and placing the horizon on the top or bottom third of the photo for a nice composition. The most important thing to keep in mind when framing your landscape shots is to compose with the whole scene in mind.
The Challenge:
Share with us your view of the wide, wide world. Just remember to select an f/stop around f/22, compose your photo with the entire scene in mind, and apply any of the following 10 tips:
1. Use a wide angle lens (if you have one)
2. Find a bird's eye view
3. Locate a focal point
4. Consider composition
5. Pay attention to the time of day
6. Play with shadows, silhouettes, and reflections
7. Use lines to lead the eye
8. Consider a city scene
9. Take a panoramic photo
10. Capture a nighttime scene

With my crazy schedule right now I really haven't had time to scope out a nice place for a landscape shot. I have a few ideas but no time to get away. So the best I could do this week was from my back door. I was too cold to actually go outside, lol.

The world from my back door...


Here's a few I took back in October...

Twilight


The lines of the path lead your eye through the photo to the bench.


Reflection


This one I took looking up through the trees. Thought it was a fun point of view.


I'm also so excited about my new lens. It was on backorder for a while. I'm so glad to actually have it in my hands finally! It's a 50mm f/1.4! I haven't had much time to play but I'm loving it so far.

Here's a couple of fun shots I've taken so far.




I have a million shots of us just sitting around and the kids doing nothing particular. I've just been snapping away like a crazy lady.

Only 2 more course classes to go! This week's challenge is documenting your everyday. I'm so excited about this since that is why I want to learn to take better photos...to document the little things in our life in a beautiful way.

Until next time...

Another Cool Valentine...

2 Cool...

I took this like a month ago and completely forgot about it. Wanted to get it posted before Valentine's Day came and went, lol. The striped fingerless glove with the "cool" candy heart and the peace sign...perfect together.

Little Cuties...

Here are a few photos from a shoot I did yesterday for a friend.





The coat and scarf belong to my little girl but can I get a good pic of her in it? Nope. You would assume I had a ton of wonderful pics of my children but no! Bribes are no longer working and it is driving me crazy. My children will no longer humor me so I have to borrow my friend's kids, lol.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a great day. My sister and I are meeting for a practice photo shoot, hoping to capture some nice photos of each other and our kids. Wish us luck! We have two toddlers and a 6 month old in tow. Should be interesting!

12 Weeks To Better Photos...Week 8

On The Go!
This week the 2 Peas photography course lesson was all about capturing action of our kids, pets, sports, indoors and out. Click here to read this weeks lesson.
Mostly, capturing action is about the shutter speed. Remember week 2? We learned how to "freeze" water. Using a high shutter speed is your best bet around kids and other fast moving subjects. We learned in week 2 that using a high shutter speed we need more light. Outdoors that works but indoors can get tricky. A few things that can help when shooting photos in our homes are: a lens with a low f/stop to compensate for your faster shutter speed (I ordered a 50mm f/1.4 but it is on back order so I won't get it for about a month. I'm excited!), a tripod to combat the blur of a very low f/stop, and a diffused flash to "stop" the action (like bouncing the flash off of the ceiling or wall.)
Indoors we sometimes have to just embrace the blur. Blur can show movement in a photo but it is best if part of the photo is still in focus. Try keeping the face of your subject in focus.
Panning is another fun way to use blur to our advantage and can create pretty cool photos. The basic idea behind panning as a technique is that you pan your camera along in time with the moving subject and end up getting a relatively sharp subject but a blurred background. This gives the shot a feeling of movement and speed. Click here to read more about panning.
This is my favorite panning shot! It took many, MANY tries to get it just right. It can be difficult to get the subject in focus while moving your camera.

This one was tough since the swing was not only going side to side but spinning in circles as well, but I managed to get their faces in focus...somewhat.


The other catagories, sports and pets, doesn't really apply to me but if you want to read about improving your photos for sports and pets - click here.

The Challenge...
Consider using shutter priority or the sports setting for this challenge if you're not comfortable in manual mode.
Choose any of the following options for this week's challenge:
1. Use a fast shutter speed outdoors to photograph your moving subject
2. Experiment with panning
3. Embrace a little blur indoors
3. Take action - practice your skills at a sporting event
4. Take a portrait of your pet-in-motion

Here are my practice photos using fast shutter speed outdoors...




Thanks for stopping by and following along on my learning journey to better photography.
Happy Shooting!