MyMemories Forum User - Lisa J.

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Hi all!  One of the great things about daily photography and really incorporating your camera into your daily life is the great new selection of bags and accessories that are created just for the woman photogrpaher out there!  Check out these beautiful bags and see if one might be right for you!  They are fashionable and truly functional!  I have the RED JoTotes bag and LOVE it – it goes with me everywhere and has replaced my regular purse handbag completely.  That way I always have my camera handy, even when I don’t think I’ll need it!

Check it out and see what you think!!

Who doesn’t need a good excuse to buy a great new bag???

<3 Lisa J.


 

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camera bags for ladies





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Rose – Black
Rose - Black

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Rose – Bronze
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Rose – Marigold
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Rose – Moonbeam
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Rose – Moss
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Rose – Pewter
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Rose – Raspberry
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Rose – Sugarplum
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Rose – Teal
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Sold Out – Missy
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Tote – Noir
Tote - Noir

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*P365 1/29/11 02/04/2011 12:59:10

I can’t get enough of this page!! I just LOVE DPS and all the great resources that they provide to help us all improve our photography! Enjoy this article and check out their page!

<3 Lisa J.

5 ways to stop being a luck photographer {and start taking pictures on purpose}

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We’ve all been guilty of taking pictures with our eyes closed. Just go crazy, go on a shooting spree and see what happens. See what happy mistakes you can pawn off as well-thought out, purposefully captured portraits. Here are 6 ways you can identify yourself as a luck photographer:



  1. You take way too many pictures. A one hour session results in 500 shots to sort in your computer

  2. Your sessions take hours longer than they need to

  3. You feel panicky, nervous and out of control while you’re shooting

  4. You can’t explain to someone later on how you made a portrait or the settings you chose

  5. You either shy away from manual all together or you ‘wing it’ and take the same shot over and over with different settings ‘just in case’

  6. Your clients are confused as to why they spent hours with you, witnessed you taking a bajillion photos but they only ended up seeing 20 of them (note: clients will ask this anyway, but the less you rely on luck, the less they will ask)

I have been guilty of all of the above, and not even that long ago. Believe it or not, I’ve been a very good fake at times. In the beginning, I posted images that had rave reviews from readers inspite of the fact that they were just lucky shots that I couldn’t recreate if I wanted to. There are a few reasons why this can be dangerous to a photographer who is charging for their sessions:

  1. Your clients have gone to your website for a product but when they come to you for their session, you won’t be able to produce the same product for them.
  2. Following on from the above, some of you might know of the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree. He was enticed by the leaves of the tree, but when he approached it, there was no fruit. He cursed it and it died. Being a haphazard photographer is like a tree of leaves enticing clients who later find that there isn’t actually any fruit. A business built on these principles can’t last.
  3. You will smash your own confidence if you rely on luck. You will feel out of control and deep down inside, you’ll know that it wasn’t really YOU creating the images.

When I look back, I can see that I have learned many things from my lucky shooting days. I learned about composition. I learned about self restraint and, most importantly, I learned how to stop shooting for luck and how to start taking pictures on purpose. Here are the things I wish I knew back then to get started sooner:

  1. Learn Light – I can’t just call myself an ‘available light photographer’ and claim to only shoot in natural light to get around learning about lighting. When I wanted to stop being at the mercy of the sun, the location, the time of day, I buckled down and learned the (surprisingly basic) things you need to know to take control of the light. Someone once said, “I’m an available light photographer. My Speedlite is available.”
  2. Learn Your Camera - This is an obvious one, but needs to be said: learn how your camera sets exposure and why. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. Force yourself to shoot in manual (or one of the in-between modes likeaperture or shutter priority modes.) and see what the different dials actually do.
  3. Learn Posing – I had to stop taking pride in being the anti-posed photographer and start actually learning about the art of posing subjects (particularly children) so that I could stop shooting like a maniac, chasing them for a square mile and just waiting for them to stop and look at me, all the while filling up a 16gb memory card and giving myself a helluva lot of sorting to do later on. I bought and utilized posing guides from Skye Hardwick to take control and make portraits rather than just take pictures.
  4. Try Bracketing – When you’re just starting out and you want to make sure to nail your exposure, bracketing can be a super useful tool. Before discovering it, I would take three different photos all while quickly moving the dials with my thumb to alter the shutter speed or aperture to get three exposures for one image. With bracketing, you can take three photos at once, all of different exposures and then choose later on which one is right for your image.
  5. Have Restraint – When I shoot now, I probably trash only 10-15% of my images (in contrast to 80% in the beginning) and only for reasons like blinking or a cat running in the way. I don’t click click click the shutter. I set up the shot, take control of the light, capture the image and when I’ve got it, I move on to another. I think there must be such a thing as shutter addiction. It’s so satisfying to hear the shutter clamp down and know that you have actually captured something: that you have harnessed the light and made it yours.

No photographer just woke up great. It’s been a long haul to get where I am and I recognize that I’ve got a long way to go. You never get to a point where you know 100% of everything there is to know about photography and that’s what makes it such an exciting hobby or career.



Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/5-ways-to-stop-being-a-luck-photographer-and-start-taking-pictures-on-purpose#ixzz1D1PNZLDV

 

*P365 1-28-11 02/04/2011 12:54:35

Here is another great tip from DPS – Digital Photography School!  Check it out – they are a great free resource for TONS of great information!

 

Adding Emotion and Feeling To Photographs

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One thing that makes a great photo is its ability to convey emotion. Emotion in a photograph, or any work of art, is what helps a viewer connect with a piece if that emotion is prevalent in the viewer. Happiness and joy, sorrow and despair, these are some of the easier emotions as they are universally felt, at one time or another, by all on this planet.


Emotion, or a feeling, is what can bring a snapshot out of obscurity and make it shine. Think of a normal sunset picture from the shores of Hawaii with just the horizon and a bright orange sun dipping low. It’s beautiful for sure and even better when viewed in person. Now pull the zoom back to a wider angle and show a couple in silhouette, sitting on lounge chairs facing the waves and reaching to each other to hold hands. Different people will connect with each photo in different ways, or maybe not at all. Those in a romanic mood will enjoy the photo of the couple and those looking for calm without distraction may enjoy the singular sunset.


My point here is you can’t guess which mood people will be in when they view your work. Which is actually a good thing, because the photo should be your expression of what you see and feel through the viewfinder (unless you are attempting a neutrally biased photojournalistic stance). Here then are some tips to help convey emotion and feeling in photographs to help make a stronger connection with viewers.


Realize What Type Of Mood You’re In While Shooting


Your emotional state has the largest impact on the emotional quality of your photos. When I look back through travel photos I will often noticed a dip here and there in the number of photos taken on a particular day. The quality is also off and I can remember just what I was feeling that day. In most cases, I had that, “Just not feeling it today” blah that comes and goes for us all. And it shows in my work. Ok snapshots of mountains, but nothing to write home about.


Other days I feel like the world is my oyster and I’m uncovering hidden gems left and right.


It’s important to understand where you are and realize that will likely come through in your photography (while realizing just like anything in life, some people are really good at faking it). Give yourself a break on the down days and be sure to pick up your camera on the upswings. Just remember that neither lasts forever.


Tighten The Shot


Often a singular emotion gets lost in a busy scene. This goes for photos as well. Simplify the main subject of the image before hitting the shutter release. A wide angle view of a festival in the streets might show the size, which can be impressive in its own right, but the feel of that party is best conveyed on the faces of those dancing or performing in the crowd. Zero in on the action. It may tell the difference between a large crowd who is standing around, bored or a large crowd having the time of their lives.


Focus On Faces


This is a fairly straight forward bit of advice that may seem obvious, but many of us avoid people photographs when in a new situations with strangers. When possible, always ask permission before taking a picture of stranger, especially head on. Again, remember your mood will possibly influence theirs and if you are trying to capture them as naturally as can be (without being a sniper hiding in the shadows), keep your demeanor as neutral as can be. Simple raised eyebrows while pointing to your camera does work and it doesn’t require a huge smile on your part, as if you are asking your subject to smile back.


Chances are they will convey what they wish. If life is hard, they likely won’t smile and their face will often tell the tale of their hardships. If they are joyous, or just young, you may get a beaming smile. And with any good portrait, remember to get sharp focus on the eyes.  And share the results with your subject if you can.


Set Your Camera Down And Observe


I tend to get lambasted when I tell people to stop shooting and set the camera away, so this time I’ll simply tell you to put the camera down for a minute. Forget about shooting and just sit and observe. Your mood has a big part in what and how you shoot, but also realize that being a shooter in a situation often means you travel in a bubble.


To break out of that bubble and absorb more from the world in which you are immersed, sit. And observe for 15 minutes. The mood of those around you will often become more apparent with this relaxed stance.


Return If You Can


If you are shooting a subject which you can return to, do it. The same street or beach or room will have a different feel on different days, especially if the weather changes often. And your mood can shift as well from day to day. Return to a location with an open mind for a second look and you may be surprised to find not only are the characters involved different, the feel of the place is different too.


Conveying emotion in photography is a surefire way to help your work connect with those viewing it. It will help lift the quality of your work and give it more punch. Before you hit the shutter release next time, think to yourself, “What emotion am I trying to convey?”



Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/adding-emotion-and-feeling-to-photographs#ixzz1D15J8MTk

*P365 1/27/11 02/04/2011 11:35:05

Thanks Rena!  Gotta catch up!!  I am a few days behind now!

 

Lisa

*P365 1/26/10 02/01/2011 11:10:59

Hi!!  This is Lisa J. – I help out with the company Facebook page and help to answer customer questions when I can!  I work for the company, but not as a developer or anything, but I am going to try to answer your questions as best I can!  I copied and pasted them here to make it easy to remember what you asked! :-)

 

Yesterday I bought MMS, because of various very positive references, especially regarding flexibility. MMS is a very flexible program and has some great features, I am going to try to help you get the most out of your software!

My first experiences were a bit disappointing, I must say. But maybe I didn’t explore enough yet – and/or need help with  the following questions:

- (How) Can I create my own page layout templates and store them in My Pages Library or so? I mostly use a standard landscape page with my own vague background photo, one big landscape photobox with border, 1 big text comment box, 1 small text comment box. The second template should be the same, except the big photobox: it should be portrait. You can always recreate a page over and over again, but using the INSERT DUPLICATE PAGE feature in your software.  After you create a page you’d like to reuse again, go up to INSERT and select INSERT DUPLICATE PAGE – the software will create an exact duplicate of your page for you to use again.  If you have just your photo boxes and text boxes on the page, it should create those again for you on the duplicate page.  If you wish to keep an album of “template pages” that you create you can do that and then import them into any othe project you are creating by selecting INSERT again, and then IMPORT FROM MY PROJECTS – that will allow you to select any album you currently have that you created and pull one or more pages from that album.

- (How) Can I add an automatic page numbering to the album pages? I mean: a visible number in the right hand bottom corner, that changes when I change the page order. There isn’t a way that I know of to add auto numbering to the pages, but if you look at the project tray at the bottom of your screen each little thumbnail of your page has a small number on it to show you what number page that is.

Maybe more issues will come up later. Please feel free to ask – or even email me directly at [email protected].  We also have a very busy Facebook page where you can always find help and information as well! MyMemoriesSuite Facebook page

Hopefully this forum can provide me with answers. It is not very busy, as it seems. Because it is pretty new? Or? Yes. the forum is pretty new, most people communicate via the Facebook page and that is VERY busy! :-)

Is Lisa one of the owners/developers of the software/website? Nope, just a helper bee!

Hope that answers some of your questions!

Lisa J.

[email protected]

from a beginner: shoul i be disappointed? 02/01/2011 11:10:20

Today’s little tip of the day was found in an article on Scrapbook.com!  There are just so many great resources for information it’s hard to keep up with all of them – and this one is a great reminder of how to manage your TIME.  You don’t really think of time when you are thinking of taking a photo a day, or scrapping a page a day, but let’s face it – we are BUSY!  Remember when we grabbed up all this cool new technology and we thought, “gee, this will save me a TON of time!” – but who of us has MORE time now than before???  If you’re like me – I don’t know where all the “saved” time goes!

I liked this article because it relates directly to how we can use our time more wisely and keep up with all our scrappin’!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Lisa J.

[email protected]

 

Lesson 15 – Scrapbooking Time Management Tips

Finding an extra ten, twenty, or even thirty-minutes of scrapping time in your day may seem impossible. 

Here are some ways to maximize limited time segments throughout your day:

  1. Keep a small notebook and a pen in your purse or pocket to make important notes and to capture ideas before they get away.

  2. Browse an idea book while waiting to pick up the children from school, defrosting dinner in the microwave, or waiting at the doctor’s office. Make notes in your notebook as ideas come.  

  3. Flip through magazines in the grocery checkout line to study basic design concepts and colors that you can work into layouts. Quickly sketch out your own Floorplans™ of additional layouts you like and think you might use for future scrapbook pages. A Scrapbooker’s Guide – Floorplans can be purchased as a downloadable E-book in the Scrapbook com Superstore.

  4. Practice your lettering on a scratch piece of paper as you help your children with homework or as you talk on the phone.

  5. Practice your lettering as you write thank-you notes.

  6. As you listen to the radio or watch TV listen for interesting phrases, poems or sayings that could be used as layout titles. Note catchy phrases from your favorite television programs, as you interact with others at the office or in social settings. A Play on Words and An E-book of Poems are both downloadable E-books available in the Scrapbook.com Superstore. These books help speed up the creative process.

  7. Match your photos to your patterned paper, trim your mats, or complete your journaling or hand lettering while you watch TV or a movie.

  8. Take scrapbook magazines or information books and Post-it Notes™ with you on road trips. Tag pages or articles that have ideas you’d like to use for references in future scrapping. If you don’t like to save old magazines, remove pages and store them in an “idea” notebook.

  9. While waiting for a download or for something to print out on your computer, finish your journaling, write a poem, visit the Scrapbook.com forums, or order the scrapbook supplies you need online.

  10. Make a list of scrapbooking tasks you want to complete. Note the approximate time needed to finish them. When extra minutes come your way, look at your list, pick one you can complete or make substantial progress on and get to work.

*P365 1/26/10 01/26/2011 08:19:46

Hi Kaelyn!  Sorry I missed your post the other day.  MMS is GREAT for a year book type project.  You can start either with a Designer Template, or you can even choose to just start with a “photo only” layout template and then just add in your photos quickly.  You can always choose background papers and little embellishments to spice up your pages as well.  You can even scan images in, so if you have some logos from your sorority or clubs and activities to include on your pages!

I’d be happy to help you get started if you are interested – so shoot me an email if you need some more information!

 

Lisa J.

[email protected]

Yearbook? 01/25/2011 19:57:40

Here is some GREAT information about photographing in the snow!  It’s hard to believe so much for the country has been covered in snow this winter, but even places that don’t normally get the white stuff are just being snowed under this year!  This great information comes from the MCP Facebook page – they have GREAT “actions” that work in Photoshop to make your photos really come alive!  Check them out!

Lisa J.

[email protected]

Winter White Photography: How to Get Amazing Portraits in the Snow

by MCP Actions on Monday, January 24, 2011 at 9:00am

 

Winter White Photography: How to Get Amazing Portraits in the Snow

Early on in my career as a photographer I focused primarily on studio shooting. It was a great fit for a long time, and I learned a lot about lighting. However, I often found myself frustrated trying to photograph larger groups or small, busy children in a limited space. Eventually I started shooting outdoors and quickly found my groove. Clients started responding more strongly to my work, and I was thrilled with the freedom to explore new places. I could see immediately that children AND parents felt much more comfortable outdoors. My shooting style and work changed immensely.

Then winter came. Here in Minnesota, one of the coldest and snowiest states in the U.S., winter can mean temperatures well below zero for more than a month out of the year, and snow on the ground stays FOREVER. I would stop shooting outside after the fall color was gone and head back indoors for the holiday season but really wanted to be outside. I realized that we Minnesotans are a pretty hearty bunch, so if I could figure out how to make snow work for portraits than I was pretty sure clients would enjoy having portraits during such a beautiful time of the year. Additionally, not many photographers are outside during the coldest months which meant a new business opportunity.

The learning curve was a little steeper when shooting outdoors in winter, so it did take me a little longer to figure out what works and how to take great pictures outside in the midst of all that WHITE. I’m excited to be writing a series of articles for MCP Actions about shooting in the snow. In all, we’ll cover topics like exposure, white balance, lighting and caring for your equipment in the elements, but in this first post I’m going to focus on creative ways to use snow (and winter in general) for great portraits. I hope that you both learn some new tips and get inspired to put on your boots on and get out there and start shooting!

CREATIVE TIPS FOR SHOOTING IN THE SNOW:

1. Forget the white seamless paper – use snow to create an amazing high key portrait. Snow can serve as a great backdrop for this, but it must be evenly lit and most importantly, WHITE. We’ll talk about how to properly expose for snow and some easy lighting tips in the second article of this series.

 

2. Couples get married all year round. If you have an adventurous bride and groom who will get out in it on their big day, you can create truly one of a kind images that will draw people in. Add some unexpected elements like snow boots with a bridal gown or a stocking hat on a groom and have some fun with it. I shot a wedding last month during Minnesota’s first snowfall of the year (which also happened to be a blizzard). We couldn’t spend much time outside, but the time we did resulted in some wonderful photographs that they will cherish for a very long time.


 

3. With such a simple background (mostly white) focus on using vibrant colors in clothing and props. When shooting with lush foliage you don’t want the client’s clothing to overwhelm the scenery or the portrait can be too busy. Think just the opposite when photographing people outside in the snow. The white canvas can be a great backdrop for some beautiful winter coats, hats and boots. Hats are a great way to frame faces and showcase eyes as well, especially in children.

 

4. Photographing snowmen, snow ball fights, children playing or sledding are great ways to capture memories during this time of year. Shooting in the late afternoon sun will result in warmer images with a color cast on the snow. While not always ideal, when used correctly it can help tell the story. Here is my son on a late snowy afternoon going sledding on a “steep” hill for the very first time.

 

5. Create the unexpected. Find ways to incorporate something that is unexpected in your winter portraits to create something meaningful for your clients or family. I have many clients who return year after year, and it’s my job to continue to create unique settings for them so that each time they come they feel like their images are special and don’t have the same “look” to them or soon they will be able to justify skipping a year or two, or going somewhere else. I’ve been photographing this family in particular for a couple of years. Last year, when their youngest was born, we did a lovely family session in their home, but this year I wanted to do something different that they would love. So, we created a session around the family getting their Christmas tree, which turned into a great card!



 

In general, think of snow as an extension of your existing outdoor palettes, recognizing that you have to treat it a little bit differently than you do the other seasons. Here are a few other tricks of the trade to use to ensure successful sessions:

1. Prepare your clients! There’s nothing that will prematurely end a winter session faster than a cold child. Make sure parents understand that when it’s 15 degrees outside, it’s unlikely that you can shoot a session without jackets. Mittens and hats are always a plus, too!

 

2. Try to help them use their coats as their “wardrobe”. Most moms, for example, have a nice dress or wool coat (typically in a solid color). Work around her outfit first, as usual. Encourage her to tie in a fun pair of boots and then plan the rest of the family around her.

3. Your reaction time will slow as you get cold. I use the fingerless mittens with the flap that I can pull over the tops so that my hands and fingers stay nimble. You’d be surprised at how slow your hands get when they are cold. You don’t want to miss the shot!

4. Overcast days are great for shooting in the snow, mostly because of the light reflecting off of the surface. That can be really harsh on people’s eyes, causing a lot of squinting. Use a reflector or diffuser if need be to control the light and get it where you want it (and get it away from where you don’t).

Maris is a professional photographer located in the Twin Cities area. Specializing in outdoor portraiture, Maris is known for her intimate style and timeless images. If you have any questions about this post, please leave a comment in the blog post. You can visit her website and find her on Facebook.

 

 

 

 
*P365 1/25/11 01/25/2011 13:44:36


Good morning all!  How’s the project thing coming along??? Are you getting overwhelmed, hitting your stride or somewhere in the middle.  I am doing pretty well, but admit that I don’t have a photo per day.  My ending project will probably be somewhere in the middle of a weekly/monthly/daily effort!  I have some days that I want to include more than one photo, and some days I completely miss the boat!  But, I have found some GREAT resources for information and tips and tricks to help me improve my skills daily – and that is really my true goal.  At the end of the day – the end of the year, I want to be a better photographer than I am now – bottom line.  When my son – who is now a sophomore in high school hits his senior year, I want to be the one to capture those senior picture moments with him.  I am working toward that ultimately – if I never take another great picture in my life, I want to do that for him, with him, and for my daughter the year after.  There is no reason that we can’t create that memory and know that when I look at those pictures (like I do of my older daughter who graduated in 2008) that while I love her pictures, I will love that I created the ones with Ben!  When I have grandchildren (which is a LONG way off) but I want to be able to create some of those stunning images that I see now.  So… my journey continues, I read what I can, share what I find helpful to me and hopefully it will be helpful to you.

The article below is from DPS  Digital Photography School  I have found it to be a GREAT daily resource for all kinds of information – a lot of which I just don’t understand yet, but they say if you hang around smarter people, some of it might just rub off on you!

So… I’ll share with you and maybe you’ll consider signing up for this newsletter, Darren Rowse has some great tips to share!

Lisa J.

[email protected]



Don’t Delete Your Digital Photography


Mistakes Too Quickly




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Mistake


A few years ago while on a tour in Morocco with a group of others I sat next to a fellow traveler on a tour bus. He was quickly scrolling through the shots he’d taken on his camera – deleting picture after picture.


I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was ‘culling’ shots to make more room on his memory card. As I watched him I wondered how much he could tell about the shots he was deleting from his camera’s little 2 inch LCD.


While I understand the feeling of getting to the end of a memory cards capacity when you want to take more shots – if you do have the space on your memory card I would recommend that you don’t delete too many shots while you’re out and about and wait until you get back to your computer to do so.


The reason I suggest waiting is that quite often some of the ‘mistake’ shots can actually end up being some of your best (sometimes in quite a in an abstract sort of way).


When you look at images on your camera’s LCD the photo is obviously quite compressed and you can sometimes not see details that you would when you view it on your computer. There may actually be something quite useful tucked away in the details that you’ll never know about if you delete too quickly.


 


For example – the picture on this post was taken on the streets in Morocco on that same trip. It was taken on my first little point and shoot digital camera (A Canon Powershot A60). It was actually a complete accident that I took the shot (I thought I was turning the camera off when I was actually pressing the shutter). At first glance it is an out of focus and poorly framed shot (actually it’s that on a second look too) but there’s something about this shot that keeps drawing me back to it.


The shot won’t win any awards but it is one that means something quite powerful to me and one that evokes some memories that I don’t want to forget about a part of Morocco that I may not have normally photographed.


I’m glad I didn’t join my fellow travellor in his picture cull that day because I’d probably have deleted this one.


Do you delete images in camera? Have you ever discovered a ‘mistake’ shot that turned out to be one of your favorites?



Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/dont-delete-your-digital-photography-mistakes-too-quickly#ixzz1ByCyWoNV

 

WEEK FOUR ~ Out the DOOR! 01/24/2011 09:28:44

Good morning all!  How’s the project thing coming along??? Are you getting overwhelmed, hitting your stride or somewhere in the middle.  I am doing pretty well, but admit that I don’t have a photo per day.  My ending project will probably be somewhere in the middle of a weekly/monthly/daily effort!  I have some days that I want to include more than one photo, and some days I completely miss the boat!  But, I have found some GREAT resources for information and tips and tricks to help me improve my skills daily – and that is really my true goal.  At the end of the day – the end of the year, I want to be a better photographer than I am now – bottom line.  When my son – who is now a sophomore in high school hits his senior year, I want to be the one to capture those senior picture moments with him.  I am working toward that ultimately – if I never take another great picture in my life, I want to do that for him, with him, and for my daughter the year after.  There is no reason that we can’t create that memory and know that when I look at those pictures (like I do of my older daughter who graduated in 2008) that while I love her pictures, I will love that I created the ones with Ben!  When I have grandchildren (which is a LONG way off) but I want to be able to create some of those stunning images that I see now.  So… my journey continues, I read what I can, share what I find helpful to me and hopefully it will be helpful to you.

The article below is from DPSDigital Photography School – I have found it to be a GREAT daily resource for all kinds of information – a lot of which I just don’t understand yet, but they say if you hang around smarter people, some of it might just rub off on you!

So… I’ll share with you and maybe you’ll consider signing up for this newsletter, Darren Rowse has some great tips to share!

Lisa J.

[email protected]

 

DON’T DELETE YOUR DIGITAL MISTAKES TOO QUICKLY!

by Darren Rowse

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Mistake


A few years ago while on a tour in Morocco with a group of others I sat next to a fellow traveler on a tour bus. He was quickly scrolling through the shots he’d taken on his camera – deleting picture after picture.


I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was ‘culling’ shots to make more room on his memory card. As I watched him I wondered how much he could tell about the shots he was deleting from his camera’s little 2 inch LCD.


While I understand the feeling of getting to the end of a memory cards capacity when you want to take more shots – if you do have the space on your memory card I would recommend that you don’t delete too many shots while you’re out and about and wait until you get back to your computer to do so.


The reason I suggest waiting is that quite often some of the ‘mistake’ shots can actually end up being some of your best (sometimes in quite a in an abstract sort of way).


When you look at images on your camera’s LCD the photo is obviously quite compressed and you can sometimes not see details that you would when you view it on your computer. There may actually be something quite useful tucked away in the details that you’ll never know about if you delete too quickly.


 


For example – the picture on this post was taken on the streets in Morocco on that same trip. It was taken on my first little point and shoot digital camera (A Canon Powershot A60). It was actually a complete accident that I took the shot (I thought I was turning the camera off when I was actually pressing the shutter). At first glance it is an out of focus and poorly framed shot (actually it’s that on a second look too) but there’s something about this shot that keeps drawing me back to it.


The shot won’t win any awards but it is one that means something quite powerful to me and one that evokes some memories that I don’t want to forget about a part of Morocco that I may not have normally photographed.


I’m glad I didn’t join my fellow travellor in his picture cull that day because I’d probably have deleted this one.


Do you delete images in camera? Have you ever discovered a ‘mistake’ shot that turned out to be one of your favorites?



Read more: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/dont-delete-your-digital-photography-mistakes-too-quickly#ixzz1ByCyWoNV

*P365 1/24/11 01/24/2011 09:26:28