I did not plan a Foto Friday post for today as the week has been busy. We have been soaking up every second of these record-breaking temperatures, and in my spare time (Ha!) I have been a canning machine. Yesterday I did two (Two!) batches of plum chutney. Today’s plan is to can some more peaches and try a peach chutney recipe (Thanks for the link Tannis!).

I really am crazy.  But I am OK with that.

If you want to read a real post by yours truly, have I got news for you.

I am guest posting today over at Alpha+Mom. Alpha+Mom is a site run by Isabel Kallman, and if you know her (I do! I visited with her at BlogHer! And ate the cheeseburgers she sponsored for the Cheeseburger Party!) you know what an honour (Honor, for my American friends) it is for me to be posting on her site.

If you do not know Isabel or her Alpha+Mom site, do not fret. The Internet is a scary huge place. Her roster of full-time writers should give you a heads-up as to the greatness of Alpha+Mom. Writers such as Amalah, Bossy, Melissa Summers and Finslippy contribute regularly. This is in addition to Isabel herself.

To say that I am in good company would be a gross understatement.

Isabel asked if I could post some photo tips. Could you go read my post and leave a comment as to your thoughts on it? I am really hoping that I can do Isabel proud.

Let me know what you think. Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend!

(f/20, ISO 200, 1/50 sec)

There are other times, however, that you want only a small portion of your photo to be in focus and the rest of it blurry.  You can always manipulate it after the fact in a photo editing program like Photoshop but it is much easier to shoot it the way you want it and then edit as you see fit.

The first way to make your background blurry is something I explained last fall in my post about aperture. For the purposes of this tutorial I will keep it nice and simple.

You want to use the lowest f/stop number that your lens allows.

I have a 50mm f/1.8 which is a must-have prime lens, in my humble opinion.  I am not going to use it for this post, as it will not work for the second point that I am about to make.  I am instead using my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.  The reason is that there is one more thing you need to do in order to blur your background even more.

You need to step back and zoom in.

Here is a shot of a flower in our garden using those two tips.  I set the aperture to 2.8 and zoomed out so that I was at 24mm.

(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/50 sec)

The background is nice and blurry, but we can blow it out even more.  I zoomed in to 70mm, took a few steps back and tried to compose it the same as the first shot.

(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/60 sec)

The larger the zoom, the blurrier the background.

If you want to get really artsy you can throw a larger zoom lens on.  I used my 70-200mm lens and zoomed to 200mm for this shot of Hillary and Shawn.

(f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/800 sec)

I wanted to use a more current photo to demonstrate this again.  Here is my ridiculously cute daughter, wearing a ridiculously cute dress, holding a ridiculously pink flower.

As you can see, she took her job very seriously.

Once I told her what a great job she did helping Mommy, she was quite pleased with herself.

To sum it up you can do two things to make your background as blurry as possible.

1. Use your widest aperture setting (lowest number).

2. Use as much zoom as you have and step back to frame your shot.

Happy shooting!

I explained ISO last fall so I will keep this short and sweet.  The lower the ISO, the sharper your photo.  This all depends on available light, of course.  Basically you want to use the lowest ISO setting that you can get away with so that you get a crisp photo with minimal digital noise.

Digital noise is not techno music, despite what you might think. It basically means that your pixels are all wacked-out and grumpy and not letting you have a crisp photo.

This applies to most of you using point-and-shoots too!  I have a Canon Powershot and you can use manual settings.  Don’t chicken out.  Be brave.  You will be happy that you did.

On a bright, sunny day you will want to shoot at an ISO of 100 (or less, if your camera lets you).

You will need to bump it up in lower light, but try to shoot at the lowest ISO you can get away with.

2. Use A Tripod

The tripod is your friend.  Taking photos of your kids in the yard is not conducive to using a tripod.  OF COURSE.  If you are taking family, wedding, or macro photos you will want to use a tripod.  Camera shake can be disastrous.

If you do not have a tripod handy try bracing your camera by pulling your strap tight.  You can also place it on an fence, chair, etc.

I used my tripod to take photos of the laundry room.

3. Use Your Self Timer

If you are using the lowest ISO possible, just the pressing of the shutter button can cause camera shake.  When doing formal portraits or still/macro shots you will likely want to use a shutter release cable.  If you cannot justify the expense, and ten seconds will not kill you, use your camera’s self-timer function.  You press the shutter button and ten seconds later your camera has stopped shaking so that you can take a crisp photo.

4. Shoot Rapid Fire (Continuous Mode)

Friends often find it humorous when I take photos and they hear the shutter fire off three or more times.  It also surprises them if I have them take a photo of me and mine.  They press the button and BAM, BAM, BAM! Three photos in a matter of seconds!  It kind of freaks them out.

My camera is almost always set to continuous mode.  The reason being that out of three or more shots, at least one of them has to be crisp and clear.  If there is any camera shake from pressing the shutter button it is on the first frame and then the remaining shots are nice and crisp.

For group shots, the likelihood of everyone having their eyes open is also greater.

5.  Play Your Photos Back And Zoom In

On the tiny LCD display of your camera photos almost always look like they are in focus.  I have gotten into the habit of zooming in to make sure and what do you know?  Sometimes they are NOT in focus.  This little habit of mine has saved me many a headache.  It also allows me to get crisp shots of my monkeys.

Welcome back to Foto Friday everyone.  I hope these tips helped, if even a little bit.

It is the fourth of JUU-LYY in the US of A.  Such a great time to revive Foto Friday.  Whenever there is a holiday in the US, the Internet seems to go eerily silent.  This may be due to the fact that a large portion of my readers (and who I read) are from the USA (Happy 4th, friends!). I expect to hit “Publish” and hear…

*Crickets*

However.  I live in CANADA.  Our July long weekend was so three days ago.  Besides, the mutual (Canada and US) July long weekends are a great kick-start to summer.  I think it is high time that I post about the summer photo tips that I have been alluding to lately.

Here goes.

We all know that the best time of day for shooting photos is in the early morning or early evening.  If you did not know that already?  NOW YOU KNOW.

I could get all technical and such and explain about the fact that light is measured in….never mind.  Just trust me.  Early morning and early evening are DA BOMB for lighting.

So what do you do it your finger is itching to take photos and it is the middle of the day?  I might have a suggestion or two.  Hence this post.

The Shade Is Where It’s At

A blazing sun may be horrible for photos, but it does provide enough light so that you don’t need to bump your ISO so high that you get digital noise (grainy photos).  I like to drag my kids kicking and screaming encourage my kids to play in the shade so that I can get photos of them with some stellar lighting.

Any shade will do, even the shade of the minivan.

I love the light reflecting in her eyes in that one.

What if you find yourself in the harsh midday sun and want to get snap happy, but there is no shade around?

You Need To Use A Flash

It sounds crazy, right?  I KNOW.  Here is the deal.  The sun is nasty for photos, yes, but there are tricks to use!  I promise!

The main idea behind it is that the sun, while all bright and harsh-like, is not all-encompassing.  It casts great light, but only in one direction.

Which leaves us with shadows. That photo is not too extreme, but you get the idea.

When I want to get all fancy-pants, I pull out my external flash and fill the harsh shadows in with light.

Not everyone can justify spending money on an external flash, so what do you do?  There are options!

Diffuse Your Built-In Flash

The flash that is built into your camera is cheap.  It is extreme, and harsh, and really lame.  STEP AWAY FROM THE FLASH (Until later. Stay tuned).

I will show you what I mean.  I took this photo using my built-in flash.

Emily!  Watch out for the nuclear bomb that went off!

You can use a diffuser. (It makes the light not so APOCALYPSE-like.)

Put the sun BEHIND your subjects

People often think that making their subjects face the sun is GOOD.  Because then they are WELL-LIT.

They are also squinty and nasty-looking.  No offense.  I have done the same.

The secret trick is to have your subjects facing you with the sun behind them.  While shooting a wedding two weeks ago, I gave this tip to a mom of a friend of the bride.  We moved the girls 180 degrees and the photo on her point-and-shoot was one hundred percent better.

If you can work it right, you can get a photo without any need for flash.

Often, though, you need a flash.  What do you do if you do not have a diffuser?

Zoom From A Distance And Flash Away

I was in the yard with the kids one evening and had not attached my external flash.  I zoomed to 200mm, and tried using the built-in flash.

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.  Nathan was far enough away from the camera that the (LAME) built-in flash was not overpowering.

So.

For those of you that skip to the end of long posts (Not that I do that or anything. Heh.), here is a summary:

• Shoot in the shade whenever possible.
• If there is no shade, the sun should be BEHIND your subject
• Use a fill-flash (external), but not the built-in.  Unless;
• You have a diffuser, or;
• You are far away and are zoomed out in the 200mm range.

Happy summer snapping, folks.  I hope I helped you in some miniscule way.

Well, the pressure lifted and then (thanks partially to some of you) I was inspired! And have ideas! Foto Friday has been revived! New and improved, even! (Like how I have left “Foto Friday” out of the title.)

You are probably reading this and thinking that I am crazy. Can I just say something to clear things up?

I am crazy. Certifiable even. I am also a whole lot of fun at parties.

First, I ordered a new lens!

It is the 24-70mm f/2.8 and it is some kind of special. From what I hear. The estimated arrival date was Thursday and I raced to the mailboxes in the afternoon. NOTHING. In my excitement, I forgot that I live in the buttcrack of nowhere and that mail is never on time.

Sigh.

Hopefully it arrives today and we are getting intimately acquainted while you are reading this.

I have not taken many photos in the past few days. I have been busy with our Company’s year-end (Meh) and the Top Secret Project (Woo!). I did post these two photos to Flickr. Click on them to see the commentary.

***

I also took a sweet photo of Miss Emily yesterday. I had to wake her up in order to pick Graham up from school. I flicked on the light, saw her sweetness, and ran back downstairs to get my camera.

DON’T YOU JUST WANT TO SMOOSH HER? I sure do.

This photo helps to make up for the fact that she yelled at me/threw things at me for most of yesterday.

Dear Emily’s eyeteeth: SHOW YOURSELVES.

***

Last fall on one of my Foto Friday posts someone (Was it YOU?) recommended the site Beyond Megapixels. It is run by Lisa and her husband and they give tips, product reviews and more! They are a wealth of photography information. They also shoot Canon, which makes them dear to my heart. It was there that I first read about the Canon 40D and I purchased it shortly thereafter.

The reason I mention Lisa is that I have a growing collection of lenses and accessories. I also have some pretty sweet gigs coming up and need something in which to carry all of my crap photography gear. We emailed back and forth yesterday about bags and she got her from Crumpler USA. She has a bag but wishes she had gotten a back pack.

I chatted with Randi as well, and she just got a backpack from Lowerpro.

I cannot decide which would be better; bag or backpack? If you use one or the other, I would love your feedback. Any brand that you swear by would be a great help too. Because I like to have so many options that I drive myself crazy trying to decide. Hitting my head on the table out of indecision is all sorts of fun.

Since I am all about the linkiness in this post, I thought I should point out that my (outdated, somewhat stale) link list has been added to. I added a section with photography-related links.

I adore work done by blogging friends Heather Hayes, Anastacia Campbell and Melissa Glen. My real-life friend Christy has a photography site of her own, and recommended this site and this one too. Another new blogging/photography friend Holly recommended this one.

Then there is the wonderful Shutter Sisters, with whom I find great joy. This is a site where women come together in order to encourage each other ansdgrow together.

I am inspired daily.

So what I want to know from you (in addition to the above case/backpack question) is this:

Do you have a photography website that I need to know about and link to? If not, are there sites that I should know about because they are THAT AWESOME?

I’d love to know.

However. As I looked through my Foto Friday posts I found that there was not any really rhyme nor reason to the posts. No “standard”, per se. Basically, I would just share what new things that I was learning, whether it be about composition, manual settings on my camera, or about photo editing.

(Interesting side not I just thought of. You probably were not expecting me to post anyway, with it being Good Friday and all (A statutory holiday!). I think it in interesting that kids are not allowed to pray in schools, and yet a national Holiday celebrates the story of Jesus (Son of God!) dying on the cross. I’m just sayin’…)

The problem is, I have not been learning much. As I expressed the other day, I have been merely treading water. Not moving forward. I have started inching in the right direction, but I have a lot of catching up to do. I need to pick up speed.

Before we left for Mexico, I felt as though the (photography) world was my oyster. The feeling continued as I was in that magical place, and I felt as though my camera was an extension of myself.

Upon arriving home, my beloved camera was put down in favour of my (even more) beloved children. My creative self was stopped dead in her tracks.

After over two weeks of separation from my (camera) baby, thing were looking up. We were all feeling better, and I was not as needed (or as needy) as I had been. I wanted to reconnect with my camera but did not know where to start. I felt like I had taken one step forward…and was now two steps back.

On that fateful Tuesday afternoon when I took my children to the grocery store, I lingered at the flower department. I am not one to spend money frivolously, being married to a Dutch man and all. I was taken in by the Easter bouquet. It had colours that made my heart sing.

But flowers cost money. And they die. And I just bought a little purple plant last week for $1.99.

***

Did I really need to spend more money on this Easter bouquet?

I debated. And debated. We circled the store and got all of the groceries that we needed.

I found myself back in the flower section.

I put the bouquet in my cart. I went through the checkout.

***

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***

That $5.99 was worth every single penny.

The verse that sprang to mind was about the lilies of the field. These were not lilies, per se, but they were flowers. If God can adorn these wee plants so beautifully, how much more does He take care of me?

I feel renewed, rejuvenated, refreshed.

Inspired.

Now that the creative part of me has been reignited, I might even go into my craft room this weekend and play with some of the (oodles and oodles of) pretty paper I have stored in there.

What is it that inspires you?

Happy Good Friday!

Ha!

Well, I guess I am giving you an introduction. Sort of.

I will tell you where I am in my Photoshop journey so far, and what I have stumbled across.

Back in December I was all giddy when we were at the Out-Laws for Christmas and Matthew’s Dad told me that he had Photoshop. He promptly installed it onto my computer. I was excited!

Until I realized that it was a very old version of Photoshop. One that you could hardly find books/tutorials/help with. Which was totally fine. (Thanks for trying, Dad!)

I downloaded the 30-day free trial of Photoshop CS3 over the Christmas holidays. Because, you know, Christmas holidays are all about the free time to play with new software and such.

*Shakes head at herself*

I did find a few spare moments to play with CS3 but was a little overwhelmed. I then downloaded the trial for Elements 6.0 and it seemed to do a lot of what I wanted.

Being the cheap frugal woman that Honey has taught me to be I am, I told myself that Elements would do just fine. Photoshop CS3 costs almost seven hundred dollars. Yikes!

I have been dabbling in Elements and trying to follow the odd Photoshop tutorial that I come across. Elements has a lot of the features that CS3 has, but sometimes the commands are a little different.

Take the tutorial that Kerflop gave a few days ago.

I tried to follow the instructions that she gave, and could tell that Elements had the ability to do the darkened edges. It was me who was lacking the ability.

I tried again the next day, and after playing a bit…voila!

Go me!

I also followed her instructions on how to create the warm fuzzy glow.

Before:

After:

The fuzzy glow works wonders for old farts women in their thirties like me.

Elements is not so bad.

However.

Mona (You love her, right? She is all sorts of hilarious) emailed me this past weekend to tell me that there was a great promotion on for those who wanted to upgrade from Elements to CS3. More than 50% off!

I love a deal. Actually, I lurve a deal.

Honey and I discussed whether or not I should get it. I have some great photography opportunities at my fingertips and would hate to be a few months down the road and be kicking myself for not buying CS3 when it was on sale for such a great price.

So I ordered it. As well as this Scott Kelby book she recommended.

The Photoshop CS3 package arrived late yesterday afternoon.

I am a little skeered.

I am hoping that my book arrives today. It is supposed to, so here’s hoping.

I know of a few great tutorials on the Internet and they may be what get me going until my book arrives. I will likely use them after it arrives as well. One can never tire of tutorials. Can I get an amen?

When I posted this Foto Friday post where I edited photos from The Over Thinker, the hilarious Schnozz emailed me with some sweet tips to make photos taken in the dark even better by using the feathering tool.

A fantastic reader named Sara (no blog) also emailed me with some helpful hints.

I have not tried them yet. I have been busy wiping bums. And have not taken any photos in the dark that I can use. But I will.

Oh, yes. I will.

Sara also emailed me with this link about editing photos to be Mono With A Dash Of Colour. I figured it out using Elements.

A little creepy with the eyes, no?

Maybe I should get the kids to hold one of the flowers that Honey bought me.

A few other tutorials that I am aware of:

• Heather Hayes told me about Chromasia. The first tutorial is free. It is pretty fantastic.
• Y at Joy Unexpected posted a link on Flickr to this site that sells textures. Y has been doing amazing things with the textures. She inspires me. In both writing and in photos.

Um. That is all I have to offer. But I know that you guys have more wisdom for me (And for the others. Who are different than The Others from LOST.)

Are you willing to share the links you have? I will be eternally grateful.

So will the others.

The Others might be grateful too.

(Side note: the woman has apologized profusely, so all is good. If it had been some kind of perv or creeplor, you better believe I would have given the URL and let you guys have at ‘em.)

A few people mentioned using some code that disables the right-click function (I just Googled “disable right-click” and that was one of the sites that came up. Feel free to do your own search). The amazing Mrs. Flinger pointed out that smart people can get past it, but we all know that not everyone who uses the Internet is smart.

*waves*

I will not be implementing the right-click disable (I would probably make my site explode again) but if it is something that you would like to try, there is no harm in it. Just please refrain from emailing me for help because I am clueless. I would likely make your site explode.

I will stick with watermarking. If people do a Google image search and hit one of my photos with a watermark on it, they likely would not want to use it. They will keep searching until they come across one without a watermark on it. One of yours, maybe?

The original photo of Emily sleeping was on a post I did before I wrote about a bunch of photo thievery happening to other bloggers. I had never even considered watermarking before then. I have now added a watermark to the photo of Emily and replaced it.

Let us get on with the lesson, shall we?

I do believe you will need to access to some form of an editing program. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements. If you use a different program and have watermarked your photos, maybe share this information with the others in the comments? That would be awesome.

I did a post on watermarking last fall. I will copy the relevant parts below where applicable, to save you from having to click all over my site. Unless you want to. Then be my guest!

You creating watermarks using layers in a photo editing program such as Photoshop or Elements. It seems straightforward, but I was still having issues. I Googled a bit and found this article on adding watermarks using Elements (which I have).  The linked articles are helpful for watermarks consisting of typed words.  There are more (and possibly better) articles, so Google away.  Google is your friend.

Unless you have odd medical symptoms.  Then Dr. Google can strike fear into your heart.
As for graphics, I cannot help you.  My buddy Brenda (Secret Agent Josephine) was so kind as to create me my pretty watermark while chatting with her on IM one night. She whipped together four mock-ups in a mere ten minutes. She’s simply amazing. I love her. You should too.

Back to watermarking. For those of you who use Photoshop, it is really simple to apply a watermark.

1. Open both your photo and your watermark image.
2. Click on your watermark image. Then click on “Select” on the menu. Then click “All”.
3. “Edit”, “Copy”.
4. Click on your photo image.
5. Add a new layer.
6. Click “Edit” on the menu. Then click “paste”.
7. Then you can play with your opacity, etc., as outlined in the links I gave.

So. That’s it. I would love to walk you though how to make your own watermark, but I cheated by having SAJ create mine. I hope that the links I gave helped. If not? Google away, my friends.

On the photo editing front…

I had a couple of helpful comments and emails from those who are better at it than I. I also had a couple of emails from trolls people who were critical (I NEVER SAID I WAS AN EXPERT) So…I am hereby suspending that portion of Foto Friday until I grow a thicker skin. And until I get better at it.  I will stick to my own photos for now.

Sorry guys. I am a chicken.  With thin skin.  How’s THAT for a visual?

Hope the rest of the post gave you some direction. I do not claim to be an expert, but am just trying to help.

If you do not think I helped? I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT.

Sigh.

I will leave you instead with a couple of photos of Miss Emily and I as we sat in the window seat and read “buu” (books).

This one is when I was tooting tickling her.

Happy Friday, everyone!

I have been having fun with it and meaning to talk about it, so everybody wins!

(I have some tips for those who do not have a macro lens and want to play along, so stay tuned.)

First, the hardware.

I got a 50mm f/1.8 lens in November when I got my new Canon 40D.

*pauses to lick kiss her lens*

*And her camera*

I asked for (And received!) the Canon Extension Tube for Christmas. The extension tube turns my sweet little 50mm into a stellar macro lens.

I started to play and was greatly impressed.

Squee!

Normally I would Google what to do, or buy a book, or do some kind of research-y thing for instructions on what steps to take. This time? I thought I would be all intuitive and fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. Go me.

I have since Googled “macro photography” and…it confirmed what I had already figured out. So I am not blowing smoke you-know-where.

It is simple. Really. Let’s make a list, shall we?

• You will want to use a narrow aperture (higher f/stop number) so that what you are shooting will be in focus. If you use a wider aperture (lower f/stop number) then most of your photo will be blurry. Or you might want that.
• Use a tripod. Because you are zoomed in so close to your subject,the slightest movement will wreck your shot. The tripod is your friend (That’s what she said).
• You may want to use a remote release or use the self-timer so that the shake from pressing the shutter button does not interfere with your photo.
• Use the lowest ISO possible in the situation for a better shot.

For those who do not have a macro lens, you still follow the above list.

Then you crop the photo to get the “zoom effect”.

Tada!

See how easy it is?

With a macro you can definitely get closer and more detailed, but you can use a regular lens and create a similar shot. At this rate I am going to put myself out of business. Oh well. Maybe I will get a real job.

In other Foto Friday news…

Amy at the Over Thinker sent me some photos for editing. Woo!

She tells me that her husband is awesome with the camera and she wants to learn the way of the camera to, um, woo him.

Her first photo is of her husband. He looks cute!

And…red.

To prevent the discoloration when taking photos you need to change the White Balance. If you change the White Balance to suit the situation you are in, the colours will be closer to the actual colours. And not so demonic.

I am going to assume that setting your camera to “Tungsten” on the White Balance menu would have helped.

I tried to fix it in colour, but it was…meh.

I opted for black and white.

Much better. At least in my humble opinion.

Michele also has a kitty named Fidgit. She took a photo of Fidgit, sans flash.

She said, “I never know if I should use the zoom or physically get closer”.

Here is the deal, as simple as I can make it. The lower the f/stop you can use (Aperture), the faster your lens will be and the better chance you have of taking clear photos in low light.

As you zoom, the maximum aperture (lowest f/stop number) bumps up. If the light is low and you want to take photos without a flash, you are better off to get physically closer than use the zoom.

In the case of Fidgit, I just used the “Aged Photo” setting in Lightroom and made the photo a little better.

Hello, kitty.

So who is next one the photo editing train?

I hope that some of this helped you all. If not, I will fold up my Foto Friday tent and weep in the corner, while drinking Diet Coke.

Not that I need an excuse to OD on the DC.

Then Loralee went and sent me a swack of SWEET PHOTOS from her EUROPE TRIP.

So?

For today I will use all of her photos and tell you what I normally do in my whole editing process.

A little background first, for those who care.

I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to do the bulk of my editing. It is AMAZING. And also? Not cheap. I have just been wading around in it and trying out the occasional random Internet tutorial. Christy ordered me a guide about Lightroom for my birthday and it should get here today. Squee!

I then plunk my photos into Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 (It is the scaled down version of Adobe Photoshop CS3 (which I downloaded the trial of, and was scared poopless overwhelmed by)) (Holy brackets, Batman!) to add my watermark to photos.

I know that there is so. much. MORE. that I can do with Elements, but the unlimited number of Internet tutorials is a little overwhelming. Where to start?

Yesterday I took the plunge and ordered the Photoshop Elements 6.0 book by Scott Kelby, because The Pioneer Woman recommends his books. She is hands-down one of the best photographers on the planet. If she recommends him? I trust her.

The book will be released (and shipped!) February 4th. Squee!

Onwards!

I would like you to meet Loralee. Here is her SOOC (Straight Out Of The Camera) shot of her beauteous self.

Isn’t she purty?

I plunked her into Lightroom.

Photos SOOC are often flat. I start with bumping up the contrast a bit. If it is not a photo of a person, I will often increase the “clarity” or “sharpness”. For people (especially for people of the geriatric age of Loralee and I) “clarity” can often mean “harsh and old-looking”.

So I just bumped up the contrast. Easy, and simple. Just like I like it.

Here is a photo that Loralee took of Big Ben.

A good shot, composition-wise, in my humble opinion. Once I had it in Photoshop, I bumped up the contrast and the clarity.

Just a little better.

She also took this sweet shot.

Loralee? You told me that your composition sucks. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

You are making this too easy for me.

All I did with this one was bump up the contrast and clarity. Yawn.

I am hoping the rest of you can give me a challenge.

She also took this cute shot of a storefront.

I played with clarity and contrast…and a little cropping. But the cropping? Made it BORING. S0 I undid the crop.

To make it better…I might have zoomed out a bit to get more detail of the stores on either side. I have seen tutorials available to straighten crooked photos but I am too lazy busy to actually try one.

This last shot is a pretty water/sunlight shot.

One thing that would have been good to use in this situation is a lens hood. A lens hood prevents glare and lens flare. Yes, you can edit the glare out if you have made Photoshop skillz…but it is much easier to just use a lens hood. My lens came with a lens hood and I was all, “WTH?” and fired it into my photography cabinet (Yes, I have an entire cabinet dedicated to photography) until I took some sunlit shots one day and was bombarded by sunlight orbs.

Aha!

Preventing the orbs/glare is what the lens hood is for. It is also a good tool to let your toddler chew on play with so you can get some blogging work done.

I did what I could with Loralee’s photo, but did not edit the glare out.

I just bumped up the contrast, the clarity, and the recovery. Again? I think the composition was stellar. Maybe Loralee should be the one giving the lessons.

If there are any of you out there who really DO need help, leave me a comment. I’ll email you back and then you can send me ONE or TWO photos…so that I can spend some quality time telling y’all what else I have been learning.

***

In other non-Foto Friday news…remember that bed set that I was all tormented about, because I wanted the matching sheets?

I went and ordered the complete set.

Yes. Yes, I did.

And it arrived yesterday! Woot!

It is EVEN BETTER THAN THE PICTURES PORTRAY.

My sister offered to buy the extra quilt and sham for my niece. So the cousins? Will be all matchy-poo.

Emily seems to have taken a liking to the set.

Our joint excitement almost makes me want to put her in a Big Girl Bed already.

That is crazy talk, I know. I plan on keeping her in her crib as long as humanly possible. I am thinking that five is a great age.

What?

Happy Friday everyone.  Let me know if you want some photo help.  Or just tell me HOW EXCITED YOU ARE that I got that set for Emily.

I really need to get a life.  This I know.