Assignment FOUR (January)

Thank you to all that were able to to come to my home for the group today!

We played around in photoshop a bit. (If you don't have photoshop, look into some free online programs like gimp and picnik)

We learned how to eliminate a black eye! (or just dark circles) (Thanks to the clone stamp tool set to lighten/ 11%)
We played with curves, levels, color balance, photo filters, image sizing for print and web, crop tool, converting an image to black and white, layers, unsharp mask, and a few other things.

We discussed having a photography group exhibit in May. I am really excited about this. We would have displays set up for each assignment, and a gallery for our best works. We will have hors d'oeuvres and invitations....it will such a fun evening. (Now get working on the assignments you have not completed!)

Assignment #4

At our exhibit we will have a few displays devoted to COLOR! Your assignment this month will be to photograph anything RED. (The entire scene doesn't have be red; a girl in a red dress for example.) Then do it again for ORANGE, and YELLOW! Three separate fabulous colorful images!

Next, we are going to test out three labs each!
Send the SAME image to three different online labs. When the photographs arrive label the back with the name of the lab. You can do color, black and white, or both.

TIPS:
Make note of your order date and the date you receive the photos.
Compare prices!!
Do not select color correct on your test prints.
Order the same size. ( eta: Order a 5x7 or larger so it is easy to compare the prints. Order the same finish, and paper on all photographs.)
Some labs charge shipping, others don't.
Is their site user friendly? Is their ordering system simple?




Here are some labs. Feel free to do some research to find other labs as well.

http://www.mpix.com/
http://www.acilab.com/
http://www.scrapbookpictures.com/
http://www.mckennapro.com/
http://www.whcc.com/
http://www.colorincprolab.com/
http://www.snapfish.com/
http://www.shutterfly.com/


There...that will keep you busy. (Some of them may only cater to pros...but it is worth checking on.)

KJ Assignment #3

I didn't plan to use this set of photos for the assignment. But they work, and I was trying to get different angles on the decorating of the tree - mostly because the house was a wreck and I was trying not to show it. I got a high stepstool and shot a lot looking down. I already downloaded these photos before looking up the settings. But I think I basically bumped up the ISO and the aperture down as much as I could to try to capture the process without a flash. It was night-time, and I thought the flash ruined the soft, cozy lights of Christmas. The picture could have been sharper and most were too blurry, but I didn't want to sacrifice the warm light look.

I liked this shot because it showed how Naomi decorated the tree, left to her own devices.

Any tips on editing out the potty seat from the background?

I still have to do a shadows photo. But here is one from our visit to see the temple lights. I could only get a couple shots because I had the kids by myself. But I liked how the Christmas lights from outside showed in the picture... adding to the sense of wonder and the wonderful when looking at Christ.

Kellie Assignment Three, Situation

Evan and one of his best pals were playing a rousing football game on the Wii. I wanted to shoot it in a photo-journalistic style that would show the dynamics of their friendship within the context of the situation. I turned the iso way up to 1600 on purpose so they would be a little gritty and noisy. I went with either wide apertures or slow shutter speeds to capture different aspects or to capture the sense of interaction. My favorite photos in the world are in National Geographic and I especially like the situational photo shoots in that magazine-where the photos are not always technically perfect, but the story is told. That has always been my mantra as a photographer, "I told the story," and it helps me see my photos from that perspective. These were all adjusted slightly with the levels and curves tools in Photoshop, mostly because the light was so challenging.

f/2.8, ISO 1600, 1/100th sec, focal length 153mm (I shot this one with my uber-lens)

f /2.8, ISO 1600, 1/125th sec, focal length 70mm

f/2.2, ISO 1600, 1/160th sec, focal length, 50mm (This one was with my 1.4 50mm lens)

Erin's Assignment 3, situation

I wanted to take pictures of Emma twirling in her favorite pink dress. The lighting wasn't great...everytime the sun went behind a cloud I had to stop. And I wasn't thrilled with how they turned out but here they are.
All of these were shot on the settings: f/5, 1/125, 800iso, 50mm

This particular way of holding her dress is SO Emma. It also showed the pretty little details on her dress that make her love it so much. I know the photo isn't great, but it meant something to me.

I wish her feet were in this. With my 50 it can be so hard to get far enough away in my house to get what I really want.

Cami 3.2 and 3.3

Ok, here are the rest of my pics. Sorry to scootch your post down, Corinne! (Everyone go look at Corinne's great post!!)

I used my 50mm lens on all of these. I got my first reflection one early--if you get the right angle of a window, you really get a good reflection. I just happened upon this one. Janey wanted to give herself a little kiss:

1/400 F2.2 ISO 400

Then I tried to get this picture of a reflection of my books in the glass of my antique map. It was really hard to get, and it isn't great, but the reflection is there nonetheless. It is my metaphor for "hanging up my hat" and traveling through books while I've got little ones at home.

1/100 F6.3 ISO 800 (lots of editing)

Next, shadows. MAN, are these hard to find in winter when I never actually leave my house! Yesterday I went on a search.

I love to see the shadows from the slats of the crib when I go to put Janey down for her naps each day. Instead of feeling cagey, they feel cozy to me. I like the picture, but it looked lonely, so I added a little Jane in while still keeping the shadows the main focus of the picture.

1/180 F2.2 ISO 1600

And this is Ethan when I asked him to make fun shadows on the wall. I didn't mean for him to be facing the camera, but it is interesting that the only way I can get a natural smile on Ethan is for him to make a shadow.

1/125 F1.8 ISO 1600

Too bad the picture is not worth the burn he got on his hand touching the lightbulb we used to make the shadow just after we took it. Poor kid.

There you are, I am finally all done. WHERE oh WHERE are the rest of you??

Corinne's Assignment #3

1. Photograph a situation:

For my situation, I chose an outing we took to an uninhabited island in North Carolina called Shackleford Banks. The light was lovely and the kids were happy :) Here are my favorite three:

ISO 400 f10 1/2000 105mm

ISO 800 f16 1/1000 105mm

ISO 800 f6.3 1/4000 105mm

It's funny how my children aren't actually looking at me in any of these pictures. They were too involved in the adventure - maybe that's why I like these best, because for me, they truly reflect the experience.

2. Shadows

I didn't crop this one - it's on a waterfront walk

I was making sugar cookies in the early morning when I noticed that snappy shadow

3. Reflections

Preston had set up these blocks himself. I took pictures at first because I liked the long lines but after I looked at my first pictures, I noticed the reflections and started trying to make that part of the picture as well.

This isn't a particularly amazing picture - but for me, I love how I get both our Thanksgiving meal prep and how lovely the day was outside in one picture :)