Intro to Photography; Lesson 1: So You Want to Shoot in Manual...

...and you definitely should!

I've had a number of requests for some basic photography tutorials. I'm really nowhere near being an expert or a professional and I don't feel that I'm the best person to teach photography at this point. But I have learned some very valuable tips in the past year and I really wish that someone would have just laid them all out for me in the beginning. It would have really taken some time off my already long and awkward learning curve. So, what I thought I would do is just give you some good starting points from which to jump off of and experiment.

The pictures I'm featuring in this post are of my nephews birthday party which we attended last weekend. These pictures are very significant to me because there was a time when I first began shooting in manual mode that I thought for sure that if I were at a birthday party or some other moment to moment function that I would surely have to revert back to the automatic settings on my camera. I'm proud to say that I shot this whole birthday party near effortlessly in manual mode. I know it to be true that you will never get the specific image quality your looking for with the automatic settings. Once you can start really manipulating the settings to your specific likings, your world of photographic possibilities opens up dramatically!

So, let's get you shooting manually then, shall we? Go ahead...do it...switch that dial to M...you can do it...feel the power!

{a couple of notes: 1) I only focus manually if I'm shooting still lifes. When I speak of manual settings, I'm referring to exposure. 2) People do things different ways, and there are many ways that work. The idea is that you start getting comfortable changing your own settings and experimenting with what those changes do to your final images. You need to experiment...a lot! 3) You're going to need to break out your owners manual! 4) You may hear some people who use the metering method to determine exposure. I do not. But it's an option you may want to look into at some point as it does take some of the guess work out of finding the perfect exposure. I rely on the many images I can take with a digital camera and how the image looks to me on my LCD screen. As I mentioned, there are many ways about this. I am only offering some good places to start.}

1. Know how to adjust Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and White Balance on your specific camera. These settings I use and adjust all the time.
2. Adjust White Balance for proper settings. Read your manual to know how to adjust the white balance and which pictures correspond with which conditions. {ex. direct sun, cloudy day, tungsten lighting, etc...}
3. Use the lowest ISO possible. As the ISO goes up, image quality goes down. {remember, the higher the ISO, the more light that comes into the lens}
4. Your minimum SS should correspond with your lens focal length. For instance, if you are using a 50mm lens, your maximum SS should be 1/50. {remember, maximum SS means smaller numbers, means longer shutter speed, means more light!}
5. Along the same lines...Low Aperture value = shallow depth of field (subject in focus while background and foreground are blurred) = wide aperture = more light
6. Conversely...High Aperture Value = great detail in shots in both subject and background = narrow aperture =less light
7. I tend to value a shallow depth of field in my photographs. Because of this, I set my ISO to 200 {it's minimum value}, then set my aperture to its wide open position {usually 1.4 - 2.5}, and then adjust my shutter speed for proper exposure.
8. If I'm at the lowest shutter speed for my lens {see #4} and I'm still either not getting enough light into my photograph or am still having blur of my subject matter, then I increase the ISO.
9. If I'm at the highest shutter speed and lowest ISO and am still over exposed, then I increase the aperture.

Okay, these are just some basic tools to help you give you a base point from which to start. Set yourself up a still life and take a ton of shots while adjusting these settings and view the results. The more you play around and see what changing the settings does to your final image, the better able you'll be to achieve the exact image your looking for!

I do highly recommend {at some point} getting some sort of background knowledge on each of these terms. I do believe it contributes to the overall comprehension of your camera and it's functions. There are a variety of online sources offering tons of free information. Also, there are some wonderful books out there that go into great detail in describing how the camera works. I am a very hands on learner. So, for me, it was better to dive in, start shooting manually, and then go back and investigate why  A + B = C. It was important for me to know what A, B, and C were before I would be able to comprehend what they're function was.

So, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

Aaaaannnddd...the video blog has been shot and I am working on getting it uploaded so that I can share it here with you tomorrow!

Simple Heart Garland...

I have been obsessed with garlands lately! I love the way they can spruce up a wall or a room. And their simplicity gets me at my simple girls core!

So I needed a small, yet pretty garland for my entryway. I found these adorable crocheted hearts and flowers on Etsy...but you could easily make them, I'm sure. {I'm just trying to focus on the knitting for now...must. focus.}

All I did was lay out my hearts and flowers in the order that I wanted them on the garland. Then I fastened a small safety pin to one end of a 1/4 in. thick ribbon and wove it through each of the crocheted pieces. They slide easily so you can move them around a bit once they're all on there. I tied a knot at each end, leaving a small hoop to fit over a nail. And viola! Easy. Peasy.

Happy February everyone!

p.s...I am doing something very scary {but very exciting} tonight...well, scary and exciting for me but by other standards may not be...ANYWAY, I'll share with you tomorrow!!! *hint* It's something that used to be my whole life but I haven't done in 11 years. Wish me luck!

{edit} A couple of you have asked, and I should have mentioned before...I got my hearts and flowers here.

Weekend Crafting...

Yarn Ball & Ornament Wreath

Christmas is by far my most creative time. It's usually the only time of year that I really get into crafts. This year I found a tutorial for these yarn ball wreaths that I had seen at Starbucks last year during the holidays. My personal affections for yarn balls and ornaments had me swooning and the project looked to be at or around my skill level {which is pretty basic} so off to Michael's I went. So, if you are the crafty type and would like one of these pretty little numbers for your very own, here is a little step-by-step for you...

Materials Needed:

Yarn {you may use one color or 14, whatever your personal preference}

Foam Balls in two different sizes {In my wreath, I used 14 big balls and 11 small...you could use less or more depending on your wreath size and/or preference}

Wreath Form {I used a 18in. wire form, you could use smaller if you'd like}

Ornaments {I used a stash of vintage ornaments that were a variety of sizes. You could certainly use just one size or just one color or a variety of each...whatever suits your fancy. My wreath took 14 big-ish and 14 small-ish ornaments.}

Glue Gun with plenty of glue sticks

Step 1:

Make your yarn balls by wrapping yarn around the foam ball, varying your angles and directions, until all the white is covered. You can either just tuck the tail in at the end or put a little dab of craft glue to secure it. I just tucked and they stayed just fine. Now, just to warn you...you might find these yarn balls to be the most beautiful things you've ever seen. Go ahead and take a few days to admire them, photograph them, let the baby play with them...whatever you'd like.

Step 2:

Cover your work area with freezer paper or wrapping paper...something that the hot glue won't stick to.

Step 3:

Lay out your large yarn balls, evenly spaced onto your wreath form. Using your hot glue gun, glue the balls to the form one by one.

Step 4:

Gather your smaller yarn balls and your ornaments and start hot gluing them in and around your large yarn balls. {I must tell you that this step intimidated me greatly...especially since I was using my very loved vintage ornaments. But I took a deep breath and just let loose. It was very therapeutic.} Vary your patterns and colors all around while building your wreath up and out {and in}. I found it helpful to glue the pieces to the big yarn balls first and then to the other smaller pieces that it was touching as a way to anchor it all together. I always held thing in places for about ten seconds for the glue to set a bit before moving on. Stick some here and there. You can always lift the wreath up to see where you might need some additional pieces. I used some large ornaments and {I think} a large yarn ball as add on pieces and I think they added some nice texture and dimension to the wreath. But work to your pleasing.

Step 5:

Put on a cute scarf & sweater and have someone take your picture holding your wreath. Then{here is the very important part} upload your picture to Flickr or your blog and send me the link!!!! I would love to see your creations!

Happy Crafting!!!