seriously. break out of that box!

I feel like a lot of times, we, as photographers, get stuck in a 'box'. Our pictures turn boring since we're only staying in our comfort zone. Maybe we tell ourselves we can only do a certain type of photography. And maybe that's true--after all, we all have our own area of expertise when it comes to photography. But a lot of times, our excuse ends up hurting our photos. The person looking at the photos gets tired of that one type, taken from that one angle, with that one camera setting.
I'm going to challenge you all to take one type of picture you normally wouldn't take. Maybe a nighttime picture, maybe a pet picture, just a picture that you wouldn't normally take. Try a new setting on your camera, or an angle you wouldn't normally use. I don't care what it takes to get that awesome photo--lay on your stomach on the ground, sing "Miss Mary Mack" at the top of your lungs, jump in a muddle puddle... Just don't do anything horribly dangerous. :)
And without further ado, here are my pictures.

So go have fun.

Break out of that box--and don't forget to share those awesome pictures with me! :)

(oh, and I apologize profusely for forgetting to post on Thursday)

Carry Your Camera Everywhere

Ok, so maybe not EVERYWHERE, but everywhere. You never know what you will stumble upon and chances are, if you don't bring your camera you will miss some amazing opportunities.I recently changed out my purse for a smaller camera bag that holds just my camera, my wallet and a few other things. I cannot express how I feel about always having it with me. I can whip it out at a moments notice, get the shot and continue on with whatever I was doing. If I have one regret, it's waiting so long to start bringing it. At first, I was a big apprehensive because I didn't want people to "judge" me. Now I realize that whipping my camera out in public almost always ends with the confused faces of a few people, but some perfect images in my camera. I don't have any specific pictures to show you of just "whipping out my camera" but, I do have plenty of pictures that I wouldn't have if I didn't tote my camera around everywhere.

Here are just a few:


 The snowball stand where I currently reside opened for the first time this year! It was so delicious that my friend and I are going again after class today :) Snowballs are a major part of my life (for multiple reasons) and I am so glad that I was able to capture my first snowball in my college town so close to the end of my first year as a student here.

 




For those who don't know, I am a member of a greek society, and Sunday we kicked off the start of Greek Week with a BBQ. The person who was suppose to take the all greek picture didn't show up, and I was asked to take the picture :) Every greek on campus isn't in the picture, but I think that it is a pretty good representation of the whole.

 


My Friends are always happy to have their pictures taken and quite often use the ones I post on Facebook as their profile pictures.

 


 There are quite a few theatre kids at my college so, last minute headshots happen rather frequently. (Especially lately for people trying to get summer acting work)

 


I've been attending a few baseball games, and I almost always get asked if I'm taking pictures for the school newspaper. I'm not currently, but I did submit an application for next year ;)






I was walking one day and found these gorgeous little flowers on a tree. I love them and don't know what I would have done it I wasn't carrying my camera with me :)



 Having your camera with you at all times can open up so many doors for different types of photography. I heavily suggest it to anyone who wishes to further their picture-taking skills.

 ~Karalee



 *A good, sturdy camera case is recommended for the safety of the camera which you will be toting :)

Fountain of Tips

I don't exactly have internet enough to post pictures today so, I thought I would go ahead and share something else with you.

I found this website back over Christmas break and it has become one of my most visited places.

Improve Photography is 100% full of photography tips and tricks. There is even a Facebook page (for those of you who also have facebooks) that has a great community on it for critiques and questions.

I absolutely LOVE this website and I know that you all will too :)

As a bonus, for anyone who is interested in photography a bit more "seriously", there is a recently created "sister" page called
Be A Pro Photographer that has even more articles and free webinars every Tuesday!

Enjoy reading!

~Karalee

A Few Portrait Tips

I would like to apologize for the lateness of my post, the internet in all of the dorms at my school was down for almost the entirety of college student waking hours. That being said, please do not judge my blogging by the quality of this post, it is getting very close to bed time and I have so much school stuff to work on that I just cannot put as much time into this as I would have liked.

I've been doing quite a few self-portraits lately, so I thought it would be nice to share those with everyone, and some tips that could help you take your own :)

For indoor portraits, the best place to be is by a window. The glass helps filter the light, while still giving the picture a nice natural quality.

You can face the window, be perpendicular to it, or any angle like that, but shooting towards the window will very seldom end up with the look that people are going for.

Don't have a background with too many distractions. A simple background will put more focus on the model and have less opportunities to draw eyes away from the purpose of the photograph.

Props can be a great addition to a picture. Adding something such as a headband, jacket or journal can not only loosen up the model, but also add lots of character to the scene. Just be careful and make sure not to go overboard with them :)

Relax. This is a key component whether you are taking portraits of yourself or anyone else. If the photographer is stressed, the model will be too. Especially if they are one in the same. Trying too hard to get the perfect shot will not get you a perfect shot.

Most importantly, have fun! It is very easy to tell if the person in the picture is not having fun playing in front of the camera. Put some music on, dance around, and make it an enjoyable little stress-free moment of fun :)

~Karalee

How To Bokeh

Hey! I'm Sapphire, this is my first post on this new blog. Enjoy!

Bokeh. You have heard of it, haven't you? It's a technique of photography where you blur lights or ANYTHING that is slightly, ahem, twinkly. The blurring creates a type of photography called bokeh.

Those Circles, my friends, are bokeh.

There Are Many Ways To Take Bokeh. First: The DSLR

You Can Take Bokeh With A DSLR By Widening The Aperature. This Means You Will Have a SMALLER Number As Your Aperature. I Only Have One Successful Bokeh with a DSLR, I will try to add it at the bottom.

Well, Waddya Know, here it is now. I think it looks cool with a heart :) I DID NOT Edit this one. I Promise.

Step Two: How to bokeh with a digital, apeture-setting-less camera.

Set your camera, if possible, to manual focus (this works for DSLR's too) Or change the focus so it does not focus on items close up, or really focus at all. Get VERY close to your bokeh subject. On your camera screen, you should see the circles.

You can take bokeh pictures of ANYTHING!

This was taken of a scarf with sequins on it.

When you take bokeh with a DSLR, it is fun to have your camera focus on something OTHER than the lights. I'm not yet sure if this works for regular cameras, with practice it probably does. If you look at my DSLR picture, you will see that the camera focuses on my hand, and the lack of focus on the lights created the bokeh.

♥♥Sapphire

Photography Tips

  Hello all!  Tis Carolyn.  =]  So, this is the first post you've seen from me, but I'm sure you all know of me, and you might've read my about me page, which is above.  =]

  I'm sure this will not be the only "Photography Tips" post you'll see, but here it goes anyways!  =]

1. Lighting

  Lighting is one of the most important things when it comes to photography.  If you are looking for your best quality photo, open up the blinds and let some natural light in!  Don't use too much artificial light {ex.- lamps}, it makes the photograph grainy, which no one likes!  Don't be afraid to go outside on a clear day, too!  The lighting is 100% natural!

See, the lighting outside is fantastic.  :)

  Taking pictures during the day is a much better idea than at night.  You don't want grainy pictures, as I've said before.

Night time, too much artificial light, and a dark part of my closet.  NOT A GREAT IDEA!

2. Clear + Clean Spaces

  Using a messy desk or a cluttered closet for the subject of your photos isn't such a great idea!  Find a clean, open, area to take your pictures.  A good idea would be a small place between two piece of furniture, such as the photo below.

3. Interesting Subjects

  Are you more interested in seeing pictures of cool things or messy desks?  I'd definitely say cool things!  Try to refrain from posting too many pictures of cluttered places!

4. Editing- Yay or Nay?

  Editing photos isn't an easy task.  You don't want your pictures to look too much like they're edited.  Try some simple, but beautiful, effects instead of gaudy ones.  Use "auto-fix" to get a crisper photo, a LIGHT use of "boost" to make your colors brighter, or black and white and sepia for a vintage look.

~~

  Hope these tips have helped you!  :D

~Carolyn