What I've Learned from 3 Days of No Photos

  Today is the fourth day I havent taken a photo.  I actually plan to take one today and I have the perfect picture outlined in my head.

  I just haven't felt like picking up my camera since Saturday.  And its OK.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

  However, I am realize a few things about when I don't take my photo a day. 

  1-The days don't seem quiet as rich.  It's almost like looking forward to creating that one photo is the icing on a rather plain, boring cake.  There are so many options and opportunities to be creative with the photo and when I don't take it it's like I'm a non-creative being.

  2- When I go to bed at night I don't really feel I've accomplished anything.  Whereas, if I MAKE myself take that one photo, even if I've neglected the rest of that day's "to do" list, I can go to bed feeling like I've done something.

  3- It's MUCH easier to take a photo a day if you have specefic events or special occasions that you're going to.  All during the Christmas holiday's, I was so busy with friends to visit, holiday lights to see, holiday baking, etc. etc that there was a constant plethora of interesting things to photograph.  Now that it's January, there aren't that many events going on.

  So, having a break from the camera is ok.  Like I mentioned above, I'm not going to beat myself up or feel like I have to start over on my 365 day journey.  I just have to know I can't stay in this place forever. 

Sara

PS. What about you? Have you taken on a photo project for 2012 and are getting behind or have skipped a few days?  If so, I'd love to hear your remedy for getting back on track.....

White Balance - A Little Change with a Big Effect

  I began a photo tips email to my clients the beginning of January.  Each month I plan to send out an email with a tip, trick, how to, or answer to a question I've received.  I haven't gotten any feedback from it yet but hoping and praying more people will be interested and sign up.

  Here is the content from the first email.  I'm sure most of you guys already know about White Balance but here's a simple tutorial as a refresher! 

White Balance

 

This is a New Year and I'd like to share with you one small tip that really can make photos you take indoors (or outdoors) turn out much better!

You may or may not have heard the term "White Balance". So I'll give you a condensed meaning! Boiled down to the bare bones, white balance is the camera setting that makes white images look the correct shade of white in your image. Have you ever taken an indoor photo only to find that it's too cool (has a blueish tint) or too warm/orange? That is because the setting of your camera's White Balance is not set correctly for the light you are in.

Setting the White Balance is simple and most camera's should have this feature available.

Here's how to set your White Balance for the location you are at:

1) Find the Settings on your camera

2) Find the White Balace selection

3) determine what lighting type you are in (there should be several different choices [tungsten, fluorescent, cloudy, etc].

4) Choose the setting that best represents the light you are in

5) Take a photo while in that setting

You should see that your photo more closely resembles the actual lighting that you see with your naked eye.

If you want even better results, follow steps 1-2 and then go from here:

3) Go to "Preset"

4) There should be some prompt to let you manually fill your screen with something white or grey and take a shot. Once you have filled the lens with something white [a sheet of computer paper, etc] or grey and have taken a photo of it, the correct lighting should be set.

5) Take a photo & see the difference!

Using this simple but highly effective tool I have greatly improved my photos in the last few months!! I hope that you have success with it too.

If you have any questions regarding White Balance or the instructions in this post or can't find where this might be located on your camera, please email me and I'll see if I can help!

  When did you learn that setting your White Balance could help your photos look better? And do you have any comments or suggestions regarding White Balance?

Sara