Hey, friends! It’s nice to see you again. Thanks for sticking with me. I’ve been busy taking photos!
In photography class we are working on using natural light to illuminate our photos — to “see the light” is the hallmark of a good photographer. As bloggers, we know that a striking photo is important to our work. It’s also easy to use simple items to boost the light in your photos — try using a piece of white posterboard as a reflector. In this photo of a crystal punchbowl, I had a white foam core board over on the right, and the mirror also gave more reflected light. You may remember this mirror from a previous post about creating vignettes. I also posted another photo the last time I took a photography class. I’m very consistent. 🙂
This photo of wedding cake was shot against a wall of windows — tricky lighting for anyone, much less an amateur. By getting in close, my camera was able to read the light from the cake rather than from the windows. This is a common shot I see from food photographers as well as tablescapers. A reflector would have worked here, too, and I certainly need one in my kitchen at home.
How many of you are using the “save” option on Facebook? For a hoarder like me, it’s pretty much the best thing ever. I save recipes, interesting articles, and inspirational photos. It’s a lot better than printing stuff out or cluttering up my friends’ Facebook feeds with my singular interests, and it’s a lot easier to use on-the-go than Pinterest. Once I’ve read something thoroughly, I can decide if I want to keep it or not. One of the people I follow is Sandra Kaminski, who creates beautiful flower arrangements and has them photographed by Geoff Hedley. You can see her work on her website and I encourage you to follow her on Facebook. Click here to feast your eyes!
Life is too short to waste on bad photography, and I welcome your comments and advice about what you do to make your photo magic!
Great to hear from you and I’m looking forward to seeing your photography!
It’s fun to try new things with a camera. I’ve used a form core board before, too. It’s not a habit to use it, so I usually don’t think about it until after I’ve completed my photo session. I recently brought a portable utility light in from the garage. It helps, but there can be shadowing issues. I love to use the no-flash setting so the camera will pull all the available light in from the room. In some situations, that works better than using a flash. Since I haven’t spent as much time as I should have with developing good technique, I rely heavily on editing features at PicMonkey. It’s getting me through for now. Good for you…for taking the time to learn. By the way, the cake looks delicious! 🙂
I love that first photo the glass really pops out.
I’m not sure if you read a lot of articles but Instapaper is great for that (it also strips out the ads and extra photos). You also might look into something like Pocket which is great for saving things especially if you have a smart phone!