One of my general rules in life is that I don't line up to see anyone (with the exception of the 90 minutes I recently spent in line with my daughter in Disney World so that she could meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen). When I heard that Chris Hadfield was speaking at The Exposure Show in Toronto this past weekend, I made an exception. I arrived an hour before the show opened, two-and-a-half hours before the presentation, and I managed to secure a wristband and a good place in line. Fortunately, my line-buddies were lovely people and the time passed quickly.
White balance is one of those settings on the camera that no one really knows much about, particularly since there's an "automatic" option on the dial. Most of the time, setting your white balance to automatic is acceptable, particularly if you're editing your photos after you take them and can adjust colour as needed. Adjusting colour in post-processing can be a lot of work, though, and you may find that your camera can help you out a little bit if you adjust your white balance settings.
Ah, the Disney vacation—a popular destination for families with small (and not-so-small) children. It's a mix of magic, fun, and chaos wrapped into each day.
It's almost here . . . the spring weather. I can feel it. Sort of. Maybe. At least the birds are chirping in the morning, so something has to be changing, right? In anticipation of the fact that our entryways will soon not be covered by salt and piles of snowpants, boots, and mittens, why not spring clean our creative ruts and start taking some photos?
To help you out, I've created a photo-a-day challenge. Just follow the prompts below for each day in April and take a photo that fits the theme in some way. Be creative!
The second element in the Exposure Triangle is shutter speed. Your shutter speed represents the amount of time that the camera’s shutter stays open when you’re taking a photograph. The longer the shutter speed is open, the more light reaches your camera's sensor.
You’ve seen them everywhere—those photographs with a tack-sharp subject and a blurred out background. How does that happen? The secret is in the aperture setting. (Before you read on, you might want to open this Glossary of Photographic Terms.)
The word “photography” comes from the Greek words “photo,” which means light, and “graph,” which means drawing—it literally means to draw with light. This blog is called Find the Light, because photography is all about understanding how to use the light that’s available to create the picture you want.
Ah, the selfie. Word of the year for 2013, the selfie doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
I'm not a big fan of having my photo taken, so I don't generally post a lot of selfies. When I do, I usually can't stand them since arms aren't long enough to take a picture at an attractive angle. However, there are moments when I'd like to take a shot of me and my kids, or my friends together, and there's no one else around to take the picture.
Are you fan of Disney movies? If so, you are going to love these beautiful images created by photographer Annie Leibovitz. You've probably seen some of them in print publications over the past few years, but the NY Daily News compiled a gallery that included not only many of the photos, but some of the "pull-back" shots that show the set-up, as well.
There's Queen Latifah as Ursula from The Little Mermaid:
The Winter Olympics in Sochi are about to begin, and everyone will be following their favourite athletes, whether they be the medal favourites or the underdogs. If you're interested in checking out a different perspective on the games, Jeff Cable (an American photographer who is covering the Olympics) is blogging about his experience.
My children are small enough for them to love seeing their photograph on, well, anything. Last year, I decided to make custom Valentine's Day cards to send to school, and they were a hit.
If you have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (preferably recent versions), you can make a card like this (except, obviously, with a picture of your child inside):
Family Day is coming up and if you live in an area that’s been plagued by the never-ending polar vortex, your kids are probably as squirrelly as mine. Are you (like us) running out of ideas on how to keep them entertained? Why not teach them about photography? You’d be surprised how much they love it and how creative their pictures can be.
I know what you’re thinking: I can’t possibly let my kids use my camera. What if they drop it? What if they put their fingers on the lens? What if they break it?
We live in a world where we aresurrounded by altered images. There is so much talk about the amount of photo editing that happens in magazines, and the impact that it has on women to look perfect.
Did you ever look at a photograph and wonder how they captured that soft, serene light? Have you been on vacation and wondered why, when you get home, your pictures don’t have the same dreamy quality that you saw when researching your trip? No matter what camera you use, there’s an easy way to take great photos in natural light and get that warm glow—use the golden hours.
I often think that photography is intimidating to many people because the lingo sounds so complicated. I’ve started this glossary off with terms that I will be using in my posts, and will add more as needed along the way. I’ll link back to this post when I use terms that are defined here. If there’s a term you need explained, leave a comment and I’ll add it.
The original Mamma Yamma and, currently, Jay the blue jay (on Gisele’s Big Backyard), Ali Eisner is much more than just a hand covered in felt. A Gemini Award-winning puppeteer, she is also a musician, composer, writer, and director.
