All You Ever Wanted To Know About Lighting

I love this lighting blog.

It all started when David Hobby wanted to pass along lighting advice to a friend. He wrote down some tips and created a little blog called The Strobist. Now that little blog commands more than 1.6 million page views a month, according to an article in USA Today, and Hobby’s lighting tips have turned into a resource for over 200,000 photographers.

"David has demystified flash photography," says noted photographer Joe McNally, who has shot for National Geographic and Sports Illustrated. "David's made it accessible and given solutions to people that aren't beyond the reach of your average Joe."

Or your average Jane.

Professional photographers know that being able to effectively use light is one of the most important skills in the photo toolbox. Hobby’s site, which is designed to help people using DSLR cameras, makes the skill of lighting something most of us can grasp and properly apply.

As for this average Jane, she’s hooked.

To read the USA Today article, click http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/2008-04-22-strobist-blog_N.htm?csp=34

To visit the Strobist, click http://strobist.blogspot.com/

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky...

This picture..one of my twin boys..was a total surprise.

We were shooting on the beach in bright sunlight, so the LCD screen wasn't much help, but when we returned from our trip, I downloaded the series of pictures and came across this shot.

I haven't stopped laughing since.

It's such a fantastic representation of their relationship..easy, funny and always entertaining. Yes, they bicker--even boys with the same DNA will both desire the same Hotwheels car--but they are truly best friends and are always ready with a goofy inside joke, a sideturned smile or a sidewalk chalk covered embrace.

So, when your kids are playing or showing some tenderness to one another, grab your camera.

Sometimes you just get lucky.

Why You Should Ignore the Laundry...

“Do you want to push F11 or should I?” my husband asked.

It was THE BUTTON.

The one that would completely reformat my hard drive and erase all my files. This is the second serious hard drive malfunction I’ve had in less than a year, and with two different brands of laptop computers. My latest offender is a six month old HP Pavilion that I love with an affection usually reserved for fuzzy puppies. It has served me quite well.

Until it didn’t.

Now, I’m blessed to be married to a man who has a successful career in computers and technology, so he quickly volunteered to spend way too much of his time trying to diagnose the issue through a variety of methods before coming to the informed conclusion that we simply needed to start over.

I had just signed up for an online back-up service, and we have a litany of DVDs and external hard drives in our office, so we had two back-ups of my data before erasing my drive. Even with all that insurance, pushing THE BUTTON was still an unnerving experience.

The concept of ‘Long Term Photo Care’ is something I covered in my book, Digital Photography for Busy Women, so I’ve spent the last couple of years fairly immersed in topics related to keeping digital photographs organized, protected and preserved. This is a good thing since I’ve had to call upon that research several times already. I wrote the book specifically because I knew the impact losing many years of precious photographs could have on a person. It was one of the most common issues raised by my peers, and yet there weren’t many books that covered photography from a ‘post capture’ perspective. It is a topic that will touch many of us at one time or another.

I’m happy to say that I’m back up and running after just one day; the fact that my delay in productivity has been extended to having yet another sick child at home is a topic we’ll reserve for a (trying to balance) work/life blog post.

If you can’t remember the last time you backed up your favorite photos, I implore you to ignore all other items on your to-do list until you can at least copy some files on a couple of DVDs as a first step.

Not having my laptop for just 24 hours reminded me how reliant I am upon the data housed inside its shiny silver casing. Imagine what it would be like not to have access to your most precious digital pictures.

‘Bummer’ just doesn’t cover it.

A New Year's Resolution That Still Lets You Eat Brownies

How are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions now that a few weeks have passed?

While I love the fresh start that each New Year offers, I shun any resolution that involves giving up chocolate, watching Psych or finding matches for all the stray socks, Army men and Barbie shoes that populate my casa.

Those things are here to stay.

So, for all you weary resolution list-makers—here’s my suggestion:

On your resolution list where it says “go to gym 8 days a week” and “give up dessert until my 85th birthday”--go ahead and just scratch one of those off and replace it with “organize my digital pictures.” Yes, there is room for a healthy lifestyle, sweet indulgences and being able to stroll down memory lane.

This resolution is one that is very attainable, although it may seem like a daunting task at first. For those who still remain unconvinced, here is my cheat sheet for how to make sure you can find your favorite photos without losing your cool.

And it only requires 30 minutes per week.

Week One:
Start Searching: Get online and do a search for ‘image management software’ or ‘photo organization’ programs. Write down a few that look good. Maybe they had solid reviews from a computer magazine or other resource that you trust. Print out a few pages from your search and put them in your folder. All done.

Week Two:
Pick and Play: Spend 30 minutes reading about the top choices. Which ones have features you like (and are explained in a language that resembles English)? Do you want to mark your favorite photos, learn how to edit and enhance them, or find that picture of Uncle Lou on a moment’s notice? Take a few notes on the sheets you printed last week that will help you remember which products you liked and why.

Week Three:
Bite the Bullet and Buy (or Not!) Many image management programs offer free trials or even free copies. Choose the program you think will best suit your needs and download a trial version. Don’t play with it yet if you don’t have time. Just get it installed (making sure it comes from a reputable source) and make sure it opens properly.

Week Four:
Wander and Explore: Your goal here is not to become an expert. It’s simply to play with a few tools and see what each one does. Don’t save any of your changes if you’re editing a photograph. Just consider yourself an imaging explorer and get a lay of the land, so to speak.

Week Five:
Choose One Thing: Pick a technique or feature you’d like to learn. Only one. Monkey around, search the online help files or Google the topic to pick up some tips. You can even find photo software tutorials on YouTube.
If you’d like to learn more, great. If not, go back to your chore list.
One warning here: once you get started, you might discover that you’d rather do this than the laundry, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s encouraged.

Week Six and Beyond:
Repeat Week Five.
If you’re like me, maybe this photo organizing resolution is one that will stick.

If not, well, do an extra 30 on the treadmill for me, ok?

Capturing Great Holiday Moments

When it comes to the holidays, a little preparation can make ye more merry; after all, who can feel festive when you’re bouncing like a basketball from one task to the next?

December can send even the calmest person straight for the spiked punch.

This anxiety often extends to holiday photography. Most of us don’t think about pictures until we’ve got everyone gathered at the table. This year, make sure you’re ready to capture great shots by doing a few things ahead of time:

• Learn How To Use the Timer on Your Camera: Don’t be left out of the holiday shots again this year. Pick up the manual (and if you can’t find it, go online and download instructions) and get familiar with how to set the delay timer on your camera. Practice on yourself a few times until you get a shot you like.

• Invest in a Tripod: This is a great time to ask Santa for a tripod—and feel free to get it well before December 25th! It doesn’t need to be large or fancy; in fact, there are even mini tripods for compact cameras today that are designed to work in almost any situation. It’s a great excuse to spend some time in your local camera store, and you might even get a few Christmas gifts crossed off your list.

• Get Close: To capture those family interactions, your child’s excitement and your Uncle Albert’s infectious laugh, zoom in to create a more personal shot. Eliminate the background clutter and frame the shot a bit tighter than normal. You’ll create some beautiful pictures that are more personal than the traditional head-on photographs.

• Hand it Over: Yes, I’m telling you to let a youngster borrow your digital camera to take a few photos. Establish clear rules (must use wrist strap, no arguing over the camera, etc) and let her take a few photos. In our family, we’ve gotten some of our favorite photos this way.

• Print This: If at all possible, run to a nearby photo retailer or drug store and print some copies for loved ones before they travel back home. You can also burn a copy onto CD for them, but there’s something more fun about having printed pictures in your hands this time of year. You can also order pictures online and pick them up from you local store—just call for details.

Now you’ve crossed another to-do off your list—no sending holiday photos in January when you’re trying to get your post-Christmas groove back.

May this holiday season be filled with family, laughter, and love, and may your photographs reflect these times just as you remember them.

A Good Laugh For Moms Everywhere....

This is for all the moms out there who feel a bit like they're all living their own 'groundhog day.' When a friend sent this to me, I laughed so hard that I was just shy of pulling a muscle.

I salute all you amazing ladies. Enjoy!

Francis Ford Coppola Loses Computers/Back-Up Hard Drive to Theft

Francis Ford Coppola is a man at a loss.

In more ways than one.

When it comes to valuable data, few people would argue that 15 years of Francis Ford Coppola’s work, scripts and personal photographs would qualify as having substantial financial and sentimental value.

Coppola recently told an Argentine newscaster that he had lost 15 years of valuable data, including precious family photos, scripts and other works. He pleaded for the return of his computers and back-up hard drive, all of which were stolen when his home in Argentina was burglarized last week.

This is yet another reason why, when it comes to backing up our favorite photos, we need to have two methods IN TWO LOCATIONS for the best possible protection.

We hope his valuable scripts and cherished photographs are recovered and retuned to him soon.
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