White Balance- It makes a difference!

In my last post, I mentioned that I needed to figure out the white balance on my camera.  I did just that.  There are settings for AUTO (where the camera figures it out for you daylight, florescent light, tungsten (regular indoor lightbulbs), cloudy, and shade.  There is also a custom setting.  Just to show you how this affects your pictures, I have two shots below. I can compare the color of the blue ornament on my tree to the picture.

Shot on AUTO setting:

See how yellow the lights are and how the color of the blue bulb is a little green?

Shot on Tungsten setting:

The lights are white and the bulb reflects the true color.


Just a little backround on my photography history-
I have always been obsessed with photographs.  They capture time.  The are permanent (or not so permanent) memories that can be handed down for generations.  I took Black & White photography in high school.  I used my dad's old 35mm Minolta film camera.  We developed our own film in the light room at the school.  We learned all about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.  Everything was fully manual back then.  Unfortunately, I forgot all of what I learned when I moved away from home and started using a cheap point and shoot film camera (later upgrading to a cheap point and shoot digital camera).  I was a photographer at a portrait studio (cookie cutter but higher end?).  That really didn't require much knowledge because the had studio lights and you didn't have to ever adjust anything except for the subjects.  I did learn a little about composition from that, but it was basic portrait composition and nothing all that creative.  So now I find myself trying to relearn all that I once learned about SLRs.  It is hard when the camera comes with a brain so you don't have to think.  I am the type of person who wants to shoot it right with the camera so it doesn't have to be tweaked on the computer.  I want my Photoshop abilities to be used for customizing, not fixing.  So you might think I am a bit OCD at some point, but it's really that I firmly believe if it's not done right, it shouldn't be done at all!

Bokeh

What is bokeh?  Until last night I had never heard of this.  I was reading some blogs and discovered what it is.  Bokeh is basically blurred light in a picture because it is out of the depth of focus.  When trying to achieve this, you just focus on something closer than the lights.  I found a few great tutorials on it here and here as well a how to really make it your own here.  The last one is pretty cool.  You can make heart shapes or any other shape you want- instead of circles.  I want to try that eventually.

If you are using a point and shoot camera, it is a little different (the tutorials above are all for DSLRs).  There is a tutorial for it here.

So these were my first attempts at it.  They are all photos of my Christmas tree which has all white lights.  They were quite yellow when I took them (like the second picture here) but I changed the white balance on two of them.  I should really adjust the white balance on my camera, but I haven't learned how to do that just yet- I will soon, though.  I think I could get better effects if I had some different lenses for my camera.  They would also probably be much nicer if I used my tripod.  The shutter speed was slower and I don't have a very steady hand.  For a first attempt (spur of the moment as well), I think they are great.

Try it out and see if you like it!

P.S. I am shooting with a Pentax K10D with the lens it came with- an SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 AL.

A better picture? Better sewing technique? The library saves the day!

With my newly acquired public library card, I am checking out books.  Many books.  They let you check out 50 at a time here.  AND, there are a ton of libraries here from which you can request books.  I just go online, search for what I want, request it (if it is in their library catalog), and wait 1-3 days if it isn't on hold or already checked out.  Then I pick it up at the nearest library.  This. is. awesome.  Having lived in a smaller town and not really frequenting libraries, I have never done this before (I could probably count the number of visits to a public library on one hand until this week).  I know, you all probably already knew about this great thing called a public library.  I am just not into reading (it sucks me in and I accomplish nothing).  I am changing that.  My girls were thrilled when I told them we were going to the library (I think I took them twice when we lived in Oregon).  So I've been requesting books left and right.  Sewing books.  Photography books.  I've also been reading online.  I've found blogs.  I keep deleting blogs I'm following because I find new ones that are awesome but there is a limit to how many you can follow.  300.  Can you believe that????  What is blogger thinking? Alas, this is my life lately.  Obsession with becoming a "professional" at photography and sewing.  I want to knock your socks off with my work.  Might be awhile though.  I'm still learning.

So follow along.  It might be a slow, tedious journey, but I plan to post pictures as I discover more about my camera and photography.  I plan to sew more clothes (hopefully for myself and not just the kids).  I might not post much between now and the end of the year due to all the projects I've got going on all while reading stacks and stacks of books, but I'll be back in full swing in January. 

P.S.  I did get my stockings done and will post pictures in the next few days!

How To: Take A Photo Of Yourself

The other day, I needed to take a photo of myself to put in the sidebar, directly to the right of this post.  I haven't had any pictures of me taken since fall and I look considerably different than I did then.

But there was no one here to take a photo of me, so I needed to do it myself.  I didn't want one of those photos where I'm holding the camera facing me with my arms outstretched, so I decided to do it a little differently.

I'm sure this is not news to most of you or anyone on the internet, but I thought I would share it anyway, just in case it is news to you.

It's really easy to get a decent head shot of yourself without someone else's help.  Follow these steps and you'll get a "fetching" photo of yourself in no time.

1.  Go get all dolled up.  If you're like me, you rarely apply makeup or style your hair, or wear anything but a t-shirt and yoga pants or jeans.  Head to the bathroom, apply that mascara, run a straightener through your hair or do whatever it is you do when you get ready to go to fancy restaurant.

2.  Put on something cute.  Trick:  If you're doing a head shot, you only have to look cute from the shoulders up, so don't worry about changing out of those yoga pants, just put on a cute shirt.

3.  Grab a mirror.  If you're mirror's moveable, like the one in my mom's bedroom, place it right next to or in front of a window or glass door.  This way, you can use the natural light from the outside to get a nice shot.  You should be facing the window/door when you take the picture, so there's not shadows on your face.

4.  Hold your camera with the lens looking into the mirror.  Take a photo of your mirror image.  Play around with how you want to smile, hold the camera, tilt your head, etc. until you get an image of yourself that's pretty cute.

5.  Upload your photo onto your computer and open it in some sort of photo editing software.  I'm cheap so I use paint.net or photobucket.com.  Both are free and work great.   For the photo at the right, I used paint.  Crop, play with color, contrast, and brightness levels, or make it Black and White or Sepia toned.  Play around and get it how you want.  Then save it.

 

You're done.  As long as you haven't cropped too much out of the photo, you should be able to print it out or use it as a profile photo or even in the sidebar of your own blog.

Pretty simple, huh?

Happy Creating!

Custom Camera Strap

As promised, and barely finished, I have a Custom Camera Strap tutorial for you.  Keep in mind, this camera strap is designed for a canon DSLR camera, it is not a wrist strap for a point and shoot and I haven't tested it on any other brand of camera.  You may need to test webbing widths on your camera before purchasing the webbing.

Supplies:

• 1/4 yard fabric
• 2 - 2 1/2" x 32" strips of thick fusible interfacing or you can use batting or fleece.
• 1 yard 1/2" webbing
• 2 - 1/2" wide clips

Cutting and creasing fabric:

Cut fabric to 34" long.  Fold in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.  Press, then open with wrong side facing up.

Using center crease as a guide, fold raw edges toward center, leaving 5/8" between raw edges and center crease.  Press.

Open out.  Fold 1/2" toward wrong side of fabric at each end.  Press.

Assembly:

Place one strip of interfacing, fusible side down on top of wrong side of fabric, between outer crease and center crease.  Repeat for other piece of interfacing between other outer crease and the center crease.

Fold fabric over interfacing.  Turn entire assembly over.  Press to fuse, following instructions provided with interfacing.

Turn back over.  Fold in half along center crease.  Press.  Your strap should now look like this.

Top stitch both long edges of strap 1/4" from edge backstitching at both ends.

Adding Quick Release Straps:

Cut 2 strips of webbing 7" long.  Using 1 strip of webbing and the male side of one clip, thread male side of clip onto webbing.  Fold webbing in half lengthwise.  Insert ends into end of strap.  Don't overlap ends.

Stitch, going over stitching 3 times.  Backstitch at the start and finish.  Repeat for other end of strap, this time using the female part of the clip.

Topstitch around all edges of strap 1/8" from the edge, going over the stitching 3 times at each end with webbing, to strenthen.

Camera Side Straps:

Cut two 9" strips of webbing.  Using 1 strap and the male end of the other clip, thread the male end onto the webbing.  Fold over 3/4".  Stitch closed going over stitching 3 times.  Stitch another line 1/8" from original seam, going over 3 times to strengthen.

Repeat with other strip of webbing and female side of clip.

Tip:  To keep ends of webbing from fraying, melt them with a lighter before sewing.  Be careful, you're playing with fire.

I cannot and will not be held responsible for any damages.  If you don't know how to do this, don't do it.  There are also non-fray liquids at the fabric store that you can apply or you can use clear fingernail polish.
Attaching to Camera:

To attach your quick release straps to your camera you will need these small pieces off of your original camera strap.  I call them "stays" since I don't know the technical term.

Once you have the quick release straps on your camera, you wont ever have to take them off to change your camera strap.

Thread  one of the stays onto the strap, then thread the strap through the loop on the camera.  Thread the loose end of the strap back through the stay and tighten down.  It should now look like this.

Repeat for other strap.  Now you can attach your padded camera strap by clipping the male end of the neck strap to the female end of the camera side strap.  Repeat for the other end.  You're done!

Fabulous?  I know, it is, isn't it.

Wanna win one?  Comment  and/or become a follower of miymdiary.blogspot.com and you're entered to win the strap I made for the tutorial!

Want an extra chance to win, Blog about it and put a link to miymdiary.blogspot.com in your post.  Then comment to let me know you blogged, leaving your blog address so I can come check you out.

This giveaway closes on Make It Monday, so make sure you get your comments and blogs in before then. 

I must have at least 6 entries to do the giveaway.  If there are not enough, the giveaway will be cancelled.  Please comment! 

Happy Creating!!

In The Works

First off this weekend, I'm hoping to figure out how to make a fully padded camera strap, or slipcover for my existing camera strap. 

I know there are tutorials on the internet for this project, but I didn't think any of them were quite right for me, so I'm making my own.

Watch for a tutorial the week after spring break, since I'm taking spring break off.

Also in the works this weekend is this project that I found over at Little Birdie Secrets. 

Thanks Little Birdie Secrets for the photo and tutorial!

Love it!  Greatest thing?  Although you can buy wet bags in the store, you can't get them to coordinate your diapers and wipes clutch or your decorative wipes clutch or your handbag.

So to make your own wet bags in the size and color of your choosing, check out this tutorial.

Happy Creating!