Blue Monday Photo Challenge

 

I just found out about photo challenge, Blue Monday TODAY! So, I wanted to jump in and post a blue photo to get in the action. : )

My blue Monday is about how we love to buy movies. Not just any dvds, but Blu-Rays. I love the blue case and our collection has gotten so out of hand, but makes a very pretty display with all the blue when lined up.

Don't you agree?

Try your hand at Blue Monday. : )

Do you like taking photos of food?

Lately, I have been dabbling in food photography. I have to admit that I love it. I'm not the greatest cook, but I'm learning and when I get a good looking dish, I photograph it. I even started a food photo blog to document it.

 One thing I found is that you have to treat your food subjects just like you do your people subjects. Natural lighting works best, especially if you want to submit your photo to the big food sites, like foodgawker and tastespotting. I'm not a big fan of them since I think that their judging is based on whether they had their coffee that morning, or if their dog crapped on their ipad.

Seriously, I've seen bad photos posted, and I've had way better (I'm not just saying) photos get denied.

Really?

Ok, enough of that. On to taking great food photos. Of course, when I get inspired to take on a challenge, I jump on the Internet. Everything I know in life, I've taught myself from the Internet. Ok, not really, but I do my research. Upon searching, I found great resources to help me embark on this food photography journey.

My favorite right now is a very helpful food photography ezine series, Photographing Food., by Taylor Mathis. Taylor is a food and lifestyle photographer based in Charlotte, NC. 

Right now, he has four issues:

Window Lighting

 

 

Color and Camera

 

 



Shooting at Night

 

Ingredient and Process Shots

 

 

 

Here is the best part-they are only $5 an issue!! You can't beat that.  I have not seen that price for a photography book anywhere.

 

My favorite is...well..I love all of them, sorry! Each issue had something that I wanted to learn about, or had a solution to a problem I had. I'm a very visual learner, so I was glad to see all the images that show step-by-step how to accomplish the look you want.

 

 

If you are looking to dabble in photographing food., yourself, I think you should invest in these magazines and remember, I don't recommend what I wouldn't use myself.

 



Order Photographing Food today,

Hydroponics is Easy to Love

Whether you are looking for nutrient additives to make your experience a success or perhaps a better selection of photography lighting kits, there are tons of photography lights and other supplies available at TheLaShop.com.

 Hydroponics is basically growing plants without soil, but still using water and nutrients or whatever ends up being chosen. There are tons of helpful nutrients that you can add to your plants that will be able to help you grow more efficiently and safely.

 Some of the nutrients that are available include tons of different hybrid mixes and whatnot that were formulated to help with the growth and health of your plants. Some mixes are only a dollar each, which means it’s very easy to keep your plants growing and happy! Some would recommend the “Organic Feeder” which would mix nicely with most plants, no matter what you are growing.

LA shop Hydronics has been BBB accredited since 2011 and is thrilled to keep serving its thriving customer base. Specializing in garden and plant life, LA shop Hydronics will surely help you create a garden that is easy to maintain and serves you well. Tons of indoor gardening supplies are available as well as quality grow tents and lights that will help any aspiring indoor gardener to get started. From organic to aeroponic and many other types of indoor gardening, you can be sure to find everything you need from LA shop.

Hydroponics isn’t hard at all and anyone who is curious should read a little bit more on it and see just how easy it is! After you have all the supplies set up, it’s really only a matter of maintaining. If you want to be successful in hydroponics, all you really have to do is research a little bit and then just make sure you maintain.

Food Photography-My New Love

I can officially say that I am now retired from wedding photography. My heart just wasn't into it anymore. When I shot a wedding, I would find myself only loving shooting the detail shots. My favorite part of the day was when we made it to the reception hall and I could shoot the cake and food. When I should have made it be about the couple, I was making it about the cake.

It wasn't until after I found myself spending hours on pinterest looking up food images instead of wedding shots, I realized that I needed to go another direction.

Food photography.

I'm so thrilled to say that in the next couple of weeks, I'll be announcing my new blog (don't worry, I'm still keeping this one too!) showcasing recipes, food photography, reviews and giveaways.

In the meantime, if you are finding yourself looking at food porn, check out these awesome foodies.


Chasing Delicious
Seven Spoons
Cookie and Kate
Sunday Suppers
Not Without Salt

Also, here's a great book on food photography.

Tasty Food Photography

This post includes some affiliate links.

Pick Up a Brand New Portrait eBooks & Get a Free Companion One [Limited Time]

Today I have great pleasure to announce a brand new dPS eBook that I know is going to help a lot of people improve their portrait photography.

Portraits: Making the Shot by Gina Milicia.

Bonus: If you pick it up during its launch we’ll throw in a special bonus eBook with it for free!

 Portraits: Making the Shot

Gina has broken down her guide to portraiture into 5 great sections:
 The Rules: learn the 10 commandments that Gina uses to guide her photography to consistency (and brilliance)   
 The Gear: discover the best portrait gear with some tips on buying great second hand additions to your kit.
 The 3 Amigos: This is where many beginner photographers get themselves into a twist, but it’s a lot simpler than you might think. Learn how aperture, ISO and shutter speed work together.
 The Lights: Step-by-step instructions on using light meters, balancing daylight and flash and creating beautiful skin tone.
 The Moves: Every pose you’ll need and how to create it, as well as tips on finding inspiration, the importance of preparation and insider tricks on directing the shot.

Free Bonus Portrait Recipes eBook

As a companion to Portraits: Making the Shot , Gina also put together a 2nd great ‘Recipes’ eBook in which she shows 14 of her favourite portraits and shows you the ingredients she used to take the shots. In each recipe you’ll learn about how Gina set the scene, what gear she used, how she lit the image, what settings she chose and how she posed her subject.

Once you understand how these different ingredients work together, you can begin to create your own signature style of shooting portraits.

This Recipe eBook will normally retail for $9.99 but pick up Portraits: Making the Shot today for $19.99 and we’ll throw it in for free as an early bird bonus (effectively a 33% discount).

Pick Up a Copy Today : Portraits: Making the Shot

As usual Portraits: Making the Shot is covered by a 60 day money back guarantee (if you don’t find it helpful just let us know and we’ll refund your money) so you can have confidence that it and the bonus Recipes eBook will be a worthwhile investment in your photographic learning.

Learn more about the eBook here or pick up a copy by clicking the ‘Download it Now’ button below

Five basic props for your newborn photography

When I shot newborns, I went crazy with props. I hit up Etsy and every thrift store I could find. Looking back, I wished that I had sat back and thought about what I actually needed.

If you want to get into newborn photography, you really don't need tons of props (unless you want to!). You really just need some basic prop/items to make it work.

1. Blankets: I got real crazy with the blankets. When I was at Target (my favorite store-ever), or Walmart, I would pick up a new blanket just about visit. Now I have so many, I change up the blankets on my couches or all the beds just so I get my money's worth.
Simple blankets in a variety of colors and textures work best. I have found that Target and Gordman's have great choices.

2. Wraps: Gauze wraps are perfect to add to the session. It's probably good to have one per each blanket you have.

 

3. Faux Furs: Parents love fur with their newborn. That was the most asked for shot by the parents. You can use it in baskets, or on the floor. Make sure you at least have a white fur if you only get one.

You can find faux fur at your local fabric store sold by yard.



 4. Hats: I probably was just as bad with hats and head bands as I was with blankets. Hats are a definite must for newborn photography-parents will ask and probably bring their own as well. Etsy is a great source for hats.

5. Baskets/Crates:  You can do a lot with baskets and crates. Many poses can be done and incorporate the blankets and furs in them. You can find them at thrift stores, garage sales and Etsy.

7. Bean Bag: Bean bags are not rally a prop, but a prop helper. They can be handy for blankets and for those signature sleepy poses. Bean bags can be found at Walmart and other stores.

Building your prop supplies can be fun and inexpensive. Get creative and just remember to buy only safe props and think of baby first!

Black Friday Photography Marketing and Giveaway!

I'm sure you are getting your turkey ready, or you already are eating. Some are already getting ready to shop. You photographers out there are probably wondering what kind of sale you might come across photography related.  Over at Modern Tog, the sales are awesome! Oh, and did I mention there's a giveaway as well?

Modern Tog is doing an exclusive, limited time pre-release of her 6-week Photography Marketing Bootcamp e-book that will only be on the market through Cyber Monday before it is taken off again until Spring.

This e-book is going to give you 6 weeks worth of detailed marketing tasks to do to get more clients as fast as possible . It's the same things Jamie Swanson personally does in order to catch up on her marketing efforts after neglecting them during the busy season, and it's helped her go from a brand new business to completely replacing her household income in only 3 years.

It's incredibly practical and filled with specific tasks and directions that will get you moving in the right direction right away. You can get an exclusive copy of this 83-page e-book right now for only $29 by clicking here. Once Tuesday comes along, the sale will be over and the product will be unavailable for several months, so get it now!

This e-book was created as a companion to the more robust photography e-book that she wrote, but that book isn't going to be finished until spring, and will only be available in the future when you purchase that new e-book once it launches.

What the Bootcamp covers:

How to get as many new clients as quickly as possible for as little money as possible.

What the Bootcamp is not:

Branding or direction or more advanced strategies. This is a down and dirty, get'er done list of things you should be able to do right now without a lot of preparation. The more advanced stuff that takes additional effort will be coming in the marketing ebook this coming spring.

Get it now before it's gone. Only available for 5 days. Just $29.
Buy now:
 6-week Photography Marketing Bootcamp

While you are there, enter to win an iPad mini!

                                  Click here to view more details

Happy Thanksgiving!