How to take abnormal Christmas tree photos.

Hello!
This is Audrey from The Daily Wyatt. I want to talk to you about how fun it is to take abnormal photos of your Christmas tree.

I have a very small ghetto tree that I have had since I was 18 when I randomly moved out on my own. It was the first tree I ever bought and it has seen better days.

So this year as we set it up (yes before Thanksgiving. I know I know.) I noticed all the icky bare spots, how it tilted and it was just ugly. So when it came to taking the normal pictures of it I wanted to be a little more artistic with it. Give it more life, so I decided to concentrate on just the lights.



So I put my camera settings on 0.8 f 5.6 ISO 200 no tripod. As a clicked the shutter instead of holding my camera still I turned it in a circular motion while pointing it towards the tree which made the lights turn into little circles.
 

It was so simple and the only edits I did was boost the colors to make them a little brighter.
So when your taking pictures of you tree this year try and do something out of the normal. Who knows you might get something amazing.

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Audrey from The Daily Wyatt

Get creative with textures

I know that a lot of the times I post on here I talked about textures. but I love that we can create images that we want in this digital age. So I just want to do a step by step tutorial to added out the norm textures to allow you to get creative with your photos.

A few weeks ago I went to a balloon festival and the balloons didn't take to the air until really late which didn't give me the ideal light I wanted. So after being bummed out by the photos I took I decide that I was going to save them by added what I wished I could have captured.

Now just know that I used Photoshop Elements 8 so if you use something else some of these tips might not work for you.

 
First you need to open up the photo you want to edit and do your clean edits because you want you photo to be the best it can before you add any type of textures. I know I wanted to make this photo very dramatic. So I searched the internet for free textures for Photoshop and brushes.

The textures I used were these…

How I added it all together was added the warmth to it with a PW action.

Then I added the clouds change they layer to soft light lowered the opacity to my liking and erased the texture over the hot air balloon.

Then added the stars again changing the layer to soft light lowing the opacity erased the texture over the hot air balloon.

I fixed the colors added a sun haze with a coffee shop action. added the grass to make it more alive. (again changed to soft light lowing the opacity.)  I first made a new layer then added the moon with a “moon bush” then I lowered the opacity to make it more realistic. added a vignette then added the border texture.

I think I fixed the colors again with actions. sharpened and reduced the noise and was done. NOW, this took a few hours to get it right. ( and I still see things I would change.) So be patient but do be creative. Textures can make amazing photos if you know how to use them and the only way to learn is by practicing.

 

Here are some others I took that day that I added textures too so you can see how different textures can change the mood of your photos.

 

If you guys end up using textures like these I would love to see them! Post them into our FLICKR GROUP so we can get inspired by all of you and link up to the linky I host every Thursday for Texture Thursday.

 

 

Audrey- The Daily Wyatt

Change your prospective

I found that being new to photography I have questioned what my "style" of photo taking is and late at night as Pandora plays I find myself lost in flickr. Amazed at the amount of talent and inspiration there is. I click on that "favorite" star more and more on each photo that moves me in ways that can only stir my soul and as I look back into my favorite folder I found that "Style" I prefer.

So if you have ever questioned what you think your photos should be like or what makes you, you.

Don't.

Step back and look at what makes your favorites list and ask why and then all you need to do is change your prospective and allow that creativity to seep through.

So for some great "prospective" I will share some wonderful photos I found on flickr as well as mine to give you an idea that not all photos need to have rules or guidelines they just need to be something that makes you, you. Something that will later on stir your soul and reach the depths of your artistic abilities.

*Click on each photo to see more from that photographer.

Toddler Toes:

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Long Jacket:

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And now for a few of mine...

The Daily Wyatt

Now I am not saying that I am as near as good as those others yet but I just wanted to share some inspiration so we can look beyond the "normal" way of looking at things and seeing the beauty in a different prospective.

So this week I would love for everyone to post some pictures with a "different prospective" into the PAPERHEART CAMERA FLICKR GROUP and I will share some of the great ones on here.

I hope we can find that little something that stirs that creativity this week!

 

 

 

  Audrey @ The Daily Wyatt

Inspired by...Fashion and Street Photography

If you're anything like me (and I know you are based on all of your comments), we'd all like to see Spring arrive a little faster. Warm months are full of inspiration...but these cold months leave most of us in the dark.

Just this week, I was admiring another blogger's (Caroline of Constantly Evolving) photographs taken in an airport. Remembering how much I loved her 31 Strangers in 31 Days project, she introduced me to The Sartorialist. Thank you Caroline!

Blogger Scott Schumann (aka, The Sartorialist) shares photos from his "Visual Life" with over 70,000 readers a day. He started his blog, The Sartorialist, simply to share photos of people that he saw on the streets of New York that he thought looked great. After working in the fashion industry for 15 years, he always felt that there was a disconnect between what he was selling in the showroom and what he was seeing real people (really cool people) wear in real life.



So, if you feel like you've been lacking a little bit of creativity lately...or you're looking for inspiration, I hope you'll watch the video and look at his work. I promise that you'll be inspired! Furthermore, if you feel inspired to get out in the streets and photograph real people, we'd love to see it in the Paper Heart Camera Flickr Group Pool.

Since I'm also a Mortal Muse, I encourage you to post your favorite street scenes in the Mortal Muses Flickr Group Pool. Click HERE for more information about the upcoming theme.

See ya soon!

Ashley @ Ramblings and Photos

A little inspiration from our Flickr and 365 groups!

Hi there from Christina. This is my first post as a contributor to Paper Heart Camera. I was trying to decide what I would write about for this first entry and decided to go dig through our Flickr and 365 groups. Found some amazing shots there! Seriously, some really beautiful work!!! I decided to go choose some of my favorite landscape/nature/macro shots, since those are often my focus in photography. Here are some of my faves in no particular order! Enjoy!

{jeskapugliese}

Why I chose it: I love the stark simplicity of this; the tight focus; the tiny details; fabulous

{The Daily Wyatt}

Why I chose it: Wow! Beautiful color; amazing focus;
and some great processing...check out that bokeh layer

{leavesnbloomphotography}

Why I chose it: This is just ahhhhhhhh! The obviously fabulous capture of the rainbow;
the composition; color; the sunlight on the tree. I love this!

{satakieli}

Why I chose it: this says something to me; kind of forlorn, sad, abandoned; the monotone color scheme; the details in the water droplets, almost look like tears

{allie photography}

Why I chose it: the detail in this just grabs you; the sunlight; the green green grass;
the little drops of dew; something about it just makes me happy! 

{♥AG Photography{Amarie}♥}

Why I chose it: This is lovely! The simple color of it...just highlighting the red shed;
the softly falling snow; I just want to be sitting looking out of a window at that scene

Looking forward to writing more posts over here at Paper Heart! It's so great to be in a community with so many talented photographers! You all do such amazing work and there's a ton of inspiration to be found just digging through our flickr groups! Check them out!

Here's my most recent entry over on our flickr group:

 {cmh photography}

 

Amazing self portrait series.

This cool series begins in 1936. The 16 year old, Ria van Dijk, picks up a gun and shoots at a target. Each time she hits the target, it sets off the shutter of a camera and captures the moment of Ria aiming her gun.

This series of photos documents almost every year of her life up until present time. It's such a cool and unusual perspective. Doesn't it make you want to document your life this way? How cool.

{Where it all started: 1936}

{1938}

{1949}

{1951}

{1954}

{1956}

{1969}

{1973}

{1989}

{1997}

{2006}

{2009}

There are even more photos than I shared here! I just shared my favorites. I really love how you can see more than just Ria in the photos. You see the styles change... the aging... Please head over to Lens Culture to view all the photos!