Moving Toward Manual Settings

If you have not tried shooting in manual mode before, you are limiting yourself as a photographer (IMHO). I personally do not (yet!) shoot in manual mode on a regular basis. As of this writing, I've actually only shot in manual once since I got my D40 in July. My personal goal is to be comfortable shooting in all modes. I've started with program mode, then moved to aperature priority (where I'm at now -- totally loving AP!) and will work my way through shutter priority then up to manual. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll be adventurous and daring and try manual next. Oooh!

The purpose of this post is to share with newbie photographers a great tutorial series on getting into manual mode. DPS has just recently posted a series titled "Moving Toward Manual Settings (a beginner's guide)", written by photographer, Natalie Norton. She has a great photoblog, btw!

Checkout this series at the links below:

1. Understanding Aperture
2. Understanding Shutter speed
3. Understanding ISO
   

The above photo was taken on 7/24 and was my first time ever using manual mode. Actually...it was a lot EASIER than I thought it would be! So why don't I continue using manual, you might ask?? I've read great tips from many veteran photographers who have all expressed the importance of becoming familiar with all the modes in your camera as you are starting out, primarily the semi-manual & manual modes (Program/AP/SP/Manual). This also helps you better understand the relationship with the "exposure triangle" (aperture/ss/iso) since you are able to control more of the settings yourself.

So....ENJOY moving toward manual! I'll be there alongside with ya!

Assignment: Weathered

Here are my two assignment submissions for this month's Christian Photographer's assignment, "weathered" - worn, stained, or warped by or as if by exposure to weather; seasoned. These shots were taken just today in our backyard, specifically for the assignment.

The top photo is a shot of an old wooden ladder from a monkey bar-type play set that my husband built when our son was just a toddler (8 years ago now, wow!). We tore the playset down last summer and have yet to get ride of the scrap wood. :) The second shot is the rusted rear bumper of my husband's old 1979 Ford F250 truck.

I had fun post processing these!

Tip: In Camera Settings

I felt led to share some tips that have greatly helped me in the beginning stages of my photography journey. So, here's my first photography tip! Woo-hoo!

To get beautiful, warm, and vivid colors straight out of your camera (SOOC), I would encourage newbie photographers to look into utilizing the custom "optimized image" settings on their camera. Since I own a Nikon, I will share my current settings from my D40. Canon and other users, I would suggest googling "in camera settings" for your particular model and see what you find. The DPS forum should also have some great posts on this for a wide variety of camera models.

Keep in mind, these settings may still have to be adjusted a bit depending on what you're photographing (especially when it comes to low light), but this is a great starter point. I learned about the following setting through a member in a SOOC Flickr group I belong to. He also was a D40 user.

• Color Mode IIIa (sRGB)
• Saturation: HardSharpening: 2
• Contrast: AutoWhite Balance:
• Auto -1 (for a warmer tone)
• Exposure Compensation: Right around +0.3 or -0.3, depending on the light

This setting has worked beautifully for me. The above photos are examples of this setting and are SOOC -- no post editing at all. They were all taken indoors. Ken Rockwell's custom settings are great as well! I used his settings when I first bought my camera.

I hope many find this tip helpful! Enjoy! :)

Ladies Summer Tea - part 2

More photos from the Summer Tea Party! Enjoy! :) Oh, I can't forget to mention that the top photo is a shot of a "Cupcake Chandelier". Doesn't it look soooo scrumptious? She had a ton of cupcake flavors! Yum-o! And the beautiful young maiden here is the youngest daughter of a dear friend of mine. She was dressed so adorably!

Ladies Summer Tea

Yesterday, I and 6 other lady friends, had the opportunity to attend a very sweet and beautiful formal summer tea held at The Castle @ Ashley Manor in Chandler. Wow, talk about a gorgeous location! It was a photographer's paradise for picture taking. Oh, how I wish I knew more about how to take better shots at a formal gathering! But it all comes with practice, right?

The tea was hosted by LaRose Parties and she did an amazing job with food, decorations and the program. We all had a wonderful time. Here is one of my favorite shots from this event. More photos to be posted shortly.

PP: sharpened, adjusted the colors to tone down the yellows, added a bit of contrast.

Standing

"Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem."

(Psalm 122:2)

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Time sure does fly. I've been consumed this week trying to redesign and update my HIP site/blog (this is my personal site). Well, here is a photo taken from last week's portrait photo session with my son. At first, I didn't think I could do anything with this shot. But I was pleasantly surprised at the result. :) It gives me the feel of standing in a rural field or meadow. But it's really our backyard -- with dying grass. LOL.

This shot really looks better viewing it at its original size. Click on the photo to view. :)

Portrait Session (photo #2)

I couldn't resist! This is another photo of our son during last week's portrait session. I decided to take a more minimalistic approach, without any "color-pop" processing to it. I really like the natural look to it. :)

Shower: For King & Kingdom! (part 2)

Here are a few more shots from the baby shower for our pastor and his wife. Remember the theme -- "For King & Kingdom!". Many came dressed in royal attire. Aren't these two beautiful young maidens just so....well....beautiful?? :D As I've mentioned before, our church is so blessed to have in our midst great examples of virtuous maidens who are pressing on towards biblical womanhood.

What a joyful time of fellowship!

Color-pop Portrait

I'm so excited! I learned how to "color-pop" portrait shots this evening. Woo-hoo! Here is my first try at the tips I learned from the Amy-Rose Inspired (flickr) group.

I wanted to get more practice with portrait photography this afternoon, so I had my son dress in semi-casual attire and took him to our backyard for a mini-photo shoot. He was a good sport! This was a fun shoot. I had the perfect lighting (during sunset) and tried various angles and portrait tips I read from the DPS blog. I can't wait to practice more! So who wants to be my next guinnea pig (I mean, model!)?? LOL!

Shower: For King & Kingdom! (part 1)

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good;

and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly,

and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

(Micah 6:8)

Here are some photos from yesterday's baby shower for our pastor and his wife. They are expecting a boy (woo-hoo!) and are naming him "Micah". We cannot wait to meet this precious gift from God in person!

In keeping with the theme, many came dressed in royal attire and also acted accordingly with old english/scottish accents and using proper etiquette in addressing one another. Totally fun! More photos to come shortly in part 2. :D

Assignment: X-tych

"Knights of the King"

This is my submission for this week's DPS assignment ~"X-tych" (diptych, triptych or anything up to 7 pictures formed into a single image with multiple panels -- think about the individual images and the overall story created by how they relate together).

This is another assignment I really enjoyed working on. It was a first for me to do! I am calling this "Knights of the King". :)

These photos were taken today at a baby shower we attended for our pastor and his wife, who are expecting their 6th child. The theme of the shower was "For King and Kingdom" -- totally fun. Lord willing, I'll be uploading several more photos from the shower tomorrow!

Tea Party Archive

I've been so busy since Wednesday, I haven't had time to take new photos. Back to the archives I go! This photo was taken during the "Taking Dominion Tea Party" I blogged about earlier this month. I actually uploaded this photo to my Flickr account several weeks ago, but not here on my blog. I really like the perspective and vintage action I used on this shot.

Vintage action: I used Aly's vintage action set. You can download it free for use on Photoshop [here].