Alicia's Photo Challenge: SHARE!

Hello, hello! Are you ready to share your favorites from last months challenge?! I sure hope so! I'll be completely honest: it may take me a few days to get the next challenge up. But it is coming! To learn more about Alicia's Photo Challenge go HERE.

Okay, so last months challenge was: get familiar with your Post-Editing program, and try some different effects and filters. Learn how to crop your photo. Learn how to increase the contrast and balance it with brightness.

Simple enough. It was hard picking my favorite photo since I do a lot of post-editing! But there was one photo in particular that I loved the results.

This picture was taken when my oldest was 6 months old (about 2 years ago) when we were visiting my family in Hawaii. I wanted to develop it and put it up in our home, so I played with it first. I was amazed how great my skinned looked after a little smudging work on GIMP.

If you participated in the challenge, link up! Remember to visit one another and leave some comment love! It's always a great feeling to have a little support and hear words of encouragement!

Alicia's JULY Photo Challenge: Post Editing

Welcome to another photo challenge! To read about Alicia's Photo Challenge go HERE.

You guys have been doing great! It's been a lot of fun. But I bear unhappy tidings. I'm going to start doing these challenges MONTHLY. It takes a little too much work for me to do them weekly. Mostly mentally because I'm constantly thinking about it when I should be doing other things...

SO. This challenge will be for JULY. We'll link up at the end of July. That will give you plenty of time to actually PRACTICE.

K?

...

Today I'll tell you a few of my post-editing secrets. I really try to get as close to my wanted results with my camera, but most of my pictures are freshened up just a bit in Post editing.

And guess what? (This is the secret)

I. Don't. Use. Photoshop.

Nope! I have two programs I use, and between the two they do everything I could want. And guess what else? (another secret)

They. Are. Free!

Yah. Free downloads.

You want them, don't you?

ALLLRIGHT... I'll share them with you! :) Mostly, I use Photoscape. I increase the contrast a tinsy bit, brighten them up and add a little vignetting. Then if I need to soften/smooth the skin tones... I use GIMP. GIMP is like the free Photoshop. You'll love 'em.

There are things you can do with your post-editing that your camera may not be capable of. You can play with effects that add time and emotion to your photo. It's a lot of fun.

You can brighten up the colors. Change a photo to black and white, or sepia. You can add borders. You can heal blemishes. You're imagination is your limit (usually).

So July's challenge is: to get familiar with your Post-Editing program, and try some different effects and filters. Learn how to crop your photo. Learn how to increase the contrast and balance it with brightness. Then, on July 30th (Thursday), choose you're favorite (or favoriteS) to post, and we'll link up! I recommend sharing the original and final product. (You can post your photo anytime during the month, and then just add THAT link.)

Don't forget to take a button and put it on your post (Thanks!). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them!

Now, go have fun!

Alicia's Photo Challenge #3: Rule of Thirds

Welcome to another photo challenge! To read about Alicia's Photo Challenge go HERE.

It's been a looong day today, and I'm really exhausted right now... you know when you're mind is a little... err... tired?! That's me right now. The reason I'm mentioning this is because this weeks challenge is a really simple, and I'm trying to get into it and teach you all I know... but I can't think very deeply right now! haha... so don't mind my generic captions on the pictures and what not! (I'm sure ya'll wont mind anyhow, you're all so great like that, but I know what I expect from myself... and well, I am my own worst critic.) Now that I got that off my chest... moving on...

Have you heard of "the rule of  thirds"? Well, "traditionally" when taking portraits, you would imagine your photo being split into thirds, horizontally and vertically... the eyes of your subject would be 2/3 ways up the photo... and centered. While there really isn't anything particularly wrong with this... and as darling as your subject is... it can get boring. Let's try something different...

Feel free to throw your subject far to the left or right, or halves... you'll only figure out what you like if you try it. Remember that with photography, there is no right or wrong. It is how you see something. The beauty of photography is the diversity!

So this week's challenge is simple.  Play around with centering and off-centering your subject.  See what you like best! But try it all! Don't forget to watch for distracting shadows on the face (particularly the eyes). Then come back next Thursday and link up to share your favorite(s)!

Don't forget to take a button and put it on your post (Thanks!). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them!

Now, go have fun!

Alicia's "Get in There" Photo Challenge: SHARE!

Hello! Hope you all are ready to share your favorite photo from last week's challenge! To learn more about Alicia's Photo Challenge, go HERE! Thanks!

Last weeks challenge was: Practice taking pictures capturing details and getting up close to your subject. Practice getting up close to eliminate distracting backgrounds. Don't forget to watch for unwanted shadows and continue practicing in different light. Here's mine:

I admit, I was a bit of a slacker this week taking photos. But I did get this one. This little guy is slowly but surely thinning out. I particularly want to capture his cheeks! He was such a chunky monkey (still is a big boy!), but ever since he's began crawling - and now walking - he's getting thinner! I want to be able to one day show him pictures of himself at this stage of life... so here it is!

If you haven't already posted yours - do it now! (If you have questions, contact me) And then come here and add the link (directly to your post) on Mr. Linky! Then go visit each other and see all the possibilities (and don't forget to leave a little comment love!) Then (you're not done yet!) - Come back tomorrow for the next challenge!

Alicia's Photo Challenge #2: Get In There!

Read all about Alicia's Photo Challenge, HERE!

What is the subject of your picture? Your kid? Your dog? Your craft? Your toes? Whatever it is, lets make that the focus of your picture... not the guy picking his nose in the left side background.

Get up close and personal! Don't be afraid to cut off a little hair on top. Don't feel obligated to capture the whole umbrella. Capture the details of your child's smile, his eyes, his fat little fingers - the details you love about him (or  her, of course!).

But don't cut off the chin!

 

By getting up close, you also eliminate distracting backgrounds (and by distracting, I mean anything that isn't solid, pretty or... um... distracting...) The focus will be where you intend it to be!

Pretty simple, huh? It might take a little bit to get used to cutting out the excess - but you will love it!

The Challenge: Practice taking pictures capturing details and getting up close to your subject. Practice getting up close to eliminate distracting backgrounds. Don't forget to watch for unwanted shadows and continue practicing in different light.  Mr. Linky will be up for you to share your favorite on Thursday, June 18th!

Don't forget to take a button and put it on your post (Thanks!). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them!

Now, go have fun!

Alicia's Photo "Lighting" Challenge - SHARE!

Hello! Hope you all are ready to share your favorite photo from last week's challenge! To learn more about Alicia's Photo Challenge, go HERE! Thanks!

Last weeks challenge was: Practice taking pictures using the light around you. Notice the difference it makes in a photo when you take them in direct sunlight vs. filtered sunlight (i.e. overcast, window or in the shade). If you have a source of controlled light, play with it. Use it to highlight the focus of your image. Lighting is the key to an image, so we're starting here.

Here's mine:

I took this in the shade. (I freshened it up a tad in post-editing... but we'll talk more about that another time!)

If you haven't already posted yours - do it now! (If you have questions, contact me) And then come here and add the link (directly to your post) on Mr. Linky! Then go visit each other and see all the possibilties (and don't forget to leave a little comment love!) Then (your not done yet!) - Come back tomorrow for the next challenge!

Okay, now you can go!

Alicia's Photo Challenge #1: Lighting

Read all about Alicia's Photo Challenge, HERE! 

Good lighting makes a photo. Bad lighting can ruin one. There are pretty much two kinds of lighting: Natural and Controlled lighting.

Natural lighting comes from (you guessed it!) natural sources. The most common source is the Sun, which can come directly or through something like a window, cloud or reflector.

Controlled Lighting comes from a light bulb which can be manipulated. Examples of controlled lighting are, flash, continuous lighting (image on right), or anytime you can control if the light is off or on!

Today I'll focus on one thing:  

Shadows. Don't want them! Especially on the face (make sure you can see the eyes!), or anywhere else that will be distracting.

If you can shoot in the shade, do it! If there is no shade, shoot into (yes, I said into) the sun. This will eliminate squinting eyes, and most shadows. A trick I learned from Photographer, Naomi Masina, is to hold up your hand and see where the light falls.

I recommend shooting portrait style photos when the sun is no longer directly above you. An hour or two (or three) before the sun sets, or just as it's rising, is usually the easiest time to work with your light. 

The Challenge: Practicing taking pictures using the light   around you. Notice the difference it makes in a photo when you take them in direct sunlight vs. filtered sunlight (i.e. overcast, window or in the shade). If you have a source of controlled light, play with it. Use it to highlight the focus of your image. Lighting is the key to an image, so we're starting here. Post your favorite photo on your blog, then come back next Thursday, June 11th and share it!

Don't forget to take a button and put it on your post (Thanks!). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them!

Now, go have fun!

Alicia's Photo Challenge

Hey Ladies (and Gentlemen if there are any)! Welcome to the Introduction of Alicia's Photo Challenge! The purpose of the challenge is to teach and encourage you to take "better" pictures! And by "better" I mean, pictures you wont EVER want to delete; pictures that capture the details of your life!

Here's how Alicia's Photo Challenge is gonna roll...

a. On Fridays, I will give a little lesson on basic element of Photography. After the lesson, I will give you a photo challenge.

b.You will have all week to complete the challenge. Throughout the week, post your chosen picture.

c. On Thursday, link up here at Imma Momma. Then visit one another and give your comment love and support!

d. Come back on Friday for the next lesson and challenge!

The challenges are intended for "beginners" and those who just want to learn a thing or two and take "better" pictures! But no matter your level, feel free to participate! Creativity begets creativity!

I am hardly All-Knowing when it comes Photography - but it's what I love, and my clients have been pleased with their results! So I am happy to share what I know!

Here is an idea of the things we will learn about:

• Lighting (natural vs. controlled)
• Cropping (Focus, details, Eliminating distracting backgrounds)
• Portrait vs. Landscape
• Angles
• Post Editing Digital Images

*subject to change on a whim!

So, go ahead and take a button (I couldn't decide which one I liked better...) and let the fun begin!

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