Wanna Be a Better Photographer?

I just found this series of online lessons that will help you to "Become a Better Photographer in 31 Days."  Yay!  I'm so gonna do all them!  I need to work on my photo ninja skills.  And the author is great!  While he makes the corniest jokes, he presents all of the techie stuff in a super understandable way.  And he provides helpful visuals like the following:

Ahhhh!  I get it now!  That pesky shutter speed and aperture can be so confusing :P

images courtesy of Peter Carey

I Heart Color

I was just introduced to THIS today.

Pretty Pics + Color Schemes = True Love!

Oh how my life is forever changed.

images courtesy of Design Seeds

It's Not My Fault

It's so not my fault that my postings are so totally sporadic of late.  I still don't have cable functioning at 100% in my new apartment...still...

This means I have to find better things to do with my time than spend my evenings watching the Bachelorette or the Kardashians.  As if.

But, this brought a smile to my face in the midst of the cable crisis so I thought I'd share.

Also, Snapfish is doing a buy 1 photobook get TWO FREE deal right now.  Hello amazing. That makes me smile too.

*not sure who the doxie image belongs to so if you know please let me know :)

Happy Fourth of July!

photo: independence day beads by me

Snapped that the other day and thought it was a fun shot.

I love the red, white, and blue color combo...not just because it's my home colors, though admittedly that probably has a bit to do with it.  I mean, I've grown up pledging allegiance to those colors every single day of my life...and I do mean every day.  Being a teacher, leading the flag salute is part of my job description.  Ha!  Anyways,  back to the colors...red, white, and blue...a bold, bright color combo...clean and crisp...even kinda fun you could say...but despite how much I love it, I just can't wear those colors any other day but July 4th.  

None.  

Never.  

Not any of the other 364 days of the year.

Only July 4th or I feel silly...

like I'm having my own 4th of July celebration on a completely unrelated day. 

And I really like these colors...like hello, denim looks so cute with red and white!

Oh darn you Independence Day...totally cramping wardrobe options.

Photo Book Bonanza

I've been MIA around here because I've totally gone nuts over Photo Books.  I can't stop making them!

I just finished the ABC Inspiration class I started last month and at the end we publish the little photo book we build during the course.  I LOVED my book SO much that I decided to make another book using of photos from my recent New York trip...

Well I adored that book so much that I then thought, why not place my digital scrapbook layouts in some books too!  And well, that was that.  Let the photo book craziness begin!  I happen to have TONS and TONS of layouts and I wanted them all to be in photo books...sooooo...now you can see why I've been a bit busy ;) 

I also started comparing photo book websites.  I can tell ya this, I have been very pleased with Snapfish thus far.  I do not like PaperKiwi, which was recommended by my class.  iPhoto has always had excellent quality but it's pricey and they never have deals.

BUT, drum roll please............ 

My new fave...like absolute total big time fave is Mixbook.  You can totally design your own front cover with backgrounds, stickers, fonts...it's totally like digital scrapping!  It was too fun and very much the reason why I have been up until 12:30 AM for the past two nights.  The site is very user friendly and seems to have some sort of social aspect to it which I don't participate in but may be appealing to some.  I also love the way they animate your book when you are completed.  Overall I found it to be a nice site and they have lots of deals!  Right now they everything is 25% off! 

I also found this blog which is fantastic!  PhotoBookGirl has everything you need to know about every photo book site!  I found it to be very helpful and suggest you do check it out.

Totally unrelated....

I finally got a pair of Toms...the silver glittery ones!  OMG.  They are the cutest ever.  They just make me smile.

Ok well I want to get to bed before 12 AM tonight so I am going to get going...
Have a lovely evening!

Super Excited...

about THIS:

Oh yes I will be in attendance, bright and early, tomorrow morning!  

SO.

EXCITED.

and hopefully...

*fingers criss-crossed really tight*

...I will return with some awesome photos...

or at least sweet skillz that will allow me to take super awesome photos.

image credits: Nicole Gerulat

Just Another Tuesday...

A few fun digi-scrapping layouts for a random Tuesday...

How cute are those sweet treats from my bro's recent b-day shindig??!

And my adorable nephew??  Oh how I just want to gobble him up!

P.S.

My photography class is 

kicking. 

my.

arse.  

You will most definitely NOT be seeing any awesome mind blowing photos anytime soon.

OMG.

Love to Party

Ok, I am totally exhausted and my weekend is totally over.

It was all party all the time this weekend.

Family was in town to celebrate birthdays and pregnancies and engagements and all sorts of good things...it was good times.

I snapped some pics.

Actually lots of pics.

In fact, I totally filled my memory card.

Conveniently just when my photography class is starting.  Geez.

Here are some pics from the b-day celebrations...

We made like over 50 teeny tiny cupcakes!

Oh ok ok, so I  didn't contribute much to the cupcake construction since I am not allowed to bake (long story)...but the fam made like 50-something cupcakes!  Aren't they super cute?!

I can't wait until I know how to make my photos look super awesome.

I am still in that experimental composition and editing phase of my photography education...sooooo perhaps just keep that tidbit of info in mind as you look at the photos I post ;)

P.S. One day I totally want to throw a party using of THESE party boxes...SO adorable.

Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

xoxo

Photo Ninja Here I Come

I signed up for my photography class today.  

I am...

SO. 

EXCITED.

Now I can feel completely legit when I walk around town with my camera dangling around my neck. For years I've been a little photo wannabe, a starry eyed dreamer, walking around as if I were a total photo ninja, totally pretending to know exactly what I was doing (even though I hadn't a clue) and yet trying to appear as if I were a total pro ;)  

Oh I crack myself up.  

Well now I am going to learn how to use my new slr camera appropriately...and perhaps explore settings beyond the automatic ones...I hope to just really get to know the basics of this new hobby of mine.  

I can't wait.

I will share some of my photos with you...if they are any good that is...I am totally only showing the good stuff.

;) 

ha ha ha.

 Oh Shoot! Beginning Digital SLR Photography Class

JessicaSprague.com

Comic Book Make Over

Was fooling around on Photoshop today and whipped up this little number...

Pretty sweet huh?

By following this tutorial I gave one of my everyday, ordinary photos 

a sweet retro comic book makeover.

Fun.

I also made this one...
all by myself...just for kicks.

It started out as a photo of my bro by a lifeguard stand and I funked it up a bit.

sweet photo editing by me, sara of RA Ink

Chocolate Milk

Is that not the cutest pic?  

My niece and nephew taking a little chocolate milk break.  

So darn cute.

I did a little fancy photo editing...but it doesn't seem to be quite as awesome here in this post as it is in Photoshop...

hmmm...weird.

Hrrumph.

New Year's Resolutions certainly don't last very long.

Hrrumph.

Why is that??

I was SO pumped Jan. 1 and 2.  

I finally got my new camera last month (*squeals of joy*) so my goal for the new year was to complete Project 365.  

Now, I knew going in that this was super ambitious of me being that Project 365 is an every-single-day-for-the-entire-year activity, but still...I thought I would at least make it through one month.  

I lasted TWO DAYS.
  

I totally didn't take a picture yesterday!  

geez.  

Are you allowed to take two photos in one day and have it count for a missed day????  

Maybe you are allowed a couple of do-overs?? A few free days perhaps??
...I mean the start of the year has got to be hard for everyone...going back to work and all that...right???  

I couldn't possibly be the only one that blew it right out of the gate could I??

oh I totally am aren't I.

How are you doing on your new year's goals??
You are totally rockin' them. I know it.  Oh I'm such a New Year's Resolution loser.

Ok let's talk about something less depressing...like my new camera!
I'd like to get a really great camera strap for it.  Something that is really ME.
I've started looking around.
So far I've found these ones.
and these ones.
and theeeeese ones...kinda fun and funky. Faux zebra print would be kinda fun, right?!

I could probably make one...but I'm not feeling super motivated sewing-wise...think I'm just gonna let someone else do the hard work for me this time around ;)

Here's the zebra print strap from My Funky Camera...so cute...
I think it may be fuzzy...even better.

image credits: My Funky Camera

On a Lil Vacay...

Just taking a wee break...a lil vacay...be back in a few days...xo.

 image credits: sandra lundry inspired imagery

Jo Totes...

THIS is the camera bag I am longing for.

It's adorable.

It's purple.

It's perfect.

It's sold out.

Jo Totes are "camera bags for ladies."  

These bags are so totally fabulous because they have special padded compartments for both your ordinary day-to-day purse items as well as your high tech photography equipment.

A Jo Tote is basically a camera bag that double as a purse. 

So now you can go out and about with just one bag...
and a cute one at that!

image credits: Jo Totes

Starry Diffusion

I just learned how to transform an ordinary photo like this...

into something glowy and brilliant like this...

The effect is called Star Diffusion...kinda cool huh? It adds a magical, slightly ethereal touch to your photos...

You can follow the tutorial HERE...do give it a try! It was quite easy ;)

All I Want For Christmas...

...is to take THIS photography class.

AND...

awesome news...

it's on sale right now!!

I should totally buy it shouldn't I??

p.s.  the textbook is on sale too. 

and I so gotta have that too.

p.p.s  and yes, I bought it.  

I bought my new camera for reals this time.

Canon Rebel T1i

Party Frocks

 ...are the best.

love this photo.

photo by Sandra Beijer

Photo Play

I love to take pictures.  And I love to make my photos look kinda artsy and pretty.  I just jazzed up these pics from the twins birthday...

My brother may actually have taken a few of these photos since we are sharing a camera at the moment...you know my recent camera drama.  I cannot seem to settle on a camera to save my life...I've bought and returned TWO already...

Anyways, I am thinking I want to print a few of these photos and frame them as Christmas gifts for the fam.  Might be nice, right?  I love how they turned out. 
Hopefully I am typing this on an off day when the fam isn't reading and they'll skip this posting.  I'm terrible at keeping surprises! ;)

Let's Try Again.

Ok so book #24 didn't work out.

I didn't like it.

I returned it to the library 30-ish pages in.

Soooo I need a new read.

I browsed the shelves of the library today and was totally uninspired...nothing sounded the least bit interesting.

hmmmm...

Might you have any suggestions??

Also, along these same lines...I returned my new camera...again.  

Yep.  

This would be the second camera I have purchased and returned in the past three weeks or so.  

I just cannot make up my mind as to the type of camera that I want - the camera that is just right for the type of photos I want to take, that is perfect for my lifestyle, that is right for where I want to take and use the camera, and for exactly what I want to use it for...

etc. etc.

I just need to think about it for a bit.

And trust me, I have done tons of research...
I've read blogs, reviews, forums...
You name it, I've read it.

And I think it's actually a good thing that I've gone through this lengthy purchasing process.
I think I actually have a decision-making benefit now that I have tried both types of cameras.

I can really and truly make an informed decision having actually taken photos with each camera and carried them around, tried their features etc...

So, I guess now we shall just wait and see if I can in fact, actually make that informed decision one of these days...

SIDE NOTE: I thought this was a cute new holiday card just introduced over at Rock Scissors Paper..

image credits: Rock Scissors Paper

Sometimes It's Ok To Cheat...

If you're a newbie photographer like myself, these just might come in super handy for you. 

I particularly like the second one as I cannot, for the life of me, keep the numerical values for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO straight in my head. 
But, now, with this awesome cheat sheet, I will take photos like a pro!
Ha! Maybe.

So I used my new camera for the first time this weekend.
The photos turned out ummm...
well...hmmm...
Let's just say I'm still learning how to use the camera so I totally have a legit excuse for my completely terrible photos.

Oh here is the cheat sheet I liked best...kinda small but you can download it here at Web Designer Ledger if you are interested...