Giving is Awesome

Giving is Awesome was founded in December of 2008. It was a simple premise: photographers give a portrait shoot and products to a family who deserves it, but can’t afford it. In the twelve weeks since then, over 530 photographers have donated over $550,000 worth of custom portraiture to families who couldn’t afford it.

Artists in places as far flung as Australia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Mexico joined in. Giving is Awesome is also featured in this month’s issue of Professional Photographer magazine, and we’re looking to continue to spread the word about giving. Lenovo and Microsoft are sponsoring the ‘Name Your Dream Assignment’ contest, which grants $50,000 to the photographer who wins to shoot whatever/wherever they would like.

What better way to spread the word than to load 12 photographers into a tour bus and hit up cities with Giving is Awesome shoots? The blog traffic generated by the tour would easily reach 50,000 photographers per day, thus multiplying the number of photographers who sign on for the 2009 version of Giving is Awesome. (The goal: 15,000 photographers for the 2009 edition.)

…but how would we decide who to shoot for those tour bus Giving is Awesome giveaways? Why, we would rely on our friends at ConKerr Cancer, an international charity, to provide our subjects: children currently living with cancer. We’d be bringing awareness of both utterly smashing organizations to light, spreading the photographic love, AND rockin’ a tour bus! Now we’re talkin’!

What if this project doesn’t cost $50,000? Easy! ConKerr Cancer receives the funds to purchase cameras for their chapter coordinators, less the expenses of the tour. This allows the impact of the tour to go much further than the people on the bus, or even the photographers associated with Giving is Awesome. It’s the ripple effect in its truest form, giving sparking giving sparking giving.

For more information about the organizations mentioned:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.givingisawesome.com
&
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.conkerrcancer.org

DIG IT? GO VOTE! Click that little 'pic' button in the upper left of the assignment details, when you get there. (You’ll have to register to do so, but I promise it’s worth it! Pretty please, vote?)

GO!! : http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com%2Fthe-ideas%2Fgivingisawesome%2Fgiving-is-awesome-tour%2F

(wording by Kristin of 'Giving is Awesome')

Discount for Pro Photo Blog Theme!

Thank you Pro Photo!!!! You guys are the best!!!! Super long story short... CMD (my web hosting) had the hardest time getting me set up with my new blog layout from Jared - Finally with his patience, he got it all worked out. If you are thinking of getting a "killer" blog setup, Go with the ProPhoto Blog for Wordpress! The new one is awesome, super user friendly, and that is alot coming from me... I stink at all this... Anyway- Jared has a great handheld package for those who need the extra help, which I am SO glad I took on.. Did I mention Jared Rocks??? Ok so here is the deal...Here's code to get you a discount!! CSTRINGER939 just click the Pro Photo link to get started! and Take peek at my blog too! PRO PHOTO LINK You will not be disappointed!!

Picture Frames

Hi everyone, I just wanted to share this link with you all: http://www.pictureframes.com The name says it all, they do picture frames. But what is cool about it is you can upload your own photos and see what it would look like with different frames and mats. You can also get everything you need for framing your picture, including the photo printed, through them. Not that I would recommend printing from them, I've never had them print anything for me and can't say if it's good or not. Your own lab is probably better for this. Also, I have not actually ordered a frame from them yet either, so I can't speak about the quality of their frames. I plan to in the near future, I will let you know my thoughts. Or if some here has ordered from them, leave a comment on your opinion on them. I'm just posting this link because just the feature of seeing your photo with different frames and mats is helpful, not matter where you get your frame from. It can give you an idea of what colors would look nice. Anyway, I hope you find this useful.

Hey, I think this is my 2nd post. Doh! Sorry Heather.

Anyhow, I just wanted to display what so many of us experience with Photoshop. It still amazes me, at how much a picture can change in the post-processing stage. It is helpful to see what pictures looked like in natural format and where they went ... so here is my share.

This is a quick snap of the Austin Skyline this week.

SOOC (straight out of the camera)

A 10x20 crop, some sharpening, a b&w conversion and major contrast boost. I added a brown-toned action at the end to give it a little more depth.

I entered a contest!!

I rarely enter any type of contest but I thought why not go ahead and humor yourself.  The prize up to win is super sweeet!!. I’m hoping  that this photo of my daughter letting loose on my current bag will win me a great new shootsac camera bag for my newest camera. So everyone keep their fingers crossed and wish me luck! If you want to enter, just go to  http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/02/10/shootsac   and enter for your chance to win too!!!

I haven't shared in a while, so I thought I had better share some from a recent session. I love this family, and the girls are just so adorable. I did this session for the baby's 6 month pictures and she was teething a lot, she had 4 teeth coming in all at once, and while she was a little fussy she did awesome!!

So brilliant!!!

This was first featured on Scott Kelby's blog! Then I saw it again posted by Kylie on the Phaunt form, then today I saw it again on Deb Schwedhelm's blog and it was then that I thought I would finally watch it! And I am SO glad I did! It is truly brilliant & totally inspiring. If you haven't seen this video by Zack Arias then I strongly suggest you do! It is something that I will watch again too!

Here is the link: http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2009/archives/3433

Color Inc.

Ok so this post isn't so much inspiration...more of a shout out. I just place my first order with color inc. I got lots and lots of prints in different sizes and mounts (styrene and standout) and everything looks FABULOUS. The most awesomest part though is there was a hand written note in with my order thanking me! That was so unexpected and such a nice touch. I actually walked over to my hubby and showed it to him and he said...did any of your other labs do that for you...um that would be a nope. So if your looking for a new lab or wanting to try out a new place try www.colorinclabs.com you get 50% off your first order too....so make it a big one and get lots of different sizes, mountings and textures!

{SUNRISE}

This was what I saw on my drive back home after dropping the boys off at school.
SETTINGS:
ISO: 100 AP: f/32 SS: 1/80

Free Textures

While reading Ginnie J Photography's blog http://ginsphotos.blogspot.com/ this morning, she gave 2 great links to some free Textures! Here are the links, enjoy!

http://textureking.com/

http://cgtextures.com/

Making a Willie!

That's what I'm going to do this weekend!

What's a Willie? A Willie is a little goofy character that you can slip the over your lens when the kids you are photographing start to loose interest in the shoot. This should grab their attention for a bit and make them giggle!

What do you need to do? Hop on over to Walmart and pick up a couple fabric scrunchies (think the 1990's kind) then grab some pipe cleaners, googly eyes and felt and make a little crazy face with antenna!

Have fun!

In need of a makeover!

So the blog is boring..I know. lol what do yall think it should look like? I thought maybe something fun like zebra stripes and a bold contrasting color...what do yall think?

Lighting Diagram

hey all!
i haven't posted lately, i've been super busy with seniors and lots of cute kiddo's! anyway, i get asked from time to time about my lighting set-up, so i thought i would share a little bit about that. i use 1 alien bee 800 with a giant alien bee softbox. i also use their cybersync triggers and lurve 'em! i typically use seamless paper for my backdrops. i'm going to attach a diagram of my set-up and then also a shot achieved using this set-up, well, pretty much my whole website and blog is with this set-up, but you'll understand when you see how cute the baby is i'm going to post.
okay, back on topic. you'll see in my diagram that i have "IF" you need a reflector, i do NOT use a reflector, even with up to 6 people i've not used a reflector and my images have come out great. so basically, if you're using that large of a softbox, you don't need a reflector if you're positioning your light correctly. when your setting up, you want your light to be perpendicular to your backdrop, and then go stand in front of the backdrop, right by the light. grab hold of the back edge of the softbox and get about an arms length away from it, let go and take one step back.. this is where you want your subject to be. i use my softbox so that its parallel to the ground. you'll also have to determine how high or low to position the light, and if you turn your modeling light on, that can be fairly easily. you want to catchlights to be in about the 10-11 o'clock position if light is on the left, and 1-2 o'clock if on the right. make sure to check that the light is in the correct position for the most flattering portrait. meter your light and your good to go!

David Jay Presets

I recently purchased some new ACR presets and I must say they RAWK! Here is a link to them. They are from David Jay. There is also a video to show you how to edit your pics in Bridge without ever moving them to Photoshop. I shot a wedding in January and it usually take me a good 3 to 4 weeks to get all the pics edited(having to stop and work on other sessions). With these presets I was done editing and had the bride her proof book in under 2 weeks! Check them out I'm sure you will love them just as much as I do.

Don't forget Jodi from MCP Actions latest offering All in the Details action set. I looove them!
Here is a mixute of the presets and one of Jodi's actions soft color. Hope I helped you spend some money today! :)

Kyla

A few shots in my little studio

I had just a few minutes for some shots in my studio. Here are a few...nothing spectacular...

 

Why does it seem like only one of these kids is feelin' the love?

 
For someone who wanted her picture taken, Kristi (in pink) sure wasn't very cooperative!  

It seems that it's been very quiet here. Has everybody been off doing something fun? My oldest daughter and her family came to visit us for a week, so we're having a great time with them. She's a photographer too, and I'm really enjoying discussing photos, business, and computer stuff with her!

So what's inspiring everyone else?

6 week old

What do you do when you have a stubborn newborn and feel you don't have enough shots? This baby was such a stinker! She would barely sleep, didn't like her tummy, wanted to eat the whole time. I feel I should have had more of a variety of shots. Anyone have tips for situations like this? I told the mother when she was pregnant to schedule the newborn shots for the first couple of weeks of life. She procrastinated and now we have an uncooperative baby. Thought this might be a good "what you don't want to happen to you" post. :)

He sleeps

I haven't posted in a while - things are very slow while it's freezing outside, so I thought I'd share these fairly recent shots.

My older son insists on falling asleep with a light on. I bemoan the power bill, but it does give me a chance to sneak in and take photos of him while he sleeps. (The first time I did this, I showed them to him, and he was so irritated that his eyes were closed - he insists he sleeps with his eyes open!) Nothing spectacular, but I'm glad I've got images like this to hold on to:

And just to be fair, here's my younger son, who makes me jealous every single day with these amazing eyelashes:

A few more of the twins:)

These are a few more of the twins from last week, I have another set tomorrow...a boy and a girl. I'm excited!

Where I live

I just wanted to share this photo of the area I live in. I live in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana...this is part of Blodgett Canyon:

(ISO 100; f/7.1; 1/400; 50mm)

~Maternity~

I did this session for my Cousin. He and his girlfriend are expecting this month! Here are a couple of pictures from his session!

Free 10 Week Photoshop Class

Yes, this is completely free - 10 weeks of Photoshop classes, definitely worth a look.

Free Photoshop Course

Portrait "Rules"

Ever wonder what the "rules" are for posing? I came across this page that has some great tips! Sadly I have so many tabs open I honestly can't remember how I got there but I seriously recommend it! http://lumitouch.com/benstudiotutorial/rules.html Be sure to also look at the other lessons on there as they provide some great tips as well.

Kayla Renckly

Prop Alert!!

Hey everyone! Don't miss out!! These babies were at my local Walmart (the suckers, not the kiddos!) in the Valentine candy isle! The big ones were $1.00 each and the little heart ones were 2 for $1.00. The little heart ones came in different colors too - purple and white, red and white, pink and white, etc....
Yummmm!!

Perks for Senior Reps

Hi Everyone - I have been out all week at a Technology Education conference. While I was there - I spoke with a vendor that sells personalized thumb drives. They are available in many colors and you can add your own custom logo. I think this would be a great way to give the Senior Reps a gift for their service. I am going to get some of the small Jellybeenz drives and have my logo placed on them - then I will place watermarked images for facebook, myspace etc. The company is called Pexagon Technology Inc They are based out of Connecticut. The president and business dev. ppl were great. They are offering discounts to photographers through a special website that will be up and running soon. Contact emails are tmerola@pexagontech.com and bcampbell@pexagontech.com

A book recommendation...

i know for most of you senior season is long over, but down here it seems like seniors wait longer to get their portraits done. you know, like in their senior year.. or in the case of my seniors, 3 months before graduation, lol! so it's this time of year i start thinking about posing. during the rest of the year when i'm photographing babies and kids, i don't much think about posing.. i mean, a baby or little kid looks cute no matter what! a teenager, however, will not. so it's for these sessions that it's so important to know a thing or two about how to pose. that's where this book comes in so handy.. it's called "Posing for Portrait Photography: a head to toe guide" by Jeff Smith. Click HERE to view it at amazon.
oh, and since i didn't really say it, i do recommend this book, i've found it very helpful!

{Austin Photographer} 9 day old twin girls.

This was my first time photographing newborn twins, it was a bit of a challenge but I had a great time! It was funny because they were opposites, one was the pee-er, one didn't pee on anything, one was sleepy, the other mostly wide awake, one curly one flailer (is that a word? Oh well it is now ;)) But I got some great images for their mommy and daddy:) I've only proofed the one so far!

11 day old {L} - Take 2!

Angela Smith Photography

Other fun newborn props:

I'm on a bit of a newborn prop kick lately so I thought I would share my recent finds with all of you.

First one is an awesome looking shaggy yarn blanket, check it out on etsy here.
Second one(s) are some adorable hats - also from etsy here.
Third one is selling some gorgeous newborn wraps and knit diaper covers here.
And last but not least check out these gorgeous flokati rugs here.

Enjoy!

I know I mentioned PPSOP yesterday, but just had to post this link.  There is a monthly competition and January's theme was "Smile"  -  The winning posts here certainly made me do that :)

Smile Winners

I am actually going to start posting some pictures here soon - as soon as I find a bit of space.  In the meantime, if anyone fancies doing an online course, I highly recommend these people:

Perfect Picture School of Photography

This is Bryan Peterson's outfit - the author of "Understanding Exposure".

I have done 2 courses so far "Compelling Photographs" and "The Art of Printing & Selling your Art".  They are both excellent but the print one has probably paid for itself because now I can print pretty much what I see on my monitor..............first go!!

{Jumpin' Spider}

We had a little visitor this afternoon...

SETTINGS:

iso: 100 ap: f/3.5 ss: 1/60 bounced flash used (can you see the slight catchlights?)

P.S. I started a blog just for my template creations you can find it HERE. I have several Freebies there as well. Come an check it out & leave a comment letting me know what you think!

P.S.S. You can also do invoices w/paypal as well. It's under merchant services and it's free too.

Send invoices for free!

I just used Curdbee for the first time tonight to send an invoice to a client. What a great experience! It takes just a minute to sign up and no credit card is needed! You log in, add your clients info, the total and off you send it! You can also link it to your paypal account if that is they way you want your client to pay:)

Good stuff!

Do you back up?

I have an external hard drive that I currently back up to, but I've been thinking - what if something happens to my house or my external? I ran across this site recently - Backblaze - and I'm wondering how they are. Anyone use them? I might try them, because the price seems reasonable. I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

{Overnightprints.com & Mckennapro.com}

This offer from Overnight prints will expire February 8th, 2009.

Get Free Gloss coating & free rounded corners w/coupon code: NEWRC

Get unlimited free folding (perfect for menus, pamphlets and more! use coupon code: FOLD







February specials for Mckennapro. No special codes required. I love their products! between Mcenna & WHCC I have my clients needs covered.

How to batch process in Photoshop CS3

I stumbled across this today and holy cow, I cannot even tell you how kick ass this is. I am wondering how on earth I did not know this?!?!?!
Anyway go to file>automate>batch

Seriously that easy.

Have fun and save some time on your processing!


<3 Heather

One month old {C}

Angela Smith Photography

Valentine Special - Snaptotes

code: redsnap09

use before: Feb. 5, 2009

I though I could inpired you with my boy!

Just a few pics that I took to my baby boy about 3 weeks ago, he turned out 2 month last January 25th!
Hope you like them








Have a great day everyone!


Jeannette Chirinos Photography

My postcards.

Since Kara asked, these were my postcards that I got for free from overnight prints. I wish I would have switched up the color photo to bw though:( They also sent me a $10 coupon off my next order...no idea what I want to get though.

rules...

so most of us know there are rules in photography, rules that separate a snapshot from a portrait, but what are those rules? most of us know about the rule of thirds.. but ever wonder what the "other" rules are? i came across this site through ILP, and thought it was pretty interesting. so go learn those rules so you can purposely break them!
RULES
oh, and since i haven't posted anything in a while, here's one from a mini-session today!

~Hope

10 month old {S}

This is the third time I've photographed this little beauty and this time, she kept me on my toes with her mobility. She wants to walk so bad... and is very close.

Postcards

I jumped at the deal for the 100 postcards from Overnight Prints. Here is what I put together.

I am intending to distribute it to florists and bakerys! Got any other suggestions? Anyone else print any.. would love to see them!

{Austin Photographer} 6 days old

This sweet little punkin was my newborn session this week. Another girl (3 in a row each week this month)! I had spent the night watching some videos on You Tube and this session just went so much smoother. For some reason I was more relaxed than I have been lately. It helped that Miss A was very sleepy and bendy and gorgeous. Here is one of my favorites so far.

Three day old {L}

Same baby as below, at 3 days old:

Birth Photography

Born Sunday, January 25th @ 9:38 AM

A Newborn Photography link

I saw a link to this on OPS and I thought I'd share it here. There is some good info on newborn photography in here! There are also links on the side to other videos that might be helpful.

http://www.lookgoodinpictures.com/episodes/all/55

Experiment!

I haven't put myself out there business-wise since November and haven't even picked up my camera much since then. I hit a creative wall. It was time to get back to it so while I am revamping everything, I started looking for a new subject. Lucky for me, my baby brother just got engaged and they wanted to do photos before he goes to bootcamp next month. We spent 8 hours together, most of it spent walking, and got to try knew stuff. It was so great to have a willing subject! Anyway, my point is that when you get in a slump, take a break to regroup if you need it and then try something new. Whether it's off-camera flash, a new location, a new post-processing technique, or even just a different time of day. Here's a few of my faves:



Kayla Renckly