MomShots

That is goals for 2012. Not actually 2012 goals. That would be a lot of goals. I’m not that much of an over achiever!

Happy New Year!

This is an exciting time of year for me. I love to reflect on the goals I made last year and create new goals for this year. I did pretty well on my 2011 goals except I didn’t complete two of them. I did not run a 5K race and I started a 365 project but gave it up after a good few months. You can see my 102 days worth of effort here.

This year I have a good little list of goals with such standards as loose weight and make a conscious effort to be more cheerful. I just realized that I didn’t put any photography goals on my list. I believe that I need to add one on but I don’t want it to be another 365 project.

A few things I really enjoyed about that project was that I had my camera in hand all the time. I had a fun time thinking about photography so frequently and sometimes I felt like I was growing a little artistically and technically. However, I also found that I enjoy taking photos much more than I like uploading them, sorting through them, editing them and posting them online. That was my downfall. That whole editing and posting part really killed it for me.

I think I could do a photo project if I took a smaller bite. I’m thinking of doing a year long project for 2012 with weekly photos and month long themes. I still need to work out the details.

Are you planning any photography goals for 2012? Any big projects? Or just working on learning some technical information like how to shoot in Manual?

Here are just a few of my favorite MomShots from 2011. These were taken early in the year during my 365 project.

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What are your 2012 goals? Do you want to work on a goal together?

It’s Christmas time!!! Yay! We got to come to my husband’s parents house and we will be surrounded by lots of cousins and aunts and uncles in a day. I am so thankful for such a large and wonderful family. I really hit the jackpot when in it comes to my in-laws!

The MomShots Tip of the Day is to keep your camera close by. Someplace out of the way of rough housing and great big hugs but someplace close by that you can grab it and shoot some of those beautiful holiday memories in action.

My mother in law has a bookshelf that has a bunch of photos on top. When I am here, I like to hide my camera back behind the picture of my kids. It is safely hidden from the eyes of kids who might want to play with it but easily accessible to grab when cuteness spontaneously happens.

Here’s my camera in it’s secret hiding spot:

Here’s a shot of my boys’ Christmas letters to Santa hung on the tree.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Festive Festivus and Crazy Cool Kwanza to everyone!!!

Are you working on any projects in preparation for the holidays? I have a bit of sewing and a few crafts to do with the kids. I’ve been looking at lots of blogs trying to find inspiration and ideas for decorating my house and meals to prepare. I have been trying to log some creative time every day of one type or another. I just finished sewing curtains for one of the windows in our family room. One window covered, about a hundred more to go!

I am also working on getting a halfway decent photo of all four of my kids together. I want to give a copy to grandparents for Christmas. Plus it would be nice to use one for Christmas cards. I am determined to get cards out this year. That means I have to get them designed and uploaded to the printer today so I can receive them in time to mail. I need to get busy!!!

While gong through the photos I have taken this month I came across this one. I wanted to make a quick post about how abstract is not always a bad thing. You don’t always have to see your subject’s eyes or have a clear view of their face. Sometimes a photograph can highlight chubby little arms, a dimple or cute toes.

Another idea is to put a few abstract photos in a group. I put these two photos together and then grouped them with a photo that shows my daughter’s face. It kind of ties them all together.

Have fun and play with your subject. Try some intentional abstract shots and see how you like them.

Camera: Nikon D90, Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40), Aperture: f/3.2, Focal Length: 50 mm, ISO: 200. The White Balance was the auto setting for shade.

Halloween came and went in a whirlwind of costumes, sewing and candy. We had a blast. Do you want to see the photos I took?

So do I.

I didn’t take any. Not one. Not a single photo.

What my excuse? You can’t be Mrs. MomShots and not get any Halloween photos, right? OK, I’ll resign my title temporarily. My husband was out of town for the week and when he got home he was pretty much useless due to jet lag so I was busy getting everyone fed with real food prior to candy extravaganza, costumed with enough layers to stay warm for a little while in the pouring down rain, finding loot bags, etc. Thank goodness my husband got out the Flip and recorded the kids right before they left. I didn’t get a chance to breath, let alone take any photos. In past years I have brought my camera with me and shot them as we trick or treated but this year we were dealing with a major rain storm so there was no way I was going to take my camera outside.

They were cute. Trust me.

So I wanted to share a little video I took while trying to take a shot of my youngest two kids. This is a typical scene at our house. Sometimes there is more yelling on my part, often more tears from one of the kids. You get the picture. You are not alone.

This is on my bed with a grey fleece blanket under my kids. I am standing up, above them. We have natural light coming in through the large window on my left. Just an impromptu photo shoot. I got out my camera to snap a few photos of the baby because she was doing something cute but then everyone else came over to join in the fun. It quickly became a family affair.

This chaos is minimal compared to what frequently happens. I’ll try to take some video next time I’m shooting all four of my kids and you’ll get the picture. Craziness is a daily occurrence when trying to photograph children. It is part of the fun!

I have been playing with the soft light that filters in through my bedroom window. It is a southern exposure and has been really wonderful for photos. There are times of the day where the sun shines directly in, but that is only for a short period of time. We moved our bed under the window and I have taken nearly a million photos on that spot. Well, not a million literally. How about a couple hundred? That’s more accurate.

I have also been playing with my photos in Photoshop. I am kind of on a pink kick lately. Can you tell?

Utilizing depth of field is a great way to highlight certain features of the baby in a creative and inviting manner. To get this kind of look you have to use a large aperture. This will make the item you have bracketed in your viewfinder crisp while everything else will be fuzzy.

I have been enjoying a new photography blog that focuses on inspiration. Mortal Muses offers a common theme to use as inspiration. Right now that theme is Morning. They discuss various aspects of inspiration. I find it very… inspiring.

I love mornings. I love that time around sunrise where everything is kind of doing a figurative stretch and yawn in order to get ready to bound into the new day.

I have recently started experiencing mornings again since school began. I have been enjoying walking with my oldest son to the bus stop. Some of those mornings we are accompanied by my youngest son. These are lovely ways to begin the day.

Here is a close up shot of Magnus with a drop of sun kissing his nose. I love the half smirk thing he’s got going on too.

Speaking of smirks, that is the theme at I Heart Faces this week. Two themes in one photo! Huzzah!

Those are my three “C’s” for today. I think they speak for themselves. I am always saying that we need to get closer. Closer and then even more close to our subject. We want to fill the entire picture with our subject. We want to see those shining sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks and pouty lips.

What else can I say about this? Why wouldn’t we want to fill the entire frame with our subject?

Composition is a great thing to think about. We haven’t really discussed the Rule of Thirds much here. I haven’t been really sure how to explain it. Look at the photo below and see the yellow lines I drew on it. These lines break the photo up in three sections both vertically and horizontally. Basically you want to put the subject of your shot on or around one of these lines. It is more pleasing to the eye.

We will discuss this more in depth later, but think about it next time you have your camera out. Put the eyes of your subject, or your subject itself on one of these lines and see how you like your photo. Do you like it better?

The final C is Cuteness. Is this self explanatory or what?!? Just get out that camera and capture all that cuteness that is dying to be photographed! It just never stops. All stages of your child’s life need to be documented and you have the skills to do it. Take lots of shots and then take a few more!

Is this getting harder or is it just me? I keep forgetting to take pictures until Saturday. It really is a reminder that I need to get my camera out more regularly. Even though we’re spending most of our time indoors that is no excuse!!!

Here is my Week 4 page for this 52 Week project. My boys were helping me with a job of cleaning dead leaves off our deck. It was pretty funny. My youngest was buck naked (we’re in the middle of potty training and this seems to work for him) but he grabbed my husband’s size 13 running shoes and a broom. It was so funny I couldn’t resist snapping a bunch of shots. My oldest had the snow shovel and my middle son was also using a broom but he we more interested in pretending he was flying on it rather than helping with the leaves. Classic family photo op!

If you are also working on a 52 week project and want to use the little 52 week graphic, feel free. You can share yours here with this Mr.Linky thingamabob.

The html for posting it into your post is:

May I introduce a two new words to your vocabulary?

Triptych - pronounced Trip-tick. Originated from the Greek words, tri- “three” + ptychē “fold”
Diptych - pronounced Dip-tick. Originated from the Greek words, di- “two” + ptychē “fold”

These words were introduced to me about a year ago from the Digital Photography School. They had an assignment that centered around Triptychs. I can’t remember what I submitted or even if I did submit anything. Prior to that I don’t recall ever hearing those words. Since then, I have really enjoyed putting together both triptychs and diptychs. They seem to speak to my indecisive mind. I don’t have to choose just one photo, I can go with all three.

Lately I have been making a lot of triptychs. I have been using this free action a lot instead of making them from scratch in PhotoShop. It’s pretty fast and I like the result. They also have a great diptych action as well; also free. I love the CoffeeShop site. Rita makes wonderful actions that are really fun to play with for storyboards and photo editing. However, you don’t need an action to make these. They aren’t hard to make and you may really enjoy the results.

This is one of my recent favorites. I couldn’t decide on these so I put them all together in one triptych. It makes making up my mind so much easier!

If triptychs and diptychs are new to you, I hope you give it a try and see how you like them.