Photography Tips

Textures

I always try to take photos of textured walls, fabrics, and decorative elements. Then I use them as my background paper on my digital scrapbook pages. In the Liberty layout the Flag in the background was a photograph taken from a flying flag on the 4th of July, then I added a photo of a wooden wall over the top and changed the blend mode to luminosity to get a weathered look on the flag. Using grunge brushes, I finished the background with a distressed border.

The layout on the left was created with Photoshop layer effects using the photos sampled on the right. The ribbon, staples, and USA tag were generated in Photoshop CS3. The saying is Psalm 33:12. Click layout to enlarge.

4th of July Photography Tips

Grab your camera this forth, and take some amazing photos. Here are a few sites I found with awesome tips for photographing Fireworks displays. Have FUN, and get to shooting.

Kodak    |     The Digital Photography School    |     Photojojo

Here are a few extra things to consider

1 - GET CLOSE. Close ups of kids eating watermelon, corn on the cob, ice cream cones, and chicken/turkey legs make awesome scrapbooking shots. Remember the messier the kid, the better. Make sure to fill the frame with the child's face.

2 - PREPARE FOR RAIN. Everyone who lives in Florida knows that they can count on rain on the 4th of July. Put a clear plastic gallon freezer bag in your camera bag. You can usually cut a hole large enough for the lens to slip through, and it is clear, so you can still look in the view finder. You may catch an amazing shot with rain drops.

3 - PHOTOGRAPH YOUR TOWN. The town I live in gets really patriotic on the 4th so take advantage of these great colors and textures and get close up shots of yard ornaments and town decorations. These can make really cool backdrops for your digital scrapbook pages, and they can offer some real interest to your layouts. Don't forget that the town you live in, plays an important role in your holiday traditions.

4 - LET SOMEONE ELSE TAKE PICTURS. I am the worse about this! If you are always shooting, then YOU aren't in the pictures. When time moves on, you will regret not documenting your own amazing time.

5 - CLEAN YOUR LENS/SENSOR. Don't forget as you move around the day to take along a cleaning cloth. There is nothing more frustrating then developing your photos and having a smudge in your perfectly blue sky.

6 - EXTRA BATTERIES. You don't want your camera to run out of juice before you do.

DON'T EVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR CAMERA

The best photos I have ever taken where not planned. While attending a football game, we discovered a wall of graffiti from an abandoned factory. The second I saw this wall from across the field through my lens, I knew I had to take advantage of it! The inspiration from this wall was awesome!

Picture this...It had just rained, it was overcast which made for perfect lighting, and the metal was wet which enriched the colors of the wall! These images have an awesome Urban feel that speaks "Teenager". If these pictures don't tell a message, then nothing does!

Click Images to enlarge!