Where Are The Bees?
August 22, 2009
Well, it was that time of the year again, so off to the Huckleberry Raildroad we went, grandchildren in tow. We got lucky this time. It was a nice overcast day, so the lighting was great for taking photographs.
It had rained early on so not many people were there, another break for the photographer. It is hard some times to get just the right picture when there are a lot of people who seem to care little for the efforts of a photographer.
Another lucky break – “Thomas The Train” wouldn’t be there until the next day, so the crowds held off and we pretty much had the village to ourselves. A quick ride on the train, and then we could stroll through the village. It was a little windy, so we couldn’t take a ride on the paddle wheel boat, but it didn’t matter. Plenty to do anyway.
Where Are The Bees? (Click on image to make larger)
Jennifer and Josiah found a flower bed, and they could hear the bees buzzing around, collecting nectar for the hive. Not to be missing anything, they bent down to find these tiny little honey bees doing their work.
Pretty soon they could see lots of bees working very hard, preparing for the winter and flying off with their gifts for the Queen bee.
Notice the Osh Kosh outfits? See the bright colors?
If you want to get truly interesting photos of your children then think about the activities they will be involved with when you take a short day trip, and spend some time deciding on how to dress them. They say for adults the clothes make the person; why not for kids too?
You can also see that the soft light of an overcast day has given the photograph a gentle look, and that their faces can be clearly seen. If it had been bright sunlight then some fill flash would have been required to remove the shadows from their faces.
A bit of planning, some patience, pre-leading your subjects and you too can capture some great photographs of your children!
Remember, take lots of pictures!
Child Photographer Betty Muscott
A Baby Photo Album Is Precious
August 21, 2009
All new mothers and fathers should be some of the happiest people on the planet. They are now the proud recipients of a brand new bundle of joy. It is not strange at all for you to be so proud of your new baby that you want the entire world to see the tremendous beauty that all newborns possess. A great way to show your friends, family members, co-workers, and everyone else the majesty of your child is through the use of a baby photo album.
Online Photo Albums Are Precious
One splendid vehicle to drive home the point that your child is priceless is via online photo albums. You can use various internet services such as iPhoto, and shutterfly.com to host many incredible newborn pictures. Users of digital cameras can upload their pictures to popular web properties such as ImageShack.com, Flickr.com, and PhotoBucket.com. Some of the advantages of these types of websites are the fact that they are free, provide an easy access point for your entire family, and can be used by any friend with an internet connection.
Simply put as long as you have an email address, you can become a member of one these websites and create an amazing photo album in hardly any time at all. Due to the power of the internet, many of these photos will never be deleted from these sites. This will provide you and your family many years of enjoyment from the initial baby pictures that were taken. Once your child is older, you can look back at their baby photos and laugh. This will give your children a chance to see what they looked like at an early age. Additionally, they have the opportunity to show these pictures to their current friends and associates via the internet.
In closing, a baby picture album is a fantastic method to store each and every one of your baby pictures. Good pictures are timeless, and good pictures of your baby just can’t be valued because they capture the essence of your newborn’s lovliness. You can harness the power of the internet by using online photo storage services at any time of the day or evening. Also, remember that these photos can be shared with anyone who has access to the World Wide Web. If you have not created an album of baby pictures yet, now is as good a time as any to perform this marvelous task. You and your baby will not be sorry.
Make Your Kids Happy With Personalized Digital Photo Gifts
August 20, 2009
Up till now I’ve been looking out for great photo gifts to give away, to grandparents and friends, for Christmas and birthdays. I’m sure your kids are really happy to help you pick out photos that Grandma and Grandad would love to have. Perhaps sometimes though, they secretly wish that they could keep some of the special pictures for themselves. After all, most kids love looking at pictures of themselves photographed with their Mom and Dad or with other special adults. A really great personalized way of using your digital photos to create special gifts for your kids is the Light Affection nightlight.
My kids still don’t like going to sleep in a dark room at night, even now the oldest is eleven. We leave doors open to a lighted hall, but they still have a night light on in their room. It makes them feel safe and secure. I love the idea of having a digital photo carved into a night light for a child’s room. The reassuring glow of the night light is made even more warm and calming as it shines through a gorgeous photo of your child having a lovely cuddle with you. You could use any happy image, but smiling familiar faces have to be the best cure for night time worries and fears.
Even if your kids don’t need a night light, these photo lights make great gifts for them or for anyone else in the family. Illuminate a dark corner with a table standing framed photo light displaying one of your best portraits of your kids. Older kids might like to have a shot of the whole family to stand on their desk, or a photo of themselves with a favorite pet.
An important thing to remember as our kids grow, is that they love looking at photos of themselves and their family, just as much as Grandma and Grandad do. So don’t just create gorgeous photo gifts for far-off family. Think about creating special things with your digital photos for your kids too. A young girl would love a handbag or tote personalized with photos of her dressed as a princess, or with pictures of her pets. Simple gifts like keyrings containing a photo of the whole family would also go down brilliantly with most children. Who cares that they don’t have their own keys yet, a key ring can be used for hundreds of things!
So keep photographing your kids. You are compiling a record of important memories for them as well as for yourself. The albums that you create with your photos over time will be just as precious to them and those framed family photos will become prized heirlooms one day.
An Online Child Photography Course Is Good Business
August 19, 2009
A splendid way to learn how to photograph children is by taking an online child photography course. Taking this kind of course has many benefits. We will discuss a number of the advantages that being a part of this kind of learning environment will provide in the words that are below.
Be Comfortable While You Take an Online Child Photography Course
One of the main bright spots to learning how to take great child pictures via the internet is that you can wear your pajamas if you choose. You do not have to concern yourself with doing your hair before class, putting on the sharpest outfit that you can find, relaxing on the sofa, and other activities that would ordinarily have to focus on if you were going to school in a physical location. Due to the fact that you have a commute of seconds can also prove to be an excellent reason to study via the power of online photo courses.
Think about what you can do with all of the time that you have on your hands. You could look for new cameras in an electronics store; spend more time with your family, practice taking photos, and a bunch of other fun items. When choosing an online center or school to learn child photography, remember to do your research. Unluckily, some schools or centers may be better than others. The best way to find the information that you are seeking is to go to different online websites that will contain reviews of these institutions. It is wise to decide upon a school that has more positive comments than negative ones. Be careful that you do not go with the cheaper places just because they are more lowly priced. I am sure that your main goal is to learn from the best. Make a point of paying a bit more if that means that you will get a superior educational experience. Also, you may want to communicate with other students via phone or email to determine if they had a good or bad experience with the course.
In the end learning to take photos of kids is a noble task to pursue. Learning this skill from the comfort of your house via an online course is just a smart choice. There is no reason that you can’t choose a good course, learn what you need to know, be comfortable, and create more time because of less commuting time to your classes. Pick an online course that is fun, has good reviews, and will help you to achieve your goal in the fastest amount of time possible.
Enter A Child Photography Contest – A Fun Way To Improve Your Skills
August 18, 2009
None of us need an excuse to photograph our kids. They are the reason in themselves; from cute babyhood when every smile just has to be recorded, to the emerging characters of toddlers and the gap tooth grins of growing children. Sometimes it’s nice though to have an extra reason to put new photographic skills into practice; to take photos of your kids for a specific purpose. If you’re intent on improving your photography skills then it’s a great idea to think about entering a child photography contest.
There are lots of cute kid photo contests about. Online you can probably choose from hundreds. If you look carefully you’ll find that some are genuine contests with experienced expert judges and worthwhile prizes, while others are barely disguised attempts at marketing products, with the products themselves as prizes. Others will offer prizes of say a voucher for a canvas print.
It’s up to you to decide what your priorities are when you decide to enter one of these photo contests. If you’re just doing it for fun and to improve your photography, then the prizes aren’t important, but it does make sense to choose a contest where some sort of photographic quality standards are used in the selection process. Look for contests that explain their selection criteria. Photos may be short-listed by experts and then voted for by the public, or judged completely by a panel of photo industry professionals.
Once you’ve picked a contest that you’d like to enter, have a look at previous winning photos and see what makes them stand out. Besides the cuteness of the child’s face and expression, look at the light; often soft natural daylight falling from one side makes for a photo with winning appeal. How are the kids dressed in the winning photos? Often simple but pretty clothes enhance the cute kid factor. Probably the most important element in a child portrait is the eyes. Look at any portrait and you’ll notice that the eyes are what draw you in. So when you’re taking photos of your child make sure that you get their eyes in sharp focus so that you can catch the sweetness of their expression.
Most photo contest have monthly divisions and then the winning photos from those go into an annual contest which has the grand prizes. This means that you can enter every month to stand a better chance of winning. Challenging yourself to produce a great picture to submit every month is a great way to add motivation to work on your photography skills. Start with a basic online course and use the photo contests as a reason to keep photographing your kids and trying out new ways of using your camera. After all, you already know that your child is the cutest kid in the world. The challenge is for your photo skills to show that to the world!
Share Your Vacation Photos Online For Free.
August 17, 2009
We just had our first big family vacation in Las Vegas. My husband had a business conference there so I packed up my son and we tagged along. Aiden, my son, was so very excited and I got picture after happy picture as he experienced everything from his first ride on a plane to his first glimpse of a tiger. When he finally drifted off to sleep I commandeered my husband’s laptop to share the wonderful photos online with my family for free, unlike everything else in Vegas.
I like to utilize a file share program, particularly when I’m not at home because it lets me send the things I’ve brought with me as easily as the things I’ve left home. If I even suspect I might need something from my home computer I load it into the file share so I can access it wherever I might be.
The calendar function proved particularly handy while I was three time zones away from everyone else in my life. I was able to organize and post my plans so I didn’t have any 4:00 am calls waking the baby, and other such nuisances. If only it could compensate for the jet lag from a five hour flight it would be perfect.
The pool at the resort we stayed at had its own waterfall, which provided a background that was too beautiful to pass up. So with other guests and lifeguards looking at me like I was crazy I walked into the pool with my camera. After taking some great shots of Josh and Aiden I then held the strap in my teeth, switched off and took my son and waited for my husband to shake and blow his fingers dry enough to take photos of me. I guess the looks were warranted, considering my camera is far from waterproof.
Aiden and I by the waterfall.
The pictures were worth it, of course, especially later in the day as my friends and family were enviously ogling them. I try to keep a little bit of a journal when we travel so Aiden will have those memories to look back on. I added the pictures to that so everyone could share in the good times we were having, without making dozens of phone calls while on vacation.
Finding a good file share program is easy. Look for one that has the things that are important to you like photo storage and file sharing and is advertising supported, making it free. Even if you are just going to work, not having to run home to grab the file you left there will save your sanity. Syncing up a family calendar will preempt more hassles than you know. There are countless reasons to sign up for one today.
Is There A “Best” Beginner Digital Camera?
August 16, 2009
As a child photographer I am always asked where did I get such a great camera that takes all of those wonderful photographs? It harkens my memory back to the early days when I got my first camera and, using my younger siblings as victims, took as many pictures of them as I could given a baby sitter’s budget.
It is true that some people can pick up a camera and have a natural eye for those great pictures. Somehow they instinctively know how to frame the scene, capture the subject and produce beautiful photographs admired by all. Others have to learn the trade through trial and error, honing their skills over thousands of photographs and a protracted learning curve.
One thing I know for sure, there is no “perfect” camera. No combination of camera body and lens can equal what the human eye can see. The range of colors, tones, mixtures of light and dark and the depth of field seen through the human eye can not be duplicated, and never will be.
So if you can accept that there is no “perfect” camera, then I can give you a list of what I think are the most important things to consider when purchasing your first digital camera. These are:
- How well written is the instruction manual and can I understand it;
- Are the controls on the camera positioned where it makes sense, where I would expect them;
- Are there great accessories like an excellent lens and fully-functional flash unit built for the camera;
- Lastly, is it cost effective.
As I think back through all of the cameras I have used over the years I always return to Canons. They are the easiest for me to operate, their instruction manuals complete and understandable, they have great accessories and don’t cost an arm and a leg.
For a beginner digital camera I would not hesitate to recommend the Canon Digital Rebel XSi with the 430X Speedlite flash and an EF-S 18-200mm zoom lens. You can read more about this camera at How To Choose A Digital Camera elsewhere on this website.
More important than the camera, however, is that you take lots and lots of photographs of your children. Do that and you will never regret it.
Regards,
Child Photographer Betty Muscott
- Sign up for our FREE eBook and discover how to take wonderful and interesting photographs of your children:
