Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands
This is one of my favorite pictures from one of my first photography sessions (I guess I should say “paid” photography sessions):
This was an engagement photo session and I feel like his hands really show tenderness in this picture!
T-shirt to toddler dress…in 30 minutes!
I finally had a chance to do my first post partum sewing project: a toddler dress made from an XL t-shirt I bought on clearance at Old Navy (gotta love those sales! The t-shirt cost <$4!)
I started off with one plan…and thanks to my lack of planning, I ended up with something different. But I still like it!
I wanted to make a 2 piece dress – one front piece and on back, with a shirred center to give it shape. However, when I cut out my design, I realized I folded the fabric in the wrong place, and made it WAY to skinny on top. So there was no way the top of the dress would have fit even my skinny minny! So I made the “top” of the dress the waist, and spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to salvage a top from what I had left of the fabric. Then I realized the sleeves were my biggest pieces left. Sooooo…I used the sleeves to make the top! You can’t really tell in the pictures but I used the existing hem of the sleeve and let that show on the outside of the dress. I just attached it to the bottom pieces that I cut out.
When I cut the top of the dress, I cut straps and just used them to tie the top of the dress closed. This way it is easier to get on and off without actually making a button or zipped opening.
And as you may be able to see, I didn’t finish the edges. Since it is knit, it won’t fray. It is curling a little at the edges, but I like the raw look! Not to mention, the actual sewing time took all of about 15 minutes! It was awesome!
And, the dress is GREAT for dancing:
jumping…
spinning…
running…
and plain ol’ being silly!
and going to school!
I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: C
For this month’s photo challenge at IHeartFaces: The Letter C, I submitted one of my favorite pictures of L and R ever!
I think what I love most about it is that it shows how close they are, and it highlights the best part of their relationship: crazyiness! L has waited almost 3 years for R to get close to him and not be attached to my hip all the time. So when I see them like this, enjoying each other’s company (L rarely smiles this big for the camera except when he is with her) – it makes me SOOO happy!
=D
Wow – two kiddos is kicking my butt! And that is WITH help from my mother-in-law!
I have been experimenting with ways to capture good pictures of my daughter given that she avoids the camera like the plague. Some kids love taking pics and posing…not this one. She LOVES showing me the back of her head…and the top of it…and the top of her eyelids…
But lately I have been trying “shooting from the hip.” Or actually, shooting from the “thigh.” I put the camera down by my leg, and engage her in something (usually chasing her or letting her chase me) and then shoot away while we play.
This of course results in quite a few garbage pictures…
But as you can see, I also end up with a at least a few great ones!
These are all from this afternoon. She was in the mood to chase me, so I ran away from her, taking pictures behind me.
The key is to make sure she is not focusing on the fact that I am taking her picture! Then I actually get real smiles and views of her FACE!
How do you actually get things in focus, you ask?
These are the settings I use:
1) I use a higher ISO than usual so that the pictures can handle some movement. Basically, you want a faster shutter speed. If you have a “sports” setting on your camera, you could use that.
2) I make sure the focus point selection is set to all. I.e. the camera will focus on the first thing it sees that hits it’s focus points. Usually I keep my camera set to focus only on the middle focus point – but that doesn’t work for this method of shooting since I’m not aiming by looking through the view finder. It takes practice to aim the camera just with your hands and still get your subject matter in the frame, but you definitely get better the more you do!
3) I keep the focus mode on “AI Servo” – I’m not sure what the equivalent is in Nikon (I use canon) – but basically that means “continuous focus.” Again, this is different than my normal practice which is to keep the camera set to focus once and lock that setting. I do this so I can focus on something and re-compose the picture without losing my desired focus point. However, since I’m usually moving while taking these pictures (as is my subject) it is better to keep it on continuous focus. Actually no…it is ESSENTIAL! to keep it on continuous focus! =D
Well hope that helps and gives you something new to try.
Have fun!
It’s that time of year again…garden time!!
Last year we planted our very first vegetable garden. It was great – we actually built 2 raised beds and had some great success with it! You can check out my post on the beginnings and plans for last year’s garden here and here. Here is the post about our warm weather bed.
This year I actually decided to make things a little simpler on myself since we have a 3 week old to take care of! I eliminated some of the less “fruitful” plants like broccoli and cauliflower, and stuck to greens etc for the cool weather bed.
So here was my original plan for this year:
And here is what I actually ended up doing (it always changes a little once you get out there!)
R actually helped me start some plant starters from seed this year
It is so warm in our hallway, combined with the cover on the tray, the seedlings sprouted within 1-2 days!
The problem was that I think it got a little too warm, and they got some white fuzzy stuff on them which I think may have been fungus? So I took off the cover and it went away, and they look pretty healthy now. I planted lots of seeds in each compartment in case some didn’t grow, so now I need to take out the extras to give room to each plant to sprout roots and get bigger!
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The garden is pretty much complete except for the arugula that I need to put in from our starters – for some reason those are staying the smallest! I may have to buy starters instead of using those that I made if they dont get bigger soon. I thinned them out quite a bit today, so hopefully that will help.
Sadly a deer apparently found our garden and put huge holes in the areas where I planted seeds…hopefully they’ll still grow!
Here is my helpful assistant showing me her “awesome” shovel! I’m excited that this year she will actually make more sense of the whole gardening process and will get excited about it!
And digging big holes for the seeds to go in…
My radish starters, which I ended up not using because of the fuzzy white stuff I saw on them before.
Hopefully we will get some good yields this year!
My two kiddos
An impromptu photo session on a blanket in our hallway. Enjoying the sun from the skylights. The two kiddos marveling at each other…and me marveling at them!
Experimenting
Sometimes I let my daughter have fun taking pictures on my phone. Since I love photography So much I’m trying to foster her creativity!
Here are some fun images from today’s experimenting. It is fun to see them all together! A little tip: while it is really hard to get a picture of her the normal way, she enjoyed taking pictures when she could see herself on the screen!
Newborn pictures!
As I have been getting used to being a mom of two, I have been having fun taking pictures of my new son for the last few weeks.
It has not been easy since it has been cold here, and newborns don’t like to be cold!
I didn’t get all the pictures/poses I wanted, but I definitely got a few that I am very happy about!
I must say though, it is not easy being the mom who nurses the subject to sleep, AND the photographer! It requires a lot of running back and forth =)
I did manage to get some pictures with him awake as well – which was fun too!
By far the hardest has been getting pictures of BOTH kids together – mainly because R did not want to cooperate!
However, a “kit kat” bribe always helps =]
Luckily, my husband was able to catch a pic of me with our new son as well!
Weekly Photo Challenge: 2 Subjects
For this week’s weekly photo challenge at the Daily Post, “Two Subjects” I have the following pictures of my husband and daughter.
What I love about this picture is that they are both so natural appearing. They both have a hard time smiling for the camera, so they just played – and of course that yielded the best results.
Here is another one – where they are just being plain silly. I love it!
Our little package has arrived!
Sorry for the radio silence, but I have been busy delivering this cute little package =)
He’s already a great baby, sleeping and eating lots! I’m sure that will change in the next couple weeks as he becomes more aware of his surroundings, but we are enjoying the peacefulness while it lasts!
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I might put up a pattern for this hat I whipped together for him..it is the only one I have that actually fits him and stays on his head!
Have a great day!
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