Some folks are a natural in front of the camera. Some have a talent for photo composition. I am neither of those but am a firm believer in trying, failing..... learn by doing.
When one has a blog.... particularly a sewing blog that journals one's handmade wardrobe.... it isn't long before you desire your photographs to be the best quality they can be. Realizing my limitations and lack of basic photography knowledge, I began
Lisa's Carolina Photo Journal a few years ago using the Tumblr platform to have an outlet to learn how to use my camera focusing primarily on exploring nature around me, as that seemed like a simple enough beginning. It was a great way to get to know my camera better and triggered a love of photography.
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| Hummingbird Clearwing Moth |
Over the years I've used the Photo Journal site to document Me-Made-Mays 2017 and 2018 to reduce the burden on my dear readers of this blog, only posting the month's summary here.
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Day 24 | Me-Made-May 2018
Exploring with Suzi helps me feel more comfortable taking 'public' photos |
After the 2018 Me-Made-May, I decided to re-locate the site to the
Blogger platform and continue (trying!) to take some sort of daily photograph to improve the quality of my self-taken photos. Most are taken using the remote of my Nikon D3300 camera though some may be quickly snapped using my iPhone... or if 'life' takes over, there may be days missed. No pressure. Comments at that site are turned off as it is not meant to create conversation.... just a simple way to log my personal photography journey. You are welcome to follow along. I've 'claimed' the site via
Bloglovin' and you can also see the current photo on my sidebar here and/or click through that way. Outfit photos includes links to the garments and most include a simple notation for that day. Each photo means 'something' to me for that particular day. I'm still in the process of migrating the Tumblr photos to this site, but meanwhile wanted to share the month of June 2018 with you. I probably won't do this each month as am afraid all would be too b-o-r-i-n-g. And that's precisely the reason I don't flood my
IG account with these either!! But for now..... this was June 2018. If you are interested in outfit info just click on the corresponding 'date' link to take you to that specific post. The primary photography focus for this month was learning how to train my camera to 'focus' on what I wanted it to focus on.... not what it was wanting to pick up. So here we go!
Another benefit to these photos are that it helps me 'see' what my garments really look like and how they are wearing. Now back to sewing!!
Happy Sewing All! :)
This is really interesting! So do you use a tripod for your camera? Or do you set it in places and use the remote? Did the remote come with your camera? Is it a long range remote? Questions...I have questions! *smile*
ReplyDeleteOh Wow! And I was afraid this post would be so not interesting! You've got lots of great questions Carolyn!!! I am far from an expert, and have only figured out over the years what works for me, without overwhelming myself.
DeleteFirst.... tripod... yes I do use a tripod. It's a Manfrotto that I purchased at Sam's Club a few years ago as a 'set'. It came with a backpack that I've never used. The tripod is perfect for me.... it's full size but telescopes to a manageable size. I've even made a customized travel bag for it to sling over my shoulders when taking it out for public photos.
Second....Yes I set it in place and use the remote. My first camera was a Canon Rebel that did not have wireless remote capability and eventually purchased the Nikon D3300 all because of that reason. I needed the wireless remote! Sam's Club was running a special on the Nikon (maybe around Thanksgiving time?) and again, purchased the set..... camera, 2 lens, battery, battery charger, camera bag and maybe another thing or two I can't think of right now for a very good price. Then I purchased the wireless remote online from Best Buy. Oh, the Nikon also has bluetooth capabililty to wirelessly transfer photos from the camera to my iphone as well as take photos using the iphone as the remote. This does not work for my needs, but have seen other sewing bloggers do this.
Third.... long range remote..... I've recently begun using my larger lens more and more as am finding that is the key to better 'focus', which means I have to place the camera farther away from me and the remote continues to work fine. The only negative, if this is really a negative, is that the Nikon tends to eat the battery power quicker than the Canon... so to be on the safe side, I probably need to purchase a backup battery.
Ya' know.... I may need to write another post touching on these points you've brought up as others might wonder the same. Thank you so much for your questions and interest!!! Love how we are all part of the greater journey and learning from each other!!! :) P.S. Let me know if you think of more! :))
Thanks for all of the information and the email! I think us bloggers always like photography posts because we're all trying to up our game.
DeleteYou are welcome Carolyn! :)
DeleteYour pictures as well as your outfits look great! Your photography has improved so much!:) Thank you for sharing the pictures, I enjoyed looking through them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Katharina! What a nice thing to say! :)
DeleteI'm always interested in photography posts :) I don't have a full on DSLR camera... Mine is what's called a bridge camera (Panasonic Lumix FZ200) and has a fixed lens with really long and short focus capabilities. It is pretty much a DSLR though in all other ways. Do you use fully manual or Aperture priority mode? I prefer the latter myself so I can concentrate on other settings, but I have a lot to learn. I think you have a good eye Lisa! I wish I had the nerve (and the weather) to take photos for my blog outside. My set up is indoors with a large photography lamp, tripod and remote (got my remote of an eBay shop).
ReplyDeleteYour camera sounds interesting too. I use the Aperture priority mode.... now. Though when I got my first DSLR camera, I could only use the fully automatic settings, so it was a pretty big deal to improve enough to move to the Aperture priority mode! Your photos are gorgeous Diane, so think you have truly figured out what works well for you. I continue to struggle with interior photos, and with this awful heat would loooooove to take all the shots inside! The exterior shots use the woodland trees to 'filter' the light and I've sort of figured out where to take shots outside for the time of day I need them. Thank you for your information and kind comment! Photography is interesting, isn't it! :)
DeleteYou have certainly taken to photography like a duck to water. I always enjoy your photos, and I can see you take a lot of time and effort with them. I am glad you enjoy doing this - your photos really are a credit to you and I can see you put a lot of time and effort into achieving such good results.
ReplyDeleteI loved looking through your June pictures. Your photos are beautiful and highlight your garments so well.
ReplyDeleteHow absolutely lovely to see your daily outfits and some of your activities. Your photos look really good to me; I inherited a quite fancy camera from my son and he is appalled that I just use the automatic settings, but the idea of faffing around with f-stops etc, every time I want to capture a shot is just too much effort. You've inspired me to have a little rethink!
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