Archive for Photography
December 20, 2011 · Filed under Photography |
I’ve seen lots of conversations on photography forums about how to get the blurry background (and fun arguments about the use of the word bokeh, which is a really fun word to say. I like to use it, a lot. Because its fun.)
These are the three ways in which you can achieve a blurry background:
F-Stop/Apature – wider like 2.0 and lower makes for very pretty effects
Smaller margin of error means more difficult to nail focus if you have not practiced a lot.
Auto users: Pop your camera into apature priority mode, which is about the same as auto accept you can control the f-stop/apapture and set it to its LOWEST which on an entry level DSLR and kit lens may be 3.0 – 4.5 (try zooming all the way out, and all the way in to see which zoom gets you the lowest setting, those lens’s lowest setting actually varies based on your zoom length at any given moment. Did that make sense? If not please comment!). You can still do this without being in manual!
Focal Length – 85mm + makes for pretty portraits
More dummy proof and unique looking but costs $$$ to get an 85mm lens (if you have a kit zoom lens zoom all the way IN then step back as needed and zoom with your FEET, keeping the camera zoomed all the way in, these tricks are funny aren’t they??)
Continue reading “How to get good “bokeh” or blur in your photographs, even in auto mode” »
August 16, 2011 · Filed under Life, Photography |
I was so surprised to get so many comments on my last blog entry from my iheartfaces.com entry, it was fun to see a bunch of comments on the blog again. People don’t comment like they used to back in the hard-core blogger days! I also have a neat little facebook plugin that lets people post that way, but it doesn’t add to the post count which stinks, I mean who doesn’t get a bit dorked out when they see the post count number go higher then 1, or even into double digits? I know people are reading but I’ve always attracted a more quiet audience!
Continue reading “Tamara Lackey Photography Workshop” »
Getting the correct exposure when working in Auto (more accurate color representation)
For those of you photographing yarn, all of the same applies from the previous tutorials except your getting more of a product shot and it’s more important to pay direct attention to what you are placing your yarn on. Lots of people use white light boxes. I don’t so I don’t have much to say about them except I think they are great. If you don’t want to go that route a pretty stone boulder, or wooden step can be a nice backdrop for your yarn. Avoid distracting things like mesh iron tables, flat plastic plain green table tops (the out door variety) or glass (reflects light badly sometimes). Try photographing your yarn on several surfaces and see what turns out best when you get back to the computer. If you are photographing a dark yarn you may need to place it on a medium toned surface so the yarn color does not photograph too darkly. Avoid a sheet, its wrinkles will show up. If you insist though, iron it out very well and find a bright spot in the corner of your kitchen so you can smooth the sheet out perfectly on your table. A wrinkly background is always very distracting. Maybe try the back of wrapping paper, most of us have some stashed in our closet someplace. The best would be some poster board from a local big box store or even better, a crafts supplies store.
Continue reading “Photography for Knitters – Part 4 Photographing Yarn” »
A reminder for those working in Auto, to HOLD DOWN THE POP-UP FLASH on your fancy DSLR so the flash doesn’t go off, the camera will automatically adjust the settings to work without the flash, but if you don’t do this it will be very lazy and use the flash which almost always makes for a flat picture. For point-and-shoot camera’s turn the flash auto mode to OFF. Some may even have a no-flash-but-still-auto setting but I don’t know your camera. Holding it down works on most DSLR cameras.
Natural Light Outside
If you are taking photos outside, the absolute worst time to take pictures is mid-day. Instead you should be taking photos just after sunrise or 1-2 hours before sun-set. Overcast days do make it easier to photograph mid-day but you can’t always count on that.
Continue reading “Photography for Knitters – Part 3 Using Natural Light Effectively” »
Last week was wonderful, I had Wednesday and Friday with LG in daycare. I had no idea how it would go, I set my expectations low. When I went to drop her off on wednesday, everyone was outside so it worked to my favor that she didn’t cry when I left. Who would cry when they have a slide and swing to distract them? The report was a great day, with no cheers and she had, *gasp* fun. I had not thought she would, her few times at the YMCA had not been so great.
Continue reading “Busy baby is busy” »
My name is Brandy Fortune, and I design knit-wear for kids. I love Crème Brulée, Sci-Fi, 70 degree weather and reading a good book in bed. I spend my time knitting, sewing, taking pictures, co-editing the web-zine 
