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Posted in Friday Photo Tips

With the unofficial end of summer this weekend feeling like we’re sailing into the sunset, I thought I’d say a word or two about the horizon line.  Most of us will spend at least some time outdoors, perhaps a beach, a lake, a pool or park, taking some pictures.   A good tip is to keep and eye on the horizon and avoid placing it in the dead center.  

Try to compose your photo so the horizon line is either towards the top or bottom third of the frame.  If you keep it in the center, it just cuts your image in half and looks distracting.  Instead, make the horizon line part of your composition by adding people, a landmark or another special feature to sit mainly in the other two thirds of the image.  I’ve demonstrated here by showing two different themes using the same subject of a sunset with a very obvious horizon line.  The secondary focus in the above image was the sailboat, and below the secondary feature is the water.  Notice how the sunset in the last image just holds no real interest or depth and actually looks unbalanced because the top half looks empty.

So don’t forget to keep an eye on the horizon and here’s to happy sailing for anybody lucky enough to be on a boat this weekend!  Hope we all can get some rest from our labors!  

Place the horizon line in the top or bottom third of the frame.

When the horizon line is dead center, the image lacks depth and interest.

 

Posted in Friday Photo Tips

Posted in Happenings

It’s Back to School Time!

Who isn’t tired of the traditional looking school Senior portraits? 

Thankfully high school Seniors have a lot more choices these days.  While Seniors still might have to use the designated school photographer for their yearbook portrait, they are free to select the photographer of their choice for the memory photos they swap and share with family and friends or use for graduation announcements. 

As a female photographer, I’ve committed myself to working with Senior girls.  Not only because girls are more comfortable in front a woman photographer, (resulting in more natural portraits), but because I want to help build their self confidence through letting them discover their natural beauty while creating fun and tasteful portraits they’ll love to share and cherish for years to come. 

How to Enter the Drawing: 

  • Must be a current High School Senior Girl within metro MD/DC/VA or greater Baltimore area. 
  • Enter by submitting your name and comment in the comment box below. 
  • Comment must be to nominate a Teacher who is currently teaching at your school that you feel is inspirational and share a line or two about why you feel he or she is praiseworthy. 
  • Enter as many times as you wish to increase your chances. 

The Winner Will Get: 

  • A one hour portrait session on location with 5 different looks, along with 5 web resolution digital files and 5, 4×6 professional prints.  ($400 Value) 
  • For an added bonus, the nominated Teacher will also get a free in studio headshot! ($100 Value)

(Standard portrait terms will apply.) 

Now go ahead and share this link with Seniors you know.   The drawing will be on September 30th.   Good Luck!

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Posted in Happenings,Inspirations

Since the Birth of Mother Teresa! 

A lovely and simple Mass was held today in the upper church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in honor of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.   The local sisters from her order, the Missionaries of Charity, were in attendance and sweetly sang one of Mother’s meditations after Communion, the refrain being: “All for Jesus, all for Love, to be a channel of God’s grace.” 

Afterwards, everyone processed out for a “birthday balloon launch” (in her colors of blue and white), that was just delightful.  We each also received a lovely medal and prayer card pack.  I’ve been around the sisters and interacted with them several times over the years and am always refreshed by their genuine kindness and joy.  They are truly a special gift to our world, all made possible by the birth of a baby girl 100 years ago today who would grow up to listen to God’s will. 

In the crypt of the Basilica there is a story board exhibit detailing Mother Teresa’s life that is very moving (displayed through Sept. 30th).  I am continually amazed by her level of selflessness and commitment to service for love of Christ and continually shocked at my lack of resemblance to her.  She is truly a saint for our time!  Blessed Teresa, pray for us.

Visit the Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center to follow the centenary celebrations all year long.   Her relics have also been traveling the country, so keep an eye out for them too.

Update:  Prints are now available.

 

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  • Stacey Biondolillo - August 29, 2010 - 10:52 am

    I have been bless’d to work with the Sisters and Mother Teresa and Mother’s love changed my life . Changed my heart !
    I worked with Mother and the Sisters in Nogales and here in Arizona. A picture of me with my son was taken at one of the missions house and was posted in the Arizona Republic and more than once .
    I could write on and on how much her love and the Sisters love has impacted life ! I wouldn’t know where to start with all of her quotes that meant so much significance and her eyes , the love in them ! People can say many things , but the eyes are to the soul and Mother Teresa’s eyes were so deep , so compassionate , so non judging , so merciful , so kind and filled with Gods love . How could anyone not see the Gods truth in her eyes ?
    The few times I met Mother , I was shocked that she remembered me and my children when they were young . Mother was special in so many ways , I thought then she was already a Saint !

    I love you all and God Bless all of you

    Sincerely
    Stacey Biondolillo

  • joe ortega - August 30, 2010 - 5:12 pm

    ms stacey, just wanted to say ‘THANK-YOU’ FOR SHARING! I SO LOVE MOTHER AND PRAY FOR/TO HER.

Posted in Happenings

And the Winner is Peter K! 

Actually he was the only one who at least attempted to answer my Pop Quiz question, and as the former teacher in me use to do, I even gave him a hint when he guessed wrong!  Thanks for participating Pete! 

So for Peter’s reward he can have his own mini “in Studio” headshot session scheduled when my floor finally gets laid in.  (Among other things, I’ve been remodeling my studio space and just can’t wait for the new digs.)  I’ll be in touch Pete.  🙂 

Happy back to school season!   Missing my teaching days…well sort of.   Loved the students, just not all the endless grading.

Posted in Happenings

Posted in Friday Photo Tips

…White Balance that is.

Here’s a quick tip, (while I wait to book Margaret for the next set in her series). 

This is something else I see all the time, won’t name names, but you know who you are 😉 and it’s as easy to fix as pushing a button. 

There is such a thing as color temperature.  We often refer to light sometimes as warm or cool in appearance.  Candle light for instance is very warm and often makes everything look very yellow.  The typical household bulb replicates that color.  In temperature speak, it’s called tungsten.  The standard is daylight, where your whites always look white, with no color cast.  What happens after dark in reality is that we get a whole mixture of light temperatures given the various types of artificial light out there.  Fluorescent lighting often casts a very unattractive green on everything.  (When I shoot events with mixed lighting such as fancy rooms with decorative tungsten lamps, overhead florescent, a few new compact fluorescent bulbs and the odd window here and there, it’s always a pain to try and color correct the image and make people’s skin tones look natural.  The light quality and temperature is the first thing I assess.)  

Daylight always makes us look most natural.  Maybe most people don’t know this, and I just take it for granted, but there’s a button or dial on most cameras these days (it use to be on the film before) but now you just flick a switch and select daylight, tungsten, florescent, overcast… for the corresponding color temperature in order to get the most pleasing reproduction.  (This I found so liberating, by the way, when I switched to digital because I didn’t have to commit to a whole role of film being balanced for one color temperature.  Wow that brings back memories!  I can now change mid roll – so to speak!) 

So it’s that easy!  Above I took a photo of a white candle under a tungsten bulb (in regular jpeg, like what most people shoot on, and with no fancy editing), so you could see the difference.  The first image was set to tungsten white balance and the camera corrected for the extra yellow, while the second image was set to daylight.   Now this is extreme and most cameras just have a default of Auto White Balance (AWB), but I never find that to be very accurate because it seems to favor daylight.  

So if you are in a dimly lit room and things are looking really yellow, find the white balance menu on your camera and turn it to tungsten.  It’s often represented with a symbol to look like a light bulb.  Try it and say goodbye to liver disease, at least the appearance of it!  And don’t forget to switch back in the morning. 🙂

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  • Zoe - September 29, 2010 - 12:56 pm

    Okay, yay! I finally read this one! Now I’ve got to go find that button on my camera! And hope you don’t mind me saying that it’s liver problems that produce jaundice rather than kidney 🙂

  • Renata - September 29, 2010 - 10:35 pm

    Oh, indeed! Correction made; thanks Zoe! Good thing I’m not a surgeon!

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