favourites, pt 1.

Now that exams, surgery, photography courses and Christmas concerts are mainly over, I have just a small bit of time to spend on my little neglected blog! As a little precursor of  thought I'd post some of my favourite photos taken in the past few months. Sadly, I won't have time for them all, but enjoy the first few. 

{beautiful, with the Mouse Files}

{reflections}

{thoughtful}

{peaceful}

{black and white}

That's it, friends! More to come one day, in the meantime... have a very blessed Christmas, and may God's presence be very real to you this week!  

 

{Meet Anna, cutest newborn out there.}

Photography course coming soon!

It's been a while, friends. But what better way to temporarily end my blog hiatus than to tell you about some exciting-ness coming soon!

As you may (or may not) know, a few years back I attended a photography course called the 'IPS' (Institute of Photographic Studies). Besides being a lot of fun, this course is what really sparked my interest in photography.

And now there is an opportunity for you to attend a very similar photography course, called 'Inspiring Images'. It's being run by one of my friends who is a very professional and talented photographer - and I highly recommend that you don't miss out on this!

You can visit here for more details, and you can always comment and ask me any questions you might have.

Eloise
xoxo

Update: This is one of the last times a course like this will be held in Australia, so make sure you don't miss out! 

{Above: random picture. Below: random quote. Note: there are more posts coming in the future - if I can find time to post them! In the meantime, read some of the thought provoking posts on this great blog, or this one}

"Every day the choices we make say what we are, and who our heart beats for." 

 - Franscesca Battistelli

Praying for His abundant blessing on each of you this week,
Eloise

Photographers can relate.

{so true, hey? *grin*}

Cats are weird.

{the results of a lazy Sunday morning, a lazy cat, and lazy photographer using her phone instead of the DSLR}

Portraits

{Taking photos of people can be intimidating - both for the photographer and the person being photographed! So I thought I'd give you some of my favourite portrait tips learnt from various photographers over the past!}

1. | Keep it simple. 

The more complex your background is, the harder it is to focus on the subject. Lighting applies here, too - use natural light where possible, and if you do use artificial light, keep it simple and as few lights as possible.

2. | Fill the frame

This doesn't necessarily mean taking up the entire photo with a person's face, but definitely try and keep the extra space around your subject minimal, unless it's a far-off shot you're going for. If you want space around your subject, try shooting on a third (see above photo) to create balance.

3. | Try different angles.

Don't always stick to the same predictable photo angles! Break up your usual habits and take turns shooting in landscape, portrait, slightly below the eye line, slightly above the eye line, etc. There's no limits to creativity here!

4. | Use catchlights

A "catchlight" is simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye. This highlight adds depth and dimension to the eye, and gives the eyes life in a portrait. See the catchlights in the photo below? If you're finding that there aren't any catchlights because of the lighting, you can take a piece of white paper and ask the subject to hold it below their face (out of sight, of course!).

5. | Relax :)

If you're stressing out, chances are that your subject is going to be stressed, too! Don't try and force a photo - the best smiles are always the most natural ones. Try and make the person you're photographing feel comfortable in front of the camera; if it's a child, then ask them to look through the lens and see the picture reflecting back at them - anything to distract them from the fact that you are actually taking a photo of them! As soon as they're not afraid of the camera, half your battle is won already. 

I really hope you guys enjoyed this post! Do you have any tips for portrait photography? Feel free to share them below in the comments section!

Preview

{There's post on portrait photography coming up soon!}

Please feel free to vote on the poll and tell me what you think of the new blog layout - ideas for improvements are welcome and greatly appreciated! 

Thanks so much, everyone!

Eloise

April Photography Challenge | My photos

A/N: Finally, the post you've been waiting for! I have to admit that since I wasn't 'officially' doing the April photo challenge myself, I didn't manage to take all the photos that were on the list. :( But not to worry, I will get around to taking them eventually. In the meantime, I'm really hoping you enjoy looking at the ones I did take! 

Assignment 2 | Smile

Assignment 3 | Green

{I love the bokeh in this photo!}

Assignment 5 | A promise God showed you

{Confession: this wasn't taken on April 5th, but I found these lone blossoms on our cherry tree the other day and I felt it was such an incredible demonstration on God's amazing love for you and for me! How He longs to create beauty in our lives - and even though sometimes we have to go through a tough 'winter' period in our lives, spring will come and with it, so much of His beauty and grace!}

Assignment 6 | 5pm

Assignment 7 | Someone you talked to today

{My amazing friend from across the country came to visit me! So we took a picture on my phone :P}

Assignment 8 | A family member

{This is my precious mother. My sister curled her hair 'specially for the occasion}

Assignment 9 | Delicious

{Self control: stopping to take a photo of something very delicious before eating it!}

Assignment 12 | Clouds

{I love the way these clouds are lit up by the sun behind them}

Assignment 14 | Shoes

{Cowgirl boots}

Assignment 15 | Music

{Okay, so the hands-playing-piano photo is a little bit cliché. But still awesomely fun to take pictures of!}

Assignment 16 | Key

Assignment 17 | Time

Assignment 18 | Fruit

{This photo isn't a hundred percent in focus *sad face* but I just couldn't resist this heart shaped lemon when I saw it at a friend's place!}

Assignment 19 | Breakfast

{I'm pretty sure I had more than just coffee for breakfast - but mmm, it was so good!}

Assignment 20 | An animal

Assignment 23 | Sunlight

Assignment 24 | Bokeh 

{Who knew that frost on a trampoline makes such beautiful bokeh?}

Assignment 27 | Laugh

{My beautiful little sister}

Assignment 28 | Inspiration

{This}

I will try and get the rest of the photos up very soon! Oh, and friends, it would be amazing if you critiqued my photos for me! You don't have to tackle them all at once but I would love it if you could at least pick one photo that you liked/disliked and tell me your opinion. And don't be afraid to be harsh - I know my photography could use some improvement! So that would be incredible - thanking you in advance. :-)

PS. What do you think of my new blog look?

April Photo Challenge | Julia's photos

A/N: Hopefully by the next post you will be seeing my photos from the APC, if all goes as planned! :-)

Here are the last photos from Julia's contribution to the APC! Please feel free to add a helpful tip/encouraging comment for Julia - she did an amazing job!

Assignment 11: A sign

{Definitely no mistaking it - this is a sign! :-) There a few components that distract in this photo, however - like the tree trunk in the RH corner or the fact that the fence line is cutting the photo in half (so to speak). I do completely understand how hard it can be to zoom in using a point & shoot camera, though! So you did a good job despite that, Julia!)

Assignment 12: Clouds

{Yay - one of the few people who actually managed to find a cloud to take a picture of! While the parts of the tree/roof are a bit distracting, we could leave them there as adding a sort of 'frame' for our subject, the cloud.} 

Assignment 13: Something in God's creation

{Such a pretty hibiscus, Julia! Just a quick tip: it's usually better to take photos of flowers on an overcast day or in the early morning/late afternoon of a sunny day. Why? The lighting on a cloudy day is often low intensity and does not create the strong shadows or overexposed light that reduce detail and colour in your flower.}

Assignment 14: Shoes

{Notice the use of leading lines here - great job! However, they could have been slightly more effective if we'd changed the position of the photo - like getting down closer to the ground, for instance.}

Assignment 15: Music

{Same thing here! We could have used the lines along the piano (like the one above the words 'Beale &  Company') to create a really strong image. Remember to always try different angles/positions till you get one that you are really happy with!}

Assignment 16: Key

{What a awesome old key! And the sepia lighting effect adds to the old-school feel of this photo. :-) Remember to remove the things in a photo that will take our eye away from the subject - like the piece of wood in background.}

Assignment 17: Time

{This is quite a cool photo - I like the angle and the way it's on a third! Again, a few little distracting things in the background - but I'm sure you can spot those without me telling you what they are! :-)}

Assignment 18: Fruit

{Apples are awesome things to take photos of! They reflect light really well (especially if you polish them!). Remember to think about the photos you take - notice distractions in the background; try different angles and don't forget to use lighting to create atmosphere & interest! :-)}

Assignment 19: Breakfast

{Someone seemed to be having fun eating breakfast that morning! :-) Extra brownie points for creativity here, Julia!}

Assignment 20: An animal

{Aw, a nice picture of a nice cat! (Cats are seriously hard to take photos of - believe me, I've got two of 'em!) Think about some ways you could've made this photo a really great one... maybe zooming in (or getting closer), trying a different angle? There's no limit to creativity!}

Assignment 21: Speed

{I really, really like this! Awesome! The train is neatly placed on a third, and you can almost see it rushing out of the station! Awesome work, Julia!}

Assignment 22: Anything

{Ahh, this city looks slightly familiar! Nice work.}

Assignment 23: Sunlight

{The lighting in this photo is spectacular! I really like it - the shadows are interesting, too!}

Assignment 24: Bokeh

{Fantastic effort with trying out bokeh, Julia! (Your little sis is really cute, too). Keep at it - using different lights/focus points and you'll keep getting better!}

Assignment 26: To-do list

{Someone certainly keeps busy! Good job, Julia... remember to keep thinking about how to make your photos 'great' ones!}

Assignment 27:  Laugh 

{Aww, how incredibly precious! A few things: the pram in the background pulls our eyes away from the [adorable] subject, but the lighting here is nice! Oh, and it would be really good if we could see more of her face, too - especially her eyes. But still, good photo!}

Assignment 29: Red

{Good contrast here! Try filling the frame a little more (e.g zooming in and/or getting closer} so we see more of the subject and less of the surroundings. Very nice!}

Assignment 30: Isaiah 61:11

{"For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations." So true!}

Julia, I think you did really, really well with the APC! Keep up those creative photography skills, and you'll go far! 

In Christ's love,

Eloise