:: Photography Tips + Tricks: print it ::

I like sharing digital photos online with family and friends. While it is not the most private, it is a great way to stay in touch ~visually~ with the global community. This trend has now crossed over to the portrait  photography world -- more and more clients are requesting digital files. The digital format gives them the flexibility of sharing the images electronically, or having them printed them professionally/at home.

However, more often than not, most digital images don't even make it onto any sort of print medium. Instead, they take up permanent residence on your iPhone, iPad, digital camera card, flash drive, hard drive, the cloud etc. I am, unfortunately, just as guilty on this front as many of you.

There are in fact many convenient online printing services that allow you to upload your digital images temporarily, choose a medium onto which the images will be printed, and ship it to you in relatively short amount of time. Whether it's photo books or individual Instagram prints, there is something out there for everyone. While popular services such as Shutterfly and Snapfish are easy to use and relatively inexpensive, the quality is just not quite what I'm looking for.

One favorite printing service among the at home photographers is BLURB BOOKS. It offers three book-making design tools: 1) Instant Photo Books that allow you to import Instagram or Facebook images into the Blurb format , 2) downloadable BookSmart program for more customization on your computer, and 3) the Lightroom plug-in that allows you to integrate photo book design into your LR workflow. The modern aesthetic is perfect for simple, elegant books that document your life and can be displayed proudly on your coffee table. It also allows a variety of customization such as book sizes, paper quality, and paper finish. Blurb also offers soft cover books in the style of glossy magazines. Fabulous...right?! {psssttt...if you are so inclined, you could even turn these photo books back into ebooks to share online}

Blurb

Another favorite is AdoramaPix. You could not only choose from a variety of customizations, this New York City based service also offers attractive, easy-to-use templates for every taste. One really nice feature of an AdoramaPix photo book is that each page is printed on thick photographic paper. This feature gives the book a feel of substance substance and permanence. Another fantastic feature of an AdoramaPix photo book is that, when open, the books lay completely flat, allowing for panoramic spreads without gutters or seams. They also offer pre-designed layouts that are great for camera phone images. AdoramaPix also offers professional-quality prints at very reasonable prices.

AdoramaPix

If you just want a simple, no-nonsense way to create a photo book from your Mac, try making a Apple Photo Book right from iPhoto. However, while the prices are very reasonable, the quality of the books are no where near that of Blurb and Adorama.

iPhoto

For those of you who think a full-size photo book is overkill for Instagram/Camera+ images, services such as Printstagr.am will turn your camera phone images into inexpensive, flip-through, pint-sized  Minibooks.  Similarly, they will turn your images into dainty, perfectly shaped prints that you could display as a grouping on your wall or as a collection in a special bowl/vessel on your coffee table. Browse their products page for other hip products that could be used in a million different ways.

Printstagram

Printstudio

So get printing! Show off those photos!

:: 02.14.14 | {love} ::

:: 02.13.14 | {joy} ::

:: Photography Tips + Tricks : common missteps people make when taking smartphone photos ::

I've talked a lot about how to take spectacular smartphone photos, but less about how to correct common missteps we make with our smartphone cameras. So today, I am going to highlight some of those booboos and show you how to avoid them.

#1: NOT WAITING FOR THE RIGHT SHOT
We've all had this moment: your daughter/son is doing something incredibly cute and you scramble to get the iPhone out of your tight jean pocket or the cornucopia you call a purse/diaper bag. You drop the phone in your haste (and possibly shattering the ever precious touch screen), pick it back up quickly, and point in the general direction of the intended cuteness -- hoping to capture the fleeting moment. Instead, you end up with a useless shot that is so blurry and underexposed that you can't even tell if you were taking a pic of your child or someone else's.

C2 having a cuddle with Scratchy Giraffe on the floor in her room. I knew this moment wouldn't last forever, so I took a deep breath, decided on a composition that would enhance this image and took the shot.

FIX: Change your mindset. Be deliberate with your shots. Take a deep breath before you point the phone at your subject(s). Think carefully about what you are trying to capture and compose your shot purposefully to enhance the story you are trying to tell. Wait for the right moment to happen -- the perfect grin, the goofiest facial expression -- then snap! away. Voila! An image of which you could be proud. For more tips on composition, see here and here.


#2: UNDER OR OVER EXPOSED
Another common mistake folks make with their smartphone cams is under or over exposure -- the images either do not have enough light (under) or too much light (over). Instead of capturing the beautiful colors of a fall sunset, the camera automatically exposes for the darker parts of the composition and we end up getting an overblown sky that is white and not at all what you intended to capture.

Our master bedroom is on the third floor of our house, at eye-level with the canopy of mature trees. When the weather is good, we are treated to a beautiful panoramic view of the sunset. In order to capture the beautiful, intense colors, I usually have to manually adjust the exposure to make sure the colors are not blown out.

FIX: While the smartphone is not as sophisticated as the dSLR when it comes to manually setting exposure, you could "fake it" by doing a little camera magic right on the touch screen. When composing a shot, take into account the amount of light and contrast in the scene. Using the above example, when taking pics of a sunset or sunrise, instead of letting the smartphone choose the exposure, tap the screen on the part of the composition that you are trying to highlight (i.e. the gorgeous purple and golden sky). A square will appear where you've tapped to show you that is where the exposure and focus are set.


#3: BORING POINT OF VIEW
The easiest thing for us to do, most times, is to take a photo where we stand -- especially if we are encumbered by 5 winter coats, a diaper bag, and a baby in an Ergo. Unfortunately, we often end up with, let's be frank, boring images.

During this crisp late Spring day, I was so enthralled by the contrast between O's fushia sandals and the neon green clover that I had to take a shot. In order to tell my story effectively, I asked O to sit down on the clover and got on a higher plane and took the shot from above.

FIX: Put down the winter coats and diaper bag. Tighten the straps on the Ergo. Get down on the ground, squat, get on your tippy toes. Shoot upwards, shot downwards, shoot sideways. Walk around and find that perfect perspective. Really look at your setting and figure out from which point of view you'd like to tell your story. Click here for more tips on finding your unique point of view.