Final Post (FDOM)

I’ve never really been a “blogger.” I have a tumblr account but only use it to re-blog other people. I’ve never blogged about myself or about things I love. So this project was very interesting to me. Learning how to code and design a blog to my own standards was so much fun. I wouldn’t take out a single thing we learned this semester.

I think all of the information I’ve gathered over this course will be supplemental to my future. I could use these skills and build websites and build a brand online for a company through social media.

My dream job would be to work for the San Antonio Spurs organization. I’d love to add my own touches to the brand they’ve already created. Specifically, I’d want to work with NBA Cares and showcase how today’s athletes are not all bad.

This is just a dream. But this is the reason I chose this major. And I have no other intentions other than to achieve this.

Thanks for a great semester Zmikly!

Newborn Photography Tips

I know we’ve all seen them. Those cute little babies lying in bed, wrapped in a blanket with a huge headband. Adorable, right? Finding out a good friend of mine is pregnant, I thought I’d give a look into newborn photography and how to make it easy.

Typically these photos must be done within the first 2 weeks of birth when the baby is always sleepy and able to be molded in different positions, according to Cole’s Classroom.

He says, “Let the baby move, yawn, and stretch.  Babies have wonderful, perfect, sweet movements, do not stress over having the perfect pose in every frame.”

Newborn photography can be a loving and memorable moment for both the photographer and the family.

Photo credit: www.jenniferwilcoxphotography.com

PhotoFocus: Blog Review

I recently came across this blog and thought I’d share my thoughts about it. Photofocus is a wordpress blog dedicated to camera reviews, tutorials, and tips. It’s easily navigable and has many different tutorials ranging from camera settings to photoshop tricks. It is well maintained and has plenty of posts to look at.

Photofocus.com gives different views on things most photographers are already doing. Their blog contains Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom information for editing photos, reviews on the newest lenses and cameras, and does contests in which you can win prizes!

I’d recommend this blog to anyone looking for a little help.

Photo credit: Nicole S. Young

Tutorial: Time-Lapse

My last post said to stay tuned for a tutorial on time-lapse. Obviously, mine could have went better. But it was just a rough draft! 🙂

First and for-most, what is time-lapse? Ryan Chylinski defines it as, “A cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (aka the frame rate) is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back….[or] manipulating time.”

For a full and in-depth tutorial on time-lapse, check out this website.

My “Go” With Time-Lapse

I saw a tutorial on time-lapse videos the other night and I thought I’d give it a try. This is a 5 minute long video, compressed into 10 seconds, to get a time-lapse effect. Check it out!

For more on time-lapse, keep an eye out for my next post!

Senior Photos: Justin and Aimee

Below is a photoshoot I did for 2014 Texas State graduates, Justin and Aimee. Like my photos? Check out more at: lmccartyphotography.tumblr.com

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Bokeh Photography

With Christmas right around the corner, I’d like to show you how to use a cool new technique for shooting Christmas lights! It’s called Bokeh photography.

“Bokeh” refers to the light shapes in the image. These shapes are out-of-focus points of light and the more blurry the better. All you have to do is use a round piece of dark card stock, cut to the size of your lens, and cut out a shape in the center of the circle. Shoot in manual focus with a macro lens and there you have it! Beautiful Bokeh photos.

Check out a more detailed tutorial here!

Mobile App!

One of your posts will be to discuss a mobile app that you would make that is associated with your topic. You will need to draw or use a drawing program to come up with the interface design for two screens and provide a brief description of what the app will do, what problem it will solve and why people would want to use it. Post the images and description as one of your blog posts. More will be discussed in lab and lecture.

Photography apps…like you’ve never heard of that before, right? Sure there are plenty of iPhone Apps associated with photography. Some free, some paid. But what about an app that has all you need to know about camera settings and basic photography knowledge right at the touch of a button? I’ve decided to create a tutorial app for photography. It’ll serve as your photography bible, if you will. The app will consist of easy to use navigation that takes you through all sorts of photography tutorials, lessons, and tips. It will serve the purpose of being able to assist you on the go if you have any questions about camera settings. Cool, right?

Using iBuildApp, I’ve created a general outline of what the app would look like!

You’d be able to navigate through and search for different tutorials tailored to whatever it is you’re needing to know! I think it would benefit the greater good of photographers and all beginners who are still learning.

Best of all… I’d make it free!

Sunrise Photography Tip: Aperture

When shooting a sunrise, aperture settings matter!

“The smallest aperture available to you will get you the nicest outcome; you should aim for a shutter speed of one-fiftieth of a second. Provided your lens features image stabilization, you can succeed with a shutter speed of one-thirtieth of a second, perhaps even one-fifteenth of a second, but only if your hand’s really steady!”

Marc Schenker tells us more about sunrise photography and the best settings to use on Photo Doto!

Picture via:
http://photodoto.com/sunrise-photography

Lesson #1: Aperture!

Aperture is a small set of blades in the camera lens that controls how much light will enter the camera for a photo.

Aperture sizes are measured by f-stops.

Smaller f-stop means there is a larger hole, brighter exposure and a shallow depth of field.

Depth of field means how much of the photo will be in focus.

A larger f-stop will have a smaller hole, darker exposure and large depth of field.

Learn more about aperture here.

Photo via: Pinterest!