A Look Through the Water

I was looking through some pictures from the summer that I hadn't sorted yet and found these interesting shots I took from the dock at the family cottage. They have a bit of an abstract feel to them. I think the trick to these photos was to have movement in the water. I found them visually interesting, so I thought I'd share!

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How to Make a DIY Reflector

For awhile now, I've been playing with the idea of buying a reflector. However, they're at least forty bucks, so I figured I'd try to make one myself. The picture above is what I came up with. It doesn't look quite as professional as one of these guys:

But it worked! I was pleasantly surprised with the difference it made in the photos. My design could probably use some work (it was heavy using the picture frame), but it didn't cost me anything (I had the foil on hand and the picture frame) and it worked well for the photo I was taking. 

Here's a comparison of a picture without the reflector and a picture with the reflector. Both were taken in the same light and same direction. 

The reflector acts as a fill light that really makes her face glow. This photo hasn't got any post-production.
It's straight out of the camera to show how effective the DIY reflector was. 

I just asked my subject to hold the reflector at a 45 degree angle pointing up at herself, but you could experiment by moving your reflector into different positions. I'd recommend you have someone help you hold the reflector, because it's pretty limiting of the shots you can compose when the subject or the photographer has to hold it.  

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or experiences with reflectors!

P.S. These photos were from a mini photo shoot for new profile pictures. If you want to see my advice on taking a good profile picture, you can check out my post here. 

Birthday Sunset Walk

My good friend was celebrating her 18th birthday, so we decided to take a walk on a little trail that snakes behind the suburbs. It led to a huge pond and lots of bugs, but we had a good time taking pictures and of course talking. It was a beautiful evening.

TIP: Don't forget to raise your aperture (landscapes) and lower your aperture (portraits) when switching between shooting people and scenery. 

TIP: Don't be afraid to crop a shot taken with a wide angle. Before cropping, the shot above had too many details in it, so the focus on the sunset was lost.

Hover over the picture and click to pin. 

How to Take a Dear Photograph

Dear Photograph is a website, and now a book created by Taylor Jones. The idea is to match up an old photo to the current scene. Then write a little note to the photograph. There is something extremely personal and poignant about this project. Sometimes I even get a bit teary when I browse through all the entries. Anyways, here's how I took my photos.

Step One: Find the place where the photo was taken. I found it easiest to use photos that were taken outside since a lot of indoor photo locations were unavailable because of people moving to different houses. As a side note, if you're moving from a childhood home this is a great way to preserve some memories. I wish I had done it when my grandparents moved, but I did not.

Step Two: Line up the photo to the scene. I got my sister to help me by holding the photo; if you can get someone to help you, it's way easier. It's also easier to move the camera instead of the picture once you've got it in the general area.

Here was my first attempt:

This was one of the first tries. At first glance it looks right, because the bridge is lined up. However the horizon/waterline wasn't matched.

After fixing up the horizon, the final photo turned out like this:

I probably could have had a higher aperture (less blur) for this one, but I'm happy with how everything lined up. I also like the little detail of the kid walking along. 

Step Three:  This one is optional, but for a true Dear Photograph, you have to write a little something. 

Dear Photograph,

That was the last time we were all together along that rocky shore. With everyone growing up and going their separate ways, I wonder if we'll ever search for smooth rocks to skip under the bridge again. 

Sunny

Here's a couple more photos that I took in the same fashion: 

Let me know in the comments if you've tried this before or what you think of it! Feel free to leave a link to any pictures that you've done like this. 

For your pinning pleasure. Click to pin.