Meet at the trailhead, said the invitation. The girls jumped out with joy upon seeing the balloons blowing in the wind. Sienna quickly found the first of many handmade signs leading the way to the party. Out nestled below an old eucalyptus tree, in a vast field of delicate grasses and tiny spring flowers, we saw the big red balloon. We were quickly greeted by bright colored crowned girls leading the way.

After catching up with friends the hunt quickly ensued. Bags were handed out with the list of items, experiences & memories to collect. Beautiful trails, an old tire swing, great friends and amazing food were the ingredients for a perfect day.

Being three doesn’t get much better.

A day at the zoo, San Diego; Raindrops – Cluster Collection

Little Olivia is her own girl. It seems she is the quintessential second child. A bit wilder, very charming, more daring with a lot more sass. I have been working so much lately that I haven’t had the time to spend a lot of alone time with just her. Yesterday, she and I went to one of her friends birthday parties. Spending time alone together was wonderful. I carried her, held her little hand, walked and talked and concentrated only on her. I watched her interact with me and her friends, without her older sister there to lead the way. She is an observer. She watches before diving in. Everyone who meets her tells me how sweet she is. Sweet and really funny. But with all that sweetness, does come a bit of mood. She can turn it on and off, frequently doing so when she is not getting her way. She’s a rainstorm with a side of sunshine served up in the same moment. I guess, somewhat like her mama. Did I mention that I adore the rain.

Laure de Sagazan

I love the story that this image tells.

I was barefoot at my own wedding. And luckily so, as it was the hottest day La Jolla had seen in years. So hot in fact that a transformer blew, which we witnessed, and knocked out power to the entire town. It left us without power to do hair and makeup so my sister, the hairdresser and I packed up and went to a friends house a bit out of town. Meanwhile my soon to be husband and our guests sweated under the sun waiting over an hour for me to arrive. At the ceremony Jen, my sister and maid of honor, nearly passed out from the heat standing in her heels before noticing that everyone else was barefoot. She discretely slipped out of her shoes and stood on the sticky grass, feeling a bit cooler. Looking back the heat, hassle and sweat made for great memories.

It is amazing how many memories are stored in a single image. What picture tells a story for you?

How to Crop a Photo for Better Composition

In an ideal world, every photo you take would be perfectly composed. However, in real life, many pictures could use some improvement. Often, thoughtful cropping can make the difference between a mediocre image and a better one. Cropping a picture just means eliminating or trimming off edges.

Some cameras can crop images before printing. Check your manual to see if your camera is one of these. The manual may use the word “trim” rather than “crop.” Otherwise, crop pictures by using a photo-editing program.

The process is simple. First you select the area that you want to keep. Usually, you place the cursor or crop tool where you want one corner of this image to be. Then click and drag to select the area that will appear in the new image. That area will appear lighter or darker than the parts to be trimmed off. Most programs allow you to crop either to certain specific sizes or to a random size of your choice. If you like the cropped version, you then direct the program to complete the crop.

Do not crop your only version of a photo. Always crop on a duplicate or copy. In many programs, cropping destroys the original and replaces it with the cropped version. Depending on your skill, you may wish you had never altered the original.

However, successful cropping can serve many useful functions, including the following:

1. Eliminate distracting parts of the photo.

2. Emphasize part of the image to give it more importance.

3. Change the composition by moving the subject out of dead center.

{ article by Elizabeth West for Photodoto }

Square Cropping

Cropping photos into a square is not only an important step in creating your Cluster, there are also many benefits as well.

1. It gives a more vintage-feel to photographs. Many cameras in the past had the option to take square-format photos.

2. It allows you to remove distractions. Focus in on your subject(s), while cropping out unwanted background distractions or empty space.

3. It creates a more interesting composition. Play with symmetry, and rule of thirds.

If you’re anything like like us, you love capturing life’s little moments. But we know that sometimes it can be difficult to get the photographs just right. Well, here you will find tips and tools to help you make your photos perfect every time.

Shooting

1. Off-center is better. Since the canvases are square, cropping the photo allows you to look at it in a variety of ways. Try to move your subject to the side, crop wide & deep, crop tight. Use the rule of thirds.

2. Turn around. Don’t just shoot faces. Capture the backs of people, the interaction between people, your shadow, your feet, the ground, or the sky.

3. Embrace imperfection. What about using a blurry image? Or a photo that is over or under exposed.

4. Choose your mood. Take a photo that captures a feeling or mood. Play with lighting to evoke a certain mood. Take candid photos to capture a more genuine mood.

5. Tell a story. What do you want the image to say? Does it capture a moment in time, or reveal a long history? What is going on behind the scenes?

6. Archive an heirloom. Do you have love letters, old family photos or your child’s artwork? Scan these in and incorporate them into your cluster.

Camera Phone Photography

Here are some great tips to help you take the best photographs possible, using your camera phone:

1. Light your subject well. The better lit your subject is the clearer your image is likely to be. If possible shoot outside or turn on lights when shooting inside. Use the flash if it’s available on your phone.

2. Get close to your subject. Fill up your view finder with your subject to save having to zoom in on the subject in editing it later.

3. Keep still. As with all digital photography, the more steady your camera phone is when taking your shot the clearer your image will be. This is especially important in low light situations where the camera will select longer shutter speeds to compensate for the lack of light.

4. Edit images later. Whilst it can be fun to use your camera phone’s inbuilt editing and effects, editing pictures later on your computer produces much better quality images. Take your shots in color at high resolution to keep your options open on how to treat it later.

5. Don’t throw away ‘mistakes’. Remember that on many phones the quality of the screen will not be as good as your computer’s. You might just find that they come alive on a quality monitor. You’ll also find that even ‘mistakes’ and blurred shots can actually be quite usable.

6. Avoid using digital zoom. As tempting as it might be to zoom in on your subject when taking your picture, if the zoom is a ‘digital zoom’ it will decrease the quality of your shot. Edit your shot later using photo editing software on your computer.

7. Take loads of shots and experiment. The beauty of all forms of digital photography (including that of camera phones) is the ability to shoot off many shots quickly and without cost. This means you can experiment with different modes and composition and discard those that you don’t want to keep. Camera phones are particularly good for experimenting with new angles and perspectives – shoot from down low, up high, close up etc and you’ll end up with interesting and fun shots.

8. Follow rules of composition (and then break them). Learn some basic composition ‘rules’. For example – the rule of thirds, i.e., don’t place your subject squarely in the middle of your frame but a third of the way in.

9. Keep your lens clean. Phones spend a lot of time in pockets, in bags and being used in all manner of weather and conditions. As a result they get dirty and can easily become damaged – fingerprints are a common problem on camera lenses – especially if your phone doesn’t have a lens cover. From time to time clean the lens of your camera using a soft cloth.

10. Observe camera phone etiquette. While there is no formal set of rules for using camera phones – it is worth considering how you use it and what impact it might have upon others. Ask permission to photograph strangers, consider restrictions on the use of cameras in places like theaters and concerts, etc.

{ article by Darren Rowse for Digital Photography School }

Must Have Photography Apps

Instagram (free): Features a variety of filters to create beautiful, vintage photographs. Allows you to instantly share your photos with everyone in your social network.

Hipstamatic ($1.99): Brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past. Allows you to swap lenses, film, and flash settings all with the swipe of a finger, while keeping the quirks of shooting old school.

Camera+ ($0.99): Use your iPhone to shoot the best photos you possibly can. Packed with useful features, including touch exposure and focus, digital zoom, and a variety of shooting modes.

Camera Genius ($0.99): Features a 6x digital zoom, video with real-time zoom, anti-shake, burst mode, big button, timer, sound shot, camera guides, and a photography manual.

Adobe Photoshop Express (free): Allows you to choose from a variety of one-touch effects, or simply drag your finger across the screen to crop, rotate, or adjust color. Features a variety of artistic filters, like soft focus or sketch.

{ photograph by Yutaka Tsutano }

Telling Your Story

1. The Outline: Every story needs an outline for your plot—even if it’s only in your head. Your story may capture daily events or it may play out over time. The outline indicates what you want your story to say and helps you remember what to shoot.

2. The Story: Now that you have your thought process, your mission is to find plenty of fresh picture-taking opportunities.

3. The Headline: If you want your story to be captured in a single picture, it should speak like a headline in a newspaper. The headline photo makes a powerful statement by itself; its content is understood immediately and raises few questions. The moment can be dramatic, playful, or reflective. Move in close to reveal a strong emotion. Include surroundings when they’re critical to the completion of the story.

4. The Short Story: Short stories focus around a single event or theme, but they hold your attention until the unforgettable conclusion. Whether you’re recording your travel abroad, a sporting event, or the antics of your pets, the short story is the most fun to tell.

5. The Novel: Novel-type pictures usually occur over time or during a many-faceted event. Your characters need to play important roles and your story must have several chapters. Perhaps your daughter, the main character in your novel, is getting married soon. Your photographer won’t be there to capture the preparations so it’s your job to tell the story from beginning to end—celebrating the engagement, shopping for the dress, rehearsing the ceremony, preparing the makeup and hair, and culminating with the happy ending.

6. The Documentary: Photo documentaries present methods or steps to reach a conclusion. This is an excellent way to record your home projects and to share them with contractors or helpers during the job.

{ article by Kodak }