My Baby Photos!

Father’s Day is this week Sunday. Why not make something special for your baby’s daddy? A hand-made gift will surely be treasured more than any gift you could buy! Plus, these ideas aren’t time consuming, which is important when you have a baby!

Born to be a Dad: A Special Layout

I created this layout for my husband, Matthew, celebrating the many ways he loves our son, Elias. The photos were taken several months apart and have very different energy - one of Matthew kissing Elias right after he was born and one more recently of the two of them playing. The very different pictures together showcase two sides of their relationship. I recommend not always using pictures taken on the same day or at the same event when scrapbooking sentiments. Oftentimes the most meaningful layouts come together when pictures from different times are used. This layout is a great example of that. Be sure to journal about what makes your husband or dad a great father.

You are My Masterpiece: An Altered Card

I created this simple, but fun and artsy one-sided card using a single photo, some patterned paper scraps, rub-ons, buttons and mod-podge. It took about 15 minutes to put together, but the result is so darling! I recommend cutting the background out of the photo to really make it pop on the card. Also, make sure not to use to busy of a patterned paper so that it doesn’t distract from the image. I plan to set it on my husband’s nightstand Sunday morning so it is there when he wakes up on Father’s Day. You could also put a magnet on the back so your husband could take it to work and hang it on a filing cabinet or desk.

One of a Kind: A Greeting Card

Rather than giving Hallmark $3, make your own card. It doesn’t have to be elaborate to be treasured by the dad in your life. I made this card for my dad, from Elias. I cut out a photo of the two of them, stamped a flourish on the top and bottom of the card and stamped the message One of a Kind on a circle Martha Stewart sticker.

Bookmark

If your child’s dad is a reader, why not make a bookmark with a photo of your child and a simple quote. Simply glue a photo to a 2×7 piece of cardstock with a quote, such as “Dad, you’re someone to look up to no matter how tall I’ll grow” and the date. Laminate it using a Xyron machine or laminator and stick it in your husband’s favorite book.

Whatever you create, I guarentee it will touch the dad or dads in your life.

After 12 weeks of submissions, we are happy to announce we have picked our $250 grand prize winner from our 12 weekly winners. There have been 196 entries accepted and a weekly winner every week. Lets recap our 12 weekly winners

Week #1 Winner, Christian

Week #2 Winner, LaQuinn

Week #3 Winner, Jan

Week #4 Winner, Nixie

Week #5 Winner, Kendall

Week #6 Winner, Kendall

Week #7 Winner, Dominic

Week #8 Winner, Mercy Jo

Week #9 Winner, Turner

Week #10 Winner, Addy

Week #11 Winner, Haven

Week #12 Winner, Andrew

We wanted to award the grand prize to a photo that exemplifies what our readers have learned about baby photography both creatively and technically. After some careful consideration and debate our judges have picked Mercy Jo from Week 8.

Grand Prize Winner, Mercy jo

Congratulations to Mercy Jo! The colors and composition of the photo are a nice contrast and the emotional expression is memorable.

Thats it for the My Baby Photos! Contest. But don’t stop the pictures from coming. We encourage you to submit your best baby photos on our flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups/mybabyphotos/
and at facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71918424376

Photographing your child’s graduation is easy if you know how! Try this super simple formula to get the best graduation pictures you’ve ever seen!

Items Needed:

• Digital SLR
• External Flash
• Long Lens (300mm-ish)

You don’t need a fancy low light lens or TTL flash, just a decent enough camera that can give you a really high ISO without turning the picture into rainbow snow. :)

Taylor fudges the Pledge of Allegiance.

First,  set your camera to manual. Choose the largest aperature possible (lowest F/#) and put your shutter speed at 1/250. Even though you are likely shooting at 300mm, the same-or-better-shutter-speed-as-focal-length rule doesn’t apply here, because your only good source of recordable light will be your flash.

Second, put your flash on full power - 1/1.  Aim your flash at a 45° forward to hit the ceiling midway between you and your kid. The flash will bounce off the large, tiled ceiling and light the whole room. This is so much better than aiming straight ahead, which would cause ugly shadows and make the kids see stars. :)

Raise your ISO to about 800. Zoom all the way in and take a picture. Check your histogram - it’s your picture’s not light enough, raise your ISO. If it’s blown out, lower it. Keep doing this until you have your exposure nailed.

Shoot like an outlaw on the run! Paparazzo that kid! Just give your flash time to recycle and don’t get in the way of the other paparazzi!

Expect some red eye because from the distance you are at from your child, the flash will seem to be coming from the lens, not high above it. Red eye is caused by the flash being too close to the lens, combined with low light. When you take pictures later and aren’t so far away, it won’t be a problem. By the way, you will want a diffuser for those… the closer ones, NOT the graduation ones!

Happy shooting!!

The Big Moment!