Looking for a fun new DIY?

How about a Valentines prop project?

And what about a backdrop banner?!

YES, thought so!

I went into my local Joann crafts looking for a fun lil project for my little ones and I… and thought “hmm, home craft + photography prop = PERFECTION”!
And there I found a simple idea for a great prop.

I scooped up some valentines foam hearts (on sale for 40% off). They have an outer heart with a middle solid heart cut out… easy and simple!
Snatched up some raffia ribbon that I already had at home… along with a package of cupcake scrap booking stickers.
grabbed my hole punch… and got crafting!

I used, again:

• foam hearts
• raffia (or any other ribbon)
• scrap booking sticker (if wanted)
• hole punch
• and of course… my little helpers!

STEP BY EASY STEP…  first I sepearted my hearts… outer heart from inner heart.

1. Hole punched (1) hole in the corner of each small solid heart
   and (2) holes in the outer rim of the larger hearts…
2. Cut my raffia roughly from arms length to arms length
   (stretching one arm to the other with ribbon in hand) and
   Then, I pulled my ribbon through the holes in each heart,
   varying from small to large, and by colors…
3. Lastly I had my lil helper stick the cupcake scrap stickers on the small solid hearts…

And here is our final prop!

A darling Valentines banner!
Plus we had enough left over to make 2 more banners for our house..
family fun + a new prop for me

SCORE!

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Filed under: Fix It's and How To's, Props & Stuff, Us by Tracy Joy
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Bokeh... from Wikepedia
In photography, bokeh (Originally play /ˈboʊkɛ/,[1] play /ˈboʊkeɪ/ boh-kay, and also sometimes heard as play /ˈboʊkə/ boh-kə,[2] Japanese: [boke]) is the blur,[3][4] or the aesthetic quality of the blur,[5][6][7] in out-of-focus areas of an image, or “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.“

BOKEH it’s a technique that 99% of us photographers ADORE!
So why not be creative with it, really use it as a full prop in your photography sessions.

Here at PI, we put together a quick tutorial that will hopefully help us EASILY grasp how SIMPLE this lil trick can be… ready for it?
WE thought so!

First of all.. here are some samples to get you grooving into your bokeh mood…

#1 by our Fabulous own Lindsey Mills…
Ps, you should check out her facebook page, Click Here for some prop inspiration, and see all of her heart shaped bokeh shots…

Now here are a few of my own shots, with a pull back below…
First… blowing heart shaped kisses!

(when I did my edit above… I 1) burned out the Christmas light wires and than 2) painted over the hearts that were out of the “kiss blow” area)

Next…
Baby Love!

(again, I burnt out the wires for the lights…)…

Its very similar to our HOLIDAY BACKDROP how to,
just shooting with a lens cover in the shape of a heart.

So, here it is…

Now, how easy is this? SIMPLE DIMPLE!
Well, it’s a million times easier than I originally thought it to be.. I guess it just looked more dramatic than the process actually is… so here is the groove junkies…
First of all.. you need to do a simple cut & paste with your lens…
CUT into a black piece of paper a small heart shape
(for a 50mm lens, the shape should be roughly 25mm in size).
Then cut the paper to match the circumference of your lens and tape it directly around… as seen in the picture below

(or head to PhotoJoJo to buy precut shapes!)

(sorry for the ho’dunk image above lol)

Second, set up your lights (Christmas lights are great!) in the background
(I clipped them right to my black backdrop)…
Next, place your subject 1/2 way between you and the backdrop.. remember, bokeh works only when you have a foreground subject to focus on..
leaving the lights in the background to BLUR bokeh style.

Lastly… set your camera to its lowest aperture… a 50mm lens is best for this, using as wideopen as you can (1.8-1.4 is fabulous).. and SHOOT!

Now if you’re like me, your still confused on how this happened?!
Yep, I fully admit.. I’m NOT book smart,
I  need to SEE a pull back to understand how it happens.

Some basic questions… ANSWERED!

Is this s a composite of 2 images?
Nope, you are using 1 image… shoot through your “new lens”
(shape attached/taped to front of lens)
and shoot directly AT your subject (not the lights).
The lights in the background will then blur (bokeh) and give you hearts.
YES you can see right through that tiny heart to your subject

I’m shooting through the lens, but all I see is a vignette?
You need to make sure you have a foreground subject.. shooting the lights directly wont give you any bokeh, hence no hearts.

I dont have a 50mm, what can I use?
Even if you dont have a 50mm, a lens with as low as 2.8 is still good, you just have to set your subject further away from the backdrop so you get the bokeh affect.

How do you cut the shape?
I simply bent my paper in 1/2 and cut the heart shape,
but you can buy small shape punchers at stores like Michaels crafts etc

Looking for more great info on this subject?
Check out this video tutorial by Michael Warf, Click Here
Or this great article from DIY Photography, Click Here,
and if you want some real great ideas, check out this flickr search… Click Here .

There is inspiration everywhere!!!
And who doesnt LOVE LOVE LOVE some fabulous bokeh?!

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Filed under: Cool Finds, Fix It's and How To's, Props & Stuff, Us by Tracy Joy
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Hello Everyone and Welcome to 2012!!  I can’t believe it’s already here and we have so much to look forward to this year!!

Before I explain a little about myself  I am in need also for models for my Denver Workshop this Thursday and Friday!  They need to be under 2 weeks old and will receive 5 free high resolution digial images for their time!  If you know anyone please shoot me an email at c_k_photography@yahoo.com 

Now to introduce myself

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Cherise Kiel!  I am a mother of 3 beautiful children (7, 4 & 2) and a wife to an wonderful man and soldier.  I am also the Owner/Photographer at Cherise Kiel Photography and I also put on Newborn Posing Workshops at Precious Beginnings Newborn Workshop.

I absolutely LOVE what I do and am honored when my clients allow me to be a part of such important times and trust me to capture those memories for them.  I am a natural light photographer, but I did work in a high end portrait studio for 4 years, so I am very familiar with studio lights as well.

I decided to put on newborn workshops last year when I myself was looking at attending one to improve my skills and get some fresh ideas.  However, when I saw the prices of those workshops, I just about died, lol!  As a small business, I just didn’t have $1200-$1500 (plus travel costs) to attend a 1 day workshop   So after much thought and feedback, I decided to put one on myself, and make it as affordable as possible for us photographers who want to learn and grow without breaking the bank.

The Precious Beginnings Newborn Workshop is a 2 day workshop full of information on safety, posing, soothing, handling, marketing, pricing, post-processing and much more!  There is a TON of information provided as well as live models, and for ONLY $600!!!  This is such an awesome deal!  Below is my schedule for 2012!  Since I am an army wife and I never know when my husbands schedule is changing, these are the only dates available for this year!  I have opened up all of my dates for registration, and it’s never too early or late to schedule!  I am only taking 8 spots per location to ensure more hands on time and a better learning experience   Once the spots are filled, they are gone, so don’t hesitate!!

2012 Schedule

January 5-6: Denver, Colorado

March 12-13: Dallas, Texas

May 28-29: Seattle, Washington

July 9-10: Virginia Beach, Virginia

September  6-7: Mobile, Alabama

November 10-11: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Thank you so much and I hope to see you at one of my workshops!!

Below are some photos from my Ohio Workshop this past October!!

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Filed under: Cool Finds, Fix It's and How To's, Guest Photographers, Uncategorized by cherise
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Hello!   I hope you all survived Black Friday!  I hear there were some AMAZING deals going on yesterday!  But don’t worry, if those sales didn’t last past yesterday I have something to cheer you up today!  Because that’s how we roll over here at PI!

Today, I am so happy to introduce one of my all time (and very first most favorite photographer) Erin Cobb!  If you have not seen her work (tsk, tsk), make sure to check her photography work out!  She is pure inspiration!  I think the biggest thing that has always drawn me towards her work is how clean, fresh, fun, and colorful her images always are!   From the minute I became addicted to her blog….(yes, addicted….have you read it?)…..my passion for photography began!   Myself, along with many others have stalked…uh, I mean followed her work and have always wondered HOW she does it?  I am guessing her head spun from how many emails she received from photographers asking her HOW she got her photos to look the way they do!    So to everyone’s surprise and pure happiness, Erin Cobb released the Clean Color Workflow Video showing you exactly HOW she does it!!!   Now we all don’t have to wonder…..she actually TELLS & SHOWS us how from beginning to end  in her 2 hour video tutorial!  And the best part about it is that it isn’t an exact science!  You can customize her workflow to what works best for you!  Love that.   She offers three options to choose from – one for Full Photoshop, one for Photoshop Elements, and a bundle of both!

Here is a recent photo of mine using some of the Clean Color Editing techniques that I picked up from the tutorial!  I can honestly say I use something from that tutorial EVERY time I edit….it is packed full of awesome info!!  Isn’t this little guy just dreamy?

So…….who wants to win their very own Clean Color Workflow Video Bundle????

To enter, just go to Erin Cobb’s Facebook Page and LIKE her!  Leave her some comment love telling her we sent you!  Then come back here and leave a comment telling us you are now a fan!   If you can’t wait for the giveaway to end to get your hands on this fabulous tutorial, click here to go buy your own NOW!

xo

Staci

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Filed under: Contests & Giveaways, Cool Finds, Featured Shops, Fix It's and How To's by staci
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WINTER IS ALMOST HERE!
And that means getting creative for winter newborn sessions.

While surfing PINTEREST the other day, I came across a photo that was so sweet, so stunning… so PERFECT for a winter newborn shoot, that I had to reach out to the photographer who captured this precious little image. Lucky for me… the photographer is also a friend of Prop Insanity, the wonderful Kristen Caldwell!
Pin It

And lucky for ALL OF US.. Kristen was happy to share how she captured this image…. pretty much step by step…. pictures included *happy dancing* !

So without further hesitation.. from the speedily typing hands of the wonderful Kristen Caldwell.. here is her HOW TO~ Winter Newborn.

“HELLO PROP JUNKIES!
I would be more than happy to tell you how I did that particular shot…

I’ve attached a SOOC (below) of the image, then the final edit…

We have a craft store local here called Pat Catans… I went there and found the branches (it was just one bundle) and then I went in the Christmas section and found garland that had silver and pearl balls… I just laid that on the branches to hang…

My sister is my assistant for all my newborn sessions so it is her hand that you see holding the branch to the right as she spots the baby… I shot this on a roll of darker grey seamless paper…

ALSO included is an image of the actual stool I used in the shot… I just threw an ivory faux fur fabric over it, making the one side higher than the other for the babies head and then threw a large sheepskin throw from IKEA on top of that…

In the SOOC, you will see some kinks in the paper which are NOT ideal but it was the last of the grey seamless I had on hand and I just cloned those minor imperfections out in PS… I ALWAYS use Florabella actions for EVERYTHING… For this particular image, I enhanced it using the new Florabella Classic Workflow… lightened up the midtones a bit and hit it with some contrast and clarity and a bit of warmth…

SOOC probably looks a bit under-exposed but I shoot EVERYTHING under-exposed… I feel by doing so, I have less of a chance of blowing out any highlights (especially since there was white fur being used here) and more of a chance at recovering details… I shoot with a Sony A900 and 90% of the time I have my Carl Zeiss 24-70 f.2.8 on… rarely does this lens leave my camera body… And I HAVE to throw this in, but I RARELY shoot on seamless and almost ALWAYS shoot using one of my many Bad Sass Backdrops! But for this image, I wanted it to be classic hence the use of seamless paper… ”

~Kristen Caldwell

AND HEY PROP JUNKIES! Check out Kristens other obsession.. Bad Sass Backdrops! They just launched a new collection… Itty Bitty Sass Backdrops? They are the same quality as their full size Bad Sass Backdrops, only smaller and perfect for crafters to shoot their products on to enhance their images for their Etsy/Big Cartel shop… Check out the below pull back and edited shot… our friend Heather Joiner of the famous JoCo Couture sent the images to Bad Sass, as she used them to photograph her gorgeous goods!

Kristen

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Filed under: Cool Finds, Fix It's and How To's, Guest Photographers, Props & Stuff by Tracy Joy
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