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from Megan Horsch, of Kaylee Bug Design!!!
Congrats Megan… it was a close decision, but your design won our hearts!!!

Thanks to all of the talented designers who submitted designs… you were all amazing, and this decision was NOT an easy one on us!
If YOU are looking for a new logo design, or some fabulous graphic artists…check out our group of competitors, and give them some LOVIN!
Check them out yourselves…and scoop a new design for YOU shop or photography site.

Leanne Wildermuth, of Intricate Art

Kristie Jacoby, of Estelle and June

Megan Horsch, of Kaylee Bug Design

Natalie Cutler, of Natalie Cutler Designs

Nikki Coe, of NI Creative Studio

Rasa, of Art M Studio & Gallery

Susan Liberatore, of Visions 2 Images

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Filed under: Contest Winners, Us by Tracy Joy
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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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Being a custom photographer now a days requires more than a nice dslr camera and some fancy lenses… in fact, we put together a small
(a’hem)
list of requirements you should have on your “photographer resume”.

*snickering*

We are sure to have left a few out.. but here is our meager list… *snort*

*ensure giggling*

Ok, now you can full LAUGH OUT LOUD
(for real… we are) 

Being a photographer is so much more than just pointing your lens and pressing a button… and  it’s so much FUN than anyone can imagine!
Which is why we want you to join in on the fun here… have an idea that isnt on our list????
.. leave a comment below!!!

Let us know what requirement should be added to our list above, in order to be a custom photographer in the new age and year of 2012…
and most of all.. have fun, cuz we did!

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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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