by Stacey Wiseman | Nov 30, 2012 | Family Photographs, Photo Book Design Layout
This year we took a family vacation to South Carolina. At the end of October. Not exactly beach season. But the weather was fantastic for us. Comfortable, clear blue sky, not too hot, but definitely sunnier than the place we left. One morning of our trip we decided to go fishing for crabs. I decided to be brave and only take my 35mm film camera loaded with Ektar 100 film.
My mother-in-law ended up catching two crabs. Not a lot…but better than I expected. Even though my son sat around and watched for most of our time on the dock, he still felt part of the action and really enjoyed it. While we were waiting for the crabs to bite, a seasoned fisherman pulled up with his baskets and baskets of crabs.
Here are some of my favorite from the trip.
Now, how will all of these photographs translate into 2 pages (left and right) of a photo book? I wanted a layout that is simple and focuses on the actual act of fishing for crabs. I wanted a subtle caption of “crabbing” to describe the day. And, like all of my layouts, I wanted to include the date of when the photographs were taken. So here is what I came up with!
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the film photos or my layouts! I definitely need more practice…but I get so excited when I see my film experiments!
by Stacey Wiseman | Sep 25, 2012 | Family Photographs, Photography Tip
I thought you would be interested to see how I edit a photograph for my photo book! I use Lightroom for most of my edits. And although I prefer to keep my edits simple, straightforward and quick, there are very few photographs that I don’t edit…even if it is just a little tweak.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post about specific tips for editing photos that are going to go in your photo book.
On to the edit! You may remember this photo from my August “How I view…” series. It took a couple of edits to get the version captured with my camera to the version I am going to use in my photo book.
Before
[divider] After
[divider] And here is how I got there!
[divider]I want to hear from you! Leave a comment below letting me know if you typically edit your photos and what program do you use?
And if you enjoyed this post, make sure you sign up for my Thursday email!!!
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by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 28, 2012 | Description, Family Photographs, Inspiration, Photography Tip
One of the essential categories to photograph every year are favorites. Since this can change every year (maybe even every month or week!), I love the idea of photographing your child’s favorite objects in life. Perhaps for most kids, their favorite of their favorites deals with sleeping. This could be their favorite blanket or stuffed animal. This is the thing you are scared to lose…even scared to wash. For any night trip away, you have to make sure you have included their favorite blankey, softie, or whatever terms of affection it goes by in your household.
For my oldest, he never really had one of these objects. The closest thing was a stuffed pillow-like dog that he like to curl up with. But if it happened to not be in the bed, he usually didn’t notice. My youngest on the other hand, has a small softie that she looks for every time. And you can trick her with something that looks and feels like it…she knows which one is hers. This small, pink blanket gets extremely dirty. She loves to chew on the corners and keep it close to her cheek. So it is really important to make sure it is always near by for any nap or bed time!
I wanted to photograph her with her blanket one day during her nap time.
Here are some simple tips for photographing sleeping children:
1. Set my camera to quiet mode (yes! my camera has one of these!).
2. Got my settings close to what I thought would be necessary for a slightly dark room.
3. Snuck in close to the time I thought she would be waking up.
I was hoping to get some of her sleeping but she woke up as soon as I opened the door. How it goes sometimes! Even though I couldn’t capture sleepy, closed-eye photos, this is the perfect time to capture an awesome yawn! Plus her favorite sleep blanket.
Take action! Capture your child’s favorite toy, object, or stuffed animal sometime this weekend. Have a goal, to photograph them while they are interacting with it. But…if not, you can always isolate the object. Your child will love having a photograph of their favorite thing!
Check out the blog on Monday to see how I transform these photos into a design layout!
And with this post, I have marked off two items on my 50 Essential Ways to Photograph your Family in a year. Do you have your copy yet? If not, make sure to sign up for the newsletter by clicking this image:
by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 14, 2012 | Family Photographs, Inspiration, Photograph
Now that it is June, it is time to start thinking about and taking summer photos. To me, that means picnics, barbecues, and nothing says summer quite like a pool photograph. I love Lynne Rigby and I love Lynne Rigby’s photographs. She is amazingly talented – both with her camera and teaching. Truly inspiring lady. But…today…I want to focus on her pool photographs. I loved so many of them last year and already a little giddy for her photographs this summer.
Her photographs highlight the sun sparkle, the waves of the pool, and her kids in and out of the water. Here is a great photograph to get you inspired for your pool photographs this summer. And just warning you…there may be more. Seriously love her!
I want to see your summer photographs! I have started a flickr set that you can link your photograph to. Or you can always leave a comment below with a link to your blog post, Facebook page or flickr set. Love to see each other’s work!!!
by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 8, 2012 | Description, Inspiration, Photo Book Design Layout
My previous cover examples all feature one photograph. In this cover design, I am featuring one photograph of each of my children. However to tie them together, the two photographs have something in common – sunglasses. They are wearing the same sunglasses and I thought it was really cute, not only of my little girl wearing her glasses…but also big brother! This is a great tip for you as you begin thinking about your cover. Perhaps it is a couple of photographs of your kids doing a similar activity. Or it could be a from a similar season – ie two photographs from the summer time.
Another thing to keep in mind when using two photographs on the cover is the scale of the subject. This particular example could be improved, my son’s face fills the frame a little more than my daughters, but you will notice they are both head shots. If you have a full body shot of one kid, it is a good idea to include a full body shot of the other. It ties them together. Of course there are exceptions, but starting out, it is a good idea to keep things similar!
Finally, for the title of the book, I decided to use a phrase or question. If there is something that really ties to the photograph on the cover or something that you or one of your kids likes to say, this would make a perfect cover title.
[divider] If you love this example or gives you some ideas for your photo book, pin it!
by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 5, 2012 | Q&A
Question:
Should I wait until my photographs are ready before I place my order?
Answer:
No. It is recommended to place your order as soon as possible.
Once you purchase your book, a questionnaire will be emailed to you. The questions are designed to customize your book. You can fill this out at your convenience and return it before you have uploaded your photos. This will initiate the design process.
We will notify you when photographs are due for a timely delivery of your book.
One reason to place your order before you have assembled your photographs is to take advantage of a sale! Right now, receive $50 off when you place your 2012 Family Photo Book order by July 31, 2012. Make sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter and join our facebook page for special announcements!
Did you find this helpful? Do you have a question about the books or process? Leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you!!!
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by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 4, 2012 | Description
Hello Everyone! I have a huge favor to ask. Not because it will take a lot of time. Or demand a lot of attention. Or stress you out! I want you to fill out a brief survey. I know, I know. A survey. Not a favorite thing of mine either…but…I have made it super quick and easy. And I am more than willing to fill one out when it helps a company I value.
I have prepared 9 questions and 3 of those are your name/email, what free download you want, and if someone referred you. So really there are only 6 questions. And the questions are about photo books in general. I want to make sure I am delivering a product you truly want.
So please, take two minutes, seriously two minutes, and fill out this simple survey here. And if you have a friend who is a mom and has taken a photograph of their kid…share this survey with them! Again, it is not about this company. You don’t even have to mention the name! Refer 5 people to fill out a survey, I will send you a $25 gift card to anything in the Book This Project Shop!
Survey here!
Thanks so much!
And because I can’t have a post without a photograph, here are two from the park this weekend. One with better focus. One with better interaction. Together, I love them both!
by Stacey Wiseman | Jun 1, 2012 | Description, Family Photographs, Inspiration, Photo Book Design Layout, Photograph
For this photo book cover, I am incorporating the two shades of dark gray with a black and white photograph. This gives the cover a stately simplicity that would perfectly set up a modern photo book. For the interior of the book, the same dark gray with light gray font could act as the section pages, dividing the custom photo book into months, seasons, or events!
[divider]Make sure you pin it!
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by Stacey Wiseman | May 29, 2012 | Description, Family Photographs, Motivation, Photo Book Design Layout, Photograph
The following is an example of my May page for the One Word Challenge. For this layout, it is only 1 page with a simple border around a 5″x7″ photograph.
by Stacey Wiseman | May 24, 2012 | Description, Family Photographs, Motivation, Photo Book Design Layout, Photograph
Here is the next entry in the Book This Project Color Series!
Here are six color options to pair with a photograph in a landscape size photo book. Submit your photograph to info[at]bookthisproject.com and I will prepare a color profile for you!
Let me know in the comments below, which one is your favorite?
[divider]Here is the original photograph from yesterday’s wordless wednesday post:
[divider] the colors:
[divider] A free download of the color values are located here:
