Flying Photo School Comes To An End-Weeks 3 &4

Last week I finished my on-line photography class.

Week 3 was all about Aperture. I had heard and read a lot about Aperture, but I never really understood it.  After week 3 I had a much better grasp and I'm definitely able to adjust my camera accordingly. Aperture deals with light and depth of field. It's how people get the blurred backgrounds in their photos or bokeh. The lower the Aperture the shorter the depth of field and the more blurry the background (to put it simply). Week 3 also helped explain the different numbers on the lenses and why some lenses are more expensive than others. Our assignment for the week was to submit a picture in Aperture Priority Mode. 

This is the picture I submitted:

I like the brightness of the ball and I thought I did a pretty good job on my bokeh. I also thought I had my WB adjusted well since you can see GG's carrot lovin' nose!

Week 4 talked more about manual mode and different camera accessories and what you may "need" vs. what's nice to have. 

Overall I think the class was helpful. I certainly learned way more in 4 weeks than I did the whole time I've had my camera. The "classes" were very manageable for a busy mama, everything was explained very well and you can't beat the flexibility of going to school in your jammies. I liked the mix of videos and handouts and I really enjoyed seeing my classmates assignments and what our instructor had to say about them. I paid for my class with a Groupon so it was VERY reasonable. The downside is the lack of an actual classroom. It was a little frustrating that I could only submit one photo each week. It would have been nice to share a few and get feedback on why one was better than the other and hear what adjustments I could have made. I also feel that Week 4 was not very informative, I wanted more information about picture taking, not what to buy (again, my personal opinion). Another frustration is that the classes fill up super quick. The level 2 class I would need isn't available until June! I feel like I'm on a roll and I don't want to wait 4 months for my next class!

So would I recommend Flying Photo School? ABSOLUTELY! I think it's a great way to learn more about how to use your SLR camera, especially if you have NO idea how to use it (like I did!). I also think you need to be willing to practice, practice, practice (that's true with everything right?!?!). I don't think I practiced nearly as much as I should have. Sure I've taken lots of pictures these past few months, but most of them were "in the moment" shots. I really needed to take more pictures when the picture itself wasn't that important so when the important shots come up I'm ready!

If you want to try Flying Photo School you're in luck! I did a quick search and "for a limited time" you can get a Groupon for 68% off the regular class price. I picked up one for myself-you can't beat the price! I'm thinking of taking the Creative Composition Class in May. Click {HERE} for more information. 

Thanks for being with me on my photo journey! If you sign up for a class let me know! I'd love to hear about what classes you take and what you thought of them! 

Happy shotin'

What I Like On Wednesday-Broward Patch

I recently got some new bling for my Big Girl Camera...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new camera strap from Broward Patch! I was shopping in her Etsy shop looking for a bday gift for a friend and couldn't resist picking up this beauty for myself! It was listed as a plain strap without the flowers, but after a few quick conversations back and forth she had a SUPER QUICK custom order listed and ready for me to purchase!

I've already gotten several compliments on my new accessory and I totally agree! Did I mention I LOVE it?!??!

Go checkout her Esty shop {HERE}. There are lots of fun camera straps and key chains to choose from. If you don't see what you're looking for don't hesitate to contact her. She was SUPER helpful and friendly, and my order shipped the very next day! 

Flying Photo School-Week 2

After my first week of Flying Photo School under my belt I was very excited to start Week 2. I'm loving that I am learning so much about my camera. In two weeks I have learned enough to no longer need auto mode. Woo hoo! Such a great feeling! 

I also love that we can look at our "classmates" pictures and make comments/ask questions and see what the instructor has to say. It helps to hear that other people are having similar struggles and how they fixed them. It's also helpful to look at their settings too and see how they created their amazing shots.

Week 2 was all about shutter speed. This was a very helpful week because my kids are always on the move and most of their pictures are blurred! You can also take some pretty creative pictures too by adjusting the shutter speed.

The lessons this week were a combination of videos and worksheets. The "instructor" is VERY good at explaining terms and techniques in a way that makes sense and relates well to photography. Each week is broken down in smaller sections so I can either watch the whole week at once or in small increments. Perfect for a mom with a crazy schedule!

Our assignment this week was to take a picture in shutter speed priority mode. Some people got very creative. I just wanted to learn how to take an "action" shot that wasn't completely blurry. Even with what I learned this week, I found the assignment difficult. It was very hard to find a balance between speed and light. Basically the faster your shutter speed, the less light you get. It's all about balance.

My first attempts were at Logan's horse-backing riding lessons. The arena was WAY too dark for a fast shutter speed (needed to catch a small girl on a horse). The flash would spook the horses, so that wasn't an option. In order to have some light in the pictures I had to decease the shutter-speed and increase the ISO which lead to some pretty grainy pictures BUT to me, it's better than no pictures of Lo riding.

My second attempt was Noa swinging. This is one of her most favorite activities and I was hoping to catch her in action! Again, lots of difficulty. Some times she wouldn't be in the picture or I'd get her but the quality wouldn't be that great. 

Part of my problem is lack of experience & practice, and the other part is that it was sunny out but she was partially in the shade. As with most things in life, it's just going to take lots of practice and patience! 

In the end I went with this picture to submit to my instructor:

I picked it because Noa is in focus, it captures movement and the coloring is pretty good. I also liked that there was plenty of room for improvement, giving my instructor something to actually critique and give advice on. Clearly it's going to take some practice, but I am very happy that not only do I know how to adjust the shutter speed, but I understand what and when adjustments are needed. Lucky for me, I have lots of fast moving targets to practice on!

I also received my feedback from last week's assignment on white balance and ISO. Just to remind you, this is the picture I submitted:

This is what my instructor said: This is excellent work - both your color and light look excellent here. Well done! Yay me!

Week 3 is all about Aperture and I'm really excited to learn more about it. I've read lots of blog posts about it, but I still finding it confusing and I'm not sure what it really means. I'm hoping by the end of the week I'll have a better understanding of what it is and when to use it!

As always, I'm open for any suggestions, ideas or resources you use for your photography so please don't be shy! I LOVE getting comments so shout 'em out!

Flying Photo School-Week 1

I finished week 1 of my classes at Flying Photo School and so far I really like it! I wasn't really sure what to expect or how long it would take to watch the week's videos but I got everything done in one morning in about an hour and a half. Lucky for me GG was in a good mood and happy to play in his exersaucer while mommy went to "school."

The class I'm taking is Digital 101. It's for people like me who constantly use their big girl camera on the auto setting and have no idea how to use the other settings. My goal is to learn about a few of the other settings, take better pictures and understand what's wrong with my no-so-great photos.

Week 1's topics included:

• How to properly hold your camera
• Changing the lenses
• Focusing and Manuel Focus
• White Balance
• ISO

Most of the course work was videos, but there were a few work sheets to read and a quiz at the end.

Yay me!

Each week we have an assignment. We submit one picture to our instructor and then we'll receive feed back on our submission.

In this week's assignment we were supposed to put our camera in "Program" mode and adjust the White Balance and ISO accordingly.

This is the picture I submitted:

ISO 200, WB "cloudy"

I like the blurred background and Noa's coloring.

When you compare it to this one, taken with different settings, you can see how the coloring is a little different. My pale little NoJo has a greener tone (which isn't helped by the dress she picked out today). 

ISO 200, WB "shade"

I'm excited to start next week's class and hear the feedback from my professor. Already after one week it's totally worth the money! No more "auto" mode for me!

Have a great Sunday,

Aleida's Challenge

I am so excited to share this idea/challenge with you. The idea is not mine, but when I read about it I knew it was perfect for me. We all know I don't like to be in front of the camera and I rarely post pictures of myself. I'm sure you've all noticed too that I prefer myself "Instagrammed"...a little out of focus and the color distorted. Well, that's all about to change. 

I first heard about Aleida's Challenge from Cheri at I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar. Aleida Franklin was a woman who made sure she took a picture of herself with her kids each month. She expressed that when children look at a picture of their mom they don't care how she looks, if she has make-up on, or what she is wearing, they just see the love of their mom. Aleida died unexpectedly in 2008 leaving her two small children a wonderful gift of pictures with their mama. 

Myself and other moms are taking on Aleida's Challenge this year and taking more pictures of ourselves with our kids. Even if you don't have kids you can participate. Pledge to take more pictures of yourself being you, not worrying about whether you are "camera ready" or not. I'll be sharing my pictures along the way. You can also post your pictures {HERE} and check out other mamas and their babies.

Here are our first pics for the callenge. The girls are BIG fans of "silly pictures" so I'm sure most of ours will be with funny faces. Poor lil' G, he has no idea what's going on!

Thanks for checking in!