July 21

EXCITING NEWS: Today I had my very first official (non-professional, note) senior photo shoot! :D :D :D

We went to the same location as my previous post (Minnehaha Falls) and met at 8am!! So early! But that's because the lighting is AMAZING in the morning in that park (or any place really). By eight, the sun was already pretty high, but still very beautiful. Of course, both me and Tommy (my subject) are not the best of morning people--noting that I haven't gotten up at the time I got up (6:20) since May--but Tommy's mom is, so she makes up for us.

It was also very nice getting there so early because there was hardly anyone in the park. Last time I was there (see post below), there were actually a TON of people around. This was much more peaceful.

I got some great shots--of course it helps that Tommy's quite photogenic--and I'm super excited to have had this opportunity! (if you can't tell from all my exclamation marks and parenthesis and probably bad grammar.) ;)

My sister's also leaving for Peru tomorrow morning, and we're leaving for Oshkosh on Sunday. Woot!

P.S. And yes, I did place my name on the photo because I'm slightly paranoid about such things... so I'm keeping all rights reserved on this one. XD and NO, def not a permanent logo.

P.P.S Happy birthday to my amazing friend--Hood! :D I hope you have a better-than-best day and year!

July 13: Posing 101

DSC_6254, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.


(Hint: start at the bottom of today and work your way up post by post)

Knees and feet: although lots of times with portraits you don't have to worry too much about the lower regimens of the body, it's good to know what to do with them when you have the chance.

Knees: try having one or the other bent. Having a knee bent gives more depth to your picture. As with shoulders, you don't really want your subject's knees and feet facing you. A bent knee gives a more relaxed look.

For Guys: Do NOT have knees together, but rather apart (this goes especially if your subject is sitting).

For Girls: Try having your knees together--it gives a cutesy feel.

Feet: Just avoid a Sasquatch look. If feet look large to you outside the photo, they will inside the photo.

For Guys: Feet flat on ground is probably best.

For Girls: Get creative! Have one foot extended, a knee bent and foot daintily poised (imagine wearing heals).

And we've made it all the way from head to toes! Let me know if you come across any more posing tips or problems! I'd love to know what works/doesn't work for you.

DSC_6172, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Elbows and hands: Awkward all around. Again, some people are super natural at posing. Like my brother.

This is important to remember about hands: never make your subject put their hands in places that are unnatural for them. If they are uncomfortable, it's not going to make a good photo.

Here are some poses you can try:

- Have their elbow rest on a surface--wall, counter-top, ground even--while placing their hand lightly on the side of their head, bottom of jaw, or on the surface also. Make sure their hand does NOT cover their face in any way. The face is what most stands out in a portrait, anyhow!

- Hands on hips, arms crossed, and hands resting right above knees also work well for poses. Give them something to touch.

- As a photographer, AVOID cropping your photos straight off at the joints--no arms cut off at the shoulders, elbows, or wrists; and no legs cut off at the knees or ankles.

DSC_6162, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Shoulders: WHERE DID THEY GO??

- When you're shooting guys: You want to be able to see both their shoulders, it makes them look manlier. ;)

- How the shoulders are positioned communicate a huge deal in a photo. Take advantage of them! Try having your subject look over their shoulder, or facing their shoulders out at a 45 degree angle.

- Just remember that many poses work best if shoulders are not straight-on! (However, while this is a good rule, it is not a hard rule, of course! There are no hard rules in art.)

DSC_6091, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Posing: one of the hardest things to do!
Posing people as a photographer: try, try again.

Some people are naturals in front of the camera. Others need help. So how do you make a good pose?

Remember, it's very important to make your victi--subject comfortable while you're "shooting" them. Talk to them, make jokes, talk about the weather, anything... Giving instructions should be paced or else they will feel overwhelmed.

I will give some tips on posing from my experience starting with the head all the way down to the feet.

Head: Tilted or straight-on? Consider the angles of your subject's face. Move around to find their best angle. Don't be afraid to ask their opinion. Here are basic things to look for:
- Deep-set eyes: tilt face upward or use reflected light to allow light shine into sockets.
- Wide-set eyes: turn face to side to narrow
- Small forehead: take picture from slightly above subject, having them look up to emphasize forehead and eyes.
- Prominent nose: profiles are not friendly here! Try to minimize as much as possible by taking the picture with face fully toward you. Petite noses make very lovely profiles, however.
- Prominent chin: same as small forehead
- Prominent cheekbones: turn face slightly to one side to minimize face wide-ness and emphasize amazing cheekbones!
- Smile or no smile: Some people have a hard time smiling in front of the camera - a natural smile is always best! Teeth or no teeth, as long as it's natural and open.
- Hair: this may not be often the case, but if your subject is lacking in the hair department, pleaaase don't take shots from above subject--get as little of the top of their head as possible. In other cases, make sure that your subject's hair looks nice. They're not in front of a mirror, so they don't know. If a strand is in front of the face, sticking up funny, or casting a strange shadow on their face, adjust it.

July 6

Served, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Caprese salad, bok choy, and chicken (not shown). Yum!

July 4

MN Fun, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

This is what we do for fun in Minnesota! :D Hang on for dear life because my cousin likes to whip the tube as fast as possible.

July 4

Lazy Days, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

We went to my aunt's house for the Fourth. My cousin has two dogs. They are so cute and friendly!

July 3

Scrabble, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Down at the bandstand by the lake, there had to be a thousand people at least. Everyone had their lawn chairs and blankets. These ladies were playing a game of scrabble while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

July 3

Today I saw the best fireworks in the state of Minnesota! (since the state government shut down, the Taste of Minnesota isn't happening, so while this would usually be the second-best, it ranks higher this year! woot?) I will post pictures later.

June 29

Birdies, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

To be honest with you, these fellas are kinda ugly. O.o Yellow rubbery-looking skin under sparse grey fuzz. Eeeww.

^_^ But they're baby birdies!!

I probably won't be posting for a few days... I work double shifts tomorrow, Friday and Saturday!

Happy photo hunting. <3

June 28

Fossil, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

I'm posting this a tad over midnight, so it's going to show up as tomorrow. That's okay.

Today I got a Fossil purse as a gift! I am so excited about it--Fossil is probably my favorite brand of all time, and I covet all of their products. I have been pining for a Fossil purse for quite some time--and now I actually have one!!

I was kind of in a rush taking this picture--had to go to work in a few minutes! and self-ports in the basement never turn out great anyway. But you get to see what it looks like, and that's what counts, eh! :D

P.S. Please excuse the slight blog-renovation. I am reorganizing. :6: Or just fiddling with html stuff.

June 27

Valley Fair, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Today I went to Valley Fair with my cousins and siblings. The forecast was scattered thunderstorms, but God blessed us with a day that turned out to be beautiful.

There was a man there dressed in a morph suit. Needless to say, he attracted lots of attention standing completely still in the middle of a crowd. Had to take a picture, of course! (and have my picture taken with him too)

;)

June 21

Window Boxes, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

I know it's no way to start out a post with an apology, but here I am! I'm posting a snapshot today. My parents went on a walk, but do they ever power-walk! Every time I paused to take a quick picture, I found I had to run to keep up.

With that out of the way, Happy Summer! :)

Didn't work today! But I did work Father's Day after church and a double yesterday, which should explain my brief absence here. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a decent picture again after work!

P.S. I love window boxes... I think they're so pretty and add a lot of personality to a house!

June 18

Johnny, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

There's a story that goes with this picture, but I'm going to type it up later.

I worked a double shift yesterday. I closed tonight--7 hr shift. And I was out all the rest of the day with my grandma in South Minneapolis visiting grave sites--her mother, father, and little brother, Johnny. After we cleaned the graves and left flowers, we jumped in the car and it started to pour. There is a nice little Malt Shop nearby that we had lunch at, splitting a chicken sandwich and, of course, a malt.

---sometimelater---

My grandma was five years old when her little brother Johnny was born.  I know having favorite siblings can get you in trouble sometimes, but Johnny was her favorite.  I'm sure he was everybody's favorite. He was the sweetest little boy you could ever lay eyes on.  My grandma and her brothers and sisters always walked to school together.  Sometimes on their way back they would get penny candy from the store.  One day at school, my grandma saw another boy picking on little Johnny.  She promptly went up and punched the bully in the face, giving him a bloody nose.  She was punished for it, but she would have done it any day to protect her little brother.

When Johnny was eight years old, he began to have headaches.  They grew so bad that he had to stay in bed all the time, listening to the other children playing outside.  For six months he was bedridden.  There was nothing anyone could do for him.  He had a brain tumor.  He died, age eight, and was laid to rest in a cedar coffin.  My grandma still visits her darling little brother's grave every year.

June 16

Tracks, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

So everyone has to have a bad photo day once in a while. This was mine. So bad, in fact, that you don't even get to see any of my photos from today. They were all blurry.

This was from yesterday--this is the very same location I took my previous construction vehicle photo. The whole field is all torn up now.

My grandma taught me how to make Sunshine Cake today. It is much like Angel Food, but better--moister, and not as sugary. It turned out very well!

I also saw a bald eagle on my photo journey. Very cool! We don't get them in our neck of the... sand pit... very often. Also saw a TON of bees in the clover field adjacent to our house. Honey and bumble bees, not icky yellow jackets, so they didn't bother me while I walked through.

I took my sister esploring today while our maid Luba was cleaning. We went down to the Minneapolis Lakes. Good thing she has an iPhone or else we would have been a *little* bit lost. Not that I don't know my way around. I'm just ever so sliiightly directionally challenged.

June 15

Hidden Nest, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Up until a half an hour ago, I didn't have any photos for today.

And just now I'm having a hard time deciding what to post.

Just under an hour ago, I grabbed my camera and ipod, determined to find something to take a picture of. As soon as I walked out the backdoor, asking my mother and brother not to lock it on me, I felt a little lost. Not lost in my backyard of course, but lost as to what to photograph. I looped around to the front of the house and walked toward the roundabout. On my way I spotted a tiny little girl's bike parked next to a rusty construction trash container. There was no little girl in sight, and it made a pretty nice subject for being so out of place.

I continued my hike, walking around the roundabout and to the location that I had taken the photo of the construction vehicle several days ago. Now that field is all torn up and leveled out, completely different from what it had previously looked like.

I crossed the road and roamed into the field of clover opposite. In the center of this field, I found a nest down in the bushes! Taking the picture however was a challenge, since my arms are short and I had my large lens on my camera and it would not focus if it were close to the subject. Unfortunately, the nest would not be visible from far away because of all the leaves. I stretched out as far away as I could while holding a branch back. I am proud how well this photo turned out for the difficult conditions!

June 14

Watermelon Slices, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Watermelon. That, along with rhubarb, is the sure sign of summer. Corn on the cob. Hamburgers on the grill. Fireworks. Walks in the park. Going to the beach. Roasting marshmallows. Volleyball. Outdoor concerts.

I know this photo didn't turn out very well, but I like the way the watermelon green looks like it was painted. Actually, the whole picture looks like I put on a Photoshop "paint daubs" effect, but I didn't!

Today I made an amazing lunch. I made rotisserie chicken sandwiches for my siblings and me. It was easy! We had a leftover half of a chicken in the fridge, so I cleaned it and put white cheddar cheese over the three pieces I would use for the sandwiches. After melting the cheese in the oven for about seven-ish minutes, I put the chicken on buns, made a barbeque aioli sauce for it, lettuce, and voila! Really good sammich. ^_^

Tonight it rained and thundered a great deal! My sister and I drove my brother to a party, and then we went to Starbucks and got hot chocolate--mine with cinnamon subbed, and hers with hazelnut. We stopped by the grocery store and got cinnamon pound cake... and then pulled into a parking lot and chatted for a while before going home. My day turned out to be very pleasant, for all the stress in the house.

June 13

Downtown, a photo by mylla7777 on Flickr.

Hello!

Today I went to the Science Museum to view the King Tut exhibit. King Tut wasn't actually there, contrary to my previous thinking, but a lot of his stuff was! Ancient Egypt history is very rich.

However, no photography is allowed in the exhibit. I wouldn't have been able to get good pictures even if it was because it was so dark in there and everything was in glass boxes.

Instead, I took this photo out the window in the staircase. I really like the way it turned out (and yes, I did give it a light cross-processed effect)... except for the car cut in half at the bottom. I will probably crop it out later if I end up printing it.

I am very proud of myself for figuring out how to make all the links in this blog open in a new tab instead of directing away from my page! How neat!

There was something else I was going to say, but I can't think of it. ;) You know me.

June 12

Another day without a picture...

I did take pictures today, but nothing spectacular.

We went to the Minnesota Memorial Chapel by Fort Snelling this morning for church (it is my grandma's church when she is in town--and she is). Beautiful building, but no time for photo hunting.

There was a pug there! Soooo adorable! Unfortunately, while I had the chance to pet it, I didn't take a picture. :(  Maybe next time.

Off to work, and tomorrow I see King Tut!