JS Day 9 - Edge Burn

Here is a technique I will most definitely use! Edge burn, which darkens the edges of a photo so the light draws your eyes to your focal point. One problem I'm having is that I don't have a whole awful lot of pictures to choose from yet. I do love this shot of Jillian & Abby though, and it helped me learn the technique, so I guess that's what matters. I'm giving you the before and after so you can see the effect.

JS Day 8 - Type

Day 8 is about typing text onto a photo. Again, not something I really love personally, but still good to know. A lot of these techniques are geared towards digiscrapping, which I don't do, but would love to start if I could find some time... Maybe when we move. I need to catch up my paper scrapbooks first! One thing that really appeals to me about digiscrapping is that I don't have to drag out supplies - they're all in the computer. That means elements can be used repeatedly, and I don't have to worry about little hands getting hold of my stuff!

Here's the picture. I'm proud to say this was taken in manual at the 4th of July parade in Hope Mills! I brightened it up some and really like the way it turned out! I saved a copy without the text on top too. ;-)

JS Day 6 - TTV

For Lesson 6, Jessica Sprague talks about a technique called "Through the Viewfinder" or TTV. Basically, photographers will take a picture through the viewfinder of an old camera in order to achieve a worn, faded look. Interesting that we have sharp new technology, and people want to make their pictures look old, isn't it? Anyway, the look can also be achieved through photoshop, and here is my go at it. I really like the way this one turned out.

JessicaSprague.com Photo Editing Class - Day 5

Now that VBS is over and my FTCC is on a 3 week break, I figured it was time to get back to my Jessica Sprague class! Day 5 was all about adding textures to photos. I think this one came out well.

A lot of these techniques aren't really my style, or at least not something I'll use a whole lot, but learning how to do these things is helping me navigate my way around PSE6 tremendously!

Shooting Downtown - FTCC Class

These pictures are from this past Tuesday night, when we met downtown to shoot. We were working primarily on shutter speed and I think I got some good results!

I'm not liking how blogger uploads photos. They post in the opposite order of what I upload them in, and I can only do 5 at a time. I guess I'm going to have to start using flickr, but when I tried that before it took forever. I need an easier way to resize, upload, and post!

FTCC Class Shoots

Just wanted to share some pics I snapped while out with my class. These were at the rose garden at FTCC during the second class. Just a few of my favorites.

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VBS 2009

Well it's been a busy couple days around here, and part of the reason is that it's time for Vacation Bible School at Victory Baptist Church again! We LOVE our VBS! I'm teaching the Kindergarten class this year, which includes Miss Jillian, so I've been working on lesson plans and craft ideas when Carson naps.

Here are a few pictures from our first night on the "Boomerang Express!"

JS Lesson 5 - Textures

Okay, I got a little bit behind because we went to the beach with Soraya & Joe & all of our kids. We had a wonderful and very relaxing weekend! Now I'm trying to catch up on my Jessica Sprague lessons!

This was all about applying textures to photographs. I really didn't think I would like it, but she suggests using more unique photos, especially those that are kind of moody vs. the traditional smiling-at-the-camera poses, and I actually really like how this picture came out!

JS Lesson 4 - Clipping Masks

Today's lesson was super quick and easy, but sooooo useful! I didn't know how to do these before but the technique is really simple once you know how. Tonight's picture is Carson running away from my camera at Ole Bluff Golf Course, shortly before they closed down. I chased him all over that gorgeous scenery but all he wanted to do was chase the ducks and run towards the water. Ah well, this one is kinda cute anyway.

FTCC Class - "Digital Photography Fundamentals"

Tonight I took a very big step, one that I have been planning to take for quite some time but just never got around to doing. Always the Mommy, I'm used to putting everyone else's needs first. But tonight I did it! I am now enrolled in "Digital Photography Fundamentals" at Fayetteville Tech.

I almost missed the opportunity because I didn't get my registration mailed in on time. When I realized I had missed the walk-in and mail-in deadlines, I called the Continuing Ed office and asked what I could do. The lady told me there were only a couple spots available but that I could actually register in the class on the first day. I am usually Queen Tardy, but I got to class more than 30 minutes early and waited on the instructor to arrive. Two more people came in that needed to register and I started to get nervous. When we approached the instructor he informed us that the class was full, and that he cut it off at 12 because it's so hands-on. I wanted to cry! He asked us a few questions and asked the others in the class a few questions, and then... he decided to let us all register! I could have kissed the man right there!

I have had my Canon Rebel XT for 3 years now and only started learning how to shoot Manual in the past month and a half. I have been reading everything I can get my eyeballs on and learning a lot from ILP and Clickin' Moms, but there's nothing like hands-on instruction to really make that lightbulb go off in my head. I haven't been this excited about something for a long time, especially something that's just for ME, not for my kids.

Here is the Bonus Project from my Jessica Sprague class, which combines all the techniques learned so far. Day 3 was "Create a Vintage Hand-tinted Look" and I'm not sure this was the best picture to use for this, but Jillian likes the results. She did suggest that next time I make the stars PINK though.

I think the hardest part of the process is learning how to organize things on a Mac. I had a file system on Windows but can't quite get into a rhythm on my Macbook. It's frustrating!

Project 2: Brushes

This isn't spectacular or anything but Jillian is killing my creativity because she WON'T STAY IN BED!!! Ughhh.....

So here is Carson, starring in Project 2. It's neat, I haven't used PS in awhile and I forgot how you can use brushes like stamps.

JessicaSprague.com Photo Editing Class - Project 1

Well, this seems like a good enough place to get started. I'm a wannabe-photographer, and I am finally trying to learn more about photography this summer. I am (hopefully) going to be taking a class at FTCC on the basics of photography, and I signed up for this free online class at JessicaSprague.com. It is called "Photo Editing: Frame Ups and Special Effects" and is a little crash course on Photoshop. I have Photoshop Elements 6 on my new Macbook.

So, Miss Sassy here is my first assignment! I'm already hooked and can hardly wait to do the next lesson, but Miss Sassy is ready for bed...