Day Sixteen: Something I Now Know, But Don't Have To

Today the lesson at 31 Days To A Better Photo is about exposure compensation. Now here's the deal, I started reading into this very carefully and I was thinking, "Good gracious! What else do I have to learn!!"! But when I get toward the end of the bottom, I find out it's for those who don't have the hang of exposure (shutter speed, aperature, and ISO). It's kind of a cheat tool, if you will. You tell your camera to either let more or less light in.

I know how to adjust the exposure on my camera properly by using my meter and checking it after the photo is taken with my histogram, so this lesson didn't apply to me.

I am now more than halfway through the lessons. I noticed the rest are less technical and more about proper ways to take photos. We also get into Photoshop...YAY!

The photos from tonight are plants at Abuelo's. You are probably asking, "Why were you at Abuelo's?". The answer is that Brennen's boss is in town so we trekked to Midland to eat out. Really well. On the company's dime. And I didn't have to clean the kitchen. And I took photos of some very pretty flowers. But not of the boys. They were too busy.

Wanna hear something cool? It's really kind of dark in that restaurant. Look how not dark these pictures are!! I am really happy!

Day Fourteen: Histogram

So, I am sure you guys are thinking I am crazy. Why are you doing this? What's so wrong with auto features on your camera? So you learned a few tricks, are you going to be a photographer now??

No, I don't want to be a photographer, I don't have enough patience with other people's kids. I kid, kind of. Anyway, I am still hanging with this because I want to finish something other than a Snickers bar, and while I am taking some great photos now, I want to know all of the things the Canon T2i can do.

We now get into some really technical stuff in the 31 Days To A Better Photo series. A histogram. What is it? Have you ever accidentally pushed the display button while viewing your photos on your camera? I think even some point and shoot cameras do this too. When you do, you change the ways that you are looking at your photo, and you get to this weird graph looking thing.

From what I have learned, the graph shows the colors in your photo. The far left of the graph represents black, and moving to the right, it shows the color until you hit the far right, which represents white. I hope that made a little sense.

So, what does that mean? Why do you need a histogram? Well, it's another way to find out how exposed your photo is. Sure you can look into your little screen, but it's not until you actually upload your picture on your computer that you actually see it in it's full glory. It's only a little two or three inch screen, it will usually look really good anyway.

Tomorrow, Darcy will discuss how to use the histogram to check the exposure to produce better photos.

And now...long and overdue...PICTURES OF THE GRANDKIDS!! You are welcome :)

Day Thirteen: It Worked!!!

This lesson from 31 Days To A Better Photo talks about the custom white balance feature. While using a preset white balance will usually be fine when taking pictures at the zoo and on the go, if we are doing family photos or portraits, we will really want the colors to be right.

How did I set it?

I ordered a gray card. What's that, you may ask? Well, it's a card that is 18% gray. You can make one, but I thought the cost of the ink would be kind of expensive, so I ordered one from Amazon. The card with shipping was all of $8, and it came in the mail yesterday.

http://www.amazon.com/CPM-Delta-inch-Gray-Card/dp/B00290Y9K6/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1327184960&sr=8-10

You guys are probably asking, so was it worth the money??? The answer is yes. Last night while watching Scream, I decided to try it out. There are a ton of steps to get custom white balance on the ol' T2i, and once I got it done I took some sample pictures.

auto white balance.

tungsten white balance

custom white balance

All of those pictures were taken in the same room with very low light. The auto white balance picture has more yellow in it than the tungsten, but the custom white balance really shows that the manual is white. I was pretty impressed with the results.

Sorry, no photos of the boys tonight. We had a minor catastrophe, and let me just say, I am so thankful that I live in a day and age that we have washing machines. Wringing out a load of cold wet laundry is awesome. <Enter sarcasm font here>

Day Three: This is When I Learned How to Take Pictures of My Boys!

So, I read through my camera manual last night as instructed in the 31 Days to a Better Photo. I am feeling more confident that I know how to adjust the features on my camera. Now, I just have to understand why I am adjusting my camera.

Enter day 3, shooting fast vs. shooting slow. Today, I took pictures of the snow falling. How often does it snow in west Texas? Well, actually this is our third snow fall of this winter season here. That is extremely out of the ordinary. So, what a perfect opportunity!

1/8

 

1/2000

Both: 18mm f/10

Lens: Canon 18/55mm f/3.5

The lessons learned:

1.  The faster the shutter, the more defined the snowflakes. Because the shutter snaps so fast, you can see the individual snowflakes.

2.  The slower the shutter, the brighter the picture. Because the shutter is snapping slowly, there is a lot of time for light to come in.

After I took pictures of the snow and my car, I proceeded to take pictures of the boys throwing snowballs at each other. I am thrilled with how the pictures turned out. The boys are clear, the snowflakes are defined, and there was plenty of light outside so the color looks great!

Day one: Just Take the Picture!

I have started this blog to display some of the photos from my new hobby of photography. I have read mommy blogs and often seen the beautiful pictures they post of their families. I usually have a small twinge of jealousy when I see them.

We have had many a point and shoot digital camera since 2006, but we have never spent too money on them (heck, we even got a nice Olympus one for free). The pictures often were dull and boring. The camera was never quite fast enough, so we missed out on so many great photos because children aren't still. Plus we had the cheesy smile problem because it would take too darn long for the camera to snap.

The problem, though, wasn't the camera. It was the photographer. And that would be me. My husband and I have recently used our Christmas gift cards to purchase a Canon T2i. I have taken some very pretty pictures so far, and have even used a photo editing software to edit them. Still, I would like to have better knowledge of my camera and to hone my picture taking skills.

Enter the 31 Day Challenge I have found through a few other blogs. I am holding my nose and jumping in!

The first days lesson is to learn to "just take the photo". You never get a second chance to see a memory again if you haven't taken the photo. So, as my husband asked earlier, I will be hogging the camera all to myself for the next 31 days. Sorry, GL.

Off I go to take a photo of the boys jumping!

Edited to add:
I was unable to take pictures of the boys because my battery was dead. Another lesson learned!!!