So I found a great step-by-step video for you to watch to and I’ll add my suggestions.  Why reinvent the wheel tutorial right?

First, you need to go to Gimp and download the latest version.  Don’t let all the technical jargon on the page scare you away.  If you’re running Windows XP, just click the link near the top of the page with the little arrow next to it that reads “Download GIMP 2.6.8.”

Second, watch this video.

Third, try it yourself with these notes:

1.   I usually use a simple template with room for lots of pictures like this one.
2. You don’t have to be in an object’s layer to move it.  Just select the move tool and click on the thing you want to move and move it.
3. Instead of opening your photo in a separate window, you can open into a new layer of your existing file by selecting File > Open as layers.

 Happy Experimenting!

Seriously.

So what do all those settings on your camera really mean?

Let’s start with some basic photography vocabulary that affects exposure.

Film Speed (more specifically ISO):  If you want the nitty gritty, you can go here .  But basically, the ISO number tells you how sensitive the film is to light.  With digital cameras, the number is more symbolic but it still affects how your camera responds to light.  The higher the ISO, the more sensitive but also the more grainy.  Back in the day of black and white film, manufacturers achieved a higher ISO by making the silver flakes larger (i.e., more sensitive).  The larger flakes made for a grainier picture.  The same is still true today.  You can see a great example here.  So basically, it’s a trade-off.  I try to use the lowest ISO possible so I can preserve the quality.  Usually ISO 100-400 is great for outdoors and ISO 400-3200 is for indoors.

Aperture:Is the size of the opening in your lens that lets light through.  It’s defined by f-stop. There’s a lot of mathbehind f-stop numbers but basically you just need to know the smaller the f-number, the larger the hole.  Typical f-stops are f/5.6, f/11, and f/22.  You also need to know that aperture size affects depthof field (or how much depth of your picture is in focus).  Using a large aperture is how one achieves those cool sharp-object-fuzzy-background pictures.  Using a small aperture is great for landscapes where you want everything to be in focus from the flower 2 feet away from you to the mountains 2 miles away.  There’s a good example of how aperture affects depth of field here.

Shutter Speed: Is how fast the shutter of your camera opens and closes (a.k.a. exposure time).  This time is usually represented by the reciprocal of the number of seconds.  For example, a shutter speed of 125 on your camera really means that your shutter is staying open for 1/125th of a second and a shutter speed of 1/2 is actually 2 whole seconds.  A fast shutter speed is a necessity for “freezing” actions shots or fast toddlers (wink).  Slow shutter speeds are good for low light, tripod situations or when you want to see the action like a waterfall shot.

So on your camera, you have auto mode which makes all those decisions for you.  But that’s no fun.  You also have aperture-priority mode (noted as A, or Av) and shutter-priority mode (S or Tv).  In these modes you choose the aperture or shutter speed, respectively, and your camera fills in the other part to create the correct exposure.  Av mode is great for portraits or still-life where you want to control how much of the shot is in focus.  Tv mode is great for when you need a specific shutter speed like sports.

If you’re really feeling brave, you can go to manual and choose all of the above settings to your liking.  You camera probably has an on-screen light meter that reads +3, +2, +1, 0.0, -1, -2, and -3.  Or something close to those numbers.  0.0 means your camera thinks your exposure is perfect, anything with a + is overexposed, and visa versa.  Note:  Don’t always aim for 0.0.  It’s fun to experiment.  For example, I love the look of over-exposed sunny pictures of kids.

Now that you have some really basic knowledge, go out and experiment.  I’d love to hear and/or see what you do!

I found this adorable blog recently.  They call themselves the Mamarazzi.  I love it…maybe because I am one.  They do a photo contest and the current theme is reflections.  I captured this at a recent shoot and had to enter.

I figured it was time to launch a photo site.  So here it is…

http://photography.thecorkums.com

To find out more about MOPS International, go here.

I’ve been wanting to write a post (or two, or three…) about photography since a lot of you have been asking.  And it’s also Foto Friday.  So allow me to share some photos while I (hopefully) help you take better pictures.  Like I mentioned before, so many ideas, so little time.

If you don’t care about photography mumbo-jumbo, skip the end and read about Ty.

The most often asked photo question (at least to me) is, “What kind of camera do you use?”  Fortunately for you, it’s more about basic photography knowledge and good editing software than the camera. 

Enter Exhibit A.

I took this with my point-and-shoot (the less expensive, everday camera)…

…and this with the DSLR (the more expensive, professional-grade camera).

After editing, they looked like this…

and this.

But for the record, I have a DSLR (Pentax *st DL) and a pretty basic Kodak point-and-shoot (DX7630).  Here’s the kicker…you’ll probably never see these mentioned as a CR Best Buy or recommended by a photography website.  In fact, I’m not sure I even would recommend them (if they’re even still on the market).  I could go into the reasons I went for a Pentax DSLR instead of a Canon or Nikon but I won’t bore you.  Just know it was mostly financial (think $300 vs $700).

So know you may be asking, “What’s the difference between a DSLR and a point-and-shoot?” or better “What do I have and what should I have?” 

Let’s review camera types (I am going to default to outside sources mostly.  Why re-invent the wheel, right?):

DSLR–Here’s wikipedia’s take.  In simple terms, these are the bigger cameras with interchangeable lenses. 

Point-and-Shoot–Again, I’ll let you explore wikipedia.  Basically, these are all the other cameras.  They do range from compact (fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-kind) to superzoom (look like DSLR wannabees).

Bottomline, DSLRs are more powerful and versatile…and more expensive.  Point-and-shoots with more features can take great pictures too (for a lot less money).  So the answer to “what camera should I have?” is it depends.  I would go DSLR if you’re serious about learning more about photography and want to explore more than just documenting life (and can afford it).  Did I mention they’re a lot more money?  For point-and-shoot, I would at least go with a subcompact (in between compact and superzoom) that has manual setting capabilities.

Phew…I think that’s all for this post.  I’ll explore camera settings, editing, composition, etc. another time.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, if you have camera questions, go ahead an shoot (pun intended).  Probably leaving comments is best.  In fact, I’m trying out a new comment system that allows me to reply back in a “Disqus“-sion format.

———————————————————–

Even without all the photo mumble jumble, I would have shared this picture.

Why?  Because it represents how much of a miracle baby Ty really is.  To look at him, you would never know that he was born 15 weeks early, weighing only 1 pound 7 oz. 

I know you’re wondering.  Yes, we know a lot about the circumstances of his birth.  No, we’re not sharing it.  We’re doing our best to protect Ty’s story so that he can decide (when he’s old enough) who to tell what.

He was born with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)  which is not unusual for preemies but also put him at a 50% risk of Cerebal Palsy.  The above picture is Ty’s last of only three visits with a therapist to fill in some developmental gaps.  He was also cleared by a neurologist this week…so no CP.  We still see a speech therapist (actually, she comes to us), but he’s making great strides in that area as well.  We’re even hearing sentences.  God is good.