• Photo Printing Prep

      by cleverchristie on July 2, 2019 , No Comments

      Before & After My Photo Editing Process First Things First When I edit photos the first thing I do is lower my screen brightness. When I’m working on my iMac, I usually lower the brightness to about 50%. If I’m working on my Laptop, I lower the brightness to about 60%. Lowering your brightness helps to prevent your images from printing too dark. Basic Edits I always start with some basic photo editing. Using Adobe Camera Raw, I raise my shadows and blacks; this helps retain the photos detail when printing. Next, I adjust the sliders starting with the temperature […]

    • Idaho Falls Magazine

      by cleverchristie on June 14, 2019 , No Comments

      Photo Contest Entries On June 13th, 2019 I entered the following three photos in the Idaho Falls Magazine Photo Contest under the Nature and Wildlife category: I chose to enter the above photos because I LOVE IDAHO! My favorite photos to shoot are those that reflect the beauty in nature and Idaho is so beautiful! Even if I don’t win a prize for my photographs, I hope that those who view them will get a sense of the deep gratitude I feel for my beautiful surroundings here in Idaho.

    • 5 Best Photos

      by cleverchristie on June 14, 2019 , No Comments

      Skills Cultivated During Digital Imaging I have gains loads of new “smarts” while taking Digital Imaging this semester, much of which have to do with how to use my SLR camera’s full potential. One of the most useful skills I’ve learned is how to use photo bracketing. The picture above (Bannack Ghost Town) was taken using the bracketing setting on my camera. A bracketed photo consist of three photos: one over-exposure, one normal exposure, and one under-exposure, then all three are blended together during post. Speaking of post, I’ve picked up some new know-how when it comes to using Adobe […]

    • Experimenting with Macro

      by cleverchristie on June 9, 2019 , No Comments

      Learning to Focus This was my first time experimenting with Macro photography. I had a lot of fun focusing on tiny areas of objects. The jar below is less than an inch high. I zoomed in on the tiny black key. In this next photo, you can see the detail in the sand so clearly: Using Water While experimenting with Macro photography, I tried to capture water droplets. I love the way the water drops look on top of this peacock feather: The yellow rose below was spritzed with a spray bottle of water. I love all the tiny water […]

    • Bannack Ghost Town: Fine Art

      by cleverchristie on June 7, 2019 , No Comments

      I’m new to the world of Fine Art Photography but I gave it my best shot (literally). The day spent photographing Bannack Ghost Town was a beautifully overcast day. The sun would peek out every once in a while, though. Because of the overcast weather, most of the photographs were pretty saturated. Still, I added some saturation and played with the detail and color a bit in photoshop. The Hotel was my favorite place to shoot “Ghost” pictures but was bare-bones empty inside. On the contrary, the Doctors House was decorated authentically which proved for some fun fine art and […]

    • Bannack Ghost Town: Portraits

      by cleverchristie on June 5, 2019 , No Comments

      Traveling to Montana to visit Bannack Ghost Town with my Digital Imaging class was so much more fun than I thought it would be. I learned a lot about photography and made some new friends along the way. One of our assignments was taking portraits. This was the first time I had shot portraits using Auxiliary Light. Not only did I learn how to use added light when taking portraits, but I also learned the many benefits of added light. Portraits Using Auxiliary Light Following are a few examples of the portraits I was able to shoot using different forms […]

    • Bannack Ghost Town: Creative

      by cleverchristie on June 1, 2019 , No Comments

      Levitation I have to say, creating a levation photo was way more fun than I thought it would be. It was also easier than I thought it would be. I simply used a tripod to take a photo of Brenna (above) lying on a bench, then kept my camera in the exact same spot on the tripod and took a photo of the room without Brenna or the bench. I erased the bench in photoshop and blended the two photographs. Voila! Levitation achieved. Ghost The most fun I had during my Bannack Ghost Town trip was taking slow-shutter Ghost photographs. […]

    • Bannack Ghost Town: Series

      by cleverchristie on June 1, 2019 , No Comments

      Through a Window Recently, I joined my Digital Imaging class on a day trip to a Montana State Park & Ghost called, Bannack. While there I shot a series of photos where I captured scenes through windows. I had such an amazing time! This was the first time I’ve ever taken an entire trip just to take photos. We spent the whole day there and I took upwards of 800 photos (including bracketing – so more like 600…but still). Halfway through the day, I discovered that my camera was on Auto-ISO! Gah! I kept setting my ISO between 100 and […]

    • Landscape: Perspective of 9

      by cleverchristie on May 21, 2019 , 4 Comments

      Collage When I think of nature and the outdoors, Island Park, Idaho is the first place that comes to mind. On a recent drive up to Island Park, I stopped at Ponds Lodge with my nephews to play outside and stop for some pizza. The boys roamed around the property and explored the nearby, Buffalo River while I shot photographs. 9 Perspectives I decided to make Ponds Lodge my subject for “Perspective of 9”, a photo assignment which includes 9 different perspectives of one subject. While shooting photos of the grounds around Pond’s Lodge, I was lucky enough to catch […]

    • Photography: Depth of Field

      by cleverchristie on May 14, 2019 , 1 Comment

      Deep Depth of Field With a small aperture (also called f/stop) you can keep everything in your photo sharp. If the subjects in the foreground, middle ground and background are all in focus, you have successfully created a deep depth of field. In both the photo above and the photo below I used a small aperture (or opening), f/16, to create photos with a deep depth of field. Shallow Depth Field To create a shallow depth of field, I used a large aperture setting (large opening but a small number). I used my largest opening, f/1.4, to capture a very […]

    • Motion Photography

      by cleverchristie on May 8, 2019 , 3 Comments

      Blurred Motion Learning to capture motion with your camera takes some experimentation. Recently I had the opportunity to try to capture some photos of the water falls in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This early morning sunrise shoot provided the chance to practice blurred motion. While I am no expert, I can say that I had a lot of fun and was happy with my results. Blurred motion requires a slow shutter speed, so I set my Nikon camera to “S” for Shutter Priority. With the camera dial set to 1/6 second, my camera automatically adjusted the aperture to f/16. To avoid […]

    • Exposure: What and Why?

      by cleverchristie on April 29, 2019 , 4 Comments

      Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO While setting out on some self-motivated education about the three fundamental elements of exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, my quest became easier when I found fantastic, royalty-free, images to share while visiting www.pexels.com. Aperture Lingo Photographers often refer to the camera’s aperture in f-stops. When first learning how to use the manual mode on your digital camera, it can feel really confusing. Together with shutter speed, aperture determines how much light can reach the lens. Aperture Quick Tips: A wide aperture or opening equals more light. A narrow aperture or opening equals less light. […]

    • Photography: Cracking the Code

      by cleverchristie on February 1, 2019 , No Comments

      Our photographs can vastly improve by applying just a few photography basics: Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, and Depth of Field. When we understand these rules and make a few simple adjustments to the way we frame our photos, then our photos will have a more professional look and feel to them. Take time to research professional photographers, they give us fresh ideas when we want to experiment with photography. Looking at beautifully composed photographs by professionals inspires our own creative work. Rule of Thirds I’ve always loved looking at beautiful photographs and I often find myself scrolling through Instagram. […]

    • Deconstructing Ad Design

      by cleverchristie on January 14, 2019 , No Comments

      Pepsi. My soda of choice. My husband likes to call Pepsi his preferred liquid candy bar. Pepsi is my favorite caffeine-infused-pick-me-up. I like it fresh from the fountain, in a foam cup, over some pebble ice. I may or may not get one exactly as described during my daily Maverick run. The above Pepsi ad was found on a food culture website called, ATERIET. I can definitely relate to this clever advertising. Some days I feel like I need Pepsi on an intravenous drip — straight to the vein. I am new to the world of design but I will […]