Photography Archives - A Sweet Spot Home

Instagram Add Ons: Making Your Instagram Pics More Interesting!

December 21, 2012 By Carrie Leave a Comment

Are you like me? I’m an Instagram lover. Recent developments have made me a bit less of a fan, but I’m waiting until January 15th before I make any rash decisions about what I’m going to do with my account….I’ll give them plenty of time to straighten out this little mess they’ve created for themselves.

Anyway, I recently came across some stunning images on Instagram that contained fonts and scripts and cute little add ons that I’d never seen before. So, after a little research, I realized that they were Insta Quotes from Rhonna Designs. I immediately went to her site and bought the set, (they cost $10 if you’re using them for your personal account) and set to work on uploading them to my iPhone so that I could give my pics a little something special.

Check out my results……..

Each letter on your keyboard has its own quote associated with it, and you type it in just like you would any other font in the Phonto app. You can customize the size and the color to coordinate with the image behind it.

These are all images that I’ve taken and edited using some of my favorite Photography apps. Save the edited image to your Camera Roll, open the image up in Phonto, and you’re ready to add your quotes!

I love the variety of fonts and decorative scrolls that you can use…much better than just the basic fonts that we often find with our apps!

See???? Kind of cool, right??? And if you’re not an Instagrammer, you can save these images to your Camera Roll and upload them into any photo sharing software you use, or to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter…it’s completely up to you!

Want to know how to get this for yourself? Here’s how you do it…

1. Get the Phonto app for your iPhone.

2. Go to Rhonna Designs and purchase your font kit.

3. Follow these instructions on how to get the font on your phone using iTunes if you’re a PC user. Follow these instructions on how to get the font on your phone using iTunes if you’re a Mac user.

4. Use and enjoy!!

So, there you go…it’s pretty simple!

Unless, you open up iTunes and discover that you have to upgrade to the latest iTunes before you can do anything. Then you discover that your iPhone is nearly full of photos and music. Then you have to sync up your phone so that you can move pictures over from your phone to your computer. Then you have to get rid of music that belongs to your 12 year old…she has her own iPad/iPhone now, she can keep her music there! THEN you can add your new fonts.

But really, would that actually happen to someone???

By the way, are we following each other on Instagram?? Find me here!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: Instagram, instagram quotes, photography, photography apps, photography editing

FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP

September 12, 2012 By Carrie Leave a Comment

Lately, I’ve been a busy, busy girl working on several pretty big projects so unfortunately, I haven’t been able to post as much as I’d like. Soon, I’ll be able to share with you all that’s been keeping me so busy, but until then, I’ll share with you one thing I’ve been doing…

I’ve been working on my photography skills!

I firmly believe that photos can make or break your website, so I’m constantly trying to learn to take better pictures, as well as working on my Photoshop editing skills. This translates into better pictures for my website, and also better pictures that I’m able to take of my family. I’m constantly following my kids around with my camera, and I want to make those pictures the best I possibly can.

One evening over the summer, my son decided to get a drink of water, set up a lawn chair out on our driveway, and keep watch for the arrival of a local stray cat that frequents our house. I took this opportunity to snap some photos…thankfully, he was feeling generous and allowed me to do this! (Oftentimes, he will do whatever he can to get away from me and my camera…yep, I’m that kind of mom!)

I LOVE this picture. Every time I stare at it, the first thing I think is, “Look at his eyes!”

The second thing I think is, “Why did I cut off his chin?” In fairness, I was just kind of snapping away and wasn’t really trying to get a perfect shot…but I’ve since learned my lesson. From now on, I’ll try and take the extra half second and make sure I’ve set the photo up correctly!

Here’s the image straight out of my camera:

Not bad, but I wanted to give it a bit more pop…so I opened up Photoshop Elements. The picture at the top of this post is my finished product, but then I wanted to play around a bit to get some other looks.

Ahhhh, Sweet Tea from Florabella….one of my favorite Photoshop actions. This isn’t for every picture, but on the right one, it can really make a difference!

Hellloooo, eyes. By switching up the contrast and burning the edges, this picture gets a completely different look, and I love it. (But let’s be honest, this is my baby…I could take a picture of him on the worst camera in the world and I’d still think it was the most precious thing ever!)

Adding a little Autumn Haze…seems appropriate for the season, don’t you think?

Photoshop can seem like a daunting program, but you have to just jump right and in and start experimenting. Go to YouTube and watch the tutorials, there are tons of them! While the full blown versions of Photoshop can put a SERIOUS dent in your wallet, Elements is still very powerful and is much, much more affordable! Even if you aren’t ready to buy any photo editing software, there are several sites online that will allow you to touch up your pictures, as well.

Don’t be afraid to post original photography because you worry about your camera not being “good enough”. There are tons of sources out there that will help you do the best with what you have…so let’s all start snapping!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: cameras, florabella, photography, Photoshop, photoshop actions, photoshop elements

More Camera Phone Picture Ideas

April 26, 2012 By Carrie Leave a Comment

If you read my last post about camera phone pictures, you’ll know that I’m a fan of several photo editing apps. If you didn’t read my post, (and you’d like to!) you can read it here.

In my post, I shared my love {a/k/a adoration} {a/k/a obsession} with the Photoshop iPhone app. It’s able to do SO many wonderful things, like adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, sharpness…and that’s just getting started! I thought I’d show you a couple of before and after pics to show you just how handy this app can be.

Here is my picture straight out of my phone:

Looks good, right?? (This is a rhododendron that was created by my husband’s family called Born Winner and it is absolutely lovely!) The iPhone 3GS has a fine camera, but the picture can still be better…and here it is…..

The difference is amazing, isn’t it???? And you don’t have to be a professional photographer to get these results, you all KNOW I’m no professional! I just edit until it looks appealing to my eye, and I have absolutely no idea if what I’m doing is “right”.

If I were to upload this picture into Instagram, (which I actually did) I would use the Blur function to blur out the edges just a bit. (Do you follow me on Instagram? I’m “asweetspothome” if you’re an Instagrammer, too!)

So, if you’re looking to improve your camera phone photos, I HIGHLY suggest you check out the Photoshop app. And, if you’re not familiar with Photoshop at all…DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED! Allow yourself some time to play around (and mess up!) and learn. I know I loaded it onto my phone and it sat there. For a long time. Now, I use it all the time!

Filed Under: Photography, Uncategorized Tagged With: camera phone, cell phone, cell phone pictures, photography, Photoshop, taking better camera phone pictures

Camera Phones Can Be Fun!

April 19, 2012 By Carrie Leave a Comment

A few days ago, The Pioneer Woman announced that she would be doing another one of her Photography Assignments, which she does from time to time. Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I have recently become slightly…or if I’m being honest, extremely, obsessed with jazzing up the photos I take with my phone.

I’m a bit behind the times, as I’m still rocking my iPhone 3GS…waiting patiently to see what goodies Apple will give us when they release the iPhone 5. My iPhone is great, and as important to me as my right arm, but sadly, the camera isn’t as good as the one on the most recent release. So….I must edit a bit more.

Here are a few of my favorite iPhone photos, that I’ve edited. You’ll be amazed with what you can do with a simple app!

Now, if you want to do some awesome editing with your camera phone pics, here are some apps that I recommend you get. Keep them all together in a “Photography” folder, and you’ll always have them right there where you need them.

1. Instagram: An absolute no-brainer, this app rocks my world. It takes my less than perfect photos and turns them into something wonderful. The picture of my cat and of the flower were edited using only Instagram.

2. Photoshop Express: While not as complete as actually using Photoshop, this little (and FREE) app packs a lot of editing power into a tiny space. While the app itself is free, there is an add on package that is $4.99 that I do recommend. It’s definitely not necessary, but it does do some nice editing to the pics, so to me, it’s worth the money.

3. PicFrame: A great app to have if you want to create collages with your photos. It also adds text…the editing possibilities are endless!

4. Flickr: While not an editing program, I love this program because it’s a cinch to upload your pics to your Flickr account from your phone. It’s really user friendly…quick, easy, wonderful.

I hope you’ll check out some or all of these apps and see what you can do to fix up your camera phones. No more apologizing for the quality of your pics when you post them on your Facebook page! Come on, you know we’ve all done it.

Be sure to check out this post from my photographer friend on ways you can take better pictures with your cell phone!

Filed Under: Photography Tagged With: camera phones, cell phone, editing cell phone pictures, Flickr, Instagram, photography, Photoshop Express

A Shooting Expedition

April 6, 2012 By Carrie 2 Comments

My kids are I are an adventurous sort, we’re always looking for something to do that doesn’t involve me facing the massive amounts of laundry that needs to be put away or the kitchen that always needs cleaned. Because, life’s too short to spend Easter vacation scrubbing pots and pans, right??

So, yesterday, we went on a shooting expedition…or in other terms, driving around and taking pictures of what was around us. We loaded up the car with snacks and drinks and took off to photograph the beautiful afternoon we had yesterday.

All these pictures were taken by my daughter…because sadly, someone has to do the driving. She’s my shutterbug-in-training and I love that about her.

Now, bear in mind, I have no knowledge of what technically constitutes a good photo. I know immediately when I look at an image if I like it, and if I like it, I run with it…so if you’re a pro photographer, you may want to look away.

I have no idea what it is about the picture that I liked, but for some reason, it caught my eye…

Same with this one…no idea why it caught my eye!

We have to enjoy this view while we can, soon it will be corn, corn, and more corn!

My daughter rode this horse once. I wasn’t there to witness it, and my nerves thank me for that.

So, that was our afternoon shooting expedition. Next time you and your kids are bored, grab a camera and head out to shoot what’s around you…I know we’re planning another trip out very soon!