Shutter Sisters

2010 Photo Calendar Templates

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Last year I wrote a post about the many options for creating custom photo calendars. In that post I offered a free download of my own Photoshop designed templates. I got a lot of great feedback on the templates, so of course I updated them for 2010 and will be sharing them here for all my Shutter Sisters. Now you can get started creating your own personalized mini photo calendars for 2010!

Click here to download the zipped psd files.

The files include basic instructions for creating your custom calendar pages in Photoshop. Then just print them on some photo paper or cardstock and cut them out.

These templates are sized to fit in a cd jewel case, but they can also be fastened together with a binder clip and hung on the wall (see above photo). If you choose to use a cd jewel case, you’ll just need to carefully take apart the case and put it back together so that it stands up like this:

These calendars make awesome holiday gifts and they are so fun and easy to create. And as an added bonus these are inexpensive to make!

Looking for light

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At this time two years ago, I was one month pregnant and overjoyed with our luck. We had just moved to Nebraska and I couldn’t believe that our plan to start a family was working out so perfectly. I remember the vibrant fall colors and the golden evening light falling over the rolling hills that October. I took a lot of pictures during that time, partly because I was exploring my new surroundings and partly to keep myself busy as we anxiously waited for that first pre-natal appointment.

During the ultrasound the doctor was cheerful and casual at first, but her mood suddenly turned serious as she tried desperately to find the heartbeat. The baby had died at 8 weeks, just a day or two before the appointment. It was devastating, heartbreaking and cruel. But we had hope. We had conceived once, and we would do it again.

But two years later, multiple blood tests, doctors and procedures it gets harder and harder to find the positive aspects of our not-so-unique situation. We seem to be in a constant battle between hope and despair, with one of us often helping the other find the light on dark days.

This year as I take pictures of my fall surroundings, I find that the colors are just as vibrant, the light just as beautiful as it was two years ago. But now the beauty of this season somehow cuts into my heart and brings me a certain sadness. I can’t explain why exactly. It could be my whacked out hormones or my current fragile mental state. Maybe it reminds me of our loss two years ago. Either way, I’ll continue to capture the bittersweet fall beauty with my camera because it makes me feel something.

So today show us a photo that makes you really feel something, anything.

routine & renewal

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August and September have proven to be the busiest months of the year for my photography business. I am thrilled to be busy doing what I love and meeting new clients. It’s been a constant flow of sessions and I have spent many, many hours in front of my computer editing tons of photos. But suddenly today I realized that I haven’t taken any photos for fun in a very long time. I had been finding that after the client sessions were over and the photos had been proofed, what I needed the most was time away from my camera and the computer.

But in the past couple of days, as I drive around, things are starting to catch my eye again. A beautiful golden field spotted with giant hay bails against a blue sky begs to be photographed and I tell myself to remember it and come back with my camera at this time the next day. I think every profession has it’s seasons of routine, and it’s seasons of renewal. It seems that photography is no different for me.

I didn’t feel guilty about taking some time away from that experimental, personal photography because I found that it comes back to me when I need it most.

Looking Down

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I was recently hired by my mother-in-law to shoot our own family photos. In addition to the large group photos of the entire family, we wanted some photos of just my nieces and nephews as well. My goal was to get some fun, unique shots of the kids because that’s who they are to me. They are fun, goofy, sweet kids and are always up for anything. So when I asked them to lay on the ground on their backs, they were totally game. And, you can clearly see by Paul’s face (bottom right) that laying on the ground with his cousins is hilarious.

Sometimes taking group photos of kids (especially younger ones) can be a challenge. It’s often difficult to get them all together without someone wandering off. And sometimes they get distracted and look away from the camera. But what better way to contain those little bodies and hold their attention than laying them on the ground and shooting from above?

A couple of tips to master this pose…

A shot like this may require a wide andle lens and it helps if you are tall or have a chair to stand on. I try to shoot the photo from directly above the subjects. That way, the photo can be rotated in any direction and still look great. And lastly, try to place your subjects in open shade, such as under a tree or in the shadow of a building. That way, the light that falls on their faces isn’t harsh sunlight. This will also keep them from squinting.

But don’t limit this trick to large groups or just kids. This angle can work great for one or two people as well! And as a bonus, when you have people looking up toward the sky this way, it creates that great light in the eyes that we all love some much.

Have you attempted a shot like this before? If not, give it a try and show us the results!

Refreshing

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It’s senior portrait season and I am loving the variety it’s bringing to my photography. It’s often a welcome break after months of chasing toddlers, hoping to get a shot before they are on the move again. Believe me, I love photographing little kids, but it is refreshing to hang out with these seniors. We wander around downtown hunting for cool alleys or doorways, talking along the way. It’s fun to get to know them and learn about their interests and personality, putting away the bubbles and squeaky toys for the day and taking my time with backgrounds and poses. But most importantly, I enjoy taking the time to capture each senior’s uniqe style and personality.

Have you had any welcome changes in your photography routine lately? If so, we’d love to see what’s keeping you refreshed.

Alien Landscapes

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Cacti, Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago IL

My recent 10 day trip to Chicago started off with the BlogHer conference where I was thrilled to meet the Shutter Sisters and many other amazing women in “real life”. Following BlogHer, my husband and I stayed another week to spend some time in the city where we met and started our lives together. Being amongst the buzz of the big city again left me feeling a range of emotions. On one hand the city seemed like another planet. It was all trains and traffic, honking horns and sirens, parking meters and crowds of people. At times I was shocked that I ever lived in a place so completely foreign to me now. But on the other hand I found myself feeling more creative than when I arrived. Chicago is absolutely stuffed full of art in every form. From boutique signs to giant sculptures, architecture to graffiti, the city is alive with visual stimulation. I found myself opening my eyes more and trying to take it all in. I even came home wanting to paint the walls in our house after visiting the beautiful homes of our friends.

This is not to say that my current home city of Omaha is boring or uninspiring. In fact, it’s exactly where I want to be. However, there’s something great about exploring a place that forces you to see things differently. In fact, when we first moved from Chicago to Omaha two years ago I remember being in awe of the beautiful green rolling hills and country roads. The lush landscape was so different and refreshing. So I guess it’s just a change of scenery that helps me recharge.

Have you explored any alien landscapes lately? Find a place that’s foreign to you and keep your eyes peeled. If you’re like me, the experience will give you a creative boost.

training

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I’m training for a half-marathon. There, I said it. I haven’t really told anyone since I started the process 6 weeks ago. I think my lack of confidence that I would follow through held me back. But now I am commited and ready to spread the word. I have never been the “athlete” type and running never interested me. But after a long winter of sitting in my home office, I knew I needed to take action. So I signed up with Team in Training through the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I knew I would need lots of help and motivation if I was going to do it, and raising money for cancer has been the push I needed.

I have been getting ready to send out my fundraising letters, and wondered how I could put my personal spin on them. So I got out my camera and took a series of photos. The photo above is one that I will include in my letter to bring interest and personality to a piece of mail that many may want to throw away. I really wanted to grab their attention long enough to see what this means to me. I also added photos to my fundraising website, to encourage people to check back on my progress. My hope is that adding these photos will show people that I have invested myself in this endeavor and that I am commited to reaching my fundraising goal.

teaching and learning

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photo by John Balcer (during one of our photo walks)

 

Lately I’ve been spending some time teaching my husband how to use an SLR camera. He’s got a very cool project coming up where his job will be to photograph an amazing experience (more on that later). The last couple of months have been a crash course in aperture, shutter speed, focusing, composition, lenses, AV mode versus TV mode, exposure and depth of field. I would never consider myself to be a photography expert or worthy of teaching someone else how to use a camera. But, I have noticed that the process of teaching him Photography 101 is a great refresher for me. The mere act of describing how to use a certain setting, or set up a good composition reminds me of the basics. In addition, it forced me to dig a little deeper when John asked me questions I couldn’t answer. And the fact that my husband was my student took all the pressure off. I didn’t feel like I needed to know ALL the answers and technical terms. I just explain things in simple terms as I understand them and then set him free to practice. We went on numerous photo walks, each with our own cameras. It was also fun to compare the photos later and see how we each interpreted the same subjects.

Tell the Story with Two

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I love the way two photos presented side by side in a diptych can tell the story of a moment. No explanation is needed to describe the scene when it’s presented this way. Whether they are digitally merged in one file, or framed together, there’s something so fun about displaying photos this way.

So do you have two photos that simply tell us a story? Show us what you’ve got by leaving a link in the comments.

photo love notes

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I think it’s great to be able to incorporate my photos into gifts for others. And the more personal the better. I created this box of notecards for my husband last year. The box includes 56 cards that have a photo of my hand on one side and are blank on the back. The idea was that I would write him one note a week for a year. Some were love notes, some thank you’s, and sometimes I just drew a goofy picture. It turned out to be such a great personalized gift and I thought I would share how I created it. Now, there are tons of different ways you could create something like this, but I’ll tell you how I did this one.

First, I found the box. The one I bought is about 3.5″ x 5″ from Borders (Paperchase brand).

After choosing the photo I wanted to use, I opened it in Photoshop and cropped it to 3.1875″ x 4.6875″ at 300 dpi. This one will go on the lid of the box. I chose to add some text to this one, but you wouldn’t need to. I printed it out on matte photo paper, but you could also use cardstock. Then I attached it to the lid with double stick tape.

Then I went back to my original photo file and cropped to 2.75″ x 4.125″ at 300 dpi. This is the size I used for the 56 cards because they would fit in the box with enough room to still get them out.

Next, I opened a new document at 8.5″ x 11″ and dragged my photo into it. I duplicated the layer 3 times and arrange them on the page. Unfortunately, I was only able to fit 4 on a page (you may be able to squeeze 6, but it was too close for me). This means I had 14 pages to print!.

Now comes the tedious part, cutting out 56 cards with an x-acto knife or paper cutter.

Last step! I cut a 6″ piece of ribbon and hot glued one end to the inside bottom of the box. Make sure you only glue about 1/2″ of the ribbon. That way, when you put all your cards in the box, the recipient will be able to pull on the ribbon to get them out.

I know my husband loves this gift and sometimes I go back and look through them all. It’s fun to read them and remember what was happening in our lives when I wrote them.

And because I’m feeling brave, here’s a bonus shot of one of my notes.