When was the last time you got silly? This weekend, get outside. Walk around the block with no shoes on. Pick flowers out of your neighbors' yards and wear them in your hair. Let your kids stay up past their bedtime. Build a fort on your couch with sheets and pillows. Make up silly lyrics to your favorite songs. Watch a scary movie with all of the lights off. Do cartwheels and spin in circles until you fall down.

And don't forget to take pictures.

For years, I've spent entirely too much time thinking about what I want to photograph and how I want to photograph it before I actually get behind the lens. Part of it stems from being an art school student, where I not only had to develop good composition and technical skills for my grade, but also had to attend critique once a month. In a room full of my peers and teachers, I had to discuss what I was trying to achieve in the photograph I chose for the session.

Being under the microscope like that made me start questioning what I was shooting and why. I almost stopped taking pictures all together, because I thought I was incapable of any artistic vision. But I stuck with it, and as I matured a little those college years, I started to realize that a lot of artists need "concepts" and "statements" and "hype" to get them noticed. I'm not that kind of artist. I just like to take pictures.

When I was asked to take part of Shutter Sisters, a part of that insecure girl from art school resurfaced. I asked Tracey if I could just post once a month instead of once a week and blamed it on my workload. In hindsight? I think it was because I was afraid my photos weren't strong enough for an online critique.

Then something Maile wrote really resonated with me, and just last week Sarah-Ji said 'just shoot it'. So I listened. And I captured moments like this. Shots that just... happen. Occurrences and surroundings I see every day and have missed as great photo opportunities. I'm having more fun with my camera then I have in ages.

What about you? What got you interested in photography? And how have your images changed since you first got behind a camera?

I love, love working with Anna. She's not only a great model, but due to our closeness and ability to read each other's minds, we always seem to create fabulous photographs together.  After her aunt passed away, we talked about doing a series of photographs with her aunt's robe, which further evolved into photographing her newest tattoo, a branch of vibrant cherry blossoms.

Because of her bright hair, the intense color of the blossoms, and the unique hue of the silk robe, I wanted to mute the rest of the image as much as possible. In addition to lighting and color manipulations, I also used Photoshop layers to create soft blurred areas.

First, I opened my layers palette (Window > Layers). At this time there was only one layer, my original photo. I selected the layer and dragged it to the New Layer button , creating a duplicate layer for manipulating.

I blurred the new layer with a Gaussian Blur (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur).  Focusing on the background -- since this would be the blurriest point of my image -- I adjusted the slider to the desired level.

Now it was time to erase the portions of the blurred layer to reveal the focused portions of the layer below it. Rather than use the eraser tool, I used a mask to give me more control and flexibility.

Here's how :

1. I dragged my top (blurred) layer to the Mask button. (When you do this, you will see a new black thumbnail appear to the right of the image thumbnail in the layer.)
   
2. I clicked the black thumbnail to select the mask. (When you do this, you will see the foreground and background palette colors switch to black and white.)
   
3. Next, I switched my palette foreground color to black and "painted" the portions of the layer I wanted hidden. I did this with varied brush sizes and experimented with opacities to get the blur exactly where and how I wanted it.
4. When I messed up, changed my mind, or wanted to dilute the opacity, I switched my foreground color to white to reveal the portions of the layer I wanted to show through.
   

You can use layers and masks for lots of things!  I frequently use them to cut an inch or two off tummies, remove double chins, delete ex-boyfriends from pictures -- experiment and have fun!

Bob Schneider's dreamy voice is floating through the loft and outside we can hear the wind and rain adding its own aural interpretation to the track. For a brief moment I close my eyes and take it all in. The way he smells... the way he breathes... the way his hair tickles my face. Like he's reading my mind he turns to kiss my cheek and says nothing.

And in this moment, everything is as it should be.

What is your favorite song? What memories or visuals come to mind when you hear it? Why not create an image inspired by that song? It can be literal or conceptual. Just follow your heart.

Or, if you're looking for a little inspiration, download 'The World Exploded In Love All Around Me' (2.6mb)

While the Shutter Sisters garden couldn't flourish without the energy of our community, it wouldn't necessarily be this awesome without our software and hosting provider, Squarespace. So we thought we'd show them some love (and you!) by sharing this Shutter Sisters exclusive-discount.

If you use this link you'll get a free 30 day trial and 10% off if you upgrade to a paid plan. If for any reason it asks for a code when you upgrade, use sista.

Note: The signup page on that link defaults to a photography/portfolio layout but you can switch it in Appearance.