We wanted Christy to share some of her knowledge about photography and cameras with us. Even though she doesn’t claim to be a professional, she does a great job.
1. What kind of camera do you have? Canon Digital Rebel XT is what I use most of the time. I also own a Canon Powershot A60, which I take on trips. It’s small and can fit in my purse, so I use it for the spur of the moment shots.
2. Where do you like to get your photos developed? I like to print most of my photos at home. However, when I do shoots for others, I use both Wal-Mart and shutterfly.com.
3. Share one of your favorite Photoshop tips. I love using layers and adjusting the soft light and hard light to bring out the colors in my photos and make them pop. In Photoshop, go to Layers and then Duplicate the layer. Then in your layers box, under the box that says ‘Normal’ scroll down to Soft light and click on it. Then adjust the Opacity for the look you want. You can also do this with black and white pictures to get a great black and white look.
4. What lens do you have? I have 3 lenses, but the one I almost ALWAYS use is my 50 MM 1.8 f/s. It is great for portrait shots or for everyday shots. It is great for creating drama, by blurring the background and also helps with lighting issues. It is great for just about any setting except action shots. The best and cheapest place to find it is at www.bhphotovideo.com.
5. What are some of your favorite photography websites that you look at for inspiration, tips, new products, etc.? Actually I use Two Peas for a lot of great information. You can find just about any answer you need on their photo message boards. Also Tara Whitney’s blog provided me with a ton of great inspiration. Just her style of photography is amazing to me and helps me gain different perspectives on portrait shots.
6. What are your favorite camera accessories? My 50MM lense for sure. I also want to get my hand on one of the Donna Downy camera bags! Yum...
7. What setting do you use most? I always shoot in AV mode. I find it really easy to get great shots when I shoot in that mode. All I have to do is adjust my ISO and my white balance and I get perfect pictures every time, whether I am indoors or outdoors. A tip to remember is the darker it is inside or outside, the higher your ISO should be. Also most camera's have a way to adjust your white balance for sunlight, shade, cloudy, tungun light, fluorescent light and night mode. Adjusting the white balance really does help get great shots when you don't have perfect overcast weather or good window light. I also never use a flash.
I've attached a photo from one of my photo shoots. I love this photo!
I hope this help.
Christy
