My family has been enjoying our new grill we received from the #Searsgrilling and #Cbias photo class, mainly because the men in the family love meat and I love it when someone else cooks our meal. This week’s assignment was to host a meal for family and friends, making pictures using all the techniques we have learned to date. This was perfect timing for a celebration because my Father-in-law’s birthday is tomorrow and my daughter is leaving for college this week. What better reason to have a family meal! On a side note, I have been asked by other family members to let everyone know they helped prepare the food and I didn’t have to cook it all myself.
Getting ready to grill some ribs
Our first lesson centered around using Pixlr, a free online photo editor similar to photoshop that works in any browser. I applied cropping techniques, experimented with levels of color, brightness, saturation, and applying zoom. Next, I tried explored different angles while taking photographs to add interest to my pictures.
Making Homemade Ice Cream
No one but my husband could understand why I was standing in a chair beside the grill, leaned over the top and making pictures.
As the class progressed, we learned tips to make our food photos shine. I didn’t realize the huge role natural light played in quality photos. I’ve learned to keep props to a minimum to focus on the food. Utensils, plates, and any background objects distract from the food. Who knew there were so many different angles for food shots? Some of my favorite are the forward tilt, the overhead, and the side shots.
Homemade Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Garlic Stuffed Olives
Cantaloupe
Lettuce and Tomato for the Burgers
Lunch is Ready to Serve
This week we discussed making candid shots of people . One of the tricks of taking photos of kids is getting down on their level and taking shots while they are engrossed in doing other things. This didn’t work as well for me because the kids kept warning each other, “Here she comes with that camera again!”
Another trick–take plenty of shots. Kids move quickly!
Enjoying Homemade Ice Cream
Sure, we are all ready for college!
We were warned there would be no more homemade ice cream so everyone ate a lot!
One of my favorite candid shots. I used the zoom to get a picture of the 9 year old with his new horse. He never realized I took the photo.
I had to include this one because it was funny. Rio wanted a chicken dinner so badly!
I am thankful I have had a chance to participate in this class. I’ve learned techniques I will continue to use in the future and have loved taking photos. I feel my photos and skill level have improved and my confidence has soared. I love taking pictures now. My family isn’t as sure they love having their photos snapped constantly but I’m sure they’ll come around.
Great shots of the kids! It’s hard to get a good pic when everyone doesn’t pose for you.
Looks like you had so much fun
Looks like you had so much fun
Great pictures! I want to lick those ribs :):)
Holy cow look at those ribs!!! Looks like you guys had a great family day!
and I guess my invite was lost in the mail??lol It looks like ya all had a lot of fun and ohh the yummy food; looked amazing. Thanks for sharing with us your family day :0)
I’ve really enjoyed following your photo journey and learning from your tips! You keep making me very hungry, though.
Pam! You are improving so much!! This was a great week for you. 🙂
It’s been fun following your photo “journey”
great photos!
Love, love, love the picture of the cake! I like how it’s ever so slightly off center. Great job!
You know, I can’t believe I forgot to take pictures of the family. How could I forget that?! I was so worried about the food…
Looks like you guys had a great time!
I so enjoyed your photos and the events of your day.
Look at you! Great job, Pam!! Thanks for sharing your day and your fab photos!
Looks like a wonderful day!