halloween happenings – a photo book

Halloween Photo Book-1

Halloween/October has so many opportunities for photos:

  • making costumes
  • costumes
  • pumpkin patches
  • fall festivals
  • carving pumpkins
  • painting pumpkins
  • pumpkin lattes/pies/roasting pumpkin seeds.etc.
  • Halloween books
  • Halloween art
  • Halloween/October decor
  • outside decorations
  • jack o’ lanterns
  • trick or treating
  • the candy
  • spooky flashlight photos
  • October skies/ moon
  • parties
  • and so much more….

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This photo book was made through Paper Coterie, which sadly doesn’t exist anymore. I still wanted to share because it is a great example of using basic blocks of color, Halloween quotes and simple layouts to create a fun book representing October/ Halloween adventures.

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a disneyland photo book

The most magical place on Earth – Disneyland. You can see my 2011 photo book version here along with ideas for photos to include.

For our summer 2012 book, I continued to publish through Blurb in a 10 x 8 standard format style. For these yearly Disneyland vacation books, I try to make each a little different. In this book, I decided to stick with the primary colors which feel very Disney (think Mickey Mouse, Goofy, etc.) in swatches, large stripes and in frames around the photos using Blurb’s BookSmart layouts and editing software. I am making good use of the Kingdom font for headlines and Futura for the body of the text.

This Disneyland sign sits atop the water slides at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so hot while we were visiting, we spent quite bit of time attempting to stay cool in and around the pool.Disneyland 2012-1

This year’s story.Disneyland 2012-2

Our arrival.Disneyland 2012-3

The waterslides.Disneyland 2012-4

Refreshing drinks and Harry silliness.Disneyland 2012-5

Water features and the Lego Store at Downtown Disney.Disneyland 2012-6

Duffy ears and finally being tall enough for California Screamin’.Disneyland 2012-7

Enjoying the new Carsland.Disneyland 2012-8

Luigi’s Flying Tires.Disneyland 2012-9 Disneyland 2012-10

Mater’s Tractor Tipping.Disneyland 2012-11

Carsland at Night.Disneyland 2012-12

Radiator Springs.Disneyland 2012-13 Disneyland 2012-14

The story of Harry spending his money.Disneyland 2012-15

Character photos.Disneyland 2012-16

Astroblasters and trying on Star Wars hats.Disneyland 2012-17

Harry and I playing Power City and winning!Disneyland 2012-18

Space Mountain and playing at the hotel.Disneyland 2012-19

World of Color is fun and festive for photographs.Disneyland 2012-20 Disneyland 2012-21

More character lovin’.Disneyland 2012-22 Disneyland 2012-23

Playing in the Sorcerer’s Workshop.Disneyland 2012-24

Animation class and drawings.Disneyland 2012-25 Disneyland 2012-26 Disneyland 2012-27

The story of the earthquake while we were there, yummy treats and the tattoo consolation prize.Disneyland 2012-28

Leaving.Disneyland 2012-29

The details – maps, buttons, receipts, coasters, schedules, toy instructions, etc.Disneyland 2012-30

 

 

Have a magical day!

the essence of a school year

How do you capture the essence of a school year? Every year varies. Some years there are lots of projects, sometimes I can take a ton of photos or the teachers take photos, some times there is a plethora of field trips, shows, stuff, etc… Whatever your experience, there is always a story to tell about your child’s school year.

Here are some ideas on what to capture both in photos and/or words to characterize your child’s school year:

  • the obligatory first day of school photo
  • the school’s sign
  • what your child likes in their lunch or what they eat from the cafeteria
  • new clothes or school styles
  • new back pack – why did they choose it?
  • a picture with their teacher
  • what the inside of the classroom looks like, posters, bins, class library, the backpacks lined up, markers, areas (reading area, make believe area, science area, etc.)
  • Questions for your child – How old are you?, How tall are you?, Do you like your teacher? What are you excited about the school year? Goals for the year?
  • the class photo
  • your child’s professional individual photo
  • drawings, art
  • writing samples, stories, answers to questions
  • what is classroom life like? do they sit groups, facing the board, at a big table, rug time?
  • are there specialty classes? language? music? technology? library? science?, P.E.?
  • what is popular at recess? what does your child like to do?
  • photos of your child working on homework
  • carnivals
  • songs they sing, poems to memorize, etc.
  • craft projects
  • holidays, parties
  • projects, making the project, presenting the project
  • special days – like pajama day, spirit days, crazy hair days, etc.
  • field trips
  • sleep away camp
  • science fair
  • after school classes
  • self – portrait
  • rehearsing for a project
  • book reports
  • examples of tests
  • strengths, weaknesses
  • performances – a choir concert or a play ( include getting ready -nerves?excitement?)
  • moments with friends – who are there friends? what do they like to do together?
  • sports at school
  • reward systems
  • special events, – parent parties, picnics, end of the year party
  • homework folder, binder, books, pencils, pens, etc.
  • are they organized? or disorganized?
  • daily schedule
  • books read during the school year – reading logs, etc.
  • awards, certificates
  • report cards, notes from the teacher
  • blog posts from the teacher
  • trends – silly bands, colorful shoes, trendy toys ( Minecraft or Rainbow Loom)

This is a sample of the book I created for Harry’s second grade year. ( I know I am behind, but at least it got finished).

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For this book I used the following:

capture life – finale

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson

To capture our life in photos is a lot of hard work but absolutely worth it. It pushes me to try new things. Shooting the everyday involves shooting the same thing or similar events,  so I have to find new ways to photograph moments or objects, whether it is in different light or from different angles (otherwise, it would be incredibly boring). You start seeing what works and what doesn’t work. You learn to wait for the perfect moment that captures life for a fleeting instant. The only way to get better is to shoot and shoot a lot. Bad pictures are the norm with a couple of good ones thrown in, but eventually those good pictures start appearing more and more. When I started, my philosophy was if you take 100 photos you might get 5 good ones. The percentages of the good ones keep getting higher and higher each year. To experiment is to get better. Try new things!! I truly believe that if you take photos everyday you eventually have to get better. You have to!!!

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capture life

Capture Life-1

What do I do with all those photos of our lives? I make a photo book, of course. “Capture Life” is what I named my Project Life Book for 2012. After years of capturing our daily lives in a scrapbook form, I wanted to switch to a digital version.

I created a digital template and input photos, project life cards, embellishments and journalling in Photoshop. Then I organized my pages to create a book with Blurb in a 12×12 format.

You can find various templates, project life cards and embellishments all over, but my favorites include:

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i will remember you

Syberia-1Losing a pet can be overwhelming. After our cat died recently, I felt so lost and alone yet the memories were so vibrant in my mind. I knew I had to find a way to channel the energy into something that would help me overcome the sadness. A photo book allowed me to tell her story in photos and words and start my healing.

I searched my photos on Lightroom using keywords pertaining to my cat and put them all in a “Collection”. I used the Lightroom “Book” mode and created a quick and easy book linked directly to Blurb. The simplicity was just right for this project where I wanted to quickly get my words down. I made a 7″x 7″ soft cover book.

The following are some excerpts of the book:

How she came to be with us.Syberia-2

What she was like as a kitten.Syberia-3

Her relationship with the other animals.Syberia-4

Her relationship with people.Syberia-6 Syberia-7

How she played and her favorite toys.Syberia-8

Fun photos and a story about a specific day.Syberia-10

Favorite details – her sounds.Syberia-9

Her personality.Syberia-12

Her physical characteristics.Syberia-14 Syberia-16

Her favorite treats.Syberia-15

Her favorite places.Syberia-11

Her impact and what she taught us.Syberia-13Syberia-17 Syberia-18

And a good-bye.Syberia-20

We all miss you soo much.  We now have this wonderful book to look through and remember all the things we love about you.

week in the life

What does a week in your life look like?

Week in the Life-2-Edit

For years, I have been taking one week of a year and going in depth with what a week looks like for our family, inspired by Ali Edwards. I usually take a week where I know it will be a fairly ordinary, average week (if that actually exists).

The following are examples of what I photograph and document:

  • what we are eating for breakfast
  • what morning hair looks like
  • the drive to school
  • what the pets are doing
  • what each of us is working on
  • what lunch looks like
  • what books we are reading
  • what school looks like
  • what projects my child is working on at school
  • what dinner looks like
  • what the nighttime routine looks like
  • what tv we are each watching
  • what shoes we are wearing
  • what hobbies/projects we are working on
  • what grocery shopping looks like
  • what receipts look like
  • what we are buying
  • what games we are playing
  • favorite toys
  • funny/ interesting facebook posts
  • what is  on our computers
  • laundry
  • the weather
  • friends
  • selfie photos
  • appts.
  • things we like
  • things we are struggling with
  • things that are motivating us
  • workouts
  • sports
  • sports practice
  • outside the window
  • gas prices
  • cleaning
  • lists
  • notes
  • asking questions of my family – what made you happy today? this week? what made you sad? what was your favorite part of the week? favorite moments?etc…

The list goes on and on. You will be amazed with all the parts that make up your story.

Week in the Life-1 Week in the Life-3-Edit Week in the Life-4-Edit Week in the Life-5-Edit Week in the Life-6-Edit Week in the Life-7-Edit Week in the Life-8-Edit Week in the Life-9-Edit Week in the Life-10-Edit Week in the Life-11-Edit Week in the Life-12-Edit Week in the Life-13-Edit Week in the Life-14-Edit Week in the Life-15-Edit Week in the Life-16-Edit Week in the Life-17-Edit Week in the Life-18-Edit Week in the Life-20 Week in the Life-21

I used Ali Edward 8.5 x 11 templates for my pages. Once I created my digital pages I put them together at Adoramapix. The quality of the book is just incredible – the vibrance of colors and clarity with thick lay flat pages.  This is one of my favorite photo book printers! My one and only complaint with the company having very specific page count restriction is now gone, you can choose exactly how many pages work for you (up to 76 pages). This project is so worth it!

sunset photo books

Sunset Books-1

Every holiday season, I make my husband a photo book composed of sunset photos we have taken during the year. We are very fortunate to have some incredible sunsets. The last two years I have made a book with Adoramapix. You can find their website here: http://www.adoramapix.com/app/home.

I really like Adoramapix photo books for their variety of sizes and high quality, lay flat pages. The cons of this company are their specific page numbers – 14, 26, 38, 50 or 76. I don’t mind the page limitations with this type of book about sunsets because I can easily figure out how to make the photos fit or delete a couple photos, but when I am telling a story in a photo book, I have a much harder time limiting my pages to a certain number because I never know how many pages I will need to tell the whole story.

For both books, I chose the “Custom Hard Cover” option for the covers which takes an image of mine and wraps it as the cover. When my first book arrived, I was in awe of the cover’s most beautiful, metallic finish. It just has this incredible luster. The attempt to photograph the finish just doesn’t come out so you have to take my word for it but it will make say you “wow”!

Both books are 8×12 in size with 26 pages each. Below are some sample pages.

Sunsets 2010 Book:

Sunset Books-2For this book I chose black as the background color or base color. And used Ali Edwards “Words of Beauty Hand Drawn Words” digital brushes. Included are cursive words such as ” beauty”, “stunning”, ” “fantastic”, “dazzling”. The perfect words to describe these sunsets and add a simple detail. Here is the link: http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/product_info.php/products_id/9914

You can see how I used the words.

Sunset Books-3

Sunset Books-4Sunset Books-6Sunset Books-7I also keep the layouts for such a small book to about 3 different layouts or variations of them.

Sunset Books-9

For the 2012 Coronado Sunsets Book, I wanted something similar but different. So I kept the same size book, used white as my base color, did not add any digital brushes and used different, simple layouts.Sunset Books-10 Sunset Books-12 Sunset Books-11 Sunset Books-14 Sunset Books-18 Sunset Books-19