Photo Tips for Flowers and Fireworks

Thanks for all of the nice comments and emails about the flower photos I shared yesterday.  I do enjoy taking and editing photos and sharing them from time to time.  Of course, my husband gets the credit for growing all of the pretty things in our gardens and doing all of the hard work maintaining the decks and patios.

A lot of people have asked about my camera.  It is a Nikon D40 DSLR (digital single-lens reflex).  I have had the camera for almost five years.  At the time I bought this camera, it was the entry level DSLR in Nikon's line.  I wrote about my camera and some tips for taking photos recently, so I won't repeat everything in this post.  If you click HERE, you can read the details about my photos that I shared in May.

brown eyed susan after editing

brown eyed susan direct from camera

The "secret" to most of my photos is cropping and editing.  I use the Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0 program (currently on sale for just $19.95). 

daisy - straight from camera

daisy after editing

In May, I mentioned the possibility of doing a video to show how I edit a photo.   Several people expressed an interest in seeing the process.  It really doesn't take very long to do and it makes such a difference in the final images.  I have upgraded my video software, so I will try to make some more videos later this summer.  The next few weeks are going to be very busy with family events and visits.

Once you have edited your photos, you can get even more creative with the images and add text or embellishments.  A photo with a nice quote, verse or phrase will make a very nice simple card.  For the image at the top of this post, I used this flower photo and then added the bible verse and applied an oil painting effect to the image.

actual photo of flower

Oil painting filter applied to flower photo

I used the StoryBoook Creator 4.0 (currently on sale for $48.71) to change the image and add the words.  Working with these two programs, I feel like I have limitless possibilities to create with my photos.

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Photographing Fireworks

If you are planning to go to see some fireworks for the 4th of July, Nick Kelsh has some tips for photographing fireworks.  Normally, the more in depth explanations are for subscribers only but he shared all of his tips with everyone on Monday - just click HERE to get some great information.  You can sign up for free daily emails from Nick or buy a subscription for more in depth photo education.

They are predicting rain for the 4th - which could cause trouble for the planned events.  We'll just have to wait and see what the weather does...

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