November 2020

It's November!

The month we take a step back and think about things we are thankful for.

Even though 2020 has been a challenging year, there are still many things that have been blessings in disguise.

Did you find that in your photography, you took time to notice more. Did you find things closer to home or in your home to photograph that you wouldn't have without the stay at home order?

Sometimes having things removed, makes us appreciate them more. Did it make you appreciate the people in your life? Did it make you long to travel? 

As we lead up to Thanksgiving, ponder the things that you are thankful for. Don't fall into the trap of lamenting what you don't have right now. Did you know that thankful people are happier people?

I once heard someone say "what if you wake up tomorrow with only the things you are thankful for today."  Woaaaaaa.   That hits the reset button, doesn't it?

I am personally thankful for you, the 365 Picture Today Community. This community became even more important to me as a daily constant. You were always there, day after day, cheering each other on. You stretched your creative muscles when you didn't feel like it. You showed patience to all of us on the creative team as we navigated the new group. 

Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for encouraging us. Thank you for sharing your life with us. You are very much appreciated here!

And we made it!

By the time you are reading this, The 365 Picture Today Team has completed a year of blog posts, twelve monthly e-books, and 366 daily prompts. Creating and sustaining 365 Picture Today through 2020 has not been without some challenges, but the successes and joy we have found in this community have far outweighed the difficult days. With a year now under our belt, we are looking forward to another year of sharing a photo a day with each of you!

We have learned a few things this year and will be making some changes in 2021. Don’t worry! Nothing drastic. We took to heart the responses that so many of you kindly shared with us on our survey so you will see some of those ideas reflected in 2021.

Most importantly, the 365 Picture Today Team would like to scream a big “THANK YOU” to all of you who have been a part of this community. We took a leap of faith in creating the group and you all trusted us to guide you through a year of documenting your life with a photo a day. Having the friendships and “normalcy” of this group to turn to each day have made this wild and wacky year a bit easier to manage.

We wish you all a happy and healthy final couple months of 2020. We are looking forward to a fresh start in January.

 

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November 2020

Fall is all about changing light

Not only do the shorter days give us fewer hours of light, it is a different light.  And as the landscape changes colors, that light reflects differently on almost everything that we see.  Fall light becomes a well-choreographed dance between light and dark.

When we think about light and dark in our photographs, highlights and shadows come to mind.  Unfortunately, we can witness the beautiful interplay of light and dark with our eyes, work to set our cameras to capture it, only to be disappointed by the “flatness” of the image when we see it on the computer.  This is because no matter how good a camera’s sensor, it is only going to see about half of the tonal variance that people see with their eyes.  With the help of adjusting shadows and highlights during the editing process, we have a chance to bring some of that into our images.

Here are a few tips:

  • Expose for the lighter areas of your image using a lower ISO.
  • Lightening shadows is usually more successful than restoring highlights.  Using a low ISO keeps your photo from being “noisy” when it is lightened.
  • It is difficult to bring back any details in blown out areas of a photo.
  • If you can, shoot in RAW and duplicate your background layer before making any adjustments.
  • If after adjusting the highlights and shadows you are still not happy with your image, tweaking the contrast may give it the help that it needs.
  • When in doubt, shoot too dark rather than too light.

Wherever you are, make sure that you take the time to slow down and enjoy the beautiful light that the changing season brings.  This may even mean putting down your camera and capturing the image with only your eyes to create the lasting memory.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP OF THE MONTH

WHITE BALANCE WITH KELVIN

Try taking your Camera off Auto White Balance and use Kelvin.  For warmer colors use high numbers and for cooler colors use low numbers. Take the same shot with the different settings and see the difference!

365PictureToday Creative Team

Amy
Amy
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Diane
Diane
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Garnett
Garnett
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Kris
Kris
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Lee
Lee
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Leslie's selfie
Leslie
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Lysle
Lysle
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SNIPPETS FROM THE TEAM

AMY

When it comes to post processing I use a variety of apps depending on the end result I'm trying to achieve. For quick edits and simple overlays I might use Snapseed or Photo Shop Express, to be a bit more bold and dramatic I might use Mextures or just for fun someting like Waterlogue or Glaze. 


GARNETT

I edit in almost exclusively in Lightroom and Photoshop. I use a variety of presets in Lightroom and then I tweak from there.  I often finish in photoshop with textures.  When I am on the go, I use Photoshop Express, Quickshot and Pixlr.


KRIS

When I am in the mood to edit, I use Photoshop on my desktop computer.  I try to get away with basic edits, but I will also use Photoshop actions when I am trying to achieve a specific look in an image.  IWhen I edit on my phone or iPad, I use Snapseed; or, if I want to have fun with the edits, I use Hipstamatic.


LEE 

I process most of my photos in Lightroom, only going into Photoshop if deemed necessary (very rarely). I use Photoshop for work, so not much pleasure in using for my own work.  For my phone shots I mainly use Snapseed, Mextures, Prisma and Waterlogue.

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