Trying to be a Strobist!?

Specs:

• Guide Number
  120-ISO 100ft. / 36-DIN 21m
• Auto Range
  3-70ft. / 1-21.3m
• Flash Duration (Auto)
  1/1000 - 1/30000sec
• Flash Duration (Manual)
  1/1000sec
• Vertical Illumination Angle
  20-53°
• Horizontal Illumination Angle
  27-70°
• Color Temperature
  6,000°K
• Connections
  Hot Shoe, Shutter Cord
• Weight (without batteries)
  423g
• Dimensions
  100mm(W) x 130mm (H) x 105mm (D)

After taking all those senior portraits without a flash and only relying on good light from the weather, I knew it would star raining soon. I was right! So my solutions was to find a good flash that is not only cheap but a good bang for the buck. With a little research I found nikon flashes that were excellent, but it did not meet my criteria! They are so expensive...well for me anyway. It did not take me long to find a cheaper flash that I could buy for $50 on Ebay. The Vivitar 285hv! I searched and watched many flashes on Ebay with no luck in winning any bid :( For several weeks I watched Ebay and Just two days ago I WON ONE! :D I'm so excited to get my flash! I have several more senior portraits to take including my own...so I'm hoping the flash will be here in time.

I found that many beginner strobists ( a technique using an off camera flash) use the Vivitar and I have read many reviews.

*Pros:
- It's more affordable
- You get more bang for your buck
- Easy to use
-Sturdy
-Powerful

*Cons:

-Heavy

-Bulky

-Battery hog unless you have rechargeable batteries

I wan to be able to do this... :D


AnNamir™

Terra Kate

I just LOVE the soft light it gives portraits... beautiful!!

Nikkors n Chips

Matthew Bohrer

www.TristanLeger.com

I love the lighting and how it creates neat shadows and detail.

Photoshop Banners

Woohoo it took me 10 minutes to make this lol

The shop was in need of a new banner. The other one was kinda crowded :/ I hope this one looks alright! Along the way I'll be making more :D

How did I do that without spending any money!!?

1.) Create a new file and set the height to 100 and width to 760.... {pixels}

2.) Create a new text


3.) Look up photoshop brushes online


4.) Pick a brush you think matches the theme of your store... Below I picked a texture brush for the background



5.) Go to photoshop and click on the brush tool on the side bar.
You will then see a bar on the top left where you can change the brush seen in the photo below



6.) Download the brush


7.) And wahlah! you can now use the brushes for your banner!


8.) Wanna add a picture? Open up a new document by going to File ... open... then choose your photo.



9.) Open the Photo you want to use and select the magnetic lasso tool.



10.) With this tool you can select part of the photo. In my case I only want to select the lamb. With the lasso tool start by clicking one point and drag the tool around the object.

The object should be highlighted

11.) Then paste on your banner!


:D

Senior Season!

I started with one friend and then it led to 11 more hahaha!! more practice for me. As long as they are happy with it..im happy :D

I used the materials I had available... what I wanted to use tho was a vivitar flash and a reflector :/ i used the silver side of my circular car shade...but it wasn't strong enough : (

A little update!

Ive made and BUNCH of new items that i need to post. I'm tryna keep up with posting more frequently and it has helped my sales. Good motivation! haha

My mom and I are trying to come up with a good business name and were having a little trouble :/ Annie M. Designs is our real business name but since we started Etsy we used Made Just For You because AnnieMDesigns was a taken shop name.

So when we make our business cards it's confusing. Were trying to change our name completely.

We were thinking : Katie & Me

What do You think?

deerskin leather braided bracelet $17 !!

i love this bracelet and hopefully you do too :D

Mary Had a Little Lamb!

Ferguson and His Friendly Fox Friends (sold, But i can make more!)

Mini Mice Munch on Mighty Mints (sold, But i can make more!)

Crazy Cats Claw the Clear Curtain (not yet posted)

Cherished little Chicks Check Charley's Chimney

Krazy Cute Koalas (sold, But i can make more!)

Bubbly Blue Bunnies (about to be posted)

Pretty little Penguins (not yet posted)

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Fall is Near!

Furry Hat

The sunny days and warm weather is almost coming to an end as we wrap up summer, start school, and see everyone wearing boots! Pretty soon the leaves will start falling and it's time to look for a Halloween costume! Be prepared to see a whole bunch of vintage clothing being worn because this fall's fashion is going back in time.

A couple of 2010 Fall's trends:

Strong silhouette's

Fur..please go faux :)

Menswear inspired suiting and outerwear

Golds

Layers

Look What I found on Etsy!!

Forest Green Leather Jacket

Seemss like everyone needs a leather Jacket nowadays! They Look great and they go with many outfits.

Black 80's Jacket

The padded shoulders are making a comeback! Menswear is a big thing in todays trends.

70's Burgundy Dress

A small waistline is cute!

70's Country Plaid Lace Top

I lalalove this plaid shirt! The colors are cute and look at the collar! it's got lace :) You can't go wrong with a plaid shirt!

Navy blue Ruffled Blouse

Ruffles ruffles and more ruffles! So cute!

Whimsical Magnolia White Sweater

It's a white sweater..how can you go wrong?

60's Wool Coat

I heard nude is an in color this fall.

80's Genuine Rabbit fur Coat

Okay I love the feeling of real rabbit fur but everyone hates the thought they are wearing cute little bunnies. My mom always told me not to buy something made of real fur because your supporting the company that makes it...When you think about it we wear cows..why doesn't anyone complain about wearing leather? Most likely because they aren't cute and cuddly but still it's not like rabbits are gonna go extinct. Anyway this is a vintage coat and because your not buying it from the company i thinks it's fine.

Cream Floral Print Shirt

A cute top to wear with jeans or a cute skirt and chunky belt!

Ruffle Dress

More ruffles! hahah Except it's a dress!! I can see someone wearing it with a nice warm coat and some boots ;)

Double Button Striped Tank

A causal tank top that would look awesome with that black jacket or blazer. So cute!

Romantic Blue Knit Sweater

Another sweater to keep you warm and looking cute. It has a little more detail then the white sweater which I love!

Hope everyones having a great time! Go do your fall shopping and let me know if you found some amazing deals on vintage clothing!! I love a good deal :) It's funny because when I was younger I hated shopping. I thought it was so boring and I couldn't wait to leave. Well I was more of a tomboy. tehe

Thanks for reading! Next time I will post All SHOES :)

-katie