Video Instructions

I've had some requests recently to explain how to make a video like the one above. This isn't a normal photomom101 topic, but I am happy to share how I did it. The only thing is, you'll have to own and have some knowledge of a video editing program to do it like I did.

First I took a bunch of pictures (obviously.) The only trick there is too take them continuously and make sure your settings aren't changing around too much on each shot. You may want to use manual mode, and will probably need to turn off auto ISO if you typically have it on.

Once I have the pictures, I import them into my video software (Final Cut Pro, for me,) and I set the import settings to create stills that are three frames long. So I end up with a bunch of pictures that become video clips all 1/10 of a second long.

Then I drop all these pictures into the timeline, add a title and some music and it's done. So if you've got video software, take a few thousand pictures and give it a try. Then load it on youtube and let us all know so we can watch it.

Capturing Emotion

One of the biggest keys to capturing emotion in an image is getting it sharp - especially the eyes. When an emotional face is sharp in an image, it draws us in and helps us to "feel" along with the subject. So when your kids are laughing, crying, or whatever, make sure you get focused right on their eyes to capture the moment. Consider a couple more examples and ask yourself how these pictures make you feel:

Post Update

In response to a request, I added the shooting data to the pictures in the post below.

Snow Day

I know that snow is not a big deal for many parts of the country, but here in South Carolina it's huge. We got a couple inches of real snow (not just ice like we got a few weeks ago) and it was great. Here are a few shots from today:

• Shutter Speed: 1/1600
• Aperture: f4
• ISO: 200
• White Balance: Auto
• Focal Length: 55mm
• Exposure Comp: +.7

• Shutter Speed: 1/1250
• Aperture: f4.2
• ISO: 200
• White Balance: Auto
• Focal Length: 68mm
• Exposure Comp: +.7

• Shutter Speed: 1/1250
• Aperture: f4
• ISO: 200
• White Balance: Auto
• Focal Length: 55mm
• Exposure Comp: +.7

Capturing the Non-Event

Most of us think about taking pictures at birthday parties and holidays. And whenever something "super-cute" is happening, we are sure to race for the camera, hoping to get it in time. But what about everything else in between? I've noticed that some of my favorite pictures are of everyday things, not necessarily special occasions. Our pictures of "the ordinary" remind me of what was really happening and what life was actually like. So here's a challenge for all of you:

Come up with a list of 10 (or more) normal things that your kids do right now. Then, over the next week, try to get good pictures of those things. If you do this consistently you'll end up with a "photo journal" documenting your family's life. Here are a few regular days of ours from the past few weeks:

Beautiful Baby

Anybody heard of the beautiful baby competition on Live with Regis and Kelley? Well we tried to enter it, but couldn't. Probably because the last two days to enter (which were when we were trying) thousands of other procrastinators were clogging their server. Anyway, here are the images we would have entered (at least we can show them off here):