Simple Tips On Photographing Food & Product

Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Heather, and the sweet girls from Bloom asked me to be a guest on this lovely blog today! It's an honor! I write my own blog called The Coterie, I'm a mother of a 2 yr. old boy and a puppy, with a baby on the way! I like to take photographs, cook, and do occasional crafts.

It seems like so many of us have etsy shops or sell some sort of goods these days! Even if you don't, these simple tips can help liven up any photo you take!

In selling goods, photographing food, or just taking pictures for your blog, no matter how wonderful or crafty it is, posting good photos is vital.

None of the photos shown are post-processed at all so you can see the raw photos.

Below are examples of a before and after picture of what a small white piece of paper, used as a reflector can do. It brightens up shadows from the sides where light is not hitting. It's subtle, but makes a big difference.

After

Before


Here's how I did it:

Set up or style whatever you're photographing. Make sure it's facing a bright window with lots of natural light.



Now take something white, (a plain piece of paper works great) and reflect the window light behind it, eliminating unwanted shadows, and highlighting all of the product. Sometimes you have to move it around to find just the right spot that gets all the shadows. Sometimes it's easier to have someone help you hold the paper while you shoot (make sure your flash is OFF)




Voila! You have a beautiful image of your product or food!

*You can use this simple trick on just about anything. You can try it on faces or people, too!

{More of} Your Mothering Photos

As promised, here are a few more of the photos from our Art of Mothering Photo Contest.
Enjoy!


Not sure who's more excited to be at the beach??


After time spent in the NICU, Jeanine introduces the new baby to his big brother.


Lori & Spencer stroll hand in hand.


Spinning!


at the water's edge...


from Katrina: "this photo was taken just a few hours after Miriam was born. We are on my bed and as you will see it is of Asher nursing while Miriam sleeps on my lap. I spend A LOT of my day nursing one or the other or both of them!"


Emily enjoys a bedtime snuggle with her little one


Oh my goodness, that is the best little smile!


Mommy (Melissa) & Jenna enjoying an afternoon of baking together

We have more to share, stay tuned. If you've captured any mothering moments lately, and you'd like to share them with us, send them along! (aplacetobloom at gmail dot com)
We'll post them with the next batch.

We carved pumpkins at my parents' house on Monday night. My mom made a bubbling cauldron of witch's brew (cranberry punch & dry ice) which my kids were absolutely nuts over. While we were there I handed the camera off to my mom and sister and asked them to catch a few shots of me and the kids; here's a shot with my little pumpkin, examining the bubbly brew. Make sure to hand the camera off to someone else for a bit this weekend so you are part of the Halloween memories you capture this year!

The Art of Mothering Photo Contest Winner

Congratulations, Rae! Your squishy kiss won the hearts of the voters! Email us at
aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom so we can connect you with your prize!

Again, thank you all for your participation. We adore you all so much and love how willing you are to be a part of such an inspiring community of women.

xo,
em and anne

Art of Mothering Photo Contest: Cast Your Vote!

Oh, you guys! We love hosting these photo contests. But we also hate it...because it is so hard to choose finalists. So, so hard! Next time we're going to have you do it, ok?

Thank you for your beautiful submissions. We loved them; we'll share them all in the near future so you can see them, too. It was particularly hard to narrow it down this time because every submitted photo represented something so tender and dear - your relationship with your children, your love for them, the sacrifices you make for them, the little rituals that make up your shared life. Each one was lovely. Even if your photo was not chosen as a finalist, please know that we looked at it, we loved it, we considered it. Hopefully this little contest will encourage you to keep your cameras close, learn how to use the self-timer feature, and put someone else on photog duty to make sure you're capturing some of the beautiful moments of motherhood.

Here are the finalists:



Melissa & Lucy at the park; a photo of the never-ending act of "shoe-ing"


Cara and all three of her darling girls


Liz, just home from a morning run feeds baby Pearl her first bites of rice cereal...with a little "help" from three year old George :)


Tysha & Sawyer - naptime stories. (A beautiful mothering self-portrait -- see what you can capture with the self-timer!)


Upon returning to the van, Natalie and her boys discover a stow-away (a little green inchworm!) who rode in on a leaf gathered from the hike


This photo (submitted by Trina) captures a dear friend playing with her youngest just four months after a mother-to-daughter kidney transplant.


Abbie teaching her babes something she loves


Sarah savoring a snuggle with baby Owen


Rae gets "a squishy kiss from her squishy girl. Soul food."


Submitted by Avalon Marsh - a photo of her sister-in-law. There is just something so serene and genuine about this photo - we love it.


Christina calms a fussy Eliza

There is a poll at the top of our sidebar - please vote for your favorite photo. The winner, who will receive a one year subscription to Country Living, will be announced Monday.

Thank you so much for participating. One last thing: If you didn't have a chance to submit to the contest, we'd still love for you to send along a photo - we'd want to see it. And share it. We'll display it along with the others when we post all of the entries - there is just something so sweet about this kind of photo.
So keep your cameras clicking...and send us a photo!
(aplacetobloom at gmail dot com)

The Art of Mothering Photo Contest

(all images from NieNie Dialogues)

I started reading Stephanie Nielson's blog when I was a new, not-sure-about-this-gig mother. She inspired me in so many ways it would take a week of posts to explain. One of my favorite aspects of her beautiful, honest blog, is that it is full of pictures of Stephanie, in the act of mothering. Although she's never pretended that mothering is easy, she has always shown us how beautiful it can be through her honest words and real, candid photos.

A few weeks ago I was playing tag with my sons in the back yard. As I rounded the corner of the lawn, I caught a sight of how we looked in the reflection of the back window. I saw a blonde woman in her t-shirt and corduroy skirt, laughing as she pretended to chase her sons, with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. And I loved it.

And then I realized something. I have almost no visual documentation of my life as a mother. I have oodles of photos of my boys and a few family photos. But I have almost no pictures of me, doing what I do every minute of every day. No pictures of me wiping my boys' hands, giving them a bath, reading stories to them, walking to the park with them...

I want that to change. I want what Stephanie has--a record of how beautiful a life of mothering can be.

Inspired by this idea, Emily and I introduce to you...

The Art of Mothering Photo Contest

We want photos of women in the act of mothering/nurturing. You can submit a picture of yourself, or another woman in your life. Please send your photo to us by email at aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom. We will narrow down the field, then ask for your help in selecting the winner.

Please have all photos in by Wednesday, September 29th at midnight. We will post the finalists Friday, October 1st, and your votes will determine the winner!

And, even though a pat on the back is probably enough for you, we'll throw in a fun prize for we can't help ourselves!

xo,

anne and em

Colorful Art for your Home by Bloom Guest Lisa

My darling friend, Lisa, has been wowing me with her creativity since the day I met her as a freshman in college. When I walked into her newlywed apartment for the first time last summer, I oohed and ahhed about the artwork in her kitchen. I assumed she'd bought it somewhere until I looked closely and saw her in one of the pictures. On my most recent trip to visit, I begged Lisa to share the D-I-Y instructions with Bloom. And, loyal as ever, she obliged.
Two years ago when my newlywed husband and I moved into our apartment, I thought it would be fun to decorate the joint... It's a one bedroom-- that should be easy, right?! Eh, after a weekend spent painting our bedroom, I was kind of over that idea.

In order to bring some sort of color to the white walls of my kitchen without a painting party or too much effort, I decided to make these quick, easy and affordable 'art pieces' for the room. As you'll see, you can do this for $10 (or less if you already have some of the materials) and in a short amount of time.

I chose five photos from various farmer’s markets we have visited, saturated them using a photo editing program (picnik is a great free web-based option), and had them printed at a copy store. This effect created vibrant colorful images that I glued onto the foam core using spray adhesive. I used a straight edge and x-acto knife to cut them to size. You could use any type of adhesive to hang them on the wall (I used revmovable velcro).

By displaying my aprons on the adjacent wall, I was able to make a practical use of the space and add more bright color at the same time. To hang them, I used 3M removable hooks (which I also use to hang stockings by my fireplace at Christmas!).

In the end, I was happy to have infused some life into my otherwise sterile kitchen. Of course you could edit your photos in a number of different ways to come up with an interesting and unifying photo art wall. Have fun!

Cute * Simple * Cheap * Photo Display Ideas

Now that all mankind has a digital camera we're all taking more pictures than we were a decade ago, no?
Sometimes displaying them becomes problematic. Some prints are enlarge&frame-worthy. But some are just cute enough to pin up for a short while. And what to do with all those 4x6 proofs that came with your recent photo shoot?
Frames are expensive (and who really frames 4x6 prints?) and changing their contents is tedious, here are five low-cost alternatives for creative photo display:

1. A clothesline of snapshots



I made this with a length of twine and 5 mini clothes pins - all of which I pulled from my craft closet one afternoon. I love the ease of changing out the pictures and how it's kind of organic in its simplicity.

2. Upholstered photo board. Cover a cork cork board or foam project board and hang it on your wall. Attach photos with push pins. I chose a neutral white on white stripe as my background fabric - you could be much more whimsical.

3. Do you remember Jordan's photo wall? We loved the idea.



She just gathered photographs that were unified by color or tone - some of kids, some of objects or landscapes - printed them on regular photo paper, then trimmed one side to even out the borders. Then she taped (!) them to the wall.

4. Kate's photo mobile


She got hers at a local boutique, but you can find something similar HERE.



5. And Kate's Photo collage wall (a la NieNie)


Same concept as Jordan's, really - just not so linear.

So many things to do with so many photos!

xo,
Em

*Don't forget to scroll down and enter the Lettergirl Giveaway -
winner announced tomorrow morning...

Record Keeping

It's hard to stay on top of scrapbooking/journaling as my family grows. I'm hoping my personal blog will suffice as a family record; I've been fairly diligent at it for about 3 years now. But I would also like to have other little treasures by which to taste these years in retrospection. And a few smaller volumes that I can gift my children as they get older.

I've been collecting pictures of my children for a "When You Were Little" book. I think I'll use Snapfish or Blurb or some such self-publishing/photo processing option. And maybe give them to my children when they turn eight. Or ten.
Even at five, Henry is already amused when I tell him about the way he used to pronounce words, or the gestures and routines of his toddlerhood - there is an obvious warmth and satisfaction in imagining himself as a tiny boy.

I just thought I'd share the idea. And if you're inclined, you can start capturing your littles with this in mind. Here's a little sampling of what I've collected so far (for Henry):


When You Were Little...

You were kind

You had Fred Flintstone feet

You loved to suck your thumb

You were smart
We played in the Texas rain

We were pals

I kissed your cheeks all day long and wanted to eat your neck for dessert

I could post 47 (hundred) more, but I think you get the idea.

How are you recording your childrens' lives?