The Basics of Photography (by Lifehacker)

If you’ve wanted to learn more about digital photography and about DSLR cameras, Lifehacker Night School is a great place to start. They have some free articles that will give you the basics you need to get started, and you can read them all in one evening.

Here is a list of the courses available that relate to the Basics of Photography:

Part I: Understanding How Your Digital Camera Works
With so many cameras available, figuring out how all the specifications and options translate into your everyday use is complicated. For their first lesson in the Basics of Photography, you’ll learn how cameras work and make sense of what that means in terms of choosing a camera to buy and how that choice affects your photographs.

Part II: Your Camera’s Automatic and Assisted Settings
In this lesson you will take a look at your camera’s various assisted and automatic settings.

Part III: Your Camera’s Manual Settings
In this lesson they take away your handicap and jump into the fun stuff: manual mode.They look at the details of shutter speed, ISO, and aperture, as well as how those settings affect your photos.

Part IV: Composition and Technique
A well-composed photograph is really a matter of opinion, but there are a few tricks that tend to result in better pictures.

Part V: Editing Images in Post
For the final photography lesson, you’ll look at the final step: editing your images. They try different kinds of techniques for color correction, touch ups, and a few other fun effects.

If you’d like all of these lessons in a printable PDF file, see their Complete Guide page for the download. There you’ll also find some great resource links.

Lifehacker’s Night School also covers everything from interviewing to workouts and photography to wireless networking, so be sure to check out their other classes when you’re done!

Note: I was in no way compensated for this post. I just think Lifehacker is awesome and that these Night School classes can get you off to a great start!

Get Shot by Mel

Last week I launched a new photography company, Get Shot by Mel. (Clever name, right?!) This company joins DECOR8Rgirl blog, DECOR8Rgirl Etsy shop and Hileman Design (graphic/web design [website under construction!]) under Hileman Holdings, LLC. So as you can tell, I’ve been pretty busy!

Get Shot by Mel specializes in family, portrait, event, engagement, pet, and wedding photography. Landscape, home sale and product photography is also available upon request.

Check out my photography website and Facebook page. While you’re at my website, feel free to order prints of any photos you like! To book a session, shoot me an email.

Mother’s Day Activity

My neighbor has two children, and their mother is deployed right now. We decided to make her a present so that they can celebrate Mother’s Day when she gets home next month (they are super excited about her coming home!). I borrowed Deanna and Justin for about an hour, and we had a blast making these hanging pockets that they can put presents in for their mom.

To make, cut out two hearts from cardstock. You can make them any size you want. Then decorate each side. Staple or glue together, leaving the top open so that you can put goodies inside (I made one for my mom and filled it with chocolate!). Attach string or ribbon to each side so that they can be hung on their door on Mother’s Day morning.

Justin and Deanna had a lot of fun being creative, and can’t wait to show them to their mom when she gets home from deployment!

Easy Branch Dangle Earrings

You may remember I mentioned Crafting Rebellion during my iPhone Bling Case tutorial. They are a great site with a bunch of cool craft tutorials. After I made my iPhone case, I was looking around their website and found a tutorial for Easy Branch Dangle Earrings. Well, I took a shot at them, and here’s my first attempt:

Here is an ombré pair I made next:

My husband think they look like fishing tackle, but what do guys know, right?! I already have in two orders for them! [Make your own Easy Branch Dangle Earrings]

Make a Cute Camera Lens Cap Keeper

I recently bought myself a new Nikon 5100. (Squee!). I’m super excited about it! I knew I wanted my camera to stand out, but wasn’t sure how. I already created two pretty camera strap covers for my other camera, and wanted to do something simple, yet cute for this one. I quickly realized that I needed a camera lens cap keeper – it attaches to your camera so you don’t lose it. I could just see myself losing lens caps left and right! The one I bought did the job, but wasn’t very attractive. Since I had leftover fabric from my camera strap cover, I decided to make a little rosette and attach it to the lens cap keeper. Now I won’t lose my lens cap, and my camera has a bit of cute added!

Make Your Own Welcome Mat

Have you heard of Vecco yet? Vecco is a painting technique for creating rugs and carpets inspired by you. With stencils, colorant sprays and sealants, you make custom designs that’ll tie any room together. They sell some cool welcome 18×30 mat kits. With a kit for $49.99 you get a rug, a stencil, paint, and sealant. They even have area rug kits if you really want to go all out. Get your own today!

My post contains affiliate links. By using the links on my site to make your purchases, you are supporting my blog! See my site disclosure policy.

Night of the Living Dead

If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember the part where all the zombies are in front of the chapel. Well, that chapel is about to be torn down! As part of a fundraiser to help rebuild the chapel, I took part in the 2012 Jacksonville Zombie Walk!

Although I wasn’t there dressed as a zombie (I was being a photographer), I still had tons of fun. We all gathered together at 8 pm (although my friend and I got there at 5!), walked around downtown, scared people at an outdoor mall gathering, and then met up at a bar for some music. I didn’t get home until 1:30am! I have spent most of today editing all the photos I took, and will be posting them to view on Flickr or purchase at Sheilasu Photography.

Learn more about Jacksonville Zombie Walk. To find out how you can help save the chapel, visit Fix The Chapel.

Charm Bracelet

Since I was in the making bracelets kind of mood, I decided to make a cute charm bracelet! I don’t own one, and never thought I’d make one, but Cousin’s charms inspired me to make a very cute one that I’ll actually wear! I used two sets of Cousin Corporation’s Glass/Metal Bead Cluster in Brown (they sent one, I purchased another from Wal-Mart; UPC #: 016321065666), and some bird and key charms, chain and jump rings I had on hand. This one took a little longer since I had to attach each charm to the chain, but I love how it turned out, and how it sounds when you spin your wrist! These charms could also be used in a necklace, or some cute earrings.

20 Must-Haves for the Modern Photographer

Today someone told me about a new blog that I have a feeling I’ll be falling in love with! Brit & Co. shares things in the areas of style, food, living, technology and more. I’ll be spending my day there checking it all out! I ran across an article for 20 Must-Haves for the Modern Photographer, and was instantly intrigued. The cheapest item on the list comes in at only $1, so this list has something everyone can afford. From Lego cameras (squee!) and USB film rolls to lenses for your iPhone and a camera lens coffee mug, this list has it all! If you need a good laugh, check out the “I shoot people” bracelet. It actually made me LOL. [20 Must Haves for the Modern Photographer]

Believe Bracelet

The first item I made with my Cousin Corp stash is this bracelet. I already had the “believe” charm and had been wanting to use it. The metal neutral rhinestone connectors came from Cousin (UPC #: 016321060586), and I think the completed bracelet looks great. It can be worn with a dressy or casual outfit, so it’s very versatile.

What do you think of the finished project? How would you have used the connectors differently?