Statement of the Heart

"To love what we do and share what we love,as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments... in this we make a difference!"

Sunday 24 February 2013

Week 8 Challenge

Hi All,

What a fantastic hot week we have all had, in Auckland we have been blessed with so many hot sunny days.  I must say however, the tomato plants has taken a beating with the heat - even with all the water I give them - but the plus side is more time in the pool . Yeah!!

Over the next fortnight I have a challenge for all you Stampin Up! NZ Demos. I really liked the way Paula ran these from time to time so I thought let's do it again.

Week 8 Challenge:
Make a card or Scrapbook page using your favourite colour combination from the "Color Coach" using the Creative Combination selection of the color coach. And  place somewhere on your Blog page "NZSU Week 8 Color Challenge" I will select one winner from over the two week challenge dates. 

Dates of Challenge: 
  • Monday 25th February 2013 - Sunday 10th March 2013
Prize:

  • 1 Brand new, new design Cherry Cobbler Classic Stamp Pad


Conditions: 
  • You must use current Stampin Up! color card stock and DSP, this can include the new seasonal catalogue DSP.
  • Use ONLY the "Creative Combination" color selection of the Color Coach.
  • Open to NZ Demonstrators only.
  • Prize is not transferable for cash.
  • The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Now onto this weeks pics:


Bottom Row L-R : Louisa TC, Susan Wong, Angela Palmer

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Sunday 17 February 2013

Week 3 Photo Tips - Final

Hi Everyone,

I hope you have enjoyed the photo tips over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed sharing my experience with you all.
I'm going to finish off the tips this week by focusing on final presentation. As you know we have covered:

  • Making sure your camera lens is clean.
  • Shooting your image on a neutral background, preferably lighter in colour.
  • Make sure you allow enough background in the image, but not too much that it looks lost in the picture.
  • If taking photos inside using a flash, make sure the flash is strong enough to cover the image.
  • When taking a photo in natural light, make sure the sun is sitting behind your back.
The next stage is placing your object face up - lying it down will make the image look lopsided and potentially out of shape. If your photographing a card, slightly tilt the card so you can see it in a three dimensional manner - this creates depth. When shooting a scrapbook page, prop it up; a book stand is a great background support (set it in front of the stand so you don't see the supports), and always make sure you have the camera in focus. 
  • Place your image upright.
  • Create depth by slightly tilting the card
  • Make sure you have the image in focus. 

 Now into the Pics of the week...


I wish you all a fantastic week!

Sunday 10 February 2013

Photo Tips week 2

Hi All,

This week I thought I would look at the arrangement of colour, in reference to taking photos and preparing them for display.
You would of heard of two colour make ups - RGB and CMYK. RGB or 'Red, Green, Blue' are called "Additive Primary Colours". These are generally used in representation of display images, which means how we display our images on television, blogs etc. CMYK or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black refers to the printing process, meaning how the colours come out on printed form.
If you don't take your photo in natural light or with a flash, you might have a hue of colour that is not the same as the original. You need to then look at changing the image to be more like the original. This is where you will need to apply colour using the RGB process.
Now to my tips...

  1. Use a flash inside when required, otherwise you will get a different colour hue.
  2. If using flash inside make sure it's strong enough to cover the image.
  3. When using natural light outside make sure the sun is behind your back not behind the image, as this will also change the colours.
Now onto the pics of the week.



Have a fantastic week.

Sunday 3 February 2013

Photo tips Week 1

Hi All,

This week has been made up of prepping photos for a job I did during the week, so I'm a little late in posting the pics. But it got me thinking about how we all take pictures so I thought I would give you some helpful tips.

  1. Firstly and most importantly check your camera lens. Sometimes we make the mistake of touching it when picking it up (or in my case kids playing with the camera). Now to the eye it only looks small but to the photo it looks like a fog has come over the image. My advice is to clean it with a fibre cloth, one that is soft and won't scratch the lens.
  2. Secondly, when taking an image (especially card or scrapbook craft) make the background a neutral colour, preferable lighter than the card - this will make the card stand out. Also leave a little room around the image so you can see the background, but not too much that it's too small an image.
Well that's a few hints, I will post more next week... on with the pics for the week:



Have a fantastic week everyone!