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Motherhood Simplified.

Resources for taking that next step in photography {freebies!}

March 21, 2014 | Leave a Comment

Hopefully you were able to catch some of the “Capture the Little Moments” series here on the blog last month. I had a great time featuring some of my favorite photographers, sharing their knowledge with you and participating in a month-long photo challenge that produced some awesome, memorable photographs.

If you missed any of the series, you can catch up { here }, or you can pin each article from the “Capture the Little Moments” pinboard so you can refer back to them later.

If you are interested in a learning a little more and taking that next step in your photography, I’ve got a few resources you might be interested in checking out or pinning for later reference. Many of these have helped me in my path to becoming a better photographer, and some I just recently came across and am still learning from!

Get to know your lenses:

Know your lenses from sweetcdesigns | TheMombot.com
{ source: sweetcdesigns.com }

I’d say the first step of taking a great photo is understanding some of the rules of composition (like the “rule of thirds” for example) and lighting, and after that, you’ve got to understand the difference in lens types. Here are a couple of great resources that explain it in plain english for us beginners (and with photos for visual learners like myself)!

  • Sweet C Designs: Know your lenses 
  • Sarah Hainsworth: My camera bag

 

Adobe photo editing:

Free textures & lightroom actions from Oh Joy | TheMombot.com

{ source: Oh Joy! Photography }

Anyone who is serious about their photography knows it doesn’t stop with snapping the shot. Editing is 50% of creating a great photo. You can purchase a popular software like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements to edit your photos, both which I highly recommend. Many photographers sell actions for these programs that will automatically edit your photos by adjusting lighting, softening colors, and even whiting teeth at the click of a button (how easy is that?). You can also find lots of free actions just by googling. Here are some great resources full of freebies for Adobe software:

  • Free lightroom actions and textures from Joy St. Claire
  • The Coffee Shop Blog is FULL of free files and actions for photographers. From Facebook cover photo files to actions that will brighten eyes or even add snow to your images, this is a great resource for the budding photographer.

 

Free online photo editing:

If you don’t plan on doing too much editing and just want to start small, you can do a lot of photo editing for free with PicMonkey. Here are some top-notch tutorials on how to use PicMonkey and what it offers:

  • Trina on Beginner Beans gives a PicMonkey tutorial
  • PicMonkey Blog: Photo editing tutorial

If you’ve got any photo tutorials or resources that you love, please share in the comments!

*disclosure: affiliate links used in post

Related posts:

  1. Photo checklist for Mother’s Day {free printable}
  2. Giveaway: Mom and Pop Photo School Lessons ($99 value)
  3. Newborn photography tips
  4. How to achieve that blurry background in AV (or A) mode

Filed Under: freebies, photography Tagged With: Capture the Little Moments, photography

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HI! I'M AMY.

I'M A BLOGGER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MOM, COFFEE ADDICT, DIYER, CHRONIC MULTITASKER AND STRESSCASE, A COOK AND A LOVER OF A GOOD GLASS OF WINE.
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I get it. It's a little weird. But the girls I've I get it. It's a little weird.
But the girls I've seen do it best, look adorable.

I think it looks best with an oversized tee or sweatshirt, tennies or slides, and a small crossbody bag.

You can't argue with comfort.

For the record, these are women's sleep shorts that I've had a couple of years from Old Navy. If you buy actual men's boxers, you might consider sewing up the pee pocket 😜

Don't spend a lot on this trend; these shorts are made from the thinnest of fabric and shouldn't cost much. Don't be fooled by a retailer that wants you to spend just because it's trendy.

But if you see some cute boxers and want to give it a go - then do! Bonus - if/when the trend ends, you'll have pajamas on the ready 👏

It's solid weekend wear, but I'm not going out to dinner in it...

#boxershortsforgirls #boxershort #ootd #womensfashion #styleinspiration
Another project down in my son's room! I knew I w Another project down in my son's room!

I knew I wanted some sort of built-in feature in this bedroom, but it was hard to figure out what, because we turned it into an active space where he could run and play and needed a lot of room.

So I settled on a built-in bookcase with the slatted design feature, which I'm in love with!

The best part about it is that if he ever decides to upgrade his bed, the space will also accommodate a full or queen size bed going in the opposite direction. It adds so much interest to this room and hopefully will be here for a long time!

One of the things I love most about DIY projects is figuring out how to make something - it's like a giant puzzle. I saw photos of these slotted wall room dividers on Pinterest and just figured it out as I went. All in all, I had very few hiccups and it only took me a few hours to put together. I think I only cursed once?!? And so I call that an extreme DIY win...

Now that the sports wall, the climbing wall, and the built-in feature are complete, the last thing to do in here is some additional painting. I'm thinking of using a contrasting blue color for the closet doors and back side of the built-in, and perhaps trimming out the window with it as well. Then I need to switch out the light for a fan and this.room.is done 🙌

Details: I used two IKEA billy bookshelves, screwed together and secured to the wall. Then wrapped them in white oak plywood. I ripped down 2x4s into 1.5x1.5" square dowels (heavily sanded!) and used pocket holes on the back side of each to secure to the bookshelf and the 1x4 in the ceiling. It's very sturdy!

Go back in my reels to see the other projects from this room! 

#diy #boysroom #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom #builtins #bedroomredo #girlswhobuild
This climbing wall took half a day and cost under This climbing wall took half a day and cost under $100!

We are lucky enough to have 13' ceilings in our bedrooms, so a climbing wall seemed to make sense in my son's room as we worked on the remodel.

He is a super active kid with #ADHD, so his room redo has involved lots of activity spaces! Go back in my reels to see past projects and follow to see me finish this up!

#diy #roomrenovation #roomrefresh #kidsrooms #climbingwall #soccerbedroom
Another to-do checked off my list for spring break Another to-do checked off my list for spring break room makeover!

I added very subtle striping to the wall to mimic a soccer field and keep things classy. ⚽

Stick around to see the next project - a climbing wall!

(And go back in my reels to see the sports wall)

#roommakeover #soccer #kidsroom

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