Miscellaneous updates

October has been super busy. Between my personal life and working full-time (or more than full-time, in my case) I am frustrated that I am not making enough progress with my photography. However, I have made a few exciting updates recently (some more recent than others) and I thought I would share!

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I ordered some business cards and here they are:


The colors somewhat match my blog header and I think the they are so pretty. I love that the paisley pattern is on the back too!

While I was filling out the text fields to create the business cards, I decided to upgrade my web address to something slightly more professional. So I am now the proud owner of www.melissadeschamp.com. You will find my blog at that address effective immediately but the .blogspot.com address still works also.

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I've also been giving Amazon.com/B&H quite a lot of business lately. I knew that I would need a good flash to shoot Jenica & Spencer's wedding reception so I got a 580ex II as an early birthday present from Marc. I may have also upgraded my 50mm f/1.8 to the f/1.4. Yum!

Finally, I knew that eventually I would need to buy another camera in order to continue working toward my goals. There is no way that I would ever accept responsibility for documenting an important event without having a back up. Also, if I intend to put myself out there as a semi-professional, there is no question that I need to have professional level equipment. This is a huge leap for a risk-averse girl like myself but in a fit of compulsive shopping, I ordered myself a Canon 5D : )

Hey Big Boy!


Here it is next to my Rebel:


Now I just need to practice practice practice so that I can get comfortable using it!

I made the decision NOT to get the Mark II because I also need to afford lenses at some point... bleh. It's funny to me that I used to flip through the Pottery Barn or J. Crew catalogs and compile my mental wishlist. Now I do the same thing with photography equipment... Marc saw the B&H Photo catalog in the mailbox yesterday and immediately threw it in the trash. HAH!

Coming up soon on the blog... a fall session with baby Jake and several engagement sessions!

In business

Yesterday, I had my first PAID photography gig. YAY! I responded to a craigslist ad for a photography assistant and to my great surprise and excitement, I got the job! I assisted Karl Baierlein with lighting for a senior portrait shoot on Hingham Harbor. I did not shoot but I had fun and learned quite a bit about lighting. Thanks Karl!

So I will be pinning my $20 (cha-ching! haha) over my computer to commemorate the occasion, restaurant-style...

After the shoot, Karl approached a group of kids barbecuing in the parking lot and asked if we could photograph them with their VW bus. A few of my favorites are below. I took this opportunity to play with some of Pioneer Woman's Photoshop actions. She just posted updated sets that are compatible with CS4!

I thought the "seventies" action was particularly fitting on these next 3:






This one uses "PWs B & W":




And I liked what the "fresh & colorful" action did for this one:

Posting large pictures in Blogger

As is evident from my last entry, I FINALLY figured out how to post large pictures! I had been having problems with picture quality on my previous attempts and was getting really frustrated. Since this took me several weeks to figure out, I thought I'd share my solution.

Here's what I WAS doing (don't do this!) -

After editing, I would upload a full-size jpeg file to Flickr and paste the HTML code into my blog. Then, I'd resize the photo to 810 pixels by editing the width within the code. This method degraded the quality of my photos significantly.

Here's what works -

1. After editing, resize your pictures in Photoshop to exactly the size you need for your blog. Mine are typically 810 pixels wide but it depends on what template you are using. In Photoshop, go under the Image menu, then to "Image Size" and a dialogue box will pop up. You will need to check the "resample image" box, then you can adjust the pixels to whatever is needed. If you adjust the width, the height will automatically adjust to preserve your aspect ratio (and vice versa). The ppi does not affect quality (for blogging purposes) as long as it is 72ppi or greater. Most people's computer screens are 72ppi.

2. Save and upload the photos to Flickr (or another photo-hosting service).

3. Get the html code for your photo from Flickr and paste it directly into your blog posts. The code can be found when you click the "all sizes" button above above any picture in Flickr and choose "original size".

That's it!

In my Bag (and on my computer)

I thought I'd show you what I'm working with:

Camera:

Canon 5D

Canon Rebel Xsi
The Rebel is my backup camera body. I actually got a great deal on this camera with two lenses plus travel bag from Costco. If you are just starting out, I would definitely recommend the Canon Rebel line.

Immediately upon getting my camera, I ordered The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion by Ben Long. It is SO much more informative than the manual and covers a much broader scope of topics in addition to just the technical. I would highly recommend this guide.

Flash:

Canon Speedlite 580ex II

Lenses:

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
This is the kit lens that typically comes with the Xsi body.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6
This is the other lens, a more powerful zoom, that came with my Costco purchase.

Software:

Photoshop CS4
Photoshop is such a powerful tool. I am working my way through the chapters of Scott Kelby's The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers and learning a little bit more about its capabilities each day. If you are a student or have one in your household, you can get a serious discount on photoshop here: Academic Superstore