my little doll + photography tips

i took some photos of suri this morning:

yes, can you believe i took these photos myself?!
just goes to show you how good of photos you can get
when the little rugrat is being cooperative. :)

one of my graphic design clients mailed this handmade knit dress
for suri when she was born. isn't it gorgeous?
(the funny thing is that i've never met her in personal.
i've been working for her company for 7 years 
via phone and email. gotta love technology.)

suri really liked the feel of the knit and kept touching it.
she was all giddy and happy.
i think it's like when any girl puts on a dress she loves
it makes her feel like twirling and smiling.
you know the feeling. :)

anyhoo, i thought i'd throw out some photography tips.
don't get me wrong, i am an amateur.
but these have really helped me to get better photos:

1. i never use flash. i always try to use natural light. (sometimes this requires waiting to take photos during the day.) Of course, I take photos at night with flash, but these don't have the same wow factor.
2. i have my camera on the aperture setting to allow the most light in.
3. i edit my photos and i almost always increase brightness and contrast. (i use photoshop or iphoto. this is basic editing in any photoediting software.) or, sometimes, i simply increase the exposure. (play around with it - see what you like.)
4. i use the rule of thirds, which means not centering my subject in the middle. (if you chopped your image into thirds, line your subject to be in the middle of one of the "chop lines".)
5. Cropping makes a difference. I will crop the image to follow the rule of thirds or to make a close-up of the subject.
6. Take LOTS of photos. It's simple math - find some good ones that can be cropped, brightened, contrasted, etc. to make the perfect photo.
7. I sometimes use photoshop actions. These are "automatic" settings that edit your photo in photoshop to have a specific coloring, etc. I use set 122 by nightfate, which is free, and i typically use setting #3 for my blog photos. (btw, the ones above did not get "actioned".) They are easy to use - you just need to load them. (Here are some instructions to load them.) After you use an action, make sure to flatten your image.

hope you're having a great week!