photography classes Archives - Lindsay Ross Blog

FREE class to help take the overwhelm out of printing photos.

Hello my blog people. Have I told you Thank You for being here?? I truly am so so grateful.

I get a TON ton ton of questions about printing photos. And making albums. Getting photos off our computers and phones and into print where we can see them, appreciate them, and tell the stories of our lives. It’s a problem that the majority of us have, right?! Sooooo many photos. Not enough time.

I also get a lot of people who are incredibly overwhelmed by this and don’t know where to start. What photos do you print? How do you select those? How do you make sure the prints look good? What type of album should I make? And on and on and on. It’s hard. I get it. And can certainly be paralyzing when we look at the volume of photos we’re taking. How will we ever get them in to some meaningful order?

There IS a way.

So. I’m teaching a FREE class next Thursday, November 19th at 7pm in Lehi. It’s open to anyone who wants to come. If you take photos and you want them printed, this is for you. You just need to click the link below to register (so I get a semi-accurate count of how many people will be there).

Come alone. Bring a friend. Bring several friends.

The format will be casual. Here’s what we’ll cover:

**Where to start with printing pictures (some ideas on where to begin)

**How to choose which pictures to print

**Where to print photos

**How to make photos look better for prints so you aren’t disappointed when you get them back.

**What type of albums (or displays) to make

**The system I use to print my photos and how I’m catching up on YEARS of photos I haven’t printed. I’ll go into detail on what I do, how I do it, and my plans for the future to print more photos (one small section will be showing how to use the Project Life App–pretty much the best app ever invented 😉 ).

**How to get rid of any guilt associated with printing photos, making baby albums, creating albums for each kid, etc. NO. MORE. GUILT. Seriously.

**A few gift ideas using photos that you can use THIS Christmas (because gifts with photos are the best photos–the only ones people will never throw away 😉 ). And ideas on how to use photos gifts to get caught up on some of your photo printing.

I’ll also take time throughout the class and at the end to answer any and all questions photo related.

There’s something about printing photos. Physical, tangible photos that we can hold.

“When you have a printed picture, it forces you to slow down and have an emotional experience with that memory.” (Check out this video of the “dreadlock dad” who scrapbooks–love it)

Our photos matter. The process of printing them helps us create a better life story. We’ll talk about how and why that is the case.

If any of these topics interest you and you’re behind on printing your family photos and don’t know where to begin, REGISTER BELOW!! And bring your friends.

Click this link to register. It’s free and will certainly be worth your time. (I’m just having people register so I know how big the group will be)

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pictures-matter-lets-print-them-tickets-19520724011

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions or if you have a specific thing you’d like covered in the class–I’m happy to help where I can. [email protected]

3 tips to improve your phone photography.

A few tips to improve your phone photography.

First, when you open up your camera to take a picture, a little box lights up. That’s where the camera chooses to focus AND how it sets your exposure.

If you touch somewhere on the screen, that box moves and that is where the camera focus’s and sets its exposure.

Examples.

In the picture below, I touched the screen on the phone where my daughter was standing. In the middle of her body. So the camera exposed for HER.

In the picture below, I touched the screen on the phone where the window is. Up on the waves of the ocean. So the camera exposed for the WAVES outside in the bright sun (and underexposed everything inside)

Here I touched the screen on the phone where the sun was. So it exposed for the bright sun and left my kids dark.

And here I touched the screen on my phone where my kids were standing. So it exposed for the kids and over-exposed the setting sun (which is why it’s so bright and you can’t even see the sun setting). But you can see the surfers which were so fun to watch.

Another tip. The camera on the back of your phone (the one intended for taking photos) has MORE megapixels than the forward facing camera on your phone (the one intended for facetime). So when you take “selfies” or pictures with your kids where the phone is facing you, they will be lower quality (so you can’t print them as big) than they would be if you took them with the camera on the back of the phone. So whenever possible, use the camera on the back of the phone.

And the last tip. You can use the volume control on headphones to act as a remote for your camera. Plug the headphones in and press the + or – button on the headphones and it will take a picture. No more gumby arms.

And. A bonus tip. If you get the Camera + app, it has a timer option so the mom can stay in the picture!

For some tips on improving your photography in general, check out this post.

“Where Children Sleep.” Photos of children and their bedrooms from around the world.

This photography project by James Mollison is absolutely fascinating!

Where Children Sleep

“Where Children Sleep–stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms….I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was.”

Two pictures. One of the child. One of their bedroom. The two together tell an incredible story.

Roathy, 8, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Kaya, 4, Tokyo, Japan

Lamine, 12, Bounkiling Village, Senegal

Delanie, 9, New Jersey, USA

One picture, of a bedroom, and a child, can tell so much about who someone is, what they have, and where they come from. So incredible. What a world we live in.

Create a better story for your family. And photograph it.

I’ve been working crazy hard on the content of the “Tell My Story” intensive two part course. I believe in the message. And I believe in the importance of the message.

The first time I taught a photography class, it was because someone asked me to. Now that I have found the real message of the class, I teach because I feel compelled to share something that directly impacts the course of my family story.

The next “Tell My Story” photography class will be on THURSDAY, MAY 15th. It will begin at 9:45 am and will be over around 2:15 pm (depending on the amount of questions).

The course has TWO parts. The first portion of the course will be completed online where you can work at your own pace before the live portion of the class on May 15th. The theory behind this goes along with the Khan Academy where we’re essentially flipping the traditional classroom model and you will do your “lecture” at home, and then come to class to do the “homework”. (You can see Khan’s TED talk here)

The online portion of the course will cover all things related to “better” photos. Both technical and emotional. We will also talk about CREATING a story for your family. Ways to be an intentional parent. And then how to photograph that story so it is documented and continues to fuel our memory and hearts.

After completing the online portion of the class, we will meet together and use that foundation of knowledge in an interactive, hands on class where you will learn how to be in control of your camera, get consistently “better” photos, and intentionally create and document your family story.

You can read more about what you’ll learn at the “Tell My Story” course HERE.

And as always, e-mail me with any questions! [email protected]

You deserve this! And so does your family.

“Photography fuels memory….

and memory fuels the heart and soul”

Mitchell’s Journey

Project Life

“Cultivate a good life and document it”

That’s the slogan of Project Life. And I can’t believe it has taken me this long to find out about it.

I am NOT a scrapbooker. The thought of designing and even worse, creating a scrapbook page makes me want to cut my fingers off. It does not appeal to me.

Sure, I love the end product. But even then, I always had an “issue” with scrapbooking because it felt like it was more about the “stuff” than it was about the pictures. And I want my displays to be about the pictures. About the people. About the story.

So I’ve tried several different ways of displaying photos. And, unfortunately, I’ve just left a lot of my photos on my computer where no one gets to see them but me.

Until I found Project Life. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. Simple. Affordable. And something I can keep current with. And it supports my intent to display photos that will enrich our family’s life. Project life is about the STORY, not about the STUFF.

I listened to a 3 day conference Becky Higgins (the creator of Project life) did online and decided we should probably be friends. Because our mission is the same. Document your life. Tell a story. CREATE a story/life (cultivate a good life). And in the process of doing that, you become more grateful, more aware, and more intentional.

“The truth is, if what we choose to do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.” Donald Miller

Cultivate a good life, and then tell the story by documenting it.

Project Life goes hand-in-hand with the Tell My Story class.

Here’s how it works. You buy a Core Kit, an Album, and Sheet protectors (I use 40% off coupons and get them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels). Select and print your photos. Then it’s simple. You just slide pictures and journaling cards in pockets. And in no time, you have a completed album. (You can watch video demonstrations on the Project Life website)

There are a few reasons I prefer Project Life over an album you design digitally online.

First, I sit in front of a computer far longer than I’d like to for my business. Any more hours in front of the computer and my eyeballs might fall out.

Second, I like to be able to do it while I’m doing something else (like catching up on all my DVR shows, or sitting by kids while they do homework).

Third, it’s FAST. And super simple. Both of which are requirements in pretty much anything I do these days.

Fourth, they look AWESOME when they’re done. More visually interesting than a traditional photo album with pictures in pockets.

Fifth, my kids can get involved and help. They become invested in the project.

Sixth, you can also journal in the albums. There are “journaling cards” where you can write small amounts of information to supplement (note I said supplement as the pictures are the main focus of the album for me) the pictures.

Seven, you can make some killer unique gifts with Project Life. I’ll post some things I’ve done with them so far in a separate post.

But the biggest reason I appreciate Project Life is that I’m able to look through my albums and see what we’ve accomplished and what efforts we’ve made at living a good life story, but it also helps me see what we’re missing so we can be more intentional about our future and live the life we want to live.

The boxes also make a great spot for folding paper cranes. Folded 30ish of those (out of 1000) for a friend fighting stage 4 Lymphoma.

Try it out. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love like I have.
And your kids will love you!

And for those of you who aren’t really the scrapbooking type (which I’m totally not) check out the Project Life App. It’s a game changer!!

Click here to visit the Project Life website.

And for another idea on displaying photos in your home, click here for a super awesome wall display.