Category Archives: Italy
La Bella Donna in Venezia
Do you ever stumble upon your older photo or photos and get an urge to work them all over again? That’s what happened to me a few days ago. I was sorting my 2011 photos and I came across maternity photos I took at the island of Burano, Italy. Not only I instantly had to go and make myself a cappuccino but I also had to retouch a few photos.
At the time I took these photos both of us, the expecting mom and I, lived in Italy. Probably because we lived in Italy, I did not feel like I needed to make photos more Italian. I loved the natural vivid color that Burano is famous for and I left it at that. However, I feel differently today. I kept looking at this photo and although it is clear to me that this one was taken in Italy, I kept wondering if there is a way to make it sooo Italian.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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What is Sunny f16 and How It Can Help You Take Better Photos?
Carnevale di Venezia
Most of you have probably heard of the Carnival in Venice, it takes place in February and ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the Lent. I went to the Carnival this year on its last day and the weather was great; it was sunny, warm, and there was no wind that is typical for Venice. The day before that we returned from our long weekend in Tuscany where weather was awful; it rained two of three days we stayed there and I did not get to take photos I wanted to take. I guess it was better that way anyway because I lost all photos I took the day I went to Venice when I lost my laptop. So, you would assume since I had a sunny day in Venice that I had perfect conditions to take great photos in Venice, right? Well, not really.
How to take photos in challenging lighting conditions?
Although the weather was nice, it created dramatic light differences. It was difficult to walk around and take photos of people wearing costumes for a few reasons. The first one is that everything happens so fast! The second one is that there are thousands of other photographers from all over the world who are there to get that one shot. And finally, the most importantly – it is difficult to take nice shots in challenging lighting conditions. One moment you are taking pictures in deep shade and the next moment and two steps further you are in direct and harsh midday light. So do you set your camera for low or high light? Shutter priority? Aperture priority? Auto? To illustrate the lighting I had in Venice, here’s a photo: the left part of the St. Marco’s square is in deep shade (somewhat correct exposure) while the right part is in direct sunlight and overexposed.
Sunny f16!
In this photo, I am standing and shooting in shade here but if I move one step further or turn my camera the other way, my aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings would have to be changed. But – my costumes would not wait on me to play with my settings to find the right one nor other photographers would wait on me – they would step right in front of me to take their shot. This was a tricky situation but there’s a solution. Luckily, other photographers must have been in similar situations before me since they came up with a photography rule called Sunny f16!
Sunny 16 rule or Sunny f/16 helps you get the correct daylight exposure in difficult lighting situations without a light meter. The Sunny 16 rule states that
On a sunny (hence the rule name) day,
you will get correct exposure by setting
your aperture to f/16, and shutter speed to the {closest} value of ISO
when shooting a subject in direct sunlight.
So, sunny days equals:
f/16, shutter speed = ISO number
f/16, if ISO is 400, shutter speed is 1/400 second too.
What does setting shutter speed to the {closest} value of ISO mean? This comes back from the film days when films were ISO rated. What this means is that if you set your ISO to 400, your shutter speed should be 400 to get the correct exposure in direct sunlight.
So, on a sunny day, you would set your camera to f/16, 1/400 second, and ISO 400 to get the correct exposure.
If your ISO is 100 but you cannot set the shutter speed to 1/100, you would go to the closest available shutter speed. It may be 1/125 second. So, in case you cannot set the shutter speed to 1/100 second, your settings on a sunny day would be: f/16, 1/125 second, and ISO 100. Does that make sense?
If you compare three images above where shutter speed and ISO both were 250, you will see how Sunny f/16 rule benefits photographers. The first image with f/11 is obviously overexposed while the third one with f/22 is slightly underexposed. That leaves us with the middle one and aperture set at f/16 resulting in correct exposure. While the exposure is not perfect, it is definitely the closest one to the correct exposure. I remembered the Sunny 16 rule and used it in Venice. It helped a lot!
It gets better!
But that’s not all! It gets even better! Remember the shade part of my photo at the top of this post? Sunny 16 would not work for me when shooting people in that part of the St. Marco’s Square. Therefore, there is another rule of thumbs when shooting in shade: use f/4! Same rules apply for shutter speed and ISO setting in this lighting condition: shutter speed = ISO number.
Unlike shooting in shade, when shooting in overcast conditions, f/8 or f/11 will be the rule of thumb. In overcast lighting conditions, you keep your aperture setting in range between f/8 and f/11, depending on how overcast it is.
The Sunny 16 rule is expanded to cover number of lighting conditions:
Snow or Sand: f/22 (shadow detail: dark w/ sharp edges)
Sunny: f/16 (shadow detail: distinct)
Slighty overcast: f/11 (shadow detail: soft around edges)
Overcast: f/8 (shadow detail: barely visible)
Heavy overcast: f/5.6 (shadow detail: no shadows)
Open shade or sunset: f/4 (shadow detail: no shadows)
Inspired TuesdaySo, how did Sunny 16 rule help me in this tricky lighting situation? I figured out if I kept my shutter speed and ISO same and shoot in aperture priority more, all I would have to do is to turn the knob up and down while I am walking in the crowd to change the f/ number depending on the spot I am shooting in: sunlight or shade. It worked pretty well and most importantly – it was a good way to quickly change my settings.
What are your tricks or tips for difficult lighting?
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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A Simple Way To Turn Dull Photos into Stunning Images
Have you ever gone on a vacation or trip and faced stunning architecture, amazing nature, or surreal landscapes? Then you snapped a photo hoping to impress your family, friends, and coworkers or to share the moment and memory with people you hold dear? However, the moment you opened the image on your computer you were disappointed because the photo did not represent what you hoped to capture. Instead, it turned out dull and nothing like what you had hoped. The sky is gray, clouds are gone, and colors are faded. It doesn’t have to be like that.
That’s not what I saw!
The reason your photos are not what you had hoped for is pretty simple: our camera does not capture the scene the same way our eyes see it. If you simply point your camera in the direction of an attractive scene, you will not get what you’re hoping for. Our cameras never capture exactly what we see and our images never match what we saw unless we take the time to adjust camera settings. You need to know your camera and you need to be able to apply your technical knowledge to capture the shot the way you see it.
Capturing Feelings
I took the image above in Venice, Italy on a dull December afternoon. That day in Venice was dull, very cold, a bit foggy, and just not so nice. However, I felt great because I was spending a week day with my husband in my favorite city in the world. We found a lovely place to have lunch at; we also stopped at a few cafés to have a coffee, snack or a spritz and we visited museums. And the most important, the city was deserted as tourists don’t typically visit Venice on a week day during cold and windy December. I snapped this image as we walked back to catch the water bus (Vaporetto) to get back to the main square. When I opened it today, a couple of months later, it did not show how I felt when I took it and I was quite disappointed.
Is there a way to fix it?
On a family vacation or a romantic trip, we usually do not have time to play with our camera’s settings. Adjusting settings can take time and we generally want to spend as much time as possible with our family or friends. If you have small kids, photographing becomes even more challenging. We snap pictures and hope for the best. So, if you haven’t captured not only the place you saw, but also the way you felt when you captured it, you should not feel frustrated, there is a way to fix that. In my post How To Take a Photo of the Sun? I’ve explained how to fix underexposed or overexposed sky which is one of main reasons for dull photos. I will apply that technique here. Please, read that post for detailed step-by-step tutorial.
So, let’s recap how to fix the sky in Adobe Photoshop:
1. Open the image in Camera Raw and fix the foreground. Then open the image as an Object, not Image. As soon as you press the SHIFT on your keyboard, the Open Image button will change into Open Object. So, that’s pretty easy.
2. Now, right-click to create a New Smart Object via Copy to duplicate the layer. I told you why you should not simply duplicate the layer in How To Take a Photo of the Sun?
3. Double click the smart icon on the new layer to open that new layer in Camera Raw. Once the image opens in Camera Raw, decrease the exposure until your sky looks just right. Re-open the image in Photoshop once you’re happy with the overall look of your sky.
4. Create a layer mask for the top layer by pressing ALT-layer mask icon at the bottom of layers window. The mask needs to be black.
5. Press the letter D on your keyboard. Your foreground and background color will turn black/ white. Set foreground color to white. If it is set to black, you can simply press the letter X on your keyboard to switch foreground and background colors.
D = foreground and background colors turn black/ white.
X= switches background and foreground colors.
Pick a soft brush to paint your sky. Remember, if your layer mask is black, the brush color needs to be white to reveal the mask. If you paint area that you do not want to paint (darken), all you have to do is to change the paint brush color to black (press letter X), and paint back to hide the darker area.
Black layer mask + white brush = reveals the layer underneath.
Black layer mask + black brush = hides the layer underneath.
6. Now that we’ve fixed the sky, let’s merge layers by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+E or going to Layers>Merge Visible.
7. Duplicate the layer by CTRL+J. This is simply because I never work on the background layer. It’s easier to delete a layer if I don’t like something than going back to the history.
8. What I did next, I went to Image > Adjustments and increased the exposure of the image until the image looked right. Since both, the sky and ground were pretty much underexposed, it was safe to fix the exposure of the entire image. I did not risk overexposing the sky at this point.
9. I ran Pioneer Woman’s Boost action at 50% opacity before I enhanced the water.
10. To enhance the water, I added a new layer to the image and used a color picker to pick a soft blue/grayish color that already existed in the water.
11. I picked a soft brush and painted over the water.
12. I decreased the layer’s opacity to 80% and changed the blending option to Soft Light.
Here’s the result!
Pin It
It took me a few minutes to fix this image to match what I saw that day in Venice and to express what I actually felt. So, it is possible to fix images you snapped in a rush.
Now, tell me – how do you deal with images that do not represent what you saw at the moment you captured it?
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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How to Do Mouse-Over Image Swap?
[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;"] W[/dropcap]hile I do not prefer to use the mouse-over effect that swaps images in my posts, some of you may be interested in using it and I will show you how to do that. If you have a blog, any blog, you can use it. That is, as long as you can change or edit the HTML code of your posts. You don’t have to have a WordPress blog to be able to use this feature. If you are not sure what I am talking about, mouse over the image below.
A Family Portrait. Italy.
Now, why I don’t use this feature?
There are a few reasons why I don’t like to use this feature for my “before and after” photographs.
#1. Delays equal frustration: I don’t like to use to this effect because sometimes the image swap is delayed and that causes readers’ frustration and no one likes that.
#2. Readers do not know when they are expected to mouse over: The other reason why I don’t use it is because an average reader does not necessarily know that he or she is expected to mouse over the image to see the other image. You cannot expect your reader to guess (or to know) when to mouse over the image.
#3. If you tell them to mouse over, you are killing the surprise effect: Yes, you can put a note to mouse over next to the image but that just kills the effect and if it doesn’t work, your readers are not happy. The swap effect should be sort of surprise, like your links. You don’t put a note next to your link to mouse over to see the color change, don’t you?
With all that said, if your “surprise” image is an important part of your post, for instance, the “after” part of your editing process, you will probably do better if you put both, the before and after images next to each other. I don’t know about you, but I like to see both images at the same time, that way I am able to compare them better. Well, I may just be an old-fashioned gal. ; )
The Before and After of a family portrait. I took this photo in the summer of 2010.
When to use the mouse over swap?
I would say anytime you’d like to have some fun or would like to add something extra for your readers like a button in your sidebar that reveals more info when they (accidentally) mouse over. You can be really creative with this effect. Finally, if you like how the swap effect works, go on and use if for every set of images!
Now, how to do it? It’s really simple. All you need is following:
1. Upload both images to your server, blog or a free hosting such as Flickr, Photobucket…
2. Copy the direct URL for both images
3. Type the following code into the HTML section of your post by paying attention to “ and ‘ signs
4. Replace URL 1 with the URL of a photo you’d like your readers to see first
5. Replace URL2 with the URL of the photo you want to reveal with the mouse over.
6. Save post.
That’s it! It’s simple and easy. All you need to do is to have the access to your post’s HTML to insert this code.
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Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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A Trick to Enhance the Texture
[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;"] T [/dropcap]extures are great and even though I said they are not meant for each type of photography in my Should You Apply Texture to Your Photos? post a while ago, I have to admit they might work for just about every photo if applied properly. Of course, you as the photographer will always have to make the call whether to add or not to add the texture to your photo. If you decide to apply it, how do you enhance it? If you are new to textures or you haven’t really worked with layers in Photoshop, you can watch this short You Tube tutorial on how to do it:
Applying Textures in Photoshop
Although the video author states there are three blending options for your texture layer, that’s not really true. She mentions the Overlay, Light and Hard Light. However, you should try all options to see what you like the best or what would work the best for your image. For instance, I like to use the Multiply option. I would recommend this video for those who would like to learn how to use layers because the author uses the mouse to navigate around the Photoshop. That allows you to learn steps easier than if you followed a tutorial that uses keyboard shortcuts.
Enhance the texture, not the photo!
Once you add the texture and select the right blending mode, there may be one more thing you’d want to try out before you flatten your image. For these two image sets below, I used Kim Klassen’s texture called Simplicity. After I applied textures I realized something was missing. I wanted to enhance the texture even more. You can tell that the texture in the first set is well blended with the photo and does not stand out well while the texture in the second set is defined much better.
Rome. The Colosseum at Night.
I wanted the texture in the second set to really stand out. I wondered how to do it and sharpening crossed my mind. As you can tell, my photos were already sharp and I didn’t want to over-sharpen them.
So, what did I do? I decided to sharpen the texture itself without affecting the photo layer. All you have to do is to sharpen the texture layer.
Three easy steps are:
- Select the texture layer
- Sharpen it by using the sharpening brush or this excellent sharpening technique
- Merge the image by pressing CTRL (Command) + Shift + E
History time is a Story time. Imagine what stories these walls could tell!
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Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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The Snapshots: A Textured Postcard from Padova
A Blogging Tip
Some bloggers have experienced problems when using their Google account to comment on certain Blogger blogs. I was one of them (and I still am). Maybe you can comment on one Blogger blog just to visit the next one and experience log-in issues. Blogger may keep asking you to log in (even though you are logged in!) and when you log in, nothing happens. I don’t know why this happens but I did a little bit of research and found out that blogs with comment form “Embedded below post” most of the time cause commenting issues (that are annoying and frustrating and may result in less comments on your blog). To prevent this, you should opt for the “pop-up” or “full page”. You can change comment settings by going to (Dashboard) Settings>Comments>Comment Form Placement.
Another way to encourage comments is to disable word verification – very annoying! No one wants to type those letters. Plus, it doesn’t really make any sense unless you have hundreds of comments daily that may produce a lot of spam comments. If you want to have control over your comments, chose comment’s moderation option instead. Also, allow anonymous and Name/Url option so that people can leave you a comment even if they don’t have a blog.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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The Snapshots: Textured Postcards from Florence
The second image is a capture of a square in the evening. Don’t you love those light beams? I used Kim’s ugglove texture for this image.
Next, we have a detail of the Duomo. Isn’t the detail of this building just impressive? Just remember, they didn’t have modern technology back then! For this texture, I’ve used Cream Fuschia digital paperby Amelia.
Finally, a detail of the Ponte Vecchio (the old bridge). Florence is built around the Arno River and the bridge is a pedestrian area that is packed with small stores. For this image, I’ve also used digital paper by Amelia, the gold cream wave one.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Should You Apply Texture to Your Photo?
So, when should you avoid textures (or edgy actions for that matter)? Personally, I would avoid adding texture layers to those photos you’re shooting for a client unless you are sure you know his or her taste and style well. If you decide to go with a texture, I would add a copy without the texture, too. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
Portraits are another photo category that does not handle textures well. Again, unless you are sure your client wants a very trendy portrait, I would avoid textures. Portraits are meant to be clean, classic and timeless and we are not sure (yet) that textures are (or going to be) timeless.
Another photo category that I would keep away from textures is “personal photos”. I’d keep family snapshots texture free. These photos need to last; they need to be preserved as they are to help you refresh your memories 10, 20, or 30 years from now. You know how we look back at photos from 1990s and think “Oh, this is so 90s.”. Thank God they didn’t have textures back then. Imagine if they did! You don’t want to look at your photos in 20 years and think “Oh my! This is SO 2010s!”
So, when should you apply a texture layer(s) to your photo? I say anytime you wanna have fun! Go on and have fun –as long as you don’t work on an original file. Textures are fun and they can enhance your photo wonderfully but they do need to be applied carefully. Not every texture works well with every photo. In my opinion, a texture layer will work the best with a photo that already has some texture in it. Otherwise it could end up looking very artificial, not to say fake or cheap.
Textures will also work great with photos that are meant to be artistic and/or decorative. The fact that textures are quite trendy these days means people like them at the moment. The good news is that you can take advantage of it. Just check out Etsy stores; they are full of textured photos and they are selling well. So, if you know your market, you know the market likes textures, go with the flow while it lasts.
What do you think?
I am joining Kim for another Texture Tuesday this week and I’ve used her new Ugg texture. I have to admit that I already love this texture. I’ve applied UggLove to this shot of onions waiting to be chopped for a traditional Italian tomato sauce – la salsa di pomorodo. The frame is from the CoffeeShopBlog but I’ve adjusted it quite a bit.
Making salsa in late summer or fall to preserve it for cold winter days is a tradition in Italy. I am super lucky to have great neighbors who like to share their tradition (and food) with me. Salsa is prepared of tomatoes, carrots, basil, onions, and garlic. These ingredients are let to simmer for hours on an outdoor stove but the effort to make salsa is well worth. Of course, any time-consuming activity asks for a cup of coffee. : )
A Blogging Tip
I know this post is super long so let’s finish it with some exciting Blogger news. Blogger introduced a new way to view photos in your post (that are uploaded to Blogger, not linked from Flickr or another host). If you click on any of photos in this post you’ll see what I am taking about. Way to go Blogger!
Linking up to FTLoB:Picture Perfect. and liveeverymom
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Photography Composition: The Golden Triangle Rule
Unlike technical aspects of photography, artistic aspects cannot really be easily defined and applied to every photo. Probably the most important element of any photograph is its composition. The composition is what makes or breaks your photograph and yet not every composition rule will work well with every photo. It’s up to you to decide what works the best. However, two things will always work well: simplicity and balance. Decide what your photo is about; what do you want to be the center of the visual interest; what your subject is and what’s not; and compose the photo accordingly.There are several composition rules. I wrote about the rule of thirds here. Another important composition rule (that I’ve learned) is the golden triangle rule. The golden triangle is pretty simple and works the best with lines but almost every photo will benefit from applying it. Check out here. All you have to do it to imagine lines going through your photo. The image below shows two large triangles (the top one – lighter blue one, and the bottom one – darker blue one).
Now, imagine drawing a line from the corner of the image towards the central line (under 90 degree angle). That line will form two more triangles which is a total of three triangles – large one and two smaller ones. All you have to do it to frame your shot so that your subject fills one of these three triangles. The framing does not have to be precise; a rough framing will do just fine.
You can see in my photo below what works the best. I took this photo in Pompeii, Italy. The first one is the original one while the other two are manipulated to help me show you how applying the golden triangle rule benefits your composition.
Popmeii is such a sad place with all the antic ruins and buried city. The history and/or colors are not very bright. I guess that’s why I like this picture. The sky is bright blue and the photo looks fresh, unlike the rest of dusty Pomepii. I love these colors and that’s why I chose this photo as a color inspiration photo.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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A Dreamy Sun
And how exciting is to have a winning photo over at LEM?!Thanks everyone!!
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Let’s Take a Walk
Our walk ends up around the lunch time when we head to a café for a light lunch and a drink; a very popular spritz.
About Spritz: The Spritz (German: “splash” / “sparkling”) is a wine-based cocktail commonly served as an aperitif in northern Italy, especially in the Veneto region and surrounding areas. The drink is prepared with white wine or Prosecco wine, a dash of some bitter liqueur such as Aperol, Campari, Gran Classico, Select or Cynar. The glass is then topped off with sparkling mineral water. It is usually served over ice in a lowball glass (or sometimes a martini glass or wine glass) and garnished a slice of orange, or sometimes an olive, depending on the liqueur. Another variation of the drink uses champagne with the liqueur rather than wine. The drink originated in Venice while it was part of the Austrian Empire, and is based on the Austrian Spritzer, a combination of equal parts white wine and soda water. More recently it became the traditional drink of the students of the University of Padua. In recent years it has also become extremely popular in southern Germany and with Aperol is the aperitif of choice in Munich.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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How to create a mind-blowing portfolio?
Learn to select your best shot(s). And be really picky! Discard everything that’s not perfect. Ansel Adams said that a selection of 12 great shots per year means a successful year. If Ansel didn’t think he has 1000 great shots, I don’t have it either. So, be picky. What helped me evaluate my photos may help you too. I’ve joined the local photo club a long time ago. If your photo club is hosting a monthly “Show your best shots” or a similar event, there’s your chance! You usually need to make a selection of 10-12 photos to show. Practice makes it perfect.
I always edit down. Always. If I cannot decide between two similar shots, I try to find what I don’t like about them or what would I change. When I find it, I discard that photo and use the other one. Before you start putting together your portfolio, make sure you know what you want to achieve and why you are building that particular portfolio. I have a few different portfolios. One is landscapes, the other one is portraits, and the third one is still life. Have a goal and theme. It helps a great deal.
Once you create a portfolio, ask someone to give you their honest opinion. Someone you trust and someone who knows more than you do. Ask an expert. I was lucky enough to meet my mentor who has been a professional photographer and an artist for decades. We became friends and I know she will always give me her honest opinion. I also have friends who are way better photographers than I am and I trust their judgment.
I’ve decide to share some of my favorite photos with you (in one place) and that’s why I’ve created a Portfolio page. You will find a link to it at the top of the page as well. Maybe you can do the same. : )
Remember:
If you would like me to edit/process/restore your valuable photos, please email me at blog@miracrisp.com for more info. Also, I will edit one reader’s photo for free every week. If you would like me to edit your photo, please email me at blog@miracrisp.com
XOXO,
Mira
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Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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How do I steal photos?
A close-up:
For those places that forbid taking pictures, I just wait (and wait) with the camera hidden in my purse or jacket. I’ve learned to keep my camera on and on auto setting since I usually don’t have time to mess with the settings. Two places that I really wanted to take pictures of (or in) did not allow use of any camera regardless of flash usage. The first one was Acedemia in Florence, Italy. I wanted to take a picture of Michelangelo’s David. It was pretty challenging because of all the guards. I was forced to sit on a bench for almost 30 minutes to even get a two-second-chance to snap a photo. I also had a guard coming to me to check out my hands since I probably looked picture-suspicious. Now, every time I look at this picture, I laugh.
The other one was the Sistine Chapel in Vatican. I wanted to take a picture of another Michelangelo’s master piece – The Creation of Adam. Again, I had to be really patient (and careful) to take a snapshot. I don’t have to tell you that security and guards are everywhere so I would advise to first enjoy the location and try to take a photo just before you intend to leave. That way even if the guards ask you to leave, you’ll get the photo. : )
Having in mind the conditions in which this photo was taken, a blurry close up is just fine. This photo makes me smile, too.
Well, that’s how I steal photos, how about you?
Linking up with Lisa , Communal Global, Jessica, Rachel
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Fly Me To The Moon!
A crazy small yellow plane!
Big and Crazy. This plane took my breath away! Just too crazy!
Bye bye!
Linking up to Lisa.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Vatican City or the Heart of Rome
A view of the St. Peter’s Dome from the St. Angelo castle. A funny anecdote from the Castle wasn’t so funny back then. If you buy a Rome Pass which serves as a ticket for Rome’s public transportation (which you do want to use in Rome) and some of the Rome’s museums, you also get to skip the lines for the first two museums/attractions you visit (clearly stated on the Pass and at the entrance to the museums). St. Angelo’s Castle was our first attraction since that’s where we picked up our Rome Passes and we decided to check it out and skip the line. However, someone didn’t like that we skipped the line even though we held passes so everyone can see it. This person(s?) threw water on us. Luckily, there was a guard who jumped from his seat and started yelling.
To avoid crowds and thousands of tourists from all over the world, we returned to St. Peter’s square in the evenings as well.
Linking up to
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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Should I Take Pics or Keep Friends?
Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene. After the scheduled 1944 Olympics had been cancelled because of WWII, it hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics as well as various world cup events and motion pictures. Much of 1963 classic The Pink Panther, the progenitor of the series, was filmed in Cortina. One of the memorable James Bond stunt sequences in 1981′s For Your Eyes Only, gunners on spike-wheeled motorcycles chasing Roger Moore on skis, was filmed on its slopes, as were several scenes in the film Cliffhanger.
So, here it is: a post of random photos from Cortina d’Ampezzo taken during a bike ride…
I know the sky and colors look kind of surreal but they are real. I did not color or replaced anything, this place in the middle of nowhere mountains is THIS awesome! And so are these peeps you can see in photos who were patiently waiting on me to snap a photo or two. Every 10 minutes. I am aware I was a pain in the … so I promised I will not take camera with me ever again. My friends and my hubby are way more important than taking pictures of everything.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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A Summer Meadow
Mira
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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A Green Post
As a reply to Alice but also for all of you who are not familiar with this flower: This is Wisteria. I think Crepe Myrtle is a different tree or a bush, while Wisteria is actually a vine and it comes in purple and white.
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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The Snapshots: Pisa
A random thought: the song that reminds me of this trip to Tuscany is Run Around by Blues Traveler. Every time I hear it I cannot help myself but smile. You don’t know the song I’m talking about? Click here!
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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The Snapshots of Rome
Linking up to
Mira Crisp
Hello! My name is Mira and I take pictures, blog, and drink espresso! As a portrait photographer I take pretty pictures in Ft. Walton Beach - Crestview - Destin, Fl. area. I blog mainly about photography and image enhancement and I am enjoying it a lot. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel very welcome to leave a comment or two.
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