Thursday

How to choose the "right" photos for your layouts.




My photos are not perfect. Sometimes I don't even manage to capture that unforgettable moment because I was busy savouring it instead of fiddling with my camera. I take a quick shot after the moment [Okay it could be days after the moment...same place, still counts! *LOL*] to use it to support the wonderful story of that amazing moment. Most of the time I make do with what I have captured and try to creatively weave my story with clever crops/editing/cover-ups. *winks*

Here are 5 suggestions on how to choose the "right" photos for your layouts.


Expression girl

1. Put together a series of "in-action" shots.

So my niece got some pretty hand-me-downs from her cousin and my intention was to do a fashion shoot type spread [Okay....so I'm the idealistic aunt who initially thought I could "direct" a 9 month old.]. It ended up being a series of funny expressions instead. Still fun. And still showcased the pretty hand-me-downs. :)

US

2. Play up a blurred shot.

Sometimes when all you have is ONE blurry shot, consider making it black and white [a lot more forgiving] and play with filters and shadows to make the most of the photo. My sister and I were at Universal Studios and were evidently more interested in playing than posing for the perfect shot. *LOL* So, I crop the photo close and wrote some of my journaling on a dark spot in the photo. And then embellished like crazy around the photo in bright colours. Were you distracted? :)


Grandpa's birthday cake

3. Have fun with consecutive customary pose shots.

In most celebrations, there's the customary [read: cheesy] pose shots where not everybody is looking at the camera at the same time [someone blinks, someone's mouth is wide open etc]. Personally I like to include consecutive shots and play up one almost perfect shot. Here, the nephews were woken up at 6.30am in the morning to cut their grandpa's birthday cake.... I used 2 black and white photos and 2 coloured photos to create interest. And added those cute ducks as distraction too! *LOL*


  Have-you-seen-the-yams

4. Make the cropping seem intentional.

I was laughing so hard when taking shots of my nephews playing with the yam plants that I didn't take full shots of the plants they were posing with. So I made the photo the focal point and created a whole scene around it. Notice that the scarecrow is wearing green...yeah...I can be sneaky...*winks*

Spending time with grandma


5. Use composite shots to tell your story.

So my intention was to take shots of my nephew and niece posing with their grandma but I couldn't get everybody to cooperate. So I ended up using composite shots taken throughout the day to help tell my story.

There you have it. 5 ways to choose the "right" photos for your layouts. What do you think? What other tips do you have?


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25 comments:

Rose said...

always love your layouts and fantastic tips girl :)

Laurel said...

Wonderful stuff!

Crafterkhush said...

This is a wonderful post.. You've cleared the most basic questions about how to choose our photographs when doing LOs.. And I love your nephews and nieces... They are so cute....

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

I can't say it enough... you are amazing!!! I love love love love love that last one with the G45 scarecrows!!! You=AMAZING!!!!!!

TesaB said...

What a fantastic post. Great tips and amazing layouts!!!

Hussena said...

What a wonderful post ...and your Lo always are so creative and clever you have the knack of taking an ordinary and making it into something so beautiful and amazing...i enjoyed reading through your post so much...thanks for sharing the tips :)

Unknown said...

Wonderful post and great tips.So nice and generous of you to share such tips.They are very helpful for novices like me.I have recently discovered the joys of scrapbooking and all thanks to you.You inspired me to start scrapbooking.I loved the scarecrow page the most.

Naomi Edwards said...

Yvonne , this was really educational for me.. I have blurred photos that I couldn't part with , I will have to try the black and white! Gorgeous layouts and I can see myself running back to this page to reread the tips.. thank you!!!
I thought scrarecrow was holding the Yam plant!!! hahaha

Audrey Pettit said...

You always have such great tips, and I LOVE the way you use your photos to tell your stories!

Sherry Eckblad said...

I totally agree with everyone. YOU always have the best tips and I have learned so much from you.

Unknown said...

I love it when you do one of these tutorial posts Yvonne. It's always so fascinating to see how (or why) projects have come together :0) A gorgeous selection of your beautiful work.
ps you must have a style as I can spot an Yvonne special at 100 paces :0)

sandi said...

These are all fabulous! Love the look of each one!

Holly AKA KopyKat said...

These are all fabulous, thanks for the tips!

Isha Gupta said...

Thanks for the wonderful tips Yvonne. These are so helpful :)

Annette Allen said...

totally fabulous...

Evelin said...

great tips and great layouts, Yvonne!! :D

Cindy deRosier said...

I LOVE these posts you put together. All of your tips are fabulous. It's so fun seeing all the layouts together to illustrate the different ways you use pictures.

papertrails leaver said...

how cool that you share with us readers your very wise tips on photo usage. I love the blurry photo tip but the yams was cool when you explained the lack of plants. I never thought that! I was drawn in by the scarecrows! Sneaky maybe a tad but to me super clever! :-)

Debbie said...

Love it all!!! I learn so much from you. Love the layout with the Graphic 45 scarecrows!!!

Unknown said...

These are such fabulous tips.. Your pages always look great..

Hugs~

Colleen Dietrich said...

Just amazing layouts. You always amaze me with yours! They're crafted with such care.

Keren Tamir said...

These layouts are amazing !! Love your style and love your work

Lynnda said...

Great stuffs and tips Yvonne... definitely useful for me... [wink] hugs...xoxo

~amy~ said...

Fab tips and layouts!!!!

Alice said...

you are a master at utilizing your supplies to help you with the designs. thanks for the awesome and helpful tips!

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Thanks for visiting my blog and taking time to leave a comment. I really appreciate it. Have an awesome day!:)

Cheers, Yvonne.

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