It’s true!  Studies have shown that displaying photographs of your family members (especially your children) gives everyone a feeling of togetherness in their home.  Children have a strong sense of belonging when their pictures are displayed for everyone to see and are grouped together with other family member’s photographs.  Isn’t it great to come home after a long day at work and see your son/daughter’s beautiful face smiling right back at you?  I bet it makes your heart swell!

Wall displays can be very simple to put together.  Here are some steps to get you started on a small display.

1. Choose your most favourite photographs – the ones that make your heart melt.  If you only have them digitally, put them into a “To Be Printed” folder on your computer.
2. Decide which wall your gallery will be most viewed, and measure the area where you want to put your display.
3. Decide what you want your display to look like.

Figuring out what your display should look like can be a bit of a daunting task.  To help give you some inspiration, I’ve collected some really interesting displays on my Pinterest board.  Just click the Wall Displays button on the right hand side.

Now, don’t feel overwhelmed by what you see.  These are only meant to be inspiration for you.  Not everyone has the time to plan such intricate displays, but I think it’s safe to say that everyone has a wall that needs to be filled!

Once you’ve decided how you’re going to lay out your display, it’s time to choose your frames.  For a uniformed look, you will want to choose frames that are all the same.  For something more eclectic, you may choose to mix and match your frames.

Keep your wall colour in mind when choosing frames.  If your wall is already a neutral colour, then you will want to pick a frame that is either an accent colour or you could go with a dark brown or black.  A darker wall would nicely showcase frames that are lighter in colour.

To matte or not to matte, that is the question!

A matte is a acid-free (or at least it should be) piece of board that has been cut with a die to provide a frame within a frame.  For example, you could have an 8×10 frame with a 5×7 matte, and therefore you would insert a 5×7 photograph into the frame.

Matting your photographs adds a bit of loveliness to your display.  It’s a very classic look that has stood the test of time.  It especially works well if you’ve chosen to go with a more standard frame over an eclectic one.

You do want to be careful if you’re displaying matted photographs that you don’t choose a frame with a 4×6 matte inside.  A 4×6 on your wall can appear very small beside the rest of the photographs.  I don’t recommend hanging anything smaller than a 5×7 on your wall.  In fact, bigger is better, depending on how many images you’re grouping together.

Printing your photographs

Because you are displaying your photographs for your friends and family to see, you want to make sure you use a lab that has trained staff and uses high-quality archival paper.  It may mean paying a little bit more to have your photographs printed, but it will be worth it in the long run.  Using high-quality archival paper ensures that your colours won’t run or fade over the years.

One lab that I recommend to my clients, who have purchased digital files, is Pikto in Toronto:  http://www.pikto.com/cad/prints-overview

If you are in the United States, I recommend Mpix: http://www.mpix.com/products/prints/

Now that you have your pictures printed, inserted in the frames and hung on the wall, take a picture and show everyone how proud you are of your family and your new wall display!  I would love for you to share your gallery on my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/JenGPhotog

Did you find this article useful?  If so, please feel free to share it:

Our Keynote speaker was Deanne Kelleher from kAos Group.  Her wonderful presentation taught us that we not only need to be organized in our personal lives, but our professional lives also.  She provided us some tips and tricks to help manage our workflow systems.

After the break, our panel of speakers talked about different business strategies that have been very useful in their business success.  It was a honour to be a part of this panel which included:

• Amy Donnachie – RBC
• Kerri Nielsen – The Brampton Board of Trade
• Alan Gomez – Bramalea City Centre,
• Deanne Kelleher – kAos Group

The topic I spoke about was “Avoiding Distractions”.  I specifically focused on distractions that come up from time to time in your business.  Finding ways to avoid these distractions will ensure that you nurture and grow your business from the passion it started off as, into the thriving business you always wanted it to be.

Thank you to Cassandra, Jennifer, Kelly, Brian, Sharon and all the staff at the SBEC for including me in this wonderful event.  I am looking forward to working with you again at future events!

Here are a few images by Julia of Immense Memories Photography of the day (used with permission).  All the images can be viewed here on her Facebook page.

It’s not always practical to grab your “good camera” in these moments, so go ahead and grab your iPhone (or smart phone).  Let’s not loose this opportunity for some fun pictures!

If you’d like to get a bit more creative, here are some iPhone tips to help you out. 

(Sorry, I don’t have a Blackberry and don’t know how to use one!)

Setting Focus

• Compose the picture in the iPhone screen frame.
• Tap on the subject’s face.
• Take the picture.

Setting Focus & Exposure

• Compose the picture in the iPhone screen frame.
• If you want the overall picture to be brighter, tap on the darkest part of the image.
• Wait a moment for the iPhone to recognize the subject’s face again.  If you tap on the subject’s face, you’ll lose your exposure setting.
• Take the picture.

Capturing the Moment

Depending on your child’s personality, they’ll either suddenly “strike a pose” or get mad (my son immediately screams “NO PICTURES!).  The key is to capture the moment.  Don’t ask them to smile.  Don’t ask them to look at the camera.  Just let them be.  Since you’re not using your flash, the may not even notice you’re taking a picture (which is great with older children who don’t want to be in pictures anymore!).  This is where a zoom lens comes in handy.

With younger children, get down at their level and back up a bit.  Tell them how proud you are of them for doing this important task.  Little kids love to be praised.  It will bring out a beautiful smile.

Sharing with family

If you use Facebook or Instagram, you can easily share your iPhone images by opening the app and uploading the image.

On Facebook, you click on the Photo icon at the top of your newsfeed.

On Instagram, in the “take picture” screen, tap the double rectangles in the bottom left hand corner.  That will take you to the camera roll.  From there you can select your image.  Then move and scale it with your finger, click choose, choose your filter, click the green checkmark, and you know the rest from there!

Will all your photographs turn out stellar – probably not.  Mine didn’t!  But that doesn’t matter – you captured the moment, and it’s a memory you’ll have for a lifetime.  That’s what matters the most.

And don’t forget, backup your iPhone to the iCloud or through iTunes.  You don’t want to loose those pictures accidentally!

Merry Christmas, and have fun taking pictures while decorating the tree!

Come back and visit soon for some Christmas morning photography tips.

If you have any questions, please feel free to Like my Facebook page and post them there!  I’d be happy to help out!

This quote was in my fortune cookie tonight.  I tried to find it’s author but couldn’t.  Nevertheless, it spoke to me immensely.  As I look back on the last 4.5 years, I keep thinking that I would never have come this far with my business had I not tackled my fears head on.

As an entrepreneur, the path in front of you to grow your business is a scary one.  Where will you get the money?  What if someone doesn’t like your pitch?  Who will be there to help you along the way?  What if they say the dreaded, no?  These are all scary thoughts.  Even more scary for some people is getting their physical body out into the networking world to meet people and build relationships.  An introverted personality absolutely cringes at the idea.  I’m here to tell you something though:

It will be ok.

Bottom line – if you want to succeed, you can.  Need money?  Find a funding resource.  If someone doesn’t like your sales pitch, rewrite it.  Need a support group? Find one.  They said no?  Move on. Scared to meet people?  Go with a friend.

It will be ok.  It really will.

Don’t let fear hold you back.  Embrace it and change it into excitement!  You’ll be delighted to see your life change and your business grow.  In 5 years, you’ll look back and be oh so proud of yourself.

Trust me.  It really will be ok.

Now, go get what you want!

Much love,

Jennifer

]]> http://www.jennifergilbert.ca/fear/feed/ 2 http://www.jennifergilbert.ca/the-importance-of-a-picture/ http://www.jennifergilbert.ca/the-importance-of-a-picture/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:59:57 +0000 Jennifer Gilbert http://www.jennifergilbert.ca/?p=2839 If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you will know that I have talked about this time and time again.  The importance of a picture.  A picture is a frozen moment in time.  It can capture a smile, a frown, laughter, a pouty face or a sleepy newborn.  It can evoke deep emotions when looked at years later; feelings of joy as you remember exactly what was happening at that time when the image was captured.  Pictures serve as documentation of our life.  When memories begin to fade, a picture is there to help us remember.

It is important to photograph your children as they grow and change over the years.  It is equally important to have a family photo taken as often as you are able.  This could mean hiring a professional, going to a studio, or even setting up a tripod and racing to get into the picture before the timer goes off!  It doesn’t matter HOW the family image is captured, just that it IS captured.

Last October, I was asked to photograph a wonderful family in Georgetown.  The father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Recently, he passed away.  At his celebration of life, there were pictures of him with his wife, with his children, with his family, all over the hall.  There was a beautiful photo book where everyone was asked to put a special thought for the family.  Through pictures, Dave’s family will honour his memory.  Through pictures, he will always be with them.

So, I have a message to anyone who A) doesn’t want to be in pictures, or B) doesn’t think pictures are valuable.  The message is simple – stop thinking like that!  You are just as important as your daughter or son.  You look fine, beautiful in fact.  So what if you think your smile is crooked!?  When your child looks back on that image later in life, they will love it and love you.

A special note to my photographer friends:  this goes for you too!  Get out from behind that camera with your family.  Make it a mission to put yourself in the pictures too!

Pictures are worth it.  They are valuable treasures to not only decorate your home with (not your computer, your HOME), but they are valuable memories that will forever be cherished.

She also posts images of her family on a daily basis.  I can’t help but chuckle at some of them, because, as the saying goes, boys will be boys.  Her sons remind me of my own son and the sweet, silly things he does.

I interviewed Ardelle for this guest past, and here’s what she had to say:

1.  How long have you been behind the camera, both professionally and personally?

• I’ve always had a love for arts and taking photos, but when my kids were born my inspiration for documenting them was sparked.   What I started creating for my family was irreplaceable, memories of those awesome little details of our life.   I wanted that for other families.  With that, LifeFlicks Photography is now 2.5 years old.

2.  Did you go to school for photography?  If not, how did you teach yourself?

• Aside from a beginner photography course I have not had a lot of formal training, I am for the most part self taught.  I have read a lot, practiced a lot, always shooting.  I am always challenging myself to learn more.    As an artist I hope to continue to learn and evolve.

3.  What’s your favourite subject to photograph?

• My kids.  My inspiration always comes for documenting my loves and our lives.  With the start of my daily image this year, shooting even more for myself, I have grown so much.

4.  What’s in your camera bag?

• Canon 5d Mark II canon 24-70 f2.8
• canon 85mm f1.2
• canon 35mm f2.0
• canon 70-200mm 2.8 II
• sigma 50mm f1.4

and usually a few of my secret tricks for the kids during a session {wink}

5.  What piece of advice do you have for aspiring photographers out there?

• Shoot for yourself.
• Feel confident in your work and try not to compare yourself to others.
• Keep your inspiration fresh and new.  Try new things, I promise you will learn from it.

Thank you Jennifer for having me here, I am so honored.  I am always grateful of the people I have met through my work, you are among those wonderful people.

Be sure to visit Adelle’s website at http://lifeflicks.ca/.  Here are a few of her amazing images also.  Thank you, Ardelle, for sharing these with us!  (The third one is my personal favourite!)

The Promo began airing last night, and I was able to catch and record it on my iPhone.  Here it is (you’ll have to turn up your volume):

In addition to the television coverage, I’m ecstatic to announce that an article I wrote for parents who may be considering birth photography has been published on the National Association of Professional Child Photographer’s website today!  Thank you to the NAPCP for publishing this article!  Click the image below to read it.

Finally, I want to say a big, heartfelt thank you to my clients Dawn, Nikki, Brandi and Amanada, who have been so generous in allowing me to share their birth images with the world!  Your love and support mean the world to me!  Thank you for the bottom of my heart!

Marcello Calvinisti was relieved when his wife, Dawn, suggested bringing in a birth photographer for their third child, Avelina, in August 2011. When he saw the pictures, he shed a tear. And he wasn’t the only one getting emotional. Marcello brought the photos with him when he left his home in the small town of Bolton, Ont., to visit family in Guatemala. “All the women cried,” he says. “I would’ve loved to have a photographer there when my other two were born.”

I feel very honoured to have been included in this wonderful article that I feel paints a truly beautiful light on birth photography.  That’s the link to my website from the Maclean’s article.  Thank you, Fatima, for linking back to my website.  It’s truly appreciated.

Please take a moment to read the article and learn more about this wonderful and unique genre of documentary photography!

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/07/04/when-it-comes-time-to-photograph-a-birth-hire-a-professional/

If you would like to see more birth photography slide shows, click here:  http://www.jennifergilbert.ca/category/birth-photography/

If you are considering birth photography and would like more information, please contact me via email by clicking here:  Contact

It’s not the camera that makes a picture stunning.  It’s the skill and creativity of the person taking the picture that can take it from nice to WOW!  Now, having said that, I will also say that yes, there are vast differences in image quality between a point and shoot and a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera, but, you still need to know how to work your camera and a few basic light tricks to capture a great image.

The first thing you can do to take a better picture no matter what kind of camera you have is to have great light.  Natural light through a window (if indoors) is best during the day.  Have the subject near the light, but not standing directly in sunshine coming through the window.

Next, just let your child be.  Don’t try to pose them (Have you ever tried posing an 18-month old?  Not going to happen!).  Interact with your child and focus the camera on their face.  Sometimes you will be shooting from above, and sometimes you’ll want to get down at their height.  Try images at both angles and see which image you prefer.  Most point and shoot cameras have face recognition which really helps with the focus.  People are drawn towards a person’s eyes which is why it’s important to focus there.  Keep the interaction going during your “photo shoot” to illicit their genuine response.  You know your child the best, and often, they don’t react to you right away because they’re too busy with whatever is in front of them.  Have patience; you’ll get the shot!

Some of my most favourite images of my children are ones where they aren’t posing at all.  In fact, I’d much rather see their natural smile than that fake, ‘CHEESE’ one.  Last summer, I got just that shot and while technically it may not be the most perfect shot, it makes my heart sing whenever I look at it:

Now, here’s some more technical stuff:

Don’t be afraid to play with the settings on your camera too (after you read your manual) to be more creative with your pictures.  See if there is a manual mode on your point and shoot camera and try it out.

If you have a DSLR camera, it likely came with what’s called a kit lens, usually an 18-55mm lens.  While it’s a fine lens for when you’re outside, it’s not great inside at all.  Go to your local camera shop and find a 50mm lens that will fit your camera.  Look for something that says f/1.4 or f/1.8.  That is the aperture of the lens.  The smaller the number, the more light it lets in.  When you shoot at lower apertures, you can get that ‘fuzzy background’ look that will pop your subject out of the picture.  Also, try out the different modes for creativity.  Don’t always rely on the full auto mode to do the work for you!

Software also helps create great pictures.  I firmly believe that you should do your best to get it right the first time in camera, but you can boost the colours or convert to black and white using Photoshop or another editing program.  If you have photo shop, the easiest thing to do is to create a new layer using your contrast/brightness tool and then adjust until the image pops.  Be careful not to over-adjust the contrast, otherwise the colours will be too bright and the shadows will be too dark.  Sometimes that’s all a picture needs to go from wow to WOW!

If you don’t have photoshop, you can edit your pictures using an online editor from Adobe.

Sharing your pictures online has never been easier.  There are a number of photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, Dropbox, and Smugmug.  Make sure you read the terms and conditions of the site so that you know that the pictures you publish still belong to you and not the website.  It also helps to put a small copyright on the picture, something as simple as “Photographed by your name” goes a long way to show ownership.

Finally, and most importantly, make sure you back up your pictures.  Trust me, I’ve been that person crying because I lost my daughter’s baby pictures due to a hard drive crash.  It’s technology, and it breaks when you least expect it!

Remember, it takes time and practice to be able to capture great images, but you don’t need to spend thousands on photo equipment to get the images you cherish either.  Patience goes a long way.

If you have any questions, please feel free to tweet me at https://twitter.com/#!/JenGPhotog or connect with me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NBPhotography.

In addition to being a super-fantastic, professionally trained and certified Doula, she is also an childbirth educator.  Her services include Prenatal Education, Lactation Consultations and a new service called Mother Blessings, a celebration into motherhood.  She provides these services throughout the Greater Toronto Area, starting with a free consultation.  If you’re interested in learning more about Nicole, please visit her website at www.birthgoddess.ca.

Without further adieu, I present to you, Nicole!