Photography Landmark: how I got here

I almost hesitate to use the word photography here... maybe photo taking landmark? Because the thing is, I'm not a photographer - I have waaaay to much respect for my photographer friends to claim to be one - but I've been working hard to learn to take better photos. I'm pretty proud of the results, just saying....





Today I wanted to share the top things that have helped me get this far.



1. Knowing my camera: I know, I know grooooaaan... but learning the ins and outs of my camera has totally changed my ability to take better photos. I own a Canon Rebel DSLR which has a lot of setting options, but even knowing how to adjust little settings on my iPhone makes a huge difference. (Did you know you could tap different areas on the view screen to adjust the exposure?) If you're overwhelmed and need somewhere to start I would recommend a) figuring out how to turn off the flash and b) learning how your camera uses white balance. Trust - those two will help a ton.

2. Getting a tripod!: Oh my gosh. I got a tripod between the two couch pictures above (it was a Christmas gift). See how much more clear the image is? That's because using a tripod helps me take advantage of my camera's shutter speed options in low light situations, which let's face it, is almost every indoor light situation. If you own a camera that lets you control shutter speed, buy a tripod.

3. Finding editing software I love: For me, this was Photoshop. This might be another grooaaan moment because photoshop is so expensive, but I thought I needed to at least mention it. Photoshop has been a monumental help in my photo life - there's a reason it costs so much, super quality. If you have photoshop and you're curious, I mostly use the free Photoshop actions from Pioneer Woman to edit my photos.

4. Taking a million photos: For every photo you see on the blog, there were probably 5 others that didn't make the cut. I take SO many photos and with each one I feel myself getting more confident with my camera and creative with the composition of my photos. Practice makes perfect - there's a reason that saying is so cliche ;)

Do you have any tips that have changed your photo taking life? Share them in the comments so we can all learn together - thank you in advance!

PS. My apartment made it into Apartment Therapy's Small Cool Contest! Eeeeee!!! Take a second to check it out if you want. I'd also be so so grateful if you feel like voting for me :)

Air Plants Nicely Framed

Sometimes good DIY ideas are just a matter of dumb luck. This is one of those.



Ever since I posted about finding this frame, I've planned on repainting it. This weekend I finally got around to it, and doesn't it look so much better? I used white spray paint primer and Heirloom White spray paint in a satin finish for the top coat.



But that wasn't the dumb luck part. The dumb luck was also finding an adorable air plant hanging from a twisted wire at Home Depot ($4.95). The dumber luckier part was realizing I could hang it in my newly painted picture frame!!!



See that little hook there? It fits just right! I'm sure it would be downright easy to make your own twisted wire to hang an air plant - just use copper wire and your nimble fingers. UPDATE: A very thoughtful commenter shared that copper is deadly to air plants! Actually, my air plant died a week or so after I posted this and I couldn't figure out why. It was probably the copper wire! A wire hanger would still be really cute to hang an air plant, just don't use a copper one. I'm kind of annoyed at Home Depot for selling me an air plant all wrapped up in a substance that was poisonous to it :(



And so you don't have to scroll up again to see the final product...



Yep. I love it. What do you think?

Pretty Small Things: never enough crochet

Well goodness, I've been having a hard time getting posts up in a timely manner recently. School has started up again and I definitely need to work on my schedule...



In more interesting news, I just so happened to make a craigslist purchase this past weekend that I'm pretty pumped about. Although... I think I'm always pumped about craigslist purchases... Anywho! After 3 weeks of craigslist stalking, I decided to pull the trigger and bought this beautiful, hand crocheted, vintage table cloth.



So granny and so awesome!!! I mean look at that pattern! Is that not the prettiest thing ever? At $30 it was a little more than I wanted to pay, but I just had to have this lovely. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use her on the bridal table at my wedding :)



What do you think? Too granny for your taste or just enough handmade to make your drool?

Giveaway Winner!!

Hello hello! I hope you're having (or had) a very wonderful Sunday. I let Maggie venture onto our porch for a few minutes and I think she fell in love.



We have a winner for the Bella Pop giveaway wooo!!!

Congratulations Cate! I'll be contacting you shortly with the details.



To everyone else, hope you had a few moments to relax in your special sunny spot today!

Crafty Skills: Embroidery

There's no doubt, I'm completely obsessed with learning new crafty techniques right now. You wouldn't believe the list of "want to learns" I have! Normally, I might find a list this long overwhelming, but it's just so fun to try everything that I don't care how long it is.



Learning to embroider has definitely been high on the list, so this week I took a little time to dable. Oh how I love dabbling :)



To get started, I tried some different stitches from The Trouble with Crafting tutorials via Needlework. The hardest stitch for me was the french knot, but I think I'm getting the hang of it!

Then I tried my hand at stitching a little message. Being able to embroider text is seriously one of my life goals, just FYI :)



I have to say, I'm pretty pumped about how it turned out. I used a combination of the back stitch and the lazy daisy stitch to make my little message. I can already tell embroidery is going to be a go-to embellishment for my crafts now :)

What's on your list of crafty skills to try? Any in particular that you would like to see on insideways?