CreativeLive: iPhone Photography and Mobile Photography

One of my creative resolutions for 2024 is to take two creative classes. I intentionally left that goal broad (as opposed to specifying something like painting or cake decorating) so that I could take advantage of opportunities as they arose. I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I wouldn't necessarily have stumbled on this outstanding iPhone Photography and Mobile Photography class by Philip Ebiner for CreativeLive. 

After a lifetime of using a proper camera, I've only starting using my phone for photography fairly recently. I know the basics, but definitely needed this class to help me realize the full potential of my iPhone. After a great introduction to the benefits of mobile photography, this class started with technical basics (exposure, focal length, lighting) before moving on to the more creative basics (composition and story). The instructor did an amazing job of presenting a topic, then walking you through it with many examples. I loved all of the real-world practice sessions. The class covered panoramic, portrait, selfie, and timelapse modes, editing options, and different ways of sharing photos. 

This class was exactly what I needed to feel more confident taking photos with my iPhone. I've been practicing a lot and I can definitely see improvements after taking the class. There's one area I'm still struggling with, however, and that is photographing an uncooperative subject. Occasionally I luck out and get acceptable pictures straight out of the camera....

  

... but most of the time I my subject comes racing at me and nose-bonks the camera before I get a shot. These are the best of the many, many nose-bonk shots I've taken. 

  

CreativeLive does offer pet photography classes, but none appears to address the unique challenges of photographing rabbits!

'The Workday of My Dreams' Exercise

I recently took a class on CreativeLive by Jasmine Star and one of the assignments was to think about the workday of our dreams.

It's harder than it sounds. At least, it is for me.

Part of my difficulty is that I work from home and my day is built around other responsibilities besides work. Ideally, I'd get up and start working right away, as the first thing in the morning is often my most productive time of day. But that is not my reality. I need to get Trevor off to school before I can think about my own workday. I need to stop working in time for the afternoon carpool, no matter how well my work is flowing or what I'm in the middle of doing. There are countless interruptions during the day, some welcome* and others not. I'm sure everyone has their own version of this whether they work from home or elsewhere. 

(*I mean, could you say no to a nose scritch if he asked?)

Back in my teaching days, it would have been much easier to define the perfect workday: all kids 100% on task, learning, and happy with my dynamic, engaging, hands-on lessons that each finished seconds before the bell, with no whining, excuses, tattling, arguing, injuries, parent phone calls, or rain. I never had a perfect day as a teacher (and I find it hard to believe that anyone possibly could!) but it is a worthwhile exercise to figure out what that perfect day would actually entail.

This is the template that Jasmine provided:

I wake up at ___ in the morning and the first thing I do is _. Then I ___ to ensure I'm feeling ____. I start the work day of my dreams at _____ in the morning, but not before taking time for myself to _____. I leave space in my day for ____, and my favorite part of running my business today is ____. Today I made/wrote/produced ____ but I'm most proud of ____. After work I ____ and I have dinner with ____. Before going to bed, I will _____.

Here is my attempt to outline my perfect workday as it fits into my current life:

I wake up at 6:00 in the morning, get myself ready for the day, and greet Trouble, who is ready to play. Then I answer emails, get Trevor off to school, and eat my breakfast to ensure I'm feeling free from distractions. I start the workday of my dreams at 8:00 in the morning, but not before taking time for myself to read blogs and check my personal social media. I leave space in my day for lunch with Steve and at least a half-hour of scrapbooking. My favorite part of running my business is writing blog posts and working on new craft ideas. I work on Fun Family Crafts, post to my business social media accounts, check in with other bloggers, and firm up details for future educational travel. I have the perfect lighting to take photos of my crafts and am most proud that I barely need to edit them before they're ready for blogging. After work, I pick up Trevor, supervise homework while reading the newspaper, and make dinner. We eat together as a family and then play board games together. Before going to bed, we watch Project Runway or another show based on creativity/crafting, then I read an interesting and inspirational memoir. 

Even though the exercise was difficult, I'm glad I did it. I got a lot out of Jasmine's class, as I have with every CreativeLive class I've done. If you are interested, you can purchase their classes to watch at your convenience, or watch them for FREE when they're live on the air or during rebroadcasts. Either way, they are great. And there's definitely something for everyone.

So tell me... what does the workday of your dreams look like?

CreativeLive: Between the Lines

This post contains affiliate links.

I've been taking a CreativeLive class called Between the Lines and it is SO GOOD.

Between the Lines is a series of interviews with 16 authors, talking about their creative process, storytelling, and so much more. And what a list of authors! Check it out:

I've listened to the first nine so far and every single one has been fascinating. Those nine include authors I already know and love, and others who are new to me. I cannot wait to dive into their works. In addition to talking about their books, the authors have shared very interesting details about their former lives as publishers, book jacket designers, actors, lawyers, journalists, and more. 

The cost for this class? Nothing. It is free. If you are a reader, a writer, and/or a lover of story, I strongly encourage you to sign up for the class. If you don't have time to listen to all 16 interviews, sign up anyway and listen to just a few... though I think once you do, you'll make time to listen to the rest!

Already taking the class? Let me know which interview(s) you've enjoyed the most or tell me how you would answer the questions in the speed round. I've been thinking about my answers!

CreativeLive: Building a Brand Book

About once every two weeks or so, I check the calendar at CreativeLive to see what new classes will be presented live, what older classes will be re-aired for free, what classes are on sale, and if there are any relevant classes filming in San Francisco that need studio audience members. Of course, I'm also on their mailing list, so that alerts me to all of these things as well.

I've been working on branding for about a year, beginning with creating my logo and taking two classes about branding during the 2016 Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show. I still have a ton to learn, which is why I was excited to see a free replay of Josh Silverman's Building a Brand Book: When, Why and How on CreativeLive. 

I really enjoyed the class and took copious notes. Some things I jotted down include:

• Be able to articulate the decisions I've already made for my blog. The reasons behind each choice (color, fonts, style, etc) reflect my personal brand.
• A brand is a collective experience - everything, over time. It includes the story, logo, tagline, url, colors, and everything else. 
• Consistency is key to build a strong brand.
• Have a stance on controversial issues (like serial commas- I say YES!) and include them in the brand book. 
• Look to successful brands (Lego, Pepsi) about what makes them recognizable. How does my brand stand out? What makes it unique?

As is the case with many business classes I take, I came away with a huge list of to-do items to improve my blog and my brand. Some are easy to implement, but most are going to take some major work and are more long-term goals. 

I enjoyed Josh's teaching style and felt like he covered the 'When' and the 'Why' of building a brand book well. The 'How' was a bit lacking for me, but I've come away with plenty of ideas about how I will build my brand. I don't know that I will go through the exercise of creating a physical brand book since I am essentially a solopreneur without staff who need training about color usage, watermark placement, or the use of serial commas. But I might. It would be handy to have it all in one place and a fun exercise that will challenge me. If I do, I'll be modeling it after this one.

CreativeLive will be airing a new class on branding called "Branding Strategies to Grow Your Business" this Thursday. It's a free broadcast from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Pacific. I'm going to watch as much of it as I can. If you've never seen a CreativeLive class before, I'd recommend clicking the RSVP button (to receive the reminder emails when it goes live, plus any handouts the instructor has made) and popping over to look at it. 

If the topic of branding doesn't interest you, CreativeLive offers so many other classes for creatives. Their classes are grouped by Photo and Video, Art and Design, Music and Audio, Craft and Maker, and Money and Life. Within those broad categories, you'll find over 1500 classes. There's truly something for everyone who considers themselves creative or wants to be more creative. Go check it out, then tell me what classes interest you! 

Food Photography by Andrew Scrivani

Remember the CreativeLive class on food photography I've been taking? (You can refresh your memory with these sandwich photos and this cake mix fudge.) Now that I've worked through all 39 videos, I can officially say that the class is outstanding and I highly recommend it! The class was full of helpful suggestions and things I could do immediately to improve my food photography. The pace was perfect and the lessons were interesting. Andrew Scrivani is an excellent teacher. 

I've been wanting to do another food photo shoot to see if I could put my new knowledge to use. Potato Chip Cookies were just the thing to photograph. The recipe is from the Idaho Little Passports State Journal. I'll be sharing all the Idaho-inspired activities Trevor and I did in a future post. 

Good food photographs start with good food styling. I stacked some cookies on a small white plate. I set a glass of milk and the cookies next to each other on a blue dish towel. The balance wasn't right, so I added some potato chips. I moved in low and close. Here's my first shot. Other than the watermarks, this and the rest of the photos in this post are straight out of my point-and-shoot camera.

There's plenty of room for improvement, but it is already 100 times better than how I used to photograph food. As a point of comparison, I found the first photo of cookies that appeared on my blog back in 2011:

(Pinwheel Cookie recipe)

And that is some of my better early photography. What a difference it would have made if I'd done even a small amount of styling.

I shot a few more photos of the cookies, potato chips and milk, playing with angles.

Then I took away the plate and did a close-up of just the cookies and the potato chips.

One of the things Andrew emphasized throughout the class was to try shooting a food in a variety of ways. I already had shots of the pristine cookies, so I experimented with photographing the cookies and milk as they went from untouched to gone.

I really like this shot.

You get a completely different perspective (literally) when shooting from above.

I couldn't be happier with Food Photography by Andrew Scrivani and recommend it to any of you who would like to improve your food photography. The price of $129 may seem high at first, but consider the value of over 15 hours of video instruction that you can go through at your own pace. It's worth it. 

I recommend browsing through the hundreds of classes CreativeLive has to offer. There are many shorter, more affordable classes. And don't forget that you can watch any of their classes for free when they are live! You can't beat that.

Food Photography

In my most recent post about CreativeLive, I told you that I'd signed up as an affiliate for them and got to select a free class to take and review. Despite there being hundreds of choices, there was one that stood out to me: Food Photography by Andrew Scrivani. I'm not a food blogger, per se, but I do blog about food semi-regularly. I'm a mediocre photographer, but I feel like I'm making good progress with my craft photography. And I'm getting better and better at photographing people. But my food photography is pretty terrible.

I was really excited to start Food Photography. It includes 39 lessons (!) that average around 30 minutes. From the beginning, I knew I'd chosen a great class. In addition to being a renowned food photographer, Andrew Scrivani is a former teacher who knows how to explain things clearly. His teaching style is relaxed and he moves at a good pace. I took two pages of detailed notes during the first five lessons. They were PACKED with helpful information, including specific tips and tricks that I could put to use immediately. 

Armed with new knowledge and a new camera (after using Trevor's camera for a few months while mine was on the fritz), I pondered what my first photo shoot should be. First and foremost, I wasn't going to attempt something that is time-sensitive, like an ice cream cone. Andrew recommends allowing as much as an hour to prop, style and shoot a single dish. With that in mind, it wouldn't be a great idea to cook dinner and then make the family wait an hour before eating either. I decided to photograph my favorite Subway sandwich (veggie with double cheese on a wheat roll).

I played with settings.

I played with angles.

And then I added props. 

I also played with shooting the same picture horizontally and vertically.

None of these photos are processed. While they are not works of art, I'm happy with the exercise and eager to continue on with Andrew's class. Expect another food photo shoot soon!

CreativeLive: #28toMake, Week 4

I have been having so much fun with the CreativeLive 28 to Make class! This fourth and final week was quite a bit different for me, because I did the assignments while chaperoning 4th graders at Coloma Outdoor Discovery School. We lived the life of the California Gold Rush, building a shelter, washing laundry on a washboard, bartering for ingredients and then making cornbread outdoors over a fire, panning for gold, hiking, exploring, enjoying a hoedown and much, much more. It was outstanding in every way. 

Whenever I had a few spare minutes while the kids were writing in their journals or otherwise occupied, I worked on my assignments. Monday's was to photograph a shiny object. It was presented in the context of finding beauty in an urban environment, but I went literal and photographed this:

It's a small portion of this plaque...

... at the base of this statue of James Marshall, who is credited with discovering gold at Sutter's Mill, which prompted the California Gold Rush. It remains, to this day, the largest single migration in US history.

Tuesday's assignment was to make your own marker. The example was to use a paper towel dipped in paint as a marker. I went with a much more natural option. I picked a few leaves and rubbed them on the paper to see what I could make.

I turned the paper over and experimented with different patterns. 

The next challenge was to make a postcard. I didn't bring any art materials with me except my small sketch pad, so I used a pencil to copy the CODS logo as my postcard.

Thursday's challenge was to address an envelope. Again, all I had was my sketchbook and a pencil. 

Friday's assignment was to hand-letter the phrase 'Keep Smiling.' I used a Sharpie that we'd brought along to help students label their belongings.

I made this week's Mad Lib while sitting beside the American River. The kids were doing a silent, reflective experience. I observed how thoughtful they looked as they sat on rocks beside the river. Canada geese honked in the background and the whole experience was very powerful.

I'm really glad that I completed all the 28 to Make challenges. It was a wonderful class and it prompted me to try things that were completely new to me, to make due with limited materials, to interpret assignments creatively and to put my own spin on everything. 

I've now completed a handful of CreativeLive classes and have been loved every one of them... so much so, that I am now an affiliate for CreativeLive. Basically, this means that if you purchase a class through the link below, I will receive a portion of the class fee. But don't forget that you can always take a CreativeLive class 100% for free by watching it live. It only costs money after the class has been archived.

As a new affiliate, I get to take any archived CreativeLive class for free. I've been pouring over the options and don't know what to pick! I'd love some suggestions - let me know what you think!

CreativeLive: #28toMake, Week 3

Time to share my projects from week 3 of the CreativeLive class, 28 to Make! Monday's assignment was to make a mind map. I've done this many times before. Since my mind is pretty much always on food lately, I chose the word 'Yum' and branched off from there. I intentionally left off desserts. That could fill a whole 'Yum' chart on its own.

Tuesday's assignment was to create a found poem using printed material. I chose an article from our local newspaper about California's drought. Using a Sharpie, I boxed each word that I wanted for my poem, then blacked out the rest. After scanning, I digitally darkened the Sharpie to make it recede ever further from the poem. 

                                              Dying, dry, hard-hit state:
                                              California.
                                              Long-term drought.
                                              Rain. Snow.
                                              Raising hopes.

Wednesday's assignment was to play with tangrams. Again, this was something I've done many, many times - as a kid, as a teacher, and as a mom. There are a lot of tangram sets around our house, so I grabbed one. It happened to have a sketch of a rabbit Trevor had designed folded neatly inside the baggie, so I followed the sketch to make it. 

Then I made a fish. 

Next, a barn.

Thursday's assignment was something I've never done: translate four different sounds into a visual image. I decided to create each using a single, continuous line from a black Sharpie. Would I be able to create enough difference between the four to represent the sounds? Let's find out! Can you tell which of my drawings represents waves? Children playing? A jackhammer? Paper being crumpled? Here they are with the answers blacked out:

And with the answers revealed. 

How did you do? Or, more accurately, how did I do in conveying the sounds?

Friday's assignment was called 'Notes in the Wild.' The object was to leave a sticky note for others to interact with. I decided to make a note for Trouble. For 4 years, he has had free run of the downstairs, but not been allowed upstairs. When we had our house power-washed and painted recently, Trouble was absolutely terrified. So I brought him upstairs to sit with me while I worked. He loved being near me and I loved having him here. So now he's allowed in my office area upstairs so he can hang out with me during the day. But he is not allowed in the bedrooms. He knows this, but could use some reminding.

I keep expecting to see nibbles from the post-it, but so far he's left it alone.

Saturday's assignment was another people-watching Mad Lib. We went to my niece's 3rd birthday party, where there were loud guests, a delicious cake, cousins bouncing in a bounce house, and the blank stare of tired parents.

Sunday's reflection questions were the same as before, so again I'll only answer those that have changed.


Which project from this past week most closely addressed your drive to make?

I think it was the mind map. It took the longest and pushed me the most. I kept thinking of more things to add and how I wanted to organize them. I had to keep the overall design in mind so that I didn't run out of space or end up with a lopsided map. 

If you had an extra hour to focus on any one of this week’s projects, which one would you pick? Why?

I'd probably make another found poem. I don't love my finished poem and would like to try more inspiring source material.

Was there a project this week that rubbed you the wrong way? If so, why do you think that was?

I was a bit disappointed that so many of the projects were things I've done in the past many times. But while I might have preferred something totally new to me, there was value in everything I made. In a way, it pushed me even more to make something different than before.

If you could ask any one historical figure to do any one of this week’s projects, who would you choose and which project would you have them do?

This question does not get easier week after week. I'd love to see what pretty much any historical figure would put on a mind map with the prompt of 'Yum.' How would the maps differ by region or time period? That would be fascinating.

CreativeLive: #28toMake, Week 2

Today I'm sharing my projects from week 2 of the CreativeLive class, 28 to Make. Monday's challenge was called 30 Circles. The assignment was to fill in 30 circles with whatever patterns or designs you can think of, as quickly as you can. This didn't appeal to me much, so I changed the assignment completely. I gathered a wide variety of round objects and sketched them. I stopped after 15. 

Here's a photo of the objects I sketched, in the same order and orientation:

Tuesday's assignment was called Scribbles & Shapes. The assignment was to turn a child's scribbles into something recognizable. I keep Trevor's early artwork in my file cabinet, so I selected one and scanned it. Trevor made this on his first day of 4-year-old preschool. It's a maze (he was obsessed with mazes at age 4... and beyond). He labeled the start for me (STrT) and folded the whole thing into a 'spyscope' (another thing he loved at age 4).

Here's what I saw in his drawing:

Wednesday's assignment was a Blind Contour Self Portrait. In other words, draw a picture of yourself without looking at the paper and without lifting the pen. It's hard not to lift the pen. I caught myself doing it accidentally a few times. 

Thursday's project was Photo Doodles. Just as it sounds, the instructions were to doodle on a photo. I found two 4x6 photos that didn't make it into the scrapbook (because I realized I needed a different size after printing). First, Trevor gold panning at Columbia State Park. You can see the original photo on my layout from that trip. While he did find some tiny pieces of gold to take home, I thought it would be fun to make his efforts appear more lucrative.

Here's Trevor in the Bahamas during our Disney cruise in 2013. The original photo has a bar in the background on the right. I covered it, as well as some buoys and other distractions, with palm-covered islands. Much better!

Friday's project was Exquisite Corpse. That's the childhood game where one person draws a head, folds it over and passes it the next person, who draws a torso, then folds it over and passes it to a third person, who draws legs. I just drew the head portion, rather than trying to wrangle others to help with my assignment.

 

Saturday's assignment was a repeat of last Saturday's, the People-Watching Mad Libs. Steve, Trevor and I spent the day at the fabulous Charles Schultz Museum (more about that when I scrap it). There were plenty of people to observe. In the education room, I saw a whiny child asking his mom to stop interfering with his artwork, a talented teenaged artist doing digital drawings, a cartoon playing where Lucy and the gang dug up Charlie Brown's pitcher's mound to plant a tree for Arbor Day, and a man carefully cutting out Snoopy's doghouse from red construction paper.

 

Sunday's reflection questions were the same as last week. For some, my answer hasn't changed, so I'll only answer those that are different. 

Which project from this past week most closely addressed your drive to make?

That would have to be my modification of the 30 Circles assignment. But, since I didn't follow the directions at all, I suppose I should pick something else. I'll go with the Photo Doodles.

If you had an extra hour to focus on any one of this week’s projects, which one would you pick? Why?

I'd keep drawing circular items, because it is challenging and I want to keep developing both my observational and sketching skills. Again though, since that wasn't the actual assignment, I'll pick the Scribbles & Shapes. It was fun, although my favorite part was going through Trevor's artwork from when he was little.

Was there a project this week that rubbed you the wrong way? If so, why do you think that was?

I know that the 30 Circles was supposed to get ideas out of me in a fast, brainstorming-type manner, but I'm not short on ideas. I want to improve my technical skill more than I want to generate even more ideas (as I have way more ideas than I will ever get to in my life), which is why I went my own direction. The Exquisite Corpse was really irritating because it assumed that you have two willing participants to join in the project. I could easily have found some, but this class is for me and something I'm doing on my own.

If you could ask any one historical figure to do any one of this week’s projects, who would you choose and which project would you have them do?

Uh... I suppose it would be very interesting to see what any famous artist would have done with Trevor's maze to transform it into a recognizable item. How would Charles Schultz have incorporated it into the Peanuts world?

Did any friends, neighbors, or family members come to mind while you were working on any of this week’s projects? If so, write their name down. 

Many of the circular items are Trevor's, so I thought of him a lot. Steve as well. Obviously, Trevor's artwork inspired the frog and he is the subject of both Photo Doodles projects. Steve's outside the frame during gold panning. In the Bahamas, Steve, my parents and my sister's family are also outside the frame. The Exquisite Corpse made me think of my students, as we did this occasionally for fun. And it's similar to drawings my middle school friends and I would make on our lunch bags. Good times.