One of the most difficult things to capture in photography is a decent indoor shot…I mean the kind of indoor shot that doesn’t involve studio lighting.  Snapshots of the kids playing on the floor, a photo of room decor, or of the pretty flowers you’ve picked from the garden and want to email to your mom.

This difficulty was one of the main reasons I signed up for the photography class I’m taking.  I have LOVED learning to use the manual settings on my camera.  They’ve opened up a whole new world (cue the Aladdin music) for me.  Last week, though, we learned a couple of simple tricks for indoor photography.  White balance setting, tripod use, etc.

(And now we break for a moment while I do a little happy dance in celebration of my new best [inanimate] friend: my tripod.  A gift from Jason and the boys for my birthday.  I love it.  Tripod + slower shutter speed = VERY happy Aimee.)

Last night, while it was overcast, and with no special lighting, I took this shot:

Okay, I know, it’s not perfect SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera), but that’s okay.  Poorly-lit indoor shots rarely are.  The thing is, I can work with this.  In the past, most of my indoor shots have been so grainy and dark that I couldn’t make anything out of them in Photoshop.

This, however.  This is FUN in Photoshop.  I could make several somethings out of this.  (And I did.)  But today, I’ll just show you an artsy, fun one.

Textures and Levels and Adjustment Layers – oh my!

My goal is still to work on my photography and aim for perfect SOOC shots.  In the meantime, however, I’m perfectly happy to combine new photography skills with Photoshopping to get the look I want.

This is our last week of instruction in class.  We’re working on composition.  Now here is something I can relax with.  Having grown up with an artist as a parent, terms like Rule of Thirds, Weight, Framing, Contrasting, and Balance are ingrained in me.  I’ve heard them so many times, and from such a young age, that the composition process is something I do naturally, without thought.  It’s interesting to see it written out and demonstrated in a structured manner, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with them thoughtfully.