Photography Tips - 2/18 - The Idea Room

January Photo-A-Day 2013

Did you play along with us in December? Or did you fizzle out in the third week…like I did? Ha! No worries. January is a new month. Come join us again. It has been so fun to see all of your fun pictures and to get to know some of you a little bit better!

So if you have not played along with us before, no worries…it is really easy to join in the fun. If you miss a day…or two…or 16…it really isn’t a big deal. Just join in when you can. The point is to get you taking pictures and recording those everyday moments in your life. If you don’t like the photo prompt for the day, use your own!

To play along simply take a photo and post it to one of your social media sites. I use Instagram to post mine too and then sometimes share them on Facebook and Twitter. Please use the hashtag #idearoom to tag your photos. This will then add your photo to the list of photos under the #idearoom hashtag. If you click on the “#idearoom” it will pull up everyone’s photos who are playing along. So you can see all the fun things The Idea Room readers are sharing.

If you want me to follow along with you personally, feel free to leave your Instagram name here and I am happy to follow. I look forward to playing along with you in January!

Who is going to join us?

December 28, 2012 · Filed under: Photo A Day Challenge, Photography Tips Tagged with idea room photo challenge, instagram photo a day, Instagram Photo Challenge, Photo a day challenge, photo a day January, photo challenge, pic to instagram, the idea room photo a day

distressed wood photo prop

13 Comments

I have had several of you email me asking me what I was using in some of my photo shots to get the distressed paint, so I thought I would share with you what it is exactly. I have used this distressed wood photo prop in a few of my latest “product photo shoots”. Ha—That sounds a lot fancier than it really is!

{mississippi mud brownie recipe}

Do you remember the Mr. and Mrs. Anniversary sign that I shared with you a few months back? Well, I reclaimed that wood from an old bench swing that we inherited when we purchased our house 8 years ago. We had great intentions to spruce it up again but it sat under our porch…F.O.R.E.V.E.R! Chances are it wasn’t going to happen. So I rescued it from the garbage can…literally minutes before the garbage man came. I took this picture after my husband so heroically pulled it out of the big black garbage can.

I saved the wood that we did not use and knew someday I would find another use for it. I finally realized I could use it as a fun way to add some interest and texture to my photos for this here blog of mine.

The boards were pretty much the same length after we removed them from the swing. So, I simply took an old piece of scrap wood, that we pulled out of our kitchen soffet in our recent kitchen remodel, and covered it with Gorilla Wood Glue. Then placed the wood planks on the wood.

I added some heavy cans to weigh it down and give the glue a good hold to form a good seal and let it dry for a good hour or so.

Then I took some Minwax Polycrylic Sealant that we had laying around and gave it three coats allowing it to dry between each new coat.

This will prevent the paint from peeling off any further and it worked like a charm.

It has provided a fun way for me to add some interest and texture to my photos.

{homemade lemonade recipe}

*I wanted just quickly introduce you to one of our newest sponsors…The Plaid Barn. The Plaid Barn offers daily deals on craft supplies, diy kits & more. It is a great way to get your supplies at a great deal. Be sure to check them out.

April 26, 2012 · Filed under: Crafts, Photography Tips Tagged with distressed wood photo prop, DIY photo background, photo props

Kristen Duke Photography Farewell Post

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Dear Idea Room readers,

It is with heavy heart that I must bid farewell to my regular photography tips and techniques series on here. I LOVE Amy and her blog…it is what got me all excited about being crafty a year and a half ago…but, I have had to slow down a bit from my fast forward mode, and this was the first thing that I thought of to do that. Even though its only twice a month, I spend many hours on each post. I would still love to come back occasionally, so let Amy know if you have a specific photography need!

My own blog has taken a life of its own as I post about my sessions, workshops, and my e-book. I will post occasional tips and tricks over there. You can also join me on facebook where I share full size landscape images once a week on Facebook Freebie Friday. As a farewell, I wanted to offer my favorite Idea Room readers a big discount on my e-book if you have not purchased it yet, or have been thinking of purchasing it for a friend. On my site, for just 24 hours, it will be available for half off–$5. Discount paypal button will be in my footer on the right at the very bottom of my site, it says Idea Room discount, $5.

Photograph in manual settings

Don’t forget about the master list that I made a few months ago with the summary of all of my posts here. I keep meaning to update it, but click for Past Photography Tips with Kristen Duke here to see the list. Don’t cry, friends, it will all be o.k. ;) Amy continues to have some of the best content on the web, I will still be checking in!

Photography is such a passion of mine, and I think it is so wonderful that so many people see value in a beautiful photography vs. just snapshot. It IS attainable. You can have beautiful portraits of your family. Be patient with yourself, and if you have questions…just google it…there is SO much out there on the web (maybe too much, it can be overwhelming). It has been such a joy for me to hear feedback from all of you that my simple explanations have been beneficial. I am not a book learner, so I did my best to explain things in the non-book-way! Now go keep documenting those unique moments in your families, enjoy the candid moments, and record the people you love in a way that will bring you back to this precious time later in life. It is important, and you will be thanked later!

~Kristen Duke