Family film night and why mums need more than one pair of hands!

Family film night is always a lot of fun here Inside the Wendy House.  We snuggle up on the sofa, grab some popcorn and immerse ourselves in 55" of TV pleasure.  This Extraordinary Portrait by George Fairbairn is a fun representation of our film nights, which is very much a part of what defines us as a family. In this image we are pretending to watch a horror film (although obviously 5 year old Freddy does NOT watch horror films in real life) and we are reacting in typical fashion from Ian's abject fear to  Ella's super brave smirk.  It was lots of fun and we got to totally overact, reliving the moment when we watched The Conjuring for the first time!  I told Fred to pretend he was watching Scooby Doo, for an age appropriate scare.

Family Film Night - Extraordinary Portraits by George Fairbairn

This next image depicts me at the centre of the family, interacting with Ian and the three youngest kids while blogging all about it on my trusty laptop!  Each family member's personality is allowed to shine through.  Ian is the ever attentive family man looking after my red wine needs!  Ella is entertaining us with her singing and guitar playing.  Freddy is enjoying a sword fight with me, harnessing his inner ninja.  Kizzy is being her usual fashionista self, doing my nails!  (Incidentally, Kizzy also did my hair and make-up for the shoot.)  I love how the spirit of who we are as a family has been captured in such a cool, unique and funky way, portraying the many hats a mum has to wear within the family dynamic.

Six Arms - Extraordinary Portraits by George Fairbairn

These pictures are amazing.  I intend to have canvases made to hang on our living room wall.  They will make some great pieces of artwork that we will treasure forever!

Here you can read all about our bespoke family photography experience with George Fairbairn.

And you can find out more about George and his Extraordinary Potrraits at: www.portraitsbygeorge.co.uk/extraordinary-portrait-photographer

Canvas Design - creating wall art from your favourite photographs

I love displaying my favourite photographs in my home.  Liberating the virtual images from my hard drive and creating beautiful works of wall art is a wonderful way to showcase much loved pictures.  

I've been given the chance to make a canvas with Canvas Design and I chose a photo of my three girls and Freddy taken at the Alton Towers Scarefest last October.  I love the autumnal colours, the detail, the composition and the kids' faces as they smile for the camera in front of them.  

The end result is absolutely brilliant.  This photo does not do it justice.  The colour, the print quality and clarity of the canvas is wonderful.  It is well constructed with a deep pine frame and a tight cotton canvas, and comes ready to hang. The service is speedy and efficient with 48 hour delivery and the online prices are really competitive.  Prices start at just £7.99 for a 6 x 6" canvas and delivery is free.  

A bespoke canvas would make an excellent gift for Mother's Day or any other special occasion.

You can get a big 15% discount off when ordering from Canvas Design using the code BLOG15 

PLUS this is your chance to win your very own canvas from Canvas Design using an image of your choice.  

To enter simply fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Kizzy's Arty Photos

I thought I'd share these arty macro pics that 10 year old Kizzy took, which I think are really fabulous.  I love her composition and the thought that she has put into them.  I think she shows real promise! She recently entered the Moneysupermarket.com Kids Capture the Colour competition which really inspired her photography.  She used the colour prompts to take some close up photos of things she loves: Skittles, make-up and clothes! I love the access to technology that our children have.  The opportunities available can have a really positive influence, giving them exciting hobbies to pursue.  Kizzy used my Lumix DSLR and is getting to grips with the settings, not relying on the automatic functionality of the camera.

Kids Capture the Colour

Travelsupermarket.com's Kids Capture the Colour competition allows children to get creative with photography, taking pictures that capture the colours green, blue, red, yellow and white.  10 year old Kizzy is developing a real love for photography (enjoying being both sides of the camera) and embarked on the project with some very creative ideas.  Throughout the summer she used the camera, which she was sent to use, (as well as occasionally pinching my DLR!) to record precious memories and try out some arty shots.  Here are her favourite summer photos and the story behind each image in her own words.

Green

"This is taken at Beeston Castle and is in the woodland walk.  It is a really magical place to walk through.  I loved this tree which looks green because it is covered in mossy stuff.  I think it could be a place where fairies lived.  I love the roots."

Blue

"This is taken in Salford after we went to The Lowry.  Freddy was enjoying running and climbing on all the play equipment and on the walls.  He jumped off this bench loads of times and I caught this action shot of him mid air.  I love how his bright blue outfit stands out against the grey path. He's like Little Boy Blue."

Red

"This plant is outside our house and I love the red leaves and the flower-type thing which feels furry.  I love the colours of nature.  The red is really pretty."

Yellow

"I grew sunflowers this year from seed.  I was really excited when they grew into big yellow flowers.  Bees kept coming to visit them which made me really happy.  I was so happy to capture a picture of a bee on one of the sunflowers.  I tried lots of times but this is the best because you can actually see its eyes and the details on its wings. I cropped it down to get a good close-up and it's my favourite shot."

White

"We've had some lovely blue skies this summer with fluffy white clouds. I really liked this photo because it looks like a scan photo with a baby sucking his thumb.  Can you see it?"

This is Kizzy's entry into the Kids Capture the Colour Photography competition.

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I will be posting some more of Kizzy's photos on my blog shortly as she has some lovely arty, close up shots of the colour themes featuring sweets, clothing and make-up (some of her favorite things!)

Albelli Photo Book Review

The summer sun is shining and I am finding myself taking loads of photos of the family on days out or playing in the garden.  These digital images can end up sat on the hard drive of my computer or they can be liberated into the pages of a photo book that will be looked at and enjoyed by the whole family for years to come!

Albelli gave me the opportunity to make a photo book and I used photos from my holidays at Centre Parcs and Butlins along with photographs taken at Kizzy's school fair and on Ella's 17th birthday, to bring to life a collection of family memories from the last 3 months.

I downloaded the Albelli Photo Creator which made making the photo book really easy, giving access to all the design options.  I was able to choose how many photos would appear on the pages, change the layout and add text.  You can also add clip art, frames, special effects and page colours. 

I kept my design simple and used as many photos as I could as I have taken thousands of pictures over the last few months!  I opted for a photo front cover and upgraded to get the glossy pages.  I also added some extra pages, making a 32 page book.

It's so easy to order the book online and the delivery time is quick. Emails keep you updated on the progress.

My book arrived well packaged and I was delighted with it!  (Just make sure that you proof read your order - I made a typo that I didn't spot!  The books are printed exactly as you create them.)

Take a look at albelli.co.uk to find out more and to get creating your own photo book or one of their other photo products.

Photo Books for Father's Day

This Father's Day why not make your dad a photo book filled with special photographs?  I think it is a fabulous, personal gift idea and something that will be treasured for years to come, bringing back precious moments and family memories whenever it is looked at.

Albelli have given us the opportunity to make our own photo book for Father's Day.  Unfortunately, with the bout of illness that has struck everyone in our house down over the past three weeks, we haven't managed to create one yet.  As the deadline for ordering is June 9th 2013, I will be doing it this weekend so we get it back in time for Father's Day.

Taking a look through the Albelli website, there are some really inspirational ideas for making a brilliant, personalised 'Book for Dad'.

You can include photos of dad's favourite things: his car, the dog, his favourite food, his record collection and of course the kids!  With funky layouts, fun frames and photo masks, text boxes and cool clip art to play with, the book can be made exactly how you want it.

With a little effort, every page can be turned into something magical.  You can tell a story, capture the mood and create a really special photobook.  The Photo Book Creator has all the tools you need to design and edit a book to your own specifications.  The Inspiration Pages include step by step tutorials so you can achieve specific effects and themes such as using watercolour backgrounds and  brush stroke masks to display photo images of your kids' artwork within the photobook.

If you don't have the time you can always opt for a pre-designed photo book where you simply have to upload your images into a template of your choice.  A bit of editing and tweaking can be applied so you are completely happy with the end result.

Prices start at just £6.95 for a Pocket Photo Book.  A Large Landscape Photo Book starts at £24.95.

I'm really looking forward to getting creative and a little bit bold as I create the Photo Book for Ian's Father's Day present.  I'll report back when we receive the finished result!

Here is a book I made for Ian last year showing the excellent quality of the Albelli photo books.

Find out more at www.albelli.co.uk

Beginners Tips For Food Photography

One of the (many) things I learned at the Tots 100 Blog Summit in Birmingham this weekend, was how to use my Lumix G2 camera a bit more effectively thanks to Tom and Becky Arber's photography workshop.  I've always wanted some hands on advice on how to get more out of my camera but have never been brave enough to sign myself up for a course.  To get expert advice (suitable for a simpleton like me) for free, thanks to this brilliant conference, was absolutely fabulous and just one of the reasons why I love coming to these events.  There is always something new to learn.

One of the things I regularly photograph for the blog is food for reviews or recipes and it isn't as easy as it should be!  Flashes make the picture look really flat.  Too little light and the image isn't sharp enough.  We don't always have a fabulous source of natural light to illuminate our photography subjects so for well-lit, focused food photos we need an artificial light source.  Tom had some great lights which were perfect for the job and cost just £30.  These will prove a great investment for most bloggers but you can use an angle poise lamp just as effectively.

I didn't realise just what a difference the different lighting made to the image.  I took these photographs of a plate of chocolate doughnuts using the automatic setting on the camera and without a flash.

Image 1 is lit from above with a light.  Image 2 has no extra lightsource.  Image 3 was lit from the side and Image 4 had sandwich lighting from both sides.  The difference in the images is quite marked, allowing you to get the look you want using shadows and lighting to their desired effect.  It has given me the confidence to experiment with my photography and to play with how I use lighting. 

We also got to play with shutter speed whilst photographing flour being sieved.  Using the S setting on the camera I adjusted the speed to about a 200th of a second.  This photo froze time showing the flour particles passing through the sieve almost individually.  Setting the camera to a slower shutter speed and using a tripod gave a very different effect of the flour flowing through the sieve.  It had a hazier look as the light entered the camera for longer.  These techniques can be used for liquids too to capture a drink being poured into a glass.

For close-ups, we used the Macro setting on the camera.  By setting the focus (mine is done by tapping the screen on the camera), and using a good lightsource, a very sharp, detailed image could be taken.  I had a try with some peppers and some birthday cake candles and was quite pleased with the result.

The workshop has given me a lot more confidence with my camera.  The different manual settings allow for a degree of control over the aperture and shutter speed to get the image you want to achieve.  The importance of good lighting has been demonstrated to me and I won't simply be flashing all my pics from now on!  Hopefully my photographs will improve now I know a few tricks and tips to improve my photography.  I'm still just a beginner who doesn't know the fancy phrases, but I feel far more empowered to give it a go now.

So even an old dinosaur like me can learn new things! Thanks to Sally and the Tots 100 team for their continuing input into the blog-related education of our community!

Photo Gifts From Snapfish

I take so many photographs of my loved ones!  When it comes to deciding which ones to get printed up into photo products  I often struggle to pick a single favourite.  So I was very pleased when I discovered that I could now pick a few of my best shots to include when making photo gifts for the family!

Snapfish have a new product added to their extensive range of personalised photo gifts and prints, the Collage Photo Panel.  Up to 15 photographs can be used to make a beautiful display that will be treasured for years to come.

The glossy panels are a perfect way to display favourite shots and they do away with the need for a separate  frame.  They come in sizes 7 x 5, 10 x 8 and 14 x 11 and can be hung on the wall or will stand up on a flat service.

The website is very easy to use.  Photos can be uploaded and added to the photo panel.  You can then  adjust borders, choose a background colour, change the orientation, add a title and shuffle the pictures around to create your perfect bespoke design.

I was lucky enough to be able to try out a few products for myself courtesy of Snapfish.  I created a 10 x 8 Collage Photo Panel  for my dad's 80th birthday.  I had fun picking out favourite shots of my parents and my children to create a collage that I hope he will love!  The finish is lovely and glossy and the built in stand means that it can go straight on the mantlepiece!  It cost £17.99.

I was also incredibly impressed with Snapfish's Collage Prints which start at just 9p!  Up to 20 images can be arranged onto a Collage Print.  You can add a title and change the background colour.  They are available as 6 x 4, 7 x 5 and 10 x 8.

The glossy prints are really great and can be framed to make excellent gifts.  I made a selection of 10 x 8 prints for just 99p each, using favourite shots.  They look great and are really reasonable.   Buying a frame will transform them into a wonderful personalised gift for giving to loved ones!  Excellent with Christmas fast approaching.

The Collage Mug is another fun product from Snapfish.  With a choice of background colour, an option to include text and up to 15 photos plus the optional extra of getting a coloured interior, they are a great gift idea from just £7.99.  The one I made was £8.99 with a red interior!

Find out more and order your own personalised photo gifts and prints at www.snapfish.co.uk

"Europe is Beautiful" with Cewe Photobook

CEWE PHOTOBOOK LAUNCHES SEARCH FOR EUROPE’S MOST CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER AND OUTSTANDING PHOTOGRAPH

To celebrate Europe’s outstanding and versatile beauty, Europe’s number one photo book company, CEWE PHOTOBOOK has launched an initiative to champion keen photographers’ talents.

‘Europe is Beautiful’ is the largest photo competition in Europe and gives anyone that’s creative with a camera, the chance to show-off their special shots. Categorised into ‘people’, ‘sports’, ‘city and history’ and ‘culture and nature’ entrants are encouraged to get creative and demonstrate their flair for photography through their eye-catching snaps.

Whether  focusing on Europe’s culture or history, people or landscapes, keen photographers are able to submit up to 5 of their prized pictures in any of the four categories of to be in with a chance of winning one of many spectacular prizes.

A picture really does tell a thousand stories so what better way to revel in Europe’s beauty than through snap-shots of some of its greatest attributes; Rome’s magnificent Colosseum, the coastline of Croatia, Spanish fiesta’s, Italian personalities and the vibrant buzz of London. This innovative competition gives people the opportunity to document a beautiful and diverse continent from behind their lens.

The competiton is now live at http://contest.cewe-fotobuch.de/eib2012/en and will run until the end of of 2012. Once the competiton has closed an expercienced panel of judges will select 500 winners from all the entries, which will then be announced at the begining of 2013.

The ‘Europe is Beautiful’ competition is easy to enter, entrants simply register and enter online at http://contest.cewe-photobook.co.uk/eib2012/en/photos/add

First prize is a luxury European cruise for two, second and third prizes are exclusive multi-day European city breaks for two and there are hundreds of runners up prizes including Samsung cameras and CEWE PHOTOBOOK vouchers.

With so many prizes it is well worth going through your holiday photos and entering this great competition!

Bayeux Cathedral

Silent Sunday #Project 52

The Day That...My Son Was Born

A Unique Personalised Gift To Commemorate A Special Day

"Imagine a high-quality, framed photograph of dawn on the day you would like to commemorate.  Evoking all the emotion and significance of that special day."

The Day That... is an online company specialising in creating one of the most unique gifts on the market.  Every morning since 2005, before day break, photographers have headed out to capture the drama of the dawn skies, so that images can be crafted into beautiful works of art.  These unique, authentic photographs become a treasured reminder of a memorable day, evoking the mood and magic of those special moments.

Ideal as a birth, christening, wedding or anniversary gift or for celebrating any special date, these mounted, framed and hand inscribed pictures are simply breathtaking and so symbolic, capturing the start of each momentous day for all time. They are timeless pieces of art to mark The Day That...you got married, gave birth or celebrated a special anniversary.

I was given the chance to experience The Day That... for myself so I could create my own special framed photograph to commemorate a special day in my life.  The website is really easy to use and is a visual treat as you search through the beautiful dawn images.  It takes just a few simple steps to create your own bespoke and original piece of wall art.

Firstly you find the special date that you want to commemorate using the handy calendar tool.  Each dawn shoot provides a selection of photographs in both landscape and portrait to choose from, so you can pick the one that best encapsulates the feeling of what that day means to you.  I found the dawn photographs from the day my youngest son was born and had nine images to choose from.  One of the seascapes looked so still, so tranquil and so calm.  It was just perfect.

The next step is to pick a size for the finished piece.  They range from Small 28cm x 35cm to Exhibition size 66.5cm x 84cm.  Next you choose the frame type from either Birch, Palisander, Silver or Black.  You can see exactly how the finished picture will look when you click on each option.  When you are happy with how it looks, you can write a personalised message that will be hand inscribed on the mount.  It really is that simple!  (An unframed mounted version is also available for framing yourself.)

The Day That...My Son Was Born

My finished picture arrived well packaged in a box with bubble wrap and cardboard corners ensuring its safe arrival in perfect condition.  The photo above does not give justice to just how gorgeous the finished piece is.  The colours are rich and the image itself is so poignant, knowing that this was the actual dawn of the day when my son came into the world.  It is simply beautiful with the inscription "Freddy's First Day" with his date of birth hand inscribed onto the mount.

Anyone would be thrilled to receive such a thoughtful, original and unique gift.  Prices start from just £55 for the unframed service.

Just take at look at www.thedaythat.co.uk to see the photographs taken on the special days in your family's life (since 2005).

Special Offer For My Readers

If you would like to get your very own personalised photo, The Day That have a fantastic offer just for you, where you can get a mounted, unframed print absolutely free with every framed print you order. To claim your free print, or just to find out more about them, phone The Day That directly on 01736 758109 and tell them I sent you. Their personal customer service is second to none, and they'll be absolutely delighted to take your call!

Photographic Nostalgia

In 1993, my son Joseph was five.  Ian and I were finally a proper couple.  He drove a vintage Morris Oxford.    I had an old Olympus SLR camera.

Looking back at old photos today, I came across these shots that I took of Joe some 19 years ago.  With a little tinkering on Picnik I made them into Polaroid snap shots.

I love a bit of photographic nostalgia...don't you?!

My Top 11 Photos of 2011

Oh is that a bandwagon?? *jumps on it*  So here are my top 11 photos of 2011!

Fun on the Trampoline

Horsemanning

Jurassic Park??

Fred's first trip to the beach.

A flower!

Tortoise porn!

London from a Duck!

My Camel Friends

My Beautiful Mum and Dad xxx

My Children's Smiles x

My Ring.  My Love.

The Kodak Big App Challenge

Kodak have just launched their Big App which lets anyone create big, beautiful images in giant poster size and beyond.  It works by breaking an image up into several sections which can then be printed out on multiple pages and pieced together to make wall art to liven up your home.  It has great potential with Christmas coming to make giant decorations or DIY scene setters!  The Big App site even has pictures you can print out, including a rather cuddly Santa who you could make life size and stick in the window to impress the neighbours and delight the kids!

Brit Mums are running a Kodak Big App Challenge where you simply post a photo that you would like to see given the Big App treatment.  Link up before November 22nd for your chance to win fabulous Kodak prizes.

This is my entry:

If this was giant size I could relive our brilliant French holiday, bringing the beautiful, beach front woodland and our family fun to life!

Uploading the photo to the app gives you a PDF showing each section of the photo.  My picture could be printed out on either 8 or a whopping 20 sheets of A4.  That would make a fabulous wall display.

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton Do Fashion!

There is no denying that these two boys know how to drive!  But what happens when you get them into a photographic studio to do a fashion shoot based on British Summer? Lewis grabs the camera, Jensen grabs the props and together they get closer to fashion!

Viral video by ebuzzing

What do you think?  Did the boys pull it off?  Was the horse too much?  You decide!

Shoot The Baby

"What you have caught on film is captured forever...it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything." - Aaron Siskind

Helen Webb's book "Shoot The Baby" (great title!) is a beautifully presented guide offering advice to parents on how to photograph babies and toddlers.  It is aimed at Mums and Dads, not professionals, and its light hearted, rather than technical, style presents ideas on capturing the best of those precious first years.


The ideas work with a full range of cameras from mobile phone to digital SLR.  Whatever format you are using, the tips help you create stunning photographs of your little one.


The book contains wonderful examples of beautifully composed photos of adorable little people!  The top tips and the composition ideas make creating your own shots really achievable.  With topics such as planning, lighting and achieving a winning smile, I felt inspired to experiment with my own Lumix G2. Freddy is not the most co-operative model, but many of the ideas in the book show how you can work around this.


The "Spot the Difference" section of the book highlights examples of what we do wrong and offers advice on techniques to improve our shots. Seeing the photos side by side, it was really clear seeing what could be improved.  It was most useful!


There are also practical tips on printing, post production, editing and online posting.  Digital photography can become a nightmare with thousands of pictures stored on a hard drive and never being viewed.   Organisation is the key!


Author Helen says:

“The book aims to help the average person with the average camera take better photos of their anything-but-average baby.  By exploring photography essentials and composition ideas in a light-hearted and easy to read way, I hope that new parents will now capture precious moments and milestones which do their babies justice.”

With suggested shot ideas to commemorate key events in your baby's life, alongside advice to address key areas of photography and the mistakes often made by amateurs, this book helps parents take professional looking photographs that capture their beautiful baby!  

Photos are so precious!  We are reminded to also capture tantrums, messy faces, grumpy faces or silly poses.  They will be so special in years to come!

I certainly felt more inspired and more confident using the settings on my camera, and have been a lot more creative with lighting and composition.

Here are a few early attempts to improve my photography!

Strong lines to structure a shot.

Natural light creating contrast.

Off Centre Composition.

I'm hoping to be able to capturte some great Silent Sunday and The Gallery shots utilizing some of the techniques I've learned!

"Shoot The Baby" is available at Amazon and at shootthebaby.co.uk RRP £12.99.
It would make a great Father's Day present for a proud, camera wielding daddy or grandad!

Photobox

I was lucky enough to be approached by Photobox to become a tester for their products and services.  Photobox is the one-stop-shop for beautiful and innovative ways to make the most of your family pictures.  They have over 3.5 million members in the UK trusting them with their precious photos everyday.

I had my account credited with £30 so I could experience the service like any other member and then report back on the good, the bad and the ugly!

I am guilty of taking hundreds of digital snaps and uploading them onto my laptop and forgetting about them.  I have literally hundreds of photos from this year alone.  Precious pictures of my children that deserve better, are languishing unseen on my hard drive!  So the prospect of making an A4 photobook was a perfect idea for me!

The website was easy to navigate and offers options at every step to ensure that you are creating exactly the product you want to fulfil your needs.  The online software offers you a choice of themes for your photobook, from the best-selling Baby's First Year Book to the contemporary Classic design.

I made a folder on my laptop of the pictures I wanted to include and ended up with some 180 photos taken over the last four months.  I then added these photos onto an album on Photobox ready to create my photobook.  While they were uploading I was able to get on with my creation.

You have the option to make an Instant Photobook where all the hard work is done for you.  It is a super quick way to produce a beautiful book.  You can then edit and add text to personalise it.  However, I opted to go for the DIY manual method which gives you total control over page layouts allowing you to maximize how many pictures you use and in what order they will be printed.  This obviously takes longer, but I really enjoyed dragging and dropping the photos in the order I wanted them to be, editing them in-situ, experimenting with different layouts and adding text boxes. I managed to include all my photos in the standard 26 pages, whereas the instant option would have required an extra 72 pages to feature all my pictures!  These are charged at £1.50 per 2 pages. (It made it very clear that I would be charged extra to have the book that way.) So that is worth considering when you decide how you want to create your book, especially if using  a lot of photographs.

I regularly saved my creation as I went along to be sure I didn't lose my work. There was no glitches in the system and I created my book smoothly and without any technical difficulties.  I ordered my book and was extremely impressed to see it arrive on my doorstep three days later.

The packaging was very good.  A sturdy cardboard outer contained the plastic covered photobook, so even the postal service and the weather couldn't spoil my creation!

The book itself was simply gorgeous!  A cut out on the front cover showed my first page photo through.  I had picked a snap that always makes me smile featuring my eldest son ruining a family photo by pulling a silly face!

I used a variety of layouts that maximized the number of pictures I could use.  The size of the book meant that even with 12 photos displayed on a page, they were still a good size.  The printing is clear and sharp and the end result is really great.

I think that a photobook is a much better way of displaying photographs than using an album.  It takes up less space and is much easier to flick through.  I love the option of being able to add text, making a real story book of your family's fun for years to come.  No memories will be lost.  I love it!

Ian was very impressed when I showed him the book I had made and poured through the pages with great delight, spotting moments from the last four months captured within its thick, glossy pages.

A4 Photobooks start at £24.99 (+ P&P).  Pricing is clear and straightforward with options to add extras such as a personalised cover, extra pages or upgraded paper quality.  There are often discount codes available such as the current offer of 35% off all hardcover photobooks.  Offer code:HCBOOKS valid until 12/05/11.  So now is a perfect time to get your digital photography in order by making your own quality Photobox photobook!