Dance

Just a few shots out of the 600 that I took with my friend in the dance studio today! Ballet/dance photo shoots are a lot of fun, and hopefully this gives you some inspiration for similar projects! Of course, having such a flexible, talented model helped a lot! Some of these have been edited, and some clearly haven't- but these are a few of our favorites!

How to Get "Likes" on Facebook

A guide for the socially clueless

1. Use good grammar and spelling. This way, people will be able to understand what you’re saying and know that you’re speaking English, not an ancient dialect.

2. Posts about very popular movie or books always get lots of likes.

3. Don’t make obvious pleas for friends or “likes”. Be more witty and clever.

4. Everyone likes to give their opinion! Ask people for their view on something, and it’s sure to get a lot of feedback.

5. Post things that EVERYONE agrees with or can relate to. That way, no one can not like it!

6. Inspiring quotes usually get some attention. However, make sure they aren’t very long OR too difficult to understand.

7. If a small child says something endearing or hilarious, make it sound even more hilarious and then post it to your Facebook. Everyone likes hearing stories from your life.

8. Romantic or sentimental posts will get liked by a certain crowd. If they are about your significant other, children, or friends, phrase them in a creative way to make your sappier friends sniffle- and hit that “like” button.

23 yrs ago today my first real boyfriend asked me out on my first real date. We were both 17. Tonight, he brought me flowers.

9. Diet and workout related posts typically generate likes. Everyone enjoys bemoaning their out of shape bodies and can sympathize with you. It is an unexplained phenomena of nature that these posts always “liked”.

10. Never post inside jokes as your status! People will feel left out.

11. DON'T "like" your own posts. It makes you look desperate!

12. Don't whine about your life. It makes people annoyed. Stay postive!

13. Brevity is the soul of wit. Posts that are only a few words are often witty and get the likes flowing! Plus, your busy friends will have time to read them.

14. Choose creative seasonal posts.

For example, if it's Easter, try: "What should I do with my chocolate bunny if the chocolate's no good?"
If it's Christmas, opt for something funny about regifting, etc.

15. Don't overpost. When you regularly write statuses more than once a day, people usually stop reading them.

How do you get likes on Facebook? Let me know, and have fun writing your statuses and accumulating those "likes"!

Photographing People

Here are five tricks for photographing people! If you're doing a photo shoot, senior pictures, wedding shots of an individual, etc. I hope these will come in handy.  My dear friend Hannah is the model for this exhibit.

1. Give the subject chocolate.

Trust me, it gets them in a better mood, gives them more energy, and makes them more motivated to get their picture taken.

2. Get your model moving around.
These may not be the pictures you keep (like the one below), but they are fun and help whoever you're photographing to loosen up.

3. Experiment with different types of lighting to figure out what works best.

Maybe standing right in front of the sun isn't the brightest idea (pun intended), but try some shots there anyway.

Then, try a few shots in a shaded area.

Outdoors or indoors, experiment with artificial and natural light and different settings. You might be surprised at what works for you!

 4. Candids.
Candid pictures are quite often the ones people love. They show a lot of emotion and don't have that forced "cheese" quality to them.
Don't be afraid to just chat with the person you're photographing and take snapshots while you're at it. Even when they're not looking straight into the camera with a grin plastered on their face- take a picture! You might love the results.

5. Relax and HAVE FUN!

Take silly pictures, laugh, don't be so uptight and worried about getting the "perfect" picture. Enjoy yourself and you'll love the results!

Lessons from a Fifth Grader

The other day I posted my little brother's "lessons" that he's learned in life this year. Now, here are my little sister's!

What I've Learned This Year

by Grace, age 10

1. I learned that in public school, you can't say the word "bomb".

2. I learned that when you tell your friends secrets, they're not secrets anymore.

3. I learned what emotions I have when I see the flag. [after having to write an essay about it for school!]

4. I learned that when I answer the phone, I need to say my first AND last name.

5. I learned how to get a haircut and help someone with cancer at the same time.

What lessons have YOU learned this year? Funny or serious, leave me a comment and let me know!

Lessons from a First Grader

My sweet littlest brother shared with me these ten things that he learned this year. I thought they were adorable and decided to share them! Part two, "Lessons from a Fifth Grader" from my little sister is coming up soon.

WHAT I LEARNED THIS YEAR
By Abraham, age 7

1.I learned that a million dollars is a lot.

2. I learned that I really needed glasses.

3. I learned what it looks like when my Tamagotchi dies.

4. I learned how to spell skate: “s-k-e-t”

5. I learned that friends sometimes don’t get along.

Because one time I was playing with my friends and Nick always got to be president. And he always said Nate was guilty.

6. I learned the 3 things that Jesus got tempted by. Every day I get tempted to do something bad. Don’t I?
Wait, when did I do something bad today?

-long pause-

Oh, yeah.

7. I learned that I didn’t brush my teeth well for a really long time.

8. I learned that the capital of New York is NY.

9. I learned how to make paper airplanes.

10. I learned that I'm not good at remembering to feed my fish.

One of my favorites...

2 Corinthians 4:16-20

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

one of my favorite Bible verses that is very uplifting to me. hope it encourages you as well.

Monthly Challenges!

I decided that every month of 2012, I will challenge myself to do something. I want to either cut out something bad for me, or incorporate a good habit into my life. Just for 29-31 days: one little month! These challenges will mostly be for my health and well being-  physical, spiritual, or mental. Or just fun experiments I want to try.

 I'm going to blog about each challenge I give myself, and since it's already March, I guess I'm a little behind! So to catch you up...

JANUARY was no soda month. And no soda month turned into NO SODA 2012. I kissed Sprite, Pepsi, Root Beer, and all the others good bye.

So far, I haven't had a single drop of soda. It's been quite difficult at times, but I've succeeded to resist the temptation! I wanted to do this challenge because I know how harmful soda is to the body and I want to cut it out for good.

FEBRUARY was "Fab Abs" month. I used this chart I found on Pinterest and followed it strictly (along with my other usual physical fitness activities). I did miss a day or two due to sickness, but I'm happy to say that I did stick with it the majority of the time! My stomach muscles definitely got stronger and I'm happy to say I stuck with this for the whole month!

MARCH is "no desserts" month! I cut out all sweets and desserts (like cake, cookies, pie, candy, etc.) from my diet for the month. Yes, I've only been doing it for 5 days, but it's already soooo hard! I have such a sweet tooth, and I can see that this is going to be a long month.

Those are all the challenges I've had so far this 2012. If you have any suggestions for what I should challenge myself to do in April, let me know! I've done all health goals so far, so maybe I should branch out from there. I was thinking maybe sometime this year I should do a "no jeans" month!

I like this method of goal setting because a month is long enough to establish a good habit, but not too long to be unreasonable. It's more realistic for me than New Year's Resolutions, which I keep for a few months and then forget about/let slide. I hope you enjoyed this post and that it inspired you to start makin' goals!