Photography

My Favorite Camera Bags for Women // the Jeanne Oliver Mia Bag

0 · Jun 25, 2013 · 4 Comments

Jeanne Oliver Mia Camera Bag Review // I'm super excited to share one of my favorite finds with you guys today. A couple of years ago, I bought a new camera and with a new camera… I needed a new bag. First I googled "camera bags for women" and found a few bags, but nothing really hit the spot. Then I hit the Twitterverse and asked if anyone knew of some great, stylish camera bags that I should check out. Within just a few minutes, someone (I wish I could remember who) messaged me back with an amazing (new to me) find… The amazing Jeanne Oliver and her stunning bags!

My Twitter friend showed me the now retired camera bag that I've been using for over a year now.

This bag is not only my camera bag, I've used it as a purse, diaper bag, conference bag and carry-on. I LOVE this bag!! Recently Jeanne launched her new line of bags and with this new launch she has introduced a new camera bag called the Mia Bag. From the minute I saw the new bag on Instagram, I fell head over heels.

Isn't it just divine? The fabric, the colors, the workmanship… I just love it all! Here, I'll give you a quick tour!

Here's the inside. I have one of my cameras in one of the padded pockets. Keep in mind, this is a Canon Rebel so it's the standard, non-professional sized camera and it fits nicely in that pocket. If I were to put my Canon 5D Mark II in the bag, it would fit in the main compartment and have two padded spaces for extra lenses or an external flash. But, with the smaller camera I can also fit my wallet, my iPad, a notebook AND my Macbook Pro along with other smaller items.

The bag is fully padded and has two padded pockets along with a side zipper pocket perfect for keys, makeup and other small items. It has a cell phone pocket as well as a smaller pocket perfect for items like memory cards and such. This is the perfect purse / camera bag!!

The fabric is a heavy duty upholstery fabric that is easy to wipe clean and holds up to a lot of use. The front flap secures with a magnetic closure which I love. I hate fussy closures on bags.

The bags construction is superb and is up to any challenge you have to throw at it. The strap is sturdy and comfortable to wear.

I just love Jeanne's tag inside the bag, it's just so darn pretty!

AND, the handmade fabric flower on the front flap!! I just adore this detail. I love that my bag does not scream CAMERA BAG. That it's stylish and looks one of a kind. Now that I have two of Jeanne's camera bags (I also have one of her ruffled totes that I just LOVE) I can honestly say… They are by far my favorite camera bags!

You should check out the Jeanne Oliver Designs Site… she is one extremely talent lady who has her hand in many different creative pots these days. She designs bags and has two more in this summer's collection along with a handful of other items for sale.

The Sadie Handbag and the Elsie Linen Messenger Bag

Jeanne is also an amazing artist and photographer and she also teaches some amazing classes through her Jeanne Oliver Creative Network. This site is FULL of talented friends who have a passion for their work and love to share their talents along with what they have learned along their creative journey. It's an amazing site, you should check it out. All in all, I am a HUGE Jeanne Oliver fan and just had to share one of my loves with you guys!

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post. I did however, receive one free bag to review. All thoughts, ideas, opinions are my very own.

Jessica Sprague // Oh Shoot 2 Class GIVEAWAY

0 · May 20, 2013 · 80 Comments

This post is brought to you by Jessica Sprague.com // Happy Monday everyone!! I'm so excited for today's giveaway… My FAVORITE online learning site Jessica Sprague is launching a brand new photography class that I am sooooo excited about. It's a class for those of you who are well acquainted with your camera but who would like to learn more about composition and advanced styling techniques.

You have a dSLR camera and have already learned out to get it out of automatic – hooray for you! Now, what comes next? How about learning more about the artistic side of taking a photograph – the things beyond the words aperture and shutter speed that can take your photos to the next level?

If this sounds good to you, then we have the perfect class for you – Oh Shoot 2! Advanced Composition & Technique taught by Candice Stringham over at JessicaSprague.com. Candice is one of my all time favorite Photography instructors. She really knows her stuff!!

This 4-week long, intermediate level class will:

Review in more detail basic compositional rules
Address color theory and how it affects the mood and look of a photograph
Learn about photographing an editorial portrait
Learn about how to photograph an event
Learn about compositional rules when photographing a location
Learn tips about tabletop (small items) photography techniques

And as with all classes at JessicaSprague.com, the course materials (videos, downloadable PDFs, etc) are available to you forever! If you want to go back and retake a lesson or even the whole class at any time, everything will be available to you.

Candice Stringham, the course instructor is the real deal. An editorial photographer turned scrapbooker, Candice is a former Contributing Editor for Creating Keepsakes Magazine and was inducted into the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame in 2006. She has a BFA in Photography and taught at a collegiate level after she graduated. Visit Candice’s blog to learn more about her and see some of her amazing work.

The next session of Oh Shoot! 2 begins June 3^rd and registration opens tonight at 9Pm EST. There are two levels of registration available. The standard class which has unlimited enrollment and the extended class, which includes comments from the instructor on your photographs. Extended enrollment fills up quickly, so be ready right at 9Pm EST to register.

Click here for more information and to register.

Jessica and her crew have been so generous and are giving away THREE level one spots to Candice's Advanced Composition and Technique Class // Oh Shoot 2… That's a $132 value!! Just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The rafflecopter box may take a bit to load, especially if you are on Internet Explorer 9 or a mobile device… don't you worry though, it will load.

Jessica Sprague Oh Shoot! Digital Photography Classes // GIVEAWAY

2 · Mar 5, 2013 · 145 Comments

Digital Photography Class// Last week, I posted about my faux slate (chalkboard) photo background and asked if any one was interested in more photography posts. The response was overwhelmingly YES!! It seems that many of you would love to learn more about everything from how to use your camera, all the way through staging, editing and preparing your images for your blog and especially Pinterest.

Well, I am thrilled to announce I am starting a new series to touch on all aspects of my photo process, tips and tricks that I've learned over the past two years of blogging. I, however, am NOT going to dive into the world of teaching you how to use your camera. I would have to spend hours and hours, days, weeks even… Developing posts that would do the subject justice. I am going to leave that to the professionals at Jessica Sprague. They have spent way more than hours and days on developing some amazing photography classes. They actually have a teacher, Candice Stringham, who went to school for years to learn how to be a photographer. She KNOWS HER STUFF!! Not only does she have a BFA in Photography they invited her back to TEACH photography at the collegiate level. Yea, she's legit!

My first word of photography advice is… STOP USING AUTO friends!!! Oh Shoot! the beginning photography class at JessicaSprague.com is perfect to learn how to really use your camera. You won't believe the difference. This class will teach you how to do just that. You won't have to be scared of all those dials, buttons and numbers on your camera… It really demystifies your camera and the whole photo process. I took the class and actually learned several new things that I'm sooo excited to start incorporating into my photography. Oh Shoot! is perfect for beginners and even more advanced photographers. The nice thing is once you sign-up for the class, you will ALWAYS have access to the class material. You will be able to refer back to the material or take refresher class whenever you like for years to come. Most online photography classes don't have that available for their students indefinitely. That's just one of the many things that set Jessica Sprague apart from the rest.

Each class has a video, MP3 of the class material and a PDF of the material. Below are a few snippet's from the first class on Shutter Speed…

All of the material is professionally created, easy to read and understand. You won't feel like they are speaking photography greek. The class is limited in number so you will feel like really are a part of a small group, rather than a little fish in a big pond. You will also have the ability to chat with your classmates and instructor via the online chats and email for even more personalized help. It really doesn't get any better than this, REALLY!

The 2013 session of Oh Shoot! starts on March 11th and runs through April 21st. It is an instructor led class, but don't worry… You will have access to all of the materials even if you can't make the live chats. This is truly a valuable experience that shouldn't be missed. The class is $130 and well worth the money. The spots are limited so run out and grab your seat for class TODAY!! I have one spot to GIVEAWAY to one of you, my favorite friends!!

Jessica Sprague Oh Shoot! GIVEAWAY

All you need to do is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY Faux Slate Chalkboard Photo Background

74 · Feb 26, 2013 · 103 Comments

DIY Faux Slate Chalkboard Photo Background // When I first started blogging, one of my main goals was to learn how to take good pictures. If you were to go back to the beginning of WhipperBerry from the summer of 2010, You can see my photos were not exactly Pinterest worthy. Luckily Pinterest hadn't opened it's virtual doors quite yet.

One of my favorite things about bloggin is that I am constantly learning and developing new skills. I am constantly dissecting photos that I love, to figure out how I can create the same effect. Now, with Pinterest as a major player in our social media world… Photography is EVERYTHING. One of the easiest ways for a post to go viral these days is for it to be pinned and repined on Pinterest. A post can develop some strong legs on Pinterest and really bring in some major traffic for your site. The bottom line is… If you don't have a good photo, you are missing a huge chunk of the successful blog post equation.

One of my favorite styles of photography right now is, the dark slate chalkboard look. We've seen it everywhere on Pinterest. Not only is this chalkboard look popular for printables, it's super popular for pictures as well. Here are a few examples of photos that I've created for WhipperBerry with this look…

I love how the black background helps to make colors pop and it also has a bit of texture which in turn helps the image have more depth. It also creates a fun chalkboard look when adding text to your image. I just love it!!

Want to know how I made my background? It's super EASY and cheap! Here is what you will need…

Supply List

Black foam board – Any size will work, I have a couple of sets of various sizes. They range in price from just a few dollars for a small board up to about $15 for a large 20×30 depending on where you purchase them. Still nothing to sneeze at when compared to other photo backdrops.
Chalk
Old rag

Chalkboard Photo Background Instructions

Now, this couldn't be easier. Take your foam board and a piece of chalk…

Take the side of the chalk and gently rub circles around the surface of the foam board. Don't press too hard, it will dent or scratch the surface of the foam board and you don't want that to happen.

Once you've covered the entire surface of the foam board with the chalk, take an old rag and use it to blend the chalk over the surface of the board. This will give the board the look of slate when photographed.

Here's how it should look once you've blended the chalk…

Because they are so inexpensive and easy to make, I've made several of them of them and use them for not only the background but the base of my photo set-up. I'll let you in on a little secret, Here is how I photograph all of my photos…

This is actually my daughter's bedroom, but she has graciously offered to share it with me as my photo studio as well. It has the best natural light in the house and with windows on two sides of the room I have all kinds of fun playing with the light. This set-up was for yesterday's Campbell's post, here is how the picture turned out…

I am just in love with this look right now! So… I've been thinking about doing a few more posts on how I create the images for WhipperBerry, but I'm going to leave that up to you. If you are interested in more posts like this, leave a comment on this post and tell me what you would like to learn about. If there is enough interest, I will work up a whole new blogging series… So ask away!

Photography

Jessica Sprague Oh Shoot! GIVEAWAY

Supply List

Chalkboard Photo Background Instructions

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