Life In A Snapshot

I finally made up my mind. I am going to buy a new phone before my birthday! What unit? I am still undecided. If He will allow me to get an iPhone or a Blackberry or the latest from Nokia, it’s okay. If I can only afford the not so expensive ones, then I’d also be happy as long as it is unlocked phone so I can switch networks. I am loyal with Smart because I’ve been a subscriber ever since the world began but who knows, I might need to shift to other network provider. So getting an unlocked phone is better for this purpose.

It isn’t that easy taking a family portrait especially if the family is big or the location is crowded but here are some things to keep in mind when creating family portraits:

1. Think in “mini-groups”. A family portrait is simply multiple “mini groups” within one large group. Use groups of two’s and three’s to compose your family shot.
2. Remember “levels”. One of the most important elements of a group shot is to vary the levels of your subjects. Placing some faces higher than others will allow you to make the shot more intimate in spacing.
3. Consider “color”. While color coordination is by no means necessary for group shots, it can help the overall flow. Have your subjects go by types of color, such as “vibrant”, “bold”, “pastels”, etc.
4. Watching even lighting, but don’t stress about it. So long as all the eyes are visible, and faces are lit relatively the same, your good to go.
5. Pick shade: As the sun doesn’t set until late in the evening, you’ll have to wait for good sidelight until about 5 pm. If your stuck shooting before this time, find awnings, the shaded back side of buildings, or tree cover to diffuse the harsh sunlight.
6. Move quickly: It’s very helpful to try story-boarding your group shots ahead of time according to the number of people you have. The more people you have in a shot, the less time you have to create it. Story-boarding is more about knowing what you want, than it is about formal posing.
7. Be fun and spontaneous! Plan to take shots of the families walking, striking a dance pose, linking arms, or jumping in the air. These shots capture genuine expressions among the entire group and help to keep your subjects happy and interested.
8. Background work: The larger the party, the less control you have with eliminating your background. Simplify as much as you can by changing the angle you take your shot. Taking the shot from the ground or directly down on your subjects may eliminate enough background to feature the group without distraction.

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Taken on January 20

My outdated yet ever reliable cellphone. I was contemplating on getting a replacement should budget permits in the next payouts but my “want” is too expensive. I want an iPhone. But Ace is convincing me to get a Blackberry instead. If only these things are just affordable, I won’t have problem weighing things out. You see, we have our monthly obligations, we have so many plans, we still have needs for the house, and we have our vacation plan come summer. No, not a Branson vacation but just a vacation at the beach. Uh..oh, it seems the vacation at Bantayan Island won’t push through but we will definitely go to the beach for a day or two.  Beach, here we come!

Need to maximize my time in blogging. And since I have a 24/7 internet connection, why not add more domains that I and Ace could monetize? Ace needs a little more prodding to blog, though. He wants, actually. But he’s not confident with his grammar and composition. Oh well, that’s too easy to manage. I could proofread his entries if he wants. Then in the long run he will gain confidence in writing. Also, if I add domains, I think I’ll go for health and tips blogs (as per Paula’s suggestion) so I could hire ghost writers to write blog posts. That’s it. I’ll have additional 2 domains for health and tips. Now I need some resources for those 2 niche blogs that I will be making and an entry on herpes simplex 2 might be one of the first blog posts that I’ll be making. Wish me luck then!

January 19

Thirdie at 3 months and 7 days. Our super little pup is now too big and too heavy to carry. If we can’t get a decent photo of him before, now he learned to be still everytime he sees the camera aimed on him.

Setting up a blog is so easy, at least for me who has 8 blogs. But maintaining a steady quality traffic is so difficult especially that I don’t optimize my blogs or I don’t post current events and the like on my blogs because I am keeping it as “personal” as possible hence no entertainment and news items in my blogs. I stopped dropping ECs and removed my adgitize widgets. Those two are giving me traffic but my bounce rate drastically increased so it’s not a good source of quality, unique traffic. I’d better make use of the free web directory for a quality traffic but I don’t have time yet to check those free web directories. Hence I am just contented with a few visitors in my blogs. Few, and yet quality traffic. As long as they leave comments, I am happy with that. It means I am making sense in my posts.

January 18

My youngest sister is a camera whore. This is the nth time that she dressed up and asked me to take photos of her. Take note, PHOTOS and demand that I upload it immediately so she can brag about it in facebook.

One afternoon she changed clothes and we had a photo shoot from the front area of the apartment  to our CR, to the utility area at the back then the living room where I took advantage of the setting sun’s rays.

In my previous post I mentioned I have overcome insomnia with Camomile tea. Camomile tea really helped! It’s so amazing how it relaxes my body and put it to deep slumber that I feel so relax and well-rested even with just 4 hours of sleep. Isn’t that good for those who have sleep problems and are not into taking sleeping pills? So if you have sleeping problem and are not considering sleeping pills, try the tea. It might work for you.

Taken on January 17.

It’s Hubby’s birthday but since we didn’t prepare for anything, I kept myself occupied reading this book and finished it in one sitting. Love it!

Everything is so overwhelming! So many tasks plus work plus house chores will definitely make me insane! Thanks to my work and my sideline anyway! I love it! This is much better than having nothing so bring it on! How can I can concentrate when I am also thinking of my plans for my flickr® reorganization? Yes, I have started reorganizing my photos in flickr® and this would be a lot of work! Well, before I get lost with everything, I’d check for acne treatment review and acne scars treatment to know what would be the best for Ace. I want him to undergo treatment to eliminate the scars that adolescent pimples/acne left on his face.