The Poor Man's Bokeh Kit

I'm sorry for the extremely long hiatus and lack of posts the past few months!  Basically, what I have been facing is a ridiculously busy senior year in college.  Between hard classes, job hunting, and working, I haven't had the free time to mess around on blogs like I did as a freshman.  I sincerely hope that will change after graduation, and that I'll be able to start posting regularly again.

As a quick post, I thought it might be fun to tell you about ways to create shaped bokeh.  I was mesmerized when I first saw the heart, star, tree, and paw shaped dots of light in photos all over Flickr and the web.  I immediately investigated how to take shots like the one below.

Photo from tehchix0r on Flickr

In searching how to do this, I found a "ghetto/college student/cheapskate" solution.  This basically consists of cutting a piece of stock card or construction paper into a circle the size of your lens.  Then, cut a shape--any shape you're artistically capable of making--into the center of the circle. Personally, I used fancy paper hole punches (hearts and stars) to make the shapes that I wanted.  Tape this over your lens, switch it to manual focus, and start shooting.  If you're having trouble visualizing this setup, DIY Photography has a more detailed procedure for this technique here.

I'll admit that I am no expert at this and it was very difficult to get the focus to work correctly.  However, I've only tried it a couple times, so I may be able to figure out ways to improve my skills.  Here are a few shots from my first attempt.

As you can see, I struggled with focus and blur in many situations.  I plan to try this again now that I have a proper tripod (I got it for Christmas a couple days after shooting these photos) to see if it helps with some of my blur issues.  I will post those as soon as I am in a situation with pretty lights to photograph again.

I also did some research into buying the actual bokeh filters.  I found a nifty bokeh kit on Photojojo that is calling to me.  If I weren't trying so hard to save money before graduation, I would probably go for this impulse buy.  It's a reasonable $25 for the lens attachment and a wide variety of shapes.  If arts and crafts frustrate you, this product may be the way to go: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/bokeh-kit/

Anyway, have fun with this little trick and let me know if you have tips as to how to improve its quality! :)

Photography as Wall Art

In past blog posts, I have suggested a couple different ways that photography can save you money.  They were:

1) Taking a picture of a picture rather than investing in a scanner (click here to read).

2) Taking your own family/senior portraits instead of paying a professional (click here to read).

My mother recently suggested another topic that involves a money saving technique: using your own photos as art in your home.  Rather than spending money on expensive paintings or framed photos from a store, you can print out your own photos and frame them yourself.  My mother has done this in our own home a few times and has gotten compliments from people who had no idea that she had taken the photos herself.

Not only is it cheaper to get your photos printed out at home or Walmart/Walgreens, but your own photos will offer more versatility.  If there is a specific subject you want featured in the photo, you can take it upon yourself to get the shot you need (your subject can be anything, but nature and still life are your best bets).  Using your own pictures also allows you to match the mood and and coloring of your room perfectly.  If a sepia toned photo would look better in the room than full color, you have the option of editing the photo to suit your needs.  That's definitely not always true with a store-bought print.  It's even possible to match the season.  My mother switches out the photos in our living room to better reflect the weather outside.  It looks weird to have flowers on your wall in the middle of January.

Finally, if you want the photo to have a more artsy feel, applying effects is usually necessary.   Effects that soften or fade the color, such as sepia, black and white, fancy focus, ortonish, cross process or combinations of these will usually do the trick.  A photo is generally more attractive as an artistic piece if it looks less "real."  Below are examples of photography that might work as wall art.

Taken by my Mom.  As you can see, it has a softer, warmer tone rather than sharp,  bright colors.  

Taken and edited by me.  This one works as a more artsy piece because of the selective coloring and glowing edges.

Taken by my sister.  It's simple and pleasing to the eye.  

Taken by me.  This would be a good wall hanging for winter.  It's relatively simple and the black and white effect makes it more neutral.

This one was taken by my mother.  I'm not 100% sure, but she may actually have this photo up in our house.  She has a 3-picture frame that shows various pictures of daycare children playing outdoors.  If this one is used, I think she also added a white vignette to make the photos more ethereal.

Taken by me.  This is a picture of my sisters curtains, but it's ambiguous enough that it could be used as a still life shot.  The effect also neutralizes and softens the color.

Taken by my sister.  The effect she applied to this makes it good for a wall hanging.  I'm not sure exactly which effect she would have used for this one, but it gives it a grainy, sepia-like tone that adds interest.

Taken by my sister.  The colors in this particular photo are probably muted enough as it is, so no editing would necessarily be needed.  This would be a good choice if you wanted a boating or beach theme in the room.

It's a little difficult to give examples for this topic because people's taste and need varies so much.  All of the photos shown above could be edited further to fit the color and style of a particular room.  Anyway,  to summarize, here's what I suggest:

1) Use a relatively simple photo.  Personally, I don't think overly busy photos look as good.  For wall hanging you don't necessarily want something too distracting.


2) Edit the photo to match the look of your room.  Most of my suggestions involved toning down or softening colors, but ultimately you can do whatever you want.  


3) Print the photo in the size you need either at home or at a store that offers a printing service.


4)  Frame it yourself.  Matting the photo isn't absolutely necessary, but you could do that, too.

Overall, it's a fairly simple process that will save you a lot of money.  Prints are ridiculously high priced, so if you use your own photo and (ideally) a frame you already have, you can save yourself a ton of money.   Plus, having your own photos on the wall is nice personal touch you can add when decorating your home.  What could be more original than having your own photography or artwork on the wall?

Senior Picture Money Savers

In a few short weeks, there will be high school seniors graduating all over the country.  Along with graduation come senior photos, which are often taken professionally at a hefty price.  Some photographers are cheaper than others, but either way you'll be forking out a decent amount of cash.  I've known people that have spent hundreds (if not close to $1,000) on senior photos.  However, thanks to an idea my family got from one of my friends, we paid $0 for my brother and me to have our senior pictures taken (and only a small amount for them to be printed).

How was this possible?  The answer is simple: we took the pictures.  My mom was responsible for my pictures, and my brother's pictures were a combination of work by me, my younger sister, and my mom.  We took the pictures outdoors in our backyard, at parks, golf courses, etc. with our own digital cameras, uploaded the pictures, and edited them on Picnik.  To print the photos, we simply sent the photos to get printed at Walmart's photo center (these prints are very reasonable priced) and picked them up later.  

In other words, the pictures could be taken on our time, in a location we chose, and could be uploaded/printed as quickly as we wanted.  My mom would be better equipped to provide more detailed information on the exact cost of printing at Walmart, but I know it's not very much.   All in all, this is a great way to cut hundreds of dollars from the senior year budget.  I've included a couple examples of my brother's senior photos below.

This photo was taken in our backyard and edited by my mother.

This one was taken by me in a local park, and later edited on Picnik. 

Finally, this shot was taken by my younger sister (a freshman in high school) and later edited by me in Picnik.

You can also cut corners on graduation invitations, converting one of the pictures into a party invite. Below is a mock graduation invitation made from one of the senior pictures my mother took.  All of the editing and text was added in Picnik.

I'm not good with invitations, so the words I chose are a bit lame, but you get the idea.  Just like the regular senior photos, invitations can also be printed off at a local Walmart or Walgreens for a low price. 

Overall, I think taking your own senior photos is an ingenious way to save money.  The hundreds of dollars that you would have spend on photos can be put towards something else like college, textbooks, or other post-high school expenses.  One last thing I would like to point out, though, is that this method is not the best for studio portraits.  My family prefers outdoor shots, so this was not a problem.  However, you can still save money and get studio headshots.  My suggestion is to take your outdoor photos yourself and get a one or two studio shots at a professional.  It may not be as cheap, but it's not as expensive as getting ALL of your photos taken professionally.