"Better Than Birthday" Day

As a kid I always wished my birthday was in the summer instead of in the very cold month of January. I wanted to have a pool party or go swimming on my birthday. I dreamed of a second birthday where I got to choose the day. Yeah, never happened. But as an adult, it can. I recently began a ritual with my family where we get to choose a day on your actual birthday, any day of the year, as a "Better than Birthday" day. On this day, you get to do the things that you wouldn't be able to do on your actual birthday. Not a bad deal right.  

  

2¢

It's one thing to be inspired by a fellow photographer or artist's work, another to copy those ideas. Why not let their work inspire you to delve deeper into your creative soul and motivate you to produce something better? But not the same, it's just bad business. That's my two cents.    
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

WEBSITE: Pura Vida

One series I'm working on today for the new site is called "Pura Vida" which means "pure life" in spanish and is the widespread motto in Costa Rica. This series will showcase photographs of this rich, beautiful, magical country where they believe in a pure life, uncluttered of things unimportant. They choose to surround themselves with nature, family and friends. Hmm, they seem to have their priorities straight. Could we learn a little something from Costa Ricans (aside from how to grow the best coffee)? 
  

2¢

Photograph personality not just pretty faces. Cast accordingly.

Bit the Bullet

Urged by my creative director husband, I put up yet another totally unnecessary page on the web:
follow this link to kim lowe photography on facebook

Bumbo Seat

Little guy's being so patient while I grab a few shots. (Yeah, a few. That's funny. More like 100! Hey I never said I didn't have issues.) 
  

Faces Book

I whipped together a book for my 5 month old with pics of his big brother. The baby is so focused on and interested in everything the 2 year old does. I took the idea from a "faces" book I've seen in the stores — I put my own prints and pieces of artwork that I've either bought or made into a blank book, simple as that. But please do a better job than me, I did this in an hour. (Like I said, I have a 5 month old and a 2 year old, an hour's all the extra time I have right now.) 

Blank book at Amazon, follow this link.   

  

Plus it stands up on its own. Bonus!

Daydreaming: My Garden

I'm taking breaks from editing photographs to dream about my garden, very slippery slope. Soon I'll be ordering seeds, spreading mulch, pruning...


(titmouse at the feeder this morning)

2¢

If you're a photographer pulling together a website or portfolio, please hire a pair of eyes other than your own to edit your work. Editing for my new site is proving to be a huge challenge and I'm my worst enemy. The art director in me is fighting with the photographer in me and neither one is winning. (They've gotten along so well in the past.) So if you have a designer, art director or art buyer as a friend then ask for help otherwise you could be editing for months and months and months... (well, I have lots of all three so maybe it's best not to take my 2 cents, disregard everything I've said and navigate away from this blog as fast as you can)


I like these shots, but do I love them? Are they website-worthy? Are they too cute, not funny enough, not interesting enough? The light's nice but the content is mediocre? Have you seen them before? At this rate, I'll have a new website in 2012 and there will be two photos on it.  
     

SMARTY-PANTS: Smoothies

(the on-going "smarty-pants" post series is me offering up advice on the very things I know so little about: life and parenting. enjoy!)
  
I'm not one to be offering up advice on life and parenting that's for sure, there are plenty of other blogs for that. But I do have a couple tips you might find helpful, little things that help me keep my head above water with two kids. 
  
Like freeze fruit. I know it sounds small and silly, but trust me, this will help you in making smoothies everyday lickety split. When fruit is in season, buy a ton, then cut it up and put in individual freezer bags so they're ready to go into the blender. I put 2-3 different fruits (like mango and blackberries) in a bag so all I have to do is grab that one bag. Add a banana, some vanilla yogurt, juice and you're done. 
   
(please reuse those plastic bags please. wash 'em and store for next batch of fruit)  

Thinking of May

Can't help it, I spend so much of my time in January thinking of my garden. Lilies, peonies and pears will be growing again soon... 

SHOOT: Beautiful Skye

Okay so I had a quickie test shoot this morning, just for me. I shot a beautiful and amazing little girl appropriately named Skye — with her smile, that's exactly where she's headed. I'll definitely photograph her again but I need to come up with a fabulous idea to match her fabulous personality. 

2¢ (my photo tips)

However you're shooting, do the opposite. So if you're shooting a person from above, do that, but then shoot them from below too. If you're shooting a person with light on their face, then shoot them with light from behind as well. And if you're shooting a sunset, turn around and shoot the opposite side of the sky. Sometimes you can totally miss the shot if you don't look at your subject 2 different ways. And I usually get nice photographs when I do what comes natural, but I get great photographs when I do the exact opposite.

  

(the on-going 2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

My New Favorite Blog

Sunday Suppers Blog 
http://sunday-suppers.blogspot.com/

2¢

Every serious photographer can benefit from a design class. It makes a huge difference in your work, trust me. You will begin to use your frame differently, see shapes instead of objects, understand light better. You will compose a shot, not just take a picture. Right now, as I'm editing for my new site, I have some really nice shots — great light, great model — unfortunately the composition is weak so I can't use those shots. Well, I could, but I won't. 
 
A basic design class, one semester, at any art school. Just my two cents.
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)

Happy New Year

Wishing you a plentiful, aphid-free garden, a stronger warrior pose, a longer drive on the first hole, a challenged mind, peace, confidence, more laughter than you can physically stand and fewer rainy days this year. 

See ya 2009!