Summer Photography Tips : Published in Lake Wedowee Life

Picture Perfect Summer: 
Photography Tips for Summer 
Story and Photos  by Amanda Causey

Published in the April issue of Lake Wedowee Life

Warm, sunny days and summer vacations seem to encourage everyone to get outside and take more photographs. Here are 3 tips for your summertime photography that will help keep your goal of awesome summer photographs in focus! 

Tip #1: Beware the harsh light. The very same sunshine that makes it great to be outside can actually be the worst light for your pictures. The bright, mid-day sun casts very harsh shadows. To avoid this, try to shoot during what photographers like to term the “golden hour:” the half hour before and after sunrise and sunset. The light is warmer (more yellow in color) at this time of day, and casts softer shadows. If you are photographing people during the day, try to move them into the shade to avoid squinting eyes, and dark shadows on faces. 

Tip #2: Make it personal. Photography is a form of communication. You want your images to tell the story of summer, and how it makes you feel. Think about what summer means to you, and strive to capture that in your images. You will treasure your photographs more if they tell the story of what summer means to you. Does summer mean picnics, building sand castles at the beach, car rides with the top down, or playing Frisbee with the dog? Do you think of blue skies, blazing heat, and cornfields? Is summer a time to spend on Lake Wedowee with your family; fishing, swimming in the lake, and roasting marshmallows on the camp fire? Does it mean eating ice cream, soaking up the air-conditioning at the mall, and wearing flip flops? These activities can all be turned into iconic images that capture the mood of summer. The most important thing is for you to make your images personal, and photograph the subjects that represent summer for you.

Tip #3: Color it up! Each year, I look forward to summer because it brings with it rich and saturated colors. Including strong, bright colors in your pictures already gives an indication that it’s summertime. In addition, the choice of which specific colors you include can help you tell your summer stories more effectively; color choice can determine the mood of the image. Warm colors bring to mind the warm temperatures we enjoy in summer. Using warm tones in your images, or a splash of vibrant red, orange or yellow, lends an impression of heat to your photograph. You can also make use of cool colors to create a feeling of refreshment. The trick is to use color so that it enhances your summer photographs.

 Get out there and enjoy Lake Wedowee this summer! If you snap some good shots email them to us at news@lakewedoweelife.com so that we can feature them in upcoming issues.

These photographs were taken during our “Living the Lake Wedowee Life” cover shoot. All model search contestants were invited to participate. Our next model search contest will be announced in the May issue.

Winter River Walking on Lake Wedowee

 every fall our lake level slowly drops down to winter pool. it is sad to see the beautiful lake fall BUT honestly....it's so cold out who wants to ride the boat (not me)!!

what we normally do is hunt for arrowheads (and we find a TON of them), clean up debris around our area, and go exploring!

on a typical sunny day (which we have not seen many here in the past week but we have had some warm weather) we will walk for several hours along the lake bed looking to see what we find.

i do not recommend walking barefoot as there a lot of inconsiderate lake goers out there that will toss a glass bottle into the water without thinking. we come across broken glass very often. (try telling my 8 year old to keep his waders on....yeah right...boys like to get muddy)

 this photo was taken up river on ketchepedrakee creek.

 

 i love to collect interesting pieces of driftwood (psst: keep your eye open for the april issue of lake wedowee life magazine there just might be some driftwood crafts showing up in there by yours truly)

a day of river walking would not be complete without taking your lake dog. 

Holiday Photo Challenge 2012

With the popularity of smart phones rising, many cell phone developers are putting more effort into the camera quality of their model. This Holiday Season we will be sharing photographs from our readers on our social media platforms. If you have Twitter, Instagram or Facebook try our Holiday Photo Challenge! Simply take a photo a day, upload to your profile and use the tag ‘#SHL12’. We will be sharing our favorites to our followers so be sure to give your photos some thought and creativity! Happy Holidays!

    This is an excerpt from an article I wrote for Southern Holiday Life magazine. To view the entire article follow this link: http://ow.ly/f42mv

Nick | Senior Class of 2013 | Randolph County Alabama Senior Photographer

these photographs of nick were taken at randolph county high school

 in wedowee alabama  and at my home.

im glad i had my ladder because he is well over six feet tall! 

 

such a handsome well mannered young man!! this guy will do big things someday!!

 

good luck on your seniot year nick!!

 

 

 

this photograph of nick and his friends that i took was published in Friday Night Life magazine!

i love the little guy in the bottom right looking up at them! so cute!

"Living the Lake Wedowee Life" Model Cover Shoot

what started out as a crisp spring morning in march turned into a gorgeous afternoon full of new friendships, smiles, laughs and fun. i had such a great time getting to know this wonderful family and Lake Wedowee Life's first model search winner Mr. Addison Wells.

i was highly impressed with this young man...and in no time we were best pals talking about rob dyrdek and the vast array of stunt programs that are on mtv. his little brother dawson tagged along with us as well as his father Dr. Wells and his mother Kim. Oh and I can't foget about their adorable pooch Lexi. She wanted to jump into the water at every chance! it took Addison a little bit to warm up and but the results were amazing. hopefully in the near future i get the opportunity to hptograph this young man doing one of his favorite things....wake boarding. after hours of photos, lunch at lakeside grill, and hugs from the whole fam i walked away smiling knowing i had made some new friends....and good ones at that! thank you to Lake Wedowee Life magazine for letting me be a part of this awesome contest and thank you to the Wells family & Addison for being so awesome!

The Wells Family

read the model search article and more about addison

{southern holiday life} giveaway

today i am giving 20 free custom printed Christmas cards to the winner of today's giveaway.

 click here to find out how to enter to win! look for the contests tab at the top!

im also offering 1/2 off any session booked and paid for by friday (this includes weddings) use the contact tab above to message me and take advantage of this once a year deal!



Monday I will be giving away 20 free custom christmas cards with matching envelopes. For your chance to enter visit Lake Wedowee Life's facebook page and answer the giveaway question. Simple as that!

Holiday Photo Check List {free printable}

The problem with most photos taken during the holidays or other special celebrations is that they don’t capture the special feeling of the season or event. Here is a photo checklist, along with five tips to help you photograph your holiday season.

Don't be afraid to get up close. Almost every digital camera has a Magnify or Macro button that lets you get close and create a much more interesting photo.

There's nothing wrong with pictures that are posed, but you can create variety by taking candid shots of family and at social gatherings. Capture people while they’re engaged in conversation or as they’re opening a gift. Keep your camera batteries charged up and your camera nearby so you can catch spontaneous moments.

Try to tell a story. Don’t just photograph the opening of the gifts. Photograph the process of selecting the gifts, wrapping them, and the mess that is left over after they are opened. This process is called photojournalism and has been growing in popularity in photography over the years.

If you are shooting indoors during the day, make your portraits with your subjects standing near a window or door instead of relying on the flash. The flash can cause red eye and give your subject a harsh appearance.

Looking at rows of people staring at the camera and smiling at you head-on can be a bit boring. If you want to take a photo of your family or friends, simply changing the angle and looking at a familiar scene from a new perspective can give it a brand new look.

Download HERE



{ Model Search :: Enter Now }

CLICK HERE to be directed to the entry page for Lake Wedowee Life Magazine's Model Search "Living the Lake Wedowee Life."

Model Search {Living the Lake Wedowee Life}

Begining August 1st Lake Wedowee Life Magazine will be having a Model Search for a feature on the cover of their April/May 2012 and a prize package valued at $1200. There will be a photo session in that prize package provided by {Yours Truly}! Follow this link to find out how you can enter. All ages are encouraged to submit their photos.

{note::your entry photos do not need to be professional quality....we will help take care of that layer!}

{ l a k e :: w e d o w e e :: l i f e :: m a g a z i n e } part 2

here is an article i wrote that was published in the feb/march 2011 issue of lake wedowee life magazine. it is available at numerous locations around randolph county, al.

please visit http://www.lakewedoweelife.com/ for advertisement opportunities or email news@lakewedoweelife.com for copies if you are not in the area.

{enjoy!}

{ l a k e :: w e d o w e e :: l i f e :: m a g a z i n e }

 my photograph has made the cover of this issue of lake wedowee life magazine:: so excited!



to view complete album goto my facebooke page!
become a FAN and let me know which is your favorite!

{ t r a s h :: t h e :: d r e s s } [ t o d a y ] { ♥ }

today i am doing a cover shoot for one of our local wedding magazines. i cannot wait to share the photographs with you! they turned out amazing!!