Are You Making Use of The Power of Selective Focus to reach your goals?

Do you ever find yourself behind on projects, fielding interruptions and distractions that make it difficult for you to finish?  Do you find it difficult, at times,  to find your focus—especially when there are so many things that need attention?  What about that daily to-do list—how often do you get to check off everything on it? 

In photography, as well as in life, one of the main keys to creating beautiful images, as well as a beautiful, stress-reduced life, is selective focus.

 Who wants a blurry photo?

Unless it’s done intentionally for some esthetic or creative purpose, who wants a blurry, out-of-focus photo? I’m going to talk a little about the importance of not only focus, but of being selective of what you focus on, and share a few tips on how to do this.

In photography, when using a camera that allows for manual or creative adjustments, you have the capability to control what and just how much of an image is in focus.

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The Importance of Mentors for Girls

matters that matter Jan 14, 2021

Something that many of us women can do is give counsel and guidance to younger women. Summed in one word--Mentor.

Some of you may be thinking "What! I need counsel and guidance myself!" or "I'm not old enough" or "What do I have to offer in this area?" Stick with me...each of us has something we can impart into the life of a girl or younger woman. Mentoring can also be in relation to one having more experience than age. But, for the sake of simplicity, I will relate this to an older woman mentoring girls and younger women.

Mentoring can be short or long term, and can also be a one-time ‘spontaneous’ occurrence (more on spontaneous mentoring in a future post).

Why Reach Out?

 Several studies have documented the importance of mentoring for girls. The conclusion: more often than not, adolescent girls need other women, in addition to their mothers, to provide nurturing and positive influence in their lives. There are things that many girls won’t talk with their...

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Five Photos Parents Should Take of Their Child Every Year

favorite things Dec 15, 2019

Many parents know the importance of documenting milestones in their child’s life.
We make sure to record birthdays, holidays, and other special events– and the relative ease of picture-taking with today’s cell phones and digital cameras, makes it easy to capture more and more images of that daily slice of life (and share on places like Facebook and Instagram!)

This article covers five photos that, I believe, parents should be sure to take every year. They seem like no-brainers as these images are also important milestones, but they can be easily overlooked and even forgotten, if the intention is not made to record them.

With their friends
Most childhood friendships are cherished ones. There may be friends who are lifelong, and friends who are just there for a time period. There are times friends separate for various reasons, yet reconnect when adults. How wonderful to be able to reminisce over good times with photos from a portion of childhood shared together....

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Have youth create their own vision boards

favorite things Oct 15, 2019

The concept of using pictures to help reach a particular goal is not a new one. If we haven't done so ourselves, we usually know of someone who has—the co-worker whose cubicle wall is decorated with travel brochures for that desired dream vacation; the dieter who tacks a photo of a new outfit on the refrigerator door; slick pages from a car catalog in an acrylic frame on the desk of someone striving to get that new car.  There are even workshops that show adults how to bring these together  to create what's know as  vision boards.

Many business professionals use a simple vision board concept-- arranging meaningful images cut from magazines, on a sheet of poster board or a cork bulletin board—to help them reach goals professionally and personally. The key is to have images that represent the desired results from reaching those goals in a place where you can see it everyday.

Why Teach Adolescents How to Create Vision Boards

Children and teens can benefit...

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Prepare Now for Holiday Photos

The holidays are upon us! Now is the time to plan you image-making ventures to capture the spirit of the special moments you’ll be sharing.

Before anything, make sure you have and keep on hand:

  • Enough batteries for your camera and flash unit. If your camera uses a rechargeable battery, be sure to have a charged spare handy.
  • An extra media card or two. You don’t want to be happily snapping away and run out of space on your media card–and then realize you can’t delete older pictures on there because you hadn’t downloaded them yet to your computer! Now is actually a good time to get those photos downloaded to clear the media cards that you do have.

Plan the stories you’re going to tell, and then outline the pictures you’ll take.

A few photo ideas to get started with:

Do you have a deciduous tree that is now sporting fall colors? Photograph it now before it loses all its leaves, and then photograph it when it’s winter bare.

Many...

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The Importance of Having Photos of Your Children Displayed in Your Home

A picture is worth a thousand words-a well-worn cliché but so true as pictures have the power to speak volumes into the lives, esteem, and person of those who view them.

Think of our media-saturated culture and the pictures resonating from it–pictures in the form of advertising, that relay messages of how to think, look, act, what to eat, what’s hot and what’s not. etc. Whether the images are still (magazine, billboard ads) or moving (video, television ads), our lives are bombarded with pictures, that for many rule their lives and decisions. The good news is that pictures, in the form of photographs, are useful in helping children build self-esteem and self-confidence and strengthen their sense of connectedness in the family.

 

Photographs of a child, which portray caring, nurturing, love, and success, are perfect to display in the child’s bedroom, the family room, and even on the refrigerator.

These types of images are subconscious boosters to...

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