Some of my favorite photography stuff…
I really love my canon 50mm 1.4 lens. It’s the lens I have on my camera 95% of the time. It is lightweight & small making it easy to pack around with me while also carrying a baby, a diaper bag and the occasional out of sorts toddler. 😉 It helps me capture sharp photos, is great in low light situations and is just an all around great little lens!
I edit all my photos in Photoshop CS4 and one of the tools that comes in really handy sometimes is the clone stamp tool.
The trick to using the clone stamp to clone out small unwanted background distractions while still retaining a photo that does not looked “cloned” is to use a soft brush when doing your stamping and adjust the opacity of your brush. A hard brush at 100% opacity will create unwanted stamp lines and will not give you a nice blended natural looking stamped area.
To use the clone stamp simply hold down the ALT key while “stamping” the area on your photo you wish to copy. Release the ALT key, move your cursor to the area on your photo you wish to stamp over and stamp. This area will now become covered over with the image that you picked up previously. Continue stamping until you have covered over the area and are happy with the results.
before
after
Some of my favorite go-to photoshop actions are:
Pamela Toppings iEnhance and Bella actions. (btw Pamela has some great freebies worth checking out!)
Nicole V’s photo fix actions
I also really love Brenda’s actions/textures!
I LOVE my camera strap. Not only is it super cute but it matches my camera bag and is so much softer around my neck than the generic strap that came with the camera.
We’ve found a bigger place to rent and we’re moving! YAY! It’s all happened pretty quick but you have no idea how excited I am…two bedrooms was a bit of a tight squeeze for us. We’re moving tommorow morning so I’ll be a little scarce for the next few days packing, cleaning and organizing the new place. But no worries I have my simple things photo all ready to post and I can’t wait to see what everyone captured this week! For those of you who were wondering the photo frame I’ve been using can be found here.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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THANK YOU for sharing that freebie!! I can’t wait to use it.
Your photography is amazing.. I love looking.
(New follower: http:jeffjenandjae.blogspot.com)
Thanks for sharing these tips Rebecca! I love my 50mm lens too – makes the camera so much less clunky and easier to carry around. (oh yeah, and that whole ‘photos in low-light’ feature is pretty awesome, too 🙂
Congrats & Good luck with your move!
Thanks for ALL the tips! I just bought the Canon 50 mm 1.8 lens. I am finding it hard to get used to because it doesn’t zoom like my regular “kit” lens. Does the 1.4 lens zoom. I hope that makes sense? LOL! Thanks for teaching about the clone stamp! I can’t wait to edit some pictures and use it.
I love my crumpler bag… They are practically indestructible, a little funky and hold a TON of equipment. They may seem a little pricey but seriously, I’m sure they last forever.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=576865680
LOVE the purple petticoat! Can’t wait for neice to arrive and begin the days of dress up!!! 🙂
THANKS so much for the lens info. You read my mind. I am ready to move beyond my “kit lens” and figured that was the direction I wanted to head in. Do you do a lens hood or take you cap on and off? Congrats and good luck on the move. You are awesome! Thanks so much.
I want that lens SOOOO bad. or the 1.2.. but don’t really have that kind of money to shell out. hehe
This is random, but I just watched a movie with Jennifer Love Hewitt and was trying to think the whole time of who she looked like, then I realized it was you! (I hope you’re okay with that, there’s a person who told me that I look just like Uma Thurman and I don’t even think she’s pretty… ruff.)
I just got my new lens on Thursday, the 50mm 1.8 lens! I LOVE IT! I love all the photo tips you share! LOVE YOUR WORK!!!! 🙂
Hey Jodi, no the 1.4 doesn’t zoom either…it will take a little bit to get used to it but once you do you’ll love it! I started out with a 1.8mm and was really happy with it. It’s a great lens with an even better price! Rebecca
Hey Jodi, no the 1.4 doesn’t zoom either…it will take a little bit to get used to it but once you do you’ll love it! I started out with a 1.8mm and was really happy with it. It’s a great lens with an even better price! Rebecca
Hi Debbie, I have a lens hood on my lens…that extra little bit of protection is so worth it! 🙂 Rebecca
love this posting. thanks!
how did you learn to use photoshop cs4? my husband bought it for me and i’m feeling overwhelmed about trying to learn how to use it.
wow good luck moving so glad you found a bigger place that is awesome! that was fast eh!I know what two bedrooms is like with three when we lived in our shanty in florida;) not fun! great post!
Rebecca – I also LOVE my 50 1.4. It’s simply amazing. I also use CS4 to do all my editing, so thanks for the recommendations to the actions you use. If there are any lenses/camera bodies you want to rent, my husband and I just started a lens rental business – come check us out.
http://www.lethbridgelensrentals.com
How do you put a waterstamp on your pictures? I love your photos and wish you lived closer!