What is this All About?

Five years ago, when my son Robby was born, my husband and I started taking a lot of pictures. We have taken thousands of pictures, mostly of Robby. I went to a workshop at the Bondurant Library one night to learn more about taking pictures. I have read about ways to edit pictures and I have listened to others talk about it as well but, bottom line, if I don’t actually practice using the techniques I hear about I won’t develop the skills and the knowledge will quickly escape my brain.

Point, shoot, upload, print. Sometimes I add a zoom or a crop but basically that is how I take and print pictures. It is quick and convenient and virtually anyone can do it. I have some excellent pictures. One of my favorite pictures is of Robby sitting by a tree in the park. I also really enjoy pictures taken at the pumpkin patch. I think because the surroundings are so interesting and natural. My pictures aren’t good due to talent or knowledge, but due to volume. If an amateur photographer takes 500 pictures in a month several are likely to be good. In fact, I get compliments on my photographs quite often. However, I would really like to be a better photographer, someone who knows how to take a good picture and can elevate a good picture to a great picture using technology. I would like to be able to frame some of my pictures and hang them on the wall. I want them to be art. Practicing taking pictures and editing them will make taking great pictures easier.



I read blogs of other moms that had babies the same age as Robby and some of them have such neat pictures. Over the years I have seen some truly fabulous pictures taken by people who know what they are doing. Some of the pictures look professional but they were just taken by moms with their digital cameras.

My digital camera isn’t fancy but it has a lot of features I don’t know how to use properly. The same is true of Paint Shop Pro. I bought this software five or six years ago with high hopes of using it often and learning the ins and outs of photo editing but unfortunately that didn’t happen. There are many different menus of effects that not only do I not use, but I don’t even know what they do. To learn more about my camera and photo editing my quest is going to involve taking pictures.

Each day for 30 days I will take a picture with my digital camera, a Sony Cybershot that is several years old. This will force me to always look for opportunities to take pictures. I will keep my camera in my purse so I will have it with me most of the time. Then if I find a something I want to take a picture of I will be able to do it. I will take pictures of my family, the landscape, or whatever else I choose to. I imagine sometimes I will go somewhere special to take a specific picture and sometimes the picture will be of life as it is happening.

Each day, I will use a different feature either on my camera or on Paint Shop Pro. I will edit the picture and compare the original photo to the edited photo. I may not have an “original” photo to compare to if I use a feature on my camera but if possible I will take a picture with and without using the “special” settings. I will describe the features and editing process that were used and what their purpose is. Some of the changes I make will only take a minute or two and some could take hours. I will also talk about the time the editing takes.

At the conclusion of this 30-day quest I hope that I know a lot more about editing the pictures I take. I anticipate being able to imagine the end product when I take the photo and to have a better understanding what goes into a good picture. I want the pictures I take not to just document my life but I want them to become art that I can hang on my wall for years to come.