Sister Shots

     My sister declared her major last year, and, more intriguingly, her minor. She decided to minor in digital photography. She loves the course she is taking and the projects. I often help out with her assignments. One was texture, another depth of field, and yet another was portraits. I ran around with her trying to help her brainstorm cool shots for texture and depth of field.
     One of my absolute favorites was the motion assignment. She came to soccer with me and just started snapping photos. Later that night, she enlisted my help again. It was almost pitch black at night, and she asked me to get a couple of flashlights. We walked out to the middle of our yard, she set up her camera, and I messed around with the flashlights. Which is essentially what she wanted me to do anyway. She had explained to me earlier that she wanted to get some shots of light trails. So I just danced around like an idiot with a flashlight in each hand and no one but my sister and her camera to see me. We laughed our heads of that night.
     She's started shooting my senior pictures, too. It's nice having a photography minor for a sister, because those awesome shots are all free!
     I love helping her out on her projects. Together, we come up with some creative shots, and we have so much fun.

Photography

Many people are under the impression that photography is not an art form. They couldn't be more wrong. Photography is the art that almost anyone can do. The type of camera and your skill and understanding are important - as they are with any art - but even with a point-and-shoot digital camera and a minimal knowledge of photography itself, your photos can turn out to be beautiful. There are a few basic things to remember:

• The rule of thirds - Divide your frame so that it looks like a tic-tac-toe box. Try to avoid positioning your subject in the center box.
• Composition - It doesn't matter what you take your picture of; just try to be creative and original. Shoot what you think is interesting.
• Lighting - Again, be creative. Cloudy days are best for portrait shots; however, the shadows and contrasts formed on a sunny day are also wonderful subject matter. It's completely up to you.
• Colors - Some things look better in black and white, others look best in color. Use your judgment and play around with it.
• Cropping - Editing is the second half of the photography process. Crop with interesting angles and have fun with it. There are plenty of websites out there just for editing photos, too.

Enjoy your art!