I realized the other day I never really explained why I wanted to do a Picture Share :O). Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

One of my goals, when creating this blog, was to have a place for people to share their photos. I realize there are a lot of blogs out there with this option but I liked the idea of learning a new skill and showing off your work. I have taken several online workshops and the ones that required us to post photos for critiques were the ones that I worked hard on and in turn learned the most. Why not treat this like sharing your photo for a workshop? If you have just found this blog and aren’t ready to start the tip/lesson posted that week that is fine. Post a picture from what you are working on. Let us know if that is your first picture in manual!!

Please remember that we all started out in the same boat. Some people who post have been shooting on manual for a while, where others may have only been working at it for a little while. I found this picture I took when I first learned about manual. It is a mess! Check out my settings :O) Why is my aperture so high? If I had lowered it, I could have bumped up my shutter speed and she was not be as blurry as she was :O)
ISO 100, f5.0, ss1/50

If only I had a Picture Share to share this with, I could have been told right away what was wrong and not have to do trial and error for a few more weeks before I figured it out :O)

Why post a picture?
1. Get encouragement – I was lucky enough to have a friend that I would call day and night (still do sometimes) to ask her question after to question trying to figure out why my pictures looked a certain way when I first started. Let us be that friend for you! I can’t explain how encouraging it is read comments about your photos :O) I’m not talking “cute kid” comments but why your photograph is good (I will touch more on this in a minute :O)

2. You will use your camera more often – Do you think you can learn to shoot on manual if you are not practicing often? I’m not saying to have to use it everyday (however, that is one of the fastest ways to improve your photos). Even if you aren’t shooting on manual take lots of pictures!! Document your life, not just the big fun moments but the little ones that you will cherish later in life.

3. Critiques – That is what I loved most about my workshops. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I grew once people started to critique my work. I remember thinking I had taken this AMAZING picture and then got back my critiques and people pointed out things I didn’t even notice. Remembering this critiques I was able to put them into practice and improve my pictures ten fold. You don’t have to ask for critiques I you don’t want any, but I strongly encourage you too :O)

4. Building friendships – I know it sounds crazy but once I started my Project 365 I found some fellow 365ers and we started to comment on each other’s photos. I talk about some of these people as if they are my friends in real life :O) I have already met some wonderful people through this blog and I look forward to getting to know more of you!

Now let’s talk about comments :O)
There is nothing better then reading comments about my photos. I love it! In one of my workshops they taught us HOW to leave a critique.
1. Tell something specific you like – Some people will not ask for a critique and that is fine. Try to leave them a comment telling them specifically something you like about their photo other then “cute kid”.
-Did they have great catchlights? Composition? Lighting? Colors?

2. What you would have done different – Do a critique sandwich :O) Start with something specific that you like. State something you would have done differently.
-I would have cropped this a little closer.
-Turn your subject towards the light to get catchlights.
-Shoot in the shade instead of full sun.
-Back up a couple of feet to prevent a hand or foot chop.
Then end with another positive thing you liked about their photo.

Why leave comments??
I honestly believe you will get more out of leaving comments than the person receiving them. You will train your eye to look at pictures in a new way instead of “Oh, I like that!”, look at it and figure out specifically WHY you like it. You will get ideas on how to improve your own photos as well.

Even if you don’t post a picture I encourage you to leave comments on those who do!

If you do ask for critiques PLEASE post your settings! A lot of times people ask me “What is wrong with this photo?” but if I don’t know what the settings are it makes it almost impossible for me to tell you how to fix it.