A week ago I joined a challenge…a challenge to build a better blog in 31 days. Since a lot of my readers here are also bloggers themselves, I thought I would share with you a few articles I ran across today in my research.
The first article, “How to send a personal email” by Seth Godin, was a good refresher on how to write multiple emails without sounding like spam. Nothing kills the personal touch more than unwanted spam. So I say, just be yourself…when you’re writing emails, pretend as if you’re talking to that person directly.
Now here’s a different view I thought was interesting. How about thinking like your readers for a minute with, “10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments” by Liz Strauss? I loved how this article shifted the way I thought about my blog. I was asking myself, “Do I make these mistakes?” After reading Liz’s article, I made a goal for myself…to write content that will make my reader’s “hands jump to the keyboard”.
This last article caught my eye for two reasons…one, the topic has been rolling around in my head for a few weeks now, and two, how in the world could a person embrace bad comments?! Well, as Jeremy Schoemaker writes in his article, “Why You Should Embrace Negative Press“, there are several reasons negative comments can work in your favor. They generate new visitors who otherwise might not have run across your website. Negative comments mean that someone considers you an authority, why else would they take the time to write about you? He goes over several more points, but the one thing I walked away from the article with was this…if you become well-known enough for someone to leave negative press about you, then you’ve made it…you’re now successful! How’s that for looking on the bright side of things.
I hope you find all of this information as useful as I did. I think there’s always room for improvement in anything we do. I’ve come to this realization in my artwork. I’m always learning and growing…I look back now on the things I created just a few months ago, and I find little things I would do differently.
So, tell me what you think…how have you grown as a blogger? What resources have you found along your blogging adventure that have helped you improve?
From a very young age, as soon as we’re old enough to hold a crayon, we’re taught our colors…red, yellow, blue, and so on. Then, as we progress in our artistic careers, and we move on to paints, we learn how those colors change as we mix them together. Among all this talk about colors, I’m afraid there is one color that is all too often left out of the conversation…and sometimes not even considered a color at all…a man without a country, you might say. White. It’s so sad. Well, for my Sweet Shot today, I’m putting White front and center. So here you go little guy. It’s your turn to shine…
I took a lot of photos at my niece’s fourth birthday party, but this one is my favorite. My sister, Michelle, is usually behind the camera, but the photographer has to be photographed once or twice in her lifetime, right? So this one’s for you Michelle…there’s nothing that says, “I love you, Mom”, more than a huge hug and some giggles…even if the hug and giggles came after several minutes of playing “chase” until this little birthday girl was cornered! Gotcha!
Photo edited in Photoshop using Photo Veils and Textures from Love that Shot.
If you’re like me, sometimes you’re just not in the creative groove and no matter how hard you try, the ideas just aren’t coming…so what do I do when I’m stuck in this rut? I’d like to share with you my favorite go-to places to find inspiration.
MagazinesIn addition to the popular design magazines, I love thumbing through others like Vogue, Better Homes and Gardens, and Architectural Digest. The idea here is to surround yourself with visually appealing articles, layouts, photographs and type styles.
[ Images taken from Architectural Digest, Vogue, Communication Arts, and How magazines. ]
Go Shopping! That’s right, I said to go shopping. And the best part is that you don’t have to empty your pockets to come away with some amazing ideas! I find the best inspiration when I’m out and about window shopping…filling my mind with current styles, colors, and fashions.
[ Images taken from Anthropologie. ]
Hit the Road Jack! It’s such a treasure when I run across a small town oozing with small-town character. So I say, take some time off, take a drive, and breathe some fresh air into that creative mind of yours!
Go Back to the Basics I just have a blast when I pull out the crayons and construction paper with my two little nieces. Children have the most unexpected imaginations…so why not tap into that imagination and just have some fun for a change! You’ve heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine,” right? Let’s apply that to our wounded creativity…cut loose, color outside the lines, fall in love with your artwork again…
Get Your Groove On Literally. Nothing get’s the creative juices flowing like a great tune. So turn up the music and groove out to your favorite band. Mix things up a little and listen to a song you’ve never heard before. Tune your mind into a new wavelength and see what happens…
What’s in my iTunes library right now? How ’bout some Owl City, Lights, The All-American Rejects, Yellowcard, Mat Kearney, and Colbie Caillat…just to name a few.
The most important thing you can do to get un-stuck from a creative rut is to think differently…step away from the project at hand and let your brain recharge itself. Most of all…laugh and enjoy the process!
This is a photo I took a couple weeks ago, and finally got a chance to edit this week. I love this shot, so I just had to make this my Sweet Shot. It’s one of my favorites from a short day trip I took with my Mom and Dad to the lake. These chairs have “come, relax…take a load off” written all over them…ahhhhh….now all I need is an ice-cold lemonade.
Photo has been edited in Photoshop using Textures and Photo Veils byLove that Shot.
For more sweet shots, go check out Sweet Shot Tuesday!
I shared this photo yesterday in my Weekend Update, but I just had to post it again for my Sweet Shot. This is from the Classic Car Cruise downtown this weekend. I’m totally in love with this car…I keep telling Steve I want to get it…not just any one…this one. The color is gorgeous and oh my goodness look at the roof rack…it’s totally ready for the beach!
Photo has been edited in Photoshop using Textures and Photo Veils byLove that Shot.
For more sweet shots, go check out Sweet Shot Tuesday!
Wow! It’s been way too long since I posted last. With all that’s been going on over at Love that Shot, I’m sorry to say, my blog has taken back burner. In the last three weeks we’ve launched our new brand, jump-started our forum and gallery, held a Creative Team search…whew! Now that the dust has settled…well, is settling…what am I saying?!…I’m still as busy now as I have been. I just wanted to take a second and update ya’ll on what’s been going on in my life…
Over the 4th of July holiday, I went to two family reunion BBQs, a rodeo, hung out with my fam, took a little road trip, watched some fireworks, then finished things off nicely with a Classic Car Cruise. Let me tell you, I hardly had a chance to sit but it was totally worth it. I talked with some of my husband’s family, who I hadn’t yet had the chance of meeting. They’re totally awesome! And I had some great photo opportunities. What more could I ask for! I love July.
All photos have been edited in Photoshop using Textures and Photo Veils byLove that Shot.
This is one of the photos I edited for an article I wrote recently at Love that Shot called “Composing in Thirds”. In this article I explain the ”Rule of Thirds” and that by using it when setting up your shot, it can help you create more appealing compositions. I love how this photo turned out! You might be interested to know that I took this photo with my point-and-shoot while on my honeymoon in Florida. This is a perfect example of how the best camera you have is the one you carry with you. I hope you enjoy!
Photo taken with: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3
Edited with Love that Shot textures and Photo Veils in Photoshop CS3.
To view more photos from “Composing in Thirds”, visit me on Flickr.
After re-branding our website, Love that Shot, Michelle and I decided we needed to coordinate our blogs as well…setting ourselves off as the girls behind the site. So along comes a new blog look. I’m totally loving the simplicity here. And I love that I can showcase a larger photo than I could in my previous design. So tell me what you think of the new look…
…Michelle and I are movie stars!…Well not quite. But we are on TV…YouTube, that is.
We wanted to create a debut video to launch our new photography website, Love that Shot. So we wrote a script, borrowed our husbands for an evening, and headed out to the park to put on video the “Seven Simple Steps to Mastering Focus.” It must have been so funny to watch us in action…Michelle and I stumbling over our words, forgetting our lines, or just the inability on our part stop laughing…because in order to keep the geese from coming into our shots, Aaron and Steve would be shooing them off behind the camera. Listen closely and you might be able to hear the geese at one point…what am I saying! Of course you can hear the geese…and you don’t even have to be listening that closely! I think it adds to the ambiance.
As you can imagine, we were quite a sight! And this probably goes without saying, but we have quite enough film left over to create a pretty extensive outtake real. Eventually we were able to find our groove and say what we needed to say. I gotta tell you, I’m way more comfortable being behind the camera rather than front and center. But we did it, and had a blast! So without further ado…sit back and enjoy the show…
Please feel free to share this with your blog readers.
