Today was so exhausting (and fulfilling) that I can't believe I have the energy to blog.
Paddling: On the beach at 6:15am, off to the car at 10:15am
Quick shower, quick check in the mirror (Do I look presentable? Check!)
Whole Foods Local Artist Market: Out of the house at 10:45am, packed up and headed out at 5:30pm
I bought my first pair of feather earrings from Rogue Butterfly. She was so kind and let me share some space under her tent at the Whole Foods event. I'm extremely thankful because it was scorching hot today! I'll be putting up a blog post with pictures of those earrings later - I absolutely adore them.
Speaking of pictures...
I wish I could afford a digital SLR. I assume that it would help out my photos, but maybe not. Over the last year I've learned that proper lighting, choice of background, and the use of props can make such a big difference that maybe it really doesn't matter what kind of camera I own. I started off using my point-and-shoot camera, the Olympus Stylus Tough (12 megapixels - it's waterproof too!), to take my Etsy pictures, but then switched over to the boyfriend's Olympus Stylus 7030 (14 megapixels). Although my camera costs more, I think his delivers better results in varying lighting conditions. His camera won't allow me to manually change the aperture settings, but I seem to make do in macro mode. If you own a simple digital camera, your camera probably has the minimal features that I utilize (i.e. macro mode and manual white balance).
I don't live in a place that will allow me to easily take pictures using natural lighting indoors (no tables, few conveniently located windows), so I rely on Santa Barbara's good weather to shoot outdoors. I used to open my front door and lay on the carpet to take shots, but I've since decided that this is ridiculous. I currently shoot on a table in my backyard.
I love my light box. I don't know how I ever took pictures without it. It's getting a little beat up since it's just a cardboard beer box (I made the boyfriend buy a case of beer just so that I could have the box - no complaints there! haha), but it really doesn't have to be fancy to be functional. It's my secret to making my backgrounds appear whiter and to getting an evenly distributed soft light (versus harsh direct sunlight). The tissue paper taped to the outside diffuses any direct sunlight, and the white poster board is glued to the inside to help reflect more light inside the box.
Here's my final product! My newest beach glass necklace featuring green sea glass handpicked in Hawaii.
Green sea glass handpicked on Oahu, Hawaii
Gold vermeil starfish
Sea foam green amazonite
White freshwater pearl
Translucent semi-precious stone
I wish I had better equipment and resources, or maybe even just more space, but I've somehow managed to make do with what I have. I've enjoyed the challenge and the outcomes have been rewarding. Photographing my jewelry and editing the photos are almost just as time consuming as designing and making the jewelry itself, but I love both aspects nonetheless. Who would've thought that my two hobbies could go hand in hand.
Click here to visit my previous photography post ★
Paddling: On the beach at 6:15am, off to the car at 10:15am
Quick shower, quick check in the mirror (Do I look presentable? Check!)
Whole Foods Local Artist Market: Out of the house at 10:45am, packed up and headed out at 5:30pm
I bought my first pair of feather earrings from Rogue Butterfly. She was so kind and let me share some space under her tent at the Whole Foods event. I'm extremely thankful because it was scorching hot today! I'll be putting up a blog post with pictures of those earrings later - I absolutely adore them.
Speaking of pictures...
I wish I could afford a digital SLR. I assume that it would help out my photos, but maybe not. Over the last year I've learned that proper lighting, choice of background, and the use of props can make such a big difference that maybe it really doesn't matter what kind of camera I own. I started off using my point-and-shoot camera, the Olympus Stylus Tough (12 megapixels - it's waterproof too!), to take my Etsy pictures, but then switched over to the boyfriend's Olympus Stylus 7030 (14 megapixels). Although my camera costs more, I think his delivers better results in varying lighting conditions. His camera won't allow me to manually change the aperture settings, but I seem to make do in macro mode. If you own a simple digital camera, your camera probably has the minimal features that I utilize (i.e. macro mode and manual white balance).
I don't live in a place that will allow me to easily take pictures using natural lighting indoors (no tables, few conveniently located windows), so I rely on Santa Barbara's good weather to shoot outdoors. I used to open my front door and lay on the carpet to take shots, but I've since decided that this is ridiculous. I currently shoot on a table in my backyard.
I love my light box. I don't know how I ever took pictures without it. It's getting a little beat up since it's just a cardboard beer box (I made the boyfriend buy a case of beer just so that I could have the box - no complaints there! haha), but it really doesn't have to be fancy to be functional. It's my secret to making my backgrounds appear whiter and to getting an evenly distributed soft light (versus harsh direct sunlight). The tissue paper taped to the outside diffuses any direct sunlight, and the white poster board is glued to the inside to help reflect more light inside the box.
Here's my final product! My newest beach glass necklace featuring green sea glass handpicked in Hawaii.
Gold vermeil starfish
Sea foam green amazonite
White freshwater pearl
Translucent semi-precious stone
I wish I had better equipment and resources, or maybe even just more space, but I've somehow managed to make do with what I have. I've enjoyed the challenge and the outcomes have been rewarding. Photographing my jewelry and editing the photos are almost just as time consuming as designing and making the jewelry itself, but I love both aspects nonetheless. Who would've thought that my two hobbies could go hand in hand.
Click here to visit my previous photography post ★
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