My dress is dead

I've been putting together a list of clothes to take on our cruise next month and trying on dresses for the 3 formal nights (John already has his tux).

It's sort of like shopping, only in your own closet, looking at fancy gowns that haven't been worn since the days of chaperoning Prom and Homecoming as a teacher. (Wearing a fancy gown was the ONLY reason I signed up to chaperone those things.) Naturally, each dress must be tried on since it's been years since I last wore it.

One dress was my favorite, a simple cherry-red strapless floor-length by Jessica McClintock. (Used to LOVE Jessica McClintock and try on dresses for fun at the mall. I'm sure the clerks hated us.) At the time, the store only had one size larger than I needed, and there weren't any more of that dress available in the right size. So I got the dress altered down one size, to the size I needed, even though it felt like I had to lose half my lung capacity to wear it. The red dress was only worn two times, once to a boyfriend's company Christmas party that had a formal theme, and once to Prom in 2003 (sans escort).

Alas, yesterday when I tried on the red dress (key word: TRIED), it became clear that it didn't fit anymore. It fit everywhere except the last 5 inches of zipper. So the problem is not a bigger waist or butt (girls, that's what an A-line cut is for!), but a bigger ... ribcage??

Just to pursue any last shred of hope, I took the dress to be altered today. The seamstress got out the measuring tape and determined that I'd gained 3 inches in my upper storey, based on the zipper gapage. ?!?

So the red dress must go. It's one thing to try to lose weight to fit the butt or waist area, but this particular obstacle cannot be overcome. I'm still trying to decide if this is a GOOD thing. John thinks it is....

R.I.P. Red Dress. It was fun while it lasted.

(That's another teacher in the picture with me.)

Reunion Photo Shoot

We went to John's family reunion this weekend, and I ended up in charge of The Great Family Portrait. (?! By default, as the only one with a tripod.) John's grandmother had already told everyone what to wear (a white shirt and dungarees - yes, she actually said "dungarees"!).

I've participated in many of my own extended family's photo shoots, but as a photographee, not as the photographer. My family mostly knows how to fall into place for these kinds of pictures, but John's family hadn't had a reunion in 15-20 years; they're not really used to taking up their usual spot for the big photo. So I Googled "large family portraits" and found some good tips. Here they are, including the websites. Tips I found most helpful to our situation (and my pathetically amateurish skills), I set in bold.

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Tips for Large-Group Photography

(1) From Photography-On-the-Net: Canon Digital Photography Forums

If you see a lot of "posed" smiles as opposed to real ones, try this trick. Have everyone fake laugh for 10 seconds. They will all probably say stuff like "man this is stupid" and some will laugh really hard to be obnoxious etc. but after 10 seconds of fake laughing, I guarantee it will turn into real laughing. Then after everyone settles down a bit, have them re-smile.... You will see how genuine the smiles are. You may want to take a few shots during the fake laughing as these sometimes come out awesome.

(2) From Essortment: How to take your own family portrait: group photography tips

Similar guidelines apply to finding the perfect outdoor spot for your family portrait. You don’t want the background and scenery taking away from the people in the picture. Your local park or recreational area will have plenty of options: around a gazebo or fountain, by some trees or flowers, or in front of a fence or open field. Avoid locations where light may reflect, such as lakes or windows of buildings.

Outdoor lighting can be trickier. You do not want the sun directly behind the group (it will be too bright for the camera) nor do you want it in front of the group (everyone will be squinting). Position the sun at a 45 to 90 degree angle to the group, thus eliminating both problems caused by having the sun directly in front or behind. Another situation to be aware of is any shadows cast by trees or buildings that sun may cause. When choosing a location and arranging the people, make sure that all members to be photographed and the photographer are in the sun or in the shade; this will keep the brightness of the photograph consistent and even.

When arranging people for a portrait, two steps should be followed: place smaller people in front and bigger people in the back, and arrange people in a circular or oval pattern. When children and smaller adults are placed in the back of a picture, they get lost; likewise, when larger adults are in front, they dominate a photograph. For example, in a small family portrait, usually the adult male will be seated in the back of the photograph, followed by the adult female, then any children or young adults. In a large family portrait, usually the adult men will stand in the back row, the adult women will sit in front of the men, and the children and young adults will kneel in front of the women.

Achieving a circular or oval pattern can be difficult, especially in larger groups. First, two important don’ts should be followed: don’t stand people shoulder to shoulder or one person right in front of the other, and don’t make a picture top heavy by standing two people behind one person (forming an upside-down triangle). To create a pleasant and balanced curve in the photograph, position people so that the top of a person’s head is between the eyes and chin of the person next to him or her. Sometimes you may need to utilize small platforms or step stools to adjust heights and keep the curve smooth.

Finally, the angle refers to where and how the camera is placed. First, the camera should be, at a minimum, at eye level with the tallest person in the photograph. By keeping the camera slightly above people, everyone’s eyes will look more open and chins will be raised, reducing the effect of double chins. Second, position the camera at the correct distance. If the photograph will be a full-bodied shot, then additional space needs to be added around the whole picture. (The additional space above and below the people should be equal and to the left and the right should be equal.) If the photograph will be a close-up shot, then additional space needs to be left above and to the sides of the people, and an appropriate cut-off point established at the bottom of the picture. The best place to crop a picture is between the elbow and the middle of the upper arm.

(3) From LightingMagic.com

When thinking of how you will pose a large family group, don’t try to do the entire group at once. Break them up and pose them as individuals. A good pose that works for an individual portrait is still a good pose. Just integrate it into the group. If there are separate families within the main group, try to keep each family together if possible. Try to build toward a pyramid composition with the taller individuals being near the middle of the group and those seated or kneeling on the ends. You can also work toward creating an inverted check mark which will produce a pleasing composition. It is important to not place small children on the ends but rather near the center perhaps close to a grandparent where they appear more protected.

To optimize focusing as well as insure that each person in the group appears normal in size, arrange the family group so that all individuals are about the same distance from the lens. If the group is quite wide, it will be slightly curved toward the camera on each end so the subject to lens distance is uniform.

Build groups around central figures such as mothers, fathers and grandparents. Start with these central figures and build onto each side.

Have individuals touching in some way such as a hand on the back of the person they are near or maybe a hand on a shoulder. This will create a warmer, more connected look to the grouping. When doing this, avoid fingers and hands growing out of unexpected places.

Parents holding infants should hold them on the side that allows their face to be lit by your main light source. If held on the other side their faces will be mostly in shadow.

Avoid having multiple heads parallel to each other on the same horizontal line. Also avoid having one head above another on a vertical line. Try to have all heads at different heights and on diagonals. A good rule of thumb is to have the chin of one person at the same height as the next person’s forehead. Avoid greater differences for adjacent individuals. This is accomplished by using chairs or other furniture for individuals to sit on. For example: While one person stands behind a chair slightly to one side, another person sits in the chair and yet another person sits on the arm of the chair producing a pleasing difference in head height and also creating a triangle or upside down check shape.

Except for the key central figure it is desirable to show only one arm and one leg per person. This simplifies the image allowing the viewer to see more faces and [fewer] limbs. This is easily accomplished by positioning individuals so that they are partially behind another person.

If there are persons standing, avoid placing others such as children extremely low to the floor. Instead, they could sit in the lap of a person in a chair but to one side avoiding vertically lined up heads.

Camera height is generally chest high for the individuals who are standing. If you have a number of individuals at different heights, you may wish to select a camera height that is about in the middle or slightly above the middle of the group. Being slightly high is preferable to being slightly low.

If there is one person in the group you can pick on a bit and have fun with it will take everyone’s mind off what is going on and lighten things up and help in getting better expressions. You turn this person into the family comic. It works in nearly all situations. Find the person that the others will enjoy teasing. Then you have shifted every ones attention from having their portrait made to having some fun with Uncle Billy. Uncle Billy will enjoy the attention in most cases.

When working with a large group, avoid having bystanders behind the area of the camera. When there are people moving around behind the camera (other than the photographer), it is inevitable that one or more of the group will be looking somewhere other than where the photographer is directing when the portraits are made. It is essential that everyone be reminded from time to time to direct their attention toward the photographer or wherever he or she requests.

If the family sitting is looked upon as simply several small sittings that are being combined, it may not seem near as difficult or as intimidating. Have fun with family sittings. Most people would rather have fun than act stuffy anyway.

(4) From Best Family Photography Tips

--Tip # 2 in "Family Photography Tips 101" is really a tip on backgrounds. As the Commander-In-Chief-of-the-Camera (CICOTC, for short), you get to decide where the photograph is taken as well as how much of the background to include in the picture. This particular family photography shot demonstrates tips on background, composition, cropping, posing, and lighting.

Since the location had boulders, we might as well take advantage of them with our posing choices. If the boulders weren't there, we would be much more limited in our posing options….

Unless, of course, you could convince them to form a human pyramid (a sure-fire family photography classic). However, in this photo, we have a man sitting on a boulder with his wife on his lap.

We also position Dan on the left, with one foot on a rock, pivoting toward the camera. The three others in the shot have varying amounts of their bodies blocked. However, their faces are all nicely visible, and that is what you ALWAYS WANT.

This particular photography pose works so well because each of the 6 people is using a slightly different pose, which when taken as a total composition, works extremely well.

If you run into a similar environment, it's recommended that you take several pictures ... some where the rocks are visible, and some where they are not. Then, decide which you like better.

--For the family photography photo above, all the people are positioned in the center of the photo. However, there's a significant element in the background (the tree on the left). We could have chosen to position the tree in the center of the frame (in the background, of course; do you think I'm an idiot?) or position it off-center, like we did. Being on the left produces a more pleasant overall composition.

And, as a nice bonus, the dramatic contrast of light and shadow in the background create a nice artistic look. As long as your subjects are not in light AND shadow, you're alright. However, if there is not enough light where your subjects are, you should elect to use fill-flash.

Here's a tip on using the correct metering mode. If your camera has a "center weighted-average" metering mode, you should use it in this type of shot, while focusing on the 6 people. If instead, you used an "evaluative" or "overall average" type of metering, thus including the partially lit background, the people would be under-developed, unless fill-flash is used.

--Quick tip: when practicing family photography, don't have everyone posing exactly the same way. Check out how many different positions the family in this photograph used. It's fair to count as "different," if one person is shown unblocked, while another uses the same pose, but may be partially blocked ... but never the face). Imagine how different the picture would look if everyone stood next to each other in front of the rocks. Does the [word BORING] come to mind? The most common mistake in beginner photography when directing a large group in taking family photography poses is not to have everyone's face visible. Just remember this general rule of thumb: The larger the group, the more slight positioning adjustments need to be made.

I also found some professional photographer sites with large family portraits.

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We had set a time for everyone to be ready for the picture, so before that time, I went around and told people what pose they should take for the picture, who they would stand next to or in front of, where hands and arms should go, etc. This saved time once everyone was ready (not to mention, it was 10 a.m. and roasting hot outside, so better to discuss poses in the air-conditioning, and not when the entire family waits while I talk to each person). Deciding on poses beforehand also served as the best way to make sure I was following all those guidelines!

Since I had to be in the photo as well, the only available person to take the photo was my camera's timer. So we only took 3 pictures (in spite of what I had read about the mathematical approach to "blink-free" photos in a large group). Here is the product of all this research, the best of the 3 pictures (ta-daaaaa):

(Things I would do differently: Put on my shoes!, notice that Mike still had his hat on, re-position a few people, and tilt the camera down a bit to center the group more and not cut off the boys' feet.) But overall, I think it turned out well (no blinks!), and it was fun to do.

A Penny For Your Thoughts (Part 1)

Even though the title is a cliche (that you really don't hear anymore from people younger than 70?), I actually borrowed it from a scrapbook kit that was advertised online. It's an interesting kit, mainly because of the "copper" tin that hold the scrapbook and looks like a penny.

I don't want to buy this kit because I'm not that keen on the contents, but the cool tin and the idea for the scrapbook caught my attention. (If I could buy JUST the tin....) The point of the book is to "celebrate ten years that have brought 'change' to your life."

Since I am currently on the closer side of 30, I really had to stretch it a bit to come up with 10 things. 20 years from now, I'm sure the list will come more easily!

Here's my 10 Years That Have Brought "Change" to My Life:

(1) 1985: Our family moved from Illinois to Kansas, thereby leaving behind our extended family. Most of my cousins lived in the same vicinity, and our families got together often to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Leaving them was pretty hard.

(2) 1994: First semester of college. I came home at Christmas break, and my sister's friends asked, "What happened to your sister?" I had left home a meek mouse and returned, a more confident, outgoing person. Still have shyness issues, but at least I don't act like a mute in a group conversation anymore. Much.

(3) 1998: First trip abroad- and by myself. I'm independent in that I like to do things my way, and I know how I want them done, but I'm NOT independent in the sense that I don't like change and The Unknown scares me. The Unknown drags me, kicking and protesting, toward Change. QED, I avoid situations I'm not familiar with. Traveling overseas by myself was one of my worst nightmares before I actually did it. I spent two months teaching at an MK school in Papua New Guinea, then went sightseeing in Australia and New Zealand on my layovers, without doing any advanced tourist research at all. I just arrived at the airports and somehow managed great 8-hour sightseeing experiences.

(4) 2000: Fell in love with God's Word. Becoming a Christian at a young age and growing up in a Christian home, of course I read the Bible, believed it, and tried to follow God's commands. But that fall, I began to read a chapter of Proverbs in the morning and a Psalm at night, and I finally began to understand what David meant when he wrote about how he loved God's law. I'd had my (almost!) daily Bible reading times over the years, but somehow this season was different; God really used His Word to work in my heart.

(5) 2000: Colored my hair red. My hair had become that worst description a novel can use to describe a pathetic character: "She had mousy brown hair." Not beautiful brunette like Penelope Cruz or Anne Hathaway, but gray-brown hair that was best described as Blah. I met my friend Christy that year also, and somehow on one shopping trip to Walgreens, we bought hair dye. Red hair dye. Ironically, after applying the dye, it was disappointing, not really red at all. After consulting the toll-free Clairol help desk, we went out and bought a bolder red, which provided better (read: more startling) results. Several months and hair appointments later, I settled on a certain shade and found my True Hair Identity.

Part 2 to come later (not in another month - sooner, I promise!).

Madrid Scrapbook

I finally finished the scrapbook of our Madrid trip in 2006. You can check it out here:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/album_display.asp?album_id=75492