This is why Photoshop and the Clone Stamp are awesome

I've been choosing the next round of pictures to go in a scrapbook, and retouching and improving as necessary.

Got a background face in your picture that distracts from the main subject(s)?

No problem. CLONE STAMP!

Exhibit A: Before Clone Stamp

Exhibit B: After Clone Stamp

I rest my case.

Mediterranean Cruise 2008: Highlights

We got back from our cruise of the western Mediterranean, and I'm itching to post some pictures! John hasn't uploaded them to Flickr yet, so here are some preview highlights. I'm limiting myself to 9 for now, or I'd be here all day posting pictures to the blog.

Our ship, the MS Noordam from the Holland America Line (docked in Monte Carlo):

Touching the Mediterranean Sea at Mondello, in Sicily:

Walking in the ruins of Pompeii:

Climbing the mountains in Monte Carlo, Monaco:

On Mom & Dad's deck at the back of the ship on one of the formal nights:

On a rooftop in Tunis:

At the ruins of Carthage in Tunisia:

Riding a camel in Tunisia!:

And great food, of course, on ship; these are lamb chops with apple and mint chutney from the signature restaurant on board:

The dessert was probably the best part of dinner each night; here are some confections from the Chocolate Extravaganza (photo taken during a tour of the massive ship's galley):


And here are some facts about the trip.

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.

Vacanze Romane

On Friday, we got back from our Roman holiday. We blew the diet and ate authentic Italian food, and saw the sights of Rome, like:

The Coliseum

What's left of the Temple of Saturn (king of the Roman gods)

In the Vatican, St. Peter's basilica, the biggest Catholic Church in the world

A modern art exhibit called "Trash People" in the Piazza del Popolo; it consisted of 1,000 figures made of trash, serving as a commentary on today's consumer culture (the white blob at the "neck" is someone's kleenex they stuffed in there!).

We also got up close and personal with some sheep when we visited the catacombs at the edge of the city. Sheep are LOUD.

We visited a beautiful art museum located on the property of a wealthy cardinal who collected the art in the 16th-17th century; the surrounding land is now a beautiful public park for runners and people walking dogs.

The city is an interesting mix of the ancient and the modern, like this "gladiator" reading the daily paper. I had to sneak this picture; otherwise, you have to pay for the privilege.

Naturally, we (I) bought a few souvenirs, including some scarves at this store; we were disappointed to find out that the cat advertised for 5 euros was, in fact, NOT for sale. Yes, this is a real cat.

And then finally it was time to head home.

By The Numbers:

Fettucine alfredo: 1 meal
Spaghetti: 3 meals
Pizza: Lost count
Plane trip home: 10 hours, 15 minutes
Trips to gelaterias (that sell gelato): 4
Rainy Days: 2
Visits to McDonalds: 1 (only had Cokes!)
Number of times Valerie sat down on a toilet outside the hotel room: None
Tombs/crypts visited: Hundreds, counting the catacombs
Number of times we saw the current pope: None
Paintings bought: 3 small watercolors
Books bought: 9
Books read during trip: 4 (John) and 2 (Valerie)
Average price per slice of bread brought to the table as an appetizer: 1 euro
Woke up an hour earlier than planned: Once
Visits to supermarket: 1
Number of times John's mom was approached by a street vendor: Every time she walked out the door
Number of times John's mom was aggressively surrounded by women begging for money for their babies (who are already provided for by the Italian government): Once
Modes of travel used: 6 (car, plane, train, bus, bicycle, walking)
Meals at the Hard Rock Cafe: 1
T-shirts bought at the Hard Rock Cafe: 2
Visits to the fabulous Fabriano stationery store, which was established in the year 1264: 2
Pictures taken on the trip: 697
What it feels like to sleep in one's own bed again: Priceless

Fourteen's Company

Usually New Year's Eve is kind of slow. We don't really do anything, or I end up at the house of someone I don't know, bored there instead of at home.

But this year was quite different. Since moving into our new house, John and I have had guests, but this weekend, we had LOTS of guests - 7 couples (including us) and 2 babies. We attended the wedding of some friends of John's from college, then the rest of the friends descended on our house. Since I had mentally prepared in advance for the onslaught of unavoidable messiness and travel clutter, I enjoyed myself and had a great time.

After everyone left on New Year's Day, John and I took a bunch of snacks upstairs and watched Superman Returns (which, if you haven't seen it, is a great movie). The next day, John didn't have to work, so we stayed in our pajamas all day and watched Season 2 of House, which was one of our Christmas presents. Very relaxing, and it also served as time to work on getting over the cold I caught over the weekend.

Even though the weather was very cold and overcast with a drizzling rain on the day of the wedding, I managed to take this Totally Awesome Picture with a slow digital camera:


And here's a picture of John with one of the babies, Ella Ruth. He kept huffing her head and saying, "Babies' heads smell so good." Hm. Might be a potential parenting hazard we'll have to solve (in the FUTURE, not now - this is not an announcement!).

Cute Overdose

Even though I have never taken a photography course (the dumb classes were always full when I went to register!), I like to take el fotos from time to time, even if they aren’t necessarily for historical purposes or posterity. Something will catch my eye, and if I don’t have a camera nearby, I will instead put my hands up in a “frame” position (different from the “taking a photo” position, with the forefinger ready to push the button) and visualize what the final result would look like. Just one of many weird habits I picked up in college.

Animals are always a popular photography subject, mine especially. One summer at my grandma’s farm in Illinois, I even got up voluntarily at 5 a.m. to take pictures of the cats outside as they wandered around in the misty early morning, waiting for grandma to come to the door (grandma = food). And the first time I went to visit my in-laws, my husband accused me of taking more pictures of the (2) dogs and (3) cats than of the humans (which was true). [Here is my mother-in-law's golden retriever, Monty, with his new toy at Christmas.]

So imagine my delight when I stumbled across the wondrous website devoted to photography of cute animals, cuteoverload.com. They just got voted by Time magazine as a fun time-waster and one of the Web’s coolest sites.

Is it ever. I get the shakes until I can click on the site and see what’s new that day. I’ll log on in the morning AND in the evening, because sometimes she posts more than one time per day. This site is almost more addictive than blogging (gasp!). Since I discovered it long after its creation, I have spent hours – yes, hours – catching up on the cuteness, going through the archives to see what I’ve missed.

Even men can get sucked in. My husband (who will never admit to this) was looking over my shoulder while I was looking at the latest cute puppy, bugging me to finish up because he wanted to watch the latest episode of Brawny Academy. But while I took a quick bathroom break, he started scrolling down cuteoverload.com and before long was noting how cute this or that kitty was.

There are also websites like The Daily Kitten and The Daily Puppy if you can’t get enough.

Fiends! Beware the cuteness!!