Photo Sessions

We aren't very good at photo sessions so most of our photos are candid so whatever photos Mommy can get, that's all she's going to get. We don't pose and certainly don't cooperate when she thinks she sees a good photo opportunity. An example can be seen here, she thought we were cute (of course) so wanted a picture but a well timed movement messed up the picture...

She tried again and we were both holding still and looking in the same direction, just not the right direction...

Again, we're looking in the same direction but really not the right direction...

and once our big sisfur Sadie gets involved, all good photo opportunities are over.

No matter what the photos look like though, we know we're still cute!

How do your photo sessions go?

EtsyBlogger of the Month - Memories For Life SB

I was so excited to see that Edi from Memories For Life Scrapbooks was chosen to be the EtsyBlogger of the month! Why? Because I had just finished putting photos in a beautiful Custom Word Album that she made for me and couldn't wait to share!

I had purchased a word album from Edi as a gift for my husband to put in photos of our first dog together (and his first dog ever!). Midnight was a black chow mix and had a red collar so I just asked her to use the colors red and black and this is what she made!

She customized it further by putting in her name, her birthday and the day she crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We lost Mitty too soon to tongue cancer.

Edi put cute little embellishments in it such as quotes...

and stickers. There's room for 16 photos in this album and although it was hard going through all of Midnight's pictures, it's wonderful having them in such a cute album that we can enjoy and see her smiling face! And remember the funny things she did like sit in the planter at the edge of the deck.

She loved to travel so I had to include a photo of her and her daddy at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. We both love the album, thank you so much Edi! Be sure to check out her shop and her blog for more of her great work! She certainly helps you create Memories for Life!

Memory Lane and Giving Thanks...

I was recently tagged by Theresa at TiLT Creations and also Meghann at Little Studio Photography and Jewellry with the photo meme. I enjoy these tags because they make me go into folders that I don't usually get to so I enjoy the memories. Theresa tagged me with the 6x6 photo meme (6th photo in the 6th folder) and Meghann tagged me with the 5x5 photo meme. Since I recently did a 6x6 meme, I'll show the 5th and 6th photo in my 5th folder as a compromise.

My 5th folder includes pictures taken last June at Bandon, OR . This is the 5th photo of one of the many seagulls:

And here is the 6th photo of Sadie enjoying the Bandon beach:

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I also recently received the Lemonade Award from Nancy at IndieSista's. This award is for bloggers who show great Gratitude and/or Attitude so it is an honor to receive it! Thank you so much Nancy!

Wishing everyone a wondeful Sunday!

Warning to Kitties & Woofies - Squirrel ahead!

I know this post may be unsettling to certain dogs and cats out there but it's just too cute not to share! Awhile back I came across an Etsy shop called LittleOddMe and it initially caught my attention because she had photos around where she lived in Longmont, CO, which is where my husband and I worked for many years when we lived in nearby Loveland, CO. In addition to her landscape photos, her photography of critters is fabulous! She sells her photos on Etsy and also on 1000Markets so be sure to check out her beautiful work on both venues! Recently in her Etsy shop I found a bookmark made from this photo:
Isn't that squirrel adorable? I purchased the bookmark and received a note from Lori saying that she was going to donate the profits from my purchase to a local ferret shelter in her new home state of Connecticut! Of course I think that is absolutely wonderful! Lori has a ferret named Weezer and this video of him has got to be seen as it is too cute and it is sure to make you smile:

Told ya' you'd smile! Have a great Monday!

More photo updating...

Photos are extremely important when selling items online and mine are a continous work in progress. This afternoon I updated some of the photos in our Etsy shop in hopes of attracting more attention to the jewelry. I would much rather create jewelry than photograph it but it's a necessary evil. Whatcha' think of how they turned out? Any critique is appreciated. You can click on the photos below to be taken to the listing in our shop.

Eye Popping, Sales Making Photos - Oxymoron? Not necessarily.

So many times it's discussed in the Etsy forums that in order to sell jewelry our shops must have great photos. Boy, that is sure harder to do than it sounds. I just spent several hours re-taking photos of several items in our shop and I can assure you, it's a constant work in progress. (Click on photos to see entire listing in our shop).

Give me a waterfall any day and I can photograph it but a bracelet or earrings is a whole different story. For one thing, lighting is the absolute key but it's only perfect about 1% of the time. I've tried lightboxes and ended up with photos with an orange tint. I've tried direct sun, no sun, in the rain (I live in Oregon by the way) and each attempt left something to be desired. I spend hours photographing jewelry and then downloading them and attempting to make them better on the computer. I usually end up with about 25 pictures per item just to get 5 decent ones for a listing. I spend a lot of time photographing our jewelry to try to make the listings in our shop pop!

My point to all this is, when you are looking at an Etsy shop and admiring the talent on display, notice the photos of the objects because I can assure you much work went into them and it's part of the entire package. We all love to create our jewelry or soap or scarves or whatever it may be but a necessary evil in presenting them in our shop is those photos. So many times with an online store they are the deal maker or breaker but the money shots are so elusive. Take notice of great photos and realize the heart and soul that went into creating the item and then presenting it to you. We do it because we love what we do and want to provide the best for our customers. Now, I'm off to take more photos!