Abstract Photography

Abstract photography is unlike most other types of photography - rules, such as composition and accurate focusing hold no values. The abstract photographer uses his creative imagination to create stunning works of art.

Abstract photography is a popular form of art and the rewards for a good abstract photographer are most worthwhile. Art buyers pay large amounts for good abstract work.

Abstract photography is a process of using colours and patterns combined to create an image, with no true meaning or no clear subject involved. Abstract photography is not necessarily going to mean the same thing to everyone. Abstract photography leaves more to the imagination and helps us concentrate on texture and colour rather than the whole subject.

If you are looking to try a new form of photography, abstract photography will certainly be an enjoyable challenge and very rewarding if you master the true art.

Creating an abstract image can be easy - creating a great abstract image is difficult. One of the most simple ways of creating an abstract image is by using water and your cameras' shutter combined. Shooting fast flowing water, with a slow shutter speed of one second will give you a blur effect. This is quite simple to do, but will it look attractive?

This will depend on light - shooting water with a slow shutter speed when the sun is low in the sky will give your image more attractive colours. Different films will also produce different colours. Adding colour filters will also improve your abstract photography. If you are using a digital camera, filters can be added later with Photoshop.

Using a slow shutter speed to shoot a flag blowing in the wind will also give you an abstract image. The trick to keeping abstract photography attractive when using your cameras' shutter is to crop tightly. Fill the view finder with the blur image.

Some kinds of macro photography can be considered as abstract. Close-ups of flowers and other plant life will make great abstract subjects. As with shooting water - macro abstracts should be cropped tightly and the image should have a theme of colour. Some street lights can also create abstract photographs.

Every where we go we are surrounded with colour, textures and patterns. Patterns make for great abstract images. New patterns are formed by nature every day and this is the best place to start to create marketable abstract photographs.

There are no guidelines for creating good abstract images, just use your imagination along with the natural world to create your master piece.

Photography

Digital Photography Tip - How To Photograph Christmas Lights

Christmas is coming and so is the urge for us who love digital photography to get out there in the burbs and photograph the beautiful Christmas lights. It's a beautiful time of year and when you are as passionate about digital photography as I am, then this is the time you whip that digital camera out.

Taking photos of Christmas lights with your digital camera can be a very disappointing experience for digital photography enthusiasts. Pictures of Christmas lights in digital photography are aimed at being crystal clear with beautifully bold colours and hopefully we can capture the delicate glow that radiates from the lights themselves.

But...Christmas lights don't always provide the ideal digital photography experience does it? J In fact, in digital photography, Christmas lights can turnout to be smudged dots of colour, like water over ink and way too dark. The first time I took a digital photography image of Christmas lights the flash went off accidentally causing a flattening out of my images not to mention the lovely colours disappearing and it ended up just being a digital photo of the neighbour's front lawn. Not to mention how it set the dog off barking!

So just what is the digital photography secret to getting crystal clear shots of our suburban Christmas lights?

Okay now I'm going to share a secret with you. The best way to get suburb results of sharp, colourful Christmas lights is to choose the house you are going to photograph. Depending on where you live and how fast you can run, you may need to tee it up with your neighboughs first and offer them the photo. The same rules apply with your Christmas tree.

Take your tripod with you. Take your digital camera off "auto" and take it off "auto flash".

Now try a method called bracketing. Set the aperture at a wide f stop, such as 2.8 or 3.5 for example. Then proceed to try some different settings. Set the shutter to 1/30 or higher. I'd recommend, if it's really dark in the street something around the one second, two seconds or three seconds shutter speed.

There is a groovy little trick you can also do for helping you learning faster, about what works in digital photography and what doesn't. That's recording and documenting your digital photography experience. I usually take a note pad with me and write down the number photo and the f stop and shutter speed so when I look at the photos I know which digital photo has worked and what has not.

But in the dark it's very hard to write down anything so you can do what I sued to do, and that is record on Mp3 what your settings you had on what photo. For example you can record yourself saying "picture one, f stop 2.8, shutter speed 2 seconds." Then again as you have tried another setting "picture seven, f stop 22, shutter speed 1 minute."

These are just examples but they really work. Don't forget the basics with your night time photography such as wide aperture and slow shutter speed and the necessity of a tripod.

If you are in a moving vehicle for example and you are taking shots of Christmas lights from a bus or car, then you can always use the maximum aperture and a smaller shutter speed. For example f stop 1.4 and a shutter of 1/350 or higher.

And don't forget if you do have the time to set up a tripod and try the bracketing technique (ideal) also remember if you have the shutter open for a while the light can bounce off other objects such as windows and roofs. If you get too much reflective light, simply reduce the time the shutter is open.

Good luck and may you have a beautiful Christmas!

Happy Shooting,

Amy Renfrey

P.s Take a look at the photo used to describe the article; http://www.nomorebadphotos.blogspot.com

Photography

How Photography Has Changed Over the Past 200 Years

Taking pictures throughout one's life has been a part of American culture for over a hundred years now. The camera was first introduced in the United States in the early 1800s and was commercialized later in the century. From the time it was first put into the American market until now, the camera and the technology of the camera has changed significantly. Also, with the camera, the items that hold the photographs have changed significantly as well. For example, picture frame lighting is now available to highlight the photographs they hold and there is also such thing as a led picture light which really emphasizes the photograph. The art light is something which has most certainly changed with the technology that came with the modern day camera. However, it is the camera that has dictated these changes in the frames.

The first official camera was invented in 1814. The big, clunky machine was used to take still life pictures in black and white. The photographs almost always came out scratchy and faded looking, but for the time, this machine was very impressive. No one probably could have imagined how photography would have changed over the next 200 years.

The next big accomplishment in photography came with the introduction of color to the photographs in 1861. In fact, some photographs from the American Civil War can be found in color. It took awhile for color cameras to be readily available to the public, so for the next thirty years, color photographs were still a relatively new, revolutionary technology.

A change in the way photography was done happened when the disposable camera was invented. This camera enabled travelers to take inexpensive cameras on vacations without carrying a big, expensive one with them instead. Also, many of these disposable cameras were made to be waterproof, so people could take photographs underwater on a snorkeling or scuba diving trip.

Next in the photography world came the introduction of the digital camera. This made it so that photographs could be taken and then loaded into the computer to be sent to people via the internet or they could be sent to most drug stores to be developed at a specific time, usually set by the customer. This new technology revolutionized the way people stored and used their photographs.

Finally, today there have been many new additions to the camera technology. Cell phones now have a picture-taking capability to them. Also, there is such thing as high definition photographs, which makes the photograph even clearer than it already was before this digital technique. Probably the newest thing to the world of photography is the camera that has a view on both sides of it for those who do not want to have to rely on strangers to take a picture for them and their friends. With all of these advancements coming in shorter and shorter amounts of time, it will be interesting, in the upcoming decade, to see what other changes will be made in this market.

Photography

Description of Photography

Photography is an art of creating moving or still pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium such as a photographic film. It has proved to be a beneficial medium for the purpose of capturing momentous moments of human life. The development in computer and technology has influenced the advancement in the field of photography. From black and white it has turned into colored picture making and then modified into the digital photography.

History of photography:

The word 'photograph' was first coined by Sir John Herschel in 1839. This word has been originated from two Greek words called 'phos' meaning light and 'graphé' meaning drawing. When you combine these two words together, they mean 'drawing with light'. Pinhole camera was invented which introduced the concept of picture making. Then camera was invented producing black and white photographs. In the mid 1800s, the colored picture making made its beginning. The Lumiere brothers discovered the successful color process called Autochrome. This was introduced in the market by the Lumiere brothers in 1907. From colored picture making the digital photography made its appearance in the world. The photographers were burdened with capturing still pictures and not being able to work at remote locations. They also received competition from the television industry. Sony Corporation unveiled first consumer camera in 1981. Over the years, the digital camera advanced and was introduced with enhanced features as a result of which it became highly manipulative medium.

Benefits of photography:

The film making has earned considerable significance in many professional fields. It is used in the profession of film and entertainment industry. Even broadcast or print media made use of this medium to express the critical condition in any part of the world. It is also used for capturing images at home or in the studio. With the introduction of green screen, you can now place the subject in any part of the world. It is easy to add visual effects in the pictures through the green screen process where the background image of the subject is superimposed by any other image. The film making is useful for the scientists, doctors and engineers in their profession. The armed forces and police require the photography for data storage, surveillance and recognition.

Photography

Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds

The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.

Most photographers who are serious about improving their portrait taking skills have realized that a beautiful background can greatly enhance their photographs.

Muslins are a very popular choice among professionals. However, they can get very costly at several hundred dollars each. For the professional who is well established, this may not seem too much, but for the hobbyist, this may be a stretch.

A less costly alternative is a digital background. With a digital background, one can get the look and feel of a professional looking portrait without the additional cost of muslin.

Many Photography websites also sell digital backgrounds on cd. In some cases...as low as .00 dollars for an assorted collection. As with anything else...you usually get what you pay for. Some of these pre-made digital backgrounds are not worth the cd they're printed on, but some of them are very beautifully made. Even so, you may be wondering how YOU can make your very own digital background. That being said, the following information will help guide you along the way.

Okay, let's create a digital backdrop using Adobe Elements 2.0. We will create an 8x10 300dpi (dpi = dots per inch or ppi = pixels per inch) digital backdrop. For printing purposes, 300dpi is strongly recommended for a high quality print. This will also create a large file approximately 20.6megs.

Having a fast processor (Pentium 4 or Athlon XP) and at least 256megs of ram will definitely help. Also having your screen resolution on your monitor set to its highest setting 24 or 32bit will give the best results.

Okay let's begin! If you haven't already opened Photoshop Elements, do so now.

1. Click on File

Photography

Freelance Photography: How to Begin Your Career

Photography is a vast world. There are many different types of photography and many different kinds of people that enjoy it. It's a hobby that be relatively inexpensive or one that you can invest a lot of money on. Photos are so special because they give us memories of times and places and events in our lives. We can hold onto these memories forever with a photograph.

As much as people love photos, many people love taking them even more. Whether it's a mother who takes photos at every of her children's moments in life (first smile, first step, first spaghetti meal) or maybe it's the father who never forgets his camera for a football or basketball game, or maybe it's the young girl who loves nature hikes with her camera; these people are not exceptions. They all have an eye for those special moments and they all appreciate the camera's ability to capture that moment and freeze it in time forever.

- What is Freelance Photography?

What if you love photography so much you wish you could do it for a living? I mean, you actually get paid for your photographs! But you work solely for yourself, selling each photo or series of photos individually. You don't have a boss. You work sometimes on assignment and you may sell to magazines. That is freelance photography.

Freelance photography may be your entire career or it may start out as something you do in your spare time but begin making money from it. It's just like freelance writing in this sense that many people turn it into a career and enjoy the freedom of working essentially for themselves on their own time and making money doing something they love doing anyway.

- How to Build a Portfolio

To start getting jobs as a freelance photographer, you need a portfolio. A portfolio will show samples of your work. Even if you have never had photographs published or publicly displayed, you can start a portfolio of your best work and then add onto it if you win photography contests or start receiving paid work.

- How to Get Jobs

As we mentioned, building a portfolio is the first step in submitting your work for pay but when it comes right down to it, it's the quality of the photo that will determine if you get paid for it. Some people have more of a natural talent for taking great pictures than others but it is a skill that anyone can learn. There are schools dedicated to the art of photography and you can even get a degree in it. If you are just getting started, you can look into classes provided by your local community center or community college. Some cities have photography groups that meet to share photos and tips. There are also many groups online dedicated to photography and freelance photography.

You need to view as many famous photographs as possible. Take a look at what is getting published and compare it to your own photos. This allows you to compare and learn from other's work. It takes more than just point and shoot to get a great photo. You need to learn about focus, lighting, colors and backgrounds and much more.

Once you start learning about photography and creating a portfolio, you can start submitting your photos to contests and magazines. Get a list of photography markets and start submitting to ones that accept your type of photos. Don't expect to make it to the big times right away. Few people actually achieve this but you can start small and eventually make your way into a nice living from freelance photography.

Photography

Photography - Forensic Photography

You're probably not going to find a lot of information on forensic photography. The truth is, this is an area of photography that your typical photographer does not get into. You're dealing with taking photos of people who have been brutally murdered and an assortment of other crimes. Forensic photography is not for the weak stomach. But just what is involved in becoming a forensic photographer? The course outline may not rival going to medical school, but it's quite a handful.

As with all other types of photography, a forensic photographer first has to learn the basics of the equipment that is used such as cameras, lenses, filters, flash, tripods, types of film and a number of other items that are considered basic equipment for forensic photography. The list is as long as King Kong's right arm.

The next thing that needs to be learned and understood is that forensic photography is technical photography. Photos must be correctly exposed, must have a maximum depth of field so that the photos are sharp and in focus and must be free from distortion. In other words, the photo must be as close to what the human eye sees as possible and still uncover things that can't be easily seen by the human eye. Not an easy task.

The photographer must learn about flash and night photography. Many crimes happen at night and the photos have to be taken at the time of the finding. This includes learning everything about dedicated, automatic and electronic flash, including what problems you can expect to run into with each. Troubleshooting is critical in forensic photography.

Then there is a whole course on the purpose of forensic photography so the photographer knows why he is taking the photos he is taking. This includes recording the original crime scene, recording all evidence, providing a permanent visual record and understanding the admissibility of photographic evidence.

Then there is a course on what they call general crime scene photography. This course covers the basics of crimes regardless of the kind. These are procedures that need to be followed regardless of what has happened whether it be a robbery or a murder.

After this course there is a more in depth course, or series of courses, on specific crimes such as homicides, suicides, burglaries, assaults, traffic accidents and injuries. Each one of these incidents requires certain procedures that are specific only to that particular crime.

For example, with homicides color film must be used. Photographs must be taken of the exterior and interior of the building. The photographer must also take photos of the body itself from as many as five different angles, the room the body was found in, the adjoining rooms, close up of body wounds, any weapons found, any trace of evidence such as blood, any signs of a struggle, any signs of prior activity to the homicide, such as drink glasses on a table (maybe they knew each other) and all views that witnesses had if there were any.

And then if that isn't enough, there is a whole course on how to photograph evidence from fingerprints to footprints and anything else that may be found at a crime scene. A forensic photographer must have eyes like a hawk to know what to look for.

If you're thinking that this is something you'd like to do, now at least you know what's in store for you.

Photography

Photography - 5 Most Popular Types of Photography

Photography has quickly become one of the most popular pastimes for adults and children alike. With today's technology, it's not difficult to see why so many people are stepping behind the camera and looking at the world through the lenses of digital photography.

Below you will find five of the most popular types of photography and a brief description of each. Don't worry, these aren't the only types of photography in the world, there are many more to choose from as well:

1. Nature. Nature is, by far, one of the most popular types of photography. From breathtaking sunsets and waterfalls to fascinating volcanoes and mountains the rewards of capturing the world's natural beauty are limitless. There's a world of opportunity right outside your door.

2. People. Taking photos of people has been and will always be a great way to share memories and capture the important moments of life. There are many ways to photograph people, including staged photos, natural photos, black and white pictures and more. Many professional photographers love taking pictures of newborn babies. Anne Geddes is just one of several professionals who have made their living off of selling photos of newborn babies.

3. Travel. Travel pictures have become more and more popular, not only for tourists but for professional photographers as well. Photos of ancient buildings and scenic cities capture the cultures and traditions of people all over the world. Travel photos can range from pictures of people and places to objects and wildlife.

4. Abstract. Abstract photographs have increased in popularity over the past few years. These types of photos are becoming a common choice for home-owners looking for a special piece of art in their home. A large abstract picture can be the focal point of a living room, bedroom or studio and can help release a personal sense of style.

5. Product. Product photos are a great way to increase sales. These types of photos are generally professionally taken and used for marketing purposes by larger companies. Shoes, clothing, furniture, cars, home decor and, even homes, are all popular items when it comes to product photos.

If you're looking for a hobby that's interesting, fun and can potentially make you some money, photography is definitely the way to go. Besides, you might have an undiscovered talent just waiting to be tapped into. Good luck!

Photography

Start Your Own Photography Business from Home

Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can set up a home business, marketing photography. You need only to convert a room of your house into an office, and then you can work immediately.

With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do not even need the room for a dark room. You need only to have a personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe Photoshop.

It is not necessary to clutter yourself with equipment you do not need. You can hire equipment on and when you need it basis. You have the freedom to work part time for a while until you can devote yourself full time to photography. All you need to be is a serious photographer. There are two types of photographers that makes their living from photography, the serious photographer and the very serious photographer. You can always bookmark this link and then you can quickly access just about all you'll ever need from here.

Whilst the technical skills needed to make a successful photographer have never been easier, other aspects have changed the business. The market for photographs of virtually every type has widened, the world seems to have an insatiable appetite for photographs. However the price has fallen as the marketing net has broadened. Photographers are needed in many more fields. For instance many people use car web sites, they simply did not exist ten years ago, and they sell their products as a result of photography. Cameras used by scuba diver's are now an excellent quality, and whilst they are initially expensive, they have forged a new market. People celebrate special occasions more with photography, than they did years ago. The travel and advertising markets have a greater need for landscape, travel and nature shots.

It is now easier than ever to turn your dream into reality and create a worthwhile business out of an engrossing hobby. However in today's modern world there is more to it than simply pointing a camera, and shooting a picture. You need to be aware of marketing techniques, and here marketing simply means transferring ownership of a product, in this case an image from a buyer to seller. You also need to be aware of any local gaps in the market in your local area. You should also try to be on top of your competitor's prices, to undercut an existing photographer is one choice, but to neglect to value your skills and not charge enough to cover your overheads is another matter entirely. Remember this, its an important point.

Use your skills to the best advantage of the business and define what you want from it. Writing a business plan helps to keep you focused on the areas you specifically want to exploit. A business plan helps you to define your goals and strategies, it will be changed and updated, but it will help you, to keep things in perspective. You can then refer back to it when things become confusing or complicated. Everyone's business plan will be different, as every objective will be different, but there are certain common factors that make up a good business plan which will help your business grow. It allows you to develop a professional attitude to your business, which not only helps you to increase your earnings, but also help you to finance your business.

For the photographer it should include, your business name, or your own, with full details of the proposed location of the business, a copy of your logo, as well as details of your copyright notices. What is the form of your proposed business (sole ownership, partnership, Limited Liability Company or Corporation). This should be followed by a table of contents, which focuses on a logical order. There are resources that will give you further details on such as profitable-photography.com

Included after this should be the type of business you intend to pursue, in a fair amount of detail, and it should contain the services you intend to offer. This section should include any future gaols or avenues you would like to explore, stating your clear objectives. This is so you can check at a later date whether your objectives are on course, or if you have got sidetracked.

If you envisage at any time you may need financial help, then you should include your personal business history.

You should also state a clear and concise marketing plan that should demonstrate how your business will differentiate from the businesses of your competitors. You should be able to establish whom your customers will be, as well as where your market will be, as in wholesale or retail or a combination of both. You should also be able to determine how long this type of market will be available to yourself.

The next section should clearly define your opposition, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This should include the ways you may be able to exploit any gaps in the market in the specific area where you live. A section should follow this on how you intend to market and promote your individual services.

A financial segment should be included as to how you intend to manage the day-to-day bills of the business. How you intend to price your services, and what factors influence this pricing structure, which includes a section on your competitor's financial structures. This means a fair amount of detective work as well as homework. Get your friends to ask from quotes from the local competition. Or try an even more direct approach, tell your competitor's that you intend to start a new business, and that you do not want to undercut them, as this reduces the cake for everyone. They may well offer to help you construct a pricing structure that ensures everyone's livelihood. It is in their interests to help. Not everyone will be cooperative, but it may mean you can get a truer picture of the market factors that govern your area.

Make a list of all the equipment you will need in your first year, as well as how and where you intend to purchase. Note any difficulties that may arise in obtaining your supplies. Note whether the prices of your supplies have a seasonal fluctuation, that may help you influence you when to buy. You should make a note of any local licenses that will be necessary, as well as any zoning restrictions, that may restrict the growth of your business. Your neighbours may not be thrilled at a procession of customer's to your door, check whether they can restrict your services. Make a study of all your business insurance requirements.

The final segment should be devoted to how you intend to finance the growth of your business, as well as isolating what your financial needs will be. This should include a projection on your future earnings, as well as an accurate assessment of your outgoings'. This should be assessed on a monthly basis for the first year, and on an annual basis for the following three years. An important aspect of the financial statement is an assessment of the break-even point of your business, in other words the minimum you will have to take to pay your expenses.

The purpose of this documentation is to allow you to enunciate what the core elements of your business will be, in doing this it should help you to be able to quickly evaluate the success of your business objectives. If you are not clear on your objectives then you cannot possibly make a plan to bring about the success of those objectives.

Photography

Female Body In Photography

No one can ignore a beautifully taken female photography; at least once he will pay attention to it. Yes this attention makes the female photography more popular.

Mostly fashion designers and advertisers use the female body in photography. It is obvious that in the present day of global marketing and consumerism, men need to be attracted towards the brand to make good selling of the items. To attract men best simple method is feminine advertisements. This is not simply a sexual attraction, but the in born tendency and temptation of man to appreciate the beauty. The most beautiful in the nature is the cute soft female body. Their movements, their facial feelings and the casual glance, all these are highly attractive. This feature is very important in marketing many items; they use these photographs in getting required attention for their item in the market.

Another reason for female body in photography is the revenue one gets from the photographs. Whether no dress or with dress, female photographs are always a highly priced commodity in photography markets. Fashion design and their displays will be attractive when only females are participating; these photographs will be the main source for the marketing new fashion designs.

It is not a present trend, think about the period when Mona Lisa and Whislers Mother were created. Today with the advent of most modern technology and the sophisticated still camera one can get the visual photograph giving the real feeling. One who takes female body in photography should follow the following tips.

o It is important to select right model for the photograph. See that the model has the attractive power, attractive movements and above all she is beautiful enough. Also one need to select the model in accordance with the circumstance, just tells that if you want a photograph with minimum clothes, you should found such a female beautiful enough and ready to cooperate.

o The theme of the photograph. Make proper decision on the theme according to the utility of the photograph. This does not require much detail, right!

o Background of the photographs. It is very important that your set for photograph matches with the theme of your photograph. If proper attention is not given for the backdrop, the photograph will fail to make a reverberation.

The spectacular attraction and the amazing revenues comes out of female body in photography, makes this field ever growing and it is true that it will have more and more appeal in the future world.

Photography

Digital Photography Green Screen Techniques

Using a digital photography green screen is easy. The screens are used in both still photography and videos although it's more common in video photography.

First off, you need an actual green screen. Despite the name, this can be either green or blue in color. The choice of color will largely be dictated by what you are photographing as you want to make it easy for your software to isolate the intended image with you.

Purpose made green screens are readily available from around . You can look for them in places like eBay, Amazon or your local photo store. Alternatively, you can make your own from fabric or even by painting a roll of paper. So long as the color is consistent, you'll be fine.

Next up you need to make sure that you have good lighting for your digital photo. This is especially useful when you come to edit your pictures as extra shadows can confuse any automatic software options that you choose.

Although you can buy expensive lights, you'll probably find that you can get very good results with just a couple of fluorescent tubes. Place them both upright, in front of your subject and to either side. This way any shadows should be canceled out.

Then take your photographs.

Once you're happy with these, the time has come to edit them and put in a new background. So your "talking head" shot now shows you in a news studio, in front of a street scene, or just about anywhere else you choose.

Much will now depend on your photo editing software.

At its most basic, you will need to trace round the outline of your chosen image. Programs like Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop have tools that will help you to do this. But it may still take a while to tweak the places where the automatic software recognition program isn't as accurate as you may like. This is where the contrast between the green screen and your subject matter comes in handy as it gives your chosen software a much better chance of doing a good job with as little of your help as possible.

Once you've got your image selected, you then need to use another option to digitally "lift" the image and then drop it onto your chosen background. Again, this will vary with your software package but providing you can get the software to just copy the selected area, you'll be fine.

It may pay you to practice doing this with a simple shape such as a rectangle or a circle so that you don't waste lots of time tracing round a complicated image only to find you press the wrong key at the wrong time. It's at times like these when you're grateful for Edit Undo options but personally I wouldn't rely on them one hundred percent.

It's then a relatively easy matter of dropping your carefully cut out selection on to the new picture. So you can then pretend to be talking to people from in front of the pyramids of Egypt or anywhere else you prefer.

Photography

12 Creative Photography Ideas

Here are 12 ideas to get your creative juices flowing and increase your skills and value as a photographer.

TIP 1 - Time Lapse photos. I showed my niece how to do this with clay figures and stitch the resulting frames together into a video file, and she was busy for days. If you control the exposure consistently to keep the images consistent with one another, you can do some really fun stop-motion animation. Or, you can set up your camera to capture other slow motion effects such as flowers opening and seedlings growing.

TIP 2 - Night Lights. Things look very different at night. Shooting city scenes with available light creates some interesting images. And shooting outdoor images under moonlight or with "light painting", where you open up the camera shutter for an extended exposure, and "paint" your targets with colored or plain light, can create some truly bizarre images.

TIP 3 - Astrophotography. Hook that SLR up to a telescope, and you are ready to peer into the depths of space and time. You'll need some adapters, and ability to compensate for the earth's rotation for really long shots. Start with the moon and move on from there.

TIP 4 - Macro photography. From flowers to coins to stamps, you can polish your skills at close-up photography and capture some really detailed images. Often a macro lens or close-up attachment will help. See my tips on Flower Photography to get more information.

TIP 5 - Micro photography. If you can interface that camera with a microscope, you can get some really crazy images. Or, stack up a bunch of close-up magnification and try your hand at turning salt crystals into surreal imagery.

TIP 6 - Insurance Photos. OK, maybe a bit boring, but you and your friends and relatives will thank you. Take a couple hours and touch and photograph everything of value, with a full shot or two if each item of value, accompanied by a shot of the identifying marks - manufacturer model or serial number. Then burn a CD or DVD and store it off site. If you have a fire or other loss, this could save the owner thousands of dollars.

TIP 7 - Family Recipe book. Anytime those family favorites are prepared, copy down the recipe and take some photos of the food. You can produce a printed or electronic cookbook of family favorites that everyone will love.

TIP 8 - Stock Photography. This is a very busy market niche, but the cost of entry is low. Specialize in things you love, and you may be able to generate some income from your stock images. Search for stock photography sites, and make sure you understand your rights before you post images.

TIP 9 - Special Effects. Maybe you want to specialize in high-speed images of athletes, or surrealistic collages. Try your hand at using your editing skills to put someone in a soda bottle or floating on a candy lifesaver. Often more artistic than photographic, it will test your composition, lighting and editing skills to come up with believable artificial realities.

TIP 10 - Still Life. Ahh, the bowl of fruit. Sometimes a simple object or collection, properly lit, shot and edited, is a thing of beauty. It's a great way to study light. Start with an egg on a light background, a lamp and a window and see how you can learn about lighting and composition.

TIP 11 - Computer Control. Many cameras have a USB interface and remote control software. You can actually control the camera from the computer. See if you can get it to work to your liking, and maybe even program some time lapse or exposure bracketing experiments.

TIP 12 - Be Like Andy. Take some images of everyday items and try to create those neat colored backgrounds like Andy Warhol used to make. Create a 4-up print of the same image and change the colors of each quadrant to make an interesting square print.

Have fun with these ideas, and let me know when you become famous!

Photography

Wedding Photography: How to Become a Successful Wedding Photographer

Once in while I receive e-mails or phone calls from aspiring or beginner wedding photographers asking me for advise on how to become successful in the wedding field. My first question is always what their motivation is to become a wedding photographer. Some will reply that they heard from somebody that it is easy money, or that they got a cool camera that takes great photos or that they would like to make some money on the side etc.
While it is true that wedding photography can be a very profitable business achieving success in the wedding industry is not just a matter of getting a camera and start shooting. Wedding photography involves artistic talent, human sense, complete mastery of photographic techniques, business knowledge, and a strong desire to learn and deliver the best to the wedding couple.

Here I have summarized some points that I believe will guide beginner wedding photographers:

1. Learn photography before anything else. A wedding photographer is expected to be a master of the craft. You will be in charge of capturing people's most precious life moments. The wedding day is not the place to learn photography.

2. Just because you got a brand new camera it does not automatically make you an effective and reliable photographer. Photography goes beyond cool toys and gadgets. Learn composition and develop a unique artistic vision. Some of the great photographs of all time were taken with manual cameras.

3. Master the digital workflow, including color management, digital image processing, file management and image correction and enhancement.

4. Learn to love photography more than anything else. Don't come to the wedding photography field with just dreams of making money. It is true that there are many successful wedding photographers that make a lot of money. However according to the Professional Photographers of America the average photographer in America makes about ,000 a year.

5. Focus on delivering quality more than quantity. Seek with all your heart to capture unique photographs.

6. Develop a style that is recognizable and unique. Don't try to be like somebody else. Clients look for unique photographers, with a unique vision.

7. Give wedding photography all your heart and effort. Long when you are gone your photographs will last forever. It is a great way to be remembered.

8. Open your heart and your mind and great photos will happen. Concentrate on the human aspect of weddings, the details, and emotions and be ready to capture them. Let the camera become an extension of you.

9. Share your technical knowledge and make connections with other wedding photographers.

10. Participate in wedding photography image competitions. It will give you the opportunity to have your work evaluated by peers and the motivation to improve your work quality.

11. Learn something new everyday. Take advantage of professional photography organizations such as Professional Photographers of America (PPA), WPPI, etc. Attend their seminars, workshops. Participate in Internet wedding photography forums and learn and share tips, tools and techniques.

12. Don't neglect the business aspect of wedding photography. Learn to manage your business effectively. Take business courses and seminars.

Photography

Christmas Games For Adults That Are Silly, Quiet, Fun and More

Who said Christmas games are only for children? Christmas games are for adults, too, and they don't have to be serious. After all, adults like to get their game on to relive a few silly childhood moments. Get the holiday fun started with these fun-loving adult Christmas games.

Silly Adult Christmas Games

Does your group look for any excuse to be silly? Why not choose a Christmas game that is based on being silly? Give each team a pair of pantyhose and eight balloons. When the game starts, the team blows up the balloons to stuff into the legs of the hose. To ensure the game is totally fair, the pantyhose should be queen size and the teams of equal number.

The game is finished when someone gets all the balloons in the legs of the pantyhose, puts on the stuffed "antlers" and sings the first verse of the holiday favorite, "Jingle Bells". When everyone finishes the game, take photos of all your friends wearing funny antlers made of balloons and pantyhose.

Adult Relay Christmas Games

Do your friends enjoy relay games? Why not make your own Santa beard? Put out two oversize bowls filled with cotton balls and a jar of petroleum jelly. Dab petroleum jelly on each team member's chin. The 2 teams should each have around 5 people. The first player in each line runs to one of the bowls to grab cotton balls and stick them to their greasy chins. When they get as many cotton balls as possible stuck on their chins, the players run to the next player to give them a turn.

When the entire team is wearing a Santa Beard, they are the winners. This is another holiday game that really begs you to take pictures so you can show them off for years to come. Keep water and towels handy to remove the petroleum jelly when the game and photo session is over.

Quiet Christmas Games For Small Groups

Are your friends a small, quiet group who prefer less demonstrative games? Why not pack up a bag for Santa? The game starts when you say, "I packed a bag for Santa Claus and put in some socks." The next player goes on to say, "I packed a bag for Santa Claus and put in some socks and books." As each player continues they includes all the listed items and add their own item. When you miss an item on the list, you are out of the game.

Child-Inspired Christmas Games For Adults

Do your friends love to relive their childhoods during Christmas? Why not give your guests a chance to do it at your Christmas party with a fun game that reminds them of a childhood favorite? Make your own Christmas scavenger hunt with search teams of 4 or so. Create lists of items for the teams to return with.

You can keep the search local at your house or within the neighborhood area. Include holiday items in the scavenger hunt such as a red stocking, a sprig of holly and a small wreath. If you decide to extend the scavenger hunt through town, it gets even more exciting. Have your guests purchase a box of holiday themed cereal or take a picture to prove they visited the local Christmas tree. Be creative and make the hunt action-packed. Everyone loves this Christmas game because it reminds them of childhood. It's a great way to socialize because as everyone works together they get to know each other better.

Adult Kiss Christmas Games

Who doesn't love chocolate and kisses? Is that why Hershey's Kisses are such as hit at Christmas? Break your group into two teams with two bowls of Hershey's Kisses on either side of the room. Give each team a set of really big gloves or mittens. The first person in line runs to the bowls and must unwrap and eat the a Kiss wearing bulky gloves. Once done, the player runs back to tag the next person and give them the gloves. When all team members are the first to enjoy their own Kiss, the group wins.

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Magic Jack Internet Phone Review

Magic Jack is a newcomer to the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) family of internet phoning. It's quick to install, easy to use and the price can't be beat for making unlimited local and long distance calls in the United States and Canada. But is Magic Jack too good to be true?

Like most products, Magic Jack has it's good points and it's not-so-good points. It will be up to you to decide what is most important to you in internet phoning and to choose the product that should work best in your situation.

Magic Jack Pros

Low cost to try out. For .95 plus shipping and handling, you receive the USB device and the license to use it for unlimited local and long distance calling for one year. Each additional year is .95. There are also multi-year packages to purchase at a discount.

International calls can be free if you are calling someone who also has the device. For example, if you have a family member that lives in another country, you can purchase a Magic Jack and mail it to them. Then you can call them for free and they can call anywhere in the US and Canada free.

Includes many features such as voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, 411 and 911.

Save on your cell phone minutes by using it to make calls from home.

Uses any ordinary landline telephone, including cordless phones. Headsets and your computer microphone and speakers can also be used.

Magic Jack Cons

Your computer has to be turned on to use Magic Jack.

Service can be intermittent. New company with growing pains, I don't recommend relying on it for your only phone.

Directory assistance, or 411 is advertising based if you call it from your phone. If clicking on the soft phone screen that lives on your desktop, you are taken to a web site to look up phone numbers.

911 is through a different system than the 911 you call from a regular telephone. When setting up your Magic Jack it will ask you the physical location of your phone in case of calling 911. Until this service is a lot more stable, I would not rely on their 911 in an emergency. Another reason for keeping your landline phone.

If your internet service does not work during a power outage, you will be without this phone service also. Unless you have a cell phone that will work, this is another reason not to cancel your landline phone service. Make sure you keep a phone that doesn't use electricity on hand for emergencies.

As with most or all voip services, you must have a high speed internet connection to use this service. These services include broadband, DSL, WiFi, FIOS, cable internet or WiMax. It is not recommended for use with satellite internet.

If you are interested in having a service that allows you to make free long distance calls, give Magic Jack a try. If dumping your current landline phone service is what you need, investigate the other VOIP services that are available and that have a longer track record of performance.

Jelly Jar Photography

How to Make A Spooky Halloween Cake

Halloween is the best time of year to pull out all the stops when it comes to cake decorating. Put on your creative cap and have fun with designs, colors and themes.

I love to make spooky and rather gory cakes for Halloween. The scarier the better in my eyes! You can make a cute and beautiful cake any day of the week but it's not every day that you can make a gooey brain cake with eyeballs popping out the side!

First things first, get some ideas rolling. How many people does your cake have to feed is a good one to start at. This will decide on how big you can go.

I always like to take a trip to my local grocery store and buy all the scariest Halloween candies I can find. There's always gummy worms, chocolate eyeballs, body parts, spiders, glow in the dark skeletons, the list goes on!

While you're there pick up a jar of red jelly or raspberry jam, this will come in handy for any edible blood you'll be needing. Also think of marshmallows, sprinkles and pretzel sticks. These always make great props and cupcake toppers. Now that you've got all your goodies in hand you can start making your spooky Halloween cake.

I think the most popular colors for Halloween are of course orange and black, deep purple and reds as well as browns and yellows. Stay away from any cheery pastel colors! You can always bring these colors out for Easter.

Do you want to make a sheet cake, a tiered cake or a 3D shaped cake? Here are some sheet cake ideas: Frankenstein and his wife, haunted house, pumpkin patch, ghosts and goblins. Here are some tiered cake ideas: Haunted graveyard with road going up, haunted house on top of hill, trick or treating, Here are some 3D cake ideas: Scary pumpkins, spooky skeletons, Frankenstein's head, hand coming out of grave and of course beattlejuice.

If you know how to make cake pops there's some really great tutorials on how to make some really scary Halloween cake pops.

Remember when you're creating your scary Halloween Cake to go all out! Use whatever you can to make it spooky and spectacular. Use candies, jellies, gummy candies, chocolate and any other toppers you can find. Get creative with colors and textures by using household items you already have in your cupboard, and most of all just have fun with it!

Photos and tutorials of spooky Halloween cakes and cupcakes at http://www.easy-cake-decorating.com

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34 Fun School Carnival Game Ideas

1. The Beauty Salon was a popular booth at our Fall Carnival. The boys and girls loved getting their hair colored, blue, green, pink!

2. Karaoke was also very popular this year!

3. About three years ago, our room moms rented an electonic bull. (I can't think of the right name!) The line never ended! The kids and adults loved it!

4. My sons' school has a Kissing Booth. They didn't get actual kisses, but they did give you a Hershey's Kiss instead. They also have a lips stamp, and they stamp your face with it! And you see TONS of kids running around their carnival with several kisses! Very cute!

5. We played "Bingo for Books" in the media center.

6. Snack Walk (like a cake walk but kids picked out bags of chips, a box of Little Debbies, bag of cookies, 2 liter bottle of soda, etc

7. We also auctioned off Janitor-, Principal- and Librarian- for-a-day. Those were very popular. (Janitor brought in the most!)

8. We have done Super Twister with dots painted on a large piece of tarp that got taped to the floor with everyone trying to touch the correct color with the correct body part. Ours is big enough that 30+ kids can play at a time.

9. A popular game at our school's carnival was the football toss. Rings were hung from the ceiling (beginning with rings the size of a hula-hoop) and you would try to throw a football through a ring. The smaller the ring, the higher the points.

10. Hit the Teacher With a Wet Sponge. Hugely popular, even with the parents.

11. Bubble-gum Blowing Contest: Popular because gum's usually a no-no.

12. Advanced Spelling Bee- Allowed students to take steps toward prize board if correct; end of the line if missed.

13. Dress up the Teacher: Hit garage sales and the Good Will for outrageous items to dress a teacher. Tie this in with problem solving/ academics standardized test review...use a digital camera to photo results as keep sake.

14. A few years back we had a carnival and one big seller was the "Loonie " Jars (here in Canada we call our dollar a Loonie. ) We asked families to donate jars filled with items - such as packs of gum, small toys, marbles, pencils, - you name it, people filled them. We had over 400 donated. Then people drew a number from a basket and that was the jar they got.

15. We just had our carnival on Thursday and Friday, and I teach third grade. This year we did the toy walk (played just like the cake walk). We used small inexpensive toys (.00 limit) the kids brought in and also got some happy meal toys donated from McDonald's. Another one we did was the Wii game. The kids loved it!!!

16. We do a "Great Pumpkin Obstacle Race" where the student dresses up like a great pumpkin (we use my orange hunting coat, hat, and gloves) then they go through tires, over hay bales, and weave through pumpkins. The kids love it!

17. Last year at our fall festival we had a duck race. You set up a small pool and get the little bath ducks. You also need squirt guns. The students "race" their ducks using the spray from the squirt guns to make them go. It was really fun!

18. We had a carnival many years ago and the booth that was the biggest hit, was the engraving booth. We ordered necklaces from Oriental Trading and had one of those hand held engraving machines and wrote the kids names on them. It was quick and easy.

19. A parent built a Plinko board that travels from grade to grade with his son - it's the most popular item at the fair. We have a stage in our gym so kids stand on the stage to drop the Plinko disks.

20. The Fortune Teller booth is our most popular one.

21. Mystery boxes- boxes with holes that the kids put their hands into- had peeled grapes, cold spaghetti, jello with fruit. We gave each one a scary name.

22. Guess the weight of a big pumpkin.

23. We sold plastic gloves filled with popcorn. Each "hand" had a spider ring on the finger.

24. Musical Chairs with Stuffed Animals. Before the carnival, collect stuffed animals (kids can donate these by the arm loads). Put them in a pile in the center of the room. Place chairs in a circle around the stuffed animals. put numbers under the chairs. Play music for a minute. Have kids sit. Draw a number. Winner picks a stuffed animal.

25. What about sand art? The kids love it! You can get supplies on line, such as small plastic bottles and bracelets. Use salt dyed with food coloring for the sand.

26. Another idea is to make a box maze in your classroom. It could be a crawl through. Maybe kids could solve a puzzle along the way.

27. Guessing contests are fun. Decorate clear glass jars and fill with what ever. Lollipops, M&M's, individual wrapped candies, pretzels, dry beans might add a soup making recipe, so that it shows on the outside of the jar. Here again have different people bring a decorated jar full of something and have them count and put on a folded paper on the underside of the jar lid the number of items in the jar. Only one prize per winner and of coarse family members can't win their jar. The more jars the more winners. Any size jar will work - jelly jars, gallon jars, miracle whip jars and etc. Decorating is fun. Example one person completely covered the jar with wrapping paper and put 1 bag of candy in the jar, so the correct guess was one. Stick on stickers. Make a puff top on the lid. Glue on lace. Tape a pattern on the inside of the jar and use enamel paint and paint the design on the outside of the jar and maybe outline with permanent fabric paint. The outline isn't necessary, but adds an extra nice touch. Don't forget to remove your pattern when complete.

28. Fluky Ball: Set up an easel with a bucket below. Child must bounce a ball off the easel into the bucket to win.

29. Tin Pan Alley: child rolls a ball down a ramp. At the bottom there is a box with 2 muffin tins painted with 3 different colors. The child rolls 3 balls. If 2 colors match, you win.

30. A great carnival idea is do offer a DINO DIG! Take a baby swimming pool, fill it with sand and small plastic dinosaurs (oriental trading has them cheap) give the kids a small shovel to dig for their dino. We also do digging for diamonds! Girls love finding little rings and such in the sand.

31. Pumpkin Ring Toss. We get donations from the local nurseries for pumpkins, hay bales, corn stalks, gourds, etc. We take about ten of the larger stemed pumpkins and use them as the targets for the rong toss. I found wooden hoops at the local fabric store.

32. Gourd Bowling. I purchased a set of those plastic children pins and then used some of the gourds from the nurseries. The gourds roll funny so it makes it more fun.

33. Ping-Pong Ball Toss. We purchased ten of the plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat containers that the kids use and had them placed as the target. I had a half dozen or so orange ping-pong balls that the kids have to toss in.

34. One of my favorite games is "Chicken Chucking". Get a few rubber chickens and set up an area that people can throw them into a pen (rubber maid bin) I place mine about 30 feet away and at 40 feet away. Its hilarious watching everyone throw it. When I did it at my church I found some real cute rubber chicken key chains to give away to the people that made it into the 40 feet away pen.

Jelly Jar Photography

Decorating Jars for Your Holiday Gifts

Use paint, labels, stencils, decoupage, and embellishments to make your jars look special. Match gifts and jar decorations to the person receiving the gift. Then attach a matching gift card to your jar.

Use glass canning jars, glass bottles, old-fashioned wire bail jars, recycled jars, antique jars, or plastic storage jars. Jars must have tight fitting lids.

Sterilize Jars for Food Gifts

The jars you use to package food gifts should be glass and sterilized before use.

1. Check all jars for chips and cracks. If chipped or cracked, don't use for food. Use new lids.
2. Wash with hot, soapy water; then rinse.
3. To sterilize jars, place on a rack in a large pot and cover with water. Let water come to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from boiling water and let dry. Jars and lids can also be sterilized in your dishwasher.

Methods to Decorate Your Jars

Decorate With Paint

Always wash jar in hot soapy water to remove grease or residue.

Select a paint intended for use on the surface you are decorating. Read the label on the paint container to determine the paint's compatibility with your surface. This rule goes for painting on glass, metal lids, or plastic jars and lids.

Acrylic craft paints are not permanent and can be rubbed or washed off.

1. Acrylic Glass Paints are best for glass jars. They come in a wide variety of pre-mixed colors in convenient squeeze bottles to decorate your gift jars. These types of paints can be baked in a home oven to make them more durable and washable. (Read the label) To bake, let the paint dry on the jar for 48 hours. Place glass jar in a conventional oven (not preheated) and heat to 325 degrees F. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow jar to cool in oven before removing. After baking painted jars can be hand washed. Washing in a dishwasher is not recommended.
2. Air-Dry Enamel Paints for Glass are opaque, brush-on glass paints available that air dry to a high-gloss, waterproof finish. Choose a brand that is water-based and non-toxic.
3. Paints for Plastic are brush-on paints especially formulated for adhering to plastic and dry to a durable, waterproof finish. Water-based types allow you to clean brushes and spills with soap and water.
4. Paint Pens are available in craft shops and come in a wide selection of colors. They are great for detailing and simple jar decoration.
5. Fabric Paints can be used for special effects like wording or facial features. Can also be used to decorate lids. They squeeze directly from the bottle.

Paint a design on the jar using pre-cut purchased stencils or a design you cut yourself from freezer paper. You can also paint the design on your jar free-hand. Draw the outline with a Sharpie Fine Point Permanent marker or paint free-hand. Use caution as the Sharpie marker will smudge on glass.

Decorate With Labels

Make paper labels created on your computer and then printed, or draw label on your choice of paper.

To give your labels an aged appearance spatter with brown acrylic paint thinned in water. Use an old tooth brush for spattering.

Lightly sponge the edges of the label using a dense foam sponge and the spattering mixture.

Allow labels to dry; then glue or decoupage to jar.

Decorate with Decoupage

Use Mod Podge Gloss Lustre decoupage medium for your jars.

Decoupage is done in three basic steps: cutting, gluing, and sealing.

1. Trim away excess paper from the image or picture you wish to use.
2. Using a foam brush, lightly coat the back of the image with decoupage medium. Position the image on the surface and smooth it with your fingers, pushing out wrinkles and air bubbles. Allow to dry.
3. Apply two or three coats of decoupage medium over the image with a foam brush to seal the paper. The image appears cloudy when wet, but will dry crystal clear.

Decoupaged jars can be wiped with a damp cloth to clean but cannot be washed in a
dishwasher or submerged in water.

You can create a paper collage jar using decoupage. A collage is a group of pictures or images layered and overlapped to form a display. Use printed photos, interesting paper, stamps, and stickers. Arrange the images by overlapping them for a decorative display. Attach and seal them with two or three coats of decoupage medium.

Decorate with Fabric

If you prefer not to decorate the outside of the glass or plastic jar, add decoration to the lid.

Cover the top of the jar lid with fabric or a small lace fabric or paper doily. Use holiday or gingham fabric cut with pinking sheers. Add three to four inches to the diameter dimension of the jar lid for coverage and decoration. A circular piece of batting can be used under the fabric for a stuffed appearance. A counted cross stitch design can also be used on top of the jar. Place the fabric over the lid on the jar or place over the lid seal and then add the screw-on band. Lace or braid can be glued around the band.

Embellishments

A variety of items can be used to embellish your decorated jar. Make your embellishment compliment the contents. If your gift jar contains a Gingerbread Cookie Mix attach a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Add a holiday cookie cutter to a Sugar Cookie Mix. Attach a tea ball or infuser to a jar of tea. Attach a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or wire whisk to other mixes.

Make a tag or card to coordinate with the jar decoration or contents and attach with a ribbon or raffia.

Embellishments include ribbon, holiday garlands, gold braid or cord, raffia, lace, buttons, beads, charms, tassels, or bandanas.

Choosing Glues

For gluing items to jars, silicon-based glue for glass works best. It also works well for gluing wood to glass, metal to glass, or plastic to glass. It can also be used to attach items to metal or wooden lids. Silicone-based glue dries slowly so you will have to prop the jar carefully until the glue is dry.

A glue gun can be used for attaching light objects such as ribbon to the jar for instant hold.

White craft glue is used for gluing unbaked polymer pieces to a jar or lid before baking in the oven.

Gift Jar Contents

Use your imagination and consider who the gift is for when deciding on the contents. Food mixes are very popular. Gift jars can also contain sewing notions, keep sakes, games, snack foods such as trail mix, nuts n' bolts or chex mix, candied nuts, candied popcorn, Christmas candy or jelly beans, coffee, tea, flavored vinegars and oils in glass bottles, potpourri or fragrance gel, bath salts, and a baked cake-in-a-jar.

If you plan to give a food mix, first choose the recipe and ingredients. Food mixes often look better when the ingredients for the mix are layered in the jar. The recipient can mix the ingredients before using them.

If you plan to give a mix you will need:

1. A small bottle to tamp down the ingredients as you layer or place them in the jar.
2. A canning funnel or piece of card stock to make a simple funnel for filling jars.
3. Paper towels to wipe powdery ingredients off inside of jar.

Tips for Packing Food Ingredients

1. Layer ingredients in the jar in the order given in the recipe.
2. Wipe down the sides of the jar with a clean paper towel after adding powdery ingredients such as sugar, cocoa, or flour before adding the next ingredient for a better appearance.
3. Pack down all ingredients firmly as they are added. If you don't, you won't have enough space to fit in all the ingredients. Generally, a quart holds 6 cups of packed down ingredients; a pint jar holds 3 cups of packed down ingredients.
4. If ingredients do not come to top of the jar, fill space with crumpled plastic wrap or waxed paper to prevent the ingredients from shifting and mixing.
5. After packing ingredients into jar, seal with the lid. Attach a card with the recipe, instructions, a list of any additional ingredients, and a holiday greeting.

Baked Cake-in-a-Jar

Use a pint-sized wide-mouth canning jar with a two-part lid (flat seal and screw-on band) when baking a cake-in-a-jar. The wide mouth allows the cake to slide out of jar. Choose a cake-in-a-jar recipe or adjust your favorite cake recipe to make in jars. Place one cup of prepared cake mix in pint jar. Bake according to directions. Jars and lids must be sterilized before using. (Use new lids) Bake cake and add lid as soon as cake is removed from oven. Carefully place flat seal on top of jar and then the screw-on band. Jar is very hot so do not burn yourself. Allow jar to cool and then test to make sure the jar is sealed. If the cake does not seal properly, eat cake, refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat. The sealed jars of cake can be stored without refrigeration for up to two months. Attach a tag with the name of the cake and that says, "Best eaten before (two months from date the cake was baked)."

Give yourself plenty of time to decorate your gift jars and plan the contents for each person on your Christmas list. Fill the jars, then sit back and relax. Sip a cup of hot spiced cider and enjoy the holidays.

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Baby's First Halloween Birthday - Party Favors & Other Ideas

Baby's First Halloween Birthday - Party Favors & Other Ideas

Children live for birthday parties and Halloween, so it's all the more special for a child born on or around October 31. Your baby's first Halloween birthday party can be a delight for you, your baby and your guests, both kids and adults.

Trick Or Treat? Treats, Of Course!

Party favors or goodie bags for Halloween birthday parties are especially easy to put together. First off, all the favors can go in miniature trick-or-treat bags or plastic jack o' lanterns. Miniature candy bars and chocolate kisses will delight any child, but think bigger for your adult guests. Personalized candy bar wrappers on standard-sized chocolate bars are an excellent way to treat the grown ups with a reminder of your baby's first birthday. Photo key chains and travel-sized candle tins are also great ideas for party favors that are appropriate for adult guests. 

No matter what type of party favors you choose, you'll want your guests to remember your baby's first Halloween birthday fondly. An easy way to turn favor bags into keepsakes is with customized birthday labels or favor tags. Ideally, you should try to order your labels and/or favor tags at the same time and from the same company you order your invitations.  This way, you can get a matching or complementary design and coordinate the look and feel of baby's first Halloween birthday party.

Party-time is Game-time

A wealth of Halloween and birthday entertainment is available for baby's first Halloween birthday party. "Guess the number of candy corns in the jar" is a popular favorite, and the winner gets the jar of candy corn (or chocolate kisses or jelly beans). Of course, bobbing for apples has been popular in the U.S. since colonial times. Asking your guests to come dressed in costume is not only an ice-breaker, it's a great excuse for a costume contest. Pumpkin decorating, using markers and decorations instead of knives, will keep everyone busy and entertained. Of course, at the end of the party (or at the beginning), all the little ones can be assembled for a group trick-or-treat excursion. 

Baby's first Halloween birthday is a great excuse to bring all your friends and family together, as well as a great opportunity to entertain both adults and children alike. Remember, a well-planned party means you'll have a great time too, and a happy host makes a happy party!

The author grows pumpkins and welcomes trick-or-treaters in Medford, OR, where she lives with her husband, dog, cats and chickens. She is the head copywriter for Candles & Favors, a leading online retailer of all you need to throw a successful Halloween birthday party: invitations, thank you cards, soy candle tins, personalized labels, and favor tags.

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