2014 Brides...Have you picked your colors yet?

If not, no need to worry. You can find the new year's wedding color trends right here!The top ten Pantone shades are fab!

I will be showing you ideas on each color in the coming weeks during my "Wedding Wednesdays" starting next week!
~Becky

Merry Christmas!

Yay! Christmas morning started around 4:30am at the Artrip house this morning! Makynzie was wide awake and ready to go...we, on the other hand, were not. We gathered ourselves and stumbled out to the living room and the first thing she noticed? Santa didn't eat all of his cookies!

I had to explain to her that Santa probably had cookies at every house and was no doubt full, so he only ate 2 1/2 of ours. She was satisfied with that answer. She then commenced with the destruction. I wasn't able to get really great pictures this morning, I was too busy enjoying the smiles she gave us as she ripped through each lovingly wrapped gift, but I did snap a few here and there.

She of course had her favorites: the Easy Bake Oven from Mamaw...first results were less than appetizing but we are hoping for a better outcome soon...

The Lala Loopsies, the legos, and the Spirograph (ahhhh, memories)....

But the hum-dinger was the Glitzy Globes! Santa was THE MAN!

Now for a much needed nap before we head to my parent's aka Granny and Pawpaw's for dinner and more carnage with the rest of our brood.
Here's wishing you happiness, health, and love...Merry Christmas from, the Artrip clan.
Tommy, Becky, Matthew, Houston, Abigail, and Makynzie

How to take {STUNNING} pictures of your Christmas lights!

Christmas morning is almost upon us and it seems like everyone has their own DSLR camera now to share the memories with. What is everyone's goal this week? Why, to capture that awe inspiring, jaw-dropping, virtually sparkling image of their loved ones in front of the Christmas tree, that's what! How do we do that, you ask? Well, I am no expert but I can share with you a few pointers to help you better understand the process. The technique takes a bit of patience, and not everyone's lighting situation and/or camera settings will be the same so there is no way of giving you a detailed outline. Just practice! Practice! Practice!
The first thing you will need, besides Christmas lights and a somewhat willing subject, is a lens with a fairly large aperture. Basically, your lens needs to have the ability to open up like the pupil of your eye to let as much light in as possible. The aperture will be listed on your lens as 3.5-5.6 or 1.8, and so forth.
The smaller the number is, the larger your opening will be:

The lens I like to use, is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. A fairly inexpensive lens that provides great bokeh.

Setting your aperture to the lowest setting will throw the background and foreground out of focus, so Christmas lights in those areas will become cute little balls of light. I would always put my subject (usually my daughter) a few feet in front of or behind the lights. The further away you and your focused subject are from the lights, the larger the balls of light will seem.

Another trick you may have been seeing a lot of, are bokeh cutouts. You can use any shape you can think of. Just cut it out of black construction paper, or preferably, card stock to make it last longer. Attach the cutout to your lens with either a rubber band or small pieces of painter's tape...and viola!

I made this one....feel free to use it as well!

Most of all, have fun with your pictures! Don't be afraid of your camera, play with the settings, different lenses, and techniques.
~Becky

Fashion Friday!

One of my goals for the upcoming year is to post something useful pertaining to photography every weekday. Some will be written by me, some will have ideas pulled together from other authors, and some will be shared in their entirety from other blogs. Every Friday will be "FASHION FRIDAY" to give you ideas on what to wear to your photo session!

This is a favorite article that I found....I hope it helps! ~Becky

As Christmas card season approaches us that means family photography sessions are in full swing. Today I thought I would share some great fashion looks for the whole family to help give you some ideas as you prepare your families picture perfect wardrobe.

Some helpful tips when looking for fashion for the whole family:

1. Never, I repeat NEVER wear the same color shirts. That includes black, white, or whatever color you think will look cool...cause it won't!

2. If you need help coordinating what colors would look great together an old stand by is to look at a color wheel. Picking colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel is the easiest way to pick two colors to focus on as your accent colors. Then just add simple pieces with those bright and bold colors.

3. Be comfortable! If you wouldn't normally wear it, don't buy it! For example...I don't normally wear dresses or skirts, I'm just not comfortable in them. So I usually wear jeans and try to dress it up with a cute top. I'm not typically a very "dressed" up kind of person, so my look usually consists of cardigans, etc... The family photograph reflects you, and you should look like you!

4. If you are a picky person you may want to consider coordinating your fashion around the color scheme of your home. They pictures will hang proudly through out your house, so they will stand out if you have crazy colors and your house is a muted color palette. Just a thought.

CREDITS: The Crafted Sparrow Rebecca Lopez
http://www.thecraftedsparrow.com/2012/10/family-photo-fashions.html