Blog Entry 13: Holiday Portraits

Over the past two years I have offered to do simple photos to slip into your holiday cards I know they weren't the best quality but they were fun and people loved them. Here are just a few I can show from the past two years

This last one I took on christmas and became a christmas favorite for the next year. :)

This year I decided to go all out kind of and offer some economy priced Christmas photos and invested in a christmas backdrop and do photos straight from home since I got an amazing gift of strobes over the summer. 

Quick Rant:

This is not my first background choice but it is cute right? 

Any whoo I ordered this backdrop from Backdropoutlet.com and they took the money out right away and before even sending an invoice of expected shipping day and confirmation of payment. A week went by and I got an order sheet.  Two weeks later nothing. Three weeks later I emailed them just for a status and I was told the backdrop takes 2-3 weeks to make-understandable but then when I asked about my other drop-a fantasy drop they said it was on backorder when I placed my order. When I was ordering these backdrops I specifically made sure I didn't order anything labeled on backorder because I needed it for mid november. The one I ordered said in stock, after overlooking my invoice again I realized it said backorder.

For three whole weeks my candy drop said shipped, and fantasy cloth backorder. After complaining I got my candy drop sent because they were going to wait till my fantasy cloth became available. It is now December 4, 2013 and I have yet to receive my last backdrop.

Lesson learned and lesson taught:

Going for the cheap isn't always the best route and i'll probably never order from them again. So i'll stick to plain white, grey, and black paper drops and just photoshop in the fun later. 

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 12: Trails and walkways

My history class final paper/project is to write about a influential photographer I didn't have a modest influential photographer that I could write about so I went roaming the art institute online archives. I came across Yasuhiro Ishimoto who had a collection of walkways and I couldn't get over how it was like I was looking back into my childhood and how I would stop to enjoy the view of walkways. Thats why I always thought I was going to be an interior designer. This being why picked him to write about so I started to work on my homage for Ishimoto and this is what I have so far. 

Blog Entry 10: Chicago weather

Chicago weather is beyond predicted but it usually goes as fallows:

Fall; The leaves change and then fall looking like an awesome mess. 

Mid-Fall; Almost winter/ very chilly.  

Winter comes; It's christmas and the snow is no where to be found.

Come february we have record snow falls.

This year we have a bit of a confused mother nature:

Photo Credit: Eva Simon

Either way besides the crazy weather and its weird decisions when they want to come about, it's a great opportunity to photo document it all.

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 9: Take me back to Tennessee.

The summer before I started photography school I took a trip to Gatlinburg Tennessee/ The Smokey Mountains. I thought I was hot stuff with my $250 canon powershot, but looking back I wasn't all that hot more like a little hot mess. While the pictures still look decent it is only because Tennessee is absolutely gorgeous. The colors in the sky are almost like a painting every day...even on rainy days.

Here are a few of my "hot shot" images.

Rise and shine..My morning view from my cabin for 7 days.

Go Kart racing.

The start of our Journey up the Smokey Mountains.

Those clouds!

Sky lift up a mountain for the old and tired people like myself.

The most rewarding view.

I am planning to go back this summer maybe for two weeks this time, heck I just might move there...its cheap and photography is big there. When I go back I want to recreate these images possibly with my new Canon 70D (happy graduation Silvia!). I can guarantee I will come back with more images of the beautiful landscapes than silly photos of my awesome bathroom in the cabin. haha until then i'll enjoy boring Chicago for now. 

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 8: Cameras in Church.

I am a (semi) practicing catholic so I have been to many different churches in my area, I used to sit in the pew and wonder exactly what it would take to photograph the church with the perfect lighting and exposure. Soon after a few semesters at harrington I discovered just how hard it was.

This first image was taken November of 2011 during a confirmation. a little history of the church: 

St Andrew the Apostle- Calumet City, IL was built three times. In 1892 while being constructed and built a tornado ripped through before being finished. In 1894 the church and school was finished and finally open for people but in 1918 it was destroyed by a fire. Finally in 1930 the Church was done and the structure is the same today. Given this history of this church it is kind of understanding why it is so hard to photograph in. Talking with photographers who have done many weddings in the church they said "no matter how many times you can come in this beautiful church, you will almost always have lighting issues." So when I tried for myself it was so tough, especially being that flash is not allowed during mass. I was able to come in an hour before and figure out the best settings but they changed every 20 minutes. Photographers have left the church scratching their heads as to why this happens but none the less you still get very beautiful shots in the end whether you need a little editing or not. This photo was one of the first few taken before major adjustments and the group shots and ceremony resulted well. Thank goodness. 

The second image was taken June 2012. St. Margret Mary-Hammond, IN

I was asked to come in and take images of the church decorated for a festival of a saint. The church built in the early 1900's has some historic structure to it. Originally built for candle lighting, it has leveled windows for more day light to poor in to light up the church bright during the day unlike st andrews who's windows are 25 feet high. Taking photos here are more easy to accomplish. Being that I made almost all my sacraments here I have photo proof that this church is picture perfect for photographers. 

The third and final image was taken May 2012. St. John Bosco-Hammond IN

The church was reconstructed in the late 1900's so it is a modern catholic church. Being why taking photos in the church were a breeze. While I had to deal with mama's shoving their photos in front of my camera I still was able to manage to get photos of my baby cousin during his big day. Their phone photos came out nothing like what I was able to achieve but a lot better that what people get in st. andrews.

To my realization the older the church the trickier and the more modern the easier. It's a great challenge to put what you learn in school to use. 

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 7: What is my strongest area in photography?

While I prefer to work with people i've been told by instructors I have an eye for products. I tilt my head like a dog being told "where's the squirrel?" and looked at my work again see there might be something there....so here is my working progress leading to today.

                                      My first attempt at shooting products...not to shabby eh?

                          Moving along to the next class challenges fun and almighty black glass

This was for a final project but the bakery that made the dummy for me used my images and I get contacted for new cakes images. :)

Finally what shooting products all about several images merged into one...aka layer masking -_- but looks okay right?

         A little more commercial using natural light for the chips and salsa and strobes for the boots.

Finally my recent but not current work. 

after showing this image I was able to score a small job for a local and small business photographing hair products for the new year. :) I think I still have a lot to work practice makes perfect....sometimes. 

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 5: iPhone 5S camera really close to DSLR quality?

I just bought myself the new iPhone 5S, It was time I upgrade from my little 4. 

After watching Apple's Keynote on the new phones I was really curious if what Tim Cook said about the new camera being almost DSLR quality. So I grabbed three iPhones and put their changes to the test. 

I used a pumpkin against a white sheet of paper under Tungsten light and these are the results I got.

If I must say the iPhone 5S is not all the cracked up to the hype. In my opinion the 5 looks a lot better than 5S. Then again we are looking at a comparison of Pumpkins. Being that I just got this phone I haven't had a chance to play with it much. I would like to try to put it to the test one more time but maybe next time I will use people and maybe another object with natural light, as well as a DSLR image. 

At this very moment to me the iPhone 5 is a lot better for those iPhone, still life, Instagram, Professional photographers out there. :p

Until next time!

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 4: Photographing little ones.

I have the best connection with kids, when I worked in a daycare the kids opened up to me quickly and put their trust in me. While it may seem easy to do with any kid you may know it is a lot harder with kids you don't know or have connection to. After working with little munchkins ages 2-6 I fell in love with the idea of basing my photography around children and families. I started taking images of them when I first got my camera and it was the best thing and over the years I can see a major improvement. Here is a little of my progress.

Silvia Kay Photography

In this image I used two house lights with daylight lightbulbs. The daylight lightbulbs had a blue tint to it and helped cancel out yellow tones. I took this photo in October of 2011 before I knew anything about speedlites and strobes. Using the basics of house lighting and sheets as a backdrop which was hung up with gaffers tape.

Silvia Kay Photography

In my second image I used my newly learned flash for a key light and daylight for my fill.

Silvia Kay Photography

In my third and final image for this blog post is taken with daylight and a flash set up to be like a strobe.  The flash was set on a light stand with a mini soft box over it. although I accidentally cut the tips of her toes it captures the pure happiness and excitement of the little girl.

Within these three images you can see the connection grow closer from a slight smile to a "i'm a silly girl and i'm not afraid to show you on camera" I have another great image take with strobes but I don't have a release for the internet to show it but it goes right into deep emotional thought. 

I love taking photos of children and families, they are a lot of fun to myself. 

Happy Shooting,

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 3: What to do with a GoPro when summer is over.

Silvia Kay-Water Images

  In the beginning of summer I purchased a GoPro Hero 3 for my multimedia class. I had always wanted one and figured it was a good excuse to purchase a $300 mini camera. So I did and while experiencing what the little beauty can do I discovered how crazy awesome water photography is with the camera. I had a blast taking images with it, I didn't even want to submit a video time lapse for my final project. Sadly summer is over and fall is officially here so now what do I do with the camera? I don't plan on snowboarding anytime soon or jumping out of a plane tomorrow. So I thought of the following three things:

                                                                                               Silvia Kay-Final project

1: Video blogging my adventures of trying to capture sunrises and sunsets. Mounting the GoPro to my car when driving to locations for my final project in multimedia was a lot of fun I got to see my journey in capturing the great images I did. I'll call it "A day in life of a student photographer" by Silvia Lopez. 

Photo credit: Courtney Greener (http://cdn.visualnews.com)

2. Passing seasons. There is something about looking at images of leaves falling or leavings changing why not take images in a forest starting today then ending when al, the leaves have fallen. While it may be tricky to be I'm the same spot every day it will be fun to try out. Then when winter comes a time laps of snow falling makes a perfect screen saver. The the great thing about Gopros are they are made for weather. I can leave the camera out in its waterproof case and capture a four hour snow fall. 

Finally......

Silvia Kay- Splash Photography

3. Splash photography. I have done several attempts with my DSLR and it is so much fun but very tricky and scary at the same time. You have very expensive equipment all around the subject that can get water damage easily even if it is covered with plastic. Placing the Gopro in its little shell and getting more closer in depth with the micro burst setting, taking 10 frames per second would be crazy fun. And with the wifi built in to the camera the shutter can be released by remote at distant for insurance of no fingers or hands in any image.

Summer water fun may be over but falling leavings and splashing beverages has just began.

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 2: A new project.

On Friday I was peacefully sleeping at 6am when I received various phone calls from my dad. Calling back immediately thinking he is hurt or emergency occurred only to find it was nothing health major but a photo emergency. He called me to tell the sky looks like its on fire and it looks like a good photo for me to take. So I crawl out of bed to go look and indeed the sky was painted red and orange. I didn't have my DSLR so I used my phone. It was so gorgeous it really looked like someone just painted the sky, and then it clicked this would make a great project to capture various sunsets through different seasons and various locations its not the first time being done but it would be great to see done in my neighborhood. I can't wait to start.

                                                            Here is the image I captured.

-Silvia Kay

Blog Entry 1: When not bring your DSLR.

Weddings.

I have gone to several weddings and I packed my Kelly Moore Bag with my camera a couple of lenses and a flash and when I get to the event my camera stays in my bag. There were hired photographers working at the reception and I didn't want to seem like I was stepping on their feet. Now before I go to the an event such as a wedding I stop to think do they have a professional photographer there? Will I be stepping on any feet? 

I have to remind myself if I was invited as a guest I'm going to attend as a guest, I shouldn't show up ready to hand out free services for people's social website profile photos. So now I leave my Kelly Moore bag at home and grab a nice little wristlet and stuff it with my phone a point and shoot. 

So now I blend in with the guest with a little camera and enjoy the open bar and have fun on the dance floor. 

-Silvia Kay