Pare and Focus

Picnik Closing… Google’s Loss is Your Gain?

Kat Landreth — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:42:04 +0000

I had a completely unexpected email this morning. It was the folks at Picnik letting me know that after 10 years of service (and only a couple of years being owned by Google) they’ll be closing. Picnik closing doesn’t mean you’ll lose your photos that are stored with them. There’s a new function on Picnik [...]

Using One Single Photo for HDR? It can be done!

Kat Landreth — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:54:15 +0000

Ever wanted to try out the HDR look? It can be pretty cool, but to get a true HDR image you have to have at least three exposures of the same image. One that’s overexposed (too bright), one that’s underexposed (too dark), and one that’s right in the middle. Then, you use a program or [...]

GIMP Color Correction De-Mystified!

Kat Landreth — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:08:20 +0000

The movers came the other day and picked up all of our worldly possessions. Now they’re in a truck somewhere between California and Virginia. With all of the excitement of packing and moving, a few really cool things have happened: First, I bought a new camera. It’s the Sony α NEX 5N and I LOVE [...]

Hide Distractions In Your Photos, You Won’t Believe How Easy It Is!

Kat Landreth — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:16:20 +0000

I think I might have picture ADD. I get distracted really easily when I look at photos. All kinds of things can distract me, like dust spots, unidentifiable blurs, strange out of place highlights or shadows, and text that you can’t really read (like a sign in the distance). They divert my attention from the subject [...]

If you can’t make it, Fake It! How to Fake a DSLR Blurry Background in GIMP

Kat Landreth — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:34:01 +0000

More Point and Shoot Challenge! I’ve been making these videos about using my husbands four year old, seven megapixel camera, to make pictures that almost look like they came from a fancy pants DSLR. This is video 3, where I show you how to fake a depth of field effect in GIMP. (That’s a blurry [...]

Tone that Down! How to Brighten and Add Contrast without Making Highlights too Bright

Kat Landreth — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:15:06 +0000

This is part two of the Point and Shoot Challenge…Â and it’s all about adding brightness and contrast to your photos in GIMP. I set up my GIMP interface a little differently than most people to make GIMP easier to use. So, if you want to set up your GIMP interface the way I have [...]

Getting Great Point and Shoot Pictures… The Set Up

Kat Landreth — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:51:28 +0000

You can make great pictures with almost any camera. There, I said it. Here’s the thing… Every time I say that, I can hear people thinking “Oh yeah? Says you with the fancy pants camera…” or “Sure you can with a NEW camera, but not my old camera…” So last week, I gave myself a [...]

Point and Shoot Challenge! Come Watch the Setup…

Kat Landreth — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:10:39 +0000

Click The Video To Play The full blog post is coming soon in case you want to read about my setup, or you missed something in the video. I hope that helps, and if you have any questions, just ask. I love talking photography! Want to watch the next video? Learn how to brighten your [...]

Point and Shoot Challange! Making Point and Shoot Pictures Look More Like a DSLR.

Kat Landreth — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:17:11 +0000

I’ll admit it... I cheat. Not at cards or anything. But I do cheat when it comes to my camera. See, I have a big ole’ Canon 50D DSLR and a fancy pants macro lens that I love more than kittens. So, when I say “you don’t need a great camera to get great shots” [...]

So Easy! Step by Step Photo Editing in GIMP

Kat Landreth — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:45:12 +0000

I’ll be honest. I don’t always get great photos right out of my camera. Most of the time there are two problems I have to tackle with my photos. White Balance and Exposure. But it’s no sin to edit your photos in a program like GIMP or Photoshop to make them better.Â Even the late [...]