Pioneer Woman Photography - Ree Drummond

YOUR Shallow Depth-of-Field Photos: Group 1

Ree — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:17:13 +0000

Oh, dear. Why do I do this to myself?

Your shallow-depth-of-field photos are amazing, wonderful…and amazing. Here’s the first group of your submissions. It’s going to be a great week!

Group 1

By Simply Colleen. Oh, this is just outstanding.

By Callmeshmi. Perfect!

By Amanda Mae Bird. Love the colors!

By Jackie Hampton. Uh. Help. This is precious.

By Rebecca Forrest. Oh, the colors! They’re gorgeous.

By Whatscooking. How magical!

By Teri A. I love this!

By Double Devon. There are no words.

By KatieCaputo. Beautiful depth-of-field. Beautiful texture. Beautiful photo.

By Sprucehill. I am madly in love with this. The colors are just gorgeous.

By Starwitness. What a beautiful kitty. Beautiful focus.

By CaramelApplePhotography. What a moment.

By She Wears Many Hats. Oh, Amy—this is gorgeous. I love the speckles.

By Vicki June. I love bugs.

By Gina Cristine. Lovely colors, very shallow DOF…so pretty.

KMarieC219. Scarily beautiful.

By Just Emily. Perfect!

By ErikaJean. Fun!

By Rachie. What is it with critters and shallow depth-of-field? They just go together, don’t they?

By Edgaa. Oh, so magical.

By BShoafPhotography. Haunting! Love it.

By Sarah. This is a great example of shallow-depth-of field. You can see just a little sliver of text.

By CoriK. Pink and pretty.

By Diahn. I love the photo…and I love the title of this photo: “Dang”.

By Shuga_23. Very cool.

By Nonchalantphotography. So, so nice.

By Cosi. Is that a VANAGON? I love this photo.

So many more photos to sift through—I’m officially inspired.

Group 2 will be posted first thing in the morning.

Love,
P-Dub

New Photography Assignment: Shallow Depth of Field

Ree — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:46:56 +0000

It’s time to open up those apertures and whip out your photos that best demonstrate the beauty of a shallow depth of field! We’ve been studying exposure—aperture, shutter speed, etc.—for the past several days (read previous posts to brush up if you need to), so let’s all share our shallow depth-of-field photos! It’ll keep us honest.

To enter, just submit your favorite shallow depth-of-field photos to the Pioneer Woman Photography Assignments group on Flickr. I will review each and every submission and, beginning Tuesday morning, will post daily groups of those photos that especially stand out. Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday: Group 1
Wednesday: Group 2
Thursday: Group 3
Friday: Group 4
Saturday: Finalists from each group will be posted
Monday: Winners (and prizes) announced!

Prizes for this assignment will be great fun, but the best part about these assignments is the opportunity to gaze upon the unbridled talent of so many of you out there. The previous assignments have just been amazing.

THE RULES

* One photo submission per day (the system will only permit one, just to make it easy!)

* Submit your favorite photos that demonstrate shallow depth-of-field

* Finalists will be selected based on creativity, clarity, color, and how well it falls under the assignment category

* Most importantly: enjoy looking at everyone’s submissions!

Can’t wait to see your stuff!

What the Heck is an Aperture, Part Cuatro …Redux

Ree — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:37:24 +0000

NOTE: The republishing of this “What the Heck?” series is leading up to a new PW Photography Assignment, which begins Monday morning.

(NOTE: Please read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three before proceeding or you’ll be so confused you won’t know a slap or a pinch from a hairpull.)

Now that I have placed your brains (mine, too) into a Waring blender and flipped the switch to “High”, let me continue pureeing the mixture until smooth. Sound good?

I want to talk about moving away from shooting in full Auto mode, and instead venturing into shooting in Aperture Priority (”A” on your camera dial) and Shutter Priority (”S” or “Tv” on your dial.) When you move from shooting in full Automatic, I think it’s best to start out by shooting in either Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority before you plow into the world of full manual. So I’ll explain both modes and tell you “when to shoot in what.”

Not that I even know what I’m talking about.

APERTURE PRIORITY (”A”)

You may have noticed the “A” setting on your camera’s dial. This stands for Aperture Priority, meaning “I want to decide what the Aperture setting should be for this shot and I want the camera to figure out the rest.” When you set your camera to “A”, you’re going to tell the camera where you want the aperture, and then the CAMERA is going to set the shutter speed accordingly.

But how do you know when “A” is the best setting?

Well, I’ll tell you, if you’ll remove that machete from your hands. An example of a situation in which you would want to be in control of the Aperture rather than the Shutter Speed would be if you were taking portraits.

For portrait-type shots,I know I want the Aperture number to be quite low (wide open) so that the subject will be in focus and the background will be blurred. That’s my—ready?—PRIORITY for this shot—a wide open aperture. I don’t want to mess around with figuring out the Shutter Speed side of things, so I’ll let the camera figure that out.

So what I do is set the dial to “A”, set the Aperture number to about 4.0 (give or take), and start snapping photos, knowing that they’ll generally be really nicely exposed (meaning, not too dark, not too light.) because the camera will set the Shutter Speed accordingly.

**Here’s the cool thing about shooting in A (Aperture Priority): Once you set it to the number you want, it never, ever deviates from that setting. The shutter speed will change up and down according to the light at the time, but the Aperture will stay just where you want it.**

Aperture Priority Bottom Line: If you want to have control over your depth-of-field (how much of the photo will be in focus), set your camera to “A” and choose your Aperture setting. The camera will take care of the rest.

_______________________

SHUTTER PRIORITY

Sometimes it’s better to set the camera dial on “S”, or Shutter Priority. When you set the camera to “S”, you’re saying “I want to decide what the Shutter Speed should be for these shots, and I want the camera to figure out the rest.” When you set the camera to “S”, you’re telling the camera what you want the shutter speed to be, then letting the camera figure out the Aperture setting.

But under what circumstances would you want to shoot in “S”, or Shutter Priority?

An example of a situation in which you’d want to be in control of the Shutter Speed would be if you’re at a soccer game (or, in my case, working cattle), where the action is constant and erratic. Since you don’t want to end up with a big batch of blurry photos (because that would REALLY make you want to stick your brain in a blender), you’d want to set the “S” setting to a high enough shutter speed to “freeze” the motion of the photo—meaning, the action won’t be blurred.

If I decide Shutter Priority is the mode in which I want to shoot (because capturing the action is my—wait for it—PRIORITY) depending on how bright or how cloudy it is outside, I’ll set my shutter speed anywhere from 1/250 to 1/1000. (How erratic or fast the action is also determines how fast your shutter speed should be.) Then I shoot away, knowing the camera will figure out the rest.

And as with Aperture Priority, once you decide on a Shutter Speed in “S” (Shutter Priority), it stays just where you put it. The only thing that changes is the Aperture Setting—but the camera has to worry about that, not you.

Shutter Priority Bottom Line: If you want to have control over capturing the action of your photo, set your camera to “S” and choose your Shutter Speed setting. The camera will take care of the Aperture setting.

______________________

So! Are you convulsing in confusion? Are you freaking in fright? Are you trembling in trepidation? Or are you energized in excitement?

Let’s quickly review the finer points of Part 3 and Part 4 of this series:

1. The Aperture and Shutter Speed work together to determine the exposure, depth of field, and/or motion of the photo.

a. If the Aperture is wide open, the Shutter Speed needs to be fast enough to compensate for all the light coming in.

b. If the Aperture is very tightly closed, the Shutter Speed needs to be slow enough to let in more light.

c. If the Shutter Speed is very fast, the Aperture will have to be open enough to let in enough light.

d. If the Shutter Speed is slow, the Aperture will have to be closed tightly enough to compensate for all the light coming in.

2. To keep it simple, shoot in either “A” (Aperture Priority) OR “S” (Shutter Priority), depending on the kind of photo you want.

a. If shooting portraits and you desire a shallow depth of field (blurry background), shoot in “A”, or Aperture Priority. Select a low Aperture number (wide opening) and begin shooting. The camera will ensure that the Shutter Speed is just where it needs to be.

b. If shooting landscapes and you want everything in the photo to be in focus, shoot in “A”, or Aperture Priority. Select a high Aperture number (small opening) and begin shooting. The camera will figure out the Shutter Speed.

c. If motion is a concern—with a sporting event or fast dancing—shoot in “S”, or Shutter Priority. Select a high Shutter Speed and the camera will figure out the Aperture setting

3. IMPORTANT: Have fun!

Love,
P-Dub

What the Heck is an Aperture – Part III …Redux

Ree — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:06:57 +0000

If you haven’t yet read them, please check out Part One and Part Two of this republished “What the Heck?” series first or you might be a little confused.

I hope your head isn’t spinning on this fine Saturday morning…because you’re going to need all of your brain for the next few minutes!

We’ve now examined the Aperture—the circular mechanism inside your camera that can remain very open OR close very tightly when you snap a photo, depending on the setting you choose.

We’ve learned that the WIDER, or more open, the aperture remains, the MORE LIGHT enters the camera, and the more SHALLOW THE DEPTH OF FIELD will be.

A shallow depth of field, remember, means that the subject will be in focus, but the background will be out of focus:

Note: You generally want a shallow depth of field for portraits, closeups, etc—situations in which you want all the emphasis to be on one subject.

We’ve also learned that the MORE TIGHTLY the aperture CLOSES when you snap the photo, the LESS light will enter the camera, the GREATER the depth of field will be:

A greater depth of field will result in a photo in which everything—subject, background, and foreground—is equally in focus. This is generally preferred for landscapes.

Okay. That’s Aperture.

________________________

As for Shutter Speed, you’ll remember that the shutter, in layman’s terms, is the mechanism inside your camera that clicks (how’s that for a layman’s term?) when you snap a photo.

The SPEED with which the shutter clicks determines how much MOTION is captured in your photo.

A FAST SHUTTER SPEED lets in LESS LIGHT and FREEZES MOTION: a child (or former babysitter) jumping in the air will look suspended mid-air; a football flying through the air will appear to float:

Hi, Brandi! Please come back to me.

A SLOW SHUTTER SPEED, on the other hand, lets in MORE LIGHT (because it stays open longer) and can often result in BLURRED ACTION: the child jumping in the air will be blurred; fireworks will have a trail behind them:

Don’t show this to Marlboro Man. He’ll get the itch.

Okay. That’s Shutter Speed

_________________________

Today I’ll explain how the APERTURE SETTING and the SHUTTER SPEED work hand-in-hand to determine the exposure, the depth of field, and the motion of your photos.

This’ll seem a little confusing at first, but don’t worry—it’ll pretty much still seem confusing tonight. And probably, tomorrow. The next day, however, it’ll start to click.

Now, remember: If TOO MUCH LIGHT enters your camera, you’ll have a photo that’s OVEREXPOSED, or blown out, or too bright:

Yikes.

If TOO LITTLE LIGHT enters the camera, on the other hand, you’ll wind up with a photo that’s UNDEREXPOSED, or TOO DARK:

Blah.

So when you’re talking about how the aperture setting and the shutter speed work together, you’re talking about compensation. Let me explain:

If your APERTURE is WIDE OPEN, you know that’s going to allow a lot of light to enter the camera. So if that’s the case, the SHUTTER SPEED is going to have to be FAST enough to balance out all the light that the aperture is letting in. Because if your aperture is wide open (lets in a lot of light) AND your shutter speed is very slow (lets in a lot of light), you’re likely to end up with a completely white, or blown out, or overexposed, photo.

On the other hand, if you start out with a very FAST SHUTTER SPEED, which will let in very little light, the APERTURE will have to be opened WIDE enough to balance the lack of light coming in.

Conversely, if you have a very tightly CLOSED APERTURE, you’ll have to balance that with a slow enough shutter speed that will let in enough light to properly expose the photo.

On THAT other hand, if you start with a very SLOW SHUTTER SPEED, you’ll need a more TIGHTLY CLOSED APERTURE so too much light won’t enter the camera.
____________________________

Oh my gosh. I am so very, very sorry. Are you intellectually exhausted yet? Because I sure am.

This all sounds like a lot to think about when you need to shoot some photos, doesn’t it? Well, guess what? I have good news!

By using Aperture Priority (the “A” setting on your camera’s dial) OR Shutter Priority (the “S” setting [or Tv on Canon] on your camera’s dial), you need only figure out ONE of the two factors—either the aperture setting OR the shutter speed setting. Then, magically, the camera will figure out the rest!

Absorb this, light candles, meditate, and do some deep belly breathing with my mom. Then come back Wednesday morning and we’ll talk about shooting in A or S (Tv)—what it means, and when to choose which.

It’ll change your life—I promise!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read this post to see if it makes any sense at all.

Love,
P-Dub

What the Heck is Shutter Speed? …Redux

Ree — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:09:12 +0000

NOTE: This is the second in my republished series that attempts to explain the whole issue of exposure to those of us who find the whole thing mindblowing. Be aware that some of my reasoning/analogies are not flawless, but what I tried to do was strip away a lot of the confusion many folks have over Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and how they all work together in harmony. Feel free to weigh in with helpful information!

Note: If you missed it yesterday, please catch up on the first part of this series, What the Heck is an Aperture?. It’ll help today’s post make more sense.

Huh?

Okay, I’m back, and ready to talk your ear (eye?) off about Exposure. Ready?

Light is everything in photography. Remember? You’ll also remember that for the purposes of our discussion, there are two ways light enters our camera: the Aperture (the circular opening that can remain very open or very closed when the photo is taken, depending on the effect you want to achieve) and the Shutter Speed, which refers to the length of time the shutter remains open when you snap a photo.

Shutter Speed is what we’ll briefly discuss today.

In layman’s terms (my favorite language) the shutter is the device inside your camera that “clicks” when you take the photo. The shutter speed refers to the length of time the shutter stays open when you’re taking a photo:

* The LONGER the shutter stays open, the MORE light enters the camera.
* The SHORTER the amount of time the shutter is open, the LESS light enters the camera.

Remember, light is everything. How much light you allow into the camera, and how you use the Aperture and Shutter Speed to allow in the light, will determine what your photo looks like.

Shutter Speed is measured in seconds or fractions of a second: a shutter speed of 1 (”one second”) would be considered a slow shutter speed, while a shutter speed of 1/1000 (or, “one one-thousandth of a second’) would be considered a fast shutter speed. While the Aperture setting is used to control Depth-of-Field (how much of the photo is in focus), Shutter Speed is used to convey the motion of the subject in your photo.

For example, imagine a person quickly flying across your line of sight. If your shutter speed was set to 1 (one second), it would result in blurred motion since a lot of movement would happen over the period of a second

Now, if the shutter speed was set to 1/1000 (one one-thousandth of a second), it would result in a photo in which the subject’s action was frozen; it would capture that tiny moment in time without any blur:

Capturing motion: This is the purpose of shutter speed.

* Very short shutter speeds (meaning, the camera clicks really fast) are used to freeze fast-moving subjects (a racing car, a child jumping on hay bales)
* Very long shutter speeds are used to capture motion (the trails of fireworks).

So here were are so far:

1. Aperture setting controls depth-of-field
a. A wide-open aperture (low number, such as f1.4) lets in more light and results in a shallow depth of field (subject in focus, background blurred).
b. A smaller aperture (large number, such as f22) lets in less light and results in a larger depth of field (everything in focus)

2. Shutter Speed setting controls the motion
a. A slow shutter speed (meaning, the shutter remains open for a longer amount of time) lets in more light and results in blurred motion
b. A fast shutter speed (meaning, the shutter remains open for a fraction of a second) lets in less light and freezes action.

I’ll let you absorb that for a minute or eighty.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about using Aperture Priority (A) and Shutter Priority (S or Tv) on your camera, and how to decide which one to use.

After that, we’ll work our way toward going full manual (M).

Don’t be afraid.

What the Heck is an Aperture? …Redux

Ree — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:27:25 +0000

NOTE: I’m generally not in the habit of “republishing” past content, usually just choosing to link back to whatever archived post I want to refer to. However, since I believe this is an effective “layman’s” definition of exposure, I wanted to post it again for those readers who might have missed it the first time. Be aware that some of my reasoning/analogies are not flawless, but what I tried to do was strip away a lot of the confusion many folks have over Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and how they all work together in harmony. Feel free to weigh in with helpful information!

Photography is based on light. Did you know that?

As a matter of fact, “Photos” is the Greek word for “Light.” And I happen to know that only because I’m a homeschooling freak of nature and I teach my children Greek and Latin. When I feel like it.

Anyway, light is everything in photography, and how much (or how little) light enters your camera determines what your ultimate photo will look like.

Are you with me so far?

If too much light enters the camera, the photo will be OVEREXPOSED, or TOO BRIGHT, or BLOWN OUT.

Let me repeat: TOO MUCH LIGHT=OVEREXPOSED=BLOWN OUT PHOTO.

Got it?

If too little light enters the camera, the photo will be UNDEREXPOSED, or TOO DARK, or…well, BLACK.

Let me repeat: TOO LITTLE LIGHT=UNDEREXPOSED=BLACK PHOTO.

But the right amount of light allowed into the camera will result in a photo that is properly exposed, or JUST RIGHT.

“But How Does Light Enter the Camera?”

Good question! I asked it about forty million trillion thousand hundred billion times before it finally clicked. And here’s the answer: How much light enters the camera depends on two different things:

1. The Aperture
2. The Shutter Speed

(ISO setting also affects exposure, but we won’t cover that today.)

I had no dadgum clue what either Aperture or Shutter Speed meant when I picked up my camera for the first time, so let me break it down for you. And remember: I’m not a professional, which means I’m basically just feeling my way through this. So if something I say doesn’t make sense, please stone me in the public square so I can rephrase it.

1. The APERTURE is the circular mechanism inside your camera that opens and closes when a picture is taken. You can set the aperture to remain very open when the picture is taken, or you can set it to close very tightly when the picture is taken, and all degrees in between. The larger the aperture remains open when the photo is taken, the MORE light will enter the camera for each shot. The more tightly the aperture is allowed to close, the LESS light will enter the camera. The settings of the aperture openings are called “F-stops.” The confusing thing about the aperture is this: the larger the opening, the smaller the number. So:

f22 would mean a very tightly closed aperture opening.
f1.4 would mean a very wide open aperture opening.

Which aperture you choose often depends on the depth of field you want. In layman’s terms, DOF (depth-of-field) refers to how much of the photo is in focus and how much is blurry.

A very shallow depth of field would mean the subject (a person, a flower) is in focus, but the background is very blurred.

These were taken with an aperture setting of 4.2—a low number, a large opening. (Just think about how difficult it is to focus when you have your pupils dilated! It’s because the “aperture” or pupil is wide open!) If your pupils had just been dilated and you were trying to stare at these horses, it would be difficult to focus. The background would probably be blurry and you might be able to make out the horses, but that’s it. Then you’d cry and put on your cardboard glasses and feel really funky for four hours.

A very large depth of field would mean everything in the photo (a wide landscape, trees in the foreground, mountains in the background) are equally in focus:

I realize there are no mountains or trees here. But this shot was taken with a small aperture, about f22. Notice how the grass, the cows, and the trees are all (pretty much) in focus?

Here’s another one:

In focus as far as the eye can see.

SO.

If you want a very shallow depth of field (background blurry), you’d choose a very large aperture opening, which would be a very low number. (f2.8)

If you want a very large depth of field (everything in focus), you’d choose a very small aperture opening, which would be a higher number. (like f22)

I’ll let you digest this, then tomorrow morning, we’ll see how you coordinate the Aperture setting with the Shutter Speed setting.

Love,
Pioneer Woman

Hard Light and Snow = M.F.E.O.

Ree — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:27:36 +0000

I’ve showed this technique before. It was sometime back around the turn of the century, when I used to actually do Photoshop tutorials around this place.

Sorry. But I like the assignments. I like looking at your photos for a change!

Okay, here’s the thing: Adding a “Hard Light” layer to your wintry snow photos really can make them pop! There are exceptions, of course, but generally speaking, I find that Hard Light makes the snow whiter, the colors brighter, and adds a nice bright quality. Try it!

Let’s start with this photo. Mustangs. Snow. A good combination.

First, hit Control + J (Command + J on Mac) to create a duplicate layer of your photo. Remember, this is literally like laying a copy of your photo directly on top of your photo.

Go to the drop-down “Blend Mode” menu and select “Hard Light”.

Here’s what it did to the photo:

Better! Less drab. More vibrant. More poppy.

Here’s the side-by-side:

Amazing what changing the blend mode can do! I didn’t add saturation, contrast, or anything.

Now, sometimes after adding a Hard Light layer, the image might need just a tiny bit of lightening.

If it does, click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Select “Curves”.

This is the Curves dialog box that pops up.

Now, put your cursor right in the middle of the diagonal line. Hold down and drag it ever so slightly toward the upper left corner.

This is my favorite way to lighten a photo.

And there it is, just slightly lighter than before.

Here’s the side-by-side:

Very subtle; just a tiny bit more brightness.

After that, you can flatten, sharpen, etc.

Before. It’s fine. But it’s not bright and colorful and dramatic.

I like this better.

Here are some more before-and-afters using exactly the same trick:

Before.

After.

Before.

After. Oh dear. This ain’t right.

Before.

After.

Before.

After.

I’m a believer, baby!!

Two Blondies

Ree — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:34:14 +0000

Monday morning I’ll have a new step-by-step tutorial poasted…but to tide you over, here’s another high resolution download for you. Feel free to download, print, turn into a greeting card, or whatever other projects you might be working on. It’s yours, baby!

Cows are among my very favorite subjects to photograph, because they’re so docile and curious…and have the cutest faces on earth. About three years ago when Marlboro Man and I traveled down to our wheat farm to check on the cattle, we were met by the most lush, verdant grass I’d ever seen. I snapped photos the whole time we were there; I think I photographed every cow on the farm. And the green, green grass made for some of my favorite photos to this day.

Enjoy!

Blue Bug

Ree — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:32:06 +0000

Here’s a high-resolution download for you. Feel free to download, print, turn into a greeting card, or whatever other projects you might be working on. It’s yours to use freely!

This was one of the my early photos from my first “real” camera, a Nikon D70. All I owned at the time was the 18-70 kit lens that came with the camera, and at the time I took this photo I still knew nothing about aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. In fact, I’m fairly certain the camera was on full auto at the time.

I love this photo, not because of the cute blue bug sitting on my tomato plant in August of 2006 or because it’s necessarily perfect or flawless…but because it encouraged me to keep taking photos. It made me realize that one didn’t have to be a master or a professional in order to take decent, sometimes pretty, photos. And it made me realize how much beauty can be seen through the lens of a camera; in real life, this was nothing but a small bug in a large vegetable bed of stalky tomato plants. Up close, though, it was a whole world in itself.

That’s the beauty of photography.

The Sunrise/Sunset Winner

Ree — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:40:15 +0000

This was a nearly impossible task. Ultimately, I had to just chose one of the photos that I kept going back to over and over.

Congratulations, Clerksgrl! I’m completely enchanted with this photo. The sky is perfectly exposed—hardly any blow-out—and you can almost see the movement of the water. I also love that there’s just a sliver of beach that’s lit; the rest is a mystery. It captures the sunset so dramatically, and makes me feel at peace and unsettled at the same time. I love it.

Clerksgirl, contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your prize: a $250 gift card from B & H Photo & Video. Yahoo!

__________________________________

But now, I’d like to say what I loved about each photo, and why this decision was so difficult for me.

By Munroe Photography. I just think this is beautiful. I love the woman’s hair, how the shorter layered section is obviously framing her face. I love that her body is perfectly in front of the sun. This photo make me feel good. It’s wonderful.

By Adreaplus4. This was a universal favorite, and I agree with the reasons why. It’s so mysterious, so ethereal…and such a perfect moment that I’m sure lasted no longer than a minute or two. This is absolutely beautiful.

By Brit Linstrom. I was awestruck by this one. So crisp and clear…and such warm, orange light.

By Tell-Tale Blogger. The sky is the subject of this photo. It’s surreal, beautiful, smoky, and gorgeous.

By StueveShots. I love this moment. The action is totally frozen, the silhouettes crisp and clean.

By Tammster 1. What I love about this is how abstract it is. It’s a unique take on a sunset. Love it.

By Smoochiemom. This is just priceless. I love how the littlest girl is looking up to the older girls for her cues.

By Kristenbons. Everything. The composition, the lighting, the crispness, the personality. There’s nothing I don’t absolutely love about it.

By The Tarable. This one’s magical to me. That tiny body diving off the cliff…it’s so beautifully dramatic.

By Roscodog. I love the composition of this shot, and the line of people looking at the setting sun.

By Odd Number. Boy oh boy, is this one a beaut. Everything from the grass stalks to the electric line to the tiny hint of the roof in the background…to the precious stance of the child. It’s wonderful.

By Cindy5678. A beautiful surfing shot. It’s so soft and so perfectly unposed.

By Krislynn9026. Click on the photo to read the photographer’s description of this shot. I love the grittiness of the urban scene, man.

By That Funky Boutique. Perfect. What else is there to be said?

By Clare Reid. This one is so lovely and rural. The silhouette is so crisp and perfect. The boy’s profile is so precious. I love this one so much.

Finalists, please contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your runner-up prizes: a $75 gift card to B & H.

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful submissions. I loved this one!