To truly understand photography, you only need to understand a few basic principles.  First and foremost is that photos are created by light.  Traditionally it was light hitting film, but these days it’s mostly light hitting a digital sensor.  The Greek root of the word “photography” literally means “writing with light”.  So everything we are going over today will be dealing with how that light enters your camera.  The amount of light entering your camera is referred to as exposure.  Let in too much light and your picture will be too bright, or over-exposed.  Don’t let in enough light and your picture will be too dark, or under-exposed.

The three things that determine how much light enters your camera are aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.  These three things work together to let in the light and determine your exposure.  Today (for the sake of your sanity!) we will just be focusing on aperture.

The aperture refers to the adjustable size of the hole in your camera that lets in the light.  It is measured in f-stops.  The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the opening.  I’m a visual person, so it helps me learn if I can see a diagram!

Aperture is important because it determines your depth-of-field, or the portion of your photo that is in focus.  A wide open aperture gives you a very shallow depth of field, so only a small portion of your photo will be in sharp focus, and everything in front or behind will be very blurry.  A very small aperture will give you a much greater depth-of-field, so everything in your photo will be in focus, front to back.  A good way to remember this: people squint (making their eye opening smaller) to see things in better focus, so therefore, you can remember that a smaller aperture gives you more of everything in focus from front to back.

Your own personal preference and artistic flair is what determines what aperture you should use!  It totally depends on what you are trying to achieve with your photo.  For instance, I love the beautiful blur in the first example!  To me it looks more artistic, dramatic, and professional.  But some people may opt for the second photo because you can clearly see all the details of the gorgeous dessert table!  Like I said, it just depends on you and what you are trying to accomplish with your photo.

Here are some more examples:

In the first photo you can see that it is a very wide open aperture at f-1.2 and the depth of field is very shallow.  Only one bottle is in focus and the ones directly in front of it and behind it are already starting to blur a little.  And the farther in front or in back you get, the blurrier things become.

In the next photo, the aperture is a little more closed up at f-4.0 and more of the bottles are in focus.  But the bottles at the ends are still blurry.

In the last photo, the aperture is even smaller at f-9.0 and all the bottles are clear and sharp.  The depth of field is even getting great enough that you can start to see the wall in the background coming into focus a bit, which in the other two photos was so blurred that you couldn’t tell what it was.

On an SLR camera you can choose your own aperture for your photos, but keep in mind that certain lenses can only open so wide.  Some have only a maximum aperture opening of f-2.8 or even f-4.0, so those lenses wouldn’t be able to open as wide as others that can go all the way to f-1.2 (like my favorite lens)!  So if you like the look of a shallow depth-of-field, you’ll want to look for a lens that has a very low aperture number.

Although I prefer shooting completely in manual mode, an easier way to begin experimenting with your aperture setting is to use the AV mode (aperture priority mode) on your SLR camera dial.  In AV mode you can determine your own aperture, and the camera will automatically determine your shutter speed and ISO for you!

So… what if you have a point and shoot camera but you still want to get some background blur in your pictures?  The good news is that you can, at least to a certain extent.  Just set your dial to “portrait” mode, which has an icon that looks like a person’s head.  This setting will tell your camera to open its aperture as wide as it is able to.  Awesome!

Next, I’ll be teaching you all about shutter speed and ISO!

Happy Thursday! Are you ready for another round of strutting your stuff?

First, I thought I’d share some yummy treats that I’ve had bookmarked from link parties of the past as well as some that I found on Pinterest.

If you are dieting, close this screen now.
Actually I would be sad if you left, so maybe just scroll really fast and try not to look for a second.

{Click on the links below the images to be taken to the creator’s site}

1. Snicker Brownies from How Sweet It Is. ‘Cause if it is a the best candy bar ever, why not make it into a brownie?
2. Cheesecake brownies from BHG . You had me at “cheesecake.”
3. Cake Batter brownies from  Six Sisters’ Stuff
4. Caramel Brownies from Annie’s Eats

***Click HERE to see even more brownie ideas on my Pinterest board!***

1. Ice Cream Sandwiches from Gluesticks
2. Chocolate Chip Cookie stuffed with an Oreo from Bugaboo. I’m probably {completely} in love with this idea.
3. Turtle Cookies from Pixelated Crumb
4. Chocolate Dipped Oreos with an awesome tutorial on using edible transfer paper to make fun designs, from Shindig Parties

***Click HERE to see even more cookie ideas on my Pinterest board!***

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake from Williams Sonoma
2. Butterfly Rainbow Cake from Bee in Our Bonnet
3. Rose Cake from The Pampered Mom
4. New York Style Crumb Cake from Food Folks & Fun

***Click HERE to see even more cake ideas on my Pinterest board!***

If you need an invite to Pinterest, just email me! I’ll send you one!

steph {at} somewhatsimple {dot} com

AND NOW FOR THE LINK PARTY!!!

So I did what anyone should try to do in the middle of a crappy situation- after the bitterness left me, of course- and I threw them a party!

We all got to have fun and eat yummy food and our friends got a great chance to see to all the people who love them dearly.

Its a win/win… except they moved, which still stinks.

Here is what we did:

I made these invitations- super cheap and simple, yet fit with the “moving” theme.

I just tore apart a box and cut some bubble wrap that was shipped to my house.  I printed the invite on some cardstock and punched 2 holes at the top and tied it with some twine I got at the dollar store. Easy peasy.

I asked all the guests to bring their favorite side dish to share, so all I had to provide were the drinks and paper goods.

I also invited Jessica from Jessica Downey Photo to come set up a photo booth. Upon entry into my home, each family would get their picture taken and they would write a message to our moving friends. I took these photos and messages and I made a memory book on Shutterfly.com.

I had the book shipped directly to our friends at their new home and it was a total surprise- they had no idea. (Well, except I am sure they wondered what I was going to do with all those pictures that were taken of their friends that night, so they might have had a hunch, but no way did they realize how awesome the book would be!)

Anyway, the night was fun and added just one more memory we have with these friends of ours. And I am grateful for that.

Today’s Blog Link Party is sponsored by P.F. Changs

Find PF Changs on Twitter @PFChangs, or on Facebook (facebook.com/pfchangs) to share the Chinese New Year celebration excitement. Don’t forget to tell friends to join the fun, and be on the lookout for a fun Facebook application that will provide you good fortune for the New Year.

Prosperity, peace, happiness and longevity all symbolize the Chinese New Year, one of the most important and festive Chinese holidays. In this “Year of the Dragon” P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and P.F. Chang’s Home Menu want to ignite your good fortune and share the spirit of this holiday with you.

Did you know the Chinese New Year started Monday, Jan 23rd?

This is the year of the Dragon, and to kick off the celebrations, here are some fun, crafty ideas:

1. Paper Chain Dragons from Naturally Educational

2. Thumbprint Dragons from Handprint and Footprint Art

3. Paper Lanterns from Jelly Fish Jelly

4.”Longevity Juice” water labels from Kara’s Party Ideas

5.Cute Dragon ideas from a Ninja party from Life, Right Now via Kara’s Party Ideas

6.Cupcake Liner Fortune Cookies from Family Fun Go

All of these ideas and more were found on Pinterest.

See more ideas by clicking HERE or email me and I will send you an invite.

Do you know your Chinese Zodiac sign? It’s a fun thing to read about and see how close it matches your personality. I was born in the year of the dog, which at first sounded lame to me- I wanted to be something cool, like the dragon or tiger. But it could be worse- I could’ve been born in the year of the pig (Sorry if you are born in that year!)

AND according to the “stuff” I read, “The Dog is the most likeable sign in the Chinese zodiac” so, I’m pretty much loved by everyone. (wink)

It also says the Dog and Horse are compatible, which is a good thing ’cause I am married to a horse! Yet, his personality doesn’t match that of the Chinese Horse, so go figure.

Read about your Chinese Zodiac Sign here.

Red Envelopes filled with gifts are presented to family and friends during the Chinese New Year. The color red symbolizes good luck, and today P.F. Chang’s is here to help spread good fortune.

15 Somewhat Simple Readers will win their own Red Envelope filled with various prizes!

(yep, 15- that is not a typo!)

Here are the prizes…

ONE Grand prize, consisting of:

• A $100 gift card to P.F. Chang’s Bistro
• 5 Full Value P.F. Chang’s Home Menu coupons
• 2 co-branded t-shirts

SEVEN Red Envelope Prizes consisting of:

• A $10 P.F. Chang’s Bistro Bistro gift card

SEVEN Red Envelope Prizes consisting of:

• A Full Value P.F. Chang’s Home Menu coupon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.F. Chang’s Bistro and P.F. Chang’s Home Menu provided me with gift cards and free product for this post, but these words and opinions are my own.

AND NOW FOR THE LINK PARTY

I’m a long-time customer of MyPublisher.com and I have made several of their classic hardcover books. Last week while working on my current project, I noticed an option for a book that I’d never seen before- they call it “My Mini” and what grabbed my attention was just how cheap it is- $2.49! It is a 20-page softcover book that is only 2.75″ x3.5″. Since my husband and I usually just exchange a card or something little on Valentines Day, I knew right away this little personalized gift would be perfect!

I got to work and decided to think of a characteristic I love about my husband for every letter of the alphabet and then I would look through our pictures and see if I could find some that would illustrate the qualities on my list. Once I had my pictures and characteristics, I worked a little magic on picnik.com (so sad they are closing, by the way!) by adding some text to pictures or collages.

Here are some of the pages I made:

(Title Page)

The fonts in picnik that I used were called Courier New and Bleeding Cowboys.

The color I used was 35BBB9.

When I went to order the book, I was excited to see a coupon in my inbox for 75% off, so this book only cost me 62 cents + 99 cent shipping- its even cheaper than a card I would have bought off the shelf at the grocery store, and its personalized so its way better!

I will try to update this post with a finished product of the book once it gets delivered to my house- it takes about a week, so if you want to create one for your sweetheart, don’t delay!

*I was not compensated to write this post in any way.

One of the things I love about winter is that it gives me an excuse to make soup. I am totally a soup girl. While I am always trying new soup to add to my soup recipe box, you are more likely to find me making my favorites over and over and, yes, over again.

One of my favorites is Baked Potato Soup. This is a recipe I have used for years. This soup is pretty low maintenance ingredient wise. It comes together SOUPer fast…sorry I had to…This soup is also great as leftovers. Woohoo!

Today not only am I sharing the recipe for Baked Potato Soup, but I am also linking to several of my favorite soup recipes that I have shared previously on my blog.

Let’s start with the recipe shall we.

Baked Potato Soup 

ingredients:

2 med. potatoes, baked

3 Tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 Tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon ground thyme

1 cup half-and-half

garnishes-shredded cheddar cheese, bacon pieces, sliced green onions, sour cream

to make:

Melt butter in a stock pot. Saute onions in the butter until light brown and translucent. Add flour to onions and stir continuously  while cooking for 1-2 minutes. Add broth, water, cornstarch, instant potatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Cut baked potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp into the soup, letting it crumble into rough bite-sized pieces. Add half-and-half. Bring back to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for another 15 minutes.

Serve with garnishes.

Enjoy!

Okay, now for some other delightful soup recipes that I have made and shared on my blog. I have enjoyed all of these and a few have become my very favorites…don’t worry I will tell you which ones those are!

I hope you are finding ways to enjoy this winter weather and I hope you find a new soup recipe to warm up with.

Slow-cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

a favorite

Chicken Parmesan Soup

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

a favorite

Chicken Cream Cheese Soup in Homemade Bread Bowls

Santa Fe White Bean and Chicken Soup

a favorite

Oh and guess what? I have another soup recipe coming up on my blog on my Recipe Thursday this week. A new and instant favorite of not just me, but the whole family. Can’t go wrong there.

Stop on by, say hello, and get another fabulous soup recipe.

The kids and I made a trip to the grocery store and bought 12 helium balloons (4 red, 4 pink & 4 white).

Then, we each thought of 3 reasons why we love my husband and we wrote the reasons on heart-shaped construction paper.

Then we just placed them over the bed and waited for him to be surprised when he came home from work.

Simple, thoughtful and something for the whole family!

My kids got a kick out of it, and it took literally 3 minutes to create!

Just upload a picture of your home, then get ready to create! There are several different Santa poses to choose from, and you can completely adjust the size and color of the image so it matches your picture.

If you’d like your own, take advantage of this deal:

$11 for 4 Custom Images and a Video of Santa in your Home! ($25 value, save 55%)

You get 4 separate codes, so you can keep one and then give the others to your friends or family members.

Click HERE if you are interested. Have fun!

#2.  Now lay out your T-shirt, measure from the bottom hem up and cut.  (I cut mine at 11 inches.)  ***Notice that the bottom of your skirt is already hemmed for you from the T-shirt—nice huh? (I told you this was going to be easy.)