CHRISTMAS PHOTOS
Hello dear friends,
Christmas is that magical time of the year when it's full of shiny decorations, Christmas trees and lights, Christmas mood and smiles, gingerbread cookies, pine candles, and all the family together. So it's not surprised I really love Christmas, I love to shoot family portraits at Christmas, children smile, home decorations and lights and that's why today I am going to give you some useful tips what to do when you photograph Christmas portraits at home.
1. Capture the preparation
Decoration time is one of the best family Christmas time, full of joy and wonderful for photographing all the family together in their very natural way - smiling, creating the Christmas atmosphere. Take photos of open the boxes with Christmas toys and children expression, putting the light on, the Christmas tree decoration, especially the star or angel on the top of the tree and another very important moment when the tree is ready and family switching on the lights - just priceless!
2. Take as many photos as possible of the whole family around the Christmas tree and Christmas table and don't forget to focus on the eyes. You can use flash with most indoor Christmas photos, but remember the ambient light will be raised by Christmas lights and you don't want the vibrant colors to be washed.
3. Family group photos
Usually, at Christmas, all the family is getting together and there is no better way to celebrate than taking group family photo with all parents, grandparents, and children around the tree and holding presents, having Christmas hats and headbands. Just be sure you place and compose all the people and fitting in the frame. It's recommended to use a tripod for best results or even camera timing if you would like to be in the picture too..:)
4. Let the music play
What is Christmas with no Christmas songs..? Playing Christmas music definitely will relax the people and will create a very touching Christmas mood..:)
5. Depth of filed
"For a group portrait, you almost always work with two rows of people. To get all the participants in sharp focus across two rows, the aperture should be around f/4-5.6."
6. Don't forget the pets
Pets are a very important part of the family and they will miss on the images so don't forget them, and don't forget to dress them too..:)
7. Matching outfits
Matching outfits are a great idea for family Christmas photos - jumpers, pajamas, dresses or hats all work amazingly!
I hope all these will give you a better idea of how to take Christmas photos this year! But the best advice is just to enjoy being with the family and take every moment to create beautiful memories, laughing more and relaxing more!!
AMSTERDAM PHOTO WALK 2019
Hello everyone,
this week's blog post is just a nice virtual photo walk to Amsterdam from my last visit in August.
Enjoy it!
xx
REUNION THE MOVIE - NIKI ILIEV'S NEW FILM
Hey all,
as you can guess this week's blog post will be about a wonderful film premiere I had the chance to attend - the new Bulgarian film of Niki Iliev "Reunion".
The premiere was last weekend at the Genesis Cinema in London and honestly, I think it was an amazing experience not only for me as a photographer but for all guests visiting the event as well. The film is so wonderful, the actors were so splendid, the manager of the event Iva Angelicheva was so admirable and organizing and all the people attending were so friendly and nice that all of them made this event very special and touching.
Shortly this is the story of the film:
It’s exactly 25 years after the “Summer of ‘94,” the memorable month of Bulgaria’s participation at the FIFA World Cup. Three friends (Boyko, Orlin, and Sasho) return home from across the world to help a childhood friend save his native house. Alex (Niki Iliev) must persuade his cousin Branimir (Bashar Rahal) to respect the will of their grandfather (Stefan Danailov) by preserving the family home and not go ahead with a plan for an office building. The only way to pull the thing off is for the childhood friends to band together again and win the city marathon against Branimir’s professional team. This proves extremely difficult, and a string of ludicrous episodes and absurd hitches put a yearslong friendship to the test.
The characters return to their childhood, remembering their dreams, first loves, family values, and true friendship. They end up realizing that, regardless of shifts and elapsed time, some things never change.
The producers of the film are: Bashar Rahal, Niki Iliev and Bogomil Grozev from Silver Light Pictures, the studio behind the production and the main actors performing are Niki Iliev, Bashar Rahal, Alexander Kadiev, Dilyana Popova, Evelyn Kostova, Orlin Pavlov, Boyko Krastanov, Rayna Karayaneva, and Iskra Donova.
The story takes place in one of Bulgaria's most beautiful cities - Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture for 2019.
"More than 500 walk-ons, police officers and athletes took part in a three-day triathlon: bicycling, running and rowing. Some of Plovdiv’s emblematic locations – the Old Town, Kapana and the Rowing Canal were the natural sets in this great city, where “each spot makes a frame.” The people of Plovdiv offered generous assistance to the movie team, opening their homes, shops, bistros, and offices."
Get ready for laughs, romance, and dramatic upturns!
"“The Reunion” is a declaration of love to Plovdiv and its residents."
Thank you to the whole team for the amazing moment!
5 PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS TO CREATE BETTER AUTUMN PORTRAITS
Hello, my friends,
Autumn is one of the best seasons for beautiful and unique portrait images. So here you can find my five tips for you on how to turn your autumn family portraits into a special golden story.
- Location, Location, Location
When we talk about an autumn photoshoot it's very important to find a spot or location that shows off the stunning beauty of autumn. The colorful leaves, the warm vibrant tones of the season and the soft beautiful light will give your portraits an incredible touch. An apple orchard and pumpkin paths are great ideas for autumn portraits but also you can take photos in a tree, under a tree, between the rows of trees.
In London where I live there are so many beautiful parks and gardens where you can have amazing autumn images.
2. What should you wear for an autumn family photoshoot?
People often ask what they should wear to their Autumn family sessions. I always suggest that everyone in the family wears something they find both attractive and comfortable. Try and avoid busy patterns or extremely loud colors, don't overdo it with jewelry, keep it simple and classic.
For kids, khakis or a nice pair of jeans work well for boys, and you cannot go wrong with a pretty seasonal dress for girls. Cable sweaters and cardigans always add a nice, timeless touch. Similar rules apply to adults.
In summary, the basic principles are:
- Dress for your environment
- Dress everyone for the same weather and occasion
- Choose 3-4 colors to build everyone's outfits around
- Embrace layers and textures
- Avoid pictures and slogans on clothing
- Make sure your children's clothes fit well
Here are some examples of how you could coordinate colors for your family during the autumn:
Colors to avoid in outdoor autumn family photoshoots
There are some rules that do that apply all year round - black and bright, neon colors don't work well against nature's softer backdrop and can make people look washed out. To make sure your outfits complement the beautiful autumn colors, avoid black, bright and neon colors completely.
3. Schedule your session when the light is best.
Think about the kind of photos you wish to capture, a bright day will deliver brighter colors and harsh shadows, a cloudier day will create deeper richer colors. It's recommended to take photos either morning or afternoon, need to avoid mid-day when the light is at a higher point. Typically sunrise and sunset provide perfect lighting for outdoor shots.
4. Don't forget the details.
Sometimes what is left out of the image says more than what is included. By capturing your subject's eyes, hands or even their shoes you leave a lot to the viewer's imagination. Don't forget to photograph some details of the environment like the colorful autumn foliage or the beautiful autumn branches, or the toys of your children.
5. Have fun.
Make the shot fun! If it's a family shoot with children turn it into a game. When everyone is relaxed and having fun this reflects in the pictures. Encourage cuddling, tickling, cheekiness it all helps relax everyone.
If you would like to book a lifestyle shoot get in touch. I would love to hear from you.
Petya xx
8 USEFUL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Hello friends,
just a week ago I come back from a holiday trip and it was not only a pleasure time but also kind of a travel photo vacation - going to the sea, exploring Istanbul and traveling around my home country. So I thought it's going to be a nice idea to share some useful travel photography tips with you. Some people collect souvenirs when they travel, I prefer to collect beautiful images and to enjoy them for years..:)
8 USEFUL TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
- Lighting or wake up early and stay out late.
To get amazing images you need a beautiful soft light and usually, the morning light is very good for this but sunsets are also very good time for capturing amazing images - the time an hour after sunrise and hour before the sunset is called "GOLDEN HOURS" and then you can have a very nice and soft warm tones.
2. Research the place.
It's very useful to research your travel destination before you go. There is plenty of online spaces you can do this and take notes about how to reach the place, opening times, the weather...
3. Rule of thirds.
This is one of the main rules in photography and definitely works for your travel photos too to create more balanced images. Imagine breaking an image down into thirds horizontally and vertically, so it’s split into different sections. The goal is to place important parts of the photo into those sections and help frame the overall image in a way that’s pleasing to the eye.
4. Using a tripod.
For perfect composition and best results wearing a tripod is very important. Tripods give you the ability to shoot much slower shutter speed and also you can keep your ISO low too.
5. Experiment with composition.
Try different angles all the time and different distances too. Try to include the powerful foreground, midground, and background elements to make you images nice and balanced.
6. Use of colors.
In photography is very important to know how different colors work well together. So keep an eye out for contrasting colors in your images. The color wheel is a great way to see how you can match the colors and to understand them.
7. Framing.
Every time when you take a picture be sure that everything is perfectly in the frame. When you look through the viewfinder or LCD screen don't just focus on the subject, make sure you run your eyes around the entire frame to not cut off something important.
8. Capture details.
Capturing details up close is a great way to convey a sense of place.
Thank you for reading my blog story and I really hope it was useful to you..:)
xx
