Christmas bokeh
This is the photo I used to illustrate A Librarian’s Tips for Healthy Holiday Parties that originally appeared in The Huffington Post. One of the reasons the editor liked my submission was this photo. It’s all thanks to Trish’s Pin It and Do It Challenge to actually do some of the things we pin on Pinterest.
I saw this cute pin of a dog in front of a Christmas tree: How to take christmas tree pics with lights in background. The tree lights are out of focus — that effect is called bokeh. The pin takes you to this blog post on Kevin & Amanda from December 2009: Must-Get Christmas Pictures Before the Tree Comes Down! It’s a tutorial, so it’s pretty much all you need to know. I got a darker background than in her photos by lighting up my foreground with a work lamp. I was very pleased to get just the sort of thing that I had pictured in my mind! Check out the tutorial because she does some really amazing things with shapes as well.
Besides Pin It and Do It, I’m also posting this as my Saturday Snapshot and I have a question for all of you shutterbugs. I’m running a challenge of my own called the New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge. What books would you recommend for people whose resolution is improve my photography? If I get enough responses, I’ll write a round-up post next week so we can all benefit!
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home with Books. Check her post today for more links of photos around the web.
Pin It and Do It is hosted by Trish of Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity. The challenge link-up is here: Pin it and Do It: Pinterest Challenge Link Up.
