So this "momtographer" put together her first DIY photo back drop project. Thanks to a couple great friends, my husband, and Miss Charmi, I found an easy and inexpensive project to do. I will admit that I am not your average crafty type of person.. I am far below the average. I thought that it was going to be super hard, so I had no problem pawning this project off on others that offered their assistance. Because I failed to remember that I obviously needed dimensions, I was forced to do this on my own (almost, thanks baby). I wanted to share all that I learned from this with my readers or other "momtographers" that are interested in doing their own photo backdrops. We purchased all of our backdrop supplies from Lowe's and the total came to $10.81 with my husband's military discount.

SUPPLIES

(2) 10′ lengths of 3/4″ PVC

(1) 5′ length of 3/4″ PVC

(4) 3/4″ PVC end caps

(4) 3/4″ PVC T Pieces

(2) 3/4″ PVC Elbow Pieces

***  YOU MUST get the “slip” end caps, T pieces and elbows.  If you get the “threaded” version it will not slide onto the PVC pipe *** Trust me when I say to check, I didn't follow instructions (thank goodness Justin was with me). 

MEASUREMENTS

2 pieces cut at 54 inches long (cut from one 10′ pipe)

4 pieces cut at 30 inches long (cut from second 10′ pipe)

4 pieces cut at 12 inches long (cut from 5′ pipe)

*** If you do not own a saw of some sort OR you decide you'd rather not cut the pipes yourself, the staff at Lowe's is more than willing to assist. They cut all of our PVC pipes in the exact measurements we needed ***

STEPS

1. Attach one 12 inch piece to a "T" piece and add another 12 inch piece to the opposite end.  Put end caps on each end and repeat. These will end up being your leg stands!

2. Connect a 30 inch piece to the stand leg and add another "T" piece. Attach one more 30 inch piece and repeat for the other stand leg.

3. Using the two "T" pieces in the center, connect one of the 54 inch pieces to each side of the stand legs. 

4.  Add the last (and final)  54 inch piece to the top by using the two elbow pieces on the tops of the 30 inch pipes.  

Those were all the steps I used to create my DIY photo back drop. Keep in mind that the edges of the PVC pipes might not all be straight after cutting. I had to use a wrench to pull in some of the dented parts that prevented the pipes from going smoothly inside their end caps and such. I purchased some oversized blankets that are going to make great backgrounds for some of the Ava bug sessions I have coming up, and I'm so excited about it. Stay tuned for her Christmas holiday photos, because I'm sure I'll be sharing a few.

Happy Sunday all!

♥- Leilani

Mama got a new lens

This photography "stuff" has become a bit of an obsession lately. I enjoy taking quality photos of my family and I'm really learning more than I ever expected to learn about the entire process of taking photos. That being said, I am already realizing that certain accessories I own have placed limitations on the type of photos I want to take. Although I have zero plans of pursuing a career in photography, I keep reminding myself that creating my own art in the form of a photo is enough validation to splurge when needed on camera accessories. Which brings me to the title of this blog post. I purchased a new lens yesterday after consulting with other photographers in an "inspire me" group. I want to take better quality photos while I am indoors.

It's been raining too much in the state of Washington these last couple weeks, so a lot of the photos i've taken have had to be indoors. I don't mind taking pictures indoors, but it definitely is discouraging when you don't have a lens that fits your needs. Since purchasing my new lens, I have noticed a complete 180 in my indoor photos. They aren't as grainy, and they have this "creamy" factor to them. I absolutely love it! So far I've got three different kinds of lenses, and at least one of them suit my needs for indoor and outdoor photos.

I plan on purchasing at least a couple more lenses as I learn and grow more with my current DSLR. For those of my readers that were anxious to see my photography blog... I opted not to share it. I'm recording my own personal document of my experience, and as much as I love sharing my life and passions with you guys, I'd really like to keep this journey to myself (for the most part). Take a look at some of the indoor photos I snapped this morning. I didn't edit them or change anything. These are straight from the camera. Isn't Ava bug just a doll? She's been working on her letters and numbers from the learning books her nana sent.  I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I do! The exposure is a bit too high, but overall, I'm impressed.

Happy Wednesday all!

♥- Leilani