Getting it Right

I’ve been spending the past few days doing something I should have done a long time ago-getting serious about my Etsy shop photos.  For the Love of Pete has been in existence for almost four years now, and up until this point I haven’t put that much work into my pictures.  In my own defense, it hasn’t been for lack of wanting to, but I was just so intimidated by the whole idea.

And then last week, I got the shoes.  I knew they would make an excellent photo prop, but there was a catch.  I was the only one able to wear them-they are too big for Amy, plus she has a pretty hard class schedule this year. With lots of homework every night,  she simply doesn’t have the time to help me.  I had one alternative.  Learn to use the automatic timer on my camera and take pictures of myself, and while I was at it, learn to master some lighting techniques too.  As you can tell in the above photo-I found out that I have to hold perfectly still in order to get a clear image.  After setting the timer and getting into place many, many times, my legs got tired from wearing the shoes, but I kept at it, and I now have several good photos in my shop.

I also decided to experiment with different backgrounds for some of my other pictures, opting for colorful and bold instead of white.  (First I even tried a piece of plywood for my background, but that didn’t look so good!) 

So what’s my point in all of this?  Too many times I think we all tend to believe that we can’t learn to do something new.  We sell ourselves short and give up before we even begin.  But we can!  I like to think my pictures prove that.

Is there something new you’ve found the courage to try?  Something that seemed overwhelming, but you gave it a shot anyway?  I’d like to hear about it.

 

P.S.  I’m proud to be using my dad’s old footlocker from his Navy days, too!