I’ll be taking the day off today to get ready for Christmas and to take care of Parker. (He’s sick but I think, secretly, he wants some mommy and me time.) Unfortunately, that means there will be no Fun Links of the Week.
I want to wish all of you out there a very Merry Christmas! Have fun, keep warm and stay safe.
See you next week.
While watching my first CreativeLive course, Finding, Defining, and Marketing Your Photographic Style, I came across some good “light bulb” moments. The first, is that your style will come as you get better, technically. In the beginning, you’re just learning the basics, like focal length, shutter speed and aperture. You need to work hard and get the basics down, and as you do, your style starts to emerge. It doesn’t happen magically one day, it’s a long process that takes years of experience.
Teacher Julia Kelleher also asks her students to find inspiration from outside the field of photography. Here’s where it gets fun.
Outside inspiration comes from:
Decor
Design
Movies
Art
Technology
Music
Nature
Faith
Personality & Mood
Our personal growth or life story
Today, I decided to find 20 photos that show what I love, that’s outside the field of photography.
Art: If I had to pick my favorite piece of art of all time it would be Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I love the colors he uses and his swirling lines of the sky.
Advertising and Art: Advertising is another one of those categories where you can draw inspiration from. The KENZO fragrance video, directed by Spike Jonze, left me speechless this year. It was fresh, cool and strangely interesting.
Above: This Christian Dior ad is probably one of the most memorable print ad campaigns I’ve ever seen. I love everything about this, how it’s whimsical, how there are colorful balloons lifting the woman up, the bright pink dress, and…Paris!
In conclusion: What have I learned? I’m big into mid-century modern design and modern design. How does this translates into photography? I love clean lines and white backgrounds and I like photographs that feel timeless. I love color but only when it feels fresh. I’m not into trends, rather, I appreciate things that can stand the test of time. I love images that are pretty, that are slightly more on the feminine side. I like when photographs give me an “aha!” moment, when it take a few seconds to click. I appreciate uniqueness and beautiful design.
For the last year or so, I’ve been working at this new career as a “photographer.” (The lifestyle blogging thing is more of a side project.) With my seven years of experience, curating art and photography for My Modern Met, I knew I had a knack for picking out creative photography but I wasn’t quite sure how I would define my own style.
To be a successful photographer, one has to decide on what field to go into. What you want to be known for. Which genre appeals to you. Every day for a few months I would take pictures of my boys, honing my technical skills but also trying to figure out if family or kids photography was right for me.
So what have I learned? Sadly, not much. As much I loved taking pictures of Parker and Logan, I didn’t try going outside of my comfort zone. I’d look at Instagram images from some of my favorite photographers, like Max Wanger, Alice Gao, and Paul Octavious, and wonder what my niche and style would be. Like Max Wanger, would my photos have a light and airy feel about them? Would I be big on negative space? Or like Alice Gao would my photos be more clean and crisp, looking like an advertisement I’d see in a luxury magazine? Who would my clients be?
I felt like Alice in Wonderland, the girl who fell down the rabbit hole. Where would I begin? First, I took a few photography classes on Skillshare, then on Lynda.com but I would only pick up bits and pieces of information. Nothing seemed groundbreaking. No class inspired me to find my own voice.
Then, I remembered that there’s a website called CreativeLive that teaches Photography (and many other subjects). The company was co-founded by a photographer himself, Chase Jarvis. They’re curated classes taught by the world’s top experts. Perusing their website, I noticed that these classes wouldn’t be cheap. You could watch them for free when they’re live but if you wanted to watch an archived video, at your own pace, (they call it “on demand”) you’d have to pay, on average, close to $100. Is/was this a good investment?
The format is interesting. Each class is taught with an instructor speaking to a “live” class. The people in the room become participants, so the classes are somewhat interactive. They’re like stand-ins for those of us who are at home.
Yesterday, I selected six courses that spoke to me. They are:
Finding, Defining, and Marketing Your Photographic Style with Julia Kelleher
Family Photography: Photojournalism in the Home with Kirsten Lewis
Getting Started in Professional Food Photography with Steve Hansen
Story on a Plate: Food Photography & Styling with Todd Porter and Diane Cu
Adobe® Photoshop® for Photographers: Beyond the Basics with Ben Willmore
Photoshop for Photographers: The Essentials with Ben Willmore
Then, today, I picked up three more:
Incredible Engagement Photography with Pye Jirsa
The Complete Wedding Photographer Experience with Jasmine Star
Wedding Photography: Capturing the Story with Rocco Ancora, Ryan Schembri
I see these online courses as an investment in my career. You could go to a local college or photography club to learn these things but why would you when you can do it all from the comfort of your own home? Before I purchase a class, I like reading the reviews. They help lead me into making a decision on whether or not I should buy it.
If you haven’t checked out CreativeLive, you should. Especially with the sale they’re having right now! I’ve only started watching the first video, Finding, Defining, and Marketing Your Photographic Style, but so far I can say that I like the way it’s taped (with a live studio audience) and that the subject was exactly what I was looking for.
A team of creatives got together to create some fun gifs for the holidays. Disney XD invited them to make a series of holiday loops for their LOL app. As they wrote, “So we spent the summer listening to endless loops of Holiday music and loved every minute of it. Deck the halls with boughs of gifs, Right?!! Rudolph the Rednosed ReinGIF?!”
You can watch the full montage, in video, at the end of this post. Here are some of my favorite GIFs. (Love the Snapchat one.)
Disney // Holiday Loops from Giant Ant on Vimeo.
I’m loving this fun bears illustration by brothers Matt and Andrew McCracken of Doublenaut. It has this cool, retro vibe to it yet it’s still modern. Recently, the two were interviewed by Adobe’s Create about their creative process.
Here’s are a few quotes, about their style, that I liked:
“Matt: We’re inspired by mid-century modern graphic design—simple illustrations that are geometric, with bold color schemes and simple type.”
“Ross: That era of design is timeless. It’s not about trends. It’s simple, clean, well-thought-out. You could use a poster from the mid-1960s now and it would be still be relevant.”
Read more about them over at Adobe Create.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m a size 10. (Cue sad music.) Back before I had kids, I was a comfortable size 6 but after my pregnancies, I just can’t lose the weight. For the last few years I was in denial, not buying any new clothes, just hoping that one day I could return to my smaller size. But I only ended up wearing black leggings, maternity dresses and maternity jeans. Every day, I would sadly look at my closet, full of size 6 clothing, and just sigh.
Then, I realized that you can be stylish at any size. When you wear clothes that actually fit, you feel confidant and stylish. That’s why you saw my last post yesterday about sweaters. I was looking for some large-size sweaters that I could add to my wardrobe. (I only own one!)
Today, I rounded up six dresses from one of my favorite retailers, Boden. They’re a British company known for their high quality clothes. I usually buy just the boys’ clothes from their website, but today, I decided to check out their women’s section. Low and behold I found some great dresses for relatively cheap! They’re having a massive sale right now so it’s the perfect time to check them out.
I’m a little “hippy”, I’ve always struggled with my large thighs. Now I have a pudgy stomach to boot so A-line dresses or ones that flare are right for my body type. If you’re like me, you may want to check these out.
If you’re looking for a cute coat, check this out, too. (I like it in oatmeal/ivory.)
Now that we’re well into winter, it’s time to find some clothes that will keep us warm. I recently came to the realization that I don’t own a lot of sweaters so I decided to go on a search for some cute/classy/stylish ones on the web. There were so many good ones out there, my list of 10 grew to 19! (Some I actually bought.) Hope you enjoy this list.
What are you up to this weekend? Tonight, Parker and Logan have a recital at their school. I can’t wait to hear them belt out Christmas music. (Parker’s been practicing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer with hand signals and it’s been adorable). This weekend, the kids are also going to see Santa at my in-law’s clubhouse. It’s a fun family tradition.
Can you believe that it’s only 9 days till Christmas?
In any case, here are the Fun Links of the Week:
Whether ombre is “in” or not, I still love this scarf and coat.
I still kiss my 4-year-old on the lips. Is something wrong with that?
I’m always looking to find refreshing Instagram feeds.
Love inspiring business stories like this. (Thinking of scooping up one of their candles.)
When Maria Popova of Brain Pickings selects her favorite books, you have to check them out.
This colorful house in Sweden has lots of DIY decor ideas.
Are you excited to see this movie? Reviews have been (mostly) good. (I have yet to see this.)
I know this is kind of kitschy but I can’t help but love the clever packaging.
Do you lie down with your kids until they fall asleep? (Guilty!)
Walt Disney’s Palm Springs home was way more colorful than I imagined.
At family functions, my sister, Grace usually makes the cheese boards. They usually look something like this.
I know it’s a bit sappy but this Christmas story had me tearing up at the end.
How do we feel about using light projectors instead of traditional Christmas lights?
Calling all aspiring artists! You may want to check out this book by Lisa Congdon.
This colorful print gives me all the feels.
I want to try this! It’s almost too pretty to drink.
“All I Want for Christmas’ carpool karaoke gave me the chills. Love that song!
Photo by Andy Seliverstoff via Bored Panda.
In today’s world, there’s no denying the fact that one of the most sensitive discussions we’re having is about race relations. Groups like Black Lives Matter have spurred us to look deeper into outright racism especially when dealing with the police.
In the book Small Great Things, author Jodi Picoult tries to get its readers to see how life might be in the shoes of a black person. Without giving away too much away, the story is about a black labor and delivery nurse, with more than 20 years of experience, who, during a routine shift, was told by white supremacist parents that they don’t want her to touch their baby.
The hospital complies with this request. Ruth is told to stay away from the baby, however when the team is short staffed she’s the only one to care for him and he goes into cardiac distress. Ruth must decide whether to obey orders or intervene.
The baby dies and, subsequently, Ruth is charged with a serious crime. The book is told from three different perspectives: Ruth, the white supremacist father and Ruth’s lawyer.
In the Acknowledgments, Picoult thanks those who helped her write the book. They include doctors and nurses who helped her with “their lingo”, her “crackerjack legal team” for “vetting the court scenes for accuracy’s sake” and even a social justice educator who “vet” her words. You could tell there was a lot of homework involved, from the hospital scenes to the legal ones.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. It is a true page-turner!
As Amazon states,”With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn’t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.” I couldn’t agree more.
Back in January, Adam Grant wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times Opinion section about how to raise a creative child. Interestingly, it was one of the NYT’s most engaging pieces on Facebook this year. I just read through the article and thought it had a lot of great points.
Sam and I raise Parker and Logan with a lot of rules. Don’t hit each other, no soda, iPad time only certain times of day. Yes, the kids break them but we try our best to enforce our rules. I never quite thought of teaching them “values” instead. Here’s what I mean.
“The parents of ordinary children had an average of six rules, like specific schedules for homework and bedtime. Parents of highly creative children had an average of fewer than one rule.
“Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart. By limiting rules, parents encouraged their children to think for themselves. They tended to ‘place emphasis on moral values, rather than on specific rules,’ the Harvard psychologist Teresa Amabile reports.
“Even then, though, parents didn’t shove their values down their children’s throats. When psychologists compared America’s most creative architects with a group of highly skilled but unoriginal peers, there was something unique about the parents of the creative architects: ‘Emphasis was placed on the development of one’s own ethical code.'”
Now, how do we teach our kids to be creative? That’s a question I often ponder. In this highly competitive world, how do you get your kids to succeed?
Heres’s the general answer:
“Yes, parents encouraged their children to pursue excellence and success — but they also encouraged them to find ‘joy in work.’ Their children had freedom to sort out their own values and discover their own interests. And that set them up to flourish as creative adults.
“When the psychologist Benjamin Bloom led a study of the early roots of world-class musicians, artists, athletes and scientists, he learned that their parents didn’t dream of raising superstar kids. They weren’t drill sergeants or slave drivers. They responded to the intrinsic motivation of their children. When their children showed interest and enthusiasm in a skill, the parents supported them.”
Instead of pushing Parker and Logan into certain sports or interests, I need to follow their lead and then support them.
I love the last paragraph in the article:
“Hear that, Tiger Moms and Lombardi Dads? You can’t program a child to become creative. Try to engineer a certain kind of success, and the best you’ll get is an ambitious robot. If you want your children to bring original ideas into the world, you need to let them pursue their passions, not yours.”
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
