Sunrise Creations Blog

I've often spoken about photobooks here on our blog.  You know how much I love them for the way they preserve your precious photos but you might not realise just how gorgeous they can make your photos look.

A photobook is not like a photo album.  We don't just take your photos and plonk them onto a page.  A photobook is a work of art.  It's the kind of book that you'd be proud to leave out on your coffee table for guests to look at,  Each photobook is unique.

Would you like to have a look at my recent work?  These are examples of my own personal albums.  Just click on the images and you will be able to preview the whole album.

 

 

You can see how the photos tell a story.   The backgrounds are chosen to complement the photography and you can even add some text.

If you'd like to have a photobook full of memories created for you, contact me.  I will help you select the right photos to tell your story.

The trip is planned, the camera is purchased, and the excitement is building. Travel photography can be great fun and highly rewarding with just a little time investment before you leave.

Read your manual and become familiar with your camera before you set off! If possible, spend a couple of weekends before your trip learning the different functions on your camera. Visit photographic web sites (e.g. Flickr) and check out what others have photographed in the region that you’re going to visit. Look to your strengths, so if people are your “thing”, research the possibility of using portraiture to make your travel photography sparkle with individuality. 

Set yourself a goal or project, if you love landscapes, an example might be to photograph every sunrise or every sunset during your travels. Pack lightly, a compact camera is a great choice for a handbag, but if your more of a keen enthusiast then a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) with a double lens kit would be a great choice, also consider a light weight tripod and don’t forget to take your camera everywhere you go.

The perspective from which you decide to shoot can make or break a photograph. Get down low, or get up high, use reflections creatively in landscapes, bend those knees and try to look at the world from a slightly different perspective, think about an ant’s eye view for example.

Your main aim whilst travelling is to have FUN so don’t allow yourself to feel pressured to capture great photographs, often your personality will show through the photos and it is that which will make them interesting to others. Having your photographs professionally produced onto quality photographic products will allow you to cherish your travel memories for many years to come.

Photos are the key to your memory. With our breath-taking canvas prints and stunning photo books, you will be sure to relive all those precious moments and to share them with friends and family. So, happy travels and come back with many wonderful photographic memories to share!

Part of the fun of having a party or reception is taking the photos and when it comes to photographing food, there are some tricks that you need to know. Professional food photographers have all sorts of secrets for making food look good.  We won’t go there! 

This is a basic guide on how to photograph food and whilst I cannot promise you that the end product will be as good as a professional shot, I can promise you tips that will help anyone present food in a photograph that looks good enough to eat.

Well let’s start looking at a few tips, and don’t forget that even with a point and shoot camera you can get some good food photographs.

1. Turn off the flash. Food has lots of complex colours and the built in flash will just wash out both the colours and the contrasts that you’re hoping to show in your photographs. Keep in mind that with no flash you will need good natural light and a steady hand.
2. Natural light: this is an easy step to organise, as usually a kitchen has good windows and therefore good natural light. If not, get creative and take your plate outside or to any room in the house with good natural light.
3. If you don’t happen to own a tripod, then elbows can be used as a natural tripod. Balance your elbows on your worktop and get the food framed nicely. If you cannot achieve that with elbows, consider grabbing a few cookery books on which to balance the camera. Taking this time to ensure a solid foundation for the camera will result in a sharp photograph with no blur.
4. Use a wide aperture, this will blur your background and keep the focus on the food. Keep close to your food and consider cutting into the dish if it looks more appetizing with a piece missing and with the inside exposed.

You can use your photo editing software to lighten the food, should the need arise, or to colour correct your photograph to make it look the more appealing.  If you practice this technique a number of times, you will soon find that you’re able to shoot appetizing and enticing photographs of delicious food items!

Wouldn't it be great to create your own recipe book and illustrate it with photos of the food you have cooked?

So go for it and start shooting, and if at first you don’t succeed, bake (or buy) another dish and try it all over again, and don’t forget to invite your friends over to share some of the wonderful dishes your photographing! 

 

 

There is so much love and creativity in a child's drawing. With so many beautiful pieces of artwork, they are often not enjoyed as much as they could be. As you know I am currently designing a our 2009 summary photobook. Just when I was finished, I realised that I was missing a major part of the year (oh joy!) - the kids drawings. Out came the memorabelia boxes - which is not that organised - luckily most drawings had dates, so it was pretty easy to select them.

From experience, I will now recommend the following:

• Photograph of your childs artwork as you receive it;
• Create a folder on your PC called "Kids Artwork"
• Within the folder, create year folders, and then sub folders for each child;
• Save the artwork in the correct folder.

The whole folder thing may sound a little complicated, but it only needs to be set up once, and then you know exactly where they all are.


Below are the pages from our summary photobook that incorporates the kids artwork:

I am currently designing a summary photobook for 2009. In the process, I started going through the kids memorabelia boxes, and realised that there are more than photos that should be included in this photobook.

So today's tip is to take a photograph of the meaningful birthday cards that you receive. Why? It keeps everything together, you don't need to store all your cards, and then if you decide to have a photobook designed, it's ready!

How to take the photograph:

• Background: Lay a white table cloth or sheet down (preferably ironed)
• Turn your camera flash on (forced flash)
• Take the photo at an angle
  Note: this will avoid the flash reflecting on the card

Below is the double spread from our photobook that incorporates the cards. I took a photo of the cards together, as these represent all his interests at the time - Spiderman, Bob the Builder, Frogs etc.

We are very excited to introduce our latest product range – photo books with lay-flat pages. This new pages stock is the most deluxe available.  They lie flat, similar to a traditional wedding album.

To get technical for a moment, each page is printed on 300 gsm card stock. Isn’t that exciting?! Well we think it is!!

Below is an example of a Wedding Photo Book and a Holiday Photo Book - perfect for your honeymoon photos!

Can't you just see yourself in Egypt?!

If you like our photo books, why not also look at some of our wedding guest books. These are absolutely stunning as they incorporate photos of the bride and groom as well as beautiful messages from loved ones. A treasured momento!