{WINNER ANNOUNCED} My First Online Photography Class with Bella Pop {giveaway}

Thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway and Brandy at Bella Pop for sponsoring and providing this great prize.

And the winner is ……….

Congratulations, Diane!!!!!! Check your email for details about how to claim your super-duper-awesome prize from Bella Pop Photography.

Last summer, I purchased a “seat” for a photography class led by Brandon and Brandy at Bella Pop Photography. We met near the museum district of Fort Worth in the middle of the summer. To say the least, it was hot. Like, 110-degrees hot. The sweaty details are disgusting, but the techniques were very helpful.

Lucky for me, Brandy began a new branch in her professional photography business: online classes. She was even nice enough to invite me to her pilot launching of Shooting in Manual 101. In this class, participants learned the basics of shutter speed, exposure, ISO, aperture, metering, and white balance. Now, before my classes with Bella Pop, all of this was Greek to me.

One thing I really liked about the online class was the private Facebook group. It provided the perfect opportunity for class participants to share their photos and receive creative feedback. By posting my photos, I learned a great deal from Brandy’s feedback.

This is a great detail shot of a guy enjoying the weather. The exposure looks great too. Overall, a super cute pic!

Of course, not all of my photos were up to par, but that did not stop Brandy from providing constructive comments:

Oh I love sunsets! This picture is very cool… love the colors! The exposure looks great for the sky. Next time I would try a shutter speed of 1/125 to bring down the ISO some, just because that sky is so pretty and you can see the grain. Of course, it would be even better on a tripod and an ISO of 100, but I’m often without my tripod. You did great Nicole!

The photo of the rain gauge surprised me as I intended to focus on Blue instead ….. but mistakes sometimes turn into a good thing!

I really like this image. The colors are fab! This is a great example of shallow depth of field to isolate the subject, while still implying the scene. That being said, I might love this photo even more if Blue was a bit more in focus – not totally focus, still blurry, just more discernible features. It’s still lovely though.

One of my all-time favorite photos was also an excellent example of depth of field. Of course, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I’m still learning!

Excellent example of a great depth of field. I can see the texture on the truck and the lines in the grain towers. I couldn’t imagine shooting this image with a different aperture. Everything in focus was the way to go!

Brandy is sweeter than my sweet tea (c’mon, y’all know that’s gotta be sah-weet!!!!) and I’m uber-impressed with her talents. Just look at her photos, the clarity is INSANE ….. I swear it’s like she’s standing right in front of me!

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Because Brandy is so awesome, spectacular, wonderful, and gracious, she is offering ONE lucky reader a $60 CREDIT for any online photography course offered at Bella Pop.  Brandy offers classes covering the full spectrum of photography techniques: from basics (manual mode), to creative composition, and shooting in natural light. You do NOT need a fancy-schmancy camera to participate, classes are compatible with point-and-shoots too!

To enter, visit BellaPop.com and answer this question in a comment:

Which photography class are you most interested in and why?

For additional entries, add a comment for EACH instruction below:

• Like Bella Pop on Facebook – and leave a comment on this blog post saying you did so
• Follow @BellaPopPhoto on Twitter – and leave a comment below
• Follow Bella Pop (Brandy Frank) on Pinterest – and leave a comment below
• Visit Bella Pop’s blog – and leave a comment below
• Follow @nmhutch on Twitter – and leave a comment below
• Follow @nmhutchison on Pinterest – and leave a comment below
• Subscribe to Three 31 and receive email notifications – and leave a comment below
• Re-post this giveaway – and leave a comment below

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Please leave a comment for EACH entry on this blog post; be sure to include your name and email address in one of the comments too.

Giveaway ends March 31 (mine and Husband’s 5th anniversary!!!!!!) at 9:00pm.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Bella Pop Class ~ Week One

Last summer, when it was 3547234 degrees in the shade, I signed up for a photography class with Bella Pop Photography. The topic for the afternoon was Manual Settings. I didn’t have a clue what “manual” meant, but I knew that I needed as much help as I could possibly afford.

You may remember that it was last summer when I acquired a fancy-schmancy DSLR camera, a Nikon D5000. After charging the battery, I turned the camera on, put it on “Auto” mode, and started clicking away. I’m such a brave, adventurous girl!

Granted it was hotter than the hubs of H-E-double-hockey-sticks that day, but I managed to learn a few settings (including aperture – featured in the photo above) that I had only read about in my ancient-of-days photography/journalism classes.

A few weeks ago, I got a sweet email from Brandy (owner of Bella Pop) asking if I would be interested in an online photography class she was hosting. Of course I accepted her invitation. I have so much to learn that I honestly feel UNDER qualified, even for a beginner’s class. There are lots of really talented people in this “class” and I’ve really enjoyed viewing their work this week.

As you read in my post yesterday, last week was H-E-double-hockey-sticks. But, after church, I ventured outside (wearing several shirts plus a hoodie and wool socks) with my camera. The weather is a bit different from seven months ago!!! We’ve gotten a few inches of rain so grass is beginning to grow again in the pasture. I also grabbed a Christmas ornament I found on the hutch in the dining room (don’t ask!). I thought the purple would contrast nicely with the bright green grass. What do you think?

Please remember, despite my novice post-processing skills using Photoshop, the images below are completely un-edited. They are directly from camera to blog post. EEEEK!!!!

As I was sitting in the grass, I heard knickering and footsteps behind me. A moment later, Blue was standing right in front of me. The photo, in my opinion, isn’t very good because his light color blends in too much with the light skies overhead. But, nonetheless, I’ll share anyway:

While Blue was grazing near me, I couldn’t help but notice his feet. It’s been a while since he’s had new horseshoes and it’s obvious too. This guy is in desperate need of an equine pedicure! Fortunately, our farrier is scheduled for a visit this week.

Check out Brandy at Bella Pop Photography, her skills will knock your socks off …… unless, of course, you’re not wearing any!

Hugs,