November: Theme

Hi girls,
 Novemeber's theme is the ultimate in silly and I suspect anyone who joins in will have laughter cramps by the end of the session. The theme is "Holiday Cards". I know we have some non-American girls who participate so basically, it's tradition in some families to have a family portrait taken to be put on a yearly Christmas card which is then sent to friends and family. There seems to be some Christmas apparel/decorations involved in these portraits, which sets them apart from "normal" family portraits. Take a look at awkward family photos for some examples - this is what I'm encouraging. I want it to be SO much fun, the rules of photography are going out the window for this one which means Idon'tknowhowtotakepictures and Idonthaveagoodcamera can go right out the window too ;)

Find a group or put one together and have fun! Please share the poster I've posted on Silly Girls Photography facebook and encourage your friends to join in. If you feel your group could use a man's touch, go right ahead. Anyone who gets a guy to join in with this gets extra points!... didn't you know I grade you?
Here's some things that make for awkward hilarity (leave your own in the comments below):
someone doing the splits
a family pet, whether it's a dog or a possum (?)
the rebelious child
fake smiles
blinking
standing really close/far away
yawning
ankle socks
clashing colours/patterns
formal and casual
the 80's

Upload day is December 1st & 2nd - upload day with always be the 1st and 2nd of the month from now on.
December's theme is The 12 Days of Christmas
Let's send 2010 out with a bang and make 2011 the year of SHEnanigans!

How to take a Self Portrait

We've had an impromtu theme pop up this past week on the Silly Girls United facebook page that involve Sugar Skull-esque makeup and costume and self portraits and it's been so fun to see everyone join in. Hopefully there are more who will.

Here are some tips on how to take a self portrait:
1. Relax. I sometimes feel self concious of myself when I'm taking a self portrait but really, there's no-one else there and no-one has to see the pictures you take that don't go as planned. Loosen up. You can be a huge dork and no-one will know!

2. Natural light is your friend. Stand by a window with the blinds up. Play with the light.

3. Hold the camera out at arms length and press the button. This way you can play with angles and positioning. This is best for shoulders and up shots. I like to hold the camera up over my head and pointed down. When I take shoulders and up pictures I'm often wearing pj's on the bottom ;) Don't be scared to look at the camera, use your reflection in the lens as a mirror even. AND don't be scared to get close.

4. Prop the camera on something and set the timer if you're wearing a wicked outfit. I have a remote clicker I use with my camera.

5. The wonderful thing about digital is that you can look at the pictures once you've taken them. Do that and laugh. Just have fun. Create a character for yourself and act it out whilst snapping pictures. Look at the other pictures posted for tips on posing and framing.

6. Look around you for props. In my pictures I used a sheet of gift wrap and stuck it with magnets to the window frame. You have loads of things in your house you can use. Work with what you have. Wear things ways they aren't meant to be worn. Sometimes I wear tops backwards - nobody sees the back in the pictures. Megan once wrapped blankets around us and pinned them with clothes pegs to make prairie skirts. It felt weird but it looked perfect, you couldn't see the pegs and pins.

7. Editing, I've said it once and I'll say it again. You don't need expensive editing software or a degree in order to process pictures. Use free ones like picnik to make some amazing pictures.

I am really proud of everyone who takes part in these. They often start off feeling uncomfortable but it always ends up so much fun and it gets easier with practise. The creativity, attitudes and friendships are wonderful to witness.The key is to feel comfortable with yourself and to just have fun.

Here's some make-up tips from Stephanie.
Some photography tips from Alecia.
And a pep talk from Chiemi.

Themes: November and December 2010

Let's end the year all festive-like and share the joy of SHEnanigans with all the people you visit this holiday season.

November: Instead of a theme I want to see SHEnanigans worthy of the good old American tradition - HOLIDAY CARDS! Dress up with your group for your annual family portrait. If you want to you can add your family letter too so we can all see how well you've all done this year. My hope is that your pictures will be worthy of Awkward Family Photos. Have fun with this!

For my non-American's who might not be familiar with this tradition you can see some of the best of the worst here. You can also google image search "ugly Christmas sweaters" for some more inspiration. Oh and see this as an example. Haha, oh I love this!

December: I know everyone is likely to be traveling but this will be a really fun theme, just do your best and use it as an oportunity to share the fun. The theme is The 12 Days of Christmas as in...

Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
 
I would normally give you each one of these as your theme but with traveling and such I'm thinking it will be easier to let you each do whatever one you fancy as you'll need to make do with different/a lack of props and such.

I'm giving them to you in advance so you can either do them with your home groups or your away groups - or both. It's all just for fun, as usual.
 

2011

2010 has been big for Silly SHEnanigans. It's been great to watch this grow and I'm proud of everyone who's joined in so far. I look forward to seeing new faces join in through 2011.

Here's the list of themes I have for 2011. There's a bit of time to make some changes, if you feel super strongly about getting a certain theme put on the calender let me know and I'll do what I can. I love hearing all your opinions and suggestions and appreciate the input.

January - Fairy Tales*
February - Harajuku
March - Seasons*
April - Jailbirds
May - Children's books
June - "When I grow up I want to be a..."
July - Circus/Freak Shows
August - Time travelers/Adventurers
September - 7 Deadly Sins*
October - icons & heroines
November - Decades*
December - Masquerade

* - by assignment/suggestion

Twofer.

This months theme and next months probably seems like a doozy since they're connected. Here's some ideas and encouragement for you.

Although we're doing two themes tied together you can do them in one sitting or split them up. There's no rules for this. As long as you have fun that's all that matters. It's not a competition and you're not bound by a contract. You don't have to have a fancy camera or editing software. You don't have to be skinny and zit-less (look at me ;)... If you like fun, there's no reason for you not to join in.

Septembers theme is "Pretty" which is totally open for interpretation. Part two is the same theme but Halloweened up. Pretty to Scary, if you will. Or Pretty to dark. Pretty to gruesome. It's up to you. It can be any number of things.

If you only want to do the Pretty part or the scary part, that's fine too. Like I said, there are no rules here.

Get your group together and decide on a pretty theme you want to do then think of ways to halloween it up. Say you start with a Disney Princess or Jane Austen theme, you can halloween that up by making them into zombies, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, witches... The irony of it all is the best part and the options are endless!

You could do a Seven Virtues theme and Halloween that sucker up by turning them into Seven Deadly Sins. On the Silly Girls Photography page on facebook you'll find some inspiration and new groups forming. Join in and have fun! It's a fun way to play with each side of the coin especially if you tend to do prettier or darker shoots.

Upload days are November 1st and 2nd. Each group will upload their pretties in an album and then create another album for their scaries.

If you have any questions at all post them on the facebook page - if you're wondering about something it's likely someone else is.

Thanks to everyone who's joined in so far. I love seeing what you all come up with and seeing how much fun you all have. As usual, spread the word. The more the merrier!

September & October!

The free for all is looking awesome! It really encourages me and gets me more excited about SHEnanigans when I see what you're all coming up with. I love it a lot.

Here's the info for next month's theme. We'll do a filler shoot too since upload day is a while away - November 1st and 2nd.

The filler will be something you can do on your own.

Without further ado, here's the next big theme info. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Don't forget to check out and comment on the pictures from this month over on Silly Girls United!
Thank you all for participating. It makes me so happy to have you all joining in and I hope for more and more participants with every shoot. Spread the word ;)

5 tips from Doe Deere

Xenia is a huge inspiration to me. I don't think I even need to explain why. Take a look at her gallery  (and here) via her blogazine to see more.

Here's five tips from the Deere herself just for you...

She's a breath of fresh air. Maybe we need to do a Doe Deere themed shoot?

Don't forget Top Secret Movie themed pics are on the Silly Girls United page.
Next upload day is August 30th & 31st and it's a free for all :)