How to work as a group by LaTressa

Last months theme was "family Christmas cards". We got some pretty intense awkwardness and amazingness, that's for sure! I don't even have words for it. Go look for yourself.

The dream keeps coming true with each new group that joins in. Here are some tips from LaTressa on how the group she plays with plan their photoshoots.


People often ask "Where do you get all your ideas?!" Well, I'll give you a little insight into what goes on in the mind of this silly girl when preparing for a Silly Girls Photo shoot.

Before I even know what the month's theme is, I like to brainstorm with my group to get any suggestions for themes we'd like to do, costumes we'd like to dress up in, etc. One tip is to think back on your childhood... what kind of things did you like to pretend or dress up as? Did you love to make-believe you were a princess, an astronaut, a rock-star, an animal? Reconnect with your inner child and you will probably find it easy to come up with inspiration. So we start throwing ideas out there, and see how everyone reacts. If all seem excited by a particular idea, we add it to a list we keep in my phone notebook. So, once we've got our list of ideas we all think we'd enjoy seeing come to life, we save that until we find out what the theme is for the upcoming month is. If nothing immediatly pops into our heads as an idea for that theme, we go to our list and see if any of those ideas would fit in with the theme. Once we decide which direction we want to go in, we start letting our creativity take over, and it all sort of falls into place from there.

One thing we do to prepare for our shoot is go through our closets, our husband's closets, our mom's closets, wherever we can think to get clothing and accesories that will fit with our theme. Most of the time we find what we need and just have to put outfits together creativily with stuff we already own. But occasionally we will do a little thrift store/yard sale shopping, searching for that perfect piece that will complete our look. We have get together a couple weeks before our shoot, and bring all our clothes/jewelry/accessories/props together and share and swap stuff to make our outfits cohesive and coordinate our looks.

When it comes to putting an outfit(s) together for a specific style, we find it helpful to go to the internet and search images in that theme, we will copy those pics and share them with each other through texts or facebook messages. It helps the ideas flow and gets you in the right mood, and then we take those ideas we like and apply them, and add our own twist and flare to make it "ours."

The next step, once we've figured out our outfits and costumes, is to find a perfect location. We all brainstorm and suggest what we think might be a good backdrop for the occasion. If nothing comes immediately to mind, we each do a little looking around before we meet up for the shoot. I like to drive around town and keep my eyes open for any place that would make a good spot. I've found lots of great places just by doing "drive-by's".

So that is basically a step-by-step of our process of coming up with, and carrying out our ideas for Silly Girls Photo shoots. I find it a perfect outlet for my creativity, and enjoy stretching my artistic muscles to come up with new ideas and seeing them come to life. I think the most important part is to have FUN with the whole process!!! Don't be afriad of or concerned with what people will think, choose themes that get you excited and make you giggle. Sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone, but that encourages growth, and makes for some great memories and interesting photos you can enjoy for years to come!

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 ;)