Photographing ice cream during a heatwave is a challenge but not totally impossible☀️😅🤷🏻♀️
What can go wrong? Well, the worst thing that can happen is that I end up with melted ice cream all over and no decent photos to show😆
Not the end of the world, right? I can always try again!
So I made Protein-Rich Ice Cream Pops with Strawberries and Homemade Cashew Milk. YUM!
In this beautiful sunny weather, what’s better than delicious ice cream?
I typically make myself a smoothie once a day, but in this heatwave weather, I’ve been experimenting with making them into ice cream popsicles. And I must say, it works pretty well.
But, photographing these babies before they melt takes more effort than it takes to eat them.
So if you wish to experiment with making healthy, homemade ice cream and photograph them too, here’s my best tips for photographing ice cream before it melts (even in a heatwave):
🍡Make the ice pops in advance. You are welcome to use my recipe below. This takes about 10 minutes + a minimum of 4 hours in the freezer.
🍡 While the ice is in the freezer, plan your photography style, the mood, the color theme, and what props to use.
🍡 Consider if you want to show some of the ingredients used in the recipe. If so, plan how to include it.
🍡 Place your main props in the freezer for about half an hour before you begin. This will help keep things cool.
🍡 Set up your scene ahead of time. Take a few test shots. Study your test shots carefully to see if something needs to be rearranged. Keep going until you get something you like. At this point, you have to imagine the ice cream in the scenes. Don’t take anything out of the freezer until you are ready to shoot.
🍡 Make sure you picked the right lens for the job, like a 50mm, 100mm or a zoom lens. Of course, you can use your phone camera as well.
🍡 Take your time to find the best settings for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. If you shoot handheld, keep shutter speed on 1/100 or above.
🍡 Prepare to work fast. As soon as you take out the ice cream, you have a small window of time to take photos. So make them count.
🍡 Have paper towels ready to control drips and melted ice cream. Things can get sticky when you’re working with ice cream, and you don’t want to get that stickiness on your camera when you’re shooting. So, keep some paper towels or tissues near for easy clean-up.
That’s it.
No, wait, I forgot the most important part… HAVE FUN with the process😀 and eat all the ice cream you can eat at the end because this ice cream is good for you 👌🏼
Protein-Rich Ice Cream Pops with Strawberries and Homemade Cashew Milk
2 TB of Cashews (soaked in water overnight)
1 cup Strawberries or mixed Berries
1 cup of Greek Yogurt
6 juicy Dates (no stones!)
2 scoops of Collagen Powder
Vanilla Essence
Sweetener (optional)
Start by washing the overnight cashews in water. Now blend them with a bit of fresh cold water – just enough to cover them. Then add the rest of the ingredients until smooth and soft. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds. I use molds made from stainless steel, but you can use any kind you want. Freeze overnight or for 4-5 hours. Enjoy!
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I love to travel light. If I can keep it simple and fit everything I need in one small bag, I prefer that to carrying unnecessary clothes and photography equipment around.
The trick is to plan carefully, consider your destination, and bring no more than the essentials to make the most of your trip. It’s tempting just to take photos with a mobile phone because we always have it with us, and it takes pretty decent pictures. But if you want to take your travel photography a little more seriously, it’s time to bring out the big camera.
Over the years, I’ve sold many of my photos to travel magazines, and I don’t think I would have been able to do that if I’d taken them with my iPhone. Most of the time, I’ll photograph a scene both with my iPhone camera as well as with my Canon camera. It gives me flexibility, and I can edit and post photos on the go. Then when I come back home, I’ll put some effort into editing the larger photo files I took with my big camera.
I walk a lot when I travel. Most often, I get up just before sunrise and try to capture the scenery before the tourists, and the locals wake up and fill the streets and beaches. The morning light is also my favorite light. But I keep exploring, walking, and taking pictures during the day – despite the challenges that can arise from places getting crowded or strong sunlight. Sometimes those factors can add something interesting to a photo.
Besides the camera gear I recommend to you in this post, my number one priority is always some good sneakers or hiking shoes that I can walk in all day long. Some comfortable clothes that I can move in and that I don’t need to iron. I might bring a pretty blouse or a dress for going out in the evening, but the less I pack, the more space I have for my photography gear.
None of the things I mention in this post are sponsored. I don’t receive any products or money from recommending it. It’s just pure love from using and working with these items for years.
Here’s the TOP 5 essential gear to take with you if you want to travel light.
#1: Crossbody Camera Strap
The crossbody camera strap (or “sling” as it’s also called) is just as important as good walking shoes. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to walk with my camera from early morning to late afternoon. It’s much more comfortable to wear than the original straps that come with your camera when you buy it.
Carrying your camera this way makes bringing even the heaviest lenses easy. You can also shift the way you carry it, so the weight is either on the front or the back. It’s an excellent option if you normally get tired from walking with the camera.
I just use a plain black strap, but you can find them in many different styles. A quick search on ETSY, and you’ll find some nice ones handmade in leather.
#2: Mini Tripod
When traveling and walking a lot, I don’t particularly like carrying a large tripod, so I usually shoot handheld. But there are situations where a tripod is a good help, and this is where the mini tripod comes in.
I personally use a Gorilla tripod like the one you see in the photo above. With a tripod, I can lower my shutter speed without getting camera shake. The Gorilla tripod also works as a selfie stick. I can take photos with myself in the frame or use it with my iPhone to get super sharp images.
Another advantage of the Gorilla tripod is that I can attach it to something high up or shoot from a very low angle. It’s super flexible and can be fixed onto almost anything. And if I do video, I will attach the camera to it and hold it as a stick because it reduces shaking from hand movements.
#3: Optical Viewfinder
The optical viewfinder is properly my most used photography accessory. Honestly, it would be hard for me to do my job as a photographer without it!
The viewfinder is like a little black box with a magnifying glass, and you hold it up against the LCD screen on the camera. It blocks out all light so you can see what’s going on on your camera’s LCD screen. With a magnification of 200%, I can also check if my main subject is in focus and if everything is sharp enough.
I was first introduced to the optical viewfinder ten years ago when my sister, who’s also a photographer, gave it to me as a birthday present. When I first got it, I couldn’t really see the benefits it provided. My sister used it a lot because she often shot fashion outdoors in bright daylight. And because it can be hard to see your photos on the back of your camera in strong sunlight, the viewfinder was a helpful tool for her.
But I never got used to it, and for years it was just collecting dust until about two years ago. With age, I started using reading glasses, and in the end, I began having trouble seeing my photography work clearly when I was out photographing. So I dusted off the viewfinder, and today I use it for all my photography work. Every photo gets checked whether I work inside or outside.
So for travel photography, the optical viewfinder can be your best friend to block out all light, see details clearly and get the focus right.
If you decide to invest in a viewfinder, make sure you get one that fits your camera model. You can get it here https://kinotehnik.com/lcdvf/ (not sponsored).
Circular Polarizing Filter
A filter is a thin piece of glass you can attach to your lens. Polarizing filters are used to decide how much light enters your camera lens. They can reduce unwanted reflections from shiny surfaces such as water or glass and also boost colors providing better contrast. In other words, the filter reduces the amount of light coming into the camera, which helps control the highlights and keeps everything clearer in the final image.
How much of the effect you want can be adjusted simply by rotating the filter. This filter is excellent for landscape and travel photography because it makes the clouds stand out, increases saturation in the landscape, or decreases the reflection of water and windows.
Below you can see a few examples. Notice the color difference in the sky, the contrast/clarity on the house, and the white parasol’s highlights.
40mm F2.8 Pancake Lens
My go-to travel lens is the prime Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 lens on a full frame body. It’s super small, super light, yet razor sharp and fast. This lens has very high image quality for the price and costs about the same as the popular 50mm, but I like the wider angle of 40mm, which makes it perfect for both travel and landscape photography.
That being said, a good travel lens choice is always a high-quality zoom lens that will give you a lot more variety, but because I walk as much as I do, I prefer to carry as little weight as possible. I love the 24-70mm lens for travel photography, but it gets heavy after a few hours of carrying it.
The 40mm is a fantastic lens, considering how small it is. It’s called a “pancake” since it is very thin, so once it is placed on the camera, you get a very light and portable setup. The widest aperture is f/2.8 so we can get enough light and a nice background bokeh, mainly when we shoot on a full frame camera. You can’t zoom with this lens, so you must zoom with your feet, moving back and forward to get the right frame.
Talking about the focal length, the 40mm on the full frame is shorter than what’s recommended for portraits. But I find it to be great for when you want to include a person or animal in the frame for a more lifestyle-inspired scene in which you include a bit more of the environment around. As long as you avoid going too close up a person, you can capture some captivating portraits and compositions.
I suggest this Canon 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens to all photographers for landscape and travel photography. With a lens this small, there’s no excuse not to have it with you when you’re out exploring!
Liked this post? Pin the photos and share the article with your photography friends. I’ll truly appreciate it.
Got a question for me? Simply connect with me on Instagram @christinagreve.
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If you wonder how to photograph and edit photos in the highly popular bright, light and airy style, this post is for you. Bright and airy photos look so fresh and inviting + they are great for the Spring and Summer season.
To create the bright, airy aesthetic in your photos there are three important phases you need to pay attention to:
Your scene/surroundings
Your Camera settings
And finally, the editing process
So let’s look at the first step…
1. Consider Your Surroundings
If you want to make light and airy photos, editing is only half the battle. To achieve the light and airy look, you’ve got to give yourself a solid foundation in the images you shoot.
First of all you need is a good source of natural daylight. To add a wonderful sense of lightness to your photos the best place to set up your scene is in a room with white walls and a large window. But the most important thing is plenty of light. You want to aim for that Spring feeling with gloomy light.
The next step is to include light-colored objects that reflect the light that strikes them. Make sure your background and surface is white or in light soft tones; this could be any pastel color, light gray or creamy tones.
Your choice of props will play an important role as well. Go for props with light colors. This could include things like soft linen, glassware, natural coloured tableware, light-coloured wood, marble, pastel coloured flowers or colourful food – just to give you a few ideas. Lighter tones will help convey the airy atmosphere.
Also consider the space in your image. The more empty (white space) you include the easier it will be to create an “airy” feeling.
When you keep your scene simplistic with less items in the frame you naturally create a sense of lightness and brightness. So focus on keeping your styled scene clean and clutter free.
2. Camera Settings
Use a Wide Aperture
A wide aperture like f/2.8, f/2.0 or f/1.8 will create a classic shallow depth of field. Meaning that the areas before and after the point of focus that appear sharp will be out of focus. This is ideal if you want to soften the background, keeping only your subject sharp.
Raise ISO
Don’t be afraid to play with ISO as well. Raising ISO just a little can help you open up the shadows and adding an even more soft bright feeling to your photo.
On beautiful and bright summer days it can be easy to create bright photos just with your camera and no editing. But on dark, overcast days the lack of light can be a challenge and this is were ISO will be your rescue.
3. The Editing Process
The last phase is the editing. How you edit the photo will play a major role in how bright and airy your image will look. It might even be the most important step.
Personally, I use Lightroom and Photoshop to edit my photos, but if you don’t have these programs you can also use a free online software program called Fotor.com. So let’s look at how you can brighten your photos in all three programs.
How To Brighten Your Photos In Lightroom
The simplest way to brighten your photo in Lightroom is to use the Exposure tool and the Shadow tool. These tools will have the most impact on the brightness.
If you look at the image below you will see that the shadow slider is dragged almost all the way to the right. This is how I like to start the brightness process. The shadow tool will soften the shadows and add a soft brightness to the image.
The Exposure tool is a bit more agressiv so a little goes a long way. You want your image super bright but you still want to keep the details in the white areas of the photo and avoid blown-out highlights.
How To Brighten Your Photos In Photoshop
In Photoshop navigate to the Curve tool. If this is your first time using this tool it might take a little practice because the curve tool is super sensitive and you only need to make small adjustments to get a huge impact.
The Curves tool is a super quick way to brighten your image. In the Curve settings, you adjust points throughout an image’s tonal range. You add points to this graph and pull either up or down to increase or decrease the shadows or highlights, depending on where you placed the point.
To brighten the photo lift the curve at the top and in the center as seen in step 1 and 2. This will brigthen your image. Even a little goes a long way. In step 3 you can lower the curve to bring in contrast and give your photo more depth. (See image below).
To brighten the photo even more in photoshop click on levels. Now use the three arrows (see image below).
Step 1. Slide the arrow to the left side. This lift the highlights.
Step 2. Drag the slider to the left as well. this brightens the mid tones.
Step 3. Finally, you can move the arrow to the right to bring in contrast and give your photo depth.
The Levels tool is much easier to control for a beginner than the curve tool, so if you find that the Curve tool is a challenge simply start practicing with the Levels tool. You can also use the brightness/contrast tool for even more effect.
How To Brighten Your Photos In Fotor.com
Fotor is an online editor program. This is a great option if you’re new to photography, don’t have Photoshop or Lightroom yet, and just want a simple and quick way to edit pictures.
By signing up with your email you can use their free version which allows you to edit your photos. If you pay for a membership you get access to a lot more tools and options, but to brighten your photo you just need the free version.
To get started simply go to Fotor.com and click on “Edit a Photo”.
Now upload your photo and click on the blue Botton “1-Tap Enhance”. This excellent feature will automatically give you a great starting point and save you some work.
Next, click on “Fine Tune”. This opens up three features controlling the exposure, highlights and shadows. All three tools are going to help brighten your image even more.
The general rule of thumb is that you can go high on the shadow slider. When you scroll it to the right side it will open up all the shadows in your image making it look more soft and bright.
When it comes to exposure and highlights you typically have to be a little more careful and just raise them a little. Of course this depends on the individual photos, so you gotta try and use your eyes to see what looks good. (see image below).
When you are happy with the result you click “Export” in the top menu to download your photo.
That’s it. I hope you will have a lot of FUN playing with the bright and airy style.
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