Improving Portrait Photography

Since I got my Canon Rebel back in January, I have made an effort to not only take better photos with my camera but to also do a better job of editing the portraits in Photoshop.

Looking back a few years, I'd say my technique has improved. Take a look and judge for yourself! Believe me, I am still practicing using my manual modes to get the best portraits possible. In fact, two sessions ago I ruined over half the photos because I did not readjust the white balance setting. Tough learning. But learning is good.

Practice and Pinterest have helped immensely, and I will continue practicing and refining the look of my product!

Before:

 After:

College Effects:

 The effect I use three years later:

Wedding Slideshows

One thing I love to do is create short movies and slideshows for events. Here are a few examples.

Senior year of high school, I created this videos of my brothers as part of my senior project.

Here are two wedding slideshow examples.

What Makes a Pin Popular?

http://www.pinterest.com/morgancheeseman/
I may not be big on social media, but I have by far the most followers and traffic on my Pinterest page. Is it because I create the most unique "posts" or pins here as opposed to Twitter or Facebook? Or is it something else? I decided to do some research to find out why some pins are more popular than others by analyzing my most repinned pins.

My Popular Pins
I took a sample of my most popular pins (< 85 repins) and tried to find similarities. I found that they:

• Had accurate descriptions: not just "cool" or "love."
• Fell into popular Pinterest categories, making them easy to search.
• Could be found as a "related pin" from somebody else's pin.

Experiment One
I found a pin related to my Olivia Benson haircut pin and repinned it twice: once with the description, "Cool," and one with the description, "Love Sandra Bullock's haircut." The goal is to see which one gets more repins and to find out if having key words in the description make a difference. They are in the same category on the same board. The constants are the image and the category; the variable is the description.

Experiment Two
To explore pins even further, I repinned the same image and description but onto two different boards with different categories. The goal is to see if a category has an impact of the popularity of a pin with the same description. The constants are the image and description and the variable is the category.

I will update as soon as I have results of these two experiments, as well as give my two cents about optimizing your pin popularity.

In Marketing Communication Production during my senior year of college, we were challenged to design a viewbook for the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Here is the link to see both my creative brief and the final viewbook (choose my name, Morgan Cheeseman, to see my work): http://www.inspireandempower.com/KU/J553_portfolio_2010.html

Below are the PDF pages of the viewbook.

Campaigns - Senior Capstone Intro Video

My last Journalism class, Campaigns, was the most grueling, time-consuming and rewarding class that I attended at the University of Kansas. Not only did I connect with our client, Kansas Parks and Recreation, but I also loved all of the work involved to create a comprehensive campaign with my team.

Here is the intro video to our presentation. I came up with the overall storyline and found the music.

Pinching Pennies for the Big Day

Bret and I are in save mode! We have 13 months until are wedding day, and we realized that we are FAR from where we need to be in savings. The problem is we spend what we make, so we haven't done a good job of adjusting to my job. But the spending stops here! Here are a few ways we plan on saving money.

Using Fewer Disposable Goods

Use fewer paper towels, plastic water bottles, etc.

Spend Less on Services

Instead of spending $50 on a haircut, visit the local hair academy and get it done for $12. Inexpensive alternatives can be used for other services, including mani/pedis, eyebrow waxing, food (cook rather than dine at a restaurant), magazine subscriptions, etc.

  

Pack a Lunch, Snack and Beverage
Rather than spending money at a restaurant, convenience store or vending machine, buy these during your normal grocery trip and then pack them each day for work.

T-Shirt Quilt

I had seen it done before but had no idea how TOUGH making a T-shirt quilt would be! After stringing the project out for eight months, I finally finished. Looking to make one yourself? Check out this post below for the steps I used (and how I would have done it better)!

Step 1: Gather T-shirts
For four years, I saved all of my KU T-shirts because I had this quilt in mind from the start of college. When I met Bret, I started saving his as well.

Step 2: Decide on a design and size
I sketched out what I wanted my quilt to look like. Based on the color of shirts I had, I decided to alternate blue and other colors creating a 7x7 quilt with each square being 12x12 inches.

Step 3: Cut out the squares
Since T-shirt material tends to stretch when you cut and sew it, I needed to iron on interfacing to each square.

 

Step 4: Plan the top layer and sew squares together

This was tough because there was so much material that had to go through my sewing machine. But it is a good feeling when you see the top layer done! (Side note: You sew the squares together with the backing still on the squares.)

 

Step 5: Add batting and back layers

Next I had to buy quilt batting and material for the back of the quilt. I chose white felt for the back of mine, which gave it a heavy and warm feeling. You can choose lighter, airier materials if wanted. 

I then sewed the three layers together.  Then I used white thread to hand stitch some of the images in the squares to hold the three layers together from the inside. (Side note: Next time I quilt I will sew the inside squares before the outside to avoid billowing material and creating a messy look.) (Side note: I will definitely buy a large loom to make this process easier and cleaner for my next quilt.)

Step 6: Sew bias tape to outside edges
The final step in completing this quilt was sewing white bias tape to the outside edges of the quilt. When I finished, it was messier than I had hoped but it looks complete! The bias tape is folded in such a way that you only have to sew it on to get a complete look (no folding then sewing then folding and sewing again).

Hope this helps if you are considering making one yourself!