How to make a personalized favicon :)

Since I learned how to make 'favicons', I thought I would post a little tutorial on how to make them for your site!

Favicons (blend of 'favorite' and 'icon') are the little logos you see next to the web address you are visiting. It's a great way to personalize your site or get your brand 'out there' :)

Here's how:

1. Make a logo in Photoshop (or other design software) and resize it to 16 by 16 pixels. Try to do the original in a square background so that when you resize, it shrinks to the right proportions. Also, make it simple. It is going to be r.e.a.l.l.y tiny, so a photo or letter works quite well. Save the 16x16 image as a .png.

2. You now need to make it into an .ico file, so import the .png to an .ico generator like this one here. Once it makes the file, click on 'download file' and save it to your computer.

3. Next, go to stashbox.org and upload the file you downloaded from the generator. You don't have to make an account to host files there, just click on 'upload or manage files'. After it uploads scroll down to 'HTML/Forum Codes' and look for the URL code.

4. Open a new tab and go to your Blogger layout, click 'Edit HTML', do a Ctrl F to find the tag that has 'head' between two pointy brackets <>
2 lines below it copy and paste this code in:

link href='image url here' rel='shortcut icon' type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/

Erase the part in green, and copy and paste URL code from stashbox in that place, add a pointy bracket <> after '/'. Then, 'Save Template'. You can 'View Blog' and see your little favicon by the address!

Did it work? If it did, I'd like to come see it! If not, let me know...hope I didn't forget any instructions :)

Have fun!

Allison

P.S. Stashbox.org is a clean site as far as I could see. It took awhile to find a free image hosting place that would take .ico files and not show off any terrible ads, and this is one that looked okay :) I found this tutorial on Cool Tips and Tricks

This week's assignment- Hope

We'll do an 'abstract' assignment this week.
Your task is to capture:

HOPE

...in a photo or two!

Have fun!

Allison

Fringe Mailbox

(9/30)P.S. The deadline is Saturday, October 4th :)

Eleazar Bendixen - Grandma's Hand

Hands at Work- Esther DeLadurantey

Yellow- by Grace Sauve

Yellow - by Esther DeLadurantey

Creating Black and White Photos

Below are some photo examples to accompany a class
I took from HP a few months ago. Enjoy, and have fun
taking B&W photos!


Sepia:
Is a widely-used monochromatic photo style. Popular for many
years, sepia gives photos a reddish-brown, aged look,
and evokes feelings of nostalgia.

Add style:
Black and white photos are considered elegant. Simply put, they
have style. The uncluttered, classic feel is distinctively upscale.
When you want a look of refined simplicity, B&W is an excellent choice.

Change the emotional look of a photo:
Making a photo B&W can sometimes deemphasize
an element changing the way you perceive emotions
between subjects.

Save an otherwise dull photo:
When a photo is shot on a dreary, overcast day,
the colors can appear muted and dull. Such a
photo can be dramatically improved by converting
it to B&W.
This particular photo was a sunny day shot, but it looked
a little boring in color. Changing it to B&W brought out the
shadows and made it more interesting!

Focus on the artistic process:
Black and white photography allows you
to choose extreme contrasts or soft, subtle contrasts.
This puts the creative choice in your hands,
just like any other satisfying artistic medium.
This hallway, still under construction, looks
completely different in B&W. The cross
lighting is now emphasized.

Avoid unpleasant clothing color:
When there are several colors
competing for your attention, in addition
to the subject you, as photographer, were
focusing on, a switch to B&W can help.
There was a lot going on in this
photo of a tired little patriot,
and I wanted to focus on his expression
and the flag he was holding.

Save a photo with blown-out sectors:
When the sun or fill flash causes hot spots or 'blows-out'
a section in your photo, you can sometimes save the photo
by converting it to B&W.

In this photo, the sunshine parts were over-exposed and drew
attention away from my sisters and their horses. With a crop
and a conversion to B&W, you notice the real subjects of the
picture! My sister Evvie is walking a horse representing the
famous 'Black Jack', a cassion horse used in funeral processions.

Check out this article...

Here's a great article on Moving Truth on how to make and use a light box!


http://www.movingtruth.com/index.php/home/articles/the-light-box/

Watermarking Photos

I recently found a site online, where I could get tutorials on how to use the different aspects of Paint Shop Pro X. Many of you probably use Adobe Photoshop, but I believe the commands I'll be listing would work in either program. In both programs there is an option to 'Embed Watermark', and if you use it, wonderful! This is just a 'long-hand' way of watermarking your photos. Putting a watermark on your pictures (especially those for the web) is one way to protect them. You can also print your copyright on them. It is all up to you :0)
So....here is the lesson!

1. After opening the photo(s) you want to mark, open a 'new' page in the program. The one in the photos below is 300 by 300 pixels. The background needs to be white, and you can then type in your name, studio, copyright, etc. Once that is done, crop if needed so that the wording takes up most of the page's space. Save your watermark, and open it again, then 'copy' and 'paste as new layer' onto your photo.

Figure 1

2. Next, place it in a prominent place on the photo. Then, with this layer(watermark) selected, go to (in PSP) 'effects' and on the drop-down menu select 'textures', then 'emboss'. Your mark should then look like Figure 2.

Figure 2

3. In PSP, there is a side bar on the right where you can set the layers' lightness, there should be a similar command in Adobe . Select 'soft light', and your watermark is done! Now you just have to do this to all your photos! Have fun with different fonts (you may want to keep them simple though), and your photos are ready for the web :0)

Figure 3

Any questions? Leave a comment, or send an email to the Fringe Mailbox

Lighting Tips: Save your $$ for expensive eqiupment!

The tips and tricks of photography are very extensive. This post is dedicated to saving money on your camera flash accessories!

• The White Card Trick

With your TTL flash extended to bounce mode (pointed to the ceiling), take a 3x5-inch index card and attach it to the flash with a rubber band. Have the card extend 3 or more inches up the flash head. When you fire the flash, some of the light bounces off the ceiling, while more light kicks off the white card to throw some light into your subject's eye sockets.

• The Spoon Trick

Similar to the card trick, this method involves attaching a plastic spoon in the same way you attached the white card to your flash. The curvature of the spoon throws the light in a pleasing effect onto your subject.

• Aircraft Aluminum

For the mechanically minded, another idea is to take a piece of aircraft aluminum (scrap please, don't try taking it off a plane that is being used), white or copper colored, and cut it in a roughly squarish or 3x5 shape. Use hook and loop tape (Velcro) on the square and the back of your flash head. Store the card by attaching it upside-down when not in use and then just pull it off, flip it, and reattach for use. Although white is pretty standard, using a copper-colored piece can warm the color of your light a little. (Let me know if you ever find a place to buy this!)

• Bottle Diffuser

Get one of those white frosted plastic bottles of rubbing alcohol (one whose waist is about the same diameter as your flash head). Remove the alcohol (this is important), and then cut along the bottom of the bottle about two inches down the waist. Then snug the waist (the end with the bottom) over the flash head. You can now shoot with the flash head angled almost vertically with a much softer light. (This method is similar to using a product known as the Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce, just a little less expensive)

• Film Cannister

This idea is great for your small, fixed (fixed as in won't pivot or tilt, not fixed as in repaired, though if your flash is broken, this method won't work either). These flashes are usually a pop-up variety. Take an old, clear, or frosted, 35mm flim cannister and tape it over the flash head. Variations of this trick involve placing a sheet of tissue paper inside the cannister to diffuse (soften) the light a bit, or using colored tissue paper to change the color of the light the flash produces. This isn't a big deal if you use a comuter-editing software on your pictures, but it is an idea to try if you aren't too comfortable with using the computer, or just want to experiment while taking the shot. (At any rate, you finally have a use for those empty cannisters from your film or film days, and if you don't have any, I'm sure you know someone that does!)

There are many inexpensive ways of improving the quality of your artificial light. Even the simple White Card Trick combined with bounce flash gives you much better results than bombing away with direct flash. Keep this method in mind even when your available light is enough for a good exposure; the light kicked forward from the white card is a great way to fill in shadows from ball caps and other similarily billed haberdashery items.

Plus, think of all the conversations or jokes you can tell about your flash accessories when photographing people! These things can double as accessories and objects to put your subjects at ease, and give a natural smile!

"Flash Tricks" taken from "Digital Photography All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies" pages 235 & 236. (Italics mine)

Do your have any money-saving photo ideas? Share them with us in the comment box!